“Don’t you think Li Yuxiu, who admitted defeat after losing the bet, is a very magnanimous person?” Xue Tonghua turned his head and said to Tian Xiangrong and Zhang Shunchang.
Tian Xiangrong’s shifty, cunning small eyes were gazing through the balcony at the faint image of Li Yuxiu seeing patients in the opposite window. He said with a slight smile, “This Li Yuxiu, she’s originally not one of us!”
“That’s right.”
Liu Yuan, who was sitting there drinking tea, suddenly his gaze turned cold and he said, “I’m afraid she’s one of Wan Yunting’s people!”
As soon as these words were spoken, Tian Xiangrong, Zhang Shunchang, and Xue Tonghua all turned to look at Liu Yuan. The three of them went to sit down, their faces gradually becoming solemn, and said, “If that’s truly the case, it presents us with a rather difficult problem…”
The news of Li Yuxiu admitting defeat after losing the bet and working for free at Xiuyuantang quickly spread throughout the capital’s traditional Chinese medicine circles, causing Li Tiangui to lose face. Now the old man could only hide at home and suffer.
Yesterday’s events not only caused Liu Yuan, Tian Xiangrong, and the others to lose, but also gained public recognition for Wan Yunting’s miraculous medical skills. As a result, Xiuyuantang welcomed many ordinary citizens seeking medical treatment today.
Gu Luotang was pregnant, so she couldn’t sit on a chair to see patients every day. Now that Li Yuxiu had joined as a free worker, Wan Yunting let Qi Miaomiao take Gu Luotang out for a stroll.
Today, Xia Xiangyun specifically called Gu Luotang to ask her to visit their home. Thus, the two senior sisters went directly to Ouyang Mansion. The housekeeper welcomed them and led them inside.
In the courtyard where Wan Yunting resided, Fang Yanxi, dressed in a long casual dress, was taking care of her newborn daughter with two nanny aunts. Xia Xiangyun was also helping to care for her, sharing the burden with her daughter-in-law.
After all, Xia Xiangyun was usually at home. Besides reciting scriptures and praying to Buddha every morning, she would help Fang Yanxi look after her little granddaughter…
“Luotang, Miaomiao, you’re here.”
Xia Xiangyun turned her head and saw the housekeeper leading Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao into the courtyard. She immediately got up to greet them.
“Auntie…”
Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao called out affectionately. Xia Xiangyun looked at Gu Luotang’s slightly bulging belly and smiled, saying, “Good, come and sit quickly. You can’t walk too much now, don’t get tired…”
“It’s fine, I’m doing well.”
Gu Luotang was led by Xia Xiangyun to sit on a lounge chair. Beside them was a baby crib, and two nanny aunts were taking care of the little daughter. Gu Luotang looked at Fang Yanxi’s newborn daughter and her face immediately lit up with maternal affection. She went with Qi Miaomiao to surround the crib, looking at the little daughter who resembled a porcelain doll, filled with joy, “Wow, she’s so cute…”
At this moment, Fang Yanxi came out of the house, still holding a milk bottle. Seeing Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao, she smiled and said, “Luotang, Miaomiao, you’ve arrived.”
The two women turned to look at Fang Yanxi as she approached, smiling and nodding, “Sister Yanxi, you’ve gained so much weight…”
Fang Yanxi’s body stiffened, and her plump, pretty face immediately showed an expression of pain. She glanced at Gu Luotang with a hint of resentment and smiled, “Don’t laugh at me. You’ll be the same as me before long.”
Seeing Fang Yanxi’s helpless look made Gu Luotang and Qi Miaomiao giggle uncontrollably…
Xia Xiangyun, standing nearby, watched them interact so harmoniously, and her worried heart was put at ease. She then asked, “Luotang, how is the clinic doing?”
“It’s going well. Many people went to the clinic to see Brother Yunting today,” Gu Luotang said with a smile.
Qi Miaomiao also chimed in, telling Fang Yanxi and Xia Xiangyun about what happened yesterday and mentioning Li Yuxiu working for the clinic for free. Fang Yanxi smiled and said, “Hearing you say that, Li Yuxiu is quite a capable woman to be willing to work at the clinic under such humiliation.”
“Yes.”
Gu Luotang nodded and smiled, saying, “If it were me, I probably wouldn’t be able to be as calm as she is.”
“Hmph, I’m just afraid she has ulterior motives!” Qi Miaomiao said disdainfully.
“Oh?”
Fang Yanxi turned her head to look at Qi Miaomiao and smiled, “Don’t tell me she has a purpose?”
Qi Miaomiao said, “Sister Yanxi, let me tell you, Li Yuxiu is not bad-looking and has a good temperament. I’m afraid Brother Yunting won’t be able to resist!”
“Miaomiao.”
Gu Luotang immediately glared at Qi Miaomiao, signaling that Xia Xiangyun was still present.
Qi Miaomiao, realizing this, chuckled awkwardly at Xia Xiangyun, while Fang Yanxi also smiled and said, “I’ll interrogate him later, and then I’ll know…”
At noon, in the clinic, Wan Yunting, who was taking a patient’s pulse, suddenly yawned. Wang Zhuyu, who was beside him, asked with concern, “Master, are you alright?”
Li Yuxiu, sitting beside him and also taking a patient’s pulse, turned her head and glanced at him. Wan Yunting waved his hand and smiled, “I’m fine. Someone must be speaking ill of me behind my back…”
“Yunting, it’s time to eat.”
After finishing with the patient, Du Hua came in to call them for a meal.
“Alright.”
Wan Yunting got up and tidied his things briefly. He smiled at Li Yuxiu and said, “Dr. Li, let’s go eat.”
