Manager Liu followed when Miss Jun had already been walking around with Liu'er for a while.
The power of the Cao Family was evident; where they passed was no longer the guarded gazes from before, but mocking and dissatisfaction.
"This is the person who said she wouldn't treat poor people without money."
"She said not just anyone could hire her."
"To say such a thing? What skills can such a young girl possess?"
The reason bell healers exist is firstly, to treat those living in remote areas who find it inconvenient to see a doctor, and secondly, to serve those who are too destitute to afford treatment. They provide inexpensive medicines, charge a few copper coins for consultations, and scrape a living together, while others buy a bit of hope to survive the days.
But now, Miss Jun, disregarding advice to practice medicine in the countryside outside the capital, was refusing to treat those seeking her aid, thoroughly tarnishing her reputation.
"I want to see who she deems worthy of her treatment."
"How can a girl of such a young age be so heartless?"
"How could she say such a thing and still shamelessly consider herself a Doctor?"
Hearing the surrounding discussions and feeling the hateful gazes, even Manager Liu, who had weathered half a lifetime of being disregarded and snubbed, felt uncomfortable. But the two girls in front remained completely unaffected.
Miss Jun was undistracted; she didn't care how people around her saw her, and since Miss Jun didn't care, Liu'er naturally didn't either, even taking pride in it.
You people don't deserve my Miss to treat you, deserving only envy and jealousy.
From this point, Manager Liu greatly admired Miss Jun and her servant.
Miss Jun and her servant soon passed through an alley. The bell in her hand did not stop, rhythmically jingling; it was monotonous, yet it didn't sound annoying.
Entering another alley, seven or eight young men emerged from a house, laughing roughly at something.
As the laughter erupted, Manager Liu saw Miss Jun, who was leisurely walking ahead, suddenly stop.
She must be avoiding these men.
The alley was narrow, and the seven or eight young men, tall and burly, nearly filled it.
With their backs turned, Manager Liu couldn't recognize who they were, but judging from their silhouettes alone, they all seemed imposing. He also stopped, but just as he did, Miss Jun abruptly ran towards the men.
"Zhu Zan," she called out.
Zhu Zan?
Where had he heard that name before, Manager Liu wondered. Then he saw the young men stop and turn around.
But one did not turn back, continuing to stride forward leisurely.
"Zhu Zan!" Miss Jun called again, quickly catching up to the group.
The young man still didn't turn back, instead quickening his steps.
The young men who stopped looked at the girl, then at the young man ahead, their expressions varying, some starting to laugh.
Miss Jun wasn't intimidated by their scrutiny. She walked straight through them and caught the arm of the young man walking ahead.
"Hey!" The young man jumped like a cat splashed with water, shaking off her arm and finally turning around.
Manager Liu saw the young man's face, his handsome features extra bright in the summer, bringing an instant coolness that eased the heat for Manager Liu.
Although this young man seldom appeared in the capital, each of his appearances always stirred up buzz, whether he was twelve or twenty-two.
Thus, Manager Liu recognized him.
He was Duke of Chengguo's heir, Zhu Zan.
But the coolness wasn't because he saw the Duke of Chengguo's heir here.
Duke of Chengguo's heir was awaiting a trial by the emperor's final ruling, and theoretically, he should have been detained at the Ministry of Justice or by the Jinyiwei, but that was just theoretical. No one would be surprised to see him strolling the streets.
What's so surprising? He's the Duke of Chengguo's heir; no deed is too strange for him.
What chilled him was that Miss Jun knew the Duke of Chengguo's heir.
Exactly, it wasn't just that Miss Jun recognized the Duke of Chengguo's heir like he did, like many in the capital did, where everyone recognized him but he recognized no one.
They knew each other; Miss Jun recognized the Duke of Chengguo's heir, and the Duke of Chengguo's heir recognized Miss Jun.
Although the Duke of Chengguo's heir continued forward without attending to Miss Jun, to an older person like Manager Liu, this dismissed gesture proved even more that they knew each other. Otherwise, the Duke of Chengguo's heir wouldn't have pretended not to hear.
Look, Miss Jun, she caught the Duke of Chengguo's heir's arm!
Such an action isn't something just any girl would dare to do to the Duke of Chengguo's heir!
Manager Liu's eyes widened.
Look, the Duke of Chengguo's heir shook off Miss Jun's hand, yet he wasn't annoyed.
"What are you doing! Don't touch people like that." Zhu Zan glared and shouted, then lowered his voice, "This isn't Runan."
Miss Jun laughed out loud.
"How come you are here?" she asked with a laugh.
As they spoke, other young people also came over, curiously sizing up Miss Jun, with a fair-skinned, delicate-browed, long-eyed young man putting his hand on Zhu Zan's shoulder, smiling at Miss Jun.
"Who is this?" he chuckled, "Introduce us."
Zhu Zan shrugged off his hand from his shoulder.
"Don't know her," he said.
"People you don't know call out your name," the young man laughed.
Zhu Zan snorted.
"Can't help it, young master just stands out that much," he replied.
The young folks all laughed.
Though they were laughing, their gazes were still on Miss Jun, noting that she showed no signs of panic or unease, not even a bit of shyness, and even laughed along with them.
This is an acquaintance.
And this girl's got personality.
Otherwise, how could she be so calm and at ease in front of Zhu Zan?
"Miss," Liu'er called out, holding the flag.
The young people's eyes naturally fell on the flamboyant flag Liu'er was holding.
"Cures difficult and miscellaneous diseases, medicine results in vanquishment of illness, wonderful rejuvenation," the fair-skinned young man read aloud, his expression surprised as he looked back at Miss Jun, noticing the medicine box on her back and the bell in her hand, "You, a Doctor?"
Miss Jun affirmed.
"Bell healers," she said with a smile, bowing slightly.
Bell healers?
These young people obviously knew what bell healers were, looking even more astonished.
"Miss, you really are a Doctor?"
"What kind of diseases can you treat?"
They asked all at once.
At this moment, Manager Liu let out a sigh of relief, somewhat understanding yet surprised.
So, it seems Miss Jun was looking for the Duke of Chengguo's heir to help make her name known.
All these days of moving around, just to meet him.
Manager Liu couldn't help but nod.
Compared to the Duke of Chengguo's heir, Cao Family's illness indeed wasn't worth mentioning.
But would the Duke of Chengguo's heir be as proactive in helping as the Tenth Noble Son Ning?
Hearing the young people's inquiries, Miss Jun answered each with a smile.
"I am a Doctor."
"I can treat many diseases."
The young people looked at her skeptically.
"How old are you? Aren't doctors supposed to be older to know how to treat many diseases?" the fair-skinned young man asked with a grin.
Miss Jun smiled.
"Though I'm young, I am naturally intelligent," she replied.
The fair-skinned young man couldn't help but snort a laugh at himself, and the other young people wore odd expressions as they laughed too.
"No wonder you recognize Zhu Er," a young man coughed twice and patted Zhu Zan's shoulder laughing, "Turns out you're all clever folks."
This comment didn't sound like a compliment.
Standing not too far away, Manager Liu thought to himself, but didn't quite understand why being clever wasn't a good thing.
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Will add more