Hidden Shadow – CH 077

Chapter Seventy-Seven: Who Does Not Know Mo Sigui?

Mo Sigui was astonished. “Marry? You are not joking, are you? I’ve been away from Bianjing for years, and even Hua Rongjian wants to get married? Things have really changed!”

Seeing An Jiu’s unpleasant expression, Yao-Ye did not dare say that her young lady had readily agreed! More than just changed, it was shocking!

“A leopard cannot change its spots. There must be a conspiracy.” An Jiu thought that after her disappearance, it would be best to arrange a stable environment for Mei Jiu, but upon reflection, this Hua Rongjian was indeed a bit unreliable.

There were many onlookers outside, and Mo Sigui felt it was not advisable to linger too long, so he told An Jiu to leave.

Upon leaving the private room, they found the shopkeeper and accountant waiting at the door.

“Young Master Mei, look at this loss…” The shopkeeper, with a forced smile, handed the account book to Mo Sigui.

Before the money could even reach Mo Sigui, it was blocked by his folding fan. “Everyone in the restaurant saw it. It was Second Young Master Hua who bullied us, barging into our private room and smashing things. Is the manager afraid of offending powerful figures and specifically targeting us commoners? Are his father and brothers not supposed to be the most reasonable? Second Young Master Hua’s unreasonable behavior is entirely his father and brother’s fault for not teaching him properly; they should bear the responsibility.”

The manager instantly broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that taking the debt to Prime Minister Hua or Hua Rongtian would immediately secure compensation, but those two would certainly not let Hua Rongjian off easily. If Hua Rongjian were to be disciplined at home, would he forgive him later?

A rough calculation showed that the contents of this room were worth ten thousand taels of silver, but he was unwilling to accept it. “Young Master Mei, you cannot say that. You booked this private room, so naturally, we are asking you for compensation. What business is it of yours with Second Young Master Hua? After all, we did not even see who broke it, did we?”

“Oh, alright then!” Mo Sigui made a move to take the bill. “Then we will not trouble the shopkeeper. I will take this bill and pay the money as promised. We will take this bill and ask His Majesty to ask the Hua family for the money.”

The Mei family were imperial merchants; if they wanted to speak to the Emperor, it was not impossible.

The shopkeeper’s hand trembled, and he quickly withdrew it. “This… how could we trouble His Majesty with such a small matter? I will go ask Second Young Master Hua myself.”

His heart was bleeding. This money was probably going to be wasted. Second Young Master Hua was notoriously stingy; unless you were a beauty, you could not expect him to part with a single coin.

With the matter resolved, Mo Sigui did not hesitate to offer kind words. “The shopkeeper is truly wise and understanding.”

“Not at all.” The shopkeeper took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat, but his expression had already regained its composure. He smiled and asked, “Young master, you are a man of great talent. May I ask your name?”

Mo Sigui smiled faintly. “I am Mo Ran, courtesy name Sigui.”

Mo Sigui nodded slightly in greeting and led An Jiu and the others away.

The crowd watched their retreating figures, whispering amongst themselves:

“His surname is Mo. He’s not the young master of the Mei family. The Mei family’s children all die young; I knew a young man of that age should be dead by now!”

“Could it be another daughter about to marry out?”

“Tch, ignorant. Years ago, a daughter of the Mei family married out, and his surname was Mo. That must be his offspring.”

“Could it be Mo Dengxian, the Grand Instructor of the Imperial Medical Bureau?”

“So it is the young Divine Physician Mo! The Mei family took him back supposedly to care for their orphaned children, but was the young Divine Physician Mo not doing just fine outside? If you ask me, it is better he had stayed outside. Going to Mei Mansion might have meant he’d be affected by the curse too.”

“Exactly.” A collective sigh rippled through the crowd.

An Jiu, with her keen hearing, said, “You are quite popular in Bianjing.”

These words brought back memories for Mo Sigui.

Back then, he was very young, the only surviving member of the Mo family, with only an old servant by his side. At first, he had to compete with beggars for a place to sleep in a dilapidated temple. The old servant was a close associate of Mo Dengxian and possessed some medical knowledge. Initially, he was able to earn money to support Mo Sigui, even managing to buy a remote, dilapidated thatched hut. However, his age made him increasingly frail.

One harsh winter, he and Mo Sigui both caught a cold. Unable to gather herbs in the mountains and with limited medicine at home, he gave all his medicine to Mo Sigui, refusing to spend money on medicine for himself. Ultimately, he died of his illness.

