Nonsense!
Seventh Chen thought to himself as he reached out his hand to take it.
"But you said the same thing before," he said.
Had the effect of this sentence changed simply because he had accompanied Doctor Feng on a house call once? Surely, it wasn't because of the sentence itself, but because something they didn't know about had happened.
They hadn't gone with Doctor Feng to treat that family, but they heard afterward that Miss Jun hadn't treated the patient herself; she just watched Doctor Feng explain how to treat the patient.
"It must be trust and confidence," said Miss Jun, with a hint of playfulness in her tone.
This playfulness left Seventh Chen helpless—it was clear she was saying, "I won't tell you."
What was there that couldn't be said? Anyway, she certainly wasn't the one who would be embarrassed.
Doctor Feng took a deep breath and didn't stop until he reached the corner of the street.
Yes, what was there that couldn't be said? She wasn't the one embarrassed, plus he had intended to embarrass her.
This young lady was calm and collected, not only accompanying him, but also pointing out and covering up his mistakes to save his face.
Reflecting on Miss Jun overseeing the treatment at that home, he realized that although she was a woman, she had refused to step forward and only made diagnoses from a distance. He had suspected she was just showing off and playing tricks, but now understood that she did it so everyone could see that she didn't perform the customary diagnostic methods - and so the patient was treated exclusively by him.
Otherwise, if she had personally applied the diagnostic methods, maybe the patient's recovery would have been credited to her.
Doctor Feng sighed again, thinking about the girl's attitude throughout the ordeal. The words she spoke were indeed arrogant, but her actions were so gentle.
Someone else would have eagerly pointed out the ridiculous mistake to show off their own competence. She did not, and even helped him subtly correct and cover his mistakes. Afterward, she didn't promote her role at all.
Such magnanimity made this old man feel ashamed.
He indeed had reason to feel ashamed—the patient had every right to be angry at his medical hall.
Over the years, relying on his experience, he had become complacent. When the patient complained repeatedly about leg pain, he dismissed it as a normal reaction without investigating the cause. He became irritated at the patient's comment that Miss Jun said he could cure the ailment. He was only concerned about being humiliated, and in a fury, he went to confront her, forgetting to ask himself if he had truly done his utmost.
He had forgotten the principles his father had taught him when he was learning the craft.
Thanks to this girl's intervention, she had pointed out his mistake and also awakened him.
She deserved to be his mentor and truly warranted his respect.
"Doctor Feng."
Someone blocked his path.
Recollecting himself, Doctor Feng saw a young man standing in front of him, whom he recognized as the chief disciple of Imperial Physician Jiang, and nodded.
"Doctor Geng," he said, with a touch of concern.
"Are you alright?" asked Doctor Geng, not waiting for Doctor Feng to reply, he voluntarily explained, "I've heard about your situation. This time you really suffered an undeserved calamity. You could have treated the patient perfectly well, and everyone would have been pleased, if it weren't for the farce in between that spoiled everything."
Doctor Feng did not react with indignation and excitement as Doctor Geng had expected, talking about the trouble Miss Jun had brought. Instead, Doctor Feng appeared uneasy and waved his hand dismissively.
"Not at all, not at all," he repeated, his expression revealing unmistakable guilt, "I feel ashamed, truly ashamed."
Doctor Geng was momentarily taken aback by this reaction. Before he could speak again, Doctor Feng had already raised his hand to take his leave.
"I still have a few conditions that I need to study thoroughly," he said, with a sincere and earnest demeanor, "There's no limit to learning; if you don't move forward you fall back."
With that, he strode past Doctor Geng and left.
What did "There's no limit to learning; if you don't move forward you fall back" mean? Doctor Geng was utterly baffled.
"Doctor Feng…" he called out.
Doctor Feng had already walked away without looking back.
How odd, what did that reaction mean?
After listening to Doctor Geng's account, Imperial Physician Jiang pondered for a moment and then smiled.
"What could be strange about it?" he said, "It's simply a matter of owing someone a favor."
Doctor Geng was somewhat surprised.
"Master, are you suggesting that Doctor Feng actually didn't cure the patient?" he inquired.
Imperial Physician Jiang nodded.
"He must have made a mistake by not examining the patient with due care, and as a result, he faced a bone fracture case," he said.
Doctor Geng naturally knew what a bone fracture was.
"It can't be, he missed such a simple diagnosis?" he muttered.
