"Girl, something up?"
The old man's voice on the other end was a little muffled, punctuated by chewing sounds.
He must have been eating.
"Am I bothering you?" Shen Qingqing asked.
"No, speak your mind, I'll handle it." The old man took a sip of water, then put down his chopsticks and stopped eating.
Shen Qingqing, with her grandmother's well-being on her mind, got straight to the point, "It's like this, my grandmother has a disease, I was wondering if you could think of a way?"
She described her grandmother's symptoms.
The old man pondered for a moment and said, "This is a bit difficult to handle."
"How is it difficult?"
"It's not that it can't be cured, but it requires a medicine." The old man hesitated.
Shen Qingqing was almost frantic, and the old man still had the nerve to play coy. She urged, "Hurry up and tell me!"
The old man pouted, "Alright, this herb isn't in our country. I have it here, and I can help you find it. But this herb isn't just anywhere; it's within the Eisen family."
Shen Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief, "Then go. Eisen has a good relationship with the Third Prince. Tell him, no matter what he asks, I will satisfy him!"
"Eisen is certainly no problem, but the issue is that he's not in charge right now."
"Not him?"
"It's Ai Qi."
This was the most difficult part, as the old man had said.
The old man was well aware of the grievances between Ai Qi and Shen Qingqing. How could that woman possibly hand over the medicinal herb to save Old Mrs. Xiao?
Shen Qingqing fell silent.
After a moment, she spoke again, her tone calm, "Why is he not in charge?"
The old man replied, "This kid has been protected by the Third Prince for years and hasn't really amounted to much. The family elders decided to send him for intensive training. When he returns, he'll take over as head of the family. But he's not here now, and the family can't be without a leader."
Shen Qingqing was confused, "But wasn't this person already locked up?"
"I don't know what Ai Qi said to Eisen, but before he left, he agreed to let his sister take charge." The old man was also puzzled by this, but then he thought about it and found it not so strange. "Actually, if you think about it carefully, it's understandable. Here, they don't care about a person's character, only their ability. Although Ai Qi appears innocent and naive, you've seen her methods."
In a sense, she was actually more suitable than Eisen.
But she lost out because she was a woman.
Although there was no concept of preferring sons over daughters here, the Eisen family had always had the eldest son inherit the position of patriarch for generations. Daughters were mostly for marriage alliances. No matter how capable they were, it wouldn't matter. Their abilities were meant to be used to charm their marriage partners.
This was a rule that had been passed down in their family for a hundred years.
It wasn't easy to break.
Shen Qingqing took a deep breath, "I understand. I'll think of another way."
Fu Jingshu had heard the entire conversation. "What do you plan to do?"
Shen Qingqing put away her phone and said, "Since Ai Qi is not an option, I'll take a different approach and make breakthroughs in the treatment methods."
She refused to believe that with countless treatment methods in the world, this disease couldn't be cured!
It wasn't late-stage cancer, after all.
The more difficult the challenge ahead, the more determined she became.
Fu Jingshu looked at her focused profile. People said that a serious man was most charming, but now he felt that women were the same.
No, only this woman in front of him.
The two returned to the ward and saw Old Mrs. Xiao talking to Xiao Wenqi at the door. Whatever she said, Xiao Wenqi's smile was tinged with bitterness.
Shen Qingqing stood at the door, not entering.
But at that moment, Old Mrs. Xiao suddenly fainted. Xiao Wenqi grabbed his mother's hand and cried out, "Mother!"
Shen Qingqing immediately pushed the door open and went in.
Xiao Wenqi saw her as if he had seen a savior. He grabbed her hand and said, "Quick, examine my mother. She just said she had a little pain, and then she fainted!"
After examining her, Shen Qingqing's brow furrowed. "It's a relapse. She needs to rest well now."
Seeing her serious expression, Xiao Wenqi was filled with worry but dared not ask. He looked at her expectantly and finally managed to say, "My mother will be alright, won't she?"
"Don't worry, she'll be fine."
For now.
The last two words, Shen Qingqing looked at Xiao Wenqi, but did not say them.
Shen Qingqing didn't leave this time. She stayed by the bedside. When the old lady woke up, she held her hand. "Grandma, how are you feeling?"
Old Mrs. Xiao shook her head. "I'm fine."
But the old lady's face was pale, her complexion bloodless, and her eyes dim. She looked as if she was at death's door.
Shen Qingqing's heart ached. She held the old lady's fingers and felt them trembling slightly in her palm. "Grandma, don't worry, I will save you."
Old Mrs. Xiao didn't say anything disheartening. She just held her granddaughter's hand tightly and then fell into a deep sleep.
Even in her sleep, her hand was trembling.
Because she was in great pain.
However, she had taken sedatives earlier, which allowed her to sleep soundly. Otherwise, with such pain, an ordinary person would not be able to bear it, let alone sleep.
Shen Qingqing covered her grandmother with a quilt and turned to leave the ward.
Fu Jingshu looked at her with concern. "Qingqing..."
Shen Qingqing looked up at him. "Jingshu, I want to go find Ai Qi."
"She might not give it to you," Fu Jingshu frowned.
Shen Qingqing knew that, but she had to try. "Let me try. No matter what, I can't just stand by and watch my grandmother suffer."
Fu Jingshu thought for a moment and said, "I'll go with you."
"Okay."
But before they left, Shen Qingqing received a phone call.
It was from Ke Lin.
"I've investigated, and Mark is with a woman named Ai Qi. She's a foreign woman, looks about 20 years old."
"I know."
Shen Qingqing said calmly, "Send me the photo."
"Okay."
After hanging up, Ke Lin sent the photo to Shen Qingqing's phone.
In the photo, a man and a woman were leaning against each other. To be precise, the woman was asleep, leaning on the man's shoulder. Her sleeping face was serene, and the man was looking down at her with tenderness in his eyes.
It was clear that Mark was deeply in love with Ai Qi.
Shen Qingqing looked at the photo and chuckled. "No wonder this person, as soon as they appeared, was so rude to you, treating you with such hostility."
So, she was a love rival.
Even if it was a rival in his own imagination.
She looked up at Fu Jingshu and said, "It seems like your messy love life has gotten you into trouble."
Fu Jingshu glanced at the woman in the photo, and her image flashed in his mind, her affectionate eyes gazing at him. His eyes were cold. "I don't like messy love lives."
Just then, Shen Qingqing's phone rang.
She answered it. Mark's voice came from the other end.
"How is it? Are you satisfied with what you saw?"