Physician Miao's expression changed, and he bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Master Zhang."
It turns out that this person was Zhang Boyuan, the biggest salt merchant in Anyang County. His family was extremely wealthy, and he was a true tycoon in Anyang County.
Zhang Boyuan ignored him completely, not even glancing at him, and walked straight past him.
Doctor Miao didn't feel neglected; on the contrary, he felt extremely honored to be able to see this wealthy man.
No wonder he talked for so long; it turns out he's the big money-maker.
With a casual gesture, she could spend hundreds or thousands of dollars in real money; how could the county magistrate's wife possibly be negligent?
Just then, he heard the maid speak, "Are you the one who wants to see my mistress? Come with me."
Doctor Miao snapped out of his thoughts, lowered his head, and followed the little maid into the house.
"This is my wife."
Upon hearing this, Physician Miao quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "This humble subject greets Madam."
"Don't be so polite, sit down and let's talk!"
Upon hearing what the county magistrate's wife said, Physician Miao quickly placed the gifts he was carrying on the table.
He sat down stiffly, head down, not daring to look around, and directly stated his purpose.
"I am Miao Hong, the shopkeeper of Huichuntang in Qingshui Town. I have come to deliver a gift to the county magistrate."
"Are you the Miao doctor from Qingshui Town?"
"That's me."
"Raise your head and see who I am?"
Upon hearing this, Physician Miao slowly raised his head, and what he saw almost made his eyes pop out.
My goodness! Isn't this Chen Ruolan, the concubine Fan Tong once took?!
How did she suddenly become the wife of the county magistrate?
Did they mistake me for someone else?
That's impossible. I've treated this woman at the Fan family's house before.
She had a high fever and was covered in bruises. I diagnosed her and prescribed her medicine for sprains and bruises.
Although she was seriously injured, her demeanor still couldn't hide her feminine gentleness and charm.
If it weren't for the fact that she was Fan Tong's concubine, I almost took advantage of her vulnerability and flirted with her.
Doctor Miao had not mistaken the person; the county magistrate's wife standing before him was none other than Chen Ruolan, formerly Fan Tong's concubine.
It is said that Chen Ruolan did indeed suffer a lot of hardships.
Ever since she married Fan Tong, she'd be beaten every three days, and every five days, sometimes bruised and swollen, sometimes with her skin torn and bleeding.
Later, Fan Tong's brother-in-law, Shen Yuanze, saw that she had affection in her eyes, and the two hit it off immediately and soon began an affair.
Unfortunately, Fan Tong caught them in bed together, so Shen Yuanze shamelessly begged his brother-in-law to give Chen Ruolan to him as a concubine.
Chen Ruolan thought she had escaped her misery, but little did she know that Shen Yuanze was the real den of wolves.
Don't let Shen Yuanze's respectable appearance fool you; he's an absolute beast among men.
She was abused every night, and each sexual encounter left Chen Ruolan nearly dead.
Later, in order to curry favor with his superior, Shen Yuanze presented Chen Ruolan to the county magistrate as his cousin.
Chen Ruolan felt her chance to change her luck had arrived, and she used all her charm to serve Qin Shousheng.
Although Qin Shousheng had seen countless people, he had never experienced such an intoxicating and soul-stirring feeling.
For three consecutive nights, he was completely captivated and utterly infatuated by Chen Ruolan's service.
He agreed to whatever Chen Ruolan said.
What's most astonishing is that he actually took Chen Ruolan as his second wife, and she suddenly became the county magistrate's official wife.
Ever since she became an official's wife, it's like rotten meat attracting flies.
Qin Shousheng would use the pretext of inspections to go out and extort money from the people, while she would start accepting bribes at home.
As the saying goes, a rich turtle sits at the head of the table, while a molting phoenix is no better than a chicken.
Chen Ruolan is now a big shot; anyone who wants something from the county magistrate must first get past her.
Seeing that Physician Miao was standing there dumbfounded and speechless, he couldn't help but snort coldly.
"What, Doctor Miao, don't you recognize me?"
"Please forgive me, Madam. I have never met you before." Doctor Miao recovered from his astonishment. He was not stupid and knew the implications. If the county magistrate's wife was intentionally testing him, and he was foolishly trying to get close to her, he might just get himself into trouble. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had to play dumb when necessary.
Chen Ruolan waved to the maid beside her, signaling her to step back.
She then glanced at Physician Miao indifferently, her tone carrying a hint of warning, "Don't pretend. As long as you don't go out and spout nonsense, I won't cause you any trouble. But if you talk nonsense, you'd better think carefully about the consequences."
"No, no, Madam, rest assured, even if you gave me two lives, I wouldn't dare to talk nonsense!"
"Okay, remember what you said." Chen Ruolan glanced at the gifts on the table after saying that. "What are all these things?"
Physician Miao hurriedly lowered his head and said obsequiously, "Reporting to Madam, in addition to some food and supplements, there are also fifty taels of silver."
"The amount of the gift seems a bit off!" Chen Ruolan frowned slightly, then looked up at Doctor Miao with a scrutinizing gaze. "These past few days, I've been going through the ledgers of gifts given to the county magistrate in previous years, and I've also been paying special attention to all the shops and clinics in Qingshui Town. In previous years, the gifts given to profitable businesses like clinics were never less than one hundred taels of silver. Why did you only give fifty taels this time?"
Upon hearing this, Dr. Miao broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly explained, "It was not my intention to do this; it was a last resort. I hope you, Madam, can put in a good word for me with the magistrate."
"You're really confused. Don't you know what kind of temper the county magistrate has? I advise you not to try to fish in troubled waters. You'll ruin yourself for a few measly coins. If the county magistrate blames you, you won't have a good time."
Physician Miao nodded and bowed, "Madam is right to reprimand me. It's not that I want to save that little bit of money, but the pharmacy business is really bad. It's no exaggeration to say that my Huichuntang is almost at the point of closing down."
"What did you say? Your pharmacy is about to close down?" Chen Ruolan shook her head and sneered. "Doctor Miao, don't be ridiculous. As the saying goes, three highway robbers are not as good as one medicine seller. The profit from medicinal herbs is not ordinary. With your great swindling skills, you can easily earn several taels of silver a day by seeing a few patients. You can easily earn at least a hundred or eighty taels a month, and more than a thousand taels a year. But you want to save money on tribute money. If the county magistrate really blames you, I can't help you."
Doctor Miao panicked, fearing he would be blamed, and had no choice but to tell the truth, "What you say is absolutely right. My Huichuntang business used to be very successful, but recently a new pharmacy opened in town and they have taken away all my business."
"What? A new pharmacy opened? What's it called?"
"It's called Jishetang."
“Jishetang?” Chen Ruolan looked down at the ledger. “What’s going on? Why isn’t Jishetang’s name on the ledger?”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
