The moon moves, casting shadows on the flowers.

When Bai Shu returned to her room in the evening, she learned that her brother had come looking for her during the day. However, she was at the Imperial Astrologer's office, and the Xuande Gate closed early, so her brother couldn't stay long and left first.

Her brother brought her a lot of things from home, including food and household items, pork cracklings, stuffed dates, and a large jar of rose honey.

Bai Zhu took out each item one by one, sighed, and felt even more homesick.

She missed home so much—her mother, her grandfather, her father, her brother, her sister-in-law, and Little White Boat. She wondered if the child she had tangled up and made cry had found his way out yet.

Bai Zhu missed home more and more, and couldn't help but shed tears.

Waaah, I want to go home.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Bai Shu quickly wiped away her tears and went to open it. "Who is it?"

The girl who arrived was about her age, a little shorter, and spoke with a Hunan accent, her voice crisp and cheerful: "I'm Xiao Fu, the medicine master. The moon is beautiful tonight, everyone's going to play in the courtyard, are you coming?"

Huh?

Bai Shu was stunned for a moment when she first heard the Xiangnan dialect. Then she heard Fang Lingshan talking to the tall and strong girl who had helped her fend off the colleagues who came to join the fun that day. Looking in that direction, she saw seven or eight female physicians carrying tables and laying out mats. The courtyard was bustling with activity, and groups of female physicians were running out of the houses, while others ran back in, bringing out all kinds of fruits and snacks and distributing them to everyone on the tables.

Xiao Fu looked at Bai Zhu with bright eyes, waiting for her response.

Bai Shu suddenly thought of the time when her family would count stars under the osmanthus tree in the yard when they were at home.

The homesickness suddenly dissipated, and Bai Shu nodded in agreement, "Okay, okay. Oh, wait for me a moment." She went back into the house, carrying rose honey, pork cracklings, and stuffed dates. There were quite a lot of things, and Bai Shu couldn't carry them all, so Xiao Fu helped her. Bai Shu said, "My brother just brought these from home. My mother's pork cracklings are so delicious..."

The aroma of pork cracklings and the sweet scent of rose honey wafted out of the oil-paper seal. Xiao Fu took a deep breath and exclaimed with a smile, "My goodness, it smells so good! It's fragrant and sweet. Your mother's cooking skills are truly amazing, like something out of a fairy tale."

Xiao Fu speaks very quickly, sounding somewhat like she's arguing fiercely. She had deliberately slowed down her speech when she first invited Bai Shu, afraid Bai Shu wouldn't understand. But this second, sincere compliment revealed her rapid-fire tone. Bai Shu was bewildered and asked blankly, "What did you say?"

"She said your mother's cooking is excellent, fragrant and sweet, like something made by a fairy." The tall, strong girl, carrying two wine jars, overheard their conversation and translated for Bai Shu, "You'll understand once you get used to it."

The tall and strong girl was named Lang Dianxian. Her family was very prominent during her great-grandfather's time, but later the family fortunes declined. Her grandfather became an apprentice in a pharmacy, and her father was a famous doctor.

Apart from the few female physicians on duty in the palace tonight, almost all the female officials from the Imperial Medical Academy came. About twenty girls arranged the tables and chairs in a circle and quickly set them up. Then, the kitchen staff brought over the banquet ordered by the Imperial Physician Shen, filling the table to the brim.

Bai Zhu opened the rose honey, and the sweet rose fragrance filled the courtyard. Several female doctors gathered around and asked her, "Where did you get this rose drink? It smells so good!"

Bai Zhu soaked the rose honey in water and distributed it to everyone.

In early summer, the moonlight was indeed beautiful that night; both full moons were very bright, and the courtyard was as clear as a mirror.

The twenty or so female doctors were all seated. Chen Gongfeng raised her cup first and said, "Let's stick to the old rules. Those who want to drink can pour themselves a drink, and those who can't drink can do as they please. Today, let's start with this first cup to welcome the four new medical officers: Lord Bai from the Department of Gynecology and Pediatrics, Lord Chang from the Department of Incantation, Lord Xu from the Department of Acupuncture, and Lord Lin from the Department of Processing. From now on, we will all be colleagues, learning from each other, helping each other, and doing our jobs well."

