Chapter 534: Chapter 189: Rat poison_3
Lu Tong hesitated and then asked with confusion, "Envoy, is this part of the Official Examiner’s assessment?"
The new medical officers to be appointed at the end of the year will undergo an assessment by the Official Examiner. In the future, through multiple selections, they might be promoted to the position of Imperial Physician within the Royal Family.
Cui Min smiled slightly, "It’s just a discussion about medical principles with you."
He said, "In the way of healing, there is no elder or junior. Right now, you and I are not superior or subordinate, but simply healers. I’d like to hear your thoughts."
Lu Tong lowered her head.
After thinking for a while, she spoke up, "To answer the Envoy, the time to answer questions on the examination site during the spring test is fleeting, and the prescription was written hastily, indeed containing many inaccuracies. In fact, after leaving the examination hall, upon giving it thorough thought, I realized it was quite superficial."
She stopped mid-sentence, about to say something more.
Cui Min looked at her encouragingly, "Please speak your mind."
"The symptoms of mania and insanity are not of a single cause. Some may have a slight heart disorder, a condition present from birth; others may be affected by a wind-evil entering the blood, causing palpitations and panic; still, others may suffer from emotional upheavals, with excessive stimuli. Which kind is the Envoy referring to?"
Cui Min considered for a moment, "What if it’s due to emotional upheaval, with excessive stimuli?"
"That’s an external cause, and it can be treated."
"How would you treat it?"
Lu Tong thought about it and carefully chose her words, "For palpitations and confusion, there are fire and phlegm. I would take the liberty to speak rashly, if to the prescription I wrote previously in the examination, I were to add Bletilla, Sesame, Light Bamboo Juice, Phellodendron, Oak Gall, Dragon’s Blood..." She listed quite a few, "and then complement it with Golden Needle acupuncture, the symptoms of shock to the patient’s heart and gall may be significantly alleviated."
After she finished speaking, there was silence in the room.
Outside the window, it was hot, the dog days of summer glimmering with heat.
The young woman stood by the table, her clothes tidy, her speech clear and refreshing. She did not look haggard from days of hard work, and her youth was a stark contrast to him.
Cui Min watched her quietly, his knuckles slowly whitening within his sleeve.
He sought Lu Tong out simply to inquire about the deficiencies in her prescription, thinking that if she had some ideas that could aid him, it would be a pleasant surprise.
But he hadn’t expected that in such a short amount of time, Lu Tong would be able to spontaneously come up with a new prescription.
This should have been a good thing, at least it could solve the urgent problem imposed by the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, yet at that moment, there wasn’t a speck of joy in his heart.
It was as if in that moment he became acutely aware of the chasm-like difference between himself and others.
Another genius.
The young woman before him was no more than seventeen years old, and he was decades her senior. If Ji Xun was considered a young genius because of his privileged background, having been brought up by medical scholars, and with extensive reading supported by his family’s legacy, then what of the woman in front of him?
She was just like him, merely a Commoner Medical Worker.
Resentment, anger, jealousy.
His fingertips dug deep into his palm, yet a slight smile of contentment surfaced on Cui Min’s face.
"I see. Doctor Lu, you truly have unique insights," he said.
"My lord," Lu Tong hesitated, "this prescription of mine has not been verified, and it is only a blind guess based on the symptoms. It is uncertain. If this prescription is to be used, its efficacy must be tested and confirmed."
Cui Min nodded, "I know. But what you’ve said has already inspired me greatly."
"My lord overpraises me; I truly do not deserve such credit," she said.
Cui Min smiled faintly, collected the examination papers from the table, and looked at her with a gentle voice, "I’ve been caught up with numerous matters previously and haven’t had the chance to inquire, Doctor Lu, how is your injury healing?"
Lu Tong paused, her head bowed even lower, her voice soft, "It has mostly healed, thank you for your concern, Envoy."
Cui Min’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Ever since the incident at Huangmao Hill, Lu Tong, upon returning to the Medical Officer Institute, seemed to become much more compliant, voluntarily resigning from Jin Xianrong’s duties, and daily she would be in the library organizing medical texts, browsing through medical books.
She rarely went out.
After all, coming from a commoner’s background, despite possessing Ji Xun’s medical skills, she lacked the Ji Family’s resources.
She still had to be careful and cautious in her actions.
This was the fate of a commoner.
Contempt rose in his heart, and that contempt was also self-mockery. He sighed softly and looked at her with a sympathetic gaze.
"You’ve been wronged, Doctor Lu."
...
After leaving Cui Min’s Quiet Room, Lu Tong walked through the corridor and back to her lodging.
The small courtyard was fragrant with green bamboo and red peaches, and even with the summer heat, the breeze was particularly refreshing.
Upon returning to her room, she pushed the door open to find Lin Danqing standing on the table, wielding a bamboo pole used for hanging laundry and poking around chaotically – the room was a mess.
Lou Tong paused and asked, "What are you doing?"
Lin Danqing turned to look at her and jabbed the bamboo pole into the ground, "Younger Sister Lu, you’re just in time. There’s a rodent infestation in this room!"
"Rodent infestation?"
"Yes, this morning when I woke up, I saw such a big gray rat scurry under the bed," she gestured the size, "as big as a kitten, and then I found a rat hole by the wall."
"Just the other day I told you there were rats in the hall, and today they are in our room! I’ve swept up so many sunflower seed shells under the bed, it’s filthy! I must catch that stinking rat today!"