(Content Warning: This chapter contains mentions of past parental abuse. If you are experiencing a negative impact in any way, please seek immediate professional help. Please take care of your mental health!)
In the center of the capital there was a small apothecary shop tucked away just off the main road. It was quite easy to miss if it weren't for the scent of all sorts of herbs and spices lingering in the air. The man running it was certainly over qualified to be a simple apothecary. He was, in fact, a doctor by the name of Jingji Teng. A kind hearted man with a serious face, he found it was a lot easier to help others as an apothecary and get away with charging less for treatment. He was more focused on others' wellbeing over profit, unlike most physicians.
Dr. Jingji was an old friend of Xueye's mother and had always insisted he be the one Xueye go to should he ever need medical assistance or simply safe refuge from Xueye's father. So he was undoubtedly Xueye's first thought when it not only came to someone to consult about his new shipment but also as one to purchase such items.
"Xueye!" Dr. Jingji jumped up from his idle boredom behind the counter upon seeing the young man enter the shop.
"It's good to see you again, Doctor," Xueye smiled warmly as Dr. Jingji dashed around the counter.
"Please tell me you are well and this is just a personal visit," Dr. Jingji's brows knitted with worry as he locked the door to the shop and closed the screens over the windows to appear closed.
"More business, but I've been doing well, so don't worry," Xueye chuckled. The doctor always jumped to the worst conclusion whenever he visited, at least ever since his mother passed.
"Very good," Dr. Jingji visibly relaxed and waved him towards the doorway to the back room. "Come, I'll make us some tea."
"Has everything been well here at the shop?" Xueye asked as he pushed past the curtain in the doorway and sat at the table while the doctor skimmed the drawers of his stock to pick the herbs to use for the tea.
"It's about the same as always, you just happened to stop by when it was slow," Dr. Jingji picked a few herbs and set them on the counter and went to bring the water to a boil. "Has everything at home been well?"
"Just as rocky as ever I'm afraid," Xueye sighed.
"He hasn't hurt you has he?" Dr. Jingji's chestnut eyes turned sharp as he scanned Xueye for a reaction that might indicate he was hurt but trying to hide it.
"Not since that 'anonymous letter' you sent him all those years ago," Xueye chuckled. He recalled his father keeping his distance for a time before shipping him off to Vual. Before his departure he'd stumbled across the anonymous letter in his father's study and recognized the doctor's horrid handwriting. "The only thing he bruises these days is my pride."
"You know I can craft a poison that will make it look like an accident," Dr. Jingji said with a completely straight face.
"Don't joke about that," Xueye laughed in disbelief.
"What makes you think I'm joking," Dr. Jingji turned to pull apart the herbs he intended for the tea.
"He's not worth wasting your precious stock," Xueye was a little worried he might actually do it one day. It certainly wasn't the first time he brought it up. "Especially since I'm about to get you some rarities."
"Rarities?" Dr. Jingji raised a brow in interest.
"Would you like any of these?" Xueye smirked and pushed the manifest across the table closer to the doctor. "I marked down how much I believe will be left over after the palace stores are filled."
"Where did you find these?!" Dr. Jingji's eyes widened at the list, not only its contents but the quantities were almost unheard of.
"The army found it in the eastern wildlands," Xueye smiled at his reaction. Certainly this was an exceptional find for him to react as such. "I'm just handling transit and the excess is the company's to sell."
"I'll definitely take enough of each to fill my stores here," Dr. Jingji gestured to the small drawers that ran from floor to ceiling along three of the walls. He set the manifest back down and moved to finish preparing the tea. "Do you have a plan for the excess? I can't keep all of it and some of that won't keep terribly long."
"That's also why I stopped by," Xueye glanced over the list once more himself. "I don't know nearly as much as you do and some of these I've never heard of. So I'd like to know what they all do, how well they keep, and if it's possible to be able to grow more of some of them."
"What a clever prospect, some of those were thought to be extinct. I suppose it would depend on how it was harvested and the environment they end up being grown in," Dr. Jingji poured some tea for Xueye before he went to the small bookshelf in the corner. He picked out a rather thick book and sat at the table to flip through it until he found one of the herbs on the list. "It may be quite the investment should it work out."
"My thoughts exactly," Xueye beamed. "Especially if it helps others, all the more reason to figure out if it's even possible."
"Clever and gracious as ever," Dr. Jingji chuckled warmly. He was always grateful Xueye turned out to take after his mother. "I assume you also came to me because you wish to keep this plan from your father."
"To a degree, yes," Xueye closed his eyes. "I get the feeling he'd disagree on the time and effort this sort of investment would take, especially if it takes some of the product we are receiving."
"If you'd like, you can hide some of it away in the storehouse of mine," the doctor suggested. "I'm more than happy to even purchase the excess so he doesn't suspect anything amiss."
"I won't charge you for that," Xueye shook his head. "If anything I should be paying you for the space."
"What do you plan to do then?" Dr. Jingji knitted his brow with worry. As far as he knew, this was the biggest risk Xueye had ever taken in the company. "It won't be easy to hide the amount you might need for trial and error on cultivating it."
