Denghuaxiao

Chapter 61 The Scholar

  Lu Zhen did not know about these things that happened in Fan Mansion.

Early in the morning, shortly after Renxin Medical Center opened its doors, a customer came to the shop.

He is a middle-aged man wearing a square scarf, an old cloth jacket that has been washed white, and black cloth shoes full of mud. He looks like a poor scholar.

The Confucian scholar looked flustered and his face turned pale. He didn't know if he had run all the way and was out of breath.

Yin Zheng was sweeping the floor at the door. When he saw this, he put down his broom and asked, "Master, do you want to buy medicine?"

Lu Zhuo glanced at this man and saw that his facial features were somewhat familiar. Before he could speak, the Confucian scholar had already walked in, grabbed Lu Zhuo's sleeves across the table and cabinet, and begged sadly: "Doctor, my mother suddenly I'm sick, I haven't been able to eat since yesterday, and I can't speak right now. I beg you to be kind and save my mother's life!"

 As he spoke, he shed tears.

At this time, Du Changqing has not come over yet, and apart from Lu Zhuo, there are only Acheng and Yinzheng in the shop. Yin Zheng was a little hesitant. After all, the other party was a strange man, and after all, Lu Huo was from a young girl's family. It would be dangerous to visit the doctor alone.

Acheng, who was on the side, saw the Confucian scholar's face clearly. After being stunned, he whispered: "Isn't this Brother Wu?"

 Lu Zhuo turned around and asked, "Do you know Acheng?"

The boy scratched his head and said, "It's Brother Wu who lives in Miaokou Fresh Fish Shop on West Street. Mr. Hu always mentioned it." The boy was kind-hearted and could not help feeling pity when he saw the miserable appearance of the Confucian scholar. , just go and take a look, I will tell my boss when he comes."

The Confucian scholar stood at the door, wanting to come in but not daring to come in. He begged her with red eyes: "Doctor..."

Lu Zhen didn't say anything. He went into the small courtyard, found the medical box and put it on his back. He asked Yin Zheng to follow him out and said to him, "Let's go."

The Confucian scholar was stunned, and immediately led the way with a lot of gratitude. Yin Zheng followed behind and reminded in a low voice: "Girl, wouldn't it be better for Shopkeeper Du to follow?"

Lu Zhen has been at Renxin Medical Center for a long time. Except for seeing Master Dong, he always sat in the shop. Du Changqing never let her go to see a doctor alone, saying that the two young women had only been in Shengjing for a short time, and sometimes they were not familiar with the place and were afraid of being inhumane.

Yin Zheng's worries were reasonable, but Lu Zhu only shook his head: "It's nothing."

She stared at the hurried back of Wu Xiucai in front of her, remembering when she had seen this man before.

Approximately a few months ago, not long after the Chun Shui Sheng was made, the Confucian scholar came to Renxin Medical Center once and bought a pair of Chun Shui Sheng with a few taels of silver from an old bag.

That herbal tea must not be cheap for him. He hesitated for a long time at the door of the shop, but finally gritted his teeth and bought it, so Lu Yan was deeply impressed by him.

The Confucian scholar led the way and said: "Doctor, my name is Wu Youcai. I live at the Fresh Fish Shop at Miaokou on West Street. Last night, my mother said that she was not feeling well and had phlegm. I massaged her and gave her water. When I got up this morning , I can’t eat, and I can’t drink water. I know it’s against the rules to ask you to visit me, but your hospital is the only one still open on West Street, so I really have no choice.”

Although he looked haggard and withered, his tone was still orderly. He still remembered to apologize to Lu Zhu, and he seemed to be a polite person.

Lu Zhen replied warmly: "It doesn't matter."

 She knew that Wu Youcai did not lie.

 Since Huichun Shuisheng was taken back to the official pharmacy, for some unknown reason, Xinglintang has not continued to open during this period. Wu Youcai wanted to find a doctor on West Street, but he could only find him on her head.

The so-called seeking medical treatment in a hurry when you are sick, not to mention that you have no choice.

Wu Youcai was so anxious that he walked unsteadily in a hurry and stumbled several times. When he reached the end of the West Street, he walked around the entrance of the temple and led the two of them into a fresh fish shop.

There were dozens of fish stalls on one side of the fish shop, all covered with fishy smell. After walking through the last fish stall, a thatched hut appeared in front of Lu Zhuo.

