Mysterious Ghost Doctor
Inside the pharmacy, the floor was paved with a layer of brand new stone bricks and the walls were painted white, making it look exceptionally clean.
Brown medicine cabinets are neatly placed against the wall, with the names of the herbs written on them in indelible ink, making it easy to put the herbs into the same cabinet later without mixing up their properties.
A screen embroidered with green bamboo separates the shop into two spaces.
Shi Yanqing sat at a long table behind a screen, on which were placed blank documents, pens, ink, and a pulse pillow.
She placed her hands on the wooden table, feeling the smooth touch of her palms, and nodded with satisfaction, "Danye, thank you for your hard work during this period."
"The furnishings here are similar to the medicine shop in the capital. It's thoughtful."
Danye smiled and replied, "It's not hard for this servant. This is what I ordered Qingjiu and the others to do."
The sake was bought by Shi Yanqing from the pawnshop by servants. Except for Liu Niang who was a woman, the other three were all men.
The name was changed to Qingjiu, Qingbai, and Qingping.
The three of them are in their early twenties and thirties. Qingjiu has a cheerful personality and is smart in doing things. Usually, Danye will take him to help Shi Yanqing with work.
After a few times, Shi Yanqing remembered him.
"Then I'll reward him after we get back home."
Shi Yanqing stood up, turned around, walked to the medicine cabinet and took a closer look. "How many herbs are left that we brought from the capital? Let's put them in the shop for now. You and Qingjiu should collect some herbs in the next few days. Once we have enough, we can open the shop."
"Yes." Tan Ye responded.
After leaving the shop, Dan Ye locked the door.
Shi Yanqing originally wanted to go back home, but when he got on the carriage, he saw a familiar figure.
She paused, thinking of the witchcraft that had not yet been identified, and then walked towards the man.
As Shi Yanqing approached, he called out, "An An."
Liu Anan was about to go to Xinglin Hall with her maid to find Doctor Xu to buy medicine when she heard someone calling her. She looked in the direction of the voice.
When she saw that the person coming was Shi Yanqing, she couldn't help but think of what happened that night and pursed her lips nervously.
"An An, ever since we met last time, I've wanted to come and see you again. I didn't expect that we would meet here. It's really fate."
Shi Yanqing smiled with his eyes curved.
She was naturally happy to see Liu Anan, but she was more worried.
After all, the problem of the sterile worms in her body has not been resolved yet.
During this period, she was busy investigating many things, renting a shop, and taking care of Zhou Hangui's studies. She was really too busy to handle it all.
I even forgot to ask Zhou Hanzhang whether he had found out whether Lu Tongzhi knew that his wife was infected with the infertility bug.
But he has been going out early and coming back late recently, and he is very tired every day, so he must have forgotten about this.
Shi Yanqing gathered her thoughts and walked in front of Liu Anan. They were only three steps apart, which did not make Liu Anan feel nervous.
"An An, look at the direction you're going. Are you going to Xinglin Hall to see a doctor?"
Liu Anan nodded slightly, her originally chubby cheeks looking much thinner after not seeing her for a few days. "I caught a cold recently and have a cough, so I came to Xinglin Hall to see the doctor for some medicine."
"In that case, I'll visit you another day and not bother you today." Shi Yanqing knew Liu Anan was lying as soon as she heard it, but she didn't expose her. Instead, she went along with her words.
When Zhou Hanzhang returns tonight, she'll have him quickly find out if Lu Tong knows about the childless worms. Once she finds out, she'll go visit him and, while she's at it, get rid of the childless worms in Liu Anan's body.
However, Shi Yanqing didn't expect that after today's separation, when she saw Liu Anan again, Liu Anan was already dying.
After leaving Xiang'an Street, the carriage returned to Shi Mansion.
As soon as Shi Yanqing entered the gate, Qingjiu, who had been waiting behind the door, came forward to greet him.
"Madam, an hour ago an old man carrying a bamboo basket came to the door. He said he had something to ask you, my Lord. I thought you and your Lord were not at home, so I asked him to tell me what he had to say first."
"But the old man refused to speak. He waited for a long time. Finally, as he was leaving, he said, 'There are a lot of bell peppers growing in the mountains. I can sell them to you, sir.'"
Qingjiu was smart enough and felt something was amiss after hearing what the old man said. After thinking about it for a long time, he realized that the peppers that Liu Niang used to cook a few days ago were all green peppers, unlike the sweet peppers today.
He was afraid of delaying things and wanted to go out of the house to find Shi Yanqing or Zhou Hanzhang to report, but in the end he waited at the door, wanting to tell them as soon as possible.
Sake said this quickly and clearly.
Shi Yanqing heard every word. She stopped and turned to look at Qingjiu who was following behind her. "Did you ask where the old man lives?"
Qingjiu lowered his eyebrows and replied, "I asked, and the old man is not from the city. His family lives in Xiaohe Village outside the county town. Xiaohe Village is not far from the county town, about seven or eight miles away."
Hearing this, Shi Yanqing pondered for a moment, knowing that the old man came to his house because there might be some trouble waiting for him.
She lowered her eyes to look at the smooth stone bricks under her feet. They were a little damp, probably because they had been mopped by Qingbai not long ago. They now looked very clean, and a vague black shadow could be vaguely seen on them.
