Chapter Ninety-Eight: Abbess Mingqiu’s Inner Knot

“Yes, Father said so yesterday... I was afraid of delaying Mistress Mingqiu’s affairs, so I wanted to finish as quickly as possible what she had instructed me to do.”

Qin Wanru lowered her head and spoke respectfully. She reached out and pushed the medicinal powder in the stone mortar a little closer to Mistress Mingqiu so that she might examine it.

Just now, she had only been looking at it from the outside. Next came the true test: by smell and taste, they would judge whether the powder Qin Wanru had prepared was good or bad. With Mistress Mingqiu’s skill in medicine, a single taste would be enough for her to detect the flavor of Greencurl Herb at once.

What Qin Wanru needed was Mistress Mingqiu’s concern for her.

Mistress Mingqiu’s hand touched the stone mortar Qin Wanru had pushed forward, but she did not taste it right away. Her expression turned slightly distant, her head lowering a little as she fell silent.

The room suddenly grew quiet. Outside, only the wind could be heard.

“Mistress?” Qin Wanru paused, then called her uncertainly, not quite understanding why Mistress Mingqiu had reacted this way.

“You are going to the capital... and you no longer wish to learn medicine?” Mistress Mingqiu seemed to rouse herself at Qin Wanru’s call. She lifted her head, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

Yet in Qin Wanru’s eyes, that smile seemed somewhat bitter.

“I do want to learn, Mistress. I truly do want to learn medicine!” Qin Wanru said anxiously. Her small hands, swollen and red, clutched Mistress Mingqiu’s robe, while her lifted watery eyes shone with firmness, without the slightest wavering.

“In truth, you have already learned most of it. I still have one more medical book here, something I compiled myself from actual cases. When the time comes, take it with you as well. To be honest, I had once thought of taking you out to see the world, and in truth, that meant going out to see patients. What you lack now is only practical experience.”

Taking a deep breath, Mistress Mingqiu spoke slowly. Her gentle gaze slid over Qin Wanru’s tender little face. She truly had not expected her disciple to possess such extraordinary talent.

Not only could Qin Wanru understand things at a glance, she could even infer new principles from them and offer fresh insights. What she lacked was merely experience in practice.

Qin Wanru was overjoyed. “Then, Mistress, can you come with me to the capital?”

Mistress Mingqiu shook her head and refused at once. “I am not going to the capital... I once made an appointment with someone, and I will not go to the capital.”

“Mistress, why not?” Qin Wanru’s clear, watery eyes widened in great surprise.

“It is... an old entanglement, some long-ago grievances. In truth, it is all in the past now... I simply do not wish to go.” Mistress Mingqiu shook her head. Her voice was very soft, very light.

It sounded as though she were speaking to Qin Wanru, and yet it also seemed as if she were only speaking to herself.

“What could Mistress be unable to let go of, and what does it have to do with the capital?” Qin Wanru froze for a moment, a shadow of insight flowing through her eyes.

“It is nothing serious. So much time has passed; perhaps it has long since... What is there still to cling to?” Mistress Mingqiu smiled, carrying a touch of self-mockery, unlike her usual manner.

In the past, Mistress Mingqiu had always been gentle and dignified. After taking Qin Wanru as her disciple, she had become even more loving and indulgent toward her, a graceful elder who seemed beyond the dust of the world. She was proper and courteous in all her conduct and had never once shown such loss of composure before Qin Wanru.

But now Qin Wanru keenly sensed that she was unsettled.

“Since Mistress has already let it go, why not go to the capital? Wanru could also stay by your side and serve you filial devotion,” Qin Wanru asked cautiously. She truly wanted Mistress Mingqiu to go with her.

Though she and Mistress Mingqiu had no formal master-disciple bond, they shared the reality of such a bond. Her desire to honor and care for Mistress Mingqiu was sincere.

At first, she had not dared to imagine that Mistress Mingqiu would accompany her to the capital. But since Mistress Mingqiu had once thought of taking her out traveling, perhaps she might also be willing to go with her to the capital.

Qin Wanru knew the idea was not very realistic, but she still lifted her watery eyes with barely restrained excitement and looked at Mistress Mingqiu expectantly, full of childlike reverence and longing.

“You child...” Moved by the reverence in Qin Wanru’s eyes, Mistress Mingqiu’s face softened with a smile, dispelling the bitterness from before. She reached out and patted Qin Wanru’s head. “I will not go with you. The capital is too lively; it does not suit my temperament. It is quieter here.”

As she said this, Mistress Mingqiu could not help thinking of that person again. By now, that person should already have a wife and children, should he not? After so many years, she herself had already taken refuge in the Buddhist gate. Yet in that fleeting moment just now, her heart had actually wavered. Indeed, as her senior sister had said, her heart was not still.

So the capital was even less fit for her to go.

What had happened back then had long since passed. Let the old affairs of the past be carried away by the wind.

She picked up the stone mortar beside her, pinched a small amount of the powder between her fingers, and placed it on the tip of her tongue to taste. Suddenly, her expression changed. “Greencurl Herb? Does your grandmother not react badly to the smell of Greencurl Herb powder?”

Although the one treating the old lady was the Quiet Heart Nunnery mistress, there were some matters of medicine that even she would ask Mistress Mingqiu about. Mistress Mingqiu knew the old lady’s condition very well.

“How could there be any? These were brought to me by my mother when she delivered medicine to Grandmother from the foot of the mountain. How could there be a scent of Greencurl Herb?” Qin Wanru was not surprised by Mistress Mingqiu’s words, but she still put on a look of astonishment.

