Chen Qingxu complained, but her face didn't show any annoyance. She seemed to be used to these uninvited guests barging in. She entered the house, put the herbs in her hand aside, and greeted the strangers first, "My surname is Chen, and I'm a quack doctor."

She claimed to be a quack doctor, and her gestures were like those of a lady from a rich family. She didn't smile, and her face was cold. The woman was a little reserved when she saw her. She was speechless for a long time, and could only bow repeatedly. Chen Qingxu glanced at Chang Geng who was giving acupuncture, and said, "He is half of my apprentice. He can't bring the dead back to life, but he can handle ordinary diseases. Don't worry, big sister."

She looked so young that one couldn't tell her age, and she dressed like a girl. The young soldiers next to her were very nervous.

Is it appropriate for an unmarried girl, even if she is a doctor, for His Highness to just casually enter someone else's house without even saying hello? Judging from the familiar look on his face, he may have been here many times.

If this happened in the capital, in some families where people are very particular, before a couple meets each other, they will send a servant to inform each other first.

Although it is said that people in the underworld are not particular about small matters...

It was the first time that the young soldier followed Chang Geng alone. He kept speculating on the relationship between this strange woman and the Fourth Prince. He didn't know how angry Gu Yun would be if he knew about this. His heart was bubbling with anger. He couldn't think of how to report this to the Marshal and was about to cry.

As he was speaking, the old man on the couch groaned, coughed heavily a few times, and slowly woke up.

Chang Geng didn't mind the dirtiness and took a spittoon from the side to help him spit out the thick phlegm.

The woman was overjoyed and thanked him profusely. Chen Qingxu handed Chang Geng a hand towel and said, "Go get the prescription and I'll check it for you."

Her tone was gentle, but the content was quite commanding. Chang Geng did not say anything, but spread out the paper and pen, pondered for a moment, and then began to write the prescription.

The eyes of the young soldier in the Black Iron Camp almost popped out of his head. When he was following Gu Yun, he heard Marshal Gu mention it more than once, saying that the Fourth Prince was getting older and it was hard to control him - but this was clearly a sign that he was more obedient than the primary school students in the school. How could he be as rebellious as when he quarreled with Marquis Anding in person since he was a child?

His hair was disheveled, and Chen Qingxu had already started chatting with the woman.

Seeing the patient getting better, the woman relaxed a lot. They found out that after the local farming puppets were widely promoted, no one had land to farm. Although the court had regulations that prohibited the gentry and landlords from mistreating the tenants, who would want to feed the tenants after a long time? Arrears and short-changing were also common. Those who still worked despite having puppets gradually felt unbalanced. Later, the farmers, the long-arm masters, and other small business owners and land-watchers all felt that they were at a disadvantage and disliked each other.

The woman's husband didn't want to stay idle at home and cause trouble, so he went to the south with his fellow villagers to find a job. Unexpectedly, he never came back after that. The old man at home was sick and the children were young, so they could not be relied on. The barefoot doctor in their village had left long ago because he had nothing to do all day. So she had to carry the old man on her back and travel a long distance to seek medical treatment.

Chen Qingxu frowned when he heard this: "South? There was a flood in the south this year, and there is not enough time to provide disaster relief. What can we find?"

The woman had a confused look on her face, and it was obvious that she had lived in the mountain village for a long time. Apart from the three-acre land in front of her home, she had no idea that there was any other place in the world.

Chang Geng, who was writing a prescription, asked, "Did you get the food ration this year?"

The woman glanced at the old man who was barely breathing on the couch, her face showing sorrow. "To be honest, sir, I haven't. I... I'm too old to go and ask for money or cause trouble. Fortunately, the price of grain is low this year, and I still have some savings at home, so I can go out and buy some."

She said so, but Chang Geng knew in his heart that these people had been farming for generations and were used to being frugal. They would not spend money easily and would feel heartbroken if they spent money. Otherwise, why would she walk such a long way, carrying her father-in-law on her back, and not be willing to hire a car?

