Chapter 17 Medical Disputes Cut Off the Family Line

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Master Huici? Lin Xihe immediately perked up her ears.

The more he paid attention, the quieter the surrounding chatter became, eventually turning into a murmur of sighs.

Instead, the discussions from the other side drifted over clearly.

"Have you heard? The eldest daughter of the Lin family sent a cartload of deer antler velvet to the second young master of the Wen family!"

"Really? Alas, what a pity. Such a fine young master, yet he's impotent?"

"The Wenguo Duke's mansion's incense offerings are probably doomed."

"Mother, is deer antler velvet delicious? I want to eat some too."

"You child, don't talk nonsense!"

Lin Xihe took a big bite of the softest part of the bun, the aroma of meat mixed with the soup filling her mouth. She couldn't help but think to herself: What kind of heavenly life does Wen Zhixu live every day!

Qingwu ate four steamed buns, but much slower than usual: "Miss, I can't eat any more buns. Can you eat them?"

“That’s called channeling your grief into your appetite,” Lin Xihe said confidently. “Why would I get angry over a steamed bun? Besides, even if that Wen fellow isn’t good at anything else, the pastry chef in his household is clearly better than ours! Try this; it even has fresh bamboo shoots and mushrooms in it!”

Qingwu held up the fifth steamed bun: "..."

The master and servant acted "discreetly"—in reality, they swaggered through the streets, munching on steamed buns, from one end of the street to the other, heading straight for Baohetang.

Baohetang was a famous medical clinic in Shengjing City, and Doctor Qian was its most renowned name.

The young apprentice he had seen before was squatting on the ground picking herbs. Seeing a servant approach, he imitated his senior brother's stern face and said, "Go away, go away, Master is not seeing patients today."

Lin Xihe was taken aback. Could it be that the clinic was already closed at noon?

Qingwu stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you! This is the eldest sister of the Lin family!"

The young apprentice glanced sideways at their coarse linen clothes and said with increasing annoyance, "I don't care if it's the Lin family mansion or the Lin family mansion, my master is busy."

Judging people by their appearance at such a young age? Lin Xihe didn't give her a friendly look, slammed the prescription on the table, and pointed to the worm-like signature at the bottom: "Call Qian Mazi out here, the lousy medicine he prescribed is completely useless!"

Good grief, this is a medical dispute.

The apprentice doctor retorted angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? My master doesn't have that name!"

Qingwu quickly corrected her in a low voice: "Miss, Doctor Qian's name is Qian Lianxue."

The doctor's cursive handwriting was inconsistent between ancient and modern styles, and not recognizing it didn't mean Lin Xihe was illiterate. She wasn't ashamed and went straight to the point: "I don't care if he's Qian Mazi or Zhang Mazi. He took ten taels of silver for the consultation and just wrote a prescription to replenish qi and improve complexion to fool me?"

The neighbors looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this, and finally someone blurted out, "You've been ripped off! When has Doctor Qian ever charged more than ten taels for a consultation?"

The people of Shengjing had no worries about food and clothing, and the most common ailment among them was indigestion. Business was slow for clinics, so consultation fees were naturally low.

Lin Xihe didn't take it seriously, treating it as an appointment with a specialist in exotic pets; she understood the slightly higher fee. However, the prescription offered no help to Bu Bu's injuries.

She consulted her adoptive father, who had some medical knowledge. Lin Zhaoheng's expression froze, instantly pulled back to a certain memory. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Your mother used to use this recipe for dietary supplements, which helped improve her complexion."

Lin Xihe looked at Lin Zhaoheng's sunken nose, touched her own pert nose as if she had been scared, and suddenly asked, "Where is my mother?"

"Waaah..." The cheap old man went to court crying.

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Lin Xihe heard from the neighbors that they had difficulty using the toilet, and seeing that the man was well-dressed and seemed to be from a wealthy family, she realized: this was a disease of the rich, constipation caused by indigestion.

Unfortunately, there were no enemas in ancient times. She casually added, "Drink a few cups of lightly salted water on an empty stomach in the morning. If that doesn't work, rub some vegetable oil on the back of your head."

Upon hearing this, the wealthy man was speechless for a moment: "This...this is too vulgar!"

