Chapter 283: Chapter 117 I’ll Help You_1
The surroundings were quiet.
The plum trees at the doorway spread out like nets laden with snow, enveloping the medical hall within.
Ah Cheng came to his senses and, discarding his blanket, ran towards the room, warily observing the person in front of him, debating whether to call the eastern neighbor and Yin Zheng from the backyard to help.
Miao Liangfang stared at Lu Tong, his expression changing unpredictably.
"Please, take a seat and let’s talk, Medical Officer Miao," said Lu Tong.
After a long standoff, Miao Liangfang snorted and finally, leaning on a walking stick, moved to sit in front of a small table in the inner room.
Seeing this, Ah Cheng hurriedly picked up the teapot to fill two cups on the table, then glanced at Lu Tong and, upon receiving a nod, lifted the felt curtain to go into the backyard and help Du Changqing and Yin Zheng.
In the medical hall, only Lu Tong and Miao Liangfang were left.
Lu Tong pushed the cup of tea across the table towards Miao Liangfang, who didn’t take it and instead turned his head to look around. When he saw the "Exam Simplification" document Lu Tong had placed on the table, he was momentarily taken aback.
After a while, he turned back to look at Lu Tong and asked, "How did you know my identity?"
To confront the issue head on was to acknowledge what Lu Tong had said.
"I guessed."
"Guessed?"
Lu Tong explained, "The books and scrolls you’ve written are different from other medical texts, covering all nine subjects with a consistent format. It’s said that the Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring exam papers are not to be circulated. Unless one is a member of the Imperial Medical Bureau or has passed the spring exam, I fear it would be impossible to compose such well-organized exam questions just by conjecture."
Miao Liangfang squinted his eyes, "Just based on this, you determined I am from the Hanlin Medical Institute?"
"Not exactly," Lu Tong said, looking at his tea cup. "I couldn’t be sure of your identity, so I asked Official Hu to make inquiries at the medical establishments for me, for the name lists of commoner medical workers who have passed the spring exam in the last thirty years."
Miao Liangfang’s expression showed a shock.
Lu Tong smiled faintly.
For a commoner medical worker to pass the spring exam and enter Hanlin Medical Institute was a rare occurrence in these years, just enough to fill a single sheet of paper. If a citizen from the medical field became a Hanlin Medical Officer it was something to be publicized with gongs and drums, so inquiring about it was not difficult.
"Twenty years ago, in the Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring exam, there was a commoner medical worker surnamed Miao who passed the exam with the third-highest scores, becoming that year’s only commoner Medical Officer in the Hanlin Medical Institute," said Lu Tong at an even pace. "I heard that this man was extraordinary in medicine, proficient in pharmacology, and initially highly regarded by the Chief Officer of the Yiguan Court. Ten years ago, however, he was expelled from the institute for violating certain rules, disappearing without a trace."
With every word that Lu Tong spoke, Miao Liangfang’s face grew a shade paler and his hand, clasping the tea cup, trembled slightly.
Lu Tong raised his eyes, "Sir, are you that Hanlin Medical Officer who passed the spring exam?"
Miao Liangfang stared at Lu Tong, something flickered in his dim, disheveled eyes, but then he laughed as if he had heard a joke.
He spread his hands and pointed at his tattered jacket, "Me? A Hanlin Medical Officer? Do you really believe that?"
"I believe."
Miao Liangfang froze.
Lu Tong looked at him, "I believe it."
During these days, she had repeatedly reviewed the scroll Du Changqing had bought, growing ever more certain that this person was not simple. Du Changqing had inquired that Miao Liangfang had lived in West Street for many years, making a living by copying books for people and sometimes doing odds and ends. When he had money, he bought rice to cook porridge, when penniless, he starved.
Nobody knew where he came from or what his family situation was; they only knew he drank prolifically, forever drunken and disoriented, and no one thought highly of him. If Du Changqing managed to just maintain the small medical hall left by his late father and earned a few smiles from people, then Miao Liangfang in West Street was nothing but a wretched drunkard who even beggars could kick around.
And yet it was this very drunkard who couldn’t bear to remove the thriving medicinal herbs in front of his house, letting them grow wild and cover up most of the door plank.
Such herbs couldn’t survive without people caring for them,
The man in front of her could no longer force a smile on his face, he clenched his fist tight, and in a low voice said, "What exactly do you want to do by finding out all this?"
"I’ve told you, I want to take part in the Imperial Medical Bureau’s spring exam to become a Medical Officer at the Hanlin Medical Institute."
"Stop fooling around!" Miao Liangfang laughed bitterly out of rage. "Every year during the spring exam, how many commoner medical workers become Medical Officers? Silly girl, you are so set on taking the spring exam just to spite the Minister of Imperial Treasury. What do you think the medical profession is?"
"Furthermore," realising he might have been rude, Miao Liangfang lifted the tea cup and gulped down a mouthful to calm down a bit before he continued, "What’s so good about being a Medical Officer? Whenever a noble from the palace encounters trouble, Medical Officers often end up buried alive with them. Do you think those who get buried are? They are naturally commoner Medical Officers with neither background nor connections!"