Arrived as promised
Xie Chengnan looked into the crowded throng and saw that almost everyone was holding a sachet, some even with four or five sachets hooked on their fingers.
The sachet was made of brocade and did not look cheap at all. It contained a variety of medicinal herbs that had been allocated, and it looked bulging and full, indicating that it was made of very solid materials.
"She really spares no expense," Xie Chengnan muttered with a low sneer. "These people are only here because it's free; they'll take what they want and leave." Although there are many people, they won't actually stay to see a doctor.
"The young lady said that as long as we can lure people over, we can at least make them familiar with us."
That's also an option.
Xie Chengnan turned his gaze to the graceful figure in green standing in the crowd. Qiu Qing also smiled and answered each question, appearing gentle and kind.
That strange feeling came back again.
"Xueya."
Hearing her name called out so formally by Xie Chengnan for the first time, the young girl felt a little uneasy. "Young Master, please speak."
Then he continued, "What kind of person was your young lady before?"
"Before? Miss was quite different before..." The young lady used to be fierce, and if she did anything wrong, she would inevitably be beaten and scolded. But ever since she came to the Xie family as part of her dowry, the young lady has been extremely kind to her, always thinking of her when there are good things. Perhaps it's because she can be carefree at home, so she is spoiled and willful and never restrained. But outside, without the care of the Qiu family, she only has herself to accompany her... It seems that the young lady truly considers her one of her own from the bottom of her heart.
Xueya carefully chose her words, trying to be as objective as possible while leaving a good impression on Xie Chengnan: "Miss used to be a bit willful and capricious, and she couldn't tolerate the slightest imperfection. Master and Madam couldn't do anything about her. But, young master, I know there are always some bad things being said about Miss outside. She did do some bad things in the past, but what young lady doesn't have a little temper? Miss has really changed for the better now."
Xie Chengnan seized on the key point in her question: "When do you think she started to change for the better?"
Perhaps Qiu Qing had become too obvious, because Xueya blurted out without much thought: "From the moment she married into the Marquis's mansion."
really.
After a few days of enjoying the good fortune, the little maid forgot all about Qiu Qingye's previous difficult and demanding ways. She thought her young mistress was the best person in the world, and obliviously recounted everything: "Since Miss came to the Xie Mansion, she has become much more low-key in her dealings with people, and she is also very kind to me. When I am sick, she takes care of me personally and buys me osmanthus cakes and candied hawthorns. She is also good to the young master. A few days ago, she specially went to the street to choose a gift for you. She also told me that the mansion is short-handed, and the young master does not have a personal maid. Guard Cang is inevitably careless, so she asked me to pay more attention to him on a regular basis and help him as much as I can."
"..." Xie Chengnan had never heard of these things before.
He didn't say anything, but just looked at his young lady with an inscrutable expression, perhaps he was captivated by Qiu Qingye's charm.
Her young mistress was indeed outstanding. Among the many noble ladies of Mingzhou, her appearance was top-notch, worthy of a refined occasion. She was also knowledgeable in medicine and skilled in treating patients. The stacks of books in her room gave her a headache just looking at them, yet her young mistress could actually read them. Even when facing the grand occasion of a clinic's opening, her young mistress showed no fear whatsoever.
Not only Xueya herself, she believed that many more people would see the goodness of the young lady.
"You know what, this clinic run by Miss Qiu is actually quite impressive."
"Her father is the head of the imperial physicians, so opening a clinic would be a piece of cake for him. But this Miss Qiu is indeed quite remarkable. She seems well-educated and polite, quite different from the rumors."
Lin Yi stood at the door, but she wasn't as at ease as people perceived her to be. Heaven knows how tiring it was to stand there; her face was almost frozen from smiling. She felt like she was now a multi-tasking company receptionist, having to greet guests with a smile and answer their questions.
Taking advantage of the fact that there were few people around, Lin Yi vigorously rubbed his face.
"What's wrong, are you tired?"
Lin Yi's eyes widened in disbelief. After realizing what had happened, he quickly lowered the hand from his cheek and said, "Father, what brings you here!"
Qiu Baiji feigned indifference and said, "Not welcome? It wasn't my idea to come; it was your mother who insisted on coming to see me."
"Mother is here too?" Lin looked back and indeed saw a beautiful woman a few steps away.
"Qingye!" Madam Qiu walked very fast, even leaving her maids a few steps behind.
Lin Yi quickly went out to help the person up.
"You silly child, why didn't you tell your parents about opening the business? Are you still angry that your father wouldn't help you?"
"How could that be? My father has already helped me a lot."
Logically speaking, the people she should have invited to her daughter's new store opening were her parents, but Lin Yi had other concerns.
She could sense that Madam Qiu disliked her being associated with medical practice. Moreover, this was a clinic run by her, "Qiu Qingye," and had nothing to do with the head of the Imperial Medical Academy. She didn't want people to think of the clinic as run by the daughter of the head of the academy when they mentioned Xinglin Medical Clinic. If she made a name for herself, it would be the result of her own hard work; if she did something bad, it wouldn't bring shame to the Qiu family.
She hoped that the patients came because of Xinglin's reputation, which was also what she had promised Wang Chunsheng. Therefore, Lin Yi did not tell Qiu Baiji the specific date of the opening, only saying that she would definitely make a name for herself and that he would hear about it when the time came.
Lin Yi couldn't say these things to Madam Qiu, as it would seem too distant. "It's just that I didn't do well, and I'm afraid my father and mother would laugh at me."