"I was considering acquiring a new warehouse, provided I can find one that has the right conditions to keep those. The Brightness Festival isn't that far away, I can start making preparations for the necessary goods, certainly the rice and herbs people usually buy around this time would be a good cover."
"Not a bad idea, just take care in storing the Demon Nettle, Drake Weed, Thunder God Vine, Black Henbane, and Serpent Cassia." The doctor found each page the herbs were depicted and showed Xueye what they looked like. "They are poisonous in larger amounts. Traces of them can be beneficial in medicine but lethal in higher dosages. The Serpent Cassia comes from a bark though so there's no reproducing that one."
"Yes, I figured that one was related to the Cassia we use in cooking," Xueye was tapping his finger on the table as he processed all the information. "Interesting that this variety is poisonous. Definitely better to distribute that right away to avoid any potential mix ups in goods. Are there any other look-alikes on this list?"
"Dream Root looks a lot like ginger on the outside but the internal color is more of a rich honey color, it smells sweet as well," Dr. Jingji showed him the page on Dream Root.
"It's not poisonous though? What does it do?" Xueye couldn't help but be a little curious about it.
"Relaxation mostly," the Doctor stated. "It got its name because if the subject remains awake, it induces a dream-like state where one has a hard time determining reality from a dream. However, in a tea before bed, it will be the best night sleep you'll ever have."
"I might need to keep some of that one for myself," Xueye chuckled. It had been a while, but he was prone to restless or sleepless nights.
"Have you been having issues with that again?" Dr. Jingji looked at him a little worried. "You know I'll make you something to help you rest. Though, this keeps a while when it's whole, you might not need anything from me anymore,"
"It's been a while but certainly wouldn't hurt to keep it on hand," Xueye smiled. "You don't need to worry so much. I may be stubborn but you've drilled it into me to come to you for even the little things after all," Xueye sighed as he took a sip of tea, "I'm too busy to allow myself the inconvenience of being tired, sick, or injured, anyways."
"Yet here you are making more work for yourself," Dr. Jingji sighed heavily. "What brought about this act of defiance anyways? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you, but I thought you were content biding your time these days."
"I met someone the other day," Xueye smiled fondly thinking about Shujing. "He's the one that directed me towards this shipment. Seems like he dislikes my father about as much as we do. He's quite invested in helping me take the company."
"Quite the rare breed," Dr. Jingji noticed how much Xueye lit up. He hadn't seen Xueye this delighted about something since before his mother passed. "Seems you found a good companion if he's convinced you to take your life back."
"Hmm, perhaps that is what he's doing," Xueye stared into his cup of tea. "He keeps urging me to do little things for myself, gets me thinking about possibilities."
"Good, hold onto that one," Dr. Jingji had tried countless times over the years to convince Xueye he doesn't need to live under his father's thumb. Even if he isn't the one to convince Xueye, he was glad someone was able to get through.
"Yes, he's a delight to spend time with, I just really hope he doesn't turn out like the others," Xueye still had a nagging sense of caution when it came to friends. The faintest fear in the back of his mind that Shujing would betray him at some point. That thought pained his heart.
"Don't cling to past experiences too hard, you'll miss out on future happiness if you do," Dr. Jingji softly warned, knowing all about the young man's run-ins with fakes and betrayers. While he didn't want him to get hurt it was far more important to him that Xueye find joy where he could.
"You're right," Xueye let out a breath before sipping more tea. "In any case we are getting a little sidetracked, I don't want you to miss out on more business on my behalf."
"Nonsense, I have a shipment to prepare for so now I need to clean this place up and organize it." Dr. Jingji waved away the notion. "I'll stay closed for the rest of the day even if Laoying shows up to help today, I'll make her assist me."
"How is that apprentice of yours? Can't say I've seen her in a while." Xueye recalled the day she first came in and demanded the doctor take her under his wing. He just happened to be visiting at the time. Her determination was quite admirable but at first Dr. Jingji refused. She still kept coming back everyday and helped him around the shop and observed him work. Eventually the doctor caved and started training her properly at least as an apothecary. She still tries to learn the medical trade from observation and reading.
"She's as tenacious and spry as ever," Dr. Jingji sighed, almost sounding annoyed. "She's smart though, she's learned so much in such a short amount of time."
"Good to hear," Xueye laughed.
"Look who's getting off topic now," Dr. Jingji teased, his usually tense face showing a rare smirk.
"You're right, even if you aren't open, I still have work to do today," Xueye thought aloud.
"If you have other business to attend to, you can just take this reference book with you for now," the doctor closed it and pushed it towards Xueye. "Laoying has it memorized by now. It should have all the information you are looking for. If you still have questions after looking it over you can always come back."
"Thank you, I'll bring it back soon," Xueye smiled warmly, tucking the manifest just inside the cover. However he wasn't going to leave until he finished his tea. "Before I go, I was wondering about something, you're pretty knowledgeable. Have you ever heard of the moon-touched?"
"I don't know much," the doctor was a bit surprised to hear such a term again after so many years. "Supposedly they are given abilities by the Moon Goddess. Your mother believed that was a trait that runs in your family."