Bai Zhu doesn't drink alcohol; her cup contains rose syrup. She's still quite unaccustomed to being called "Your Excellency," so she quickly raised her cup in return, saying along with the three female officials, "With more offerings and guidance, we will certainly do our best to fulfill our duties."

Shen Gongfeng gestured with her hand, nodded and smiled, saying, "From now on, the four of you will be staying here permanently. Just treat this place as your home. When we're on duty, we're colleagues; when we're off duty, we're sisters. There's no need to be reserved." She then looked at another elderly physician with white hair and asked, "Fang Gongfeng, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

Fang, an elderly and kind grandmother, said, "Save your polite words for Lingcheng. The little ones are lively and carefree. The two of us here are making them uncomfortable."

The youngest of these female medical officers was Bai Zhu, and the oldest, Qiu Chuxin, was thirty years old, but in the eyes of the white-haired, sprightly old grandmother, they were all "little kids".

“That’s right,” Shen Gongfeng replied with a smile, then rose from his seat.

Fang Gongfeng was old and suffered from rheumatism, making his legs and feet weak. Fang Lingshan went to help Fang Gongfeng, but Fang Gongfeng told her to stay, saying, "I'm with Achen, you don't need to worry about me."

As Shen and Fang left their seats, Fang Lingshan returned to his place, and the table immediately became lively.

To Bai Shu’s left sat Su You, another female student of her “jack-of-all-trades” master who had not formally become his apprentice.

Su You told Bai Shu which dishes on the table were delicious, making Bai Shu unable to keep up. Su You thought she was eating too delicately, so she picked up some food for her and said, "The eight-treasure duck in the palace is amazing, even better than the one I make at home. You should try it."

Some people at the table were enjoying their food, some were singing, and a few were playing rock-paper-scissors. Suddenly, someone suggested, "Let's continue the story?"

This was clearly a game that female physicians often played, and many people said it was good.

Lang Dianxian said, "Then let's do it the same way as before, and those who can't keep up will be punished with a drink."

Bai Zhu didn't know what kind of game this was, so Su You whispered to her, "Each person says one sentence to continue the story, and the sentences must contain words or phrases. It's just for fun, it's not difficult, they're all common symptoms, prescriptions, herbs and the like."

Bai Shu immediately broke out in a cold sweat and pulled her aside, asking, "What will happen if you can't answer?"

Su Youdao said, "Then you'll have to drink the penalty wine. Don't worry, it's plum wine, it won't make you drunk."

Bai Zhu doesn't drink alcohol, and she's even more afraid of losing face!

Fang Lingshan asked, "What is 'Ling'?"

Xiao Fu asked, "Is it just medicine?"

Xu Qingyan, a new recruit in the acupuncture department, whispered a few words to the girl next to her. The girl then said loudly, "You can't let Xiao Fu and your assistants bully our acupuncture department. You have to count the acupoint names too."

“Okay,” Xiao Fu immediately agreed, “I’ll just use the medicine and acupoints.”

Su You ran to break off a willow twig, and Fang Lingshan, blindfolded, clapped. The willow twig fell into the hands of Lin Shaoyin, a newcomer in the processing department. She thought for a moment and said, "Once upon a time, there was an old man with white hair."

Qiu Chuxin, who was behind her, said, "I live at the foot of Changshan Mountain."

The person behind was Pan Cheng, Bai Shu's senior sister, who continued, "He has a wolfberry grove."

Next was Xu Qingyan, who said, "We irrigate it with water from the wind-drawing pond every day."

Another female official in the acupuncture department said, "Each grain is as red as cinnabar."

Next was Chang Zhifang from the Zhuyou Department, who followed up with, "Layer upon layer, like Artemisia capillaris."

“No way!” Xiao Fu immediately said, “How can goji berries grow like Artemisia capillaris? No way, let’s have a drink.”

