He didn't understand why things had come to this. Since returning from the prefectural city, Duan Youyan had been unhappy, deeply unhappy. Nothing he did made him happy.
He had even begged his father: no more exams, no more exams, let him go back to his clinic and continue being a doctor. But he was still unhappy.
Even from the day he was allowed to return to being a doctor, he had stopped eating entirely. No matter what Sheng Yunjin made daily, he wouldn't eat.
Sheng Yunjin didn't understand what he had done wrong. When he asked, Duan Youyan said nothing.
"Cry, cry, cry, all you know is to cry." Sheng Zhiyuan came into the kitchen and saw his son in tears again. He was utterly exasperated. "I should have had that quack arrested and beaten to death back then, saving us all this trouble."
His son wasn't eating either, starving himself alongside Duan Youyan, yet still trying to provide for him. His wife was also depressed over these two. And Duan Youyan? He sat around like a lord, doing nothing.
Why hadn't he starved to death yet?
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have been soft-hearted. He should have just waited until the heat flush was over and had him beaten to death. A quack harms people! Taking him as a son-in-law had brought in nothing but trouble.
"Father! Stop it!" Sheng Yunjin was heartbroken. "If you hadn't said those things in front of his classmates, would he be like this now?"
"I can't say anything?" Sheng Zhiyuan was furious. If not for Sheng Yunjin, he would have been promoted next year. If he didn't make Duan Youyan pursue rank, once he left, with Duan Youyan just a commoner, if he misdiagnosed someone else's family, who would protect him? Who would protect his family?
And the incident where Duan Youyan misdiagnosed him was seen by all the wealthy families in the county. So many young men and women from prominent families were in Jin'ge's room that day. Even if he didn't pursue it, who in Pingxi County would dare hire Duan Youyan?!
A doctor who studied medicine for over twenty years couldn't even diagnose the simplest heat flush. His own master was ashamed and refused to acknowledge Duan Youyan as his disciple. If he didn't make him pursue rank, how would the two of them live in this county after he left?!
His family was large, and they ran an herbal medicine shop. If he didn't restore his reputation himself, could their family shop even stay open?!
Had he thought about these problems? All he did was bury himself in misery and resentment, giving their family the cold shoulder every day. If he was so unwilling, why didn't he resist desperately when proposed as a live-in husband?
If he had resisted desperately, Sheng Zhiyuan could have called him having backbone. Since he agreed to marry in, he shouldn't act like a corpse all day, making it seem like their family had wronged him.
"Stupid pig, stupid pig! I told him to study, but he insists on feeding pigs!" Sheng Zhiyuan scolded in frustration, then threw a divorce document at Sheng Yunjin. "Son, trying to warm a heart that can't be warmed is impolite to others. Get a divorce. Let's set him free. Then he should be happy, right?"
Sheng Yunjin instantly burst into tears. When his heat flush had occurred, Duan Youyan kept apologizing in his ear. He had been so gentle to him.
Was it really just his own wishful thinking?
If only... if only men didn't have heat flushes. Then, no matter what illness he got, it wouldn't involve Duan Youyan, forcing him into this painful marriage.
It was all his fault! All his fault! All his fault for having heat flushes!
If this world must have men and heat flushes, why isn't there medicine to suppress them?
Are they born only to find a man to resolve it or die from the heat flush?!
What happened in the county kitchen, Duan Youyan didn't know. He sat at his table, thinking, pondering what he truly wanted.
Since he passed the Xiucai exam, his father-in-law no longer forced him to study. His husband was also happy he could return to being a doctor.
But when he entered the clinic, he didn't feel the pure joy he once had. It was as if he had lost the meaning of life.
He used to think that if he could open a small clinic in Pingxi County by the age of forty, his own little clinic, to treat illnesses and save people, that would be enough.
But opening a clinic wasn't easy. It required not only excellent medical skills but also backing. Someone like him, without connections, if he misdiagnosed, could be beaten or killed without consequence.
He would always remember the scene of his parents kneeling fearfully and tremblingly before his father-in-law, begging for his life.
This memory always haunted him, making his heart panic. He just wanted to study medicine, treat people, open a clinic, and live a stable life. Why did life always go against his wishes?
If only he hadn't gone to the magistrate's residence that day, he wouldn't be suffering like this now...
But if he hadn't gone, he would never have met Sheng Yunjin in this lifetime!
Duan Youyan didn't know how to choose. He could only torment himself, as if that would make him feel something.
Just then, a servant from the gate came to report: "Master, there is a visiting card for you. It's from Meng Fangxun, the top candidate from Anning County, Xiucai Meng."
Meng Fangxun!
Duan Youyan shot to his feet. He got the top rank!
Duan Youyan was genuinely happy for his friend, but then he remembered he hadn't attended Meng Fangxun's celebration banquet yesterday and instantly felt unsure.
Would he be angry?
Feeling uncertain, Duan Youyan still opened his door, took the card, and asked: "Where are they?"
"At the back gate." The servant replied respectfully.
Duan Youyan, holding the card, quickly left his room and hurried to the back gate. There, he saw not only Meng Fangxun but also Xu Huaqian, Pei Wangshu, and Zhang Bingwen.
Overcome with mixed emotions, he asked: "What are you all doing here?"
Xu Huaqian and the others were also surprised to see Duan Youyan. It hadn't been that long, but he looked much thinner and less spirited than before: "What happened to you? How did you end up like this?"