"You want to be a resident doctor?" Du Changqing stared wide-eyed, "Miss Lu, are you joking with me?"
Lu Tong looked at him calmly.
After taking a sip of tea and pausing to collect his thoughts, Du Changqing resumed, "Miss Lu, becoming a resident doctor isn't to be taken lightly. If you've made inquiries as you said, you should have seen that most resident doctors are elderly men. For a young lady like you..."
Lu Tong lifted the teacup in front of her, observing the fragmented leaves floating within.
Since ancient times, healers have been respected more as they aged. Younger doctors often face doubt about their skills, needing to endure until white hairs appear to slowly accumulate a reputation.
Seeing Lu Tong remain silent, Du Changqing continued earnestly, "Miss Lu, having grown up in Shengjing myself, I must overstep to say, a beautiful young lady like you shouldn't suffer hardships, let alone be in the public eye. Your family would be heartbroken if they knew."
At the mention of "family," there was a subtle shift in Lu Tong's eyes.
Unaware of her expression, Du Changqing continued, "You can give me the herbal tea, and I will pay you with silver, consider it as consignment, okay?"
Lu Tong: "Renxin Medical Hall is a medical hall, not a pharmacy."
"It's almost the same as a pharmacy."
Placing down her teacup, Lu Tong looked at Du Changqing and said, "Young Master Du, do you doubt my ability to practice medicine, fearing I will create trouble for your medical hall with no way to remedy it?"
As if touching on a hidden thought, Du Changqing hesitated for a moment.
"If you don't trust me, you can always come to the medical hall with a disease to test me," Lu Tong said. "Shengjing has more than one medical hall. If Young Master Du does not wish to do business, then let's drop the matter." She lightly dropped this remark and stood up, no longer wishing to converse with Du Changqing.
"Wait—"
Du Changqing called out loudly.
Lu Tong turned to look at him.
He stared at Lu Tong for a long while before finally biting the bullet and admitting defeat, only saying, "Doctor Lu, I've never met someone with such noble aspirations and a heart set on helping the world like you."
"I'll tell you now," he said begrudgingly, "you can have your own practice, but I can't be responsible for whether others acknowledge it or not."
"There's no need for Young Master Du to worry," Lu Tong nodded to him, "I will take care of it."
Having agreed on the matter, the following steps were much easier to handle.
Du Changqing planned to go back first to look for accommodations for Lu Tong and her companion, while Lu Tong intended to return to the inn to pack her belongings. After paying for the tea, the trio walked side by side towards Laiyi Inn.
The street bustled with activity, carriages and horses constantly passing by. A few dozen steps ahead was Baoxiang Tower, a jewelry shop where ladies often chose their accessories.
Just as Lu Tong and her companion reached the entrance of Baoxiang Tower with Du Changqing, suddenly, the sound of chaotic horse hooves erupted. Lu Tong looked up and saw a carriage barreling toward them.
The coachman, not bothering to steer clear of pedestrians, nearly hit Yin Zheng. With quick reflexes, Lu Tong pulled Yin Zheng to safety. Before Yin Zheng could speak, the coachman berated loudly, "Where did these troublemakers come from, are they blind?"
Yin Zheng, feeling offended, was about to retort when Du Changqing pulled her aside, softly saying, "Don't argue, that's the carriage from the Grand Preceptor's Mansion."
Hearing this, Lu Tong's heart stirred, and she asked Du Changqing sideways, "When you mention the Grand Preceptor's Mansion, do you mean Grand Preceptor Qi's residence?"
Surprised, Du Changqing asked, "You're also aware of the Grand Preceptor's power?"
Lu Tong did not respond, her expression turning somber.
From the other side, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and someone alighted.
A young lady wearing a veil was dressed in a smoke-grey shimmery silk dress embroidered with intertwined flowers, which made her figure appear exceptionally graceful. She was carefully assisted out of the carriage by her maidservant, revealing the delicate magnolia embroidery on her shoes.
Even without seeing her face, one could sense her charm and elegance.
Such a pearl-like young lady was surrounded by guards who were tall and menacing, shouting loudly to disperse the commoners so their mistress could enter Baoxiang Tower unobstructed.
Du Changqing huffed, "Those nobles..." but he still dared not finish his sentence.
Lu Tong was intently watching the young lady from Grand Preceptor's household when she suddenly caught a faint whiff of the metallic scent of blood. Before she could voice a warning, the sound of chaos erupted from the end of the long street—galloping hooves in pursuit, accompanied by a trail of piercing screams and shouts.
