Chapter 248 The Tu Emperor of Haijin
Xie Yunqi frowned, a hint of emotion he had never shown before in his eyes.
He had never known that the lives of ordinary people outside were like this.
He was used to a life of luxury from a young age. As the youngest prince, rare treasures seemed to him to be nothing more than pretty toys.
Because her father was a wise ruler, and everyone said that her father was good at governing the country, Xie Yunqi assumed that the entire Yu Kingdom was the same.
But he didn't know that the world is never the same.
No matter how well the State of Yu is governed, there will always be rich people and poor people.
Even if Xie Yuxiao was a wise ruler, he could not ensure that everyone in the Yu Kingdom lived well.
It turns out that while he was agonizing over whether to wear a jade crown inlaid with rubies or sapphires today, there were people who couldn't even afford medical treatment.
Xie Yunqi felt a pang of sadness. The pampered prince, who had never known the hardships of life, was finally experiencing something different for the first time today.
The two observed from a distance for a while. Although the winter sun wasn't scorching, they didn't want to stay in the sun for too long, so they took the tea and snacks they had packed from the teahouse and went over.
Sheng Sheng and Xie Yunqi walked up to Shen Jiaqing, who had just finished taking an old lady's pulse and was writing a prescription. When she saw them, she asked, "Why are you here?"
"We've come to bring Uncle Chen some delicious food."
Sheng Sheng gestured to Zi Juan to place the tea and snacks on the table. The food box was tightly wrapped in layers, and the shrimp dumplings and soup dumplings inside were still warm. As soon as it was opened, they emitted a fragrant aroma.
Shen Jiaqing had been providing free medical consultations here for over an hour since the time of Wei Shi (1-3 PM). After taking the pulse of so many people, he was indeed a little tired, so he asked the servant next to him to call out the owner of the clinic to discuss the matter.
"Let's take a 15-minute break."
The clinic owner was an experienced doctor with many years of medical practice, so he knew how tiring it was to take pulses continuously. He repeatedly replied, "Yes, good."
The old doctor gave a few instructions to the servant, and then the servant announced loudly to the people in line: "Everyone, Dr. Shen has been providing free medical consultations for nearly two hours and needs to rest for a quarter of an hour. Please wait a moment!"
Although Shen Jiaqing had been sitting, taking pulses was a mentally and physically demanding task. After nearly two hours without any movement, anyone would need to rest.
Moreover, Shen Jiaqing was providing free medical consultations, doing good deeds for free. Sheng Sheng thought everyone would understand, but before she could finish speaking, several angry voices came from the line.
"Honestly, we've been queuing for so long, and it's almost our turn. Why do we have to take a break now?"
"Exactly! Can't you consider our feelings?"
Shen Jiaqing didn't pause for a moment, picking up a shrimp dumpling and eating it, praising it repeatedly: "Mmm, this shrimp dumpling is really good, the outer skin is crystal clear, and the shrimp meat is incredibly fresh and fragrant."
Shen Jiaqing ignored him, and Sheng Sheng thought that Shen Jiaqing had seen all kinds of patients over the years and had long since developed a heart of steel, so he was used to it and remained unmoved.
"Of course, if it wasn't delicious, Sheng Sheng and Fifth Brother wouldn't have packed it up to bring to Uncle Chen."
"Not bad, not bad."
Shen Jiaqing began to enjoy the tea and snacks with relish. Perhaps it was Shen Jiaqing's composure that further angered the people who had spoken earlier, as their voices rang out again.
This time, those voices were even more indignant.
"No, didn't you see my mother is so old and still waiting here? What do you mean by making us wait?!"
"That's right, that's right! Do you know who our master is? The fact that he's even queuing up here is already a huge favor to you, and you dare to be so lazy? Be careful, our master might throw you in jail, no matter what kind of miracle doctor you are!"
The previously quiet group began to whisper among themselves after hearing the two men's words, with phrases like "prefect" and "can't afford to offend" audible from the crowd.
Upon triggering the keywords, Sheng Sheng immediately understood why these people were so angry.
The two men who were speaking just now were a wealthy-looking middle-aged man and a servant dressed as a page.
The elderly mother the man mentioned was the old lady who had been sitting in a sedan chair next to the procession.
It turned out that his family was a powerful and wealthy one, and they had certainly never experienced queuing up for medical treatment like ordinary people. Shen Jiaqing refused to bow to the powerful and wealthy, but this person insisted that Shen Jiaqing see a doctor, so he had no choice but to patiently come here and wait in line with others.
It's not surprising that someone who's never experienced hardship would have a temper after queuing for so long.
So when Shen Jiaqing said she needed to rest, it meant they would have to wait even longer. Wouldn't they immediately become restless and start making a scene?
Sheng Sheng whispered to Zijuan to quietly find out who those people were, then said coldly to them, "Everyone gets tired. You've been queuing for as long as Dr. Shen has been treating patients for that long. You're tired, and so are the others in line. Let's all be understanding. Dr. Shen is just taking a short break; he's not refusing to provide free medical care. Does he not deserve a short rest? You can't have it all. Since you're queuing here, you must want to see Dr. Shen. Is there any other way to find him? Why spout nonsense and upset everyone?"
Shen Jiaqing looked appreciative. He hadn't expected that this little dumpling could remain calm in the face of such a situation at such a young age. He was truly worthy of being a member of the royal family.
"You!" The man glared at her, pointing at her and saying, "You little brat, don't you know who I am? You look unfamiliar, you're probably from some low-class merchant family, otherwise I would have seen you before. You dare to be so disrespectful to me, do you believe I can make your family go out of business tonight?"
This man dared to point fingers at Sheng Sheng, which infuriated Xie Yunqi. She pushed Sheng Sheng behind her and rushed forward to yell back at the man, "Who are you yelling at?"
This person's face is truly disgusting. He even said he would make it impossible for them to survive. He is really audacious.
If they hadn't come to Haijin incognito and no one knew about this, Xie Yunqi would have wanted to reveal their identities and blind them!
At this moment, Zijuan also circled back from the back of the crowd and whispered in Shengsheng's ear, "Miss, that man is Cao Guanghu, the magistrate of Haijin County. He is indeed the highest-ranking official in Haijin. Moreover, due to the special development of Haijin's canal transport and salt industry, the magistrate of Haijin is even more prestigious than other magistrates of the same rank."
Furthermore, Haijin is not far from the capital, and the court has always assumed that no one in Haijin would dare to cause trouble, so no one was specifically assigned to supervise it. That's why Cao Guanghu, accustomed to being a landlord in Haijin, is so arrogant.
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