Chapter 3: Decoctions

  Pang Luo Xue was worried about how to bring up the matter of Pang Luo Yu with her mother, after all, there was no concrete evidence. After a moment of entanglement, her white and tender face scrunched up like a bun, her hands supporting her cheeks, wondering what to say, what to say. Although she had been reborn, her appearance was still that of a 13-year-old girl, looking delicate and lovely, very much like Yang Shi. Her big eyes, long eyelashes, and slender figure all showed a certain elegance, although her baby fat face had a pointed chin, and her small mouth looked like a cherry, extremely cute. Yang Shi saw her entangled expression and thought she was still worried about not finishing yesterday's homework, and was thinking of how to coax and wheedle her way out of it. With a "pu" sound, Yang Shi burst out laughing.

  "Is Xue'er thinking about the book that Mr. Yesterday taught, trying to remember how to recite it, or is she thinking of how to fool her mother?" Yang asked with a playful and teasing expression.

  Pang Luoxue rolled her eyes inwardly, thinking that Yang Shi was working so hard to protect her, yet she was still smiling at her own embarrassment. She turned over and hugged Yang Shi's waist, sweetly saying "Mother is good at teasing people, yesterday Xue'er worked hard to recite books, but I want to recite them for Father to hear, not for Mother to hear."

  Yang knew that this little girl was going to pester the Duke again, so she scolded her. Gently patting him, she said: "In a few more days, the Empress Dowager's Peony Banquet will be held, and Yu'er has already reached adulthood, it's time for her to get married. Although she is a concubine-born daughter, she was raised in front of me since childhood, so I naturally love her as much as my own biological daughter. This matter still needs to be discussed with your mother, Wang Shifu, after all, she is Yu'er's birth mother. The Empress Dowager has two invitations for the Peony Banquet here, you can go take a look with your sister. The rules in the palace are strict, if you don't want to go, I'll think of an excuse for you. In another month, your brother will be back, and this little rascal will finally have someone to manage her."

  "Mother, I'm going with my sister, you're just teasing me, Snowy won't pay attention to you. When brother comes back, Snowy will be good."

  Thinking about it, when Pang Luosuo was getting married a year ago, her brother didn't agree with the marriage. He went hunting and accidentally fell into a trap and died. It seems that's not the whole story. Since heaven let Pang Luosuo live again, she must protect her loved ones well.

  Just thinking about this, a white cat jumped onto the bed, isn't this Xiao Fuzi? Just as I was about to hug it, it lightly jumped over Pang Luosuo and started licking the medicine soup on the floor. Pang Luosuo's eyes suddenly deepened. She complained to her mother, "In the past, whenever I came near, Xiao Fuzi would play with me, but now it's been bewitched by a bowl of medicine soup. It can be seen that sister put soul-stirring medicine in the soup, Snowy is so heartbroken!"

  After speaking, she picked up Pang Luosuo's wronged face and showed it to her mother.

  "Who are you to be so unreasonable? Fu Tzu is very close to me, your brother gave it to me, and as soon as you came, you smelled the smell and came to find you. It's strange to say that this soup is so bitter, what's good to eat, I think it's hungry, Xiao Yu feeds a fish to Fu Tzu."

  It's strange to say, but Fu Zi didn't notice the fish and instead focused on adding medicine to the soup. Yang Shi, her mother, also felt that something was off, after all, she had grown up in a large mansion with many secrets. Pang Luoxue looked up at her mother's face, which showed a hint of sadness for an instant, sighing that from birth, she had been raised by her own hands, but it turned out that the person she had raised was a wolf in disguise.

  "Xiao Yu, take Fu Zi to one side, Lv Fu thinks of a way to get the medicine ready. I'm not feeling well today, let's ask Wang Taiyi to take my pulse."

  Before long, Dr. Wang arrived and, after feeling her pulse, wrote out a prescription. "Madam's body is not very comfortable, mostly due to overwork, I'll write a prescription, Madam take care of yourself according to this prescription, you will recover in no time, I hope Madam won't be too tired."

  "Thanks for your trouble, Doctor, but I have something else to bother you with, hope you can help me out."

