Chapter 321: Chapter 128 Miao’s Prescriptions_1
The lanterns are taken down on the eighteenth, following the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth.
After the lanterns were taken down, Lu Tong hung the toad lantern he had acquired from the lantern fair under the eaves in the yard. At night, the giant turquoise toad emitted a faint blue glow in the darkness, which looked quite eerie.
Miao Liangfang had been staying late at Renxin Medical Hall each night to mentor Lu Tong on medical classics for the spring trials; one night, he got a scare while visiting the privy and took a bad fall. Originally limping on one leg, he wound up with both legs not doing so well.
He discreetly and repeatedly suggested to Du Changqing that the toad lantern hung by Lu Tong was ugly and earnestly recommended changing it to something nicer, only to be flatly rejected by Du Changqing.
"Change it for what? Haven’t you heard what others are saying? A toad, winning laurels in the imperial exams! This lantern must hang at least until the spring trials’ results are announced."
"I’m warning you," Du Changqing intimidated him, "If you secretly take down the lantern and cause Doctor Lu to fail the spring trials, you’ll be the criminal of the medical hall, the disgrace of West Street!"
Miao Liangfang: "..."
He flung his sleeves in a huff: "This is outrageous!"
To say it was outrageous would not quite be true; everyone at Renxin Medical Hall was indeed very tense and concerned about Lu Tong’s upcoming spring trials.
Yin Zheng went to Dai Sanlang’s place every day to select fresh pork to stew for Lu Tong’s nourishment. Du Changqing, along with Ah Cheng, went to Wan’en Temple to seek an empowered talisman of Manjushri Bodhisattva. When Lu Tong was sitting in the hall attending to patients, Miao Liangfang would sit by his side, watching him treat patients and prescribe medicine, while also offering meticulous guidance and corrections—sometimes, the Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring exams would involve on-the-spot diagnosis.
Even Scholar Wu, upon learning of this, had Official Hu send a letter to Lu Tong. He said nothing else, just advised Lu Tong not to be nervous and to just go with the flow.
Lu Tong himself was not nervous; it was the others in the medical hall who were on edge.
And this tension reached its peak the night before the spring trials.
All the necessary medical boxes and Golden Needles were ready. Du Changqing, wary of disturbing Lu Tong on the following day of the spring trials, closed the doors of the medical hall early and went home with Ah Cheng. Miao Liangfang, however, stayed in the courtyard of the medical hall, helping Lu Tong go over the last points to be mindful of.
"For the spring trials, there are nine subjects to be tested over three days, almost as challenging as the autumn examinations. Those with weaker physical stamina may find it tough even after just one or two days. There have been commoner medical workers recommended by the medical community who participated in the spring trials and, due to their old age, passed away during the process. When I took part in the spring trials, I emerged after three days with my face having thinned down significantly; it truly wears a person down.
"Among these nine subjects, only the acupuncture and moxibustion subject requires face-to-face diagnosis. For questions answered on examination papers, reading more medical classics can help. However, the Imperial Medical Bureau has ’King Golden Needle,’ a great master of acupuncture and moxibustion teaching students, who ensures that year after year, the Bureau’s students achieve the best results in this subject. The acupuncture skills of commoner medical workers have always been inferior to those of the Imperial Medical Bureau.
"Your own needle technique, Lu, is unique and quite different from that of the Shengjing Imperial Medical Bureau. Although I have taught you some techniques, the final outcome depends on your ability to diagnose on the spot—so it is hard to say just how well you’ll fare."
"Also..."
He droned on ceaselessly, and now the serene blue glow of the toad lantern fell upon his face, casting it in a ghastly pallor, while every wrinkle around his eyes brimmed with anxiety.
"Mr. Miao," Lu Tong interrupted him, "Are you very tense?"
Yin Zheng had gone to the kitchen to boil water, and the yard fell into an extraordinary silence when the babbling stopped.
Miao Liangfang turned around, hesitated for a moment, and then forced a strained smile: "What a joke, it is not I who will be competing; what do I have to be nervous about?"
"You’ve already repeated everything you just said earlier," Lu Tong remarked.
Miao Liangfang paused, then fell silent.
"Whatever it is you’re worried about, Mr. Miao, you might as well tell me," Lu Tong said as he put the velvet cloth wrapping the Golden Needle back into the medical box. "That way, I can also make preparations in advance."
From early morning that day, Miao Liangfang had been behaving very out of character.
Usually, aside from mentoring Lu Tong on medical theories and pharmacology, he spent most of his time leisurely. In his own words, it was a "tranquility and indifference that comes after seeing all there is to see," and he would be quite happy as long as he had wine to drink.
But today, right from the morning, Miao Liangfang was hopping up and down, scratching his head and looking exasperated, so much so that even Yin Zheng suspected he had been possessed by Du Changqing.
Facing Lu Tong’s puzzled look, Miao Liangfang finally let out a sigh, "I have heard that this year’s Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring trials’ results announcer has been changed to Cui Min."
"Cui Min?"
"Cui Min is the current Officer of the Hanlin Medical Institute." Miao Liangfang tightened his grip on his knee. "He... has a strong aversion to commoner medical workers. Under his charge, no commoner medical worker has ever made it onto the spring trials’ honor roll."
Lu Tong frowned and looked at the man before him, a thought suddenly stirring in his heart.