Chapter 536: Chapter 190 True or False Fiancé
Several days of scorching sun had passed, and finally, a shower of rain fell.
The day after the rain, the weather cooled down significantly.
Envoy Cui Min of the Medical Officer Institute had been very busy recently. The tasks of the other medical officers had increased, everyone was so occupied that they did not even touch the ground, with the exception of Lu Tong.
With no duties for the Board of Rites Office and not being on call, Lu Tong was more leisurely than before.
In the small forest’s pharmacy, with the doors and windows wide open, Lu Tong sat at the table, comparing the spread-out scrolls in front of her, and carefully picked out the herbs into the bamboo medicine basket.
"Coptis, licorice, Arisaema, cinnabar, Bupleurum..."
A figure passed by the window and stopped in front of the pharmacy door. After a moment, a voice said, "Doctor Lu."
Lu Tong turned around to see Ji Xun standing at the door.
"Doctor Ji?"
Today he was without the attendant called Zhu Ling who usually followed him. He entered the room and bent over to place several volumes of books in front of Lu Tong.
Lu Tong, puzzled, asked, "What are these..."
"I have collected some useful Time-proven Golden Mirrors from the Imperial Medical Bureau. Since you are not on duty recently, you can take advantage of your free time to read them."
Lu Tong was taken aback.
The last time in Ji Xun’s pharmacy, Ji Xun had mentioned that he would find some medical theory books from the Imperial Medical Bureau for her, but she thought it was just an offhand remark and did not take it seriously. Lu Tong did not expect him to actually bring them.
Lu Tong said, "Thank you, Doctor Ji."
Ji Xun shook his head, his gaze falling on the medicine basket on the table.
He sat down at the table.
"Are you making a new medicine?"
"I’m just trying to improve a prescription."
Ji Xun flipped through the medicine basket: "Poria, Polygala, Myrrh, Dragon’s blood, Magnolia bark..." His eyes slightly narrowed, "Is this a prescription for treating heart palpitations and loss of will?"
Lu Tong nodded.
"Epilepsy mainly stems from emotional internal injuries. Your prescription mainly consists of substances that soothe the liver and relieve depression, clear heat, and nourish yin. I fear the effect may not be good."
Lu Tong nodded, "That’s right." After thinking for a while, she added, "What do you think about adding some Qiongchong Insect, Doctor Ji?"
"Qiongchong?"
Ji Xun furrowed his brow and contemplated seriously for a long time before shaking his head, "That’s inappropriate."
"Qiongchong is highly toxic and in the past was only burned to ashes and sprinkled on silkworms to treat silkworm diseases like white rigidity. With your prescription, adding Qiongchong might temporarily relieve emotions and calm epileptic disorders, but over time, lingering toxins would build up in the body, paralyzing the mind. While it may appear to improve the condition on the surface, in reality, the disease would worsen, leading to intractable and recurring illness in the future."
Upon hearing this, Lu Tong’s expression changed slightly, "Is that so..."
Ji Xun looked at her and said disapprovingly, "Doctor Lu, I know you have quite some ideas about prescription formulation, but as a healer, one must not seek short-term satisfaction at the expense of long-term wellness. Ultimately, everything comes back to a single word ’heal’."
"When you treated Vice Minister Jin previously, though I misjudged you, I still do not agree with your use of Red Phosphorus Wool. Vice Minister Jin’s condition would ultimately benefit more than suffer from it."
Lu Tong looked at him.
The young man, dressed in white, had a serious and earnest expression, looking every part the young medical officer teaching students in the Imperial Medical Bureau with patience and strictness.
She paused before speaking, "There is nothing in the world without its uses. Tianxiong citrus, known for its extreme toxicity in medicine, is used by skilled physicians to save lives. Doctor Ji, there’s no need to view highly toxic substances as devastating floods or fierce beasts."
"Moreover, a capable healer should feel the urgency and concerns of their patients as their own. The reason I used Red Phosphorus Wool on Vice Minister Jin was that, for him, the kidney ailment was the only true heart disease."
"Diseases change in myriad ways, so must the medicines."
Her tone was calm, but with a hidden sharpness.
Ji Xun’s brows furrowed slightly.
He had realized it already during their misunderstanding over the Red Phosphorus Wool; Lu Tong seemed compliant, but she was very opinionated, especially when it came to medical matters where she was particularly stubborn. As a commoner medical worker, she learned medical theory solely through oral transmission from her master, and her aggressive approach to prescription during the spring exam might have been heavily influenced by her mentor.
It was natural for long-standing medical habits to be difficult to change.
However...
Lu Tong’s demeanor clearly showed resistance to change.
She was very persistent in her own views.
Ji Xun was about to argue with her again when he glanced down and his gaze struck the white jade at his waist, causing him to pause.
He looked at Lu Tong again.
Lu Tong, with her head lowered, worked skillfully with the herbs. In the midst of summer, she chose not to relax in her lodgings but instead came to the pharmacy early in the morning to research new prescriptions. Such dedication was rare unless one was truly passionate about the medical arts.
He swallowed the words he was about to say.
It was pointless. Ever since Su Nan had first met her, he knew that Lu Tong’s family was in dire straits, and she refused to see a doctor even when ill. She was not a student of the Imperial Medical Bureau nor had she been taught by a medical officer; her progress solely through practical experience and street folk prescriptions to reach her current capability was not easy. As for those overly radical ideas and prescriptions... perhaps he should just slowly correct them over time.
With that thought in mind, he gently shook his head, his gaze falling back onto the silver medicine jar on the table.