Chapter 391: Chapter 391: Fell for It
For lunch, Gu Jiaojiao simmered chicken soup and made chive pockets. She didn’t make rice, but Su Shuochi ate with great relish.
"Honey, want to go check out the new space we rented in the suburbs this afternoon?"
"Let’s go next Sunday. After lunch, you need to take me to the Mu Family’s home. I have to treat Mu Ziquan with the silver needles; he has surgery tomorrow."
"Then I’ll make time to take you to the hospital tomorrow," Su Shuochi said, his voice laced with worry.
"No, don’t. I’m going as Su Gu. It would seem strange if you came along."
"Are you driving there then?"
"No, this car is too recognizable now, so it’s not a good idea to drive it. I’ll go buy a motorcycle this afternoon and have the Mu Family’s Hidden Guard bring it back for me."
Gu Jiaojiao looked at the worried expression on his face and said gently, "You have to be careful when you’re out. Don’t worry about me."
"How could I not worry? If anything happened to you, it would kill me!" Su Shuochi said, gripping his wife’s hand tightly.
Gu Jiaojiao shot him a playful glare, but her tone softened even more. "You really don’t have to worry about me. Just focus on taking care of yourself."
"But..."
"No buts. I’m full. I’m going to call the Mu Family, so hurry up and eat."
He hesitated, still looking worried. "Why don’t you give me a disguise, too? If something were to happen to you, what would I do?"
’Gu Jiaojiao knew what he was worried about, but how could she bear to let him be distracted on her account!’
’Even more, she didn’t want him to get dragged into this because of her.’
"That’s not necessary. What would you need a disguise for? The safest plan is for us to go our separate ways tomorrow."
"Jiaojiao..."
"Hurry and eat, I’m waiting for you!" Gu Jiaojiao said, her tone becoming more insistent when she saw his worried expression.
Su Shuochi looked like he wanted to say more, but in the end, he just lowered his head and polished off the remaining chicken soup and chive pockets.
Gu Jiaojiao looked up and said gently, "There, that’s better! You rest for a bit, I’ll do the dishes."
"Leave rough work like this to your man. It would be my fault if these hands of yours, the ones that save lives, got hurt."
"Haha, I’m not as delicate as you make me out to be." Gu Jiaojiao shot him another playful glare, but she didn’t try to take the dishes from him.
After Su Shuochi finished the dishes, he carried Gu Jiaojiao’s medical kit to the car for her. Chatting and laughing, the couple soon drove into the compound.
As they passed the spot where she had treated the old lady the day before, Gu Jiaojiao glanced over and saw that same woman pacing under a large tree.
"Su Shuochi, listen, I saved an old lady right over there yesterday. Look, she’s still there, pacing back and forth under that big tree."
"Honey, you don’t think she’s waiting for you, do you? Should we go say hello?"
Su Shuochi glanced over. He could tell the old woman wasn’t just out for a casual stroll.
"Let’s not. Saving her was no big deal."
"Alright. Jiaojiao, how long will the silver needle treatment take? I’ll come back to pick you up later."
"Don’t come back for me. Just head straight home after dark. The treatment time is hard to predict; sometimes external factors can have an effect."
Gu Jiaojiao said this casually, afraid that if he spent all his time worrying about her, it would affect his work.
Granny Bo saw an unfamiliar car pass by, but she couldn’t be bothered to give it a second glance, so she missed seeing Gu Jiaojiao in the passenger seat.
Just as Su Shuochi parked the car at the gate to the Mu Family’s courtyard, Mr. Mu himself came out to welcome them.
She turned to him and said, "I think Mr. Mu has been waiting at the gate for us. Don’t get out; just drive off once I’m out of the car."
"Okay," Su Shuochi agreed readily. He also thought Old Mu was being a bit too formal, and it would be a hassle if he got held up in a long conversation.
"Jiaojiao, why isn’t Shuo Ci coming in to sit for a bit?" Old Mu asked, taking the medical kit from Gu Jiaojiao’s hands.
