Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

He asked Juhua, "Didn’t you say she was going to Qinghui to see a doctor once she felt a bit better? Why hasn’t she gone yet?"

Juhua said, "A trip to Qinghui costs a lot of money. She feels a bit better, so she doesn’t want to spend it. She thinks it’d be better to just rest for a while longer and see if she recovers without needing a doctor, you know? None of us can convince her."

He sighed, "That poor girl has had such a bitter life, with hardly a single good day. Doctor Qin, you must give her a thorough examination."

Zhang Dashuan said, "A bitter life? I’d say she’s actually quite fortunate. If she hadn’t been sick enough to be at death’s door, the Tang family would never have agreed to the divorce. And if her own family hadn’t raised such a fuss, Changling wouldn’t have been able to marry her. She went through a lot, it’s true, but now that she’s married to Changling, her life is about to get much better. And what’s more, she was trying to save money by not seeing a doctor, and who would have thought Doctor Qin would return right then? You tell me, isn’t that a stroke of good fortune?"

After a moment’s thought, everyone realized he was right. They all started saying that Liu’er’s luck had finally turned, and that she surely wouldn’t have to suffer anymore.

Qin Feng watched them, getting angry and sighing over Liu’er’s situation and urging him to go treat her. He felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He glanced at Juhua, who was sitting quietly to the side, and thought, ’Your own girl isn’t doing well either, yet you’re only worried about an outsider.’ Suddenly, the food before him seemed to lose all its flavor.

Just then, Huai Zi spoke up with a smile. "Doctor Qin, I’m so relieved you’re here. Juhua’s due soon, and I’ve been worried sick about it."

Qin Feng froze, staring at him blankly, at a loss for words.

Thinking he was just embarrassed, He chided her son, "Don’t be ridiculous. When Juhua gives birth, we’ll need a midwife. What’s the point of calling for Doctor Qin? He’s a man, he doesn’t deliver babies."

Zhang Huai said dismissively, "A midwife can only assist. They’re experienced and have seen a lot, sure, but they can’t compare to Doctor Qin. Doctor Qin can write prescriptions and prepare medicine. He can handle anything that might happen."

Zheng Changhe slapped his chopsticks on the table with a loud CLACK. "Exactly!" he said, his face beaming. "Now that Doctor Qin is here, I’m relieved too. Juhua is guaranteed to be safe."

In truth, both families were worried about Juhua. Liu Yunlan was also pregnant, but they had never worried about her this way—she just looked like she was built for childbirth, much more so than Juhua.

At these words, everyone in the room turned to look at Qin Feng with earnest expectation.

Qin Feng’s gaze swept over their faces, one by one. He spoke solemnly, "Rest assured. I will be staying here, and I won’t be going on any long trips to gather herbs for a while. No matter what, I will ensure the safety of Juhua and the baby!"

Everyone broke into cheerful laughter, feeling greatly relieved.

Amid the happy mood, Huai Zi suddenly remembered something. He asked Qin Feng, "Doctor Qin, a while back a young girl came looking for Juhua. She said you’d sent her to check in on Juhua, but then she didn’t really say anything or explain herself. She just took off in a hurry. We chased after her but couldn’t catch up. You don’t think she was a swindler, do you?"

Juhua perked up at this and quickly jumped in, "That’s right! I tried to talk to her, but she didn’t say much and then just started arguing with me. I could tell something was off, so I tried to stop her from leaving and asked what her business was, but that just made her run away even faster."

Qingmu chimed in, "We all guessed that you’d sent her with something for Juhua, and that she ended up keeping it for herself. Is that what happened?"

Qin Feng completely lost his appetite. He looked at the expectant faces around him, deliberated for a long moment, and then said with great difficulty, "That was my junior apprentice sister. I did give her some things to bring to Juhua, but... she... she accidentally lost them. That’s why she was too scared to tell you the truth."

Everyone’s faces lit up with understanding. Zheng Changhe laughed, "Well, that explains it! She’s just a young girl; of course she’d be scared after losing something and wouldn’t dare tell Juhua the truth. No wonder she acted that way. It’s a good thing she was honest with you when she got home. If she’d lied and said she’d already delivered the items, you’d still be in the dark!"

Everyone laughed and then asked what the items were that had scared the poor girl so badly.

Juhua laughed. "Please don’t tell me it was some priceless tonic. I don’t think my heart could take it."

Qin Feng forced a smile. "It wasn’t a tonic. It was medicine to treat your face and a beauty ointment. But you don’t need it anymore." Juhua had already told him that her face had healed, and had even given him some of the credit for it.

But when Juhua heard this, she sounded regretful. "There was a beauty ointment too? Ah! What a shame." ’If she had the means, she’d love to take care of her skin.’

Qin Feng nodded. "There were also two bottles of Clear Condensing Dew from the Imperial Palace, as well as some medicine I prepared to help you build up your strength."

With every phrase he spoke, Juhua’s eyes grew wider. By the time he finished, she was waving her chopsticks, stomping her foot, and shouting, "Clear Condensing Dew? From the *Imperial Palace*? And medicine to build up my strength? AGH! That wretched girl! What a spendthrift! No wonder she ran away! She’s a grown woman and she can’t even look after a few things properly! You should make her kneel as punishment! That medicine must have been incredibly hard to get. If it were just money, who cares, but finding those ingredients is no easy task!"

Her face was a picture of pained, immense regret.

Huai Zi was furious too—he was pained by the loss of the medicine meant to build up Juhua’s strength. Though he didn’t know what it was, he was sure it was something good. Glancing at Qin Feng, he felt he couldn’t blame the man’s junior sister too harshly, so he turned to Qingmu and said, "Look at how flustered and reckless she was. She’s clearly not a reliable person. Even if she lost the items, she should have just told us clearly. Running off like that made us all anxious and worried for days. What a way to torment people!"

Qingmu nodded. He glanced at Qin Feng but was too embarrassed to add anything more. After all, it was a huge favor for them to have sent the medicine in the first place, and Qin Feng owed the Zheng Family nothing. It was just Juhua’s bad luck, he supposed.