Chang Zhifang seemed particularly shy; her face turned red after Xiao Fu teased her. Fang Lingshan gently smoothed things over for her, saying to Xiao Fu, "Don't stir things up. This is Zhifang's first time playing this game, so it's understandable that she's not familiar with it. Why are you in such a hurry?" Then she asked Chang Zhifang, "Think about it and say something else? It doesn't matter what it is; if you say it, you won't be punished with a drink."

Chang Zhifang thought for a moment and whispered, "It attracted a giant Solomon's Seal."

Xiao Fu continued to argue, but she couldn't reason with her. Another girl from the Zhu You Department cheered and laughed at Xiao Fu, saying, "You're supposed to be from the Formula Department, and you don't even know this? Huang Jing, Huang Jing, weasel spirit, why not?"

"That's wonderful." Xiao Fu readily agreed, poured herself a cup of wine, and said, "It was my fault for being ignorant, so I'll punish myself with a cup." She then drank it all in one gulp.

Next up is Su You, who says, "Grandpa is afraid that this big Solomon's Seal and Amomum villosum (can kill people)."

Then it was Atractylodes macrocephala's turn. He didn't recognize many of the herbs, and in his panic, he suddenly had an idea. He said, "I've brought over a little white pig."

Everyone looked at her, and Lang Dianxian asked, "What?"

Bai Shu pointed to himself and said in a serious tone, "I am Bai Shu, the white pig."

"Pfft, hahahahahaha."

The group of female physicians were all amused by her and laughed so hard they were doubled over. Su You even fell into Bai Shu's arms, laughing until her stomach hurt, and said, "My darling, how can you talk about yourself like that? Little Bai Shu, hahaha, you're going to make me laugh to death."

Even though Bai Shu considered himself thick-skinned, they laughed so hard he wanted to disappear into the ground. He said, "I, I'll still drink the penalty."

"Hey, no, no, no," Su You pressed her down and said, "You caught it well, you caught it brilliantly, you shouldn't be the one to drink the penalty."

Su You urged Lang Dianxian behind her, "Hurry up, stop laughing, it's your turn. If you can't keep up, you'll be punished with a drink."

"Little white pig, hahahaha." Lang Dianxian had just managed to hold back his laughter, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he couldn't help but look at Bai Shu and burst into laughter again. He stammered, "Swallowed, two mint leaves."

The person behind them exclaimed in exaggerated voices, "Little white pig, your body has grown to 37 feet tall!"

Then someone continued: "The little white pig said to the big yellow spirit, 'You should go back now.'"

The person behind him, who was from the massage department, said, "Little White Pig knocked that big yellow spirit out of Liangmen with one blow."

Another line continues: "The little white pig calmly (Cistanche deserticola) returned to Grandpa White-haired Old Man's side."

Then someone behind her said she was wrong, saying, "Little White Pig just fought the Great Yellow Spirit, it should go back to the Heavenly Pool to bathe."

So the female doctor who mentioned "Cistanche" said, "You're right, our little Bai Shu should take a bath first. I was wrong, so I'll be punished with a cup of wine, hahaha."

Whether or not they punish him with a drink is irrelevant; the fun lies in teasing the little white rabbit.

Bai Shu: "..." No, they can't live without "White Pig", right?

Bai Shu blushed so deeply she felt like she was about to bleed. She covered her face with her hands, buried herself in Su You's arms, and whimpered, "I'm so ashamed to face anyone, Senior Sister, boohoo."

Su You found it amusing. While coaxing Bai Shu, she said to the others, "That's enough. You're not allowed to bully our little Shu anymore."

He would protect his own junior sister.

The story couldn't continue; everyone who spoke afterward had to mention Atractylodes macrocephala.

Fang Lingshan also said, "Stop making trouble, stop making trouble. You're becoming more and more irresponsible."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

The moon casts shadows on the trees, intoxicating the flower shade.

The bright blue moonlight illuminated the laughter and chatter of the female physicians, creating a meticulously crafted picture of ladies enjoying themselves under the moonlight.

— "Clang".