Chapter 357 You're robbing me, you're robbers
He started calculating on the abacus again, clicking a few times, "Ten taels for cleaning, fifteen taels for all the noodles for the customers in the shop, fifteen taels for lost work time, fifty taels in total!"
The foreign merchant was nearly fainting with rage. "Fifty taels? You're robbing me! You're bandits! I'm going to sue you! I'm going to take it to the authorities!!!"
They couldn't swear in Mandarin, so in their frustration they started spewing out their own language, "#*_、￥%/（？=**；￥￥_……"
"What are you babbling about? I can't understand you! Shut up." Lu Wenzhong pulled the rag off the waiter's shoulder and stuffed it into his mouth.
I'll disgust you.
He shook his head desperately, struggling, "Ugh...ugh..."
I feel nauseous and want to throw up.
"What's the rush? I'll send you there in a bit. Do you barbarians even know what it means for a prince to be subject to the same laws as a commoner? Do you think you're more noble than the princes of our Great Zhou? Are you out of your minds?"
Lu Wenzhong slapped him on the back of the head, then tore off a foreign merchant's money bag, weighed it in his hand, estimated it contained several dozen taels, and tossed it to Wang Youcai, saying, "Brother, catch."
Lu Wenzhong grabbed the rope binding their hands and pulled them toward the door. "Come on! Come with me to the government office. I want you to pay my medical bills."
Lu Wenzhong rushed to the door, waved to Yun Zhaoxue, and said, "Heroine, I'll treat you to a meal sometime."
He was a free spirit who wanted to travel the world, but his family disagreed. So he led a group of people and ran away. Before he even left Lingnan, he encountered bandits and was robbed until he was left with only his underpants. If he had the skills of a female knight-errant, he would have left Lingnan long ago.
He enjoys chatting with knowledgeable people who have traveled the world.
Yun Zhaoxue said to Wang Youcai, "I have other things to do, so I'll be leaving now."
Just as Wang Youcai was about to finish counting the silver, he said, "Let me see you off."
He escorted her to the door and secretly gave her thirty taels of silver.
Yun Zhaoxue accepted the message, "Thanks. Those two's accomplices might come looking for trouble and retaliate. Be careful in the near future. If you can't handle it, send someone to find me."
"With the princess's words, I am not afraid of anyone who comes looking for trouble."
Wang Youcai watched him leave, then returned to the shop. The customers gathered around and asked, "Shopkeeper, who was that?"
Even if I told you, you wouldn't know him.
"How would we know each other if you didn't tell us?"
Wang Youcai: "You don't know him, so even if I told you, you still wouldn't know him."
Since Yun Zhaoxue kept a low profile and didn't reveal her identity, he couldn't say anything.
The guests were still persistent, saying, "You all seem to know each other already, how could you not?"
"That's right, shopkeeper, stop keeping us in suspense. We promise we won't tell anyone."
"You don't even know her, how do you know if we know each other?"
He didn't believe them. These people have no guts and spill everything. Since opening the shop, he had no idea he had been forced to listen to his customers' gossip.
Old Wang went to climb over the wall of Widow Li's house next door in the middle of the night, and his wife chased him with a knife. If someone spread the word, it would surely spread throughout the whole city the next day.
Oh my god!
Let's have noodles instead.
...
Yun Zhaoxue went to the soup kitchen.
The people lined up in a long queue on the side of the procession carrying the banners of King Xuan.
Meanwhile, the queue for porridge at the Li family's house next door had only half the number of people.
Yun Zhaoxue saw a familiar face; it was none other than Li Rui.
He had a stern face, and seemed very unwilling.
The person serving the porridge cautiously and carefully extended the bowl.
Li Rui tapped the edge of the wooden bucket with an iron spoon, "Clang! Clang!!"
The man was startled and shivered. "Huh!"
Li Rui continued, "What are you afraid of? Don't be afraid. Do I look that fierce? I'll tell you to bring the bowl closer. Holding it so far away, who can reach it? It'll be a waste if it spills on the ground."
The woman then brought the bowl closer.
Li Rui filled a large bowl for her.
When she saw the white porridge in the bowl, she was both surprised and incredulous. She quickly said thank you and ran away.