"It's precisely because it's simple that many things are overlooked," Imperial Physician Jiang replied, setting down his medical text with a smile. "It seems Miss Jun really knows how to handle situations."
She must have noticed Doctor Feng's mistake but not only did she not point it out, she even covered for him. With something that affected his lifelong reputation at stake, Doctor Feng would certainly be endlessly grateful to her, and hence would never say another bad word about Miss Jun.
Doctor Geng figured it out and frowned.
"What a waste," he grumbled.
Here was a renowned doctor who had made such a foolish error. Instead of regaining any dignity, he handed his leverage to someone else.
"Miss Jun is certainly no waste," Imperial Physician Jiang commented, eyeing the parchment amid a stack of medical cases detailing information about Jiuling Hall.
It turned out that the illness of the Young Master of the Fang Family had indeed been cured. After seeing this, he had once again earnestly reviewed the Young Master of the Fang's condition and realized that he would have been truly helpless given the circumstances at the time.
Jiuling Hall did have some genuine skill after all.
"Anyone who dares to set up shop in the capital must have real talent, but how could she possibly cure every disease?" Doctor Geng argued, and as he spoke the name, the image of a person who appeared like a deity and then vanished without a trace unintentionally sprang to mind. "She's not Divine Doctor Zhang, after all."
That name always surfaced unwittingly even though there had been no news for years.
Imperial Physician Jiang's expression darkened slightly.
Speaking of which, Miss Jun was just like Zhang Qingshan, unpredictable and mystical, and yet somehow always fortuitously successful.
"This time Doctor Feng screwed up on his own," Doctor Geng continued, "With so many doctors in the capital, if word gets out from her, and such incidents keep happening, could it be that she would always encounter misdiagnoses by others?"
Imperial Physician Jiang stroked his beard in silence and decided to wait and see how far she could go.
As Doctor Geng mentioned, similar incidents started happening in succession, especially after Doctor Feng successfully healed that family.
"Miss Jun says she can cure, so she can cure. If you can't, does that mean you're not diligent? Are you trying to overcharge?"
A young doctor stood inside Jiuling Hall, mimicking the words of a patient. Compared to the older and less energetic Doctor Feng, this young doctor was far more agitated, almost to the point of hopping in fury.
"I just can't cure it, I just don't know how, and who are you to say that I can?"
Seventh Chen and two helpers dug at their ears, by now too accustomed to surprises to even raise an eyebrow.
Miss Jun sat quietly behind a table.
"You can cure it, you know how," she said gently, just as she would to an inquiring patient, "Your family belongs to the Classical Formula School. You must have studied the Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases, observed the pulse, recognized the reversal, treated according to the symptoms. How can you say you don't know? You just didn't recall at the moment. I remember there's a classical prescription discussed in the Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Miscellaneous Diseases that covers symptoms like constant yellow phlegm."
The young doctor froze.
"But this patient doesn't have symptoms of yellow phlegm," he responded instinctively, "There's no yellow phlegm..."
He stopped mid-sentence, then had a sudden realization, as if enlightened.
"Yes, there is," he said excitedly, words jumbled, "It started with yellow phlegm, the earliest symptom was yellow phlegm, it's yellow phlegm."
Without finishing his thoughts, he rushed out of the room.
Seventh Chen rolled his eyes and let out a dry chuckle.
"This place seems less like a clinic and more like a Medical School," he added.
Upon this realization, he had his own moment of clarity and let out several exclamations.
Medical School, indeed.
So, telling someone they can cure was another way to handle things.
While it might appear to be just a reminder, sometimes, one crucial suggestion could be pivotal. Isn't that why the saying goes: "A single word from a wise teacher can be pivotal"?
This was akin to passing on skills and teaching.
Earning the reputation of treating diseases that others couldn't was one thing, but becoming the mentor to all the city's doctors was an even grander achievement.
Who would dare to speak ill of her in the future? They would be too busy feeling grateful.
Seventh Chen looked on at Miss Jun, who sat calmly and resumed her writing, and couldn't help but give her a thumbs up.
Clever, truly clever.
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Happy Holidays~
Thank you to the support from Southern Ice, "?" Last Shot "?", Miss Jun, Lonely Chit-Chat, and md12 for their generous donations of He's Bi.
I really appreciate all of you, and I am trying to type more to possibly update more frequently. Forgive a fellow with clumsy hands for not making the reading as enjoyable as it could be.