Chapter 280: Chapter 116 Miao Liangfang_2

Du Changqing shuffled to the window and forcefully opened it, allowing more light to pour in, half of which fell upon the bed in the room, making the person on it look a bit clearer.

The bed was very old, padded with dry straw underneath, and a few dirty quilts were piled carelessly on top, where a middle-aged man in a tattered shirt hugged the bedding as he sat on the bed. This man was probably just over forty or fifty, with strands of gray amid his black hair, which was disheveled atop his head, looking as if he hadn’t washed his face for days. His beard was stubbly, and when he heard the noise, he lifted his eyelids to reveal slightly reddened eyes, showing no anger but merely asked in a drunken haze, "Who are you looking for?"

He clearly hadn’t sobered up from the alcohol.

Lu Tong took two steps forward and asked, "Excuse me, are you Mister Miao?"

The loquacious Luo Dazui from Yazhai Bookstore said that this man tended to keep to himself, consumed by his love for drink, not well-acquainted with others, only known to have the surname Miao.

Upon hearing the name "Mister Miao," the man’s gaze sobered up a bit, and after staring at Lu Tong for a long while, he finally asked, "What do you want with me?"

Du Changqing’s face looked a bit displeased.

This man looked destitute and distressed, and the room was strewn with jars of wine, resembling those gamblers and drunkards that frequent taverns. He reeked of alcohol even in broad daylight, and by his posture and tone of speaking, he didn’t seem like a reputable individual.

However, Lu Tong appeared to be oblivious, simply taking out a few scrolls from her sleeves: "I accidentally bought a few volumes from Yazhai Bookstore, and the owner said they were written by you."

She spread out the thin scrolls, with the words ’Selected Solutions to the Shengjing Imperial Medical Bureau’s Spring Test Questions from Past Years’ particularly eye-catching on the cover.

The man glanced at the scrolls and then back at Lu Tong, seeming not to understand her intentions.

"I’d like to buy more of your written works," Lu Tong said.

No sooner had she spoken than the man stiffened.

Something seemed to flash across his eyes, visible just beneath the mess of dirty hair, but he soon let out a snort of laughter, scratching his head and saying, "You’re joking. I just copied these from someone else." He spread his hands and grimaced, "That’s all I have—no more."

Du Changqing coughed lightly twice and signaled with his eyes that Lu Tong could leave.

Although he didn’t understand why Lu Tong was so determined to find this man, it seemed that indeed, this man was unlikely to be knowledgeable in medicine and pharmacology. What doctor would drink themselves into oblivion during the day, not even caring to wash their torn and dirty blankets?

Lu Tong stood inside the room, watching the man on the bed throw aside the bedding he was clinging to, looking for his shoes under the bed. After a moment of silence, she said, "I’d like to ask Mister to teach me medical knowledge so I can pass the Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring test next year."

As soon as she said this, the room fell abruptly silent.

The man’s movements as he looked for his shoes suddenly froze, and after a long time, he slowly lifted his head to look at Lu Tong.

Lu Tong quietly gazed back at him.

A beam of sunlight filtered in from outside, illuminating the ground in front of the window. The rough face with fine wrinkles was, like the floor of the room, tinged with cold damp stains—the face of a middle-aged man who looked defeated and so ordinary that it was nearly greasy, with an expression full of gloom and exhaustion.

For a moment, Lu Tong felt that the man’s drunken eyes sparkled.

But the glimmer was quickly extinguished.

The man bent down to fetch the shoes that had been kicked aside, put them on, and with the support of the bed, jumped down to the ground. He had a limp in one leg, hobbling as he moved to a table in the room, where he rummaged for an old iron pot, scooped half a bowl of rice from a cloth bag into it, filled a ladle with water from a bucket, and began to make a fire for cooking porridge in the room.

He spoke, "Miss, you must be mistaken. I’m not a doctor; I can’t help you."

Lu Tong said, "I noticed that Mister has planted quite a lot of herbs in front of his place. Without proper care, they wouldn’t grow like that. You must understand pharmacology."

Du Changqing revealed a look of surprise.

Were the wild plants nearly covering the door of this dilapidated house actually medicinal herbs?

While he had no medical skills, his years of being around Renxin Medical Hall had given him the ability to recognize common medicinal materials. It was unexpected that he had not noticed any clues.

The motion of the man stirring the porridge with an iron spoon paused briefly before he changed the subject: "Who are you two?"

Seeing an opportunity, Du Changqing lit up and, before Lu Tong could speak, cleared his throat and introduced himself: "I am Du Changqing, the owner of Renxin Medical Hall. This Doctor Lu here is the resident doctor at our medical hall. Renxin Medical Hall has been open on West Street for many years; you can ask around, we have an excellent reputation. If you agree to teach medical knowledge to our resident doctor, we would naturally pay a fee—just state your conditions..."

The man looked up, interrupting him, "Renxin Medical Hall?"

Du Changqing’s heart lifted with excitement, ready to continue boasting, only to hear the man before him speak nonchalantly: "Oh, I heard about it. Some time ago, there was a ruckus at your hall with people from the Minister of the Imperial Treasury seeking out your resident female doctor."

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read