Old Lady Lin frowned deeply, stepping closer to the mortar as Ren poured in the warm water and began rotating the pestle with practiced, rhythmic strength. "That is still just plain rice flour, girl. You can't sell kitchen starch to a brothel for fifty taels."
"Of course not," Heena murmured, her eyes drifting toward the towering wall of apothecary drawers lining the back room. "Which is why I am in a clinic. Mother Lin—open the third row of cabinets on the left. Give me two liang of dried Bai Zhi root, a pinch of white Bletilla tuber, and the finest crushed mother-of-pearl powder you use for eye ointments."
Old Lady Lin's grey eyebrows shot up. She didn't move toward the cabinet right away, staring sharply at Heena. "You actually know pharmacology? Bai Zhi and Bletilla clear skin blemishes and draw out dark blood stasis, and pearl powder cools inflammation."
