107. Zhang Xia
Chen Ji looked outside the clinic. There was no one in front of the bun shop, as if no one had ever stood there staring at them.
He said, "We must first clarify whether this person is following the prince or the princess. Prince, have you ever been followed by this person alone?"
The prince shook his head: "No."
"Princess, have you ever met this person when you went out alone?"
Bai Li replied, "I have met him. I remember last year during the Lantern Festival, my brother was drinking with his friends from Jianghu, and I took my maid to guess lantern riddles. That person was also hiding in the crowd and secretly watching me."
"Has the princess mentioned this to Madam Yunfei?"
"My mother told me not to overthink it. Maybe it's just a coincidence."
Chen Ji was slightly stunned.
According to normal people's logic, if their daughter is being followed by a stranger, their first reaction would be to send someone to protect her, rather than telling her not to think too much.
Concubine Yun probably knows who that person is.
However, at this moment, the sound of horse hooves interrupted the thoughts of Chen Ji and others. They saw a chestnut horse hurriedly stopped in front of the Taiping Medical Clinic.
Everyone in the clinic stopped talking and looked over. The chestnut horse and the person on it seemed as if they were born to be the protagonists on the stage. No matter whether they sang the role of Qingyi or Huadan, they were always the most dazzling one.
The chestnut horse was covered in sweat, and in the early winter sunshine, it was steaming with mist.
The wooden saddle with silver inlay was inlaid with gold threads and gems. On the saddle, a girl in red dismounted from the horse and threw the whip in her hand away. The horse seemed to have a spirit and held the whip in its mouth.
There was no need to tie the reins anywhere; the chestnut horse stopped at the door of the clinic and didn't go anywhere.
The girl, dressed in a sharp polo outfit, walked straight into the Taiping Clinic and asked loudly, "Who is Chen Ji?"
Everyone subconsciously looked towards Chen Ji, who stood behind the counter and said calmly, "I am."
The girl walked up to the counter as if no one was around, and carefully looked at the wooden hairpin on Chen Ji's head and the gray cloth on his body that had been washed out and turned white.
The girl looked at Chen Ji across the mahogany counter and asked directly, "Have you ever been to school?"
“Yes.”
The girl then asked, "Which one are you best at: The Great Learning, The Analects, Mencius, or The Doctrine of the Mean?"
Chen Ji was stunned: "I'm not good at these."
The girl frowned slightly and asked, "Of the six arts, the five rituals, the five archery skills, the six musical instruments, the six charioteering skills, the six scripts, and the nine mathematics skills, which one are you proficient in?"
Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, "Nine should be okay."
The girl frowned even more tightly. "Can you write poetry? If you have, please show it to me."
Chen Ji shook his head: "No."
Liu Quxing, She Dengke, Bai Li, the prince and others looked at each other, still not understanding the situation.
The girl appeared suddenly and vividly as if she had fallen from the sky.
But the girl was standing in front of the counter, examining Chen Ji. She was silent for a long time, as if she was conflicted and struggling.
Finally, she rolled up her sleeves neatly and placed her slender wrists on the counter: "Examine me."
Chen Ji said softly:
"My dear lady, I am only a junior apprentice at the Taiping Clinic. I haven't completed my training yet and cannot diagnose patients. The old man over there is my master. He is the one you should consult."
With a clang.
The girl pulled out a silver ingot from her waist pouch and slapped it on the counter, saying stiffly, "I want you to examine me."
Chen Ji was about to say something when he saw that Old Man Yao had already put the silver ingot away.
As Old Man Yao stuffed the silver ingot into his sleeve, he said slowly, "When a patient makes such a request, we doctors should comply with his wishes. After all, mental illness is also an illness."
The girl looked at Chen Ji and said, "Your master has already spoken. Don't waste time."
Seeing her arrogant attitude, Bai Li was about to step forward to argue with her, but the prince pulled her arm and pulled her back.
Chen Ji looked at the girl. She was wearing a crimson jade hairpin on her head, as transparent as the sunset clouds, and her pair of phoenix eyes were full of sharpness.
But how can he diagnose illnesses?
When he first crossed over, Chen Ji had thought about brushing up on his medical skills. Later, he found out that what Old Man Yao's direct disciple taught him was not medical skills at all, but tiger skills, so he gave up completely.
Now, how do we diagnose people?
Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then said, "Hello young lady, I need to ask you some questions now. After you answer, I will use my judgment to rate your condition according to the five levels of 'none', 'very mild', 'moderate', 'severe', and 'very severe'. Is that okay?"
He is familiar with this.
The girl across from the counter was startled at first, then her expression became serious: "Are you kidding me?"
Chen Ji said calmly: "It was the girl who tried to play tricks on me first."
The fiery girl frowned and said, "When did I ever trick you?"
