In the morning light of Banxian Medical Hall, Huwa was lying across the gilded folding screen, carving a ghost face. Beside the four golden characters reading "Saving the World with Benevolent Art," his carving knife chiseled out a smiling face holding a medicine gourd, a slice of astragalus leaf dangling from its corner of the mouth. Su Wanyue was just about to tap his backside with her riding crop when she saw Old Cyan Ox charge in, shaking its horns. The "Prosperity Ghost-Face" hanging from its horns was still dripping with medicated wine dregs from the previous night, and with a single "moo," it shook the gold dust right off the screen.
"Little brat!" Zhang Yifan came out of the accounts room, clacking his abacus. The abacus beads were sticky with the sweet-scented osmanthus candy Huwa had secretly shoved there. "Grand Secretary Li's daughter is coming for a consultation today, and you carve the ghost face to look like a drunkard? Do you want to make a noble lady laugh till she cries?" Huwa stuck out his tongue and jumped down, holding up half a broken wooden plaque. "Brother Fan, look! I carved the eyes of the smiling face to look like abacus beads—they'll go perfectly with Grand Secretary Li's gold abacus!"
From the front hall came the sound of a soft sedan chair. Stepping out of the eight-bearer warm sedan was a noble lady wrapped in fox fur, the jade abacus hanging from her waist chiming merrily—it was none of other than Li Yuniang, the beloved daughter of Censor-in…
Chapter 56