Chapter 106: Chapter 66: Unwillingness_2
Du Changqing sneered, "Offering incense to Wen Quxing... It would be more useful for them to send a couple of silver notes to the chief examiner."
As soon as these words came out, the surroundings fell silent.
Lu Tong looked at Du Changqing while Official Hu was stunned for a moment before coming back to his senses, tremblingly pointing at Du Changqing, "What did you say?"
"Ah, those weren’t my words; I heard them from someone else," Du Changqing leaned closer, lowering his voice, "I used to have a friend whose cousin was an even bigger fool than me, illiterate, yet he somehow passed the imperial exams with honors. After getting drunk one day, he let slip that he had bribed the grading examiner."
Du Changqing said, "That fishmonger, Scholar Wu, is so poor he can’t even afford medical treatment, let alone bribe anyone from the Ministry of Rites. He deserves to have his spot taken; he can’t see the reality of the situation, yet claims to be learned in all literature and history, what a bookish fop!"
"Don’t talk nonsense!" Official Hu interrupted him sharply, "Such slanderous talk could bring trouble upon us both if overheard by others. Changqing, you must be cautious with your words; otherwise, if you stir up trouble, I won’t be able to save you!"
Despite his words, Official Hu’s face showed an uncertain expression. After all, before Old Master Du passed away, Du Changqing indeed had a group of frivolous friends, and these rumors might not be entirely false.
Du Changqing shrugged his shoulders and absentmindedly poked at the jujubes on the tea tray, "Uncle, of course, I know not to talk about this publicly, but I think Scholar Wu’s chances of passing the exams this year are slim too. Every year new candidates apply, and his rankings will fall further back. It’s a hopeless case; it’s futile to continue, he might as well give up early."
"You!"
Lu Tong asked, "If there are such irregularities in the examination hall, why not report it to the authorities? Cheating is a grave offense."
Official Hu wanted to say something but stopped himself. Du Changqing, however, was unabashed and laughed, "How can you report something to the authorities without evidence? If written by day, the one who writes the petition might be arrested by night. The ones whose scores were supplanted are mere scholars without rank—how can they withstand being enemies of the imperial court? Failing the exams is only a lost career, but opposing officials—that can cost one’s life."
He clicked his tongue a few times and sadly shook his head, "What can we do, being powerless and without influence? In this world, whoever is the master gets to call the shots."
Official Hu’s face darkened with anger, seemingly provoked by Du Changqing’s words, yet he was powerless to respond. After a long silence, he finally uttered, "Man sees the present, heaven sees the future. It’s uncertain how things will turn out later; I believe the scholar will certainly pass with flying colors and achieve distinction!"
Du Changqing stretched lazily, "Uncle, who would you fool with that?" he paused, "However, I heard that His Majesty has been aware of the cheating in recent years, and maybe this year they will investigate thoroughly and strictly, which could indeed give Scholar Wu a chance to shine."
His words carried the pretense of comfort, but they did nothing to improve Official Hu’s countenance. After a moment of silence, he changed the subject, "Enough of this talk, Changqing, have you had any trouble recently from Xinglin Hall?"
Du Changqing, "Not at all, it has been so long, and with the name Bai now at his wit’s end, the number of patients at Xinglin Hall has halved. He’s too busy worrying to spare me any thought."
Since "Xianxian" started selling, the clientele at Xinglin Hall had decreased, and Bai Shouyi, due to the incident with Chun Shui Sheng, had shifted all the blame onto Zhou Ji and chased him away. Without the resident doctor’s presence, the number of patients visiting Xinglin Hall dwindled by the day.
Ah Cheng handed the packaged herbs to Official Hu, who accepted them and nodded, "That’s good to hear. If he dares to trouble you, I’ll back you up."
Du Changqing smiled and agreed, then saw Official Hu off into his carriage. After Hu departed, Du Changqing ambled back into the shop.
Lu Tong was examining a new medical book.
Du Changqing muttered under his breath, "Who needs him to back me up, if he dares to cause trouble..."
Yin Zheng, curious, "Then what?"
Du Changqing obsequiously passed a jujube to Lu Tong, "I’ll just let Doctor Lu back me up."
Yin Zheng, "..."
Du Changqing picked up his tea and walked toward the bamboo chair, murmuring quietly, "I wonder what that old turtle is up to now?"
