Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 276 Who Has Covered Up the Sky Again? [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"Eh?"

Xu Jie was taken aback upon hearing this.

He couldn't understand how Xu Cheng could guess his thoughts so accurately, even down to the specific symptoms.

Admittedly, while Baihe Gujin Decoction does have the effect of relieving pulmonary tuberculosis, it is not a specific medicine for treating pulmonary tuberculosis. Even if Xu Cheng is well-versed in medical theory, he could not have guessed so accurately.

Otherwise, even if Xu Cheng were a doctor, he would never dare to have close contact with him without any protection...

However, he had come here today to reveal his true intentions, and since Xu Cheng had already spoken up, he naturally no longer needed to hide anything.

So even though he had some doubts, Xu Jie still bowed and smiled:
"Nothing can be hidden from Dr. Xu. This matter should not be difficult for Dr. Xu, and he should have no worries about the future."

"Please convey my message, Doctor Xu: if you can grant my request, in addition to this hundred taels of silver, I will surely repay you handsomely in the future."

As he spoke, Xu Jie took the small deerskin bag and stuffed it into Xu Cheng's hand.

He felt that Xu Cheng had no reason to refuse, and his father Xu Shen felt the same way.

After all, there were no real concerns about this matter, and one hundred taels of silver was no small sum for a medical clinic and its director.

Of course, the main reason he thought this way was because he was in mourning in his hometown and was unaware of what had happened a year ago.

Otherwise, he should now call Xu Shen the Divine Doctor, and he should also know that tuberculosis is not an "incurable disease" for Xu Shen, but can be cured instantly with just "talk therapy".

"sorry!"

Unexpectedly, Xu Cheng pushed the silver back, his attitude extremely firm, even somewhat rude.
"My Xu family has no grudge against you, so why are you here to harm my family?"

"Not only can I not agree to this, but my father will absolutely not do it again, otherwise he might have to go through hell again!"

"If there's nothing else, please leave, sir. I won't see you out!"

"???"

Xu Jie was not expecting Xu Cheng to react this way. Logically speaking, this shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Most importantly, Xu Cheng's words are also worth considering.

Why did he say "again" and "again"? It's as if he had done it before and almost implicated Xu Shen.

"Wait a minute!"

Seeing that Xu Cheng not only pushed the silver back, but also rudely stepped forward to push him, Xu Jie finally couldn't suppress his doubts and couldn't help but ask,

"I can let this matter go, but could you please explain yourself, Dr. Xu? Why did you say that I'm here to cause trouble for your family again?"

"You don't know about Minister Yan—no, he should be called Duke Biguo now?"

Xu Cheng retorted.

Only after asking did I suddenly realize that very few people knew the secret behind this matter.

It is precisely because of this that his father, Xu Shen, was able to maintain his reputation as a divine physician; otherwise, the world would only know him as a corrupt and bribe-taking imperial physician, and Fuling Hall would not be where it is today.

Even if he didn't know the secrets behind it, he felt that Xu Jie should know that Yan Maoqing had been "cured" of tuberculosis by his father.

After all, this matter caused quite a stir at the time; the entire Hanlin Academy knew about it, and even Grand Secretary Xia of the Inner Cabinet knew about it. The news spread for quite some time.

However, little did he know that Xu Jie had only recently returned to the capital after completing his period of mourning.

Unless you specifically inquire about it, this story is rarely mentioned anymore.

"Yan Maoqing, what exactly is going on? Please, Physician Xu, explain clearly."

Xu Jie was stunned again.

Why is it Yan Maoqing again?
Why is Yan Maoqing everywhere?
And what does this matter have to do with Yan Maoqing?
"No comment. I cannot see you out."

Knowing he had already spoken out of turn, Xu Cheng naturally refused to say another word. He immediately turned and left the back room, returning to his consultation seat and calling out to his apprentice outside:

"Liangzi, bring in the next patient!"

……

Xu Jie had no other choice but to keep the matter to himself after being treated so coldly.

He then shook his head helplessly, left the Fuling Hall and returned home, instructing his servants to go out and investigate the matter.

Unexpectedly, the servant returned less than half an hour later, reporting to him as if to claim credit:
"Sir, it is indeed true!"

"About a year ago, shortly after Yan Maoqing passed the imperial examination, he was selected as a probationary official, ranking first in the list."

"It was around that time that he suddenly contracted tuberculosis, so he obtained a medical certificate from the Imperial Hospital and asked for sick leave to return to his hometown to recuperate."

"However, the current emperor treated him with great respect, and ordered Xu Shen, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, to treat him. Unexpectedly, he cured tuberculosis, an incurable disease, with just two prescriptions. People all say he is an unparalleled divine doctor."

"It was because of this that Yan Maoqing was able to stay in the Hanlin Academy, and that's how he achieved his current meteoric rise and great success."

"It seems that Xu Shen is truly a great benefactor to Yan Maoqing. If it weren't for his intervention, all of Yan Maoqing's years of hard work and finally achieving his academic success would have been in vain... Master! What's wrong, Master?!"

