Chapter 259 Unveiling the List

Jishetang sent its staff to post notices in the east, west, south and north of the city, seeking patients with difficult and complicated diseases for free treatment.

The notice was posted in the north of the city, and the staff immediately stopped the person who posted it.

"We've heard news so quickly?"

Lin Yuesha had great confidence in Doctor Yan because she had witnessed Lin Qian's medical skills firsthand.

As descendants of the same imperial physician family in the capital, they couldn't possibly be without some skills. It's just that Jishetang took advantage of their youth and bullied them by relying on their seniority.

Thinking of the five hundred taels of silver that would soon be in her account, Lin Yuesha's eyebrows danced with joy, and she became even more eager to receive it.

Lin Yuesha squeezed to the front row. The person who took the notice was a middle-aged man with a worried look on his face. The clerk from Jishetang was asking him questions.

“He is my second brother. He usually delivers goods for people at the grocery store and has no health problems whatsoever.”

The middle-aged man sighed and talked about his second brother's situation: "He came home at noon the day before yesterday, didn't say a word, and just fell asleep as soon as he lay down."

At first, the family didn't pay much attention, as they had a habit of taking a midday break and continuing to work in the afternoon.

The family members left one after another in the afternoon, while his second brother continued to sleep.

“My sister-in-law felt sorry for my second brother and thought he was too tired, so she couldn’t bear to wake him up.”

As a result, when the whole family went home after work in the evening, his second brother was still not awake.

Is there anything unusual?

The clerk inquired and registered whether it was considered a difficult or complicated case, and then went to report back to the doctor at Jishetang.

However, he felt that the illness was a bit strange.

"There's nothing wrong, he's just been in a deep sleep and hasn't woken up."

The family thought the second brother was just too tired, so they waited all night. When they went to check on him the next morning, he still hadn't woken up.

Although he was not awake, his complexion was very bad, and his breathing was somewhat weak.

The family also consulted a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, but the doctor said he had never seen such a case before and suggested that they consult a doctor from Jishetang (a traditional Chinese medicine clinic).

“Without fifty taels of silver, you can’t even get through the door of Jishetang. How could our family possibly be worthy of it?”

The middle-aged man squatted in the corner, rubbing his hair. Let alone fifty taels, even five taels of silver would be difficult for his family to afford, and they would have to scrape together the money.

Poor people can't afford medical treatment, and if they get such a strange disease, they can only wait to die.

In his despair, the man heard that Jishetang was posting notices looking for patients with rare and difficult-to-treat diseases. He was illiterate, so he begged an accountant to read the notice aloud. He immediately mustered his courage and took down the notice.

This is the family's last chance.

"Young man, could you please put in a good word for my second brother? This is really..."

As the middle-aged man spoke, he pulled out a handful of copper coins from his patched purse, stuffed them into the waiter's hand, and pleaded.

"I will convey this to my employer, but I can't guarantee anything else."

Even so, the clerk at Jishetang still accepted the coins, though his expression suggested he was dissatisfied with the small amount the man had given him.

Lin Yuesha narrowed her eyes, her dislike for Jishetang growing even stronger.

From top to bottom, they're all heartless and greedy. With such poor medical ethics, their medical skills can't be any better. Just wait to be slapped in the face by Dr. Yan!

"Miss, it's really not easy having a sick person at home."

Bai Cha felt very sorry for her brother, and then she remembered that her family had gone to relatives to borrow money, but they were kicked out of the house in the cold weather.

They wouldn't lend her a single copper coin and even humiliated her. It was at that moment that Bai Cha gritted her teeth and decided to become a servant. As long as there was money to save her brother's life, what did it matter if she suffered some grievances?

It's better than kneeling and begging for help, only to be met with indifference and insults.

"This coma must be considered a difficult and complicated illness. When we get back, we'll go to Dr. Yan's shop to have a look."

Lin Yuesha thought she might as well send a message herself. As for whether she could help the man's second brother, that was no longer her decision; it depended on that man's fate.

"Miss, look, isn't that Miss Jiang?"

Lin Yuesha and Bai Cha were focused on the Jishetang shop assistant and the middle-aged man, but Longjing wasn't interested and looked around aimlessly, where she happened to spot Jiang Baozhu.

"Longjing, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Following the direction Longjing pointed, Lin Yuesha saw a woman carrying a package and walking hurriedly.

Her white fox fur-trimmed jacket and skirt were exactly the same as Jiang Baozhu's, and her walking posture was also very similar.

That jacket and skirt were made when Madam Xu was in good spirits. Lin Yuesha also had a similar one, so she concluded that the person Longjing was referring to was Jiang Baozhu.

"This is the north of the city. Why did Sister Baozhu come to the north of the city?"

The north of the city is where ordinary people from the prefectural city live, and there are also low-lying slums. It's strange that Jiang Baozhu came to the north of the city alone without her maids Xiaoxi and Xiaocui, acting so suspiciously.

Lin Yuesha learned that Jiang Baozhu had no relatives in the prefectural city, and if there were any people she visited, it was only Jiang Baozhu.

"White tea, Longjing tea, let's follow them and take a look."

Lin Yuesha was suspicious, and worried that Jiang Baozhu might not be safe on her own, so she spoke to the two of them.

The three of them quietly followed behind Jiang Baozhu, always maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far.

"Miss, we're almost at the edge of the city."

Bai Cha is from Fucheng. Her family lives in a small village not far north of the city, so she is quite familiar with the surrounding terrain.

Seeing that Jiang Baozhu's route was getting more and more off track, she couldn't help but remind her young mistress.

Not far ahead, there was a dilapidated temple. Because it had been struck by lightning, the beggars who lived there had all moved away, saying they were afraid of divine retribution. Judging from the direction Jiang Baozhu left, it seemed she was going to the dilapidated temple.

"Let's wait here for a while before going over."

Lin Yuesha's doubts deepened, but she thought that since Jiang Baozhu had come out on her own without a maid, perhaps she didn't want her privacy to be known.

Although the two are good friends, they should still give each other some space; it's not appropriate to rush over like this.

"But Miss..."

Bai Cha thought about it and realized that her young mistress wasn't wrong, so she didn't continue.

The three of them, master and servant, waited in place for about a quarter of an hour, but Jiang Baozhu had already disappeared.

Jiang Baozhu looked around and, seeing no one nearby, felt a little flustered and regretted coming alone.

Last night, she was taking a walk in the backyard when she saw a little beggar standing at the side gate.

The little beggar kept waving at Jiang Baozhu, who assumed he was there to beg, so she took some snacks from the pavilion.

“Sister Baozhu, a scholar named Zhang asked me to pass on a message that he wants to meet you at the dilapidated temple in the north of the city tomorrow at noon. He says he wants to borrow a thousand taels of silver from you.”

After the little beggar finished speaking, he took the snacks and disappeared without a trace, before Jiang Baozhu could even ask him anything.

Could it be Zhang Jing, the scholar?

Jiang Baozhu felt a chill run down her spine when she recalled what the old monk at Yutan Temple had said. Perhaps Zhang Jing had been captured by the barbarian woman, who wanted to make a deal with her, which was why she sent the little beggar to deliver the message.

After much deliberation, Jiang Baozhu spent a sleepless night and decided that she still had to save Zhang Jing.