"Make way! The government officers are arresting someone!"
"Murder—"
"Get out of the way!"
Street vendors and tea stalls along the way were overturned as soldiers charged through the street haphazardly. Sensing trouble, Lu Tong instinctively pulled out a velvet flower from her hair and clutched it in her palm while grabbing Yin Zheng, intending to retreat into a nearby shop. Suddenly, a strong gust and a shadow approached head-on, bringing with it an overwhelming stench of blood.
The man did not even glance at Lu Tong as he charged straight towards the Grand Preceptor's daughter. Just as he was about to seize the young lady, who was pale with terror, her bodyguard swept a glance at Lu Tong. In the next moment, Lu Tong felt her arm being grabbed and her body violently pushed forward, sending her stumbling into the path of the man in black.
"Miss—" Yin Zheng cried out in alarm.
Silence seemed to befall the surroundings for a moment.
Upon seeing someone had become the scapegoat, the bodyguard didn't hesitate to retreat with his charge into Baoxiang Tower. Lu Tong felt the cold edge of a blade against her neck and someone gripping her shoulder, trying to escape towards the other end of the street.
However, his plan was thwarted.
On the other end of the street, a large group of soldiers had arrived, trapping the man and Lu Tong in the middle.
The man was now trapped and at the end of his rope.
Held tightly by him, Lu Tong tilted her head slightly and could vaguely make out the man's profile.
He was a middle-aged man, around forty, with a face covered in blood, and his expression was twisted with panic. She felt the hand that held the blade trembling slightly. His voice was quivering too, with the madness of a man on the brink, as he shouted to the officers ahead, "Move back! Or I'll kill her!"
The officer in charge, a man in official attire with green satin boots and high cheekbones, sat astride a tall horse and spoke authoritatively from above, "Criminal Lu Dashan, there's no use struggling. Surrender now!"
Upon hearing this, the man known as Lu Dashan spat out disdainfully, his expression a mix of crying and laughing, as he shouted, "What criminal? Who the hell is the criminal? The Department of Military Affairs is guarding its own theft, and yet they let me take the blame—what a joke!" His grip on the knife tightened, "Cut the crap and move, or I'll chop her right now!"
The officer just narrowed his eyes and remained silent.
The bystanders had already dispersed, keeping their distance from the scene. Helplessly, Lu Tong watched a soldier with a quiver on his back draw a long arrow and nock it on the bowstring, causing her heart to sink.
Lu Dashan had noticed the change, becoming even more frantic as he pressed the knife against Lu Tong's neck harder, causing a trickle of blood to slowly flow down her jade neck.
Yin Zheng panicked, "Miss!"
"It's useless," Du Changqing held back the approach of Yin Zheng, his eyes filled with horror and fear, "That's Lei Yuan from the Department of Military Affairs. That man is reckless and greedy for merit, never caring for the lives of commoners. With such a big operation to capture Lu Dashan, I'm afraid..."
I'm afraid Lei Yuan wouldn't let Lu Dashan go because of Lu Tong's safety.
Lu Tong realized this too as her heart began to race.
Lu Dashan yelled with a trembling voice, "Move, all of you!"
Lei Yuan just watched him with a sardonic smile and made a small gesture with his hand behind him. Lu Tong saw an archer not too far from her slowly drawing his bow.
A chill shot through her heart; held in front of Lu Dashan as a human shield, even if the archer's skills were extraordinary, an incoming arrow would likely pierce through both her and Lu Dashan!
She certainly did not want to die here for no reason!
With this thought in mind, she tightly clenched the velvet flower in her hand. The velvet flower had been plucked from her hair underneath Baoxiang Tower, and she had held it in her grip ever since.
Lu Dashan, with all his attention on Lei Yuan and his men, did not regard Lu Tong seriously, presuming her to be just a weak woman incapable of fighting back.
Lei Yuan's archer had tensed the bowstring, ready to let loose an arrow upon Lei Yuan's command.
Just then, Lu Tong suddenly flung her hand up, catching Lu Dashan off guard and causing him to stumble back two steps. However, the hand gripping her shoulder did not let go.
The next moment, the needle from the velvet flower in Lu Tong's hand ruthlessly stabbed towards Lu Dashan's left eye!
Cries of shock sounded from behind.