Chen Qingxu: "Isn't there public land from the imperial court? I heard that the imperial court pays all the public land to the national treasury and distributes it to officials every year, and the remaining land can be obtained by all local residents."

The woman smiled bitterly and said, "We have no crops on that public land. It has been left fallow for two years."

Chang Geng: "Why? Is it because the land is bad?"

The woman said, "I heard that it was because it was close to the hometown of some official, and the county magistrate wanted to occupy the two acres of land to build a shrine, but the higher-ups didn't agree for some reason. Anyway, after a while, no one could figure out what to do with the land, so they left it idle."

After these words were spoken, the three people in the room fell silent.

"Three mountains and six rivers, only one piece of land, but they still leave it uncultivated," Chen Qingxu sighed, "These people..."

Chang Geng didn't say anything. He didn't know what he remembered. He quickly wrote the prescription and handed it to Chen Qingxu for inspection. Chen Qingxu said, "Well, it's okay. Sister, come with me. I have some common medicines here, so you don't have to buy any more."

Having said this, she took the grateful woman to the backyard.

Seeing her leave, the young soldiers of the Black Iron Camp finally breathed a sigh of relief. They reluctantly turned to Chang Geng, saying nothing but following him. When they saw Chang Geng was about to do something, they rolled up their sleeves and did it first. After a while, they had cleaned the spittoon and prepared the paper and pen. Only then did they finally formulate their first words, stammering, "Young Master, you are very familiar with this place."

Chang Geng responded: "Yes, I often stay here when I come to Shuzhong."

What! A single man and a single woman!

The young soldier's face turned red, and he felt that his mission was of great importance. If this matter was not clarified, he might be chopped into a spittoon by the marquis when he returned.

Chang Geng saw his expression of being struck by lightning, and finally understood what he was thinking. He laughed and said, "What are you thinking about? Although this is Miss Chen's house, she is usually not here. The house is usually empty, and friends from Jianghu who happen to come can stay for a few days. If she happens to be at home occasionally, the woman will stay, and the man will go out and find another place - I wanted to bring you here for two days this time, but since she is back, let's go out and find an inn."

The young soldier was half relieved at first, thinking: "Oh."

However, he hadn't let go of this worry yet, and it was soon brought up again. The young soldier thought with some sadness, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince, has to save even a little money on hotel accommodation."

Looking at Chang Geng's tattered robe, the young soldier blurted out, "Master... if the master knew that the young master was living this kind of life outside, he would be very upset."

He is not very good at talking, and seems to be quick in action but slow in speech, so when he occasionally says something like this, it sounds particularly sincere.

Chang Geng's heart stagnated, and he was unable to respond for a moment.

At this moment, Chen Qingxu prepared the medicine and came out with the woman. He glanced at Chang Geng's face and frowned, "Calm down. What did I say to you?"

Chang Geng came back to his senses and smiled bitterly.

It is true that Chen Qingxu is half his teacher.

Two years ago, when Chang Geng had an attack of Wuergu, his master saw him. This heavy secret that only the heavens and the earth knew about finally had another way out. His master claimed that he had no knowledge of medicine and took him to many places, and finally found Chen Qingxu in Dongdu. Unfortunately, Wuergu was a secret of the northern barbarian witch. The knowledgeable Chen Shenyi had no clue for a while, so he could only prescribe some calming medicine for him while slowly studying.

During this time, Chang Geng asked her about Gu Yun and asked in a roundabout way, "Miss Chen, is there a kind of person in the world whose hearing and vision are sometimes sharp and sometimes not?"

Chen Qingxu knew what he meant, but she couldn't say anything more, so she simply replied, "Yes."

Chang Geng asked again: "What kind of hearing and eye problems can be relieved by medicine?"