When Li Rui saw Yun Zhaoxue, he pulled up the servant who was supervising him and put him in his place, shoving an iron spoon into his hand, saying, "You do the hitting."
"Young Master, the Master sent me to supervise you and make sure you don't slack off..."
Li Rui shook him off, saying, "I'm going to the restroom, I'll be right back."
Li Rui walked up to Yun Zhaoxue, staring at her beautiful face. An unnatural blush crossed his face, and he coughed lightly. "Princess, my father has told me about your identity. I apologize for any offense I may have caused. I will take responsibility for my own actions. If you want revenge, come at me, Li Rui. It has nothing to do with my family."
His father punished him with family discipline, and he stayed home to recover from his injuries for a few days. Once he recovered, his father made him come out to distribute porridge to the disaster victims as atonement for his previous mistakes.
Yun Zhaoxue observed his expression. He seemed very unconvinced. Wasn't the previous lesson enough?
"You should be grateful you have a good father; he has already apologized and made amends on your behalf."
Li Rui stole another glance at her, "My father is my father, and I am me. I take responsibility for my own actions."
She's so beautiful, you can't help but look at her a second time after just one glance.
"I hope Young Master Li remembers what he said, and doesn't hide away like a coward after causing trouble."
“I didn’t back down; I was grounded by my dad for a while.”
"Princess, may I ask you something? Our Li family has done some merit, hasn't it? If you go to the capital, could you put in a good word for the Li family before the Emperor?"
The imperial court encouraged merchants to help those in need and to perform good deeds.
If this news reaches the capital, it might earn the court's commendation, allowing their descendants to participate in the imperial examinations as an exception.
His dad told him to do a good job!
He didn't want to take the imperial examinations; he got a headache just looking at books. If he could become a royal merchant, that would be half an official, and he would be content.
"If you perform well, I won't need to say anything nice to you; the news will reach the ears of the future emperor. If you give up halfway, I dare not deceive the emperor."
Li Rui didn't understand. "What do you mean? Does it mean to help or not to help?"
"When I see your Master Li next time, I'll have him send someone to keep an eye on your studies again."
Li Rui, "..."
This woman is interesting; she's sharp-tongued and always says things that others don't want to hear.
Yun Zhaoxue felt that the matter of the foreign merchants plotting a rebellion was not so simple.
Even though the man surnamed Pu is dead, those foreign merchants still dare to be arrogant. They must have someone backing them up.
If a new leader were elected and they continued their schemes, it wouldn't be impossible for them to rebel and seize Lingnan for themselves.
She has no soldiers or power, so it will be very difficult for her to eliminate their influence!
We need to be on good terms with local merchants and unite more people to deal with foreign merchants.
Otherwise, she wouldn't bother with Li Rui, that 'lecher'.
...
Hua Murong was providing free medical consultations not far away, and the line stretched from one end of the street to the other. After a busy morning, the line still didn't end.
Pei Huaiji also set up a table to provide free medical consultations. He was so busy that he had to hire several doctors.
The illness is classified as severe, moderate, or mild.
His team consisted of critically ill patients, mostly the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled, who had accumulated a host of ailments. He had to examine them from head to toe, and it took each person a long time to do so.
Yun Zhaoxue's medical skills are on par with his, or even better, and she can treat seriously ill patients.
"Girl, come quick, I'm so busy here."
"They're here." Yun Zhaoxue went over.
Pei Huaiji stood up and asked her to sit down. "Little sister, come over here. I'm going to have a bowl of porridge. I'm starving."
Hua Murong said, "Go quickly and come back to relieve me in a bit. I'm hungry too."
The people in line said, "Miracle doctor, why don't you go ahead and eat? We can wait."
"Yes, yes, the divine doctor can save lives and heal the wounded, saving countless lives. If we let the divine doctor starve, it would be our fault."
"No rush, no rush. He'll be back soon after he goes next door for a bowl of porridge. I'll wait for him." Yun Zhaoxue handed over a bag of steamed buns she had bought on the way. "Uncle Hua, these are meat buns. Have this to tide you over."
"Oh, it's still the girl who cares about me. She's much better than that brat. Was this specially saved for this old man?"
“You all get a share, and Shuer gets one too.”
She bought one for herself.
"Thank you, Third Sister-in-law."
