Chapter 404: Chapter 150 Young Master Qi
Time passed quickly, and before one knew it, April had arrived.
The closer it got to Qingming, the more rainfall Shengjing received. It often rained at night, but during the daytime, a hint of warmth began to emerge. With the coolness of morning and evening, people were prone to catching colds.
Many medical officers from the Medical Officer Institute had taken sick leave due to colds. In the room, Cui Min coughed several times, picked up the medicinal tea from the table, took a couple of sips, and then the itch in his throat subsided.
In the spring, diseases were easily triggered. As the Envoy of the institute, Cui Min was busier than usual. In addition to his duties in the palace, the development of new prescriptions also encountered problems.
Thinking of new prescriptions, he inevitably thought of that new female medical officer.
Cui Min put down the tea cup and asked the person beside him, "How is Lu Tong doing now?"
That day he had assigned Lu Tong to diagnose Jin Xianrong, but she had been blocked by Pei Yunmeng. He had thought the matter would be dropped, but, unexpectedly, Lu Tong had volunteered to visit the Jin Mansion.
Actually, whether Lu Tong could truly cure Jin Xianrong was not of much concern to Cui Min. He only needed Lu Tong to stumble badly in the Medical Officer Institute. Arrogant and self-reliant people were always difficult to handle, especially since the Red Fragrance Silk incident had revealed the deeper thoughts hidden beneath the woman’s submissive appearance.
The Medical Officer Institute did not need thinkers; it needed doers.
The person beside him responded, "Every day she carries on as usual; Lord Jin from the Board of Rites Office has neither praised nor criticized her."
Cui Min frowned slightly, "No trouble then?"
"None that I’ve heard of."
Cui Min said nothing, his eyes darkening.
Jin Xianrong’s lecherous nature had always been hard to change. Even now, with a kidney pouch disease, he likely wouldn’t behave. Yet, despite Lu Tong having visited several times to administer treatments, there had shockingly been no gossip or scandal associated with their encounters.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Where is Lu Tong now?"
"Today is the day she goes to diagnose Lord Jin. Doctor Lu left early in the morning."
...
Elsewhere, Lu Tong was getting down from a horse-drawn carriage with a medical box on her back, looking up at the mansion in front of her.
The Board of Rites Office was located under the eastern corridor of the Imperial City, where officials from the Ministry of Revenue often performed their duties. The place was tranquil, not far from the Capital Marshal’s Mansion, but it covered less ground than the Marshal’s Mansion, and at first glance, one might take it for the residence of some wealthy family.
As Lu Tong approached the entrance, Jin Xianrong’s hunchbacked page came to greet her: "Doctor Lu is here, please come in. The lord has been waiting for you for quite a while!"
Lu Tong nodded and followed the page into the Board of Rites Office.
The exterior of the Board of Rites Office didn’t look particularly large, yet the interior was repaired almost to the point of grandeur, with a meticulously arranged porch and lavish furnishings. At the entrance stood a wall screen carved from a single block of nanmu wood, featuring the carving of a giant elephant symbolizing "a vision of peace."
The interior was even more luxurious, with jade sofas, fragrant tables, gold stands for painting, making it clear to the initiated that this was a place for official duties, while to the uninitiated, it might seem like they had mistakenly entered a room of some noble royalty.
Jin Xianrong stood beside Lu Tong, smiling cheerily, eyebrows-those that drooped down-now lifting with vigor, looking more spirited than before with a notably rosier complexion.
He was thrilled, "Doctor Lu, ever since I’ve taken your medicine and gotten a few acupuncture treatments, I’ve been feeling full of yang energy the past few days, and that painful spot doesn’t hurt much anymore. When I get up in the morning, I feel some sensation there again, does it mean it’s getting better?"
"Yes."
"Really? That’s great!" Jin Xianrong’s expression was one of extreme joy and excitement, "I always said there’s no such thing as a dead end under heaven; my fate isn’t meant to be cut short." He then praised Lu Tong, "It is Doctor Lu’s unparalleled medical skills. The bunch from the Medical Officer Institute before were useless compared to you. I’ve only taken a few doses of medicine, and already there’s such a miraculous effect. With such medical skills, it’s a pity for Doctor Lu to be just a minor medical officer in the Hanlin Medical Institute. I think you far surpass Cui Min..."
Lu Tong listened absentmindedly to his flattery, noticing that with the exception of Jin Xianrong and his servants, there was no one else in the Board of Rites Office, and asked, "Is Lord Jin the only one who performs duties here on a regular basis?"
Jin Xianrong laughed, "Pretty much. Nowadays, with the centralization of power in the Three Departments, the Ministry of Revenue is almost like a decoration. Besides me, the other Ministry personnel are just holding sinecures. On a normal day, there’s hardly any paperwork to be done, just sitting around idly, so there aren’t many people around. Today, since Doctor Lu is visiting, I asked the others not to come over, so as not to disturb your work."
He had thoughtfully considered everything. Lu Tong suppressed the look in her eyes and walked a few more steps, only to stop as she reached the innermost room and caught a glimpse inside.
This room was exquisite.
Unlike the grandeur of the outer chamber, this room exhibited the refined elegance of a scholar.
A purple sandalwood inlaid gemstone screen stood at the entrance, half-opened to reveal the purple sandalwood bed beyond it, piled with backrests and leather mats, accompanied by a purple bamboo fragrant table displaying various scholars’ objects, looking particularly sophisticated.