"The Heir Apparent's wife of the Marquis of Wu'an has sent you an invitation to attend the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet at the Marquis's residence in three days," Madam Shen said, handing her the invitation.
Shen Xiyin took it and glanced at it quickly.
Madam Shen: "I reckon it must be because your eldest sister remembered my teachings to her that she got this invitation from the Crown Prince's wife."
"Otherwise, why would a family like the Marquis's mansion send a letter to a small imperial physician's residence like ours?"
"Is that so?" Shen Qiyin gently stroked the invitation and asked in return, "Then when Father was imprisoned, why didn't Eldest Sister remember Mother's teachings and step in to mediate?"
"How can you talk like that, child!"
“Second daughter is right.” The old lady actually sided with Shen Qiyin.
Mentioning Shen Nianyin filled her with resentment: "People say that a married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl, and I didn't believe it before, but now I see that she really is a heartless little hussy!"
"Ever since her father went to prison, she hasn't come back to visit even once. We sent people to beg her for help, but she didn't even show her face."
The old lady went on and on, clearly very angry.
"Her older brother is in such a terrible situation, even if she just sent someone to ask about it, she would at least be a decent human being!"
"But look at us, there's not even a trace of them!"
"When has our Shen family ever produced such a heartless person? I wonder who they learned it from!"
Listening to this in conjunction with Madam Shen's boast about her teachings to Shen Nianyin, it becomes clear that the old lady was scolding more than just Shen Nianyin.
Madam Shen also sensed something was amiss.
She was naturally unhappy, but she dared not show it. She simply turned her body slightly away and stopped looking at Madam Shen.
The old lady could no longer see her; now she was completely absorbed in Chen Qiyin.
He looked at her with a smile and said, "I heard that there are many young masters from noble families at the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. With our second daughter's looks, are you afraid she won't be chosen?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Cang subconsciously looked at Shen Qiyin and discovered that his daughter had grown into such a beautiful young woman.
A young woman of sixteen, in the prime of her life.
Her cheeks were like fresh lychees, her nose like goose fat, her lips were red without rouge, and her eyebrows were green without paint.
She was even more beautiful than the concubines in the imperial harem.
However, according to the rules of the talent show, daughters of doctors and those from different trades or professions are not eligible to participate.
Otherwise, with this girl's looks, she could easily be made a concubine in the palace. At that time, it would be easy for her to get a position as the head of the Imperial Medical Academy.
What a pity...
Madam Shen also felt it was a pity.
"Alas, it's a pity that only Er Yatou's name is on this invitation. Otherwise, it would be wonderful if Si Yatou could be brought along so that she could also find a nobleman's son."
Shen Qiyin nodded: "That's a real pity."
Madam Shen felt that her words were somewhat sarcastic, but seeing that her expression seemed genuinely regretful, she simply assumed that she was overthinking it.
Remembering something, she said, "By the way, Er Yatou, how many patients have you been seeing lately?"
Shen Qiyin casually gave a number: "One hundred and one taels, two mace and one coin".
"so much?!"
Not only Old Madam Shen, but also Shen Cang and Madam Shen's eyes lit up after hearing this, and they all looked at her.
Madam Shen: "Why did you earn so much silver this time?"
Madam Shen: "Where is the silver?"
The two spoke at the same time, but Shen Qiyin only answered Madam Shen's question: "Didn't you treat a high-ranking official in the Thousand Eagle Guard before? Commander Xiao later gave you one hundred taels of silver as a consultation fee."
Madam Shen, however, was only concerned about where the hundred taels of silver went: "Then bring it here!"
Shen Qiyin shook her head with difficulty: "The money... I used it to buy medicinal herbs and make medicine."
"What?!"
"Grandmother, please calm down. I was just worried about my brother's serious injuries and wanted to share my father's burdens."
“The wounds suffered by the one in the Thousand Eagle Guard were far more serious than my brother’s, but he recovered a lot after using the wound medicine prepared by my daughter. I saw that the medicine was indeed very effective, so I thought I would make another batch for my brother.”
"However, the wound medicine requires rare medicinal materials. Although they are expensive, I thought that as long as it would benefit my brother's health, my grandmother and father would be willing to spend any amount of money, let alone a mere hundred taels. So I took it upon myself to spend it."
Upon hearing that it was used on her eldest grandson, Old Madam Shen's expression softened slightly: "Did your eldest brother use it? Was it effective?"
"Big brother...it was useless..."
Why?
Shen Qiyin glanced at Shen Cang, seemingly wanting to say something but then remained silent.
Shen Cang secretly regretted his actions, but forced himself to say, "Mother, that medicine... I threw it away..."
The old lady became even angrier: "If you have nowhere to put your hand, you might as well chop it off!"
Why did you throw it?
"...My son thought she was just showing off and had concocted the medicine haphazardly, so he wouldn't dare let Guangzong use it." Little did he know that the medicine was so precious!
"Didn't you hear what Er Ya said earlier? That medicine was for the Thousand Eagle Guards. Since it was effective for them, it must be useful."
"If Guangzong had been given that medicine, he might have recovered, instead of suffering in pain all day long."
Shen Cang didn't like hearing that.
What bothers him most is that people look down on his medical skills.
That's his livelihood, how could he allow others to question it!
But Madam Shen was oblivious and continued, "Now look what's happened, the medicine wasn't used and the money is gone too."
Shen Cang found it grating and said irritably, "If it's gone, it's gone. Our family isn't short of that little bit of money."
"That little bit of silver?!" When it came to money, Old Madam Shen was extremely meticulous: "That's a hundred taels! A full hundred taels! You don't earn that much in a year!"
The old lady's words struck a nerve with Chen Cang.
He stood up abruptly, his face dark, and said, "My son has other matters to attend to," before leaving Zhuijintang without looking back.
“Oh, sir…” Madam Shen stood up helplessly.
"Is he giving me the cold shoulder?"
Madam Shen, who was used to being pampered, had never experienced anything like this before, and she immediately began to scold him.
After Shen Cang left, she cursed Madam Shen, but unusually, she didn't take it out on Shen Qiyin. In fact, when she spoke to her, her tone was quite gentle.
"Second Girl, you just said the consultation fee was one hundred and one taels, two mace, and one coin?"
"Um."
"Although the hundred taels have been spent, shouldn't there still be some left?" He didn't even intend to let go of the one tael, two mace, and one coin.
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