Chen Ji said, "You didn't come here to see a doctor, but you started asking all sorts of random questions as soon as you entered. I don't even know who you are or what your name is. It's very polite of you to answer those questions."
The girl pursed her lips and said, "I just want to see what you have learned in the past two years at the clinic."
Chen Ji said calmly, "What I learned or didn't learn is none of your business. I believe you are a straightforward and forthright person. If you have something to say, just say it directly. There's no need to beat around the bush."
The girl didn't get angry, but slowly calmed down: "You are really like the rumors."
"What do people say about me?"
The girl thought for a moment and said, "It's said that you're dull and eccentric, with unpredictable moods. You've been gambling excessively and frequenting places like Red Clothes Lane. You came to Taiping Medical Clinic as an apprentice because you were kicked out by your family."
Chen Ji nodded: "What they spread is true, it is indeed so."
The girl was stunned for a moment: "You don't want to make an excuse?"
Chen Ji smiled and said, "Since it's the truth, there's no need to argue... or, there's no need to argue with you."
The girl raised her eyebrows: "My name is Zhang Xia."
"Zhang Xia?" Chen Ji looked to the side with a little confusion in his eyes. Liu Quxing gestured anxiously, but no one could understand what he was gesturing.
Zhang Xia was puzzled: "You haven't heard of me?"
Chen Ji said sincerely: "I haven't heard of it."
Zhang Xia stood outside the counter and said to himself as if no one was around:
You don't have to pretend you haven't heard of me. I came to the clinic today to tell you something: where I want to go and what I want to do in the future is my business, so don't bother me. If you insist on nitpicking, you will only make yourself unhappy.
"As long as you behave yourself, I'll give you money every month. But you must never go to the gambling den or to Red Lane again. If I ever find out you've embarrassed me, I'll stop giving you money."
"By the way, you should also have less contact with the Chen family. I will arrange gifts for you during the holidays, but it's best if you don't go back as often as possible."
Taiping Medical Clinic fell silent.
She Dengke's hand, holding the copper scale to weigh the medicine, was suspended in mid-air. Liu Quxing's mouth was long enough to fit a whole bun. The prince's hand holding Bai Li's arm was getting stronger and stronger.
Old man Yao slowly stroked his pure white beard with a complicated expression.
Chen Ji sighed softly: "Miss Zhang Xia, you must have misunderstood something. I don't understand what you are saying."
Zhang Xia placed his hands on the counter and said in a deep voice, "My father is in your Chen residence right now. You say you don't understand? I'm only here to remind you and teach you how to get along with others in the future."
Seeing the other party's straightforwardness, Chen Ji threw all the chess pieces in his hand into the chess basket and said, "Miss Zhang Er, I won't even return to the Chen Mansion, and they can't decide my affairs. I can see that you look down on me. If that's the case, why don't you go directly and persuade your father to give up this absurd idea?"
Zhang Xia shook her head and said, "This is my parents' order. They have the final say. Besides, it doesn't matter to me who I live with. Just obey them. You don't have to feel wronged. As a legitimate daughter, marrying a bastard like you is an honor for you. You will have no worries about food and clothing in the future, and you can live a good life."
Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia across the counter and said, "Please go back and tell Master Zhang that I will sign the marriage contract with Prince Jing today and ask him not to try to get the cement formula. Miss Zhang, no matter what you think, I have no plans to start a family for the time being. Please go back."
Zhang Xia was surprised. "You don't like me? Why would you? You're not even a little bit inferior to your biological brother Chen Wenzong. I don't know what father likes about you."
Bai Li couldn't help but say, "What you just said is no different from marrying into your family. Even if Chen Ji is a bastard, he would never be so spineless as to marry into your Zhang family!"
Zhang Xia squinted at Bai Li and asked, "Who are you? What does my relationship with him have to do with you?"
Bai Li was furious: "We are all his best friends, we can't let you look down on him like this! Also, you said he is not as good as Chen Wenzong, but we think he is a hundred times better than Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao!"
Zhang Xia was puzzled. "Have you lost your mind? Chen Wenzong just won the top prize today. He's thoroughly read the Four Books and is proficient in the Six Arts. You say Chen Ji is a hundred times better than Chen Wenzong. In what way is he so superior?"
Bai Li was so angry that the veins in his neck were throbbing: "He is stronger than Chen Wenzong!"
Zhang Xia didn't continue arguing with Bai Li. He turned to look at Chen Ji and said, "If you don't think highly of me, that's fine. Go talk to your father and ask him to stop thinking about my father. If you don't dare to talk to him, then do as I said."
After saying that, Zhang Xia turned around and left the clinic.
She stepped out of the clinic, took the whip from her horse's mouth, and mounted it: "Zao Zao, go home!"
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