Chapter 51
Doctor Li didn't answer. A woman reached out from behind him and took the melon seeds. "Xiao Xing, are you done?"
"Everything is ready, just waiting for tomorrow." Lin Xing glanced at the people outside the clinic, "How can you come out? There are so many of you."
"No matter how many people there are, you have to let me rest. I'm too old to be exhausted anymore."
Doctor Li fixed his eyes on the lady next to Lin Xing, waiting for her to speak. I didn't dare ask who was coming. I waited and waited but I couldn't hear any of her voice. I only heard the sound of her cracking melon seeds.
The lady who had just been gossiping slapped her thigh and said in surprise: "This girl looks very familiar."
Her eyes flickered between the two of them, and Lin Xing asked, "Who does he look like?"
The old lady thought seriously and looked distressed. Doctor Li said to Lin Xing, "Come to the clinic and help if you have time."
Doctor Li turned and left, his figure disappearing into the clinic. Xiao Mei said hello and followed him.
Lin Xing curled her lips and continued, "Auntie, didn't you want to reminisce with Doctor Li? Why were you silent just now?"
"Yes, I haven't seen you so quiet in more than ten years."
The old lady glanced at the person next to her, stuffed a handful of melon seeds into her hand, and said, "Eat your melon seeds, why are you talking so much?"
After she took the melon seeds, she suddenly exclaimed "Ouch!" and said excitedly, "I remember now, the girl just now looks a bit like Doctor Li's daughter."
Auntie: "Are you getting senile?"
"How is that possible? It's absolutely correct."
Having heard what she should have heard, Lin Xing stood up and said goodbye, "We will go and help Doctor Li first, and you ladies can have a good chat here."
Just as Lin Xing and Yu Hang stepped onto the stairs, a voice came from behind them, "Wait for me!"
Lin Xing turned around, looked at the breathless young master and said, "Chen Ling, why are you back so late?"
"Go back and tell them that it's not convenient here. You guys are going to the clinic, but why are there so many people here today?"
"You haven't heard about it along the way?"
"How could I have time? I rushed here non-stop after leaving the county government office. Look how tired I am." Shen Ling did not lie. Even in such a cold weather, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Lin Xing: "It's nothing serious. Doctor Li is in a good mood today and is offering free consultations. We are just about to go and help. Do you want to join us?"
"If you all go, I naturally can't go back to the house to rest alone."
Yu Hang: "You are so tired, are you okay?"
"Of course, cut the crap."
In order to prove his ability, Shen Ling entered the clinic before the other two and went straight to Doctor Li's position.
"Stop, don't come over here." Shen Ling braked suddenly and stopped.
Lin Xing, who was two steps slower, came to Shen Ling and teased, "Now you are obedient, Doctor Li won't let you get close."
"snort."
Xiao Mei came up to them and said, "Come with me to get the medicine. Master doesn't like to be disturbed when he's treating patients."
Lin Xing: "Can we do it? I don't even know the herbs, let alone go and get them for others."
"It's okay, trust me."
Pulses were diagnosed in the front hall and medicine was dispensed in the back hall. When the group arrived here, there were already many people waiting. Xiaomei grabbed the prescription on the table and distributed it to a few people, "Master has carefully sorted the herbs. You will see when you open the cabinet."
Looking at the entire wall of medicine cabinets and unfamiliar drug names, Lin Xing wailed and slapped the prescription in front of her eyes. This was simply a tragedy.
"Okay, Xiao Xing, go find the herbs quickly. Look, Shen Ling is looking for them."
After the prescription was taken, Lin Xing looked up and saw that Shen Ling was really busy in front of the medicine cabinet. Her desire to win was aroused, and she hurriedly threw herself into the war without gunpowder, and Yu Hang had no choice but to follow.
Amidst the dazzling array of names, the progress was methodical, the number of prescriptions decreased one by one, and by the time everyone came to their senses, the sun had already set.
"You are quite skillful. You can come up with so many prescriptions in the first time. You are teachable." The four of them stopped and looked towards the source of the voice. Doctor Li was smiling with satisfaction.
Lin Xing: "Really? Why do I still have so much in my hands?"
Doctor Li: "That's because there are too many patients today. You should all go and rest. These prescriptions will be filled tomorrow. The clinic should be closed soon."
At the command, several people collapsed on the stools, pinching their necks and rubbing their arms from time to time. Lin Xing suddenly remembered what she heard in the grocery store and couldn't help asking, "Doctor Li, are those words just now true?"
"Fake."
Lin Xing: “I don’t believe it.”
Doctor Li said meaningfully, "Since you already have the answer in your mind, why ask me?"
Lin Xing thought for a moment and said, "Because I want to know the truth and details of the matter."
Although her posture was not appropriate, Doctor Li knew that Lin Xing would not give up until she achieved her goal, so he stopped being perfunctory and said seriously: "It's all true, they are not exaggerating at all."
"Does Xiaomei really look like your daughter?"
Doctor Li nodded slowly, not daring to look at Xiaomei. "When I saw the package of medicine that day, I knew it came from my apprentice, so I decided to secretly follow you to find out the truth. But before I knew the truth, I saw Xiaomei walking out of the inn."
"I was a little dazed at that moment. I seemed to see my daughter who had died many years ago. I was so worried when I saw her walking towards West Street, but I accidentally saved her."
Lin Xing: "I don't believe in gods and ghosts, but you knew that your apprentice would not have a good end, so why did you take the initiative to accept Xiaomei as your apprentice? This is really offensive, but please tell me the truth, Doctor Li."
