Chapter 51: Chapter 49 Sticking Out_2
The woman heard this and couldn’t even manage to force a strained smile, only weeping, "Where would there be a doctor on this mountain..."
Pei Yunmeng chuckled lightly, "Isn’t one standing right before you?"
At this statement, both the woman and Lu Tong were taken aback.
Pei Yunmeng’s lips curled into a smile as he spoke slowly, "This Miss Lu is the Resident Doctor of Renxin Medical Hall, and the ’Chun Shui Sheng’ that was recently popular throughout Shengjing was created by her. Lady Dong," he called the other party familiarly, "Doctor Lu has just saved Young Master Dong once, and if she wishes, she could save him a second time."
Lu Tong was startled and subconsciously looked towards Pei Yunmeng.
How did he know that "Chun Shui Sheng" was her work?
On the other side, Lady Dong turned her gaze towards Lu Tong upon hearing this, still appearing somewhat hesitant.
She hadn’t witnessed Lu Tong saving Dong Lin, uncertain of the actual extent of her medical skills, and given that she was so young and a girl...
Dong Lin, held in his mother’s arms, furrowed his brows tightly, moaning in pain, his breath growing faint.
Lady Dong’s expression changed several times. There was no other doctor available, and it was too late to wait for someone to come up the mountain. Having Pei Yunmeng vouch for her, the woman couldn’t possibly be a fraud. At this moment, there was no choice but to try a dead horse as if it were a living doctor.
With determination, she turned to Lu Tong and begged earnestly, "Please, Doctor Lu, save my son. If Doctor Lu can save my son’s life, my Dong Family will surely offer a substantial reward in gold!" As she spoke, she was about to kneel.
A pair of hands grasped her arms, stopping Lady Dong’s gesture of kneeling.
Lu Tong said calmly, "My lady, there’s no need for such courtesy. As a healer, saving people is my duty."
Lady Dong looked at her, suppressing her fear of Pei Yunmeng, and said with an upturned neck, "But if you are merely bluffing and harm my son, delaying his chance for treatment..."
The threat in her words was evident.
Lu Tong remained silent, gave a silent consent, collected the Golden Needle that had fallen earlier, and turned her head to meet Pei Yunmeng’s somewhat teasing gaze.
He arched an eyebrow, leaned in slightly, and whispered to her, "Can Doctor Lu cure him?"
The young man was quite tall, and Lu Tong stood within his shadow, a very intimate posture. She discreetly moved a bit away from him and said, "I will try my best."
He nodded and added seriously, "Then Doctor Lu better do a good job treating him. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, I’ll be implicated as well." Although he said this, he was smiling around the corners of his eyes and relaxed in tone, clearly not taking the matter to heart.
Lu Tong didn’t say any more. She walked over to the young man, had the servants prop him up, cleaned the Golden Needle, and started reapplying the acupuncture.
The crowd of onlookers had been entirely dispersed by the Dong Family’s servants, leaving only Xiao Zhufeng and Duan Xiaoyan among a few others.
Lady Dong watched Lu Tong’s movements, her face extremely tense, surreptitiously squeezing a sweat. Yin Zheng, by contrast, seemed much more relaxed.
Seeing this, Duan Xiaoyan quietly moved next to Yin Zheng and spoke with faux familiarity, "Sister, is Doctor Lu’s medical skill really so remarkable?"
Yin Zheng had seen the scene where this young man showed his waist token to Lady Dong and surmised that his identity was not ordinary, so she replied, "Of course. My miss knows everything." She then let out a sigh, "It’s just a pity she’s too young. Often people don’t believe her. Like Lady Dong," she spoke, her voice carrying a hint of resentment, "Miss kindly saved her son’s life, and not only did she not offer thanks, but she also wanted to tie Miss up. How can there be such ingratitude in this world?"
Duan Xiaoyan chuckled at this.
Yin Zheng turned to look at him, "What are you laughing at?"
"Sister," Duan Xiaoyan suppressed his laughter, "Haven’t you thought about it? The old man of the Dong Family is the Minister of Imperial Treasury of Shengjing, yet his son suffers from tuberculosis. If this news were to spread, which respectable family’s daughter would dare marry him? They would try their hardest to conceal it. Doctor Lu just publicly disclosed Young Master Dong’s illness in front of everyone, so of course Lady Dong is infuriated. Only by detaining Doctor Lu and accusing her of fraud can Young Master Dong’s illness be claimed to be false."
Yin Zheng listened, dumbfounded, "How could that be! Besides, although one might conceal it for a while, it won’t stay hidden forever. What bad karma have the girls from good families created, to deserve being deceived into such marriages?"
"Shh, keep your voice down!" Duan Xiaoyan urged hurriedly, "Don’t worry, Sister. Even out of respect for our elders, Lady Dong wouldn’t dare tie up Doctor Lu now. Besides, if Doctor Lu really cures Young Master Dong, the Dong Family will be too grateful. Their family has always adored their youngest son; they couldn’t neglect the savior of Young Master Dong’s life."
"Who wants their gratitude?" Yin Zheng retorted angrily, "With such character, our miss should stay far from them!"
Duan Xiaoyan coughed lightly and dared not speak further.
Meanwhile, Lu Tong focused intently on applying acupuncture to Young Master Dong.
Young Master Dong was slightly overweight and probably seldom moved about. His pulse was deep, the string scale weak, with deficiencies in both the lung and kidney.
Lu Tong precisely targeted each of his acupuncture points, replenishing and reducing in turns, and occasionally instructed Yin Zheng to fetch a warm moxa stick. Young Master Dong’s complexion gradually soothed, and his breathing, which had been rapid, seemed to slowly ease off.
Seeing this, Lady Dong silently recited several amitabhas, nearly bursting into tears of joy.
A fine sweat began to bead on Lu Tong’s forehead. Yin Zheng saw this and hurried over with a handkerchief. Lu Tong didn’t look up, simply taking the handkerchief and wiping absentmindedly.
She was dressed in a plain white short jacket and long skirt that day. As she raised her hand, a stretch of pale white jade-like wrist was revealed, completely devoid of any bracelets or rings, clean and delicate.
Pei Yunmeng, who had glanced carelessly at first, suddenly fixed his gaze, the smile on his lips slowly fading as his eyes grew sharp.
That wrist bore a faint red mark, a fresh and deep scar winding upwards.
It was a fresh bloodstain.