Chapter 216: Finding a Scapegoat
Hearing this, the light in Xi Lin's eyes suddenly became dim.
He forced a smile and said dryly, "It's okay. I'll go look through the book the old man gave me later. It seems there are still a few needle techniques in it that I haven't mastered yet."
Perhaps he felt it would be awkward to stay any longer, so he made up an excuse that he needed to get some fresh air, turned around and left.
Just as I reached the door, I heard Song Yanxi's puzzled voice behind me.
She asked, "What is Doctor Xi Lin planning to do? Didn't you just say you wanted to learn acupuncture?"
Xi Lin suddenly turned around, his eyes wide open, "Didn't you just say you didn't want to..."
He stopped talking halfway and swallowed the rest of his words.
No matter what she said just now, he only believed what she said now.
Fearing that Song Yanxi would regret it, Xi Lin turned around and walked back while quickly saying, "A gentleman's word is as good as gold."
After saying this, he realized that what he said was inappropriate and hurriedly tried to make amends.
Song Yanxi frowned slightly and asked, "Are you going to learn or not?"
"study!"
*
When Doctor Li returned, he saw two people standing on each side of the room, giving acupuncture to two patients lying there.
If you look closely, it's not hard to find that every time Xi Lin inserts the needle, his speed is slightly slower than Song Yanxi's, and his eyes are always on her hand before inserting the needle.
An outsider might not be able to see the clues, but Doctor Li has been practicing medicine for most of his life. His acupuncture skills are not to be said to be superb, but he has also cured many patients and saved lives. He can tell that something is wrong at a glance.
He muttered quietly: "Is this kid trying to steal my skills?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xi Lin's ears moved, and he turned his head and called out to him, "Mr. Li, come in quickly, don't stand there like an idiot."
"This..." Doctor Li hesitated. Although his heart was moved, he couldn't bring himself to agree.
He still could not forget the day when Zhuang Shihan misunderstood him in front of all the soldiers and accused him of being disrespectful to his elders. He felt ashamed and embarrassed when he thought he was trying to steal skills at such an old age.
I don't want to come here again in my life.
He was just thinking about how to decline when he heard Xi Lin urging him, "Such a good opportunity, others can't even get it, so don't take it for granted."
He spoke while his hands kept moving. "Miss Song is kind-hearted. For the sake of the people infected with the epidemic in the city, she specially taught you and me this acupuncture method that is not allowed to be passed on to others. We must not let her down."
Doctor Li's expression suddenly changed, as if he was afraid that Song Yanxi would go back on her word. He didn't even dare to ask whether it was true or not, and hurriedly stepped into the room.
He was worried that the dim light in the room would affect Song Yanxi's acupuncture, so he quickly found a candlestick, lit it, and stood aside holding it carefully to serve as a light.
Those eyes dared not blink, as if they wanted to stick to her hands, and they kept uttering exclamations from time to time.
"Such a wonderful needlework is truly a miracle! I am fortunate to have witnessed it in this lifetime, so I don't care if it has been lived in vain."
Xi Lin laughed at him, "Mr. Li is too easily satisfied. What Miss Song demonstrated was just one of the needlework techniques."
"Is this just one of them?" Old Li stared at Song Yanxi with shining eyes.
Before he could say what he was thinking, Xi Lin said quietly, "Give up on this idea, she has no intention of accepting you as a disciple."
Hearing this, Mr. Li sighed, his face full of regret.
He really didn't give up, and couldn't help but test it out, "If the princess's extraordinary medical skills could be spread, it would truly be a blessing to the people."
Song Yanxi withdrew her hand and changed the subject, saying, "The two shopkeepers should eat more and exercise less on a daily basis. They may appear strong, but they are actually weak inside. Naturally, the symptoms of infection will be more severe than those of ordinary people."
"I didn't expect these two, despite being so fat, to be completely useless at the critical moment."
Doctor Li shook his head and corrected him, "Little Doctor, you're wrong. Look at the hands of these two people. Not to mention calluses, there's not even a trace of daily abacus use. I think they just eat and then lie down and enjoy themselves.
There’s a folk saying that goes, “If you take a hundred steps after a meal, you’ll live to be ninety-nine.”
Xi Lin frowned, looked at Song Yanxi and asked, "So, just eating, drinking and enjoying life isn't such a good thing?"
Song Yanxi didn't rush to explain, but after careful consideration, she asked, "How many high-ranking officials and nobles have you met who have lived long lives?"
Xi Lin was stunned by the question.
Just as he was about to speak, he heard a sharp female voice coming from outside.
"My patients are inside, why can't I go in? Or are they doing something shameful in there?"
An Yi asked coldly, "Is Princess Shihan planning to steal my skills?"
"What a joke! Do they think they are worthy?" Zhuang Shihan burst out laughing in anger.
She said, "Don't blame me for not warning you. The two people lying in there could die at any time. Guess who their families will blame for this?"
Doctor Li listened to every word of this and couldn't help but curse under his breath, "I was wondering why she suddenly changed her mind so early in the morning and agreed to let me treat her. Turns out she's just looking for a scapegoat for herself."
Xi Lin sneered, "She wishes."
He rolled up his sleeves and said, "Just wait and see how I deal with her later."
Doctor Li asked worriedly, "Your waist?"
"They are all minor problems. Miss Song has already cured them for me."
As Xi Lin spoke, he tentatively twisted his waist, and apart from the soreness in his skin, he did not feel any discomfort.
Doctor Li was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth. He looked at him and then at Song Yanxi, his eyes getting brighter and brighter.
He hurriedly said, "Old Liu has always been quite experienced in bone setting. If he has time..."
"Are you going to give way or not?" Zhuang Shihan's voice suddenly interrupted him.
Doctor Li, with a sullen expression, strode to the door, flung it open, and asked coldly, "The patients are all resting. What on earth is Princess Shihan trying to do by making such a loud noise?"
Zhuang Shihan sneered, "I should be the one asking you this.
Just now you went out and deliberately used an excuse to trick me, but now you are using a dying patient to let Song Yanxi try her hand at it. Based on what you have done, what medical ethics do you have?"
Being accused of having no medical ethics, Doctor Li instantly burst into laughter out of anger.
He had lived for so many years and had seen people crying "stop thief" before, but this was the first time he had seen someone so shameless and confident in doing so.
Doctor Li's face flushed red, and he was so angry that he couldn't speak for a moment.
But in Zhuang Shihan's view, being unable to speak means being unreasonable and guilty.
She said with a look of sorrow, "I thought you were old and had been in the army for many years. Even if you had no merits, you had worked hard and deserved respect. I never thought you would do such a thing for your own selfish reasons."
Veins popped up on Doctor Li's forehead. He clenched his fists and was about to leave, but Xi Lin quickly reached out and stopped him.
He said angrily, "Let go. I'm going to go over and ask her what I did to deserve to be called a villain who has no medical ethics."
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