“It is very faint, but it is there. If your grandmother keeps smelling it, her illness will worsen.” Mistress Mingqiu pinched a little more and tasted it again, then lifted her head with certainty.

“Someone tampered with the medicinal ingredients sent over. Someone deliberately sprinkled Greencurl Herb powder into the herbs!”

“Then...” Qin Wanru lowered her head, seeming somewhat listless. Her swollen little hands fiddled with the hem of her robe, looking rather pitiful.

Those once delicate, tender hands were now swollen with two large red patches. They looked puffed up, like a pair of red, swollen little buns, truly enough to make anyone ache for her.

“Take Jade Pure with you,” Mistress Mingqiu said slowly after some thought.

“Jade Pure, Mistress?” Qin Wanru looked up, her face full of delight.

Jade Pure was also a nun at Quiet Heart Nunnery, though she had entered the religious life with hair unshorn. She was an orphan who had been raised in the nunnery since childhood. In daily life, she took care of Mistress Mingqiu’s meals while also studying medicine with her. She could be considered one of Mistress Mingqiu’s capable helpers.

“Jade Pure does not really count as a nun. She only kept her hair when she entered. Senior Sister said that she has no karmic affinity with the Buddha and had originally planned to send her down the mountain.” Mistress Mingqiu sighed.

She had watched Jade Pure grow up, and in truth she had wanted to keep the girl by her side. But she also knew Jade Pure was still young. Though steady enough for her age, she was not truly suited to the life of a nunnery.

For a child so young, neither Mistress Mingqiu nor the Quiet Heart Nunnery mistress wanted to keep her locked in the nunnery for the rest of her life.

If Qin Wanru had not happened to come up the mountain to study medicine, Jade Pure would already have been sent away. But because Qin Wanru was here, Mistress Mingqiu had also indulged a private hope: she wanted Jade Pure to follow Qin Wanru instead. Jade Pure had spent so many years on the mountain, and though clever and quick-witted, she had no background to rely on. If Qin Wanru looked after her, she would surely integrate much more easily.

This was also why Mistress Mingqiu had recently urged Qin Wanru and Jade Pure to spend more time together. They were both children she liked, and she hoped they would grow closer to one another.

“Can Jade Pure really come with me?” Qin Wanru’s watery eyes widened, excitement overflowing from her. Even her small frame straightened up involuntarily, making it clear how happy she truly was.

Mistress Mingqiu let out a breath of relief. She had originally been somewhat embarrassed to bring it up, but seeing that Qin Wanru had not even done a proper job of pounding the medicinal powder, and had not even detected the scent of Greencurl Herb, she could not help but worry. That was why she had awkwardly opened the subject. Now, seeing Qin Wanru’s delighted expression, she was finally reassured.

The best outcome was for neither child to be forced. If they could accompany and care for one another in harmony, that would be ideal.

“She can go with you,” Mistress Mingqiu said with a smile. After a pause, she added, “Take her down the mountain as your maid. From now on, let her be the one to pound medicine. You are still too small, and you do not have much strength.”

Compared with Jade Pure, who had always been pounding herbs and was almost the great strongman of the nunnery, Qin Wanru truly was rather weak.

As for becoming a maid, Mistress Mingqiu had thought it through very carefully. She had even discussed it with the Quiet Heart Nunnery mistress before. Since she and Qin Wanru had only an actual master-disciple bond and no formal standing as teacher and student, Jade Pure did not truly count as Qin Wanru’s senior sister. Without that layer of relation, Jade Pure would have no difficulty finding her footing in the general’s household.

Becoming Qin Wanru’s maid was the best solution.

When Qin Wanru saw how effortlessly Jade Pure could lift a large fish tank in the nunnery, she immediately understood that this was exactly the sort of person she needed. And this time, it had all originally been for her.

“Does Jade Pure already know?” she asked, still somewhat uneasy.

“I mentioned it to her before. Originally, though, I was to take you traveling, and she would be your attendant on the journey. After all, your own maid might not be able to bear such hardship.”

Mistress Mingqiu’s gaze fell on Clear Moon.

Although Clear Moon was a maid, a young lady’s personal maid from a general’s household was still delicate and fine-skinned. How much hardship could she possibly endure? If she truly accompanied Qin Wanru on a journey, she would most likely be insufficient.

“Thank you, Mistress!” Seeing that Mistress Mingqiu and her own wishes were perfectly aligned, Qin Wanru straightened to her knees and respectfully bowed three times to Mistress Mingqiu. When she lifted her head again, her eyes were faintly red.

She was truly moved.

In her previous life, she had missed the chance to study medicine with Mistress Mingqiu, and thus had also missed this elder who cared for her with all her heart. In this life, she had finally found that loving elder again.

She had originally set her sights on Jade Pure, only to discover that her teacher had already arranged everything for her long ago. Even with Qin Wanru’s many-turning thoughts and sharp mind, she could not help but feel genuine sorrow at this moment.

“Good child, why are you crying? With Jade Pure at your side, I can rest easy too.” Seeing the child’s reverent and affectionate expression, Mistress Mingqiu’s own bitterness was eased somewhat. A loving smile appeared on her face, making her refined brows and eyes seem even more luminous.

“Mistress, please rest assured. We will meet again in the future. Jade Pure and I will surely come to see you!” A dark light flickered in Qin Wanru’s eyes.

This was her promise to Mistress Mingqiu. In just a few words, she had already understood that Mistress Mingqiu carried an unhealed knot in her heart, and that this knot was tied to the capital. She would certainly find a way to resolve it, and one day she would bring Mistress Mingqiu into the capital herself.

She would take care of Mistress Mingqiu. She would, certainly...