Chapter 76: Chapter 57 Marshal Demands a Debt_1
No matter what, Lu Tong’s recent efforts finally paid off.
"Xianxian" became famous overnight.
It was only a little over a month ago that Dai Sanlang from the East City Temple Entrance turned from a round-bellied fat man into a sturdy and valiant handsome man, attracting countless onlookers driven by curiosity. When they saw Dai Sanlang’s current appearance and heard the embellished stories from Sister Song at the silk shoe shop, it was hard for Renxin Medical Hall’s Xianxian not to sell well.
Every day, many people came to buy the medicine, and Du Changqing was so busy counting silver that his hands went soft; even Dai’s pork from Dai Sanlang became famous, and he acquired the nickname "Pork Pan An." It was said that the queue of people going to see him extended from the head of East City Street all the way to the end of the alley.
This fame also reached the ears of Lady Dong, the Minister of Imperial Treasury’s wife.
At the residence of the Shengjing Minister of Imperial Treasury.
Lu Tong packed up her medical kit and said to the person in front of her, "Your pulse has improved a lot recently, and you rarely suffer from coughing and asthma attacks. Young Master Dong, let me prescribe a new medicine for you. If you take it according to the new prescription for half a year, and if nothing unexpected happens, you should not need to take any more medicine in the future."
Sitting across from her, Dong Lin, the youngest son of the Minister of Imperial Treasury’s Dong Family, listened to Lu Tong carefully with his hands resting on his knees, his cheeks blushing slightly.
Ever since Lu Tong inadvertently saved Dong Lin’s life at Wan’en Temple, she had established a connection with the Minister of Imperial Treasury. Later, when Bai Shouyi made things difficult for the medical hall, Lu Tong straightforwardly used the Dong Family’s name to bluff her way through, and Lady Dong, knowing the ins and outs, did not intervene, which was an obvious tacit approval.
Since then, Lu Tong would visit the Dong Family every so often to treat Dong Lin. Lady Dong, caring deeply for her son, saw that his lung disease was less active and naturally was pleased at heart.
As she bent down to write the new prescription, Dong Lin sat in front of a small table, stealing glances at Lu Tong.
In front of a small rosewood table, a young maiden sat, leaning slightly forward, her hair like a cloud combed into braids that fell in front of her chest, and a single somber-colored velvet flower adorned her temple. A few strands of hair that inadvertently fell blocked her eyes, which Lu Tong brushed behind her ear, highlighting her slender and fair neck.
She was not like those rich ladies dressed in jewels and gaudy makeup; she wore only a slightly worn dark blue cotton dress, with a face as fair as an egg, eyebrows as fine as a distant mountain, and teeth as white as jade. With an inherent elegance like a solitary plum in the cold moonlight, her natural beauty was like that of ice and jade.
Dong Lin was somewhat entranced by her.
This young doctor who had saved his life was beautiful, with a look of sorrow like misty rain between her eyebrows, making her appear particularly vulnerable; yet her gaze was like the stream beneath a lofty peak, hiding an unseen cold tenacity.
As she lifted her head, Dong Lin met that cool, stream-like gaze.
His face turned silently red, and he turned away, not daring to meet her eyes.
However, Lu Tong did not avert her eyes.
Until Dong Lin felt uneasy under her scrutiny and could no longer bear the silence, he was about to speak when Lu Tong finally did.
She said, "It seems you have lost quite a bit of weight recently, Young Master Dong."
Dong Lin was startled.
Lu Tong looked at him, her brows knitting slightly, "But your pulse doesn’t seem off to me..."
The first time Lu Tong saw Dong Lin at Wan’en Temple, he was a bit overweight, which also aggravated his lung disease. However, upon seeing him today, he had lost a lot of weight, to the point that his brown robe seemed too loose for him.
"No, no, no," before Lu Tong could ask further, Dong Lin hastily spoke, "I haven’t lost weight because of illness, I... I..." He seemed to find it difficult to speak and after a long time continued, "I have been using the new tea from Miss Lu’s medical hall."
Lu Tong paused: "Xianxian?"
Dong Lin nodded, embarrassed.
Lu Tong remained silent.
Dong Lin felt a bit sheepish.
Lu Tong was captivating, and from the moment Dong Lin had seen her at Wan’en Temple, he had been smitten.
He had inquired about her, she was from out of town, without any acquaintances in Shengjing, and now worked as a female doctor at Renxin Medical Hall. With such a family background, it was impossible for her to enter the household of the Minister of Imperial Treasury, and Lady Dong might not even agree to have her as a concubine.
But can the heart of youth be stopped by external objects? Dong Lin was fond of Lu Tong, but he also feared his mother’s strong and domineering personality. Worried that his mother would discover his feelings, he had the servants support Renxin Medical Hall more often, buying some herbs and such from there.
A little while ago, Renxin Medical Hall came out with the new tea Xianxian, and Dong Lin had people buy a lot of it. Originally, it was to patronize the medical hall’s business, but unexpectedly, before long, the tea became mysteriously famous, touted as highly effective.
Dong Lin remembered that doctors had mentioned that losing some weight would also be better for his constitution, so he tried the tea on himself with some skepticism. To his surprise, after some time, it really worked, and everyone in the household said that he looked thinner.