Xiao Mingshu, posing as Hua Murong's apprentice, set up a small table nearby, read the prescription he had written, handed it to the patient, and then told the patient to go to the clinic to get the medicine.
She wrote prescriptions based on the symptoms, which not only allowed her to learn but also saved Hua Murong time, enabling him to treat more patients.
Yun Zhaoxue handed the medicine packet to them and sat in Pei Huaiji's seat to treat the seriously ill patient.
She put on a mask, and at first people thought she was too young and didn't believe in her medical skills, so very few people lined up at her clinic.
Several patients with mild symptoms, who didn't want to wait in long lines, decided to try her treatment.
She could accurately diagnose their ailments and chronic illnesses by taking their pulse and asking a few questions, and then prescribe the right medicine to cure them.
Her reputation as a miracle doctor gradually spread, and those who were originally behind Hua Murong in the queue all ran to her side.
"Dr. Yun is here, let's hurry over there and line up."
A young couple came over carrying a little girl who looked two or three years old.
"Miracle doctor, my daughter has developed a rash, and everyone says it's the plague. Please save my daughter!" The mother held a child whose head was wrapped in a tattered cloth, leaving only the child's mouth and nose exposed for breathing.
He carried the child to Yun Zhaoxue, removed the cloth covering his head, revealing a face and neck covered in rashes.
Yun Zhaoxue comforted her, "Don't panic. It's not certain yet. Even if it is a plague, we can find a way to treat it."
Her daughter caught a cold and developed a rash, which everyone around her said was the plague.
Their home is gone, and they are homeless. Their child is their only source of support. They only have this one child, and if anything happens to him, they don't want to live anymore.
Yun Zhaoxue first took the child's pulse, then carefully examined the red spots, and gently pressed the rash with a cotton swab.
"Has the child been caught in the rain?"
The child's father said, "Yes, there was a sudden rain the day before yesterday. We had nowhere to take shelter on the road, so we took shelter under the eaves, but we still got soaked."
"It's not a plague, it's sore throat. It's caused by heat toxins accumulating in the throat and stomach, which causes rashes and fever. It only appears on the surface, so it's not a big problem."
"Really? That's wonderful! My daughter doesn't have to die. Thank you so much, doctor! Thank you so much, doctor!" The child's parents wept with joy and bowed deeply in gratitude.
Yun Zhaoxue wrote a prescription to treat the rash and the cold.
She has no one to write prescriptions, so she has to write them herself.
Li Rui wandered around, not having witnessed it firsthand. He couldn't believe that a woman a few years younger than him could have medical skills superior to those of a legendary healer, especially when he heard her treating patients, which sounded very knowledgeable.
I couldn't help but admire her. Seeing that no one was writing the prescription for her, I ran over and said, "I can write, do you need any help?"
As Yun Zhaoxue wrote, she asked, "Is your handwriting... legible?"
She wasn't used to writing calligraphy slowly, partly because she hadn't used it much in her previous life, and partly because the original owner of this body was uneducated and hadn't practiced calligraphy properly.
"Who are you underestimating? My dad made me copy books for every mistake I made since I was a child. I've practiced for twenty years, how could I not be good? Let me show you my skills."
“Okay, go write over there, and bring it back for me to check when you’re done.” Yun Zhaoxue pointed to a spot in the corner.
Meanwhile, a servant peeked out furtively from the porridge distribution area of the Li family and saw that Li Rui was staying there and wouldn't be back for a while.
He leaned over to the servant who was serving porridge and said, "You must be tired. Let me do it. You go and rest for a while."
"Why hasn't the young master returned yet? If the master comes and sees us, we're all doomed."
"Young Master is helping out with the medical outreach team and won't be back for the time being."
"I see. Then you can take my place for a while. I'm going to the restroom. You have to keep a close eye on things and make sure nothing goes wrong so the young master gets scolded. We'll be in deep trouble too."
"It's only a short while, what could possibly go wrong? If you're really worried, just go and come back quickly."
"Alright then." The servant took off his armband and gave it to him.
No sooner had the servant left than he, under the guise of putting on his armband, reached his hand into the porridge, tilted it slightly so the edge of the bucket would conceal his hand, and quietly took out a packet of medicine from his sleeve, sprinkled it into the porridge, stirred it a few times, and said, "Alright, next one."
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