In the pale morning light, the door of the Huichun Medical Clinic at the entrance of the West Market creaked open.
Usually, this shop didn't see a soul until the sun was high in the sky, but today was an exception. Even more surprising was that the signboard, usually covered in dust, had been polished to a shine, giving the entire storefront a rare air of vitality.
Inside the shop, Du Zi'an was directing a clerk to move an old wooden long table that had been blocking the door further inside. He wasn't wearing his usual wrinkled silk shirt today, but had changed into a neat set of short clothes, and was vigorously clearing away spiderwebs in the corners.
"A bit further in, just a bit more!" Du Zi'an clapped the dust off his hands and took two steps back to assess the shopfront. "This is much more spacious. It doesn't look like a rat hole anymore."
The neighbors of the West Market passing by stopped in their tracks when they saw this. Everyone knew that the young master of the Du family was a good-for-nothing who only knew how to enjoy himself. His late father had left him a large fortune, but unfortunately, he was unpromising. He spent his days with a group of idle loafers, hunting with hawks and dogs, and frequenting brothels and entertainment quarters, squandering the immense family wealth until it was completely gone. By the time he finally came to his senses, only this dilapidated little medical clinic in the West Market remained, and it was run so poorly that it was operating at a loss, teetering on the verge of collapse.
Seeing him suddenly become diligent hard for everyone to understand.
"Oh, has Young Master Du turned over a new leaf?" someone teased.
Du Zi'an was about to reply when a soft sound came from the medicine cabinet behind him. Everyone looked toward the sound, and the previously noisy street entrance fell silent for a moment.
Standing before the old medicine cabinet, which had been wiped spotless, was a young woman.
This woman was exceedingly beautiful, with skin like congealed fat and a clear, elegant air. She wore a plain, thin cotton dress, and her long black hair was braided and draped over her chest. Apart from a frost-white silk flower pinned at her temple, she wore no jewelry, yet she outshone all the young ladies from other places who dressed up elaborately.
She was lowering her head to organize medicinal herbs, her movements skillful and gentle, as if this dilapidated little clinic had instantly become elegant simply because of her presence.
Ge the tailor from the neighboring shop had come to buy croton seeds for his elderly mother's intestinal blockage. Before he could even step through the door, his eyes went straight to the woman. He grabbed Du Zi'an, who was about to greet a customer, and lowered his voice, pointing at the figure by the medicine cabinet: "Zi'an, who is that? She's stunning!"
Du Zi'an followed his gaze and saw Lu Li sorting medicine. The corner of his mouth curled into a smug smile, and he hummed, "This is the resident physician this young master hired back, Physician Lu!"
"Resident physician?" Ge the tailor asked, eyes wide in shock. "A female physician?"
"What's wrong with a female physician?" Du Zi'an raised his eyebrows. "Did a female physician offend you?"
"No... how can a woman be a physician? Besides, she looks younger than you." Ge the tailor rolled his eyes and a knowing, mischievous smile appeared on his face. "I get it. She's your mistress, isn't she? If she's your mistress, so be it. Why make it so mysterious?"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Du Zi'an scolded angrily. "She is a legitimate physician! She knows how to diagnose illnesses and prepare medicine. Not everyone is as shameless as you!"
Ge the tailor, having been scolded for no reason, took his croton seeds and left in annoyance.
Du Zi'an looked at his stooping back, cursed "dog's mouth can't spit out ivory," then looked back at the girl by the medicine cabinet, who was like a lotus rising from the water. He felt both a bit guilty and a bit smug.
After a while, he muttered to himself, "What's wrong with a female physician? Isn't she easier on the eyes than that old piece of bark over at Jishi Hall?"
He spat, not knowing if he was trying to convince himself or others.
"This young master wouldn't want her if she was ugly!"
"What do you know!"
...
The news that a beautiful young woman had come to the Huichun Medical Clinic spread through the West Market in the blink of an eye.
The shopkeepers in the West Market were mostly old acquaintances who had been doing business there for over ten years, seeing each other constantly. Old Master Du had started out in the West Market before making his fortune and moving away. The neighbors had been both envious and jealous back then. Now that his youngest son had fallen into poverty overnight and returned to the starting point of his late father, the neighbors sighed but also felt some sympathy.
However, this sympathy didn't last long. Du Zi'an hired a beautiful girl as a resident physician, and the neighbors began to look down on his style.
It looked like Young Master Du was bound to squander the family fortune sooner or later.
Truly, you can't plaster rotten mud on a wall!
Not far away, in Jishi Hall, the shopkeeper, Qian Shouyi, sat at a table in the inner shop, slowly sipping tea.
