The autumn night's west wind swept fallen leaves across the West Market, making Pei Hongxiu's indigo cloak snap in the moonlight. She kicked open the back door of Banxian Medical Hall, only to find Zhang Yifan soaking his feet in a wooden tub with his legs propped up. His abacus bead pouch hung over the rim of the tub, and a few pickled plums floated on the water's surface.
"Zhang Yifan!" Her ivory hairpin almost poked the tip of his nose, and pearls rattled down from her gold hair-tassel. "The Persian merchants have slashed the price of Persian brocade to five guan a bolt! And you still have the leisure to soak your feet?" Huwa poked his head out from behind the medicine cabinet, holding a newly carved "foot-guarding grimace," while the abacus beads stared intently at the bubbles in the wooden tub.
"Boss Pei, there's no need to be anxious," Zhang Yifan wagged his toes, causing the abacus beads to ripple the water's surface. "Though the Persian merchants' fabric is flashy, it's dyed with Persian red lead and fades to white after three washes—" He suddenly pointed at the account book beside his feet. "Miss Su has already spread word at the medical hall that lead poison absorbed through the skin causes red rashes. By now, it's likely the talk of all the noblewomen's circles in Chang'an."
Chapter 102