Chapter 32 Small Ambition
Zhu Yuhuan mentioned Xu Wangzhi's matter casually, but he didn't expect that Empress Dowager Zhang actually agreed. It was probably because she heard the name of Madam Lu that Empress Dowager Zhang was so straightforward.
However, to do this, he needed to greet Xu Wangzhi in advance, so Zhu Yuhuan made another special trip out of the palace.
Xu Wangzhi's eyes lit up when he saw her, and he asked, "Are you here to discuss the clinic with me?"
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled and said, "This month isn't over yet. I'll ask the head of the charity hall about your medical treatment. If you're truly reliable, the clinic's affairs will be put on the agenda as usual."
In fact, the head of the charity hall had already told Zhu Yuhuan about Xu Wangzhi's medical results in the past half month. He was indeed a reliable doctor who treated his patients with great care and would never slack off just because they were ordinary people.
Although Xu Wangzhi was somewhat disappointed, he nodded and said, "I understand." After hesitating for a moment, Xu Wangzhi continued, "That teahouse in the inner city, was it also opened by you?"
Zhu Yuhuan asked curiously, "Where did you know this?"
Xu Wangzhi's face showed a proud look, and he said, "Of course I heard it from the people in the charity hall. Their work is not only to help in the shop, but also to help repair some houses and so on. This teahouse is a big job. How can ordinary people afford to repair these things? You are familiar with the young master of the Yingguo family, so you must have a part in this matter."
Zhu Yuhuan smiled slightly upon hearing this, and praised him at the right moment: "Lu Lang discovered this. He is indeed a doctor, with a keen eye for detail."
Xu Wangzhi felt even more proud after hearing this, but then became a little confused and asked, "Is this where the saying 'observing everything' comes from?" She then thought the matter wasn't that important and continued, "You've built such a large teahouse, and I heard you're giving away tea for free. So, do you still have money to open a clinic?"
Zhu Yuhuan hadn't expected her to go around in circles and finally come back to the clinic. She said helplessly, "Don't worry. Although I'm not a wealthy man these days, I'm not so poor that I can't fulfill my promise to you." She paused, then suddenly smiled and said, "But I have a better idea now. I can help you open a clinic without any investment."
Xu Wangzhi's eyes lit up and he pressed on, "What's the solution? Tell me quickly—"
Zhu Yuhuan said with a smile, "My grandmother has a chronic headache. Can you help her?" Seeing that Xu Wangzhi seemed a little disappointed, she continued, "My grandmother is richer than I am. If you can cure her, I guarantee she will easily realize your dream of opening a clinic. Not only will she be able to teach you your medical skills, but she might even help you publish a book."
Xu Wangzhi no longer had any other opinions and said confidently, "Don't worry, from now on, your grandmother is my grandmother. It's just a headache, even if Cao Cao were still alive, I could cure him!"
Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but laugh when he heard this, and kindly reminded him, "That's another matter. If you really do have a craniotomy, I won't take you to see her."
Xu Wangzhi blinked and asked doubtfully, "Craniotomy?"
Zhu Yuhuan explained: "It means using a knife to cut open part of a person's organs or skin, remove the lesion, and then sew it back together."
Xu Wangzhi understood and said, "I've seen this before, cutting off a person's hemorrhoids, but I've never done it myself..." Seeing Zhu Yuhuan staring at her, she immediately said righteously, "No matter what, I wouldn't dare practice on the old lady. I'll try it on some chicken, duck, fish, or something else later..."
Zhu Yuhuan held his forehead with one hand and said hurriedly: "Don't do that, your life is at stake."
Xu Wangzhi obviously didn't care about such a trivial matter. He just looked at Zhu Yuhuan expectantly and asked, "When will you go to see your grandmother?"
Zhu Yuhuan touched his chin, a sly look in his eyes as he said, "Consulting isn't difficult; the difficult part is another problem."
Xu Wangzhi was a little confused, but after meeting Zhu Yuhuan's eyes, she subconsciously moved her body back and asked cautiously, "What's the problem...?"
Zhu Yuhuan said in a friendly manner: "If you want to enter the inner house to treat the female relatives, you naturally have to dress as a woman."
Xu Wangzhi fell silent, raised her hand and pointed at herself, saying, "A man dressed as a woman? Me?" After she said that, she lowered her head and looked at her clothes, obviously wondering whether her identity had been seen through, or whether she had "accidentally planted willows and got a good result."
Before, she dressed as a woman, and no one wanted her to see patients. But since she was a woman pretending to be knowledgeable, she deliberately dressed as a man to make it easier for her to practice medicine and save patients. Now, someone actually asked her to dress as a woman to see patients... Could this be the capital? It really is different in a big place...