Although this house is very dilapidated, it has been cleaned very well. There were three or two reed chickens roaming freely in the yard surrounded by fences. They were lowering their heads and pecking at grass seeds on both sides. When they saw guests coming, they flapped their wings and fled to the side.

Wu Youcai didn't care about the two people behind him, Lu Zhuo, and hurriedly rushed into the room and shouted: "Mother!"

 Lu Zong and Yin Zheng followed him in.

The simple house was surrounded by various debris. There was a medicine jar on the stove on the ground at the door of the house. The dark brown soup inside was cold.

On the couch by the window, half of the thin quilt had fallen to the ground, and Wu Youcai was picking it up and tucking it up tightly for the person on the couch. Lu Tong took a closer look and saw an old woman with her eyes closed lying in the middle of the bed. She was as skinny as a stick, her complexion was gray, and she was as lifeless as a dead tree.

Wu Youcai choked up and said, "Doctor Lu, this is my mother, please save her!"

Lu Zong reached out and touched the woman's veins, and his heart sank.

　　This woman has run out of oil and her lamp has dried up.

“Doctor Lu, my mother…”

Lu Zhu put down the medical kit and said, "Stop talking, open the window, bring the oil lamp closer, and stay further away."

Wu Youcai did not dare to speak. He placed the oil lamp in front of the bed and stood far away in the corner.

Lu Zhuo called Yin Zheng over, helped the woman to pry open her teeth, and poured some hot water into them. After filling less than half of the bowl, the woman coughed twice and seemed to wake up, and Wu Youcai looked happy.

Lu Zhen opened the medical box, took out the golden needle from the flannel, sat in front of the couch and carefully inserted the needle for the old woman.

Time passed without stopping, but Lu Zhuo's movements seemed extremely long in Wu Youcai's eyes.

The Confucian scholar stood far away, his hands clenched tightly, a pair of bloodshot eyes staring closely at Lu Zhuo's movements, sweat rolling down his forehead.

I don’t know how long it took, until the sun in the outer courtyard spread from the front of the house to the back of the house, and the cicada chirping in the trees became deeper, Lu Zhuo took back his hand and took out the last golden needle.

The old woman's complexion on the couch improved a little, and her eyelids moved in a daze, as if she was about to wake up.

Wu Youcai's face looked both sad and happy, and he threw himself in front of the bed, wiping his tears while calling his mother.

Thousands of thoughts went through his mind. He originally thought that his mother would be in bad luck today, but he never thought that she would survive from a desperate situation. The happiest thing in the world is to find something lost, a false alarm.

Behind him were the woman's moans and Wu Youcai's sobs. Lu Zhu stood up, leaving this tearful scene to the mother and son behind him.

Yin Zheng's heart was hanging tightly. At this moment, she finally fell to the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief. She helped Lu Zhu pack the medical box on the table and said with a smile: "Today was really thrilling. Fortunately, the girl has superb medical skills." , the person was saved. Otherwise, people would feel sad after seeing this situation."

The image of mother and son living side by side and struggling to survive always makes people feel sympathetic.

Lu Zhen was also a little moved. After packing up the medical box, he was about to turn around when his eyes passed by one place and he was suddenly startled.

 There are many books piled in the corner.

This house is extremely shabby, it can almost be said that it has only four walls. Apart from a couch, a cracked table, and two wooden benches with lame legs, there are only piles of pots and pans left. Those sundries are also old and worn, either rusty or missing corners. If Du Changqing saw them, he would definitely throw them out as filthy trash.

 However, in such an empty shabby house, all the corners are filled with books. Stacks stacked together look like a tall and steep mountain, which is amazing.

student…

Lu Zong stared at the mountains of books in the corner with a strange expression.

 This is the house of scholars.

She was so absorbed in what she was looking at that she didn't even notice Wu Youcai walking over until the Confucian scholar's voice woke her up: "Doctor Lu?"

Lu Zhen raised his eyes and saw Wu Youcai standing in front of her, his eyes a little nervous.

Lu Zhuo turned around and saw that the old woman had woken up completely, but she was in a daze and still looked very weak. Yin Zheng was scooping water for her to moisten her mouth.

 She withdrew her gaze and said to Wu Youcai, "Come out and say it."

This house is very small, and when you step out of the door, it becomes much brighter outside. The reed chickens didn't know that the owner of the house had just experienced a certain death, and was sitting leisurely on the haystack basking in the sun.

