Wounds always hurt when they scab over, but she’s been smiling a lot more lately.
Lin Danqing said, "Younger Sister Lu, there’s a celebration at the dical Officer Institute later to congratulate the candidates selected to be Imperial Physicians this year. Let’s go together."
Chang Jin hadn’t lied; the dical officers who went to Su Nan to fight the epidemic were indeed promoted three levels upon examination. Chang Jin had already added Lin Danqing’s na to the list of candidates selected to be Imperial Physicians. Should Lin Danqing pass the assessnt at the end of the year, he would truly beco an Imperial Physician.
For a newly appointed Imperial dical Officer, this was an astonishingly rapid promotion.
Lin Danqing was also very satisfied, having shown Lu Tong his plans, striving to enter the Imperial Apothecary in one year, beco a Chief Physician in two years, and surpass Chang Jin within three years to take on the position of Envoy himself.
Lu Tong expressed her support without hesitation.
"Chief Physician Chang just said to yesterday that he hasn’t seen you in a long ti. Let’s go together and have him pick up so good dicinal materials for you at the Imperial Apothecary," she offered.
Lu Tong shook her head and replied, "Not today. Mr. Miao is leaving, and I want to see him off."
"Mr. Miao is leaving?" both Ji Xun and Lin Danqing were surprised: "When did this happen?"
"It was decided earlier. He didn’t want to tell you or for you to see him off," Lu Tong said with a smile. "The teacher has his considerations, so I didn’t ntion it."
On hearing this, Ji Xun and Lin Danqing both felt a hint of lancholy.
After all, they had participated in a dical banquet together, and that elderly healer also had profound insights into dical principles.
As they were speaking, the sound of horse hooves approached from outside the dical Bureau. A vermilion-wheel carriage stopped at the entrance, and imdiately after, soone lifted the carriage curtain, sat inside the carriage, and when seeing Lu Tong looking over, waved her hand slightly.
It was Pei Yunng arriving.
"Oh, is Marshal Pei here to pick you up again?" teased Lin Danqing, "I’ve heard that on the days he doesn’t have to stand guard, he cos to West Street every evening to escort you ho. The Commandant of the Palace Front Office has beco the unpaid patrol guard of West Street, but I hear that the security there has improved a lot; residents don’t even have to lock their doors at night."
She said this mockingly, while Lu Tong remained silent, simply picking up her dical kit to sling over her back, hastily explaining a few things to Lin Danqing, and finally said, "I’m going to see Mr. Miao off first. Next ti I’ll co and talk to you about matters of the dical Bureau."
Lin Danqing waved his hand, "Go on then, and send Mr. Miao my wishes for a smooth journey."
Ji Xun looked toward the outside, where the figure of the woman running toward the carriage was cheerful. As she reached the carriage, the man reached out to support her arm, pulling her into the carriage, and then glanced over, nodding slightly to him as a greeting before letting down the curtain.
Ji Xun lowered his eyes.
They truly seed to be a couple deeply in love.
...
Inside the carriage, as Lu Tong settled herself, Pei Yunng passed her a cup of tea.
Lu Tong took a sip of the tea and asked, "Why have you co so early today?"
This was a bit earlier than the ti she had previously agreed with Pei Yunng.
"I didn’t need to conduct martial training today, and there was nothing pressing at the office. Additionally, seeing Old Miao earlier would give you more ti to talk with him," he explained.
ntioning Old Miao made Lu Tong sigh deeply in her heart.
Miao Liangfang had decided to return to Miao Family Village.
Half a year ago, when Lu Tong first returned to Shengjing and resigned her position as a dical Officer at the dical Officer Institute, Miao Liangfang had seed hesitant to speak to her.
It was after her engagent to Pei Yunng had been settled that Old Miao, one afternoon in a dical hall, hesitantly revealed his plans to Lu Tong.
"Xiao Lu, it’s been over twenty years since I’ve been back to Yunling; I don’t know what Miao Family Village looks like now," he said.
He tapped his disabled leg and continued, "I stayed in Shengjing before because I held resentnt and was unwilling to accept my fate, nor did I have the face to simply return like that. Now that I think about it, it was cowardly."
"The past has passed, and the truth has settled. I want to go back and see how things are at ho. They must be worried, not having heard from for all these years. I plan to open a new dical practice in Miao Family Village. The village can’t compare to Shengjing, which is teeming with talented people in the dical field. I want to take the dical skills I’ve learned in Shengjing back to Yunling so that those barefoot doctors there can save lives just like the dical officers in Shengjing," he said.
"Xiao Lu," he looked at Lu Tong, "I never brought this up before because the dical hall couldn’t do without a Resident Doctor. But now that you’re no longer a Hanlin dical Officer, and I see that you’re devoted to dical practice, I can leave with peace of mind."
Lu Tong wanted to persuade him to stay, but she didn’t know what to say. She understood all too well the desire of a traveller who had been wandering for over twenty years to return ho; she really had no reason to stop him.
But no matter when, she always found it hard to prepare for farewells.
Her downcast expression did not escape the notice of her companion. Pei Yunng drew her closer, comforting her in a gentle voice: "Don’t be sad; it’s not like you won’t see him again in the future."
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