“What’s wrong with it? I think it’s done quite well! Don’t you think it’s Baekje?” Madam Qiu secretly pinched the headmaster.
Qiu Baiji coughed lightly with a straight face: "It's passable."
With the head of the Imperial Medical Academy in charge, no one dared to cause trouble. On the contrary, there were many people who came to visit, so the second half of the celebration went exceptionally smoothly.
Xinglin Medical Clinic indeed held a three-day free clinic for the public. Whether it was seeing a doctor, taking a pulse, treating illnesses, or even prescribing beauty remedies for young ladies, the clinic was open to the public free of charge.
The word spread quickly that the free clinic was spreading far and wide, and passersby, whether sick or not, all came in to have a look. Lin Yi was really busy for two days.
Fortunately, the medicinal herbs from southern Anhui that Xie Chengnan had promised arrived as scheduled on the third day.
A luxurious carriage, carved from redwood and lacquered in gold, stopped in front of the clinic, attracting the attention of many passersby. The jewels and pearls hanging from the carriage alone were enough to buy half the shops on Guanglu Street, making the nobility and extravagance of the person inside self-evident.
The shopkeeper of the sesame oil shop across the street cracked open a melon seed and said, "Could it be His Highness the Crown Prince on his street patrol?"
"Impossible. Our Crown Prince of Da'an is the most low-key and frugal. How could his carriage be so extravagant?" Wang Shusheng, who was painting at the next stall, came over and said.
"Then who else could it be? Wait, why did it stop at—Xinglin Medical Clinic?"
"I'm afraid it's some wealthy merchant from out of town who came here seeking treatment from the Qiu family's daughter, who's famous for her." Wang Shusheng reached out and grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the oil shop owner.
"That makes sense, but do you really think this Miss Qiu is skilled in medicine?"
"Who knows? I've never heard of it. If you ask me, it's probably just because he's bored. The headmaster dotes on this precious daughter. He came to personally oversee the opening the day before yesterday. Who wouldn't come to support him?"
Wang Shusheng turned his head and glanced at his stall: "Alright, I'm not talking to you anymore, someone's coming to my stall—young lady, would you like a painting? Landscapes, flowers, birds, figures, elephants, anything is fine..."
...
The carriage stopped in front of the clinic, but there was no movement.
The woman in tight-fitting clothes, who was driving the carriage, was losing patience and urged from behind, "Young master, aren't you coming out? Do you want me to come in and help you?"
"Wait a little longer, someone will carry us inside in a bit."
"..."
...
"Young master, if you don't come out soon, I'm going to ride back."
"Sigh, he promised to pick me up, what a liar." With that, a hand reached out from inside the car, the five fingers gently parting the curtain. Those five fingers were fair and delicate, and anyone who didn't know better would think that the owner of the hand was a rich girl of sixteen or seventeen, but the voice was clearly that of a man.
The young master, dressed in gold and jade, bowed and stepped down from the carriage. After standing up, he had a tall and slender figure, but a baby face that made him look very young.
The young master straightened his sleeves and said to the people beside him, "Let's go, Mingzhu. Since no one is coming to fetch us in a sedan chair, we'll go in and take a look ourselves."
The newcomer strode confidently, his few steps belying the air of a powerful minister attending court.
“Feng Zhengxian from the Lingnan region has come to the rescue at someone’s request. Gentlemen—” The young master in gold and jade robes flicked his folding fan, which opened with a whoosh, and raised his chin, saying, “Why don’t you prepare a feast for me?”
The clinic was quiet for a moment, then the doctors and patients went about their business.
Behind him, Mingzhu, with a numb expression of long-standing habit, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Young Master, aren't you embarrassed?"
"Well," Feng Zhengxian coughed dryly as if to cover up his embarrassment, "where is your person in charge?"
Upon hearing the noise, Lin Yi put down the prescription he had written and walked leisurely to the door: "Young master, are you feeling unwell anywhere? Today is the last day of the free clinic, so there is no consultation fee. If you need, I can give you a number, but you will have to wait for half an hour."
Lin Yi didn't know what was wrong with what he said, but the young master seemed to have been greatly insulted, his lips trembling uncontrollably. After a few breaths, he shouted aggressively behind him, "Mingzhu! Bring the gold!"
Mingzhu silently rolled her eyes and took out a gold ingot from her waistband.
Feng Zhengxian took it and slammed it on the table. His posture didn't look like he was going to pay, but rather like he was asking for a debt.
Lin blinked. Where did this rich young master come from? Is he just a fool with too much money to spend?
Feng Zhengxian forced a smile, gritting his teeth as he said, "Miss, do I look like someone who's short of money?"
Lin Yi looked at the gold ingot and felt it looked vaguely familiar. "Young master, you seem to be of high status and wealth. However, due to the grand opening of our establishment, we are not charging any consultation fees today." With that, she pushed the gold ingot back. "Please, young master, do not break our establishment's rules."
Just as the two were at an impasse, a voice suddenly broke in.
"Since he insists on giving it to you, you can keep it." He said this to Lin Yi.
"Hey, little Nanzi, long time no see. Did you miss your brother?" Feng Zhengxian said.
Xie Chengnan frowned and dodged the arm that was reaching out to him, as if he had swallowed a fly. He said with disgust, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"
Lin Yi looked back and forth between the two men. One had a youthful and adorable appearance, while the other was handsome and noble. She asked uncertainly, "Is he your...brother?"
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