Chapter 247 Completely fooled by her?
What's going on up ahead?
At the entrance of Liujiang County, Jiang Nuanzhi stopped a woman coming from the city gate and asked her a question.
The older woman tightened her grip on the basket she was carrying, glanced at Jiang Nuanzhi, and said, "Don't even mention it, the city is under lockdown. Today, we can only enter, not leave, so I can't do any business today."
"Exactly, exactly. I wonder what happened that made such a fuss." A woman beside me couldn't help but complain.
Jiang Nuanzhi frowned as she glanced at the soldiers with knives conducting the search, then subconsciously looked at Sanqi beside her. She saw Sanqi's face instantly drain of color, turning deathly pale.
"Dr. Jiang, let's take another route. I know another small path."
Jiang Nuanzhi raised an eyebrow: "Do you think these soldiers are coming for you?"
Sanqi frowned deeply, looking at Jiang Nuanzhi almost pleadingly: "Doctor Jiang, I beg you, if you don't come back with me to save people, I will lose my life here."
Jiang Nuanzhi glanced at him and said, "You're overthinking it. Since I've agreed, I'll naturally go with you to see the doctor."
It's unlikely he wouldn't worry. However, in the original story, the old doctor Que was one of the few who lived a happy and fulfilling life until his old age, achieving great success. This shows he never chose the wrong side.
Sanqi is a direct descendant of the legendary physician Que. Giving him a hand would pave the way for Ping'er and the others in the future.
Just then, seeing Sanqi anxiously trying to lead her down a side path, Jiang Nuanzhi stopped him, saying, "Don't rush. Judging from the current situation, the side path must be heavily guarded."
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Nuanzhi frowned, waved to a little boy next to her, and took out a handful of candy for him: "Little brother, do your sister a favor."
"You wretched child! Where are you going! If you get involved with those country bumpkins again, I'll break your legs!"
In the Lü family, Lü Shizhu heard A Yong's message and ran away twice, but was dragged back each time. In the end, his mother forced him to climb over the wall, but the clothes were still held tightly in his mother's hands and she wouldn't let go.
Lu Shizhu immediately put his hands together and bowed, saying, "Mother, what country woman? That's Doctor Jiang, she's my good friend, please don't talk about her like that!"
"What kind of friend is she! She's a troublemaker, a woman who's always messing around with men. What a good thing she is! I'm telling you, you're not allowed to leave the house, and you're especially not allowed to go to that rural area. Don't you think it's dirty and messy!"
"Madam, Madam! Why are you arguing again?"
When Old Master Lü returned from his house call, he saw the mother and daughter arguing and couldn't help but rub his temples.
"You, surnamed Lü! You've come back just in time!" Madam Lü's face flushed red with anger upon seeing Old Master Lü. "I was truly blind to have married you and given birth to such a wretched child! Look at his unambitious behavior. I told him to study hard and prepare for next year's exams, but he neither reads nor practices his calligraphy. Now he's even trying to climb over the wall to find that country bumpkin! I'm telling you, I won't allow it! And another thing! From now on, you're not allowed to do any business with her, and stay far away from that country bumpkin."
Upon hearing this, Old Master Lü couldn't help but frown: "Where did you hear this gossip from? What are you making such a fuss about? Doctor Jiang's wound ointment has brought us so much revenue. Business has been tough this year, and without this ointment, things would be even more difficult."
"What's so difficult about it? I see so many people coming to see you every day. Are you saying they're all here for her ointment?"
Madam Lü grew increasingly angry, pointing at Old Master Lü's face and shouting, "I think you two are both fools! You've been completely swindled! Qingfeng told me that Jinhua Hall only bought the ointment for 500 wen a bottle, and then resold it for 1 tael and 500 wen, making a net profit of 1 tael. You got the ointment from that country bumpkin for 700 wen a bottle! Are you two suckers? Giving away your money for nothing! And yet you still have the nerve to praise her! If Qingfeng hadn't told me, I would still be completely in the dark!"
Old Master Lü's expression grew increasingly grim as he listened: "Foolish! Has Xu Qingfeng lost his mind? Why is he telling you this for no reason?"
Madam Lü retorted, "What? Qingfeng is my nephew! If he doesn't tell me, does he expect me to be kept in the dark by you two forever? I don't think either of you is on my side! Only my family knows how to care for me."
"Father, Mother, I can't talk to you anymore, I have something urgent to do!" Taking advantage of his mother's momentary inattention, Lü Shizhu jumped down from the wall. He really couldn't stand listening to his mother say these things.
"You're such a wicked child! When will you ever be as obedient and sensible as Qingfeng? I'd be so grateful!"
"Madam! Madam! Please stop shouting! Please stop shouting!"
Madam Lü, however, didn't take his words seriously at all. She rubbed her teeth and said, "If you leave today, you're no longer my son! You wait, I won't give you a single penny! Let's see if those country bumpkins will still pay attention to you when you're penniless!"
As Madam Lü spoke, she hadn't heard the sounds outside at all. She was so angry that her hands were trembling: "He'll regret this one day! He even said that the village woman was his friend! You wait, if I give him another penny, I'll change my surname from Xu! I'll wait and see if anyone will still care about him when he has nothing left!"
Old Master Lü rubbed his temples: "Doctor Jiang isn't the kind of person you describe. Also, Qingfeng has really gone too far by gossiping behind people's backs. I've been observing his character lately, and he seems to have some issues. I should inform my brother-in-law; he needs to be disciplined more strictly."
Upon hearing this, Madam Lü glared angrily and pinched Old Master Lü hard: "You old fool, how dare you speak ill of Qingfeng? Over the years, if it weren't for Qingfeng taking care of your son and taking him to the academy, your son would be worse than a local ruffian!"
Old Master Lü winced in pain, rubbing his arm as he explained, “Madam, what you’re saying isn’t true. Although our boy is a bit playful and mischievous, he has a good heart. And lately, he’s been working with Physician Jiang a lot. He’s much more reliable than before. We really owe it all to Physician Jiang’s guidance. Physician Jiang doesn’t mind his simple-mindedness and often takes him along to make medicine. We should really go and thank him. You know, last time he actually treated someone and wrote a prescription all by himself. That prescription was even more effective than the ones I usually use. He learned it all from Physician Jiang. Zhu’er has grown up. He can make his own decisions about some things, so let’s not interfere too much.”
Old Master Lü never expected his son to amount to anything, and he was already quite pleased with the current situation. It seemed that his son would be more than capable of handling the inheritance of his clinic, and the Lü family was not without a successor.
“How can a country bumpkin teach my son? You, surnamed Lü, I think you’re a fool too.”
Madam Lü remained relentless, even sitting on a bench and crying: "I've had the worst luck since I married into your Lü family. Aren't all the children of my sisters and brothers outstanding individuals? How could anyone be like Lü Shizhu? You don't know, when I go out and sit with a group of noble ladies for drinks, I can't even lift my head when the topic of children comes up."
"If I had known so many wealthy young men would come to propose marriage to me back then, I should have married into a higher-class family. Perhaps I would have been living the life of a noblewoman from a young age, and my children would certainly have been well-mannered and knowledgeable. How could he be so unruly and disobedient! He doesn't know what's good for him!"
(End of this chapter)
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