The sound of the carriage wheels faded into the distance. Liu Maolin watched the dust cloud recede, then turned to Yang Jing. "Brother Jing, do you know anything about Miss Jinlian’s background?"

Yang Jing shook his head. "We’ve only just met. How would I know anything about her background?"

Liu Maolin grunted in acknowledgment, raising a hand to stroke his chin. He spoke slowly, "This Miss Jinlian comes from the Jin Family here in our Yuhe County. The Jin Family isn’t any major family. Before Miss Jinlian made her name, the Jin Family only had a single Mingjin Martial Artist, which didn’t amount to much in Yuhe County."

’Yang Jing hadn’t been particularly interested in Miss Jinlian. Although she was beautiful, her looks on par with Senior Sister Ning Xiang’s, she was already married. As a wife, their paths were unlikely to cross, so naturally, he wasn’t interested.’

However, listening to Liu Maolin’s detailed account, Yang Jing now found himself growing rather curious. ’This Miss Jinlian seems anything but ordinary.’

Liu Maolin glanced at Yang Jing and gestured with his hand. "Come on, let’s go inside and talk."

With that, Liu Maolin led Yang Jing into a room in the medical hall’s inner courtyard.

The two of them sat down across from each other at a square table. There was tea on the table, and Liu Maolin skillfully poured two cups, placing one in front of himself and the other before Yang Jing.

"Now, where was I?" Liu Maolin took a sip of tea to wet his throat, but he’d forgotten where he’d left off. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"You were saying the Jin Family only had one Mingjin Martial Artist," Yang Jing reminded him with a sigh.

"Oh, right," Liu Maolin nodded. "The Jin Family is nothing special here in Yuhe County, but the Lu Family that Miss Jinlian married into is another story entirely."

"The Lu Family?" Yang Jing frowned. He didn’t know much about Yuhe County, but he was aware of the basics. "I don’t think the Lu Family is one of the Six Great Families, are they?"

’In Yang Jing’s opinion, only the Six Great Families of Yuhe County could be called ’extraordinary.’ Even if other families were wealthy and powerful, it was unlikely that Liu Maolin, the Young Hall Master of the Liu Family Medical Hall, would ever describe them as such.’

Liu Maolin shook his head. "The Lu Family isn’t in our Yuhe County. They’re a great clan from the Prefecture City, a cut above even the Six Great Families of Yuhe County."

"A great clan from the Prefecture City?" Yang Jing was taken aback.

Since arriving in this world, aside from the occasional trip to a neighboring county or the Prefecture City to deliver medicinal herbs, he had spent all his time in Yuhe County. Although he had been to Jintai Prefecture City twice, he had returned immediately without staying, so he knew next to nothing about it.

Liu Maolin nodded. "Miss Jinlian’s story is quite full of twists and turns. Although the Lu Family is a great clan in the Prefecture City, their line was not thriving. They had only one son, who was Miss Jinlian’s husband."

"I heard the young master of the Lu Family was frail and sickly from a young age. Not long after marrying Miss Jinlian, he succumbed to a serious illness and passed away. Poor Miss Jinlian was widowed at such a young age."

As he said this, Liu Maolin even let out a sigh of regret.

’Seeing this, Yang Jing’s expression turned a little strange. This senior brother of his always acted so proper. Could it be he secretly had other ideas?’

Liu Maolin continued, "Not long after the young master of the Lu Family died, the Lu Patriarch and his wife supposedly died in an accident. The entire Lu Family was left with only Miss Jinlian. The vast family enterprise, naturally, fell into her hands."

"That—" After hearing the story, Yang Jing couldn’t help but be stunned speechless.

’He never would have imagined that the story of the Miss Jinlian he’d just met would be so bizarre. It was full of so many twists and turns, you could write a novel about it.’

Liu Maolin glanced at Yang Jing. "With an enterprise as large as the Lu Family’s, it naturally wasn’t easy for Miss Jinlian to take over. A lot must have happened, though I don’t know the specifics. But Miss Jinlian is an incredibly capable woman. The Lu Family’s influence has declined from its peak, of course, but relying on the legacy of their ancestors—and with Miss Jinlian’s own considerable skills—the Lu Family’s business is still doing quite well."

Hearing this, Yang Jing couldn’t help but see Miss Jinlian in a new, more respectful light.

’A great clan from the Prefecture City like the Lu Family, even if their direct line was small, must have had plenty of branch families and relatives.’

’After the Lu Patriarch, his wife, and their son died, for Miss Jinlian, a lone woman, to withstand the pressure from all sides and seize control of the Lu Family... her skills were truly extraordinary.’

"Oh, by the way, Brother Jing," Liu Maolin said, "that Exotic Beast Pavilion is a Lu Family business. Our medical hall gets its Spirit Fish from them."

Yang Jing paused, startled. "Senior Brother, is that Exotic Beast Pavilion in the Inner City?"

When Miss Jinlian had mentioned the Exotic Beast Pavilion earlier, Yang Jing hadn’t made the connection. Now that Liu Maolin brought it up again, he recalled something. While training at the Martial Arts Hall, he had once overheard the name "Exotic Beast Pavilion" in a conversation between Zhao Wenzheng and Qi Yun.

Liu Maolin nodded. "That’s right, it’s in the Inner City. The Exotic Beast Pavilion in our Yuhe County is just a branch of the Lu Family’s business. The main headquarters is in Jintai Prefecture City."

"When you have some time, or maybe after the training ground trials, I’ll take you to the Exotic Beast Pavilion in the Inner City for a look around. Miss Jinlian is very generous. Since she invited you to have tea at the Exotic Beast Pavilion, you might even be able to buy Exotic Beasts there at cost."

Yang Jing asked, "Senior Brother, the Spirit Fish has such strong nourishing effects. Is it also considered an Exotic Beast? Is Exotic Beast Meat even more nourishing than the meat of fierce beasts?"

Liu Maolin nodded. "Exotic Beasts are favored by heaven and earth. Their flesh and blood contain immense energy, and their nourishing effects are far greater than that of fierce beast meat. The Spirit Fish you had before is just one of the most common types of Exotic Beast. Slightly rarer ones can cost thousands, even tens of thousands of taels of silver. You can’t afford them."