Xiao Mei was so anxious that she grabbed Lin Xing's sleeve and said, "Xiao Xing, I took the initiative to ask Doctor Li to be my teacher. It has nothing to do with him."
Doctor Li didn't seem to notice Lin Xing's offense, and said in the same tone as before: "You are wrongly accusing me. I don't have any bad intentions. I do have some selfish motives in accepting Xiaomei as my apprentice. I want her to stay in Quyang."
Chen Ling interrupted, "Stay in Quyang? You don't want Xiaomei to leave?"
"Yes." He paused deliberately, and when he saw Lin Xing's eyes become fierce, he continued, "I am already in my eighties, but no one has inherited my legacy. Xiaomei is clever and skillful, is it wrong to want her to stay?"
Xiaomei was shocked, but compared to the others, her reaction was relatively calm. After all, Lin Xing didn't want to say more. She stood up, grabbed Xiaomei's wrist, and took her away.
Yu Hang slammed the table and left, leaving Chen Ling to continue: "Did Doctor Li ask Xiaomei about her wishes? Is she willing to stay? It's not a doctor's style to force someone to do something."
Doctor Li stopped talking. Shen Ling didn't want to stay any longer and simply went out to find his friend. The three of them were not walking very fast, so Shen Ling jogged a few steps to catch up with them. They remained silent in tacit agreement and only started talking inside the house.
"Xiao Xing, don't blame Master. He has been really good to me these days."
Lin Xing suddenly pulled her hand away, turned her head away from Xiao Mei, and said, "You are still speaking for him. It's not like you didn't hear what he said just now. So what if he's good to you?"
Xiaomei blushed and didn't know how to refute for a moment. Seeing this, Shen Ling patted Lin Xing's shoulder and motioned her to let him say a few words.
"Xiao Mei, don't blame Lin Xing. She just doesn't want you to leave. Think about it carefully. Are you willing to stay in Quyang?"
Xiao Mei bit her lips until they were about to bleed, then she said firmly, "To me, there is no difference between Beijing and Quyang. I followed you because I was worried about Xiao Xing, but along the way I found that Xiao Xing didn't need my protection. Instead, I needed her protection."
At this point, she looked at Lin Xing steadily, but Lin Xing was still unwilling to turn her head back to look at Xiao Mei.
"I can learn medical skills by following my master, and I can help you when I go to the capital; but if I stay with Xiao Xing all the time, I will always be a burden to you."
Lin Xing muttered, "Who said you were a burden to us?"
Xiao Mei: "I know you all treat me as a friend, so you don't dislike me, but I don't like myself right now."
She held Xiao Xing's hand and made a promise, "Xiao Xing, give me two years. After two years, whether I have learned medical skills or not, I will come to you."
Lin Xing was still awkward and was only willing to shake Xiaomei's hand but refused to look into her eyes.
Shen Ling couldn't help but said, "Since you have made up your mind, we can't say much. Xiaomei, why don't you go and rest first, and we can talk to Lin Xing alone."
Xiaomei nodded and left. After she left, Lin Xing turned around and tears were falling. In fact, Shen Ling didn't know what to say. He just felt that he would feel more comfortable if he sent Xiao Mei away from Lin Xing.
After a while, Lin Xing said, "Xiao Mei must not have gone back to rest. She must have gone to the clinic downstairs to help."
Shen Ling hurried to the window and saw Xiao Mei's figure. He turned back and said to Lin Xing, "You are really as good as a god."
"Let's not talk about this for now. What happened when you went to the county government office?"
Chen Ling: "This matter can be big or small. When I was still a little distance away from the county government office, someone accidentally knocked me down. I didn't pay much attention to it at the time, but when I got outside the county government office, I found that the letter was missing."
“You call this a small matter?”
"Don't worry, just listen to me. Later I went back to look for it, and the letter fell where I fell."
Shen Ling spoke in a cold tone, tapping the window sill with his fingers intermittently with a nonchalant smile. Lin Xing didn't respond, but turned to look at Yu Hang, hoping to hear his thoughts.
"The letter...maybe...was stolen?"
"Correct answer." Lin Xing raised her eyebrows at Yu Hang, "Did you see what the person who bumped into you looked like?"
"It's very strange. He was wearing a black cloak, but I couldn't see his facial features clearly, or I didn't see them at all."
Lin Xing nodded, "Don't worry too much about it. We can deal with it as it comes. We will arrange more people outside the post station when the time comes."
"I'll go and arrange this first."
After Yu Hang left, Shen Ling raised his eyebrows in the same way towards Lin Xing and said, “Do you know who bumped into me?”
"Guess, do you remember the man in black that we saw when we were eavesdropping outside Li Dongyi's study?"
"You think it was him?"
"That person's voice sounds familiar now. Have you asked him about his specific situation?"
Lin Xing shook her head and said, "Tomorrow we still have to rely on Li Dongyi to identify County Magistrate Zhao. Yu Hang put on a show, so I dare not ask directly. I only know that the man's surname is Sun, and he may be someone close to the Prime Minister."
"Then I'll ask in detail after the matter is over." Shen Ling looked at the street outside, and at this moment a sparrow happened to fly up. Looking at the bleak scenery, he wondered what kind of person the prime minister was.
"Swoosh!" A feather arrow broke through the air and headed straight for Shen Ling's face.
"careful!"
The arrow did not penetrate Shen Ling as the two had imagined, but was stuck on the window. If it had been a little more off, Shen Ling would have died there.
Shen Ling, who had never seen such a scene, felt weak in the legs and feet, and tried hard to hold on and not fall down. In his peripheral vision he noticed that along with the arrow came a piece of paper, fluttering in the air.
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