Mo Sigui was not yet ten years old that year. Born into a family of physicians, he had been immersed in medical training from a young age. A natural medical prodigy, he already knew the properties of thousands of herbs and possessed some medical knowledge and skills. He studied his father’s medical books day and night; began gathering herbs in the mountains; and treated the poor, not for money, but simply to earn a living.

At first, no one believed he could cure illnesses. Fortunately, the old servant had some regular customers, and these poor people could not afford physicians, so they allowed him to treat them out of desperation.

In a short time, he had saved many lives.

Those people were grateful to him, and coupled with his rare and extraordinary talent at such a young age, word spread quickly, exaggerating his medical skills to an almost divine degree, as if he were a reincarnation of a god.

Gradually, many people learned of his reputation, and some terminally ill patients suffering from strange diseases or those incurable by medicine sought him out.

He, in his youthful arrogance, accepted all the patients without question. Many recovered under his care, and some, even those not cured, lived for another year or two, thus further enhancing his fame.

Coming to his senses, Mo Sigui brushed aside his past thoughts and said with a smug smile, “If we were to count the most elegant and refined men in Bianjing, who would not know Mo Sigui?”

Yao-Ye, who had been preoccupied, was amused by his words. “Back then, you were only ten or so years old; how could you be considered an elegant and refined man?”

“It has nothing to do with age,” Mo Sigui laughed heartily. “My parents were amazing; they actually discovered a genius like me.”

How did they discover him? Yao-Ye covered her mouth and chuckled; even An Jiu’s lips twitched slightly.

“Physician Mo.” As if to confirm his words, a clear, melodious female voice called out from behind.

An Jiu immediately recognized the voice—Lou Xiaowu.

The group stopped and turned around, seeing a carriage in front of the restaurant. The woman wore a light yellow dress with a snow-white fox fur coat over it. Even with a veil covering her face, it was clear at a glance that she was young.

“You are…” Mo Sigui looked at her unfamiliar face.

“Many years have passed; perhaps the Divine Physician does not remember me.” Lou Xiaowu stepped forward slowly, her bright, clear eyes gazing at Mo Sigui. “My surname is Lou, and my given name is Xiaowu. You saved my life on this very street years ago.”

Bianjing was truly small! An Jiu sighed inwardly. She knew very few people, yet on her first trip out, she had already encountered two here.

In fact, things were not as An Jiu had imagined. Bianjing had countless shops and streets, but at night, the government did not allow the entire city to stay open. Today, only a few nearby streets were open; the rest were for selling goods, while this particular street was for eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Like Mei, Lou’s children were not allowed to go out freely, only able to accompany her on shopping trips and outings during the year-end season.

As for Hua Rongjian, he was wherever there was entertainment.

“So it was you!” Mo Sigui clicked his tongue. “Girls change so much in eighteen years! You were just a withered weed back then, and now you’ve blossomed into a flower!”

“The Divine Physician still knows how to tease people!” Lou Xiaowu was so excited that she did not notice An Jiu. “Where is the Divine Physician staying now?”

Mo Sigui whispered, “Are you planning to offer yourself to me? There’s no rush!”

“Tch, no way!” Lou Xiaowu stamped her foot. “I have something I’d like to ask for your help with. Is there any convenient place for us to talk?”

Mo Sigui then composed himself, his expression serious. “Did Young Lady Lou come here specifically to see me?”

Lou Xiaowu nodded. “Sort of. I received news that you had arrived in Bianjing, so I thought I’d try my luck here. I did not expect to actually run into you.”

“Ha, it is amazing you still recognize me after all these years!” Mo Sigui said.

Lou Xiaowu smiled slyly and pointed to the carriage. “I saw the Mei family emblem on the carriage. I guessed you were Physician Mo, so I tried calling out your name.”

Mo Sigui felt there was no harm in befriending the Lou family. Besides, the Mei and Lou families were related by marriage, so any contact would not arouse suspicion. “If Young Lady Lou does not mind, please come aboard the carriage for a chat.”

“Alright!” Lou Xiaowu agreed readily.

Once everyone was on the carriage, Lou Xiaowu noticed An Jiu’s presence. Their eyes met, and she widened her gaze. “You are… Fourteenth Young Lady.”

“What’s so strange about her being Fourteenth Young Lady?” Mo Sigui asked.

Lou Xiaowu, remembering she could not casually mention the trial, especially since Mo Sigui was not involved, replied, “Nothing.”

After a moment of stunned silence, Lou Xiaowu suddenly remembered her purpose and quickly pulled a paper package from her bag, handing it to Mo Sigui. “Can you tell if there’s any poison in this?”

Mo Sigui opened the package. Inside was a severed finger!

“Damn it!” Mo Sigui’s hand trembled. “Seeing this thing suddenly gave me a fright!”