Chapter 286: Chapter 117 I’ll Help You_4
Silver couldn’t sway Miao Liangfang; naturally, there were other means. In a lifetime, it’s all about love and hate.
Yin Zheng was silent for a while before she spoke cautiously, "But, what if Mr. Miao refuses to agree to Miss’s terms, what should we do then?"
Miao Liangfang seemed impervious to temptation. Even when Du Changqing personally visited and promised substantial rewards, he remained unmoved. During the daytime visit to the clinic, he arrived fuming, seeking to hold Lu Tong accountable, but without saying much, he stormed off with a sweep of his sleeves. He seemed to have no regard for anyone and might not agree to others’ requests.
Lu Tong lowered her gaze.
"There is not only one path to take," she said after a while. "If he refuses, we will think of another method."
Paths are fixed, but people are adaptable. Her aim to enter the Hanlin Medical Institute would undoubtedly progress smoother with Miao Liangfang’s help, but without him, she wouldn’t be rendered immobile.
There would always be another way.
Yin Zheng nodded and said nothing more.
That night, sleep came late, and towards the latter part of the night, small snowflakes began to fall over Shengjing once more. When Lu Tong woke the next day, the sky was not yet fully bright.
Overnight, a few branches of the plum tree by the window had blossomed, a sparse few petals adorned the long branches, appearing even more desolate amid the snowy weather.
Lu Tong opened the window, and the sight of plum blossoms against the snowscape, radiant and colorful, left her momentarily dazed.
It was as though she had returned to many years ago at Luomei Peak, waking up to find empty bowls beside her from testing remedies, scrambling up off the ground, stumbling out of the hut, and lifting her head to see the endless snow blanketing the mountain.
Someone behind her called out, "Miss?"
Lu Tong suddenly snapped back to reality as Yin Zheng, rubbing her eyes, stood in the doorway, "Why are you awake so early?"
She was slightly taken aback for a moment, as if she only gradually realized that this was Shengjing beneath the Emperor’s feet, not Luomei Peak far away in Su Nan.
Yin Zheng did not notice Lu Tong’s stunned expression and merely yawned, pulling her clothing tighter around her, "It’s so cold, Miss, hurry back inside. You shouldn’t catch a chill from the cold wind; it would be terrible if you fell ill."
Lu Tong followed her back inside, and after they both quickly freshened up, Yin Zheng boiled some water and joined Lu Tong to open the door.
Winter mornings were cold and dawn came late, causing the West Street vendors to open their stalls a bit later as well. As they opened the clinic’s main door, the tailor shop and silk shoe store across the street were still closed, with the sky just beginning to lighten. The horizons, after a night of snow, were gray in the early morning, as if draped in a layer of white mist.
Yin Zheng picked up a broom, planning to sweep away the accumulated snow at the doorstep, but as she approached the door, she let out a startled cry and nearly stumbled and fell.
Lu Tong asked, "What’s wrong?"
Yin Zheng pointed to the plum tree, "Miss..."
Lu Tong looked over.
Under the plum tree sat a person, who knows how long he’d been there, his whole body covered in a layer of white snow; at first glance, one might mistake him for a corpse. He moved, shaking off the snowflakes from his felt hat, revealing that greasy face, crisscrossed with wrinkles.
Lu Tong was slightly shocked.
The man was Miao Liangfang.
Miao Liangfang, leaning against the tree, slowly got up.
Whether it was due to his lame leg, or because he had been frozen for too long, his movements were stiff, and he staggered like a toddler learning to walk.
No one spoke.
After a while, Miao Liangfang shivered and, looking at Lu Tong, said impatiently, just as he had the day before, "Do you know how hard the spring examination is? The number of commoner medical workers who have passed in the last three years can be counted on one hand."
"I know," she replied.
"And you still want to take it?"
"I still do."
He took two steps forward, rubbing his nose, and said with discomfort, "What you said yesterday, does it still stand?"
Lu Tong looked at him.
Miao Liang was still wearing the same cotton-padded jacket from the day before, with the hole ripped open at the chest looking slightly larger. His hair was graying, his eye sockets red, standing under the plum tree, he appeared as clumsy and stiff as a snowman.
That snowman had been meticulously built by Ah Cheng and then had been shattered by a single kick from the Minister of Imperial Treasury’s servant.
The snowman’s pitch-black eyes, like two jujubes dulled by dust, carried a hint of earnest and fragile hope, timidly looking up at her.
The snow had stopped, and West Street in the morning was silent. The medical clinic’s sign faced directly towards the main entrance and the plum tree, with the leaves unable to conceal the words "Benevolent Heart."
Lu Tong smiled and nodded, "Of course."