This heartless old man.
Xie Zhinuan thought to herself, leaning forward slightly, "Old Master, may I ask you a question?"
"Hmm?" Dugu Zhen raised an eyebrow.
"Tell me, with my current medical skills, am I able to graduate from my apprenticeship?" Xie Zhinuan asked earnestly.
On her stunningly beautiful face, those sparkling large eyes held a mix of anticipation and uncertainty.
Dugu Zhen raised his hand and knocked her forehead lightly, "Silly girl, I thought you were exceptionally clever, but it turns out you can be quite foolish too!"
Xie Zhinuan, rubbing her forehead, humphed, "Well, isn’t it because my experience in medicine is still shallow and I lack confidence? You have been wandering in the Martial World for many years and are one of the top-ranking doctors. To obtain your affirmation is my great fortune across three lifetimes!"
Her mouth was full of sweet nothings; whether she was coaxing people or ghosts, one couldn’t tell.
Dugu Zhen looked at Xie Zhinuan and snorted coldly, "Then if I say that your medical skills are exquisite and unmatched in this era, do you believe it yourself?"
"..."
Xie Zhinuan looked at Dugu Zhen and felt that there was no way the conversation could continue today.
She picked up some cherries to eat.
Dugu Zhen smiled and sipped his tea.
The two children were happily eating cherries, having a contest to see who could spit the pits further.
Children always find their own joy and then laugh heartily in satisfaction.
Xie Zhinuan looked at them and gradually began to smile as well, deciding not to take issue with Dugu Zhen anymore. No matter what her medical skills were like, one day, she would become a renowned doctor of her time and gain fame far and wide with her medical expertise.
The Magistrate’s Residence
Sun Yian had not returned home for several days. Magistrate Sun knew where he had gone and had sent people to ask him back, but Sun Yian would not return home, and the magistrate could not possibly send someone to forcibly bring him back.
Moreover, Magistrate Sun also discovered something—that these wayward young masters had all been staying within their residences, not venturing outside.
Just as he sent people to inquire, the news he received almost caused him to faint.
"What did you say?"
"The information I received is as such, the young master and several other young masters have all contracted a vile disease!"
"..."
Magistrate Sun abruptly stood up.
Furious and unable to forgive, he smashed many porcelain items, cursing, "That bastard, that damn thing!"
He had warned him over and over again not to fool around outside, that there are some women with whom one must not associate, but he never listened. Indiscriminate in his appetites, he would bed any woman, and now he had provoked trouble for himself.
"Go bring him back, no matter what it takes!"
"But my lord..., there are several men from the Martial World by the young master’s side, skilled in Martial Arts, and our men from the residence might not succeed!"
Magistrate Sun was filled with anger, rage, and worry.
His son was indifferent to the distinction between cleanliness and filth, and who knows how many maids in the house fell prey to him, not to mention those concubines in his inner quarters...
With this thought, Magistrate Sun’s head exploded with a bang.
Concubines in the inner quarters, Sun Yian acting without restraint, he himself, himself...
Thinking about the itching sensation he had been feeling these past few days.
His face suddenly went pale, "Go, go call a doctor!"
"..."
The butler was shocked, but he quickly understood and his face turned pale too.
Stumbling, he went to call for a doctor. The doctor took Magistrate Sun’s pulse and then asked to examine his body in another room. Soon, Magistrate Sun came out with a somber face, "Please check the health of the Madam, the aunts, and the maids in the residence!"
"Yes!"
It’s said that ignorance is bliss, but when they looked, it was a shock.
Aside from a few old concubines in the residence who had faded in beauty and had long been neglected, living in the back of the house, nearly every other concubine had contracted the vile disease. And for the maids, aside from the very young, the old, and the ugly, the same was true.
And then there were the young male servants and the old slaves; the young who didn’t understand, and the middle-aged and old ones, not a single one missed.
For a time, clouds of gloom and despair hung over the magistrate’s residence.
Nobody knew who had brought this vile disease into the residence, let alone how many people it had spread to, not to mention the people outside...