Meanwhile, the sounds of the black-clad figures grew fainter in the distance.
"To show our sincerity, here’s some compensation for your troubles in advance!"
The farmer’s eyes were dull, yet he quickly scooped up the bag from the ground.
Upon opening it, he saw three solid, large silver coins inside, each worth a hundred taels.
The farmer’s eyes nearly popped out of his head—an entire lifetime had passed without him ever having laid eyes on so much silver, nor on coins so large.
"Boss Gu, you’re not going to work today either?" Yue Rujing had already changed into Jisheng Hall’s shop assistant attire, ready to head out.
Gu Youyou was too busy to pay him any mind; she was fervently fanning the flames beneath the stove, atop which sat medicine bound for the Gu Family.
Thinking Gu Youyou hadn’t heard him, Yue Rujing moved in front of her and waved his hand before her eyes.
Gu Youyou struck his hand with her fan, used for stoking the fire, and said, "Can’t you see I’m busy?"
Yue Rujing obviously wasn’t hit; anticipating her move, he was ready for her.
He chuckled and said, "If a shop assistant skips work, wages get docked, and serious offenses lead to dismissal. You, as the boss, have been absent for several days now—shouldn’t your punishment be even stiffer?"
A twitch appeared at the corner of Gu Youyou’s mouth, that annoying Yue Rujing.
She threw down the fan, hands on hips, and said angrily, "I’m the boss; I make the rules. I come and go as I please—what are you going to do about it?"
Yue Rujing’s nose twisted with irritation at her unreasonable and overbearing behavior. "You’re exploiting your power! The officials can start fires, but the common people can’t even light a lamp!"
"Yes, that’s exactly right!" Gu Youyou declared, unabashed and confident.
"You’re illogical—it’s no wonder the ancients said that only women and scoundrels are difficult to nurture," Yue Rujing retorted with a cold laugh.
Ah, dare to discriminate against women? And you call me a scoundrel?
"That’s right, you’re the scoundrel who won’t fulfill a shop assistant’s duties and dares to criticize the boss. You’re fired!" Gu Youyou fumed with frustration.
The two in the courtyard were at daggers drawn, their quarreling had become a daily occurrence.
Just then, Jin Zijin came out of the house, feeling that arguing so early in the morning was simply improper. He coolly said to Yue Rujing, "Ajing, hurry to Jisheng Hall. With both of you gone, Doctor Qin is going to be overrun."
Yue Rujing, who took Jin Zijin’s word above all others, clenched his teeth and huffed at Gu Youyou before striding out the door.
Jin Zijin shook his head with a light chuckle, then lowered his gaze back to Gu Youyou.
She was sitting on a small stool, watching the flames under the stove, where a ceramic tile pot was simmering—medicine that Gu Youyou had been preparing every day. Noting that the firewood beside her was running low, Jin Zijin turned back into the house, and after a short while, reappeared carrying a well-prepared stack of firewood.
Since the stove was small and couldn’t use the large logs meant for a cooking range, he simply sat next to her and began chopping the prearranged wood into sizeable pieces for the stove.
Gu Youyou glanced sideways at him and cracked a slight smile.
Almost immediately, Jin Zijin’s thoughts returned to the issue of Gu Youyou treating Yuancheng. It wasn’t a sudden recollection; the matter had been on his mind constantly, and it made him very uncomfortable.
He had already questioned Qin Changlin about it. Qin Changlin was evasive at first, unwilling to speak, but under Jin Zijin’s gentle probing, he eventually spilled the beans.
It turned out it really was about treating an illness, not the nonsensical talk of castrating him first and sending him to the palace to become a eunuch, as Yue Rujing had wildly surmised.
Unexpectedly, such an ailment was within her ability to cure, successfully transforming Yuancheng’s predestined life as a eunuch into that of a real man.
Why does saying that sound so awkward? With this thought, Jin Zijin’s expression suddenly darkened.