Chapter 274: Chapter 114 Descendants of the Lu Family_1

The snow in Shengjing stopped by the fifth watch of the night.

A night had passed, and the entire city was cloaked in white.

Whatever had happened in the palace last night, come early morning, the whole city was under martial law, with patrols from the City Guard coming and going along West Street.

Official Hu had sent a servant to Renxin Medical Hall with a message for Lu Tong, stating that the matter of securing a spot for the Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring examination had been entrusted to someone and was under negotiation. News would be sent back soon, so Lu Tong should patiently wait.

Lu Tong packed several prescriptions for nourishing herbal teas for the servant to take back to Official Hu. Ah Cheng, upon seeing this, hesitated and asked, "Doctor Lu, have you really made up your mind about going to the Hanlin Medical Institute?"

The young apprentice looked reluctant. Before Lu Tong could speak, Yin Zheng rubbed Ah Cheng’s head consolingly and said, "One must always aim high."

Ah Cheng hung his head and said gloomily, "Once you both leave, there will only be me and the shop owner left in the medical hall."

It had been over half a year since Lu Tong and Yin Zheng arrived at Renxin Medical Hall, not to mention Ah Cheng and Du Changqing—everyone on West Street had grown accustomed to their presence. The thought of their abrupt departure was indeed disheartening.

Yin Zheng glanced toward the door, then changed the subject: "However, when is the shop owner coming to the medical hall?"

Ever since Du Changqing learned that Lu Tong would participate in the spring examination, he hadn’t visited the medical hall, only sending Ah Cheng to watch over the shop. Not a trace of him was seen.

Ah Cheng glanced nervously at Lu Tong, who was perusing a medical text, and explained in a low voice, "The shop owner was very angry, cursing until midnight yesterday. He probably won’t come these few days."

Yin Zheng was taken aback, then muttered under her breath with a smirk, "Quite the temper."

...

Yazhai Bookstore was located in a secluded alley at the end of Mingqing Road, on West Street.

The bookstore was not as refined as its name suggested, looking more like a diner at first glance. There were no paintings or calligraphy for decoration around the place, with a large pile of books casually strewn on the ground at the front of the store. The owner, Luo Dazui, was wearing a heavy coat, lounging at the entrance gnawing on duck bones.

It was early morning, still early in the day. Yazhai Bookstore had yet to open for business, and Luo Dazui sat at the entrance with a brazier of charcoal at his feet, nibbling on marinated duck bones and using an iron skewer to roast sweet potatoes.

The iron skewer was coarsely handled, haphazardly inserted into the wood fire. The burnt aromatic scent, mingled with black smoke, surged out from the depths of the alley.

"Ptui, ptui, ptui—Someone just entering the alley was met with a face full of soot and cursed, "What’s burning?"

Luo Dazui lifted his eyelids, saw a young man in a cherry-colored jacket approaching with a hand over his nose, looking like a bright and puffed-up oriole against the snowy ground, and then called out with little enthusiasm, "Shopkeeper Du, huh—"

The newcomer was Du Changqing.

Du Changqing approached Yazhai Bookstore and, upon seeing the charred sweet potatoes in the charcoal brazier, asked, "What are you doing, roasting cow dung?"

Luo Dazui shot him a look: "What, you want to eat some?"

"You keep that for yourself," Du Changqing waved off, stepping over a pile of books as he walked into the bookstore, "You’ve got a charcoal basin inside the bookstore, aren’t you afraid of setting yourself on fire?"

Luo Dazui turned around, watched as Du Changqing carefully stepped over the books lying on the ground, and stood in the middle of the bookstore. Putting down his iron skewer, Luo Dazui got up and followed him inside while cautiously reminding him, "Be careful, don’t step on them and break them."

"Uh-huh," Du Changqing hummed twice, made a few rounds inside the bookstore, and then turned to ask Luo Dazui, "Where do you keep the medical books?"

Luo Dazui frowned suspiciously and asked, "You want to buy books?"

Yazhai Bookstore had been in West Street for many years, but Du Changqing rarely set foot there, aside from when Old Master Du dragged him there to buy a few copybooks during his childhood. According to him, the place smelled musty, making one dizzy and blurry-eyed upon entry. This is why Luo Dazui had always been unfriendly to him.

Unaware of the bookstore owner’s displeasure, Du Changqing stroked his chin and said, "Isn’t the Imperial Medical Bureau holding spring examinations next year? Do you have any medical texts or pharmacology books that students buy for review? Bring them out for me to have a look."

There were many merchants doing business on West Street, with few cultured patrons like Official Hu, and Yazhai Bookstore was able to survive largely thanks to those disqualified scholars.

They would always come to purchase exam preparations and booklets. Over time, Yazhai Bookstore stopped displaying much poetry and prose, stocking more on policy essays, catering specifically to the scholarly exams.

Du Changqing was there to try his luck.

His motion of gnawing the duck bones halted as Luo Dazui sized him up and commented, "Damn, the sun is rising from the west today. When did you start fancying the idea of studying hard?"

Du Changqing replied irritably, "Who said it was for me? It’s for my friend!"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read