Chapter 369: Chapter 140 Digging at the Foundations_3
The sound of his voice hit the ground, and He Xiu raised his head in surprise on the other side.
The Southern Pharmacy had entries but no exits unless one was dead; in all these years, no one had ever been seen leaving the Southern Pharmacy. This was the place for the abandoned, the ones who had offended the powerful, the ones without a future.
And yet, now the Envoy of the Imperial Apothecary was personally inviting, clearly intending to give Lu Tong special attention. Having won favor from higher-ups, Lu Tong’s future could only be bright. He would no longer need to lower himself to squeeze into the cramped lodging of the Southern Pharmacy, constantly accompanied by poisonous flowers and herbs.
No one would refuse such an offer.
Qiu He was confident.
"The Envoy honors me, I am flattered," Lu Tong said. "But I regretfully cannot accept..."
Qiu He stopped, hardly believing his own ears, "Why?"
He Xiu also could hardly believe it.
How could one refuse?
"I belong to the Medical Officer Institute. Envoy Cui personally appointed me to gain experience in the Southern Pharmacy," she raised her head, her expression both longing and apprehensive, as if a beautiful dream was before her eyes, yet she dared not reach for it.
"If I were to go to the Imperial Apothecary, I’m afraid Envoy Cui would have to decide."
...
In the Medical Officer Institute, Cui Min was sitting at a table, flipping through medical books.
A Servant was carefully grinding ink beside him. As he read, Cui Min seemed to remember something and looked up to ask the person beside him, "How is the Southern Pharmacy doing?"
The Servant replied, "No news has come through."
Cui Min nodded slightly and put down the medical book in his hand.
Today was the third day since Lu Tong had been sent to kneel in the Shennong Shrine as punishment.
Being sent to kneel in the Shennong Shrine was just the beginning. Zhu Mao’s tests had not elicited any response from the Medical Officer Institute in these three days, so very soon, he would make his move against Lu Tong.
A young woman, no matter how proud and resilient, once she fell into such a wretched state, would soon be destroyed.
The prouder one was, the more completely they would be destroyed.
It had been just so with Mei Erniang in the past.
But Lu Tong was a bit luckier than Mei Erniang because she was valuable. So he would magnanimously save her from purgatory and become her benevolent savior for whom she would be eternally grateful.
"In these three days, has Lu Tong sent any message?" Cui Min asked.
"No, sir," came the reply.
Cui Min’s eyes darkened.
If no messages had been sent in three days, this either meant that kneeling as punishment at the shrine had not yet reached an unbearable level for Lu Tong and she had not thought to seek help, or she was so incapable and foolish that even after being in the Southern Pharmacy for so long, she hadn’t found anyone to send a message on her behalf.
However, based on her previous performance, Cui Min did not believe it was the latter.
The punishment was not severe enough, then.
Until one reaches the abyss, everyone always feels that they can climb out on their own merit; little do they know that in a place like the Imperial City, it’s a small matter if no one gives you a hand, but when you’re stuck in the mire and someone steps on you, that’s the more common occurrence.
Cui Min shook his head, took the inkstone, and started to grind his own ink, saying, "You go to the Southern Pharmacy and ask Zhu Mao a few questions about Lu Tong, and don’t do anything else."
The Servant’s expression turned solemn.
This was like pouring fuel on the fire.
It was almost a clear signal to Zhu Mao that the Medical Officer Institute had no objections to his treatment of Lu Tong and would ignore it despite being aware. With this knowledge, Zhu Mao would be even more unrestrained and carefree in his torment of Lu Tong.
Lu Tong’s good days were coming to an end.
"Yes, sir."
The ink slowly spread into a large swathe of dark traces in the inkstone, and Cui Min squinted at it.
He was waiting.
Waiting for Lu Tong to fall into the abyss, with no one to turn to for help, and then to appear before her as a saving star.
By that time, he would be like a light in the dark room to Lu Tong, a boat encountered by accident in a hopeless situation, and he would easily reap her tears of gratitude.
Human nature is always so, it is easy to add flowers to the brocade, but difficult to send charcoal in snowy weather. All of this could be considered a little lesson he was giving that young female medical officer, to teach her that fighting alone in the Imperial City is not enough.
Just like the ink in this inkstone, at first black and white on paper are clearly defined. However, with just a light stroke, the ink imbues the whole blank page, fusing the two together, until you can no longer distinguish black from white.
It’s easy to follow the crowd, but difficult to maintain one’s integrity.
As he watched, suddenly someone came in. It was one of his medical officers, who hesitated at the door, not daring to walk any farther, and with his head low, he said, "Envoy, Envoy Qiu from the Imperial Apothecary is here, currently waiting at the door."
Qiu He?
Cui Min was puzzled.
Though there was interaction between the Medical Officer Institute and the Imperial Apothecary, he was not close with Qiu He and seldom met privately. Qiu He barely visited the Medical Officer Institute even once a year; why would he suddenly come by?
"What for?"
The Servant hesitated before speaking, "Envoy Qiu said it’s to ask you for someone."
"Ask for someone?"
Cui Min frowned.
There were medical officers in the Medical Officer Institute with outstanding knowledge of pharmacology who were sometimes called away by the Imperial Apothecary; such things had happened before.
But it was the first time an Envoy of the Imperial Apothecary had personally come to ask for someone. When had such a person in the Medical Officer Institute become so esteemed by Qiu He?
"Who is he asking for?"
For a while, no one answered.
Meeting Cui Min’s increasingly suspicious gaze, the medical officer lowered his head and finally spoke hesitantly, "It’s... Doctor Lu from the Southern Pharmacy."