"Quick! Someone help! The master can't breathe!"

Before the servant could finish speaking, an anxious cry for help came from the study.

While calling for help, the servants rushed forward and helped Xu Jie, who had slumped off the chair due to his limp body, to his feet.

Then he pinched Xu Jie's philtrum hard and patted his back repeatedly, trying to wake him up. His face was as white as paper and completely bloodless.

He had never seen Xu Jie like this before.

After all, Xu Jie is not yet forty, which is the prime of his life, and he has always been in good health. Moreover, in today's officialdom, this is considered to be enough experience to take off. The entire Xu family, including him as a servant, is hoping to live a good life with Xu Jie in the future.

Accompanied by his cries for help.

The study was soon crowded with people, all of whom were anxiously jumping around Xu Jie.

His current wife, Zhang, was especially distressed; her eyes were red, and tears welled up in them, threatening to spill over at any moment.

"My lord, don't frighten me! Wake up!"

The relatives and servants also clapped their hands in alarm:

"Is this kind of person truly unlucky?"

They had been eagerly awaiting Xu Jie's return to the capital to serve as an official after a long period of mourning.

Moreover, Xu Jie is now an orphan, and there will be no more obstacles to his career. This is the most crucial stage for him to make a final push.

If Xu Jie were to fall ill or die at this time, it would be as if he had fallen at the last moment of dawn, something that would be difficult for the entire Xu family to accept.

At this moment, an elderly butler stepped forward, frowned, and hesitated slightly before saying:

"Although we have already sent someone to fetch a doctor, there is no certainty about when the doctor will arrive, whether he will make it in time, or what level of skill he possesses. We can't just wait around like this, can we?"

"Uncle Song, do you have any ideas?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang seemed to grasp at a straw as if she were drowning, and immediately wiped away her tears and asked.

"Actually, I'm not sure either. I've only seen someone faint from phlegm caused by something, just like you are now, sir."

The old butler still hesitated before speaking.
"If this happened in the countryside, the villagers would usually use a folk remedy of slapping him in the face. They would slap him hard several times, and once the victim coughed up the phlegm stuck in his chest, he would naturally wake up."

"But the master is a scholar who once ranked third in the imperial examinations, a star in the heavens, and his health is extremely precious. I'm afraid he can't be injured..."

"What time is it, why are you still caring about these things!"

Zhang was a decisive and autocratic woman; upon hearing this, she immediately rebuked him.

"As long as I can wake the master up, I'd gladly give him a few blows, or even my life!"

"beat!"

"Choose a strong servant to beat him. Make sure he knocks the phlegm out of the master's chest. If he doesn't wake up, I won't blame you. If he does wake up, I'll reward him handsomely. I will never go back on my word!"

So, with such a generous reward, brave men were sure to come, and soon a strong and capable servant was chosen from among the servants.

"Bah! Bah!"

The servant was an honest man; he even rolled up his sleeves, spat twice into his palms, rubbed them together, and then got into a fighting stance.

"Do not use brute force; wounds should only be superficial, not to the master's bones and muscles."

Seeing this, the old steward became nervous and quickly pulled the servant aside to remind him not to be too rough and kill the unconscious person.

"Uncle Song, don't worry, I understand."

The servant nodded, and after the others helped Xu Jie up, he slowly pulled his arm back...

……

"..."

In the darkness, Xu Jie gradually regained some consciousness. He felt as if he had been having a terrible nightmare, a nightmare from which he could never wake up.

Based on the servant's report, and combined with what Xu Cheng had inadvertently revealed,

Xu Jie had almost guessed the gist of the matter.

He never expected that even his method of claiming illness and retiring to return to his hometown would be "replicated" by Yan Maoqing a step ahead, and even the details were exactly the same, and even the imperial physician he found was the same person.

This further confirms his previous judgment!

Yan Maoqing is the "self" who always puts himself one step ahead of everyone else. Yan Maoqing understands him better than the worms in his stomach!
Such a strange thing really exists in the world!
Such retribution exists in this world!
Is Heaven playing a cruel joke on him?!
At that moment, he felt a palpitation he had never experienced before, and an indescribable tightness in his chest. He lost consciousness in an instant.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he vaguely heard a commotion in the darkness, but he couldn't feel his hands or feet, nor could he feel his eyelids. No matter what he did, he couldn't break through the darkness.

I don’t know how long it took.

He finally vaguely felt his hands and feet, but they were so numb that he couldn't move them.

He finally felt his eyelids again, and it seemed that his senses were gradually returning, though it was slow and somewhat difficult.

at last.

He used almost all his strength to barely lift his eyelids, and a beam of light shone into the darkness.

"Ugh——!"

However, before he could fully open his eyes, he heard a sudden whooshing sound.

"Snapped!"

He felt his soul suddenly flung to the right.

Just before he was about to break free from the darkness and usher in the light, he was inexplicably plunged into pitch-black darkness again.

Who has covered up the sky again?

(End of this chapter)