Resplendent – Chapter 501

Chapter 501: Forming Good Karma

Well, indeed. How many people could resist the charm of a senior pharmacist? It had been many years since a female senior pharmacist last appeared. She wondered whether that little girl might give her a pleasant surprise.

The Marchioness straightened up from her husband’s embrace and asked, “The senior apothecary assessment begins in five days, correct? We should have seats on the viewing platform, right?”

“If the weather cooperates, it should indeed begin in five days. Our viewing seats aren’t too far from those of the Duke’s family. Why? interested?” Marquis Dongping felt a surge of excitement at the thought that his wife would be staying at their residence for a few days. During the assessment, he could see her every day.

“Yes, I’m thinking of going to join the excitement.” Marchioness Dongping lifted her brows slightly and added, “I feel that the little girl and her brothers didn’t come out today merely for leisure or hunting.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?” The Marquis, calming his excitement, asked casually.

“Think about it. When do the noble youths of the capital ever come to this area for hunting? I only chose this small manor because it’s quiet. Around here, other than a small hill, there isn’t anything interesting at all.”

She wasn’t wrong. When the capital’s young nobles went hunting, they usually chose Xiang Mountain, fifty li east of the city. It has beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, and even a racetrack at the foot of the mountain where horse races and polo matches were often held. The young girl was new to the capital and might not know, but her brothers who were well-known experts in riding and archery certainly would have reminded her.

“Then what do you think they came for?” The Marquis felt increasingly puzzled.

“I know!” A child’s clear, bright voice sounded from behind them.

The couple turned around to see their second son, the little rascal, holding a large sheet of paper, grinning as he stood behind them.

“Don’t appear suddenly behind people. If someone were timid, you’d scare their soul right out of them!” Marchioness Dongping stood up from her husband’s arms as if nothing had happened and sat down beside him on the daybed.

Han Mufei was long accustomed to seeing his parents glued to each other. He said matter-of-factly, “I’ve been standing behind you for ages. You were chatting so happily that I didn’t have the heart to interrupt. Father, Mother, you two really just ignore me, huh?”

“Well, you’re young, small, and easy to overlook. That’s your own fault,” the mother threw the blame right back at her son.

Han Mufei pouted. “I’m not that small anymore. Sister Ye is five years older than me, but we’re about the same height!”

“Are you not embarrassed when comparing yourself to a young girl? A girl being a little short is called petite, delicate and adorable, like a little bird leaning on one’s shoulder. You being short is just being a stubby little lump. You won’t even be able to get a wife in the future!” Marchioness Dongping criticized her son out of sheer habit.

Han Mufei’s mental fortitude was far beyond ordinary. He handed the sheet of large writing he’d made to his father first, then deliberately teased his mother, “I know why Sister Ye came to the western outskirts. Don’t you want to know?”

“Speak if you have something to say, and if you have to—Ahem, just spit it out! Don’t drag things out like a coward. That’s not manly at all!” She caught her husband’s faint look and quickly swallowed the coarse word she’d been about to say. Even restrained, her tone still carried her usual boldness.

Marquis Dongping smiled and shook his head. Wasn’t it precisely her natural, bold, and unrestrained personality that he loved? If she changed all that, she wouldn’t be her anymore. To love her meant loving all of her, including her little flaws.

Han Mufei pursed his lips. Under his mother’s threatening gaze, he slowly said, “I asked Brother Gu Ming about it. Sister Ye wants to pick a location nearby to build a pharmaceutical factory. It seems she has her eye on our estate and the neighboring one.”

“Brother Gu Ming? That’s the little girl’s adoptive brother, isn’t it? A pharmaceutical factory… Her adoptive brother sounds like he has a northern accent. Could it be that the two of them came from Yan City?” Marchioness Dongping exchanged a glance with her husband, each seeing the same realization in the other’s eyes.

“Yan City? What’s wrong with that?” Now it was Han Mufei’s turn to be confused.

“Remember the instant medicine you took last time when you caught a cold?” Marchioness Dongping gently patted her son’s head. “That was produced by Yan City’s Gu Pharmaceutical.”

“Gu Pharmaceutical? Does that mean Sister Ye is connected to Gu Pharmaceutical?” Han Mufei, who often roamed outside, had naturally heard of its reputation. He used to have to drink bitter decoctions whenever he got sick. They were absolutely dreadful. But now, thanks to Gu Pharmaceutical, illness wasn’t nearly as frightening!

“I know many families who have people travel all the way to Yan City just to buy their medicines! If a factory were built in the capital, the city would naturally be supplied first, and we’d benefit as well. If that’s really the case, why don’t we just sell the estate to her at half price or even give half of it away?”

Although Marchioness Dongping said this, she still felt a bit reluctant. After all, she had lived in this estate for several years and had poured a lot of effort and emotion into arranging it just the way she liked. But forming a good relationship with Gu Pharmaceutical could only be beneficial to them.

Marquis Dongping smiled and shook his head. “Today, they didn’t mention buying our estate at all. It’s surely because you’ve lived here for so long, so they don’t want to take away something you love. If you were to give it to them hastily, it would seem too deliberate. They wouldn’t accept it, and it would just create awkwardness between the families. Today, you had a pleasant conversation with the little girl; that’s already forming a good bond. Let everything take its natural course!”

Marchioness Dongping thought about it and realized he was right. If she rushed to offer the estate, it would seem like she was flattering them for no reason, and might backfire, ruining the goodwill of the day.

She sighed and said, “Tell me, how was their daughter raised? She can make medicine, she can cook, and she has such a good temperament… The Duke and his wife are so lucky! Why didn’t I end up with such a capable girl?”

“Mother! You and Father can have another daughter and raise her well from the start, then you wouldn’t have to envy anyone else!” Han Mufei said mischievously.

“Get out, you little brat! When adults are talking, there’s no room for little kids like you to interrupt! Go to the study and copy the Classic of Filial Piety from start to finish. I’ll check it tonight!”

Marquis Dongping gave his son a glare and punished him before his mother could intervene. If his wife had tried, the boy would have ended up scolded even worse. He’d already experienced her little whip!

Han Mufei grumbled in protest, “I didn’t say anything wrong! Both my brother and I want a sweet, gentle, adorable little sister. Father, don’t you often say you hope for a daughter too?”

Marchioness Dongping stretched out her long leg and kicked her youngest son in the rear, sending the little rascal stumbling forward a few steps. She laughed as she scolded him, “Your father’s just tired of your fussing and wants to trade you in for an obedient, sensible little girl!”

“But I do want a little sister! A sister as pretty as Sister Ye!” Han Mufei held his backside, looked back at his parents with a pitiful expression, and trudged dejectedly toward the study.