Qian Shouyi was forty this year. He had a fair face, a slightly plump build, and wore a sapphire-blue Zhishou robe tied at the waist with a colorful silk sash. He always wore a faint smile when meeting people, looking kind and benevolent, very approachable, but he possessed a shrewd pair of eyes.
He had started out dealing in scattered medicinal herbs, gradually accumulated some wealth, and then took over a large shopfront in the West Market to establish Jishi Hall. Jishi Hall was spacious, had a wide variety of medicinal herbs, and a steady stream of customers. But Qian Shouyi was not satisfied with this.
He had long coveted the Huichun Medical Clinic. Although the clinic was old and dilapidated, it was right at the street entrance, a prime location. Qian Shouyi wanted to take over the shop and turn it into a clinic dedicated to seeing patients, while Jishi Hall would focus on selling medicinal herbs. This way, all the patients in the West Market would belong to Jishi Hall, and silver would flow ceaselessly into his purse.
However, Du Zi'an, the owner of the Huichun Medical Clinic, refused to sell the shopfront no matter what.
Qian Shouyi looked down on Du Zi'an in his heart. Old Master Du had left Du Zi'an such a large fortune, yet he managed to squander it all. If it were him, he would have multiplied the family assets several times over. Du Zi'an had been a waste for half his life, and now he suddenly came to his senses? Who was he putting on this act of a prodigal son returning for?
He wasn't worried that Du Zi'an wouldn't sell the clinic. After all, the number of customers coming to Huichun Medical Clinic each month was few and far between. Du Zi'an probably wouldn't be able to hold on for long. When that time came and he was forced to sell out of desperation, the price Qian Shouyi would offer would only be lower.
Qian Shouyi was just waiting for the day the Huichun Medical Clinic went bankrupt and Du Zi'an came crying to bow his head and beg him. Who knew that today, he would hear from someone else that Du Zi'an had hired a beautiful girl from somewhere to be a resident physician.
It really made one curious.
Wen Ji, the clerk from Jishi Hall, returned after gathering information and stood before Qian Shouyi, reporting every detail: "...There is indeed a young woman standing in the clinic, and she's quite pretty. Oh, that girl came to Jishi Hall a few days ago too, to sell medicine to Physician Zhou."
Qian Shouyi paused in the act of holding his tea cup and looked at the man by the medicine cabinet: "Old Zhou, is there such a thing?"
This man was Zhou Ping. He was originally the resident physician at the Huichun Medical Clinic. After Old Master Du died, Zhou Ping saw that Du Zi'an was destitute, so he found an excuse to leave and transferred to Jishi Hall.
It was only after Zhou Ping left that Du Zi'an, feeling like a cracked pot, simply smashed it, running the clinic almost like a medicine shop.
Zhou Ping was thin and dry, with a blackish-yellow complexion and a mustache. He wore a spun silk long gown that made his body look like a bamboo pole swaying inside the clothes. Relying on his medical skills, he was always arrogant towards the clinic's clerks, but he fawned over and flattered the owner, Qian Shouyi, to the utmost.
Hearing Qian Shouyi's question, Zhou Ping thought for a moment before answering: "A few days ago, indeed two women from out of town came to sell mugwort charcoal. They also seemed to want to consign some medicinal drinks. The mugwort charcoal was fried barely passably, but I didn't dare use the medicinal drinks, so I had someone throw them out."
Qian Shouyi nodded in satisfaction: "You are a sensible person. Jishi Hall is not like those small medicine shops; we cannot use things of unknown origin, lest we ruin our own reputation."
"Shopkeeper, what about the Huichun Medical Clinic side..." Zhou Ping asked tentatively.
Qian Shouyi placed his tea cup on the table and spoke slowly: "A woman from out of town, and Du Zi'an actually dares to let her be a resident physician. In my opinion, he is lusting after beauty and seeking his own death. Just watch. In a few days, the Huichun Medical Clinic will come begging us to take the place off their hands."
Just then, a cry came from outside, "Master Hu has arrived!"
Du Zi'an's eyes lit up at once, and he hurried out to greet the guest with an exaggerated smile.
Soon an elderly gentleman in a square headscarf and scholar's robe entered the clinic, leaning on Du Zi'an's arm. The moment he sat down, his gaze fell on Lu Li.
"And this is...?"
Du Zi'an quickly smiled and explained, "This is the resident physician I have newly invited to the clinic. Your medicinal tea today was also..."
"Absurd!"
Before he could finish the sentence, Master Hu shot to his feet in fury and snapped, "An ignorant woman, and you dare let her sit in a clinic and practice medicine?"