Wu Youcai looked at Lu Shu, half grateful and half hesitant: "Doctor Lu..."

 “You want to ask about your mother’s condition?”

"yes."

Lu Zhen was silent for a moment before speaking: "Miniang is seriously ill and her pulse is thin and weak. You have asked other doctors to see her before, so you must have known that it is just a matter of time."

She did not deceive Wu Youcai. This hopeless comfort would only deepen the other party's pain in the end.

 Lies cannot change reality after all. Wu Youcai was happy for less than a moment, but his eyes immediately turned red again, and tears fell down: "Doctor Lu, there's nothing we can do?"

 Lu Zhuo shook his head.

 She is just a doctor, not a fairy. Moreover, saving people's lives is not something she is good at.

“She still has at least three months left.” Lu Yan said, “Please honor her well.”

Wu Youcai stood there for a long time before wiping away his tears and responded.

Lu Zhen returned to the house and wrote several prescriptions for Wu Youcai to prepare for the woman to drink. Although these medicines cannot cure the disease, they can make the woman feel more comfortable in the past few months.

Before leaving, Lu Zhu asked Yin Zheng to secretly leave the consultation fee paid by Wu Youcai on the table.

The fish stall that lingered with the fishy smell gradually got further and further away from behind. Yin Zheng and Lu Zhu were silent all the way. When they returned to the hospital, Du Changqing was leaning on the chair eating black dates. When he saw the two coming back, he immediately got up from the chair. Bounce up.

When Du Changqing came to the hospital today, he saw that Lu Zhuo and Yin Zheng were not there. He thought that these two people didn't want to work anymore, so they packed up their bags and left overnight. After Acheng explained the whole story, he didn't report it to the official.

He asked Lu Chen: "Acheng said you went to see Wu Xiucai's mother for medical treatment. How about it? Are you okay?"

Yin Zheng replied: "The situation was quite critical at that time. The girl has rescued the person now, but..."

But a terminally ill person is still counting the days until he dies.

After hearing what Yin Zheng said, Du Changqing also sighed, his eyes seeming worried.

Seeing him like this, Lu Zhen asked, "Do you know Wu Youcai?"

“You all know me from West Street.” Du Changqing waved his hand, “Wu Xiucai from the fresh fish shop, West Street is famous for being a filial son.”

Lu Zhen thought for a while and then said, "I saw many books in his room. Are you planning to leave the examination room?"

"No matter what he planned to do, he failed every time." Du Changqing said about Wu Youcai, and he didn't know whether it was regret or something else. "It's a pity that he was unlucky. At the beginning, people around him thought that with his talent, he might be the number one pick. Who knew?" I haven’t made the list for so many years.”

Du Changqing couldn't help but started to curse God again: "Why can't you open your eyes in this world?" After saying that, he turned around and saw that Lu Zhuo had opened the felt curtain and entered the inner courtyard. He immediately pointed at the curtain and said angrily: "Why? You don’t want to listen to what others have to say!”

Yin Zheng shushed and said, "The girl is tired from visiting the doctor today. Please let her rest."

Du Changqing then gave up.

 In the inner courtyard, Lu Zhuo went into the room, put away the medical kit, and sat down at the table in front of the window.

There are pens and papers on the table in front of the window. Because it is daytime, there is no lamp lit. The green bronze lamp cast in the shape of a lotus leaf looks like a newly blooming lotus, which is charming.

There was also such a bronze lotus lantern in Wu Xiucai’s thatched house at the Fresh Fish Shop.

 Lu Zhen's heart moved slightly.

Scholars often have such a lotus lamp lit on their desks. It is simple and elegant, and it means picking golden lotuses in the future. Many years ago, Lu Qian had such a lamp on his desk.

At that time, in Changwu County, Lu Qian often lit a lamp and read at night on spring nights. His mother was afraid that he would be hungry, so she gave him honey cakes at night. Lu Chen sneaked in while his parents were not paying attention, climbed onto his brother's table, and confidently took the plate of honey cakes for himself. Lu Qian was so angry that he whispered to her: "Hey!"

She sat at the head of Lu Qian's table, her legs dangling in the air, and complained plausibly: "Who told you to sneak a midnight snack behind our backs?"

 “Who had a midnight snack?”

 “Then what are you doing?”

