Jiang Gu wolfed down three bowls of yam and lean meat porridge, leaving Xu Jiang and Lin Hongchu staring in amazement.

Lin Hongchu said secretly: "This is simply the reincarnation of a starving ghost."

"I heard it."

Lin Hongchu's ears were quite sharp, and he immediately covered his mouth.

Jiang Gu finally felt his stomach settle after shoveling the last of his porridge into his mouth. But he kept getting up, feeling bloated again, and quickly held onto his belly. Xu Jiang felt a sense of disillusionment, as if she could see through his incredibly handsome exterior to the pot-bellied appearance of a man in his fifties or sixties.

If he could live longer.

After a cup of tea, the medicine boy brought the medicine.

Jiang Gu frowned and was about to refuse when he heard Xu Jiang say, "It cost me one or two taels of silver to see you. If you don't want to drink it, give it to me."

He could spend his own money as he pleased, but not hers.

"I didn't say I didn't want to drink it." Jiang Gu drank the medicine in one gulp. He felt it was bitter and spicy and almost vomited.

When the medicine boy saw that he had finished drinking it, he gave him the remaining medicine and the prescription written by Doctor Chen, and instructed him: "Boil one dose every day, drink it in the morning and evening. Avoid alcohol and cold, and rest well."

Then he said goodbye to a few people and returned to Qianjin Hall.

Jiang Gu picked up the prescription and took a look at it. He found that the handwriting was quite good. He didn't know that Yonghefang was full of hidden talents. Anyone he picked up could write well.

Xu Jiang saw him staring at the prescription over and over again, so she said, "The doctor who treated you is Doctor Chen from Qianjintang."

Jiang Gu nodded, "Qianjintang does know."

Xu Jiang continued, "His full name is Chen Qinghan. He passed the imperial examination in the 13th year of the Yuanhe reign, and ranked fourth on the list."

Jiang Gu looked at her in surprise.

"Young Master Jiang must be aware of what happened in the 13th year of the Yuanhe reign. Doctor Chen, dissatisfied with Lin Qinnian's dismissal, resigned from his official position and later turned to medicine, opening this Qianjin Hall."

"No wonder he has such beautiful handwriting."

"Sir, do you know where Lin Qinnian, the top-ranked Jinshi scholar, is now? Where is he now?"

"I heard he became a teacher."

When Lin Qinnian was mentioned, Lin Hongchu's expression also became gloomy.

Xu Jiang gave her a soothing look, then asked Jiang Gu, "Sir, what do you think of their situations?"

Jiang Gu sneered, "He who should have been in high office is now living in the market. What else can he do?"

Xu Jiang asked again, "How does it compare to the young master?"

Jiang Gu paused, and after a moment's silence, he said, "How can I be compared with these two great sages?"

Xu Jiang nodded in agreement. "Your Excellency is highly talented, but lacks moral integrity. You truly shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as the two gentlemen. I was mistaken."

Jiang Gu immediately held the prescription tightly.

Xu Jiang knew that she had said something hurtful, but seeing his expression, she felt relieved.

He was not afraid of being punished, but was afraid of having no intention to punish. So he continued to harden his heart and said cruelly: "Excuse me for being blunt, but the fact that Doctor Chen and Master Lin's paths to success were cut short is an injustice of the world, and the Jiang family's downfall is karma."

Jiang Gu's carelessness instantly solidified into icy spikes. He stared at Xu Jiang and said coldly, "You saved me, are you trying to insult me by saying this?"

"Insult?" Xu Jiang chuckled. "If telling the truth is an insult, then what do you call the immoral and dishonest behavior you've committed?"

Jiang Gu was hurt by her smile, "What does it have to do with you?"

Xu Jiang retorted, "Of course it has nothing to do with me. I was just gossiping in front of Master Jiang. What? Master Jiang, haven't you gotten used to hearing gossip over the years?"

Lin Hongchu felt stabbed when she heard this, let alone Jiang Gu.

He stood up angrily, but because he stood up too quickly and had just eaten too much, he pulled his intestines and sat down again, holding his stomach. He was in pain and angry, and his face turned blue and white.

Xu Jiang quickly stopped her attack to avoid provoking the man into harm's way.

She asked concernedly, "Are you okay?"

Jiang Gu felt that her face was hypocritical and hateful, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Stop being so hypocritical."

It seems okay.

Xu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief, narrowed her eyes and smiled, "I really thought you had abandoned me. Now that you're so arrogant, I guess you're not completely unconcerned."

Jiang Gu finally realized that she was trying to provoke him, and he felt mixed emotions.

"Hongchu, go get the remaining hawthorn berries from last time to help Young Master Jiang digest his food."

"oh."

Lin Hongchu was somewhat reluctant as there were only a few hawthorn fruits left and she had wanted to keep them for herself, but she still followed his instructions and put the hawthorn fruits on a plate and gave them to Jiang Gu.

Jiang Gu stared at the hawthorn fruit in front of him, then glanced at the smiling Xu Jiang, feeling ashamed and angry. What was this? A beating followed by a sweet date? But he couldn't help himself and picked one up and put it in his mouth.

Seeing that his anger had subsided a little, Xu Jiang asked again, "Master Jiang, can you read history?"

Jiang Gu was afraid that she was setting a trap in her words, so he glanced at her and did not answer.

"If we were to talk about the greatest historian, it would undoubtedly be Sima Qian. He aspired to write history from a young age, 'wishing to explore the relationship between heaven and man, understand the changes of the past and present, and form his own unique opinion.' However, before he could complete his work, he was implicated and met with misfortune, being castrated."

Jiang Gu had calmed down and listened to her story.

"An ordinary person, after suffering such a severe physical and mental injury, would have been devastated long ago. But Sima Qian endured the humiliation and expended all his energy, spending fourteen years to complete The Grand Historian, a masterpiece of historians. In his preface, he even proposed the idea of 'writing with great indignation,' using the wisdom of the ancients to express his loyalty."

Xu Jiang saw a trace of shame on Jiang Gu's face and continued, "Wise men before him turned their resentment into stars, and righteous men after him melted their resentment into fire. Yet, you, with your great talent, have allowed it to fester. Do you feel ashamed?"

This question made Jiang Gu's mouth bitter and his heart ache. Even the hawthorn fruit in his mouth was too bitter to swallow. After a long while, he slowly said, "The path to the imperial examination is closed, the path to military service is cut off, and now I can't even publish a collection of works in this capital. What else can I do?"

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!