Surprised Crowd

The gathered crowd watched a beautiful young woman stepping forward from among them before she entered the medicine shop. Through the open front doors, they all had a clear view of the front hall of the shop where all the participants of the current ongoing drama were gathered.

Seeing a new face joining the cast, they were both surprised and curious to see what was going to happen next. None among the crowd of dozens of local people of Dongzhi City recognized the young lady. Not even in their wildest dreams they would have guessed that such a beautiful and elegant woman was none other than the famous hot-tempered, foul-mouthed, and rebellious Young Lady of the Chen Manor - Chen Xiang Ling.

On the other hand, Xiang Ling walked through the crowd and entered the medicine shop with an air of confidence and grace. Her sharp eyes scanned every person inside while her sense of smell picked up the scent of various herbs mingled in the air.

Her sudden entry pulled everyone's attention toward her and she put on her warmest smile as she greeted them with courtesy. "Good day to you all." Her gaze ran over the servants of the medicine shop along with their manager and the famous Physician Li. She then turned her attention toward the other group from the Capital City. There were a total of six male servants, three female servants, and an old man who looked like a steward. She finally took a glance in the direction of the young boy of nine or ten sitting in the wheelchair.

Someone with so many servants following him couldn't be anyone simple. If Xiang Ling wasn't wrong, then this young boy had a special identity. Besides, when she was outside the shop, she picked on the presence of the shadow guards near the shop who were hiding from the clear sight. Only the high-rank nobles and the royal family were allowed to have shadow guards.

And just like that, her assessment of the people in front of her was complete. She took barely half a minute to finish her assessment without alerting anyone.

Surprised by her sudden appearance, it was Physician Li who finally enquired about her identity. "This young lady, can we know who you are?"

Xiang Ling was aware of the chaos that her introduction was about to bring, yet, she went forward and introduced herself with a warm smile. "I am Chen Xiang Ling, daughter of the Country Magistrate. While I was passing by just now, I heard that you are looking for someone to diagnose your Young Master. If you can allow me, I would like to give it a try."

While her first sentence was for Physician Li and the crowd gathered outside the medicine shop, her latter sentences were for the group of people from the Capital City.

The moment she finished speaking, whispers spread like wildfire both inside and outside the shop. While one glare from Physician Li stopped the servants of the shop from speaking anything, the locals present outside the shop were still allowed to voice out their shock and bafflement.

"How can she be Chen Xiang Ling?" A woman asked in shock as she tried to get a better look at the lady inside the shop.

"It's impossible! Since when did that shrewd woman become this polite?" Another asked.

A young man who was unable to remove his gaze from the lady, who just called herself Chen Xiang Ling, added with an awe-filled voice. "That Chen Xiang Ling always looked so ugly, but this lady... " He shook his head before adding, "This lady can not be that Chen Xiang Ling."

Almost everyone was unable to believe that the elegant and beautiful lady in front of their eyes was the same Chen Xiang Ling they all knew.

"But... if you look closely, she does look like Chen Xiang Ling. Though the way she dresses and speaks has changed, and her facial features look more elegant... she still does look the same." A young lady finally got a better look at Xiang Ling's face and noticed the similarities.

"Really?"

The others also tried to get better looks at the lady inside the shop so that they could judge on their own.

"What happened to her then? I saw her just two days ago and she was still her old self. How come she changed so much in just two days?" Another person voiced out their shock.

Someone from the crowd suddenly recalled something they recently heard and shared with the others. "I just recalled something. The previous evening I heard a rumor about Lady Xian Ling..."

These words were enough to pick the interest of everyone in the gathered crowd. They all came closer to the man to listen to the story he was about to share with them.

"... It is rumored that Lady Xiang Ling went to a secret temple in the back mountains the previous morning and this temple is known to grant people's wish. It seems like the change in Lady Xiang Ling's personality and looks is because of the wish she made at the temple yesterday."

Murmurs filled the air as people either showed their surprise at the story or commented how it sounded completely fake and unbelievable. If there was a temple like mentioned in the story, then why no one heard about it?

While the people outside the shop were busy creating their theories about the change in Xiang Ling, the people inside the shop were having a different conversation.

"Lady Xiang Ling, are you also learning medicine?" The old man standing next to the young master asked as he looked at Xiang Ling with no judgment in his eyes.

Xiang Ling smiled politely as she answered, "I have been studying some medicine books these past few years. Though I may not be as good as Physician Li here, I can still try."

Physician Li opened his mouth to speak but before he could, the old man was already allowing Xiang Ling permission to diagnose their Young Master. "Lady Xiang Ling, our Young Master here has been healthy all these years but on our way to Jingsheng Academy the past week, Young Master suddenly became ill on the way. Despite seeking guidance from several doctors on our way, no one was able to help us. If not for his deteriorating health, we would have long reached Jingsheng Academy."

Listening to the old servant's explanation about their Young Master's condition was already more than enough for Xiang Ling to get an idea of what was going on.