 “Read.”

"What book should I read at night?" Lu Zhu stuffed honey cake into his mouth and picked up the lotus lamp on the table to look at it. "What a waste of lamp oil."

The young man laughed angrily and snatched the copper lantern back: "What do you know? This is called 'the green lantern and the yellow scroll will last longer', 'hurrying up the lantern to achieve fame'!"

 Hurry up the lights to achieve fame...

 Lu Xu lowered his eyes.

The Wu Youcai I met today was a scholar and had been killed several times.

If Lu Qian was still alive, he would have reached the age where he could go to work and achieve fame.

Father has always been strict, and the books that have piled up in the house over the years must have nowhere to go like this Wu Youcai. The lights on the Lu family's desk in Changwu County will only burn longer than they did on that spring night.

 But Lu Qian is dead.

Died in Zhao Prison of Shengjing Prison Department.

Lu Zong couldn't help but clench his palms.

Yin Zheng helped her find out that the prisoners on death row in the Prison Department were the same as other places. If they had family members after the execution, they would be given money and the bones could be taken back by their family members. Those who had no family members were taken to the back hill at the foot of Wangchun Mountain and buried hastily.

Lu Zhen later went to the graveyard at the foot of Wangchun Mountain. There were wild grass there and human bones left over from being eaten by wild beasts everywhere. A very slight smell of blood could be smelled. A few wild dogs parked far behind the graveyard, tilting their heads. Watch her.

She stood in that wasteland, feeling that the blood all over her body suddenly turned cold. She could not accept that the handsome and cheerful young man in her memory ended up sleeping in such a muddy place, buried with countless dead prisoners and severed limbs. .

 She couldn't even tell where Lu Qian's bones were among the countless graves.

 He died like this, alone.

The chirping of cicadas in the yard became empty and desolate in my ears, and the sunlight in the summer afternoon came fiercely, rushing over people's faces, cold and without any warmth, like a suffocating nightmare.

　　Until someone's voice came from my ears, it roughly opened a hole in this dull dream——

“Doctor Lu, Doctor Lu?” Acheng stood in front of the felt curtain between the courtyard and the shop, shouting loudly.

Lu Zhen turned around blankly, his eyes still filled with trance.

Yin Zheng, who was washing his hands in the yard, walked over, lifted up the felt curtain, and called Acheng in to talk: "What's the matter?"

“Someone in the shop wants to buy herbal tea. The herbal tea on the table outside has been sold out. Shopkeeper Du asked you to bring some more from the warehouse.”

 The "warehouse" is the kitchen in the yard. Lu Yan sometimes makes extra herbal tea and puts it in boxes in advance to avoid temporary shortages.

Yin Zheng responded and asked as usual: "Which family is the name of?"

Recently, Lu Rang set up a booklet and recorded the names of all the guests who came to buy herbal tea. Du Changqing once said that this was too troublesome, but Lu Rang insisted on doing it.

When the young man heard this, he beamed with joy and said: "This time he is a big shot. He is said to be from the palace of Fan Zhenglian, the judge of the court of punishment. He is waiting outside the shop right now!"

Yin Zheng was about to go to the kitchen and paused.

Lu Zhen also suddenly raised his eyes.

The Summer Viewing Banquet will obviously not start for some time. Even if Mrs. Dong is willing to help with tips at the banquet, it will still take a long time for Fan Zhenglian's wife Zhao to take the bait.

She had planned to wait patiently, but she didn't expect that God would see her Lu family in such misery that it would allow this good news to arrive in advance.

Acheng didn't notice the strangeness between the two of them, and was still excited in his heart. Fan Zhenglian, the judge of the court, was the "Fan Qingtian" praised by everyone in the capital! Who would have thought that even people from Fan Qingtian's house would come here to buy medicine in this remote medical clinic of theirs. If this were told, all the vendors on West Street would be envious!

The young man finished speaking for a while, but there was still no reply from Lu Huan. Then he realized something was wrong, "Miss Lu?"

 “No need to take it.”

Acheng was stunned for a moment and looked at Lu Huan subconsciously.

The woman stood in front of the table, looking at the bronze night lamp on the corner of the table. She didn't know what she was thinking of, and there seemed to be a fleeting look of sadness in her eyes.

It took a long time before she spoke.

“Tell the Fan family that the medicinal tea is sold out and out of stock.”

 (End of this chapter)