"I think he has to go pick up Geng Haoyi and the others. Besides, he drives me here so often. There will be plenty of time to visit in the future."
"Jiaojiao, my foolish daughter is here again with her adopted daughter and that boyfriend of hers," Old Mu said in a low voice.
"But I thought he had broken ribs and was in the hospital?"
"I have no idea why he’d come to our house while he’s still injured," Mr. Mu said with a sigh of resignation.
"Sigh! If she wasn’t the only child I have left, I would’ve taken a broom and chased her out of the house long ago."
"It’s fine that they’re here. This gives me a chance to meet him," Gu Jiaojiao said with a grin, trying to reassure Old Mu.
’Gu Jiaojiao couldn’t find any clues about this in the original book, since that story was all about the events within Qingcheng Mansion.’
’The original heroine, Sheng Yueyue, had never even stepped outside the mansion grounds, let alone seen the world beyond Qing City.’
Old Mu carried the medical kit as he walked into the living room beside Gu Jiaojiao. ’His daughter had probably already told her future son-in-law that Gu Jiaojiao knew how to use silver needles.’
In the Mu Family living room, it wasn’t just Mu Qingtong, Wang Yuting, and her boyfriend. Elder Xu and his son were there as well.
"Old man Mu, who’s this young lady?" Elder Xu asked, feigning ignorance about Gu Jiaojiao.
"She’s a university student, and she’s incredible. She’s already given my Ziquan two treatments with the silver needles. You old coot, why don’t you take Ziquan’s pulse and see if his condition has improved at all."
Old Mu said with a hearty laugh.
Elder Xu’s son, a man in his fifties and also a professor of Chinese medicine, genuinely didn’t recognize Gu Jiaojiao.
He had a particular dislike for people who were full of themselves. "Young lady, judging by your age, you can’t be more than a freshman, can you?"
"Yes. It’s an honor to meet you, Professor Old Xu and Professor Xiao Xu," Gu Jiaojiao said, lowering her head and speaking timidly.
"Hmph! Are all young people so arrogant these days?" Professor Xiao Xu snorted in displeasure.
’...’ Gu Jiaojiao thought. ’How the hell am I being arrogant?’
"Judging by your expression, you’re still not convinced?"
"Of course I’m not. What right do you have to call me arrogant?" Gu Jiaojiao was genuinely angry now, and her tone was sharp.
"Are silver needles something you can just use on anyone? You’re only eighteen or nineteen. Without at least eight or ten years of study, who would dare to perform acupuncture on a patient by themselves?"
"Well, I’ve been doing it for a few days now, and it’s not like the patient has gotten any worse, has he?" Gu Jiaojiao retorted, a smug look on her face.
"You bitch, you country bumpkin! You think you’re so great after studying under some barefoot doctor in your village for a couple of years? How dare you show off your paltry skills in front of Professor Xu?"
Wang Yuting jumped at any chance she got to mock Gu Jiaojiao. The bit about the village’s barefoot doctor wasn’t something she had just made up.
She kept in regular contact with her parents in the countryside, and they always spoke of their village’s barefoot doctor with great admiration.
She had previously thought Gu Jiaojiao might have some real skill, but seeing Professor Xu practically spitting blood with rage, she decided to kick Gu Jiaojiao while she was down.
"You dare to perform acupuncture on people after just two years of studying with a village barefoot doctor? This is utter nonsense!"
Professor Xiao Xu’s face was beet red with anger, and he looked like he was one step away from slapping Gu Jiaojiao.
’...’ Lin Yu thought. ’Didn’t my supposed future mother-in-law say this person had used silver needles to detoxify Mu Ziquan?’
’So it was all a smokescreen!’
’I’ve been had!’
’And I even dragged myself all the way here while I was injured.’ At the thought, Lin Yu felt a sharp, exceptional pain from his broken ribs.
