"Doctor Yi, you must be joking. It's a prescription for a good medicine to treat headaches, not some... um... soup."
Huang Jin wiped away non-existent sweat. She really dared to say that. Fortunately, there were no outsiders in the room. The Queen even drank a bowl!
"The medicine you mentioned is made by boiling these ingredients. Oh, right, the only effective ingredient is willow bark. You can boil it in water and drink the water to relieve the pain."
Yu Ling was knowledgeable about almost all common plants and thought that the willow bark's pain-relieving properties were perfectly ordinary. He continued...
"It can relieve not only headaches, but also pain in other areas, but it won't work if you drink too much."
Huang Jin initially thought it was a joke, but seeing Yu Ling's serious explanation, he gradually came to believe it.
He looked at the emaciated Yu Ling and sighed inwardly, "What kind of miserable lives are they living in Dongli! How come a general like him has started eating tree bark? And that's how he made such a great discovery!"
Others get stomach aches from eating tree bark. Yi Lanbin, however, discovered a miraculous pain reliever by eating tree bark! It's both pitiful and incredibly admirable!
Yu Ling saw Huang Jin's face contorted as if he had a spasm, his face flushed, and he grabbed her and shook her hand frantically.
Although Liu Molian didn't think too much about it, he still admired Yu Ling. He knew that Yu Ling cooked tree bark soup, but he happened not to see it on the day she treated Zhang Heyi.
He originally thought Yu Ling was deliberately retaliating against the other party, but he didn't expect it to actually work.
"Um, Dr. Huang, do you have any other questions?"
With a look of disgust, Yu Ling pulled her hand away and used it to wrap around Liu Molian, rubbing it against the fabric around his waist.
"That's all for now. Your job from now on will be to collect and organize medicinal herbs. You will receive a daily salary of three coins. There are empty rooms in the backyard of the pharmacy where people can live. Please make yourselves at home."
Huang Jin thoughtfully gave Yu Ling an advance of one month's salary as payment for teaching her the prescription, instructed the apprentices to run errands to find willow bark, and then went back to practice medicine.
Yu Ling wasn't interested in money, which was considered scrap metal that couldn't be taken to the next world, so she tossed it to Liu Morian and told him to handle it.
“Yi Jiang…” Liu Morian held the money, at a loss for what to do.
"Call me by my name, I've repeated it many times."
“Okay… Lanbin, shall we still stay in the same room?” Liu Molian asked.
"Whatever you say," Yu Ling said.
Liu Molian tidied up the most spacious room and went out to buy things. The royal city was guarded everywhere, under the command of Zhang Heyi's father. As soon as the boy got the news, he rushed out.
Just as Yu Ling had finally settled down, before she could even rest on the bare bed, Zhang Heyi suddenly barged in, showering her with sweet words:
"Hehe, Master~ I heard from my father that you returned to Beishang, and you're still a nominal physician. That's truly remarkable~"
"...What do you need?" If not, get lost.
Yu Ling sat up in bed again, feeling a buzzing in her head from the noise.
"We made a bet, and we agreed that a bet's a bet must be honored. I've already decided to become your apprentice and treat you to an apprenticeship banquet. That's perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
Zhang Heyi looked completely innocent.
"I'm not interested," Yu Ling refused outright.
"No, Master, you absolutely can't go back on your word!"
Seeing that Yu Ling wanted to lie down again, Zhang Heyi quickly pulled her back.
"You are a great general, how can you go back on your word? I was even about to kowtow to you and become your disciple, and my father agreed!"
"What does your father's agreement have to do with me?"
Yu Ling pulled the person away and said coldly,
"If you want to study medicine, you can find any doctor here to be your apprentice. I don't have that ability."
\"......no!\"
A sly glint flashed in Zhang Heyi's eyes. He had heard that Yu Ling had disregarded even the dignity of the King of Dongli, so he tentatively asked,
"My father is in charge of the palace guards. If you don't agree, I won't let you see the King of Dongli. I'll also order my father's guards to beat the King of Dongli every time they see him!"
"……"
Yu Ling was speechless for a moment. This posed no threat to her at all.
At this moment, Zhang Heyi plopped down on the edge of the bed, staring at him expectantly, and said obsequiously:
"I sincerely want to become your disciple, so you should at least consider my sincerity, right?"
"Fine, fine, do whatever you want!"
Yu Ling had lost all patience and waved her hand, saying...
"But let me make this clear first: you're not allowed to use this to threaten me again."
"No problem, no problem!"
"I don't need it, my dad can use it!" Zhang Heyi quickly said.
"If you'll take me in, I promise I won't do it again!"
"Fine." Yu Ling snorted coldly.
"...Shall we go?" Zhang Heyi asked with a fawning expression.
"Let's go," Yu Ling said.
"Okay, okay, okay!" Zhang Heyi greeted Huang Jin familiarly, then grabbed Yu Ling and ran outside.
"By the way, why didn't you ask me what the prescription for that herbal soup was?" Yu Ling asked mischievously.
"What is it?" Zhang Heyi asked without thinking, assuming that Yu Ling wouldn't tell him such a secret.
“Tree bark, insects, and soil,” Yu Ling smiled.
Zhang Heyi: Oh, bark bugs and...
? ? ?
Insects?!
Upon hearing this, the spoiled young master, who was terrified of insects, rushed to the roadside and vomited violently.
"Hahaha!" Seeing this, Yu Ling laughed without any mercy. "Serves you right, serves you right for wanting to see me bark like a dog!"
"......" Zhang Heyi looked aggrieved. This person was too vicious!
"Finished throwing up? Aren't you going to lead the way?" Yu Ling rolled her eyes at him.
"Oh, okay." Zhang Heyi, who had just drunk the insect's drink, looked utterly hopeless.
Having visited the Zhang residence, Yu Ling also learned of Commander Zhang's plans.
He wanted his son to amount to something and stop being a good-for-nothing and embarrassing him. He entrusted Zhang Heyi to Yi Lanbin because he trusted the renowned Yi Lanbin's integrity.
Whether or not one learns well is irrelevant; what matters is wanting people to learn well.
Seeing how polite the other party was, and that they wanted tuition, Yu Ling didn't accept the money, but she didn't refuse anymore. She took the freshly baked Zhang Xiaodi back to the pharmacy.
Liu Morian had already arranged everything needed for Zhang Heyi's food, clothing, and lodging, and was waiting for Yu Ling to return. Seeing the two, who had once been at odds, traveling together, she learned after some questioning that they had become master and disciple, and also prepared a room for Zhang Heyi.
Huang Jin naturally dared not say much to Commander Zhang's son, and the three of them settled down.
"Oh, right, Master."
Zhang Heyi idly fiddled with the medicinal herbs that Liu Molian hadn't yet sorted out, then suddenly remembered that Yu Ling was unaware of the palace gossip, and said...
"Hehe, you don't know yet, do you? Princess Yanxi is looking for a consort, and I heard she's looking for a reclusive master who lives in a bamboo hut?"
Yu Ling: Oh no, I almost forgot about that. I'm already in the Northern Sorrow Royal City, a high-risk area. If I'm recognized, I'll be forced into marriage!
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