"Why were they sealed?" Lin Zhiqing's lotus steps were light, her figure graceful, causing many to turn their heads and gaze.
Aunt Mu's spirits were low, but she didn't forget to shield Lin Zhiqing from those ill-intentioned gazes. "Many people in the imperial court impeached the Master and Madam."
"But isn't allowing women to study a good thing?" Lin Zhiqing couldn't help but ask.
But seeing the bewildered expression on Aunt Mu's face, her own expression faltered, and in the end, she didn't ask further.
Deep-rooted prejudices exist in words but are born from the larger environment.
Those within it can only passively accept; it is not their fault.
After this little interlude, Lin Zhiqing lost the mood to stroll around and soon found the Lu family's medical clinic.
The Lu family was, after all, the Lu family. Though it was just a small medical clinic, some thought had clearly gone into the storefront and decoration style. It didn't look luxurious but was very quaint and distinctive.
Moreover, the layout inside the shop was also very special, a design Lin Zhiqing had never seen before.
With just one glance, she determined that this storefront was not Lu Nanyue's handiwork but rather bore Lu Huai's style.
As soon as she stepped through the doorway, a servant girl came out to greet her, her tone very familiar, "Miss Zhiqing, my young miss is busy right now. Please try some of the shop's Maojian tea first. My young miss will personally come to attend to you after her consultation."
Saying this, she led Lin Zhiqing to a private room on the second floor.
Lin Zhiqing initially thought the so-called consultation wouldn't take long, but the waiting time was even longer than she had imagined.
From the outside, the clinic's business seemed average, but there were quite a few people inside.
She noticed several servant girls, dressed differently and with unfamiliar faces, standing outside the private rooms on the second floor.
Lu Nanyue wouldn't keep so many servant girls here as mere decorations, so there was only one possibility – these servant girls were brought by patients.
More specifically, they were likely brought by the madams and young misses of certain prominent and wealthy households.
Sure enough, after observing for a while, Lin Zhiqing discovered that every patient emerging from the private rooms was tightly wrapped up and all of them left through the back door.
She understood the situation but pretended not to have seen anything.
Just as she finished her second cup of tea, a rather loud, sharp cry suddenly came from the inner room, "Surnamed Lu, I am still unmarried, and I'm not desperately seeking to do that sort of thing with others. Why must you insult me?"
Following that was Lu Nanyue's slightly anxious voice, "Miss Hua, I have no other meaning. I just want to understand the basic situation."
"Basic situation? How can such matters be spoken of aloud?" That Miss Hua seemed to realize she was still in a medical clinic and lowered her voice.
"It's not that I want to pry into your privacy." Lu Nanyue sighed lightly. "It's just that your illness is peculiar. I suspect someone has applied some kind of secret medicine to your skin to control you. Otherwise, an ordinary person wouldn't have such a great need for skin contact..."
Lin Zhiqing pricked up her ears, but before she could listen for long, a servant girl lowered the curtain to the inner room, and the sounds immediately became somewhat indistinct.
Skin contact... Lin Zhiqing rubbed her chin. This illness sounded somewhat familiar.
She frowned and thought for a moment, and her brow gradually smoothed out.
That Miss Hua's description of the symptoms was indeed somewhat similar to an illness she knew of, but whether it was that specific one required further understanding.
Thinking of this, Lin Zhiqing beckoned to a servant girl and whispered a few words in her ear.
After the servant girl understood, she took the opportunity of serving tea to enter the inner room.
"Miss, are you getting restless? Why don't we go out for a stroll? There are too many miscellaneous people here. If someone sees you here, who knows how much dirty talk will spread." Aunt Mu, keeping an eye on the surroundings, couldn't help but remind her.
Lin Zhiqing waved her hand. Seeing the servant girl emerge from the inner room and nod at her, she immediately got up and followed the servant girl inside.
"Aunt Mu, you keep watch outside." Lin Zhiqing tilted her chin up. Seeing Aunt Mu nod, she then entered the room next to Miss Hua's.
"Surnamed Lu, I've brought all my personal servant girls. You've examined them now, and there are no drugs on them. Just give me a straight answer, can you cure it or not?" Miss Hua's voice came through.
Lin Zhiqing pressed her ear against the wall so she could hear more clearly.
Lu Nanyue seemed to sigh. "Miss Hua, I have studied medicine for so many years and have never seen such a condition. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."
As soon as Miss Hua heard this, she immediately slammed the table.
"Surnamed Lu, I am to be married soon! If I hadn't heard that your clinic's medicine cures all ailments, why would I have traveled thousands of li from Bianliang to Shengjing?"
"I never expected that the renowned Lu Nanyue would also be helpless. I truly don't know how your reputation spread. Ridiculous!"
Lu Nanyue, having been unjustly blamed like this, was naturally unwilling to accept it. But before she could speak, Miss Hua spoke again, "I originally planned to give you a hundred taels of silver as a thank-you gift after this matter was settled. I didn't expect to encounter another swindler..."
Hearing this, Lin Zhiqing, separated by a wall, had her eyes light up. A hundred taels of silver!
The thought of the shining silver immediately made her call over the servant girl who had led the way earlier. "Go tell Nanyue that I have a way to treat Miss Hua."
"This, Miss Zhiqing..." The servant girl's eyebrows furrowed, her expression clearly doubtful.
But under Lin Zhiqing's silent insistence, she swallowed all her doubts and, glancing back every few steps, went next door.
At the same time, Lu Nanyue couldn't hold back any longer. "Miss Hua, you can insult my intelligence, but you cannot insult my character! Do I look like someone who's short of a hundred taels of silver?"
Then, the sound of a door opening was heard, followed by a servant girl speaking softly.
After a brief pause, Lu Nanyue's voice rang out again, "But then again, although I can't treat it, that doesn't mean others can't!"
Hearing this sentence, Lin Zhiqing couldn't help but pump her fist. Thinking of those hundred taels of silver, her steps towards the next room quickened somewhat.
After pushing open the door, Lin Zhiqing's first gaze fell upon that Miss Hua. Unfortunately, she was wearing a veiled hat, and her appearance couldn't be clearly seen.
"Miss Hua, this is my friend. You've spoken so much just now, please have some tea to soothe your throat first." Lu Nanyue's demeanor became very proper.
She stood up and pulled Lin Zhiqing to a corner, then began winking and making faces at Lin Zhiqing.
Lin Zhiqing didn't understand her meaning and blinked her large eyes a couple of times.
Seeing her blink, the corners of Lu Nanyue's mouth curled up at a visible speed, and she gave a thumbs-up.
Lin Zhiqing: ???
A moment later, Lu Nanyue brought her back to the table with lightning speed. "Miss Hua, let me introduce you. This is my friend, Miss Lin. She has some thoughts on your illness."
"Really?" Miss Hua put down her teacup, her tone filled with utter skepticism.
"Miss Hua." Lin Zhiqing nodded slightly. "To be honest with you, I have seen this type of illness you have before."
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