Zhu Yuhuan nodded solemnly and said, "Yes, it's you."
As soon as Shi Jing lifted the curtain, he overheard the conversation between the two about "men dressed as women". He couldn't help but feel a chill, and said to Xu Wangzhi: "Why are you, a grown man, dressing up as a woman? If others know about it, won't people laugh at you?"
Xu Wangzhi's face turned cold when he heard this, and he said bluntly: "Get away."
Shi Jing wanted to argue, but because Xu Wangzhi was a doctor and had to see patients for the common people, he had no choice but to carry the herbs in obediently.
Zhu Yuhuan raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw this and asked curiously, "Where do all these medicinal herbs come from?"
"It's what the British government sent. I've helped unload most of it. These are the last truckload." Shi Jing said, then felt something was wrong and subconsciously asked back, "That's not right. Why should I answer you?"
Before Zhu Yuhuan could speak, Xu Wangzhi spoke first, "He's a son of an official, so he's naturally different from a big, strong warrior like you."
Shi Jing snorted and said, "What's wrong with a martial artist? What knight doesn't know martial arts?"
Xu Wangzhi curled his lips and said with disdain: "Knights use force to break the law. People like you will be arrested by the government sooner or later."
Shi Jing was quite proud and said, "That's not necessarily true. The Palace Guard has lost some military households. If they can't fill them up, they will recruit other military households. Maybe I can get in. Then you will all have to call me Military Master."
Zhu Yuhuan was amused by this and said, "With your undisciplined nature, how can you possibly serve in the army?" Without waiting for Shi Jing to object, she continued, "Besides, the Palace Guards prioritize selecting successors from the descendants of deceased military households or their hometowns. Once enlisted, even when old, they are not allowed to return home. The troops protecting the prince don't have the opportunity to perform meritorious service on the battlefield. Even if you wanted to show off in front of His Majesty, there are only less than two hundred sword-bearing guards. Not only are they rotated daily, but His Majesty doesn't always hunt or patrol the borders. How often can you see His Majesty?"
Xu Wangzhi, who was standing next to him, didn't know much about this, but was stunned when he heard Zhu Yuhuan's clear and logical explanation.
But considering that Zhu Yuhuan was familiar with nobles like the Duke of Yingguo, it was not surprising that he knew these things.
Shi Jing was speechless for a moment. He put the two packets of herbs on the ground and became unusually serious. He asked, "Brother, can you give me some advice? Which guard should I focus on?"
Xu Wangzhi sighed and said, "Pick up the herbs. You can't afford to pay for it if you get them dirty."
Shi Jing had no choice but to pick up the herbs and put them on his shoulder. He said, "Is this okay?" Seeing that Xu Wangzhi didn't say anything, he looked at Zhu Yuhuan and asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhu Yuhuan touched his chin and asked, "Where is your father now?"
Hearing Zhu Yuhuan asking about his father, Shi Jing was obviously hesitant again, but in the end he gritted his teeth and said, "My father is in the Jinyiwei."
When Xu Wangzhi heard the words "Jinyiwei", he immediately moved his chair to the side. In addition to the original disgust in his eyes, there was a bit more disbelief.
Although the Jinyiwei sounded impressive, in the eyes of ordinary people, they were typical panic makers. Wherever this group of Jinyiwei were, there would be no peace.
Shi Jing sighed and said confidently, "Although my father is in the Jinyiwei, not all Jinyiwei are like you hearsay, confiscating property and exterminating families... Besides, my father is not a high-ranking official in the Jinyiwei, and he is often sent out on missions."
Before he could finish his words, Xu Wangzhi had already picked up the pulse pillow at hand and threw it at him, trying to lower his voice and said, "You are courting death! You dare to talk nonsense under the feet of the emperor! My clinic is not open yet, and I don't want to die yet..."
Shi Jing muttered, "I'm explaining this to you..."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't take it seriously and said, "Then you can change and wait to take over your father's job in the future."
Shi Jing was inevitably disappointed when he heard that she had only come up with this idea. He asked, "How long do we have to wait?"
Seeing him like this, Zhu Yuhuan asked with some amusement: "Why do you have to join the army? You can take the exam instead."
Shi Jing decisively refused: "Forget it, studying is troublesome. Compared to this, it's better for me to listen to storytelling."
Zhu Yuhuan shook his head helplessly, waved the folding fan in his hand, and said: "I mean the military examination, although the requirements are strict and the number of times is not fixed, it is definitely more reliable than the young army."
For example, among the young soldiers of the Palace Guard that Zhu Di selected to serve as guards for Zhu Zhanji, after more than 20 years, the oldest among them were probably over 50 years old. In this way, there was only one pit in more than 20 years. The frequency of holding military examinations was obviously higher than the renewal of the young soldiers.
