Ah Qiao

Extra: Meng He Shu (1)

The first time I met Ah Qiao was in a tavern.

A troublesome guest had grabbed hold of her and refused to let go, insisting that the food she served had made him feel unwell.

He demanded that she drink a pot of wine with him before he would let her leave.

Even the tavern keeper wasn't on her side, pushing her towards the guest:

"It's just a drink to smooth things over. Why are you crying?"

I was worried because Yu Zhe had also eaten the food she prepared.

I tested the food for poison with a silver needle and checked the man's pulse.

When the guest denied any wrongdoing, I quietly threatened him:

"You're fine now, but if my needle were just an inch off, things could have turned out differently."

Lu Yan, without a word, casually wiped his sword, adding to the intimidation.

Realizing he was outmatched, the guest reluctantly left.

"Miss, it's okay now," Lu Yan said, extending his hand to Ah Qiao, who was hiding under the table. "Don't be afraid."

Yu Zhe clapped her hands and looked at Lu Yan with admiration:

"Brother Lu Yan, you're amazing! You scared him off in an instant!"

My heart sank.

It had always been this way—no matter what I did, in Yu Zhe's eyes, Lu Yan was the true hero.

We had grown up together, but Lu Yan had always been the most outstanding among us.

In both martial arts and scholarship, I couldn't compare to him, which is why Yu Zhe's gaze never lingered on me.

The only thing I excelled at was medicine, a skill passed down through my family, and in that, Lu Yan couldn't surpass me.

But Ah Qiao didn't look at Lu Yan; through her teary eyes, she turned her head and looked at me:

"...Thank you."

This was the first time someone noticed me when Lu Yan was around.

From that moment, I got to know Ah Qiao.

No matter what I did, Yu Zhe only had eyes for Lu Yan.

But without needing to do anything, Ah Qiao's eyes were always on me.

So, whenever I was feeling down and dejected, I would always go to find Ah Qiao.

But Ah Qiao didn't know that I liked Yu Zhe; she thought I came just to see her.

With Ah Qiao, if there was something good to eat, nothing seemed worth being sad about:

"Feeling down? How about pairing some pear blossom wine with a bit of yellow croaker?"

As the smooth pear blossom wine went down my throat, I couldn't bear to deceive her any longer.

I came to her because Yu Zhe was going to marry Lu Yan, and it pained me:

"Ah Qiao, every time I come to you, it's when I'm sad. Don't you hate this about me?"

Ah Qiao took a crisp bite of the dried fish and shook her head as if it were the most natural thing in the world:

"If you think of me when you're sad, it means you rely on me.

"I've always been alone, with no one to talk to. When you come, it makes me very happy.

"And with you, Divine Doctor Meng, around, no one dares to bully me."

At that moment, hearing Ah Qiao's reliance on me stirred something in my heart.

Perhaps it was the intensity of the pear blossom wine, perhaps it was the beauty of the moonlight that night.

Perhaps it was out of spite towards Yu Zhe, or perhaps, in that moment, I truly felt something for her.

Without thinking, I blurted out:

"Then how about you marry me?"

The moonlight illuminated Ah Qiao's face, which turned a deep shade of red in an instant.

She was so startled that she forgot to finish biting through the dried fish in her mouth and hurriedly nodded.

Later, on our wedding night, Ah Qiao told me.

She had originally wanted to be reserved and say she needed time to think it over, but she was afraid of hurting my feelings, so she immediately nodded in agreement.

That night, with the candlelight softly glowing, she wore her phoenix headdress and looked at me with a gentle smile:

"Back when I worked at the tavern, the tavern keeper once said he'd have to think about whether to keep me on or not.

"He took three days to decide, and those three days were agonizing for me. I couldn't stand or sit comfortably, terrified he wouldn't want me.

"Thinking things over can be painful. Ah Qiao didn't want you to feel that way."

Ah Qiao gave me her whole heart, without reservation.

But I didn't do the same.

She wanted to grow vegetables and fruits in the courtyard, while I wanted to keep a bit of Yu Zhe's memory in our home.

Yu Zhe loved the plum blossoms that bloomed proudly in the snow, so I wanted to plant some outside the study.

First, so I could see them whenever I looked up.

Second, so that when Yu Zhe visited in the future, she would know that she always held a place in my heart.

Ah Qiao didn't know the reason behind it. When she heard me say I wanted to plant flowers, she was momentarily stunned but quickly smiled and said:

"Plum blossoms are lovely, they're perfect. We can even pick them and make tea."

She happily went out to pick red plum trees. When someone asked why she wasn't buying vegetable seedlings, she proudly replied:

"Of course, it's because my husband and I want to enjoy the snow and plum blossoms together."

At that time, she was pregnant with Bai'er, her belly round, and she watched over the planting of those trees with such care, afraid that anything might harm them.

Seeing her so pleased, I suddenly felt a pang of cruelty within myself.