Chapter 525: Chapter 187 Jasmine
The shade of green trees was dense, and a gentle breeze accompanied the clear, long day.
The dicinal room was steeped in silence.
A young boy entered from behind the door, bringing in two cups of dicine tea cooled to a tepid temperature before attending to the dicine stove at the front.
Lu Tong sat in front of the desk.
This was Ji Xun’s dicinal room.
Ji Xun held a special position in the dical Officer Institute and was also favored by the nobles of the court. Since the pharmaceutical room was too cramped, the dical Officer Institute had specially prepared this dicinal room for him to study and concoct dicines daily and to delve into dical techniques.
The dicinal room wasn’t large.
A long table and low desk separated the pharmacy from the study with a carved bookshelf, upon which layers upon layers of dical texts were placed, as well as scattered on the floor—in a disarray of dicinal prescriptions tossed carelessly next to the couch, on the bamboo chair, and in the corners, giving the room a sowhat chaotic appearance.
The desk was furnished with a censer and a pen holder, Silver Scissors used for trimming herbs, and a few Zhizi branches inserted in an icy blue glass vase, their fragrance sowhat diluting the heavy dicinal sll of the room.
Dense green branches filled the view from the window, with a pleasant cool breeze that kept out the blazing heat from outside. It felt like a secluded paradise with its own carefree, rustic charm.
Ji Xun’s voice reached her ears.
"We parted in Su Nan years ago, what happened to Doctor Lu afterwards?"
Lu Tong shifted her gaze back to the person before her.
Ji Xun sat opposite her, his gaze filled with seriousness.
In the past, while in Su Nan, she had often imagined the scene of reuniting with Ji Xun. Yet, upon actually arriving in Shengjing, she slowly let go of that thought.
But perhaps as fate would mock her, the less she wanted to acknowledge Ji Xun, the more suddenly and unexpectedly the mont ca.
Lu Tong answered calmly, "After Doctor Ji left, the poison I was afflicted with was soon cured. I then returned to my family." She paused, "My family passed away two years ago, so I ca to Shengjing to seek refuge with so distant relatives."
"Where are these distant relatives now?"
"They have passed away."
"I see." Ji Xun had a mont of realization, "That’s why you chose to practice dicine on West Street, to establish independence."
An out-of-town woman, alone and without relatives in Shengjing, had only her dical skills to rely on. Practicing dicine was indeed bold but also the best choice she could make.
"But why didn’t you co find
at Chang Le Alley?" Ji Xun was puzzled, "Before leaving, I told you that if you wanted to go to the Imperial dical Bureau, I would help you."
Lu Tong had been practicing dicine on West Street but eventually participated in the Imperial dical Bureau’s spring examinations, evidently aiming to enter the Hanlin dical Institute.
If she wanted to enter the Hanlin dical Institute, it would have been easier through the Imperial dical Bureau.
"My dical skills are unrefined, my knowledge shallow; it’s like a river god glimpsing the sea or a frog peering out from a well—how could I expose my shortcomings and beco a subject of ridicule?"
Her words sounded almost sarcastic, making Ji Xun frown.
He said, "I don’t know who your teacher was, but with your dical skills, able to create ’Spring Water Birth’ and ’Xianxian’, you’ve already surpassed many students at the Imperial dical Bureau. There’s no need to belittle yourself."
"After all, I co from humble origins..."
Ji Xun interrupted her, "Is that also why, after entering the dical Officer Institute, you still refuse to acknowledge ?"
Lu Tong hesitated.
He looked at Lu Tong and shook his head slightly, "You are a healer; your eyes should only discern illnesses, not the divide between noble and commoner, let alone belittling yourself."
The room fell silent.
Seeing her silent, Ji Xun softened his voice, "Your natural talent for dicine is extraordinary, and you are both intelligent and diligent. Perhaps you have a prejudice against the Imperial dical Bureau, but what I want to tell you is, the knowledge of dical classics and pharmacology taught there is not sothing ordinary practices can offer."
"If you are willing to be part of the dical Officer Institute and have such aspirations, you should not waste your talent. I know the dical theories you’ve studied in the past differ from those of ordinary practices. I will find you the textbooks used by the Imperial dical Bureau students. If you have free ti, try to read as much as possible, and if you have different opinions, you can co here to find ."
He spoke earnestly, and Lu Tong frowned, "Doctor Ji, I’ve made it very clear, I’m practicing dicine just to make a living and climb higher, which is different from your intention of benevolently aiding the world."
"If you were only trying to make a living," Ji Xun looked at her, "you wouldn’t have stayed in the dical Officer Institute for so long without acknowledging ."
Lu Tong was at a loss for words.
A dical officer who was only driven by personal desires and eager to climb higher would have tried to send a ssage out on the first day at the Southern Pharmacy. With Ji Xun’s disposition, ready to lend a hand to a stranger he had briefly encountered, he would have taken even greater care of soone with whom he had a past connection.
She said, "In truth, I am not as you think."
Ji Xun shook his head, "In the past, I misunderstood you as soone who sought to climb the ranks through connections and who lacked dical integrity. It was my mistake to trust one-sided stories. I apologize to you."
If she had wanted to use him for her advantage, she wouldn’t have resorted to using those rumors, when she simply could have used this jade pendant and her past in Su Nan.
Ji Xun felt a touch of regret.
Lu Tong, a re commoner, had not had an easy ti getting from West Street to the dical Officer Institute, and even once there, she could not avoid slander and false accusations. Alone and solitary, when faced with rumors and gossip, she did not offer explanations, just as in the Su Nan Inn years ago, when seriously poisoned, she still insisted that she was fine. The world was unfair; when commoners encountered trouble, they always tried to swallow their pride and endure humiliations silently.
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