Everyone dismissed her as talking nonsense and shook their heads.

Hearing this, Dr. Qian felt a surge of anxiety, fearing she might say something shocking again. He decisively stepped forward to welcome her into the clinic, just to keep the peace.

As soon as Fang sat down, Lin Xihe slapped the prescription in front of him.

Only then did Doctor Qian see Lin Xihe's true face clearly, and immediately exclaimed that he had been negligent—Lin Xihe knew that he had not recognized the eldest daughter of the Lin family, but the sucker who was willing to pay ten taels for a consultation.

He took the prescription and examined it closely. His face darkened, and he shouted angrily, "Nonsense!"

Lin Xihe blinked. Denying it? What exactly is the second step in this medical malpractice dispute?! I never caused trouble in my past life!

Just then, the curtain rustled, and a person ran out from the back room. It was a familiar face—the very same apprentice who had copied the prescription that day.

Doctor Qian angrily rebuked his apprentice, and his scolding lasted for the entire time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Lin Xihe initially stood and watched the excitement, but then she got bored and sat down. Finally, having nothing to do, she could only pace back and forth in the hall.

She understood; the apprentice had forgotten to copy a crucial medicinal ingredient: flower stamen stone.

It is precisely because of the absence of this ingredient that the life-saving medicine for clotting blood and promoting tissue regeneration has become a nourishing medicine for replenishing blood and beautifying the complexion.

"Then hurry up and get the medicine ready!" Lin Xihe interrupted the two of them.

Doctor Qian and his apprentice fell silent at the same time; neither of them dared to speak.

Silence spread through the clinic, except for the abrupt sound of medicine being pounded in the back room.

The silence was finally broken by the approaching sound of horses' hooves.

A moment later, a young man lifted the curtain and entered, gently calling to Doctor Qian: "My mother needs these medicinal herbs, thank you for your help, Doctor Qian—"

Lin Xihe's gaze swept over the other person's eyebrows and eyes.

An hour ago, this person gave her a few meat buns; an hour later, for some reason, the person abandoned the carriage and rode a tall horse with a coat as white as the moon.

His face was flushed from the speed, but his spirits became even more unrestrained and flamboyant.

Lin Xihe glanced at Xiang Wenzhi's mount, inwardly scorning it. A modern domineering CEO flaunts his luxury car, while an ancient young master flaunts his fine horse.

In her past life, she had only ever ridden smelly horses in tourist attractions.

The horse in front of me is quite majestic... riding it must be a unique experience.

I want to ride it.

Wen Zhixu recognized Lin Xihe, dressed as a servant, at a glance and asked in a calm voice, "Have you finished eating the buns?"

Just as he was worried that Lin Xihe would cause trouble, Doctor Qian chuckled and replied, "Young Master Wen has a good eye. You can recognize Miss Lin right away, even in her current state."

The three people in his clinic, with six pairs of eyes, still couldn't recognize Lin Xihe.

A murmur arose among the onlookers outside the clinic, as they whispered amongst themselves.

"This must be Young Master Wen? He truly possesses extraordinary bearing!"

"Is that really the legitimate daughter of the Imperial Censor? She's disguised like that."

"Young Master Wen is so handsome and dashing, how could he... be incapable?"

“Miss Lin is his future wife, how could she be lying?”

For a moment, only one voice echoed in the crowd: No, no, Young Master Wen won't do.

The surrounding chatter was boiling. Wen Zhixu completely dropped his gentle facade and said with sarcasm, "It's quite a sight to see such a short servant."

Lin Xihe was enveloped by his figure. She tilted her head back and thought, "So what if you're tall!"

She pointed to the servant's cloth shoes at her feet: "I'm 165cm tall with shoes on and 162cm without them. That's considered tall for a woman!"

In modern times, she would be unremarkable, but in ancient times, her height would have made her stand out from the crowd!

Wen Zhixu didn't quite understand the strange number she mentioned. He raised his eyelashes to ponder her height and said, "If Miss Lin wants to appear taller, she should put more effort into the insoles."

Lin Xihe: "You want me to wear height-increasing insoles?!"

Preface to the text: "?"

Height-increasing insoles? What kind of strange talk is that?

This woman's words seemed to form a coherent whole, with no logic to be deciphered.