  "It doesn't matter what you say."

  "Xiao Yu, bring the medicinal soup in. Actually, it's not a big deal. I wonder if the imperial physician can explain to me the purpose of the added herbs in this medicinal soup."

  After finishing, the imperial physician picked up the medicine bowl and sniffed it lightly, furrowed his brow, seemingly puzzled, then stretched out his hand to dip a drop and taste it lightly. If the imperial physician knew that this medicinal soup was picked from the ground and licked by Fu Zi, he would definitely be furious.

  "This soup is a great tonic for nourishing the body and calming the mind." As she said this, her mother's brow relaxed and she let out a sigh. "However..."

  "But what's the harm in saying so?"

  "This soup has added Wu Wei Zi, a Chinese herb, as well as a small amount of Zhu Sha and Shu Wei Cao. Although the quantities are extremely small, they cannot escape my discerning tongue. Wu Wei Zi and Zhu Sha have a calming effect on the mind, but these two herbs should not be used together for an extended period, as the medicine will gradually accumulate, leading to insomnia, anxiety, and depletion of one's vital energy. On the other hand, Shu Wei Cao has addictive properties, causing palpitations, shortness of breath, lack of energy, and limb fatigue if not consumed daily."

  Yang heard this and couldn't help but feel a chill, his expression even more desolate. He forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Imperial Physician. I hope you won't tell anyone about what happened today."

  "This is natural, today I just took the pulse for madam, madam has been overworked, resting for a few days will be fine."

  Yang nodded slightly and said to Wang's mother, "See Dr. Tai off properly, and add 500 taels of silver to the account for Dr. Wang."

  "Thank you, madam."

  Only Pang Luoxue and Yang Shi were left in the house, Pang Luoxue looked up to see the crystal clearness in Yang Shi's eyes, and raised her arm to wipe it for her.

  "At that time, your brother was already two years old, and Yu'er had just been born, so small. Wang's mother-in-law was not in good health, so the master brought her over to me to take care of, at that time there was no Xue'er yet, I treated her as my own flesh and blood, until Xue'er was born. But for the sake of being a mother, I thought I had never wronged her half a bit, what you have she also has, it's said that legitimate and illegitimate children are different, but Mother has always treated her like one of our own. Alas..."; saying this, tears could no longer be held back.

  "Mother wasn't wrong about her, she's more like her own mother with a vicious heart. Since Pan Luo Yu isn't familiar with the ways of the world, Mother naturally has to be on guard. If it weren't for Fu Zi today, I'm afraid Mother would have been taken advantage of and wouldn't even know it herself. Mother still has me and my brother, she's not worth shedding tears over that kind of person. Xue Er will get jealous." Pan Luo Xue batted her eyelashes and Yang Shi finally smiled.

  "That peony banquet, Xue Er wants to go with her, but Mother always feels a bit uneasy."

  "It's inevitable that she'll come after me, and I'd like to see what she's capable of. Am I afraid of her?"

  "My little Xue'er, you're growing up and your thoughts are becoming more sophisticated. Don't let your father know about today's events, things in the depths of the mansion aren't that simple. Listen to your mother, do you understand?"

  "Xue Er naturally knows it too, and hopes that her mother can be careful with her, not to take her as her own, Xue Er will really get jealous."

  Yang smiled and said, "Silly child, of course Mother knows. That Wang Concubine is probably involved too, otherwise how would she know so much about the uses of those herbs? Hmph, all these years I've seen her being strong-willed just because she's a concubine who became a consort. Now she's trying to take over as the mistress of the house. Mother has her own plans for this matter, you should focus on your studies instead."

  Suddenly, Pang Luo Xue's face turned red with anger. She hadn't even finished reading the book yet. Her eyes flashed and she said "It's still early tonight, I'll definitely recite it to Father later, Mother won't look down on me." She bowed lightly and backed out, walking to the door when she heard her mother's sigh. A person may not have the intention of harming a tiger, but a tiger always has the heart to harm people. Pang Luo Yu, in this life I will definitely not let you get your way again. Pang Luo Xue turned around and walked away.