Chapter 53: Best Friends
Anning Village, Su Family.
Zhang Zhaodi sized up Jiang Jing, pulled Su Yaoguang to a corner, and whispered, "My dear girl, although we’ve temporarily earned some money, we still have a scholar to support at home. How can we afford to feed another one? You have to change this habit of bringing people home randomly."
"Mother, Jiang Jing is very capable. She knows medicine," Su Yaoguang said. "With her help, our skin care cream can surely be improved."
"She looks about your age, maybe even younger. What kind of medical skills can she have? Don’t be fooled," Zhang Zhaodi frowned. "I’ve heard you mention her situation. Let’s not have her repay the burial money for her father. Just let her go, anywhere she wants, as long as she doesn’t stay with us."
"Mother, she’s really good." In a past life, when she had just become the Champion Scholar’s wife, she fell seriously ill. If it weren’t for her saving her, she would have been dead long ago.
At that time, she realized that she had been poisoned and alerted her to investigate those around her. Having trusted Xiao Yanci too much, she told him about it, and the next day Xiao Yanci killed the cook in the household, claiming that the cook’s daughter, who used to be Xiao Yanci’s maid, tried to climb into his bed and was sent away by her. Bearing a grudge, she tampered with her food.
Later, Jiang Jing was called to West Zhou City to see patients, staying away for three months. It was during those three months that she fell grievously ill, not knowing Xiao Yanci’s true nature until her death.
Besides that, at a noble lady’s banquet, she was drugged, and it was Jiang Jing who helped her detoxify, preventing humiliation. Jiang Jing had done her a great kindness. Now encountering her during such dire times, she could not ignore her. Not to mention that they were already intimate friends in a previous life, thus even more so she couldn’t ignore her now.
Jiang Jing kneeled before Zhang Zhaodi, kowtowing and saying, "Sister Yaoguang helped me bury my father, which means she has bought me. From now on, I’m Sister Yaoguang’s maid."
"I don’t need a maid, consider yourself my sister." Su Yaoguang lifted Jiang Jing and said, "Mother, you see how obedient Xiaojing is. Haven’t you always said that having only one daughter is lonely? Well now, I’ve found you a little daughter."
Zhang Zhaodi looked at Su Yaoguang, then at Jiang Jing, waved her hand, and said, "Alright, you win, she can stay! But let me say this in advance, if you’re disobedient or do anything bad to our family, I will drive you out immediately. As you can see, our family’s situation isn’t great, and you won’t have a good life with us. Think carefully before deciding."
"My mother agreed, hurry and call her godmother," Su Yaoguang urged.
"Godmother, please accept a kowtow from your daughter," Jiang Jing kowtowed.
Zhang Zhaodi’s face softened. "Get up! I’ll go cook."
"I said I’d empty my room for Wang Shu, but it seems that’s not going to happen. Next time I go to the city, I’ll tell Wang Shu. He’s staying at the academy and only comes back once a month, so he’ll just have to keep staying in the woodshed. I’ll sleep with Xiaojing. Once we earn more silver and move to the city to rent a shop, then we’ll find a place with more rooms."
"Xiaojing, come with me to pick vegetables later." Zhang Zhaodi called out.
"Alright, godmother."
Zhang Zhaodi took Jiang Jing outside, walked around the village. In no time, everyone in the village knew Zhang Zhaodi had adopted a goddaughter, and this goddaughter had a black birthmark on her face.
Zhang Zhaodi kept watching Jiang Jing. When the villagers showed disdain towards her birthmark, her expression didn’t change.
"You don’t mind?" Zhang Zhaodi asked.
"Godmother, this birthmark wasn’t natural." Jiang Jing said. "My family’s ancestors were all doctors. One day, when my parents went to the city to treat a patient, I was left home alone, and some strangers came to my house, rummaged through it, and took a box. Before leaving, they fed me a pill, and I was in unbearable pain. Luckily, my parents rushed back and managed to give me an antidote before I died. But it only saved my life, and when I woke up, these black marks appeared on my face, like a birthmark."
"My father said there’s still residual poison in my body, so he kept working on various antidotes over the years. Unfortunately, before he could create one, floods ravaged our hometown, washing away everything we had and taking my mother as well. We fled, narrowly escaping death multiple times, until recently when my father fell gravely ill, with no medicine to treat him."
"These black marks are indeed unsightly, but without them, I would not have survived many calamities on the road to escape. Godmother, during our escape, human nature is truly terrifying!"
Zhang Zhaodi’s eyes reddened, pulling up her hand, showing less wariness and more sympathy: "You’re also a person with a tragic life. Don’t be afraid anymore, we are family now."
Su Yaoguang noticed that Zhang Zhaodi’s attitude changed after taking Jiang Jing out for a trip. She approached Zhang Zhaodi curiously, asking what happened and why she suddenly had a change of heart.
Zhang Zhaodi said, somewhat annoyed, "She called me godmother, so of course, I have to treat her like a daughter. You’re the elder sister, so be considerate to your younger sister."
Su Yaoguang: "..."
Great, now she’s going to lose favor.
In a past life, when Su Yaoguang knew Jiang Jing, there was no black mark on her face. Now, there’s an additional black mark, obviously for some reason. She didn’t ask about the black mark’s origin, understanding that no woman wouldn’t care about her appearance, so there was no need to bring it up.
Su Yaoguang gave her own clothes to Jiang Jing to change into.
At this moment, Jiang Jing already showed the serene demeanor she had in the future. She spoke little, and whenever she did, it was to the point. She didn’t joke or laugh, perhaps naturally so, or maybe having experienced too much, she had no more youthful innocence.
Thus, Jiang Jing stayed in Anning Village, becoming Su Yaoguang’s sworn sister. Su Yaoguang took her along for everything she did. The villagers, initially pointing and talking, eventually grew used to her presence. Once the novelty wore off, they paid less attention to Jiang Jing, allowing Su Yaoguang not to take her everywhere.
"Xiaojing." Su Yaoguang headed towards the well, seeing Jiang Jing carrying water, she strode over and grabbed the bucket from her hands. "Who asked you to carry water? You don’t have the strength for this."
"You’re also a girl, why should you be the only one carrying water?" Jiang Jing replied, "If you can do it, I can too. From now on, you take one day, and I’ll take the next."
"Are you silly?" Su Yaoguang chuckled, "This kind of labor is avoided if possible, yet you insist on sharing it."
"You’re sillier," Jiang Jing pursed her lips, "You’ve been doing all the hard work at home. You’re a young girl, it shouldn’t be so tough. Since I’m your sister, I should share the burden."
"See how lucky I am, to just pick up such a good sister," Su Yaoguang said with a smile, "But Xiaojing, really, you don’t need to carry water. If you really want to help me, I want to make some scar-removing skin care cream. Help me figure out how to modify the formula so it nourishes the skin and removes scars at the same time."
"Speaking of scar-removing ointment, I can make that. But I don’t know about skin care cream, so I’m not sure if I can help," Jiang Jing said, "Let’s go back and give it a try."