This black shadow is trapped in the stone bricks, and it cannot be seen or touched. After a long time, it will make people feel depressed, which is really annoying!
Seeing that Yan Qing didn't say anything, Dan Ye and Qingjiu looked at each other silently without saying anything.
"Qingjiu, you should tell Qingbai about this first, and ask him to go to the county government office to tell Hanzhang. The three of us will go to Xiaohe Village first to see what the old man is up to." Shi Yanqing decided.
Qingjiu responded and hurried away to look for Qingbai.
Dan Ye said with some concern: "Madam, why don't you take Qingping with you? If it's just the three of us, what if something happens..."
This is a habit of being cautious.
Shi Yanqing shook her head. She didn't plan to bring too many people. She looked at the figure running in front of her, and her tone remained as gentle as before: "I think the old man came to our house today to say these things, probably to remind us of something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have waited for an hour before leaving."
Tan Ye was convinced by this and she no longer insisted on taking Qingping with her.
"Let's go."
Seeing Qingjiu coming back, Shi Yanqing turned around and walked out the door. The carriage she took when she came back was still parked outside, so she didn't have to go to the stable at the back door to prepare the carriage.
Just a few minutes after entering the door, Shi Yanqing got on the carriage again.
She pursed her lips. She hadn't drunk any water all morning, and her lips were a little dry.
However, she drinks a lot of water on a daily basis, so her skin did not peel at this time, but just turned pale, making her look unwell.
Danye naturally noticed that her young lady was feeling unwell. When the carriage left the central street, she asked Qingjiu to go to the tea shop and buy a tube of perilla fruit drink.
This perilla fruit drink was brewed not long ago, and it was still warm when Shi Yanqing drank it. After taking a sip, the sweet aroma of the fruit filled his mouth, which was very comfortable.
Shi Yanqing drank two more sips and then stopped, otherwise she was afraid it would be inconvenient later.
"When you come back, you two should buy a tube and try it. I'll pay for it."
Dan Ye smiled and said, "Then I would like to thank Madam on behalf of Qingjiu!"
The two of them didn't speak loudly, but Qingjiu heard it and quickly followed suit to express his gratitude.
About a quarter of an hour later, the three of them arrived at Xiaohe Village.
Outside Xiaohe Village, there is a pond of more than 300 square meters, which is full of lotus flowers with green leaves and pollen. Now it is autumn, and the lotus flowers are no longer as delicate and beautiful as they were in the past two months.
Now all that's left is a shriveled petal or an empty green leaf swaying in the water.
The road into the village is not wide, but it is still possible for a carriage to enter.
There were a few children playing in the mud squatting by the roadside. When they saw the carriage, they quickly gathered together, huddled together, and muttered something to each other.
At first they didn't dare to come forward, but after Qingjiu questioned them, the children thought that since this was at their doorstep, nothing should happen, so they followed the carriage happily.
It attracted the attention of many villagers along the way.
The villagers were not as innocent as the children. When they saw strangers coming into the village, they quickly hugged the children who were running behind the carriage.
"Be careful, they are human traffickers who will kidnap you and never let you go home or see your parents again!"
"No...I don't want to be without my parents!"
The child wanted to struggle when he was suddenly hugged by someone, but when he heard that he would not be able to see his parents, he immediately became quiet. Even after his feet touched the ground, he did not dare to run after the carriage.
Of course, these are just lies to trick children.
After fooling the children, a few women who usually loved to join in the fun followed, intending to see where the carriage was going.
Shi Yanqing was being shaken around in the carriage. She stretched out her hands to protect Dan Ye from being hit. When she couldn't help but want to call for a stop, the carriage stopped.
"Ma'am, we're here."
The sound of sake was heard outside.
Shi Yanqing straightened up Dan Ye who was leaning against him, then lifted the curtain and walked out.
What meets the eye are lush green mountains, big white clouds, and blue sky that is within reach.
A small house is surrounded by a courtyard built with yellow mud walls. There are many racks fixed with cross-bamboo strips in the courtyard, on which many medicinal herbs are dried.
As soon as Shi Yanqing walked to the gate of the courtyard, he smelled the fragrance of medicine.
Her originally somewhat nervous mood calmed down, and when she smelled the familiar smell, she was no longer afraid of anything.
"Girls, what are you doing standing here?"
At this moment, an old and hoarse voice came from behind them.
Shi Yanqing turned around and saw an old man in his seventies or eighties. He was holding a fish strung together with a straw rope and looking at them with his cloudy eyes.
"Madam, it's him." Qingjiu whispered.
After confirming that this was the old man with the bamboo basket, Shi Yanqing smiled out of habit, gently and kindly, making people feel that he was harmless and kind.
"Grandpa, I came here to look for you."
The old man was not surprised to hear this. He walked to the gate of the courtyard, pushed it open, and walked in without paying any attention to the three people behind him.
He walked with a steady pace and did not look like an ordinary old man.
Seeing this, Shi Yanqing immediately followed in.
Then Danye and Sake followed in.
At the same time, several women who were hiding not far away and watching the excitement looked at each other in confusion.
"They actually followed the ghost doctor in. Hey, how brave they are."
"Perhaps they don't know the ghost doctor's reputation and just think he's an ordinary village doctor."
"Stop talking, stop talking. Let's get out of here. I don't dare to watch the ghost doctor's fun."
After saying that, the women turned around and left, their steps so fast that they almost ran.
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