...
Bai Shouyi sat in the room, stewing in anger.
In the past few months, he had lost a lot of weight, and his once plump, Maitreya-like face had become gaunt, no longer bearing his usual geniality, now appearing rather narrow-minded.
Wen You stood by his side, cautiously handing him a cup of tea.
Ever since the "Chun Shui Sheng" incident, Xinglin Hall’s reputation and income had suffered damage. Bai Shouyi, unwilling to take this setback lying down, straightforwardly sought out the familiar Medicine Examiner Officer, Lou Si, planning to take "Chun Shui Sheng" under the Official Medicine Bureau’s name. Without the business of Chun Shui Sheng, Renxin Medical Hall would naturally have no means to make money.
Who would have known that the Resident Doctor of Renxin Medical Hall, Lu Tong, was truly capable? After it was taken over by the Official Medicine Bureau, she actually came up with another concoction called "Xianxian."
"Xianxian" became even more famous than "Chun Shui Sheng", and as the silver continued to flow into Renxin Medical Hall, Bai Shouyi grew restless at night.
Eager to find more trouble for Lu Tong, that Medicine Examiner Officer Lou Si hit him with a bolt from the blue, disclosing that Lu Tong actually had connections with the current Minister of Imperial Treasury of the Dong Family!
That was the Minister of the Imperial Treasury!
Bai Shouyi’s expression darkened.
The words of Lou Si echoed in his ears again.
"Last time, just after I had confiscated Renxin Medical Hall’s finished medicinal contract, people from the Dong Family came to back up Renxin Medical Hall. They forced me to return the official contract to Du Changqing and gave me quite a scare."
"...Later, when I inquired, it turned out that the Resident Doctor from Renxin Medical Hall had treated the Dong family’s young master once and from there climbed up to have a connection with the Dong Family. That’s why Lady Dong regards her differently."
So, Lu Tong has connections with the Minister of the Imperial Treasury...
That was not someone he could afford to provoke.
How did Du Changqing stumble upon such good fortune, when it all seemed almost beyond saving, and yet someone fell from the sky, reviving that dilapidated medical hall, causing great envy in others.
After thinking for a long time, Bai Shouyi had planned to take a different approach, to outright recruit that capable female doctor under his command, but that Doctor Lu was unappreciative of the opportunities presented. Wen You had privately sought out Lu Tong several times and each time was sent away by the maidservant by her side.
As he saw Renxin Medical Hall thriving more with each passing day, even the officials of Shengjing were going there to buy medicine, Bai Shouyi grew increasingly frustrated, unable to help but curse, "When it comes to swindling silver, they say, ’money settles the business, fire softens the pig’s head,’ but when troubles arise, excuses abound, and the silver is not returned. That Lou Si is a dog that won’t spit out a bone once he’s got it!"
Wen You stood by the side, not daring to even breathe too loudly. Now that Xinglin Hall had lost its income and Bai Shouyi was in a turbulent mood, none of the servants dared to rub him the wrong way.
Just then, the door curtain was lifted, and Madam Tong walked in from outside.
As she approached, she said, "Has master heard? Du Changqing’s cousin has arrived in Shengjing and is currently staying at Renxin Medical Hall."
"Cousin?" Bai Shouyi was startled.
Madam Tong seated herself, picked up the teacup on the table, blew on it gently, and passed it to Bai Shouyi.
"Just a downtrodden, penniless relative looking for handouts. Only a simpleton like Du Changqing would treat her as a real younger sister. In my opinion, master, you’ve been eating poorly and sleeping poorly over the affairs of the Du family; given that Lu Tong is so ungrateful, why not speak to Du Changqing’s cousin?"
"What good would that do?"
Madam Tong smiled, "Oh, there are plenty of things that can be done. Du family’s cousin is staying at Renxin Medical Hall and not leaving, I think there’s more to it than just hoping for some small kindness. Lu Tong and Du Changqing’s relationship isn’t clear cut..."
"Young Master Du has always been a playboy; it’s inevitable that troubles arise in the backyard. If Du family’s cousin can drive out Lu Tong..." She smiled, "Without Doctor Lu, wouldn’t Renxin Medical Hall become nothing to worry about?"
Bai Shouyi didn’t speak.
After a while, he narrowed his eyes and spoke deliberately.
"You make a good point, I should talk to her."