"You want to be an in-house physician?" Du Zi'an nearly choked on his tea, his eyes going wide. "Miss Lu, you must be joking."
Lu Li's expression was calm as she gazed at him quietly.
Du Zi'an patted his chest to catch his breath before speaking again. "Miss Lu, being an in-house physician is no trifling matter. Since you've done your research, you should have seen that most in-house physicians are elderly gentlemen. As a young lady…"
Lu Li lifted the teacup before her and watched the broken tea leaves drifting in the amber liquid.
Since ancient times, the medical profession had always favored the aged. Young doctors were often doubted by others, their skills questioned as unrefined. Only by enduring and enduring, waiting until their hair turned white, could they gradually build up reputation.
Seeing that Lu Li remained silent, Du Zi'an pressed on with earnest advice. "Miss Lu, I have lived in the capital since childhood. Pardon my impertinence, but a lady as striking as yourself ought to be kept in the inner chambers. Why put yourself through the hardship of this profession, let alone appear in public? If your elders saw this, how their hearts would ache."
At the words "elders," a flicker of emotion crossed Lu Li's eyes.
Du Zi'an, oblivious to her reaction, kept on with his persuasion. "Just give me the prescription formula for the medicinal brew. I'll pay you silver for it, as if you were simply consigned goods at a shop, alright?"
"The Spring Restoration Medical Hall is a medical hall, not a pharmacy."
"Hardly different from a pharmacy."
Lu Li set down the teacup and met his gaze directly. "Young Master Du, are you saying you don't trust that I have the skill to practice medicine? Are you afraid I'll bring trouble to your medical hall and cause an unmanageable situation?"
Du Zi'an paused, as if she had struck upon his hidden thoughts.
"If you don't trust me, you may certainly bring difficult and puzzling cases to test me once I begin practicing at the hall." Lu Li said. "The capital is not short on medical halls, Young Master Du. If you don't wish to make this deal, then so be it." With that, she rose from her seat, as if she had no intention of wasting any more words.
"Wait—"
Du Zi'an called out urgently.
Lu Li turned to look at him.
He stared at her for a long moment before finally clenching his teeth and backing down. "Dr. Lu, in all my days, I have never met a young lady of such noble aspiration and such a single-minded devotion to healing the world through medicine."
"But I'll say this plainly." He spoke with obvious frustration. "You may go practice as an in-house physician, but I cannot guarantee that anyone will actually patronize you."
"There's no need for Young Master Du to trouble yourself over that." Lu Li gave him a slight nod. "I know my own limits."
With the matter settled, the rest went along much more smoothly.
Du Zi'an needed to return first to find lodging for Lu Li and her maid. Lu Li intended to go back to the inn to pack her belongings. Du Zi'an settled the tea bill, and the three of them walked side by side toward the Yuelai Inn.
The long street bustled with prosperity, carriages and horses passing one after another. A few dozen steps further ahead stood a jewelry shop called Jubaolou. Ladies from prominent households frequently came here to select accessories.
As the three of them approached Jubaolou, the trouble that had been chasing Lu Li all this time finally caught up with her.
Qingluan had just noticed something amiss when Zhao Tiezhu suddenly seized Lu Li by the shoulder and dragged her back. Before anyone could react, he had already forced her in front of him as a shield.
Pei Yunzheng's men closed in, while Lei Zhen's bowmen in the distance tightened their bowstrings, ready to fire at the slightest command.
Lu Li's heart sank. If an arrow came now, it would pierce Zhao Tiezhu and her together.
But her right hand had never loosened its grip on the velvet flower she had plucked off near Jubaolou.
In the next instant, she flung up her hand. Caught off guard, Zhao Tiezhu stumbled back two steps, though his grip on her shoulder did not loosen.
At the same moment, the sharp flower pin hidden inside the velvet bloom stabbed viciously into Zhao Tiezhu's left eye.
A chorus of startled cries rang out behind them.