The Favored Heiress
Chapter 671: Li Qiao Discovers the Truth

Chapter 671: Chapter 671: Li Qiao Discovers the Truth

Li Qiao’s heart understood as she picked up the prescription from the pharmacy, "Then these?"

Shang Lu wiped his hands with a tissue, "The generic version, common formulas from Shang Family Traditional Chinese Medicine Hall. I specifically asked for these for you."

Li Qiao’s gaze swept across the table, "So, there’s only one copy of the old mansion’s contraceptive secret recipe, but there are twelve copies from the pharmacy."

"Yes," Shang Lu said, pushing the prescription he had just written to the other side of the coffee table, "I haven’t researched how many contraceptive recipes the old mansion has, but last night I went through all the medical books related to women and only found this one. The recipe left in the medicine residue is written here; it’s the old mansion’s secret recipe, identical. My brother must have prepared it for you."

Li Qiao looked at the two identical old mansion prescriptions on the coffee table and pursed the corners of her lips. The clue was still lost.

There was nothing wrong with the prescriptions, and nothing wrong with the medicine residue. Could it really be that the problem was with her constitution?

Seeing her silent for a long time, Shang Lu thought she didn’t believe it and frowned slightly in displeasure, "Don’t be skeptical, most of the medical skills my brother and I have are secret recipes passed down from the old mansion. Those recipes in the pharmacy are the most basic ones available on the market, known to anyone who has studied traditional Chinese medicine. You can ask at any traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy."

"I believe you," Li Qiao said in an extremely faint tone, picking up the two identical contraceptive prescriptions and folding them to put in her trouser pocket.

At that moment, she narrowed her eyes and looked to the other side of the coffee table, "Is there no distinction between the old mansion and the pharmacy for the fetal protection medicine recipe?"

A trace of gloom crossed Shang Lu’s handsome face, "The old mansion’s secret recipe for fetal protection has been put away; I couldn’t find it, only the commonly used formulas from the pharmacy."

Li Qiao was unflappable, "Is it because of what happened back then?"

"You know?"

Li Qiao absentmindedly looked at the fetal protection prescription from the pharmacy, responding indifferently, "I’ve heard a bit."

Shang Lu lowered his eyes, found a corner seat on the sofa, resting his arm on his knee, and said in a subdued voice, "If you really want it, I can ask my dad."

"No need," Li Qiao declined Shang Lu’s offer and thanked him before leaving his private residence.

On the way back, Luoyu kept sizing her up, "Do you still think there’s a problem with the prescription?"

Li Qiao looked toward the distant estate buildings with a rare gleam of bewilderment in her eyes, "I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like something’s missing..."

Luoyu scratched his own short hair, unable to keep up with Li Qiao’s train of thought.

Maybe it really was just an ordinary allergic reaction...

"Where is the nearest pharmacy that isn’t affiliated with Shang’s?" Li Qiao asked as she reached into her pocket and felt the two prescriptions, making up her mind.

Without hesitation, Luoyu replied, "There’s one three kilometers away."

Li Qiao slowly lifted her head, her gaze resolute, "Let’s go."

...

The three-kilometer distance took but a few minutes by car.

Thanks to Shang Yu attending a meeting at the Council Hall, Li Qiao was able to go to the pharmacy with Luoyu.

She couldn’t figure out what exactly she had missed, but she was certain something had been missed.

Li Qiao believed in the authenticity of the old mansion’s secret recipes, but she didn’t believe... that the ancestors would only pass down one contraceptive secret recipe.

They strolled into an ordinary traditional Chinese medicine pharmacy.

Shortly after, an elderly Pharmacist arrived at the Consultation Hall, wearing a white coat.

Li Qiao briefly described the issue, and the old pharmacist printed out a contraceptive prescription on the computer.

"Miss, go pay over there, and then you can pick up your medicine from the pharmacy next door," the Pharmacist directed.

Li Qiao put away the prescription, then took out the handwritten one by Shang Lu from her pocket, "Master, could you help me check if this prescription can be used for contraception?"

"Where did this come from?" the old Pharmacist unfolded the A4 paper, adjusted his reading glasses, and asked as he read.

Li Qiao smiled, "It’s from an old traditional Chinese doctor at home, said to be a folk remedy, but I vomited after taking it..."

"An alternative remedy?" The senior pharmacist chuckled, "Miss, you should listen to me, it’s better not to try these folk remedies. Look at your prescription, it doesn’t even include the cost or dosage of each herb. No wonder you vomited."

Li Qiao then took out another prescription printed by Shang Lu from her pocket, "Sorry, I took the wrong one. What about this one?"

The pharmacist was already somewhat impatient. He unfolded it and glanced over it, shaking his head, "Unheard of."

"Thank you for your troubles."

After thanking him, Li Qiao prepared to go pay and collect the medicines.

Yet, the pharmacist frowned thoughtfully, gazing at the two prescriptions she put back in her pocket, and called out, "Young lady, wait a moment."

Li Qiao turned back, raising an eyebrow slightly.

The pharmacist got up from the consultation desk, speaking earnestly, "Remember to take the medicine I prescribed for you, and don’t consume that alternative remedy. Persimmon stimulates the stomach. Normally, it is not used in doses exceeding five mace, but your prescription has nearly eight mace of Persimmon, along with the stimulating Cnidium monnieri as a drug inducer. It’s no wonder you would vomit."

...

Ten minutes later, Luoyu carried a bag of medicinal herbs out of the pharmacy, following Li Qiao.

Before getting into the car, Li Qiao gestured to the trash can, and Luoyu understandingly threw the medicine, worth over a thousand yuan, into it.

Along the way, the car was unusually quiet, neither of them spoke.

Li Qiao leaned against the back of her seat, her gaze sweeping over the streetscape outside the window, revealing a mocking smile at the corners of her mouth.

It was so close to being overlooked.

What was really problematic was the quantity measurement of the herbs.

The dosage for Chinese medicine has to be precise. Even with identical prescriptions, a medicine can become poisonous if the measurements are not handled properly.

Shang Lu could deduce the prescription from the shape and scent of the medicine residues, showing his solid grasp of medical principles.

As for Shang Yu, even though he had not touched Chinese medicine for many years, Li Qiao believed he would not make such a basic mistake.

This secret family recipe of the traditional Chinese medical family would never have been revealed had she not had her suspicions.

That a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner of the pharmacist’s age had never seen it attested to the meticulous protection of the recipe.

Li Qiao’s mood was heavier than it had ever been.

Shang Yu, what on earth had you gone through out of my sight?

Had you ever thought that the medical principles you learned might be wrong?

Time slipped away quietly as Li Qiao reflected.

In the blink of an eye, the old manor was in sight.

Li Qiao got out of the car, pushing the door open, unable to suppress the restlessness between her brows no matter how she tried to adjust her emotions.

Several times she felt an urge to investigate, yet she bizarrely repressed her feelings.

The back and forth of the two had only taken half an hour.

The meeting at the Council Hall was not over yet, but as they entered the main gate, Luoyu received a call from Housekeeper Xiao.

She responded, then looked at Li Qiao with worry, "Housekeeper Xiao said, the Head of the family is waiting for you in the tea room."

Li Qiao closed her eyes, "Has the meeting ended?"

Luoyu shook her head, "It shouldn’t have. Housekeeper Xiao mentioned this morning that the meeting in the Council Hall would last at least two hours."

"Is that so?" Li Qiao stepped forward, her gaze surveying every scene and object in the old house, her tone light, "Was Housekeeper Xiao always so talkative?"