Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 386 - 337 Sachet

"BURP—"

In the carriage, Galuo, her face flushed red, let out a long burp, giggling as she wrapped her arms around Qiu Feng’s waist and nuzzled against her chest.

"Eh?!?!"

With a red face, Qiu Feng forcefully pushed Galuo away, muttering, "I told you not to drink so much."

At the same time, she released her Telekinesis to open the carriage door, supporting them both as they stepped down.

They had just come from Furong Garden. The alcoholic beverages at the wedding included fruit wines, barley wines, grape wines, and other exotic drinks like Betel Nut Wine brewed with betel nut juice from Lin Yi Country, Palm Leaf Wine made from coconut flower juice by Heling Country, and a black-as-lacquer Dragon Paste Wine made from Uva grapes by Zhezhi Kingdom.

Galuo could normally handle her liquor, but not when she insisted on tasting every kind available. She quickly became so dizzy she could barely walk.

Chai Cuiqiao remembered Li Ang had prepared hangover soup at home, so she took a carriage home to fetch it. Seeing she hadn’t returned to Furong Garden after so long, Qiu Feng had no choice but to bring Galuo over first.

"Is anyone there?"

Qiu Feng helped Galuo into the living room, laying her down on a lounge chair, and looked around. "Cui Qiao? Risheng?"

Inside the study, Chai Chai suddenly shivered. Li Ang had left strict instructions that no one should find out about his sudden disappearance. It was Qixi, the wedding of Prince Yue—he had already mentioned he would attend. If someone asked, she wouldn’t be able to find a suitable excuse to explain his absence.

She had to... use a Sound Mimicking Talisman.

Biting her lip, Chai Chai poured her spiritual power into the talisman and tore a small opening in it.

With the talisman activated, Chai Chai immediately felt a stream of air wrap around her neck like a scarf.

"COUGH!"

She coughed, astonished to hear Li Ang’s voice come out.

"Hm?"

Qiu Feng, outside the study, also paused, uncertainly asking, "Risheng? Are you in the study?"

"COUGH, COUGH, it’s me."

Chai Chai quickly composed herself and responded, "You’re looking for Cui Qiao, right? She..."

She had been about to say, "She already took the hangover soup and went back. Didn’t you run into her on the way? You must have missed each other."

But the words halted at her lips. She had arrived in Li Leqing’s carriage, which was still parked outside, not yet having left. Saying that would have given her away.

What to do?

Chai Chai’s mind raced, and she blurted out, "When she went to get the hangover soup, she also helped herself to a few more pastries in the kitchen and ate a bit too much. So I had her go upstairs to lie down and rest."

!!! What kind of ridiculous reason is that? Why did I say I did something stupid like overeating to the point I can’t walk?

Chai Chai could feel her face burning, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into.

"This..."

Qiu Feng, outside the study, hesitated. "That... that really does sound like Cui Qiao..."

??? What do you mean, ’my style’? In your eyes, do I only think about eating? To think I considered you a good friend, second only to Le Ling. Now you’re demoted to third place!

Chai Chai inwardly ranted while managing a sheepish laugh. "I’m so sorry to have you make an extra trip."

Qiu Feng shook her head. "No, it’s fine. Where’s the hangover soup?"

"In the backyard pharmacy, the first medicine cabinet, third row from the bottom, fifth compartment from the left," Chai Chai blurted out without thinking.

On Li Ang’s last night in Yizhou, he had been drunk as a skunk and had taken that very hangover medicine. After moving to Chang’an, he bought several medicine cabinets, arranging all the medicines exactly as they were in the old pharmacy back in Yizhou.

"Alright."

Qiu Feng went into the pharmacy, pulled open the drawer of the medicine cabinet, and took out a packet of medicine. She opened it and immediately recognized the scent of Kudzu Vine, sour jujube, white cardamom, and Atractylodes among other ingredients.

"Found it!"

Qiu Feng called out and used her Telekinesis to move out the medicine stove and firewood, starting to brew the medicine.

The fire in the stove flickered; it would still be some time before the medicine finished brewing.

Qiu Feng walked back to the living room. She saw Galuo curled up like a kitten, fast asleep in the lounge chair, so she fetched a blanket to cover her.

"WHOOSH—BANG!"

A purplish-red dusk enveloped Chang’an as brilliant fireworks from the various workshops ascended into the sky. These were the fireworks celebrating the Qixi Festival. The Chang’an Chamber of Commerce had spared no effort for this festival, having invited a renowned fireworks craftsman from the Zhou Kingdom to create a massive fireworks display that spread over all one hundred and eight squares of the city. At Zizheng, which was midnight, all the fireworks would be set off simultaneously, forming the pattern of the magpie bridge across the Chang’an sky. It aimed to promote the Qixi festivities and to complement the wedding of Prince Yue.

Qiu Feng sat at the desk, resting her chin on her hands, staring at the fireworks on the horizon. After a moment of hesitation, she asked softly, "Risheng?"

"Huh?"

Chai Chai, in the study, was startled again. "I’m here."

Qiu Feng, her face flushed, said in a faint voice, "Um... do you remember the conversation we had at the Imperial Medical Bureau a few days ago?"

I don’t remember!

"I remember," Chai Chai said, forcing a smile.

"At that time, I actually had a gift I made myself that I wanted to give you."

Qiu Feng took out a carefully sewn sachet from her robes. The sachet was made of an exquisite and luxurious fabric that shimmered. It was a precious textile known as Peacock Luo, a specialty of Hebei Road Hengzhou. It was exceptionally labor-intensive to weave. Even for a professional weaver, it would take at least three months.

Qiu Feng picked up the sachet, stood up, walked to the study door, and mustered the courage to ask quietly, "Could you open the door?"

"No!"

Chai Chai responded subconsciously. She didn’t know what Qiu Feng’s gift was, but with only herself in the room, she couldn’t open the door no matter what.

"Eh?"

Qiu Feng paused, puzzled. "Why not?"

"Because, because..."

Chai Chai’s mind raced frantically, scrambling for a reason.

Am I practicing calligraphy? No, no, no, Li Ang lost that habit after entering the Academic Palace. Am I painting? That doesn’t seem worth hiding from Qiu Feng, right? Am I reading comics unsuitable for children? That... I could just put them away, couldn’t I? It can’t be that all the shelves are full of them. Is there a distinguished artist from Pingkang Square, skilled in both virtue and dance, in the room? That reason is even less plausible. What if Qiu Feng pushes open the door to investigate?

Chai Chai racked her brains and blurted out, "I’m not wearing any clothes!"

Outside the door, Qiu Feng, holding the sachet, stood with her mouth agape, her eyes wide. "...Huh?"

"You know they built a swimming pool in the yard, right? It was so hot this afternoon, I went for a dip," Chai Chai said, pinching the Sound Mimicking Talisman and speaking in Li Ang’s voice. Once she started, the lies flowed as naturally as wine in a meandering stream game. "And then, out of nowhere, a flock of birds landed in the yard and pooped on the clothes I’d left by the pool. I was so angry I burned the clothes with a talisman. I was about to go inside and change, but Cui Qiao came back, so I had to hide in the study. She went upstairs to lie down after eating too much, and I didn’t have a chance to go out and get dressed before you arrived. So, right now, I’m talking to you stark naked. To uphold the moral standards of an Academic Palace disciple, I cannot open the door."

Swimming in the pool, clothes gone, unable to meet—what kind of Cowherd and Weaver Girl story was this?!