Chapter 347: Chapter 134: First Entry into the Medical Officer Institute_2

Ascending the grand entrance, the vermilion nameplate on top read "Hanlin Medical Institute" in bold characters. Within the institute’s grounds, there was a main hall with five chambers, with the south hall to the left of the main hall serving as the Medical Officer’s Office. Beyond that, at the rear of the medical temple, statues of Fu Xi and Shennong were enshrined. It was said that beyond the medicinal groves, there was also a medicine storehouse.

A short and plump Director of Medicine stood in front of the main hall, flipping through the roster in his hands, while two other Medical Officers stood by his side holding official seals, craning their necks in anticipation of Lu Tong and the rest of the group’s entrance.

The female official stepped into the main hall and greeted the Director of Medicine with a bow, "Sir, everyone has arrived."

The Director of Medicine squinted his eyes skeptically and glanced over the crowd. Handing over the roster to a Medical Officer beside him, he turned and walked into the hall, saying, "Start taking names."

The newly appointed Imperial Medical Officers lined up one by one to present their identity documents to the Officer in charge of registration. When it was Lu Tong’s turn, as she handed over her document, the meticulously dressed Medical Officer with each facial hair neatly in place looked at her with a strange expression, squinting as if unbelieving, and carefully compared Lu Tong’s name with the name on the roster several times.

Lin Danqing, who was behind Lu Tong, grew impatient and asked, "Sir, is there a problem?"

"No, no problem," Chang Jin snapped back to reality and beckoned Lu Tong, "Go ahead and enter."

Lu Tong did as told and entered, while Chang Jin raised his hand and ticked off Lu Tong’s name on the roster, still unable to hide his astonishment inside.

Is this the same Lu Tong who ranked first in the Verification Case Study? Why doesn’t she match the image I had in mind at all?

He had assumed that since Lu Tong had managed to cause a rift between the young master of the Dong Family and his mother, she must behave loosely and excessively charming or have a sinister presence, looking almost ghostly—after all, it was highly likely she had spent some time under the tutelage of a Judicial Investigator.

What well-born child would study corpse examinations for no reason?

Curious, Chang Jin had stayed up all night just to see with his own eyes what this fabled extraordinary woman truly looked like. But upon seeing her, she appeared entirely different from what he had imagined.

She was very young, with a natural and elegant beauty, her brows and eyes clean and lucid, without a hint of frivolousness in her demeanor. Instead, there was a faint scholarly air about her, quite fitting for the calm and soothing temperament of a Healer.

This was totally incongruous with her wild handwriting!

Indeed, appearances can be deceiving. Thinking this, Chang Jin placed Lu Tong’s document in a bamboo basket on the side.

The registration process ended quickly. All twenty new Medical Officers were present and accounted for. Next, it was time to assign the new officers their respective medical departments and residential institutes.

The newly joined Medical Officers at the Hanlin Medical Institute who had just entered were not yet able to directly attend to patients and were referred to as "Medical Practitioners." They had to be examined by the Medical Officer Institute for a period of time, gradually filling vacancies as it was confirmed they were well-versed in medical theories, before they could officially serve.

The Imperial Medical Doctors would assign the Medical Officers to different departmental halls based on their areas of expertise demonstrated in the spring examination papers.

The Medical Officers stood respectfully in the hall, anticipative of being assigned to a specialty department that they were competent in.

The Director of Medicine came out from inside, holding a long scroll and began to announce the assignments in a slow and deliberate tone—

"Cao Huai, major and minor formula departments, Yiqing Room in the south hall—"

"Zhao Qing, ophthalmology and oral medicine departments, Shangshan Room in the south hall—"

"Chen Ming, acupuncture department..."

"Li Tong..."

"..."

"Lin Danqing, gynecology department, west Shou Room in the north hall—"

Lin Danqing who stood behind Lu Tong heaved a sigh of relief; her specialty was indeed gynecology, and attending to noblewomen’s health was certainly sufficient for her. Delighted to have received her preferred assignment, she then glanced at Lu Tong beside her. Lin Danqing hoped inwardly that Lu Tong would be assigned to the gynecology department as well, for it would be pleasant to have each other’s company.

However, as name after name was called, the Director of Medicine still hadn’t mentioned Lu Tong. Lin Danqing grew increasingly anxious when she noticed Lu Tong exhibiting a calm demeanor, as if she wasn’t particularly concerned about the outcome.

"Lu Tong—"

The Director of Medicine suddenly called out Lu Tong’s name.

Lin Danqing’s heart skipped a beat, and she tugged quietly at Lu Tong’s sleeve, signaling for her to listen carefully.

"Lu Tong, the Southern Pharmacy."

Upon hearing this, not only Lin Danqing, but also the other Medical Officers—or rather, the Medical Practitioners—in the hall were taken aback.

The Southern Pharmacy was not associated with any medical department; it was where the Medical Officer Institute sorted medicinal materials to supply and sell to the Imperial Apothecary. Sending the top-ranked Medical Officer from the Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring examination to the Southern Pharmacy was like squandering a valuable resource. In practice, such work was usually done by Pharmacists, and was ordinarily not a task for Medical Officers.

Among the Medical Practitioners present that day, each had their own specialty departments, yet only Lu Tong was assigned to the Southern Pharmacy.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read