Zui Xiang Lou was always bustling with patrons. When the two arrived, it was mealtime, and all private rooms were occupied.
Mo Sang didn't mind and found a seat in the main hall.
Mid-meal, she overheard the neighboring table discussing the victory in Northern Xinjiang. Mo Sang listened for a moment and exclaimed, "Has Situ Yan returned to the capital?"
Cheng Beizheng grunted, "He entered the city yesterday."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Cheng Beizheng discontentedly placed a piece of spare rib on her plate. "What does his return to the capital have to do with you?"
"I need to see him. We've known each other for some time, and of course, I should go and check on him after he returns from the battlefield. If he has any hidden injuries, I can treat them."
Cheng Beizheng said sourly, "You care about him quite a bit, but he probably doesn't need you. The most famous Imperial Physician, Physician Ji, is his close friend from school."
"There's a difference between the physicians of your Dayin and those of my Western Xinjiang."
"Heh, Physician Ji is most skilled in the art of witchcraft and蛊 (gǔ - sorcery/poisonous insects). The most popular treatment for headaches in the capital now was developed by him, using the wings of a specific蛊虫 (gǔ chóng - sorcery insect) as medicine."
Mo Sang's eyes lit up. "Wow, really? Then I must ask Situ Yan to introduce me. That physician must have the medicinal texts from my Western Xinjiang."
"What medicinal texts?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Mo Sang happily popped the spare rib into her mouth, her appetite clearly much larger than when she first arrived.
Cheng Beizheng: ......
Can't she have the slightest awareness that she just argued with his future mother-in-law?
Cheng Beizheng was sulky the entire evening. Even the thick-skinned Mo Sang noticed it. After bidding farewell to the last guest, she couldn't help but ask, "Husband, are you still worried about Mother? Don't worry, I'm very sensible. As long as she doesn't provoke me, I won't attack her. At most, at most, I'll just scare her with Wanwan."
"I don't know what's wrong. My mother's temper has become increasingly irritable since returning to the capital. She scolds people at the slightest disagreement. When she was in Yangzhou, she was always like a lady of high status, but now..." Cheng Beizheng sighed. Sometimes, he and Jiaojiao didn't want to talk to her much.
He even thought it might be good to let her be scared by Wanwan.
After all, Wanwan only looked scary. After getting to know her, she was quite cute.
Alas, he was truly unfilial.
Mo Sang said, "Oh, women, once they get older, are prone to a kind of manic syndrome. Their liver fire is strong. If they can't release it, it gets suppressed in their hearts, and when it comes out, it's like your mother."
Cheng Beizheng asked curiously, "Is there such a disease?"
"Yes, women around forty or fifty are generally like this. You can observe carefully and you'll find it. However, it's not a serious illness. The status of women in Dayin is low, and no one pays much attention to their emotional illnesses. It will pass in a few years anyway."
"Can this illness be cured?"
"At most, we can prescribe some medicine to reduce the fire. The main thing is to go along with her and keep her in a good mood."
Cheng Beizheng immediately deflated. "If we truly go along with her, our lives will be unbearable."
What his mother wanted was for her children to be obedient and her marriage to be harmonious. But her nature was too strong-willed. In the early years, his father was in charge, and she was just a secondary wife. Above her were the two sons from the first wife. She had to restrain herself. But now that her son was in charge, according to her, shouldn't she get back all the grievances she suffered before?
However, his father wasn't a complete pushover; he couldn't let her control everything.
If the wife was not virtuous, there were plenty of charming and considerate young women eager to please him.
Cheng Beizheng felt a headache just thinking about it. If Jiaojiao hadn't already secured the Young Duke, his mother would have made her suffer so much just over the marriage.
Now, it was his turn.
Imperial Palace, Imperial Medical Office
Today was Physician Ji's duty. Under the lamplight, he was engrossed in a medical book— "Western Xinjiang Toxicology."
There were many poisons in the world that were colorless and odorless, but to use them on humans, they had to be ingested. Even with poisonous insects, one needed an opportunity for close contact.
After being poisoned once, Situ Jue became even more cautious. Even if he had many potent poisons, they were useless if he couldn't get close.
With a month having passed since his marriage to Princess Hui Ge, he was growing increasingly impatient.
He had given Princess Hui Ge sufficient respect during the wedding. Now, if he were to frequent brothels, no one would dare to find fault with him.
In other words, he could go to Sheng Ge at any moment.
The thought of her resolute expression when she spoke of revenge sent a tremor of panic through Ji Jin.