Shi Jing was even more discouraged now.
Seeing this, Xu Wangzhi laughed and said, "You can't even explain why you want to be a soldier. You're not destined to be a soldier. You might as well be a helper like you are now. It can be considered a good deed. Otherwise, if you really become a soldier, I'm afraid you will only get beaten."
Shi Jing was inevitably discouraged after being ridiculed by her, but he still said stubbornly: "I shouldn't have said this to you two. What's that word? Mean!" After that, he carried two bags of medicinal herbs into the backyard.
Zhu Yuhuan and Xu Wangzhi looked at each other and laughed secretly.
Seeing that Shi Jing hadn't come out for a long time, Zhu Yuhuan finally lifted the curtain and entered the courtyard. Seeing Shi Jing counting the herbs, she smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Are you sulking?"
Shi Jing paused for a moment, and after a long moment he said, "No."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't mind. He walked around to Shi Jing and watched him sort the herbs and put them away. He said, "Isn't what Xu Lang said wrong? Since your ambition is not here, why do you have to force it?"
Shi Jing snorted and muttered, "How can a young man like you understand..."
Zhu Yuhuan raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "What's there to not understand?"
"You don't need to worry about these things. Even if you do nothing for the rest of your life, you don't have to worry about eating up the family fortune."
Zhu Yuhuan found this somewhat amusing and subconsciously said, "It's hard to say."
Even if the Ming Dynasty's feudal lords weren't the primary factor in its downfall, they were certainly a significant factor. Were any of the royal family members truly treated like pigs? Tens of thousands of them were kept idle, and even if they didn't empty the treasury, they certainly didn't skimp on it.
Shi Jing thought she was just teasing him, just like Xu Wangzhi, and snorted, "You're ignorant of the suffering of the people. Your Majesty and the Empress, no matter how much they've done to help the people in areas outside of Northern Zhili, can they really alleviate the suffering of the people? If they could, there wouldn't be so many uprisings."
Zhu Yuhuan certainly understood this. She stroked her chin and said, "You're not wrong. After all, I'm not an ordinary person. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know the real situation." She thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you go to the charity hall and do some administrative work for a few days? I heard from them that you often bring your friends to work there."
Shi Jing didn't seem happy when he heard this. Instead, he said seriously, "A real man should make great achievements. My grandfather was a deputy captain, and my father was a captain. I can't be a coward. Otherwise, how will others view my family? We didn't have the opportunity before, but now I have the opportunity but I don't take it. What kind of person am I?"
"Look," Zhu Yuhuan shook his head and said, "Who says you have to wield weapons to achieve great things? Some things may seem trivial, but they actually benefit the present and benefit future generations. You have to be down-to-earth. If you always dream of making achievements that will last forever, you'll end up with nothing, don't you understand?"
Shi Jing was so nauseous that he hissed and asked dissatisfiedly, "You look younger than me, but why do you talk like my dad?"
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled and said, "It shows that your father is often taught by people like me who have deep minds."
Shi Jing couldn't help but feel a chill, and said, "What's your name again... You like to teach others, and you're so pretentious... You want to teach others? Even if you were my little brother, I would still think you're too weak."
Zhu Yuhuan raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "Then let's have a fight next time?"
Shi Jing looked her up and down and asked in surprise, "You want to fight me? With your physique, what will you do if I beat you up?"
Zhu Yuhuan heard the contempt in his words and curled his lips, saying, "Who wants to fight with you? Of course it's a competition of swordsmanship and archery..."
Shi Jing felt bored after hearing this and waved his hand, saying, "Go and have fun by yourself. I might as well go move a few more bags of herbs with this time."
Zhu Yuhuan thought for a moment and said, "You have some truth..."
Although she also practiced swordsmanship and archery, when it came to actual combat, it certainly wouldn't be as disciplined and orderly as her usual practice. However, given her current age and physical condition, it would likely be difficult for her to find someone to practice with in the palace...
Shi Jing worked for a long time. When he turned around, he saw Zhu Yuhuan still standing there, staring at him intently. Suddenly, his hair stood on end. He asked, "Why don't you leave? What are you looking at me for?"
Zhu Yuhuan asked with a smile, "Your father runs a martial arts school, right?"
Shi Jing was slightly taken aback and said, "Yes... but I only teach a few moves when I have free time. On weekdays, it's just us who practice..." As he spoke, he suddenly understood and asked in disbelief, "Are you going to join us too?"
Zhu Yuhuan said earnestly, "Don't worry, I didn't join for nothing."
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