Chapter 106: Chapter 66: Unwillingness_2
Du Changqing sneered, "Offering incense to Wen Quxing... It would be more useful for them to send a couple of silver notes to the chief examiner."
As soon as these words ca out, the surroundings fell silent.
Lu Tong looked at Du Changqing while Official Hu was stunned for a mont before coming back to his senses, tremblingly pointing at Du Changqing, "What did you say?"
"Ah, those weren’t my words; I heard them from soone else," Du Changqing leaned closer, lowering his voice, "I used to have a friend whose cousin was an even bigger fool than , illiterate, yet he sohow passed the imperial exams with honors. After getting drunk one day, he let slip that he had bribed the grading examiner."
Du Changqing said, "That fishmonger, Scholar Wu, is so poor he can’t even afford dical treatnt, let alone bribe anyone from the Ministry of Rites. He deserves to have his spot taken; he can’t see the reality of the situation, yet claims to be learned in all literature and history, what a bookish fop!"
"Don’t talk nonsense!" Official Hu interrupted him sharply, "Such slanderous talk could bring trouble upon us both if overheard by others. Changqing, you must be cautious with your words; otherwise, if you stir up trouble, I won’t be able to save you!"
Despite his words, Official Hu’s face showed an uncertain expression. After all, before Old Master Du passed away, Du Changqing indeed had a group of frivolous friends, and these rumors might not be entirely false.
Du Changqing shrugged his shoulders and absentmindedly poked at the jujubes on the tea tray, "Uncle, of course, I know not to talk about this publicly, but I think Scholar Wu’s chances of passing the exams this year are slim too. Every year new candidates apply, and his rankings will fall further back. It’s a hopeless case; it’s futile to continue, he might as well give up early."
"You!"
Lu Tong asked, "If there are such irregularities in the examination hall, why not report it to the authorities? Cheating is a grave offense."
Official Hu wanted to say sothing but stopped himself. Du Changqing, however, was unabashed and laughed, "How can you report sothing to the authorities without evidence? If written by day, the one who writes the petition might be arrested by night. The ones whose scores were supplanted are re scholars without rank—how can they withstand being enemies of the imperial court? Failing the exams is only a lost career, but opposing officials—that can cost one’s life."
He clicked his tongue a few tis and sadly shook his head, "What can we do, being powerless and without influence? In this world, whoever is the master gets to call the shots."
Official Hu’s face darkened with anger, seemingly provoked by Du Changqing’s words, yet he was powerless to respond. After a long silence, he finally uttered, "Man sees the present, heaven sees the future. It’s uncertain how things will turn out later; I believe the scholar will certainly pass with flying colors and achieve distinction!"
Du Changqing stretched lazily, "Uncle, who would you fool with that?" he paused, "However, I heard that His Majesty has been aware of the cheating in recent years, and maybe this year they will investigate thoroughly and strictly, which could indeed give Scholar Wu a chance to shine."
His words carried the pretense of comfort, but they did nothing to improve Official Hu’s countenance. After a mont of silence, he changed the subject, "Enough of this talk, Changqing, have you had any trouble recently from Xinglin Hall?"
Du Changqing, "Not at all, it has been so long, and with the na Bai now at his wit’s end, the number of patients at Xinglin Hall has halved. He’s too busy worrying to spare
any thought."
Since "Xianxian" started selling, the clientele at Xinglin Hall had decreased, and Bai Shouyi, due to the incident with Chun Shui Sheng, had shifted all the bla onto Zhou Ji and chased him away. Without the resident doctor’s presence, the number of patients visiting Xinglin Hall dwindled by the day.
Ah Cheng handed the packaged herbs to Official Hu, who accepted them and nodded, "That’s good to hear. If he dares to trouble you, I’ll back you up."
Du Changqing smiled and agreed, then saw Official Hu off into his carriage. After Hu departed, Du Changqing ambled back into the shop.
Lu Tong was examining a new dical book.
Du Changqing muttered under his breath, "Who needs him to back
up, if he dares to cause trouble..."
Yin Zheng, curious, "Then what?"
Du Changqing obsequiously passed a jujube to Lu Tong, "I’ll just let Doctor Lu back
up."
Yin Zheng, "..."
Du Changqing picked up his tea and walked toward the bamboo chair, murmuring quietly, "I wonder what that old turtle is up to now?"
...
Bai Shouyi sat in the room, stewing in anger.
In the past few months, he had lost a lot of weight, and his once plump, Maitreya-like face had beco gaunt, no longer bearing his usual geniality, now appearing rather narrow-minded.
Wen You stood by his side, cautiously handing him a cup of tea.
Ever since the "Chun Shui Sheng" incident, Xinglin Hall’s reputation and inco had suffered damage. Bai Shouyi, unwilling to take this setback lying down, straightforwardly sought out the familiar dicine Examiner Officer, Lou Si, planning to take "Chun Shui Sheng" under the Official dicine Bureau’s na. Without the business of Chun Shui Sheng, Renxin dical Hall would naturally have no ans to make money.
Who would have known that the Resident Doctor of Renxin dical Hall, Lu Tong, was truly capable? After it was taken over by the Official dicine Bureau, she actually ca up with another concoction called "Xianxian."
"Xianxian" beca even more famous than "Chun Shui Sheng
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