"She really said that?" Xueye was shocked. His mother always called him blessed, but he always thought that was her way of comforting him whenever his father said the opposite. "Then is that what she meant? She never directly said anything like that."
"She probably didn't want your father to have another reason to dislike you," Dr. Jingji looked sad as he spoke of Xueye's departed mother, they were quite close friends after all and could never get over her passing. "She always did want the best for you."
"As far as I'm aware, I don't have any strange ability, however I met Lady Guangming today and she told me I was moon-touched," Xueye couldn't wrap his head around the whole idea of it.
"If Lady Guangming says as such then I don't doubt it to be true," Dr. Jingji had only ever heard the term moon-touched from Xueye's mother and Shizhe, back when he used to work as the palace physician. "She would be the best person to ask about it. As far as I'm aware she's pulled just about every literary piece in the kingdom on the subject in search of answers about her own abilities."
"Well she invited me to have tea with her," Xueye smiled. "So perhaps the next free moment I get I'll have to see her again."
"Good, she's a wonderful person, if you ever need help or advice she'll certainly help you without hesitation," Dr. Jingji smiled softly. "She reminds me of your mother when she was younger."
"Really?" Xueye laughed. "I wonder if that's why Xinhua was so drawn to her."
"It's quite possible," the doctor nodded.
"Well, I best be off," Xueye placed his empty teacup on the table. He gathered up the book and stood. "Thank you for the advice and the tea."
"Take care, Xueye, I wish you luck on this business venture of yours," Dr. Jingji smiled softly as he walked Xueye out.
"I'll see you again soon," Xueye waved back before the doctor closed and locked the door behind him.
So as to not arouse too much suspicion from his father, Xueye returned to the office to complete some of the more mundane tasks he typically presided over. It was simple dull work, so it allowed him some time to get his thoughts in order.
He still couldn't imagine himself being moon-touched like Shizhe implied, but after hearing what the doctor had to say, how could he keep doubting the notion? He'd heard a story countless times from his mother, that every few generations a child would be born into the Meigui family that had white hair. She mentioned that when it did happen that child would be a blessing upon the Meigui family. Xueye's father married into the family so he never shared the same belief. With his father's superstitious nature, he fully believed Xueye was a cursed child despite the family legends.
Xueye wished he could ask more about the story from his mother. Since Xueye's grandparents had also long since passed, the next best thing he could do would be to see Shizhe again. Having not only Xinhua's glowing review but Dr. Jingji's, he felt a lot better about the idea of seeing her again. Whether he was moon-touched or not, likely wouldn't change anything in his day to day life, since it hadn't affected him thus far beyond his unique appearance.
He took a moment to assess his schedule for the week and consider his little secret project's tasks before settling on a good time to spend a moment with Shizhe. His curiosity was getting the better of him. He figured he'd write a letter to Shizhe to let her know when he'd be stopping by. He needed to write to Shujing as well in regards to the progress on the shipment and his idea about investing in cultivating should Shujing have any particular suggestions on the matter.
"Xueye!" A familiarly grating voice called from his office's doorway. Xueye rolled his eyes, pausing the writing of his letter to Shujing to give a pointed glare at his father, which was ignored. "What is this request for transit? You think this amount of manpower grows on trees? Why do you even need this many guards?"
"Surely, you've heard of the banditry in the east," Xueye sat back and closed his eyes as he spoke, trying to suppress his annoyance. "It's necessary for protecting incoming assets that will be of great benefit to the company. Besides, I'm the one handling this contract, I will handle the arrangements."
"And just what are these assets?" Xueye's father hissed as he crossed his arms.
"I'm acquiring stock for the Brightness Festival early, is that really such a problem?" Xueye lied rather convincingly with a sweet smile. "We get so busy leading up to it I thought I'd get a head start."
His father was silent. His furious eyes flitting down at Xueye's desk briefly. Xueye casually leaned on his desk, resting his head in his hands as a way to discreetly hide the letter he was writing.
"I asked if it was a problem, father," Xueye flashed a cheeky smirk.
"You should have consulted me first before deciding on your own," his father grumbled bitterly.
"I ran into an exceptional deal that I couldn't pass up," Xueye beamed. "It was time sensitive."
"Just be sure to finish the rest of your work as well," his father waved him off as he left with a huff.
Xueye waited a moment before he let out a breath. He didn't know how much his father saw, if anything at all, but for the time being it seemed he bought the lie. Now he just actually needed to acquire other goods from the east for the caravan to pick up along the way. He knew he couldn't hide it forever but the less his father knew, the likelihood of him interfering was minimal.
Xueye looked down at the letter to Shujing and couldn't help but smile at the thought of the man. How he wanted to speak far more than he could fit in a letter. Tell him about his excitement, concerns, and the unique interactions he was running into lately. He wanted to hear his thoughts and opinions on it all. Overall, he stuck to the basic formal update he intended, with one addition, written with a fond smile on his lips:
If you have the time, I'd much rather hear your input in person. It would be wonderful if we could meet sooner rather than later.