At Chang'an's West Market, Shen Qinghe, the adopted daughter of the Baicao Hall, signed in once every Lantern Festival.
At eight, she signed in for [Herb Lore], learning to identify medicinal properties at a glance. At ten, she signed in for [Deft Hands], rolling pills rounder than the old masters could. At fifteen, she signed in for [Early Mastery of the Years], gaining the strength to carry a basket of herbs up the mountain and protect the sickly childhood sweetheart next door.
Xiao Jingyan, the legitimate son of the Xiao family of Chongren Ward, had been sickly since childhood. Shen Qinghe nursed him back to health, bowl by bowl of medicine. She thought raising him to become a top scholar in the imperial exams would be the perfect time to retire, but somehow, he went on to become the chief minister of the court.
The day he became chief minister, he held up the old medicine pouch she had given him and said in public, "It took me twelve years to go from a sickly childhood sweetheart to the chief minister of the court. Thank you for never letting go of my hand."
Shen Qinghe was getting teary-eyed when an old man claiming to be the emperor walked into Baicao Hall. He took out half a jade pendant, and it fitted perfectly with the other half on her wrist.
"Child, I'm your father."
Shen Qinghe: ?
Xiao Jingyan: ?
The entire Great Yong: ?
Later, Baicao Hall became the imperial pharmacy, she became Princess Zhaoning, and he became her prince consort. By day, he was the dignified chief minister in the Golden Hall. At night, he came home to paint her eyebrows. Even when he smudged them, he stubbornly insisted, "This is the fashionable distant-mountain style in Chang'an."