Li Yuxiu nodded, got up, and followed them to the living room…
On the table, dishes were already laid out. This was from a nearby restaurant that delivered meals punctually every day at meal times.
Wan Yunting invited Li Yuxiu to sit down. Du Hua, Wang Zhuyu, Mo Yaolin, Huang Fuxiang, Chen Lin, Zeng Xiaomeng, Sun Xue, and Huang Pengyi also sat down. The main door on the first floor was temporarily closed to new patients; they would reopen after finishing their meal.
“Dr. Li, it’s just home-style cooking, don’t be polite.”
Wan Yunting sat next to Li Yuxiu, smiling and greeting her.
Du Hua, Mo Yaolin, and the others exchanged glances. They silently ate their meals, without the usual laughter and chatter, simply because a stranger was now present. Everyone was unsure of what to talk about, and the atmosphere was rather peculiar.
Li Yuxiu’s expression remained calm, her intelligent phoenix eyes not looking at anyone, her gaze fixed on the food as she ate silently, without speaking.
Seeing the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Wan Yunting asked Mo Yaolin and Huang Fuxiang about the situation in the pharmacy today…
“I’m done eating. You all enjoy the rest of your meal.”
After a short while, Li Yuxiu, having eaten only a small bowl of rice, put down her chopsticks and got up, turning back into the consultation room.
Wan Yunting looked back at her, then turned his head to find everyone’s eyes on him, making him smile, “What are you all looking at me like that for? Hurry up and eat.”
“Dr. Wan, I must say, this Dr. Li has extremely high medical skill,” Huang Fuxiang couldn’t help but praise.
Wang Zhuyu even nodded and said, “I watched her see patients all morning. Her pulse-taking and diagnosis were so decisive and efficient, almost on par with you, Master.”
“Really.”
Wan Yunting smiled, and while eating, he chuckled, “So, we’ve struck gold this time. She’s working for us for free for a month, so Zhuyu, learn from her as much as you can.”
“Yes, yes…”
Wang Zhuyu nodded, but then he added with a slight worry, “However, she’s quite stern, giving people a feeling of being unapproachable.”
“That’s right, that’s right…”
Chen Lin and Sun Xue also nodded repeatedly.
Wan Yunting smiled and said, “It’s only her first day here, and she’s not familiar with you all, so of course she’s like that. It will get better slowly…”
Du Hua, Wang Zhuyu, and the others nodded. After continuing to chat and finish their lunch, everyone returned to their respective posts for a brief midday rest. They would officially resume seeing patients at two o’clock in the afternoon…
Wan Yunting, after finishing his meal, also returned to the consultation room. He saw Li Yuxiu sitting in a chair, flipping through a medical book that Gu Luotang had placed on the desk. Wan Yunting also returned to his chair and sat down, smiling, “Dr. Li, frankly, I still don’t quite understand why you insisted on working at my clinic. Even if you didn’t honor the bet, I believe no one would say anything about you. After all, you’re not developing domestically. As long as you go abroad, it would be difficult for others to accuse you of being unable to accept defeat.”
Li Yuxiu did not put down the medical book. She turned her head, her intelligent phoenix eyes calmly looking at Wan Yunting, and asked, “What realm has your martial arts reached?”
Being asked this question, Wan Yunting’s expression froze for a moment. He smiled and said, “If I were to count, it’s the outer gang realm.”
Li Yuxiu’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. Her intelligent phoenix eyes stared intently at Wan Yunting, remaining silent for a long time.
“You don’t believe me? How about I show you?” Wan Yunting said with a smile.
Li Yuxiu finally withdrew her gaze and slightly shook her head, saying, “I’ve heard you’re a recognized martial arts prodigy in the martial world. It seems that is indeed the case.”
Wan Yunting looked at her and smiled, “Dr. Li, you should be at the mid-stage of Danjin realm in martial arts, right?”
Li Yuxiu nodded. Although she hadn’t joined any major sects, she had the fortune to meet a martial arts master and learned two sets of internal energy cultivation techniques. In just twenty years, she reached the mid-stage of Danjin realm, which was by no means inferior to those geniuses who practiced martial arts in major sects from childhood.
However, Li Yuxiu pursued the path of medicine, and her cultivation of internal energy was only to maximize the efficacy of her acupuncture skills. She never used her martial arts for fighting.
“But Dr. Li, I’m very curious. Why did a genius like you choose to develop overseas instead of staying in the country?”
Wan Yunting spun a brush in his hand while looking at Li Yuxiu and asked with a smile, “With your abilities, if you had stayed in the country, after the Sima family fell and during the election for chairman, there wouldn’t have been any room for me, Wan Yunting!”
Li Yuxiu’s gaze remained on the medical book in her hands. She calmly said, “Then why did you overthrow the Sima family and take over as the Chairman of the Chinese Medicine Association?”
Wan Yunting’s expression stiffened. Seeing that she didn’t answer his question but instead asked him, he smiled and said, “Then you should know the slogan we shouted back then was to revive Chinese medicine and promote it!”
Li Yuxiu turned her head, her intelligent phoenix eyes glancing at him sideways, and said, “So, you were just shouting slogans and didn’t take any actual action?”
“How could there not be?”
Wan Yunting said, “Don’t you know that primary schools in the country are now implementing Chinese medicine curricula?”
Li Yuxiu nodded, “I have heard of this. It was proposed by Chairman Gu.”
Wan Yunting suddenly sneered and said, “What a pity. Some of you are secretly trying to pull Old Man Gu down from his position, to become the second Sima family!”
These words caused Li Yuxiu’s delicate brows to furrow, and she fell silent. She knew that the “you” Wan Yunting was referring to included people like herself…