Chen Qingxu replied: "Those who are born with it can't. Those who are injured later in life will depend on the extent of the damage. Those who are poisoned may be able to."

She thought that after all the detours, Chang Geng would directly ask about Gu Yun, but he didn't. She found that she seemed to have underestimated the young man's intelligence and insight.

After listening to this, Chang Geng remained silent for a long time, and finally begged her to accept him as his disciple.

The Chen family has produced miraculous doctors for generations. They are both particular and unpretentious. Their family motto is just "healing the world with medicine". Those who only treat difficult and complicated diseases and "treat patients in a perfunctory manner" like the "miracle doctors" in the vernacular novels with strange temperaments will be expelled from the family. She treats serious injuries and illnesses, strange poisons and terminal illnesses. She is also happy to go to children with colds and women with difficult labor. Naturally, she will not treasure what she has learned in her life. There is no rule that "family knowledge cannot be passed on to outsiders". If someone asks, she will teach. However, Miss Chen said that she is not a master and does not dare to accept disciples in a legitimate way, so she can only be considered half a master.

The Chen family lived in Taiyuan Prefecture. During the autumn and winter, Chen Qingxu usually did not stay in the south. Chang Geng guessed that she was still in Shu at this time and must have something to do, so he took out a purse from his arms and gave it to the young soldier of the Black Iron Camp, and asked him to hire a car to send the old man and the woman back.

The young soldier was not willing to accept the money from the impoverished Fourth Prince, so he refused it and left in a hurry.

After all the strangers had left, Chen Qingxu took out a cloth bag and said, "It's a good thing I met you. This is the tranquilizing powder I just mixed. Take it back and try it."

Chang Geng thanked him, took it, put it away, and put some into his pocket.

Chen Qingxu inadvertently glanced at the purse and her eyes lit up. There was no dizzying embroidery such as "mandarin ducks playing in the water" or "butterflies flying in pairs" on it. It was just clean silk wrapped in a layer of extremely thin soft leather. A small circle of patterns was hollowed out on the leather with a carving knife. It looked like an iron wrist buckle with a mechanism connected to it, and a blade was exposed at the tip, almost flying out. It was extremely delicate.

Chen Qingxu casually praised: "Where did you get this purse? It's so unique."

Chang Geng: "I made it myself, do you want it?"

Chen Qingxu: “…”

Even though Doctor Chen remained calm and composed amidst the vast army, he couldn't help but show a little shock at this moment.

"It's very solid," Chang Geng recommended. "By the way, I haven't asked you yet. The Mid-Autumn Festival has passed. Why are you still in Shu?"

"Marquis Anding passed through Shuzhong on his way south and asked me to stay here," Chen Qingxu asked, "Why, you didn't know?"

Chang Geng: “…”

Things change, and this time it's someone else who is shocked.

After a long while, Chang Geng finally found his voice with difficulty, relying on the lingering fragrance of the tranquilizing powder: "No, I don't know. My foster father...what did he do in the south?"

Chen Qingxu was puzzled and said, "Of course the Marquis of Anding left the northwest for military affairs. I just spoke to him a few words relying on my ancestors' influence. He would not tell me what he was going to do."

Chang Geng: "But the little brother from the Black Iron Camp just told me that he will return to Beijing next year..."

Chen Qingxu was even more confused after hearing this: "It's not even Double Ninth Festival yet. Does it matter whether the Marquis returned to Beijing last year or not, and where he is now?"

Chang Geng: “…”

He was silent for a moment, and finally couldn't help laughing. He thought that only someone like him who was so eager and afraid would regard the three or four months as nothing.

"I thought you came here because you knew about this, and you just happened to pass by," Chen Qingxu said, "He wrote that he would come in the next few days. If you are not in a hurry, why not stay and wait for him."

Chang Geng responded absentmindedly, his thoughts already drifting thousands of miles away.

"Chang Geng, Chang Geng!" Chen Qingxu whispered in his ear, and Chang Geng suddenly came back to his senses.

