Chapter 406: Chapter 150 Young Master Qi_3
He knew that Lu Tong was now diagnosing Jin Xianrong, but with Jin Xianrong’s renal carbuncle, there was no need for the Hong Fang Xu. This medicinal herb was special, and if it weren’t for Lu Tong’s current method of processing the herbs that could eliminate the toxicity of the branches and leaves, the medical officers of the Medical Officer Institute would actually prohibit the use of this poisonous plant.
As the matter dealt with poison, one should be more vigilant.
Yet, Lu Tong said she had never used it...
A voice came from the side reminding him, "Young Master, the carriage is waiting at the door."
Ji Xun came back to his senses and said, "Let’s go."
Perhaps, he had seen wrong.
...
The encounter at the door of the Medical Officer Institute in the evening did not weigh on Lu Tong’s mind.
After having dinner, she went to the dispensary to make medicine.
At the rear corridor of the Medical Officer Institute was a row of empty rooms designated as dispensaries, available for medical officers to concoct new medicines and devise new prescriptions.
However, very few medical officers could make new medicines and develop new prescriptions, which meant that apart from brewing medicine, the dispensaries were mostly unoccupied most of the time.
Ever since Lu Tong had arrived, the row of empty dispensaries lit up with lamps at night. The Imperial Medical Officers of the Medical Officer Institute all said that the newly arrived Doctor Lu, who was treating Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Jin Xianrong, had taken on a difficult task and had to work hard every night, a truly pitiful situation.
Lu Tong didn’t feel pitiful at all.
She liked staying in the dispensary, liked the company of those bitter medicinal aromas. Compared to dealing with all sorts of people in the Medical Officer Institute, the quiet dispensary brought more peace of mind.
Getting closer to her goal, bit by bit, always brought peace of mind.
The clear night was bright, and from the layers of trees outside the window, a crescent moon peeked through, casting a pure and bright light.
The bright moonlight clung to the skirts of the person in the room and cast circles of shadows on the ground. The shadows on the ground reached out, placing a large bunch of red-tinted herbs into the jar, as a serene and fragrant aroma gradually wafted out.
Accompanied by layers of pink mist.
Lin Danqing visited halfway through, glanced from afar outside the window, saw the swirling smoke, and then left.
Lu Tong sat quietly in front of the medicine jar; that silver jar was filled with various brown liquids, thick fragrance surrounding her, making her shadow appear and disappear in the mist, like a surreal painting. It was unknown how long passed, but the smoke gradually disappeared, and the muddy liquid in the medicine jar had at some point turned black and solidified at the bottom of the jar.
She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead and turned her head towards the window.
The moon had moved several feet away, and the courtyard was silent, with only the faint sound of frogs croaking, drifting with the wind.
It was the third watch of the night.
Lu Tong turned back; the charcoal in the brazier beneath her feet had completely burned the remnants of the herbs to ashes. Next to the silver jar were a few scattered branches, their green leaves fresh and lively, with the red flowers among them brilliantly vivid like blood.
She bent down, picked up the broken branches from the ground, and tossed them into the dying embers of the fire.
...
The light in the room flickered.
When Lu Tong returned to her lodging, Lin Danqing was still reading under the lamp.
Seeing her return, the girl stretched and said, "You’re finally back." Then, teasingly said, "Younger Sister Lu, you really are diligent. No wonder you were able to top the list with flying colors during the spring examinations."
Lu Tong only smiled.
Although Lin Danqing said so, she herself also worked hard. They shared a room, and Lu Tong often saw Lin Danqing reading medical books until late into the night.
Unlike Lu Tong, who had a secret purpose for entering the Medical Officer Institute, Lin Danqing came from a decent family, yet she wasn’t negligent either.
Lu Tong sat down at the desk, undid her hair band to comb her hair, and glanced at the medical book in front of Lin Danqing, which was the "Various Poisons" section from the "Mingyi Medical Classic".
Her gaze lingered, and before Lu Tong could speak, she saw Lin Danqing resting her chin on her hand and looking at her, "Younger Sister Lu, how do you make your medicine so perfectly dose?
Lu Tong was puzzled, "What?"
"’Spring Water Born’ and ’Xianxian’!"
The girl cupped her face and looked at her, "After the spring exam ended, I was curious about who the genius was that surpassed me to take the number one spot on the red list. Later, I found out you were a Resident Doctor at Renxin Medical Hall and even made inquiries about your affairs, so I had someone buy these two prescriptions."
"I can’t discern all the ingredients in this formula, but just the few I can identify are already skillfully and wonderfully matched."
"To be honest, before that, I was quite jealous of you," Lin Danqing confessed openly, "But after seeing those two herbs, I knew that I really did fall short compared to you, and hearing that you’re a commoner... In our Liang Dynasty’s medical field, most medical records are managed by the Imperial Medical Bureau. For a commoner to make a name in medicine, one either needs many years of practicing with broad experience, or one must be a genius."
Lu Tong was silent for a moment, "I’m not."
"You are!" Lin Danqing slapped the table, "That way, my loss doesn’t feel unjust."
Lu Tong didn’t say anything.
She sighed again, "Later on, I gradually came to terms with it. I have a better background than you, and my family treats me okay. I’ve never really suffered much from childhood to adulthood. My family’s ancestors always said that the world’s fortune never allows one person to have it all."
"One spring exam doesn’t mean much; who knows, maybe at the year-end Official Examiner assessment, I’ll surpass you again." She spoke with fighting spirit, but her tone was somewhat low, seemingly lost in thought with a wistful look on her face.
People in the world, by and large, all have their own dissatisfactions. A girl like Lin Danqing who seemed lighthearted might also have worries that she can’t share with others.
Lin Danqing yawned and glanced back at the water clock, "Oh dear, it’s already the third watch."
"It’s getting late, we should get some sleep, we’ll have to get up early tomorrow." She picked up the medical book and went to the outer bed.
Only Lu Tong was left in the room.
In the desk’s copper lamp, there was only a thin layer of oil left, about to run out, and the flickering flame was not bright enough, casting shadows that were intermittent and choppy.
Lu Tong took out a fragrant pill from the Silver Jar she had brought back earlier.
It was a dark brown fragrant pill, and even without getting close to it, one could smell a faint, subtle fragrance.
In the daytime, Jin Xianrong handed her this fragrant pill and mentioned Qi Yutai’s fastidiousness in his daily diet and attire: "The incense he uses is Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance; take a whiff, a single censer is not cheap."
Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance calms the mind and spirit, and regular use can relax one’s mood and regulate emotions. The fact that Qi Yutai didn’t use other scents and only favored Spirit Rhinoceros Fragrance also made him different from other wealthy young nobles.
However...
Lu Tong picked up the fragrant pill, and as the lamplight shone through it, upon closer inspection, she could see a faint red hue inside that wasn’t quite clear—if not for looking this closely, it would have been difficult to detect any hints.
Emotions are subtle; miss by an inch, and you are off by a mile.
In the deep of the night in the sleeping chamber, the woman sat before the mirror, pondering something as the corner of her lips turned up in a smile that held a hint of mockery.
After a long time, she took the medical chest beside her, opened it, and placed the fragrant pill inside.