Chen Qingxu said seriously, "I've told you that if it's not an antidote, then even the most calming formula is just an aid. Wuergu hates being disturbed. Every thought in your mind is the nutrient for the poison. In just a short while today, you've been distracted twice. What's going on?"

Chang Geng said "I'm ashamed" and lowered his eyes indifferently, not wanting to talk more. He naturally turned the topic to the prescription he had just written.

I think she has practiced medicine all over the world, and has cured countless physical wounds, sword cuts, and chronic illnesses, but she doesn't know how to heal a person's heart, right?

Not long after, the young soldiers from the Black Iron Camp who had escorted the man came back in a hurry. Seeing that Chang Geng had not abandoned him and disappeared again, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Chang Geng borrowed a few copies of the "Pharmacopoeia", said goodbye to Chen Qingxu, and took the young soldiers to stay in an inn in a nearby town.

Autumn insects are rampant in Shu, and become even more noisy in the dead of night. Chang Geng put the newly prepared tranquilizer next to his pillow, but felt that Miss Chen's new medicine was not very good. Instead of being tranquilizer, it was very refreshing. He couldn't sleep for half the night, so he had to get up and read by candlelight. After lighting a bowl of lamp oil, he memorized two and a half of the three volumes of "Pharmacopoeia" before dawn, and he still didn't feel sleepy at all.

It seemed as if a golden box had inexplicably appeared in his chest, with white steam rising from it and burning bottomless purple gold.

No matter how many times Chang Geng silently repeated "calm down" in his heart, how he treated Gu Yun's imminent arrival with a normal mentality, and even how he tried not to think about it - the eagerness and anxiety still formed a double entanglement around his bones, and every moment they were like thorny vines pulling at his heart, causing pain and numbness, and it was no use deceiving himself.

The next morning, Chang Geng stopped the young soldier from the Black Iron Camp and said, "Little brother, if you want to go south through Shuzhong to Southern Xinjiang, how do you usually get there?"

The young soldier replied: "Official business will naturally be handled through official channels, and other things may be done for the sake of convenience, so it is hard to say, and it is also possible that they crawled in from the ravines."

Chang Geng nodded silently.

Not long after, the young soldiers were surprised to find that Chang Geng had changed his tattered robe and put on a new set of clothes. Although the clothes were not very luxurious, they were very exquisite, and one could vaguely tell that he was either rich or noble.

Chang Geng transformed himself from a poor scholar into an absolutely handsome young man. Even the innkeeper couldn't help but be respectful when he saw him.

He dressed like a young master and rode his horse on the official road every day, not knowing whether he was waiting for someone or exhibiting.

The young master's clothes could not help getting dirty. After a day of dust, they would be covered with a layer of dust when he came back at night. Chang Geng was unwilling to trouble others and would wash them himself - he had to wash them because he only had two sets of "young master's clothes" and he would not be able to keep up with the changes if he was not diligent.

Every day when Chang Geng got on his horse, he would think, "I might as well go."

He hadn't seen Gu Yun for more than four years, and his longing for him grew stronger day by day. He couldn't help but feel scared when he looked at the mountain, fearing that it would collapse with a loud bang at the slightest disturbance.

He wanted to run, but he couldn't bear to run. He was fighting with himself in his heart all the way. Before he could figure out what was going on, he had already reached the official road. Chang Geng had no choice but to make the best of it. He wandered around all day, drinking wind and eating sand, and usually couldn't even wait for a rabbit. When he went back at night, he thought: "I will check out and leave early tomorrow morning."

However, the next morning he broke his promise again and came to the official road still fighting.

This crazy life lasted for four or five days. In the evening, when Chang Geng turned his horse back to the inn, he saw the setting sun in the west was as bright as blood, which was very beautiful. He couldn't help but slow down and let his horse walk and eat grass. He recalled what he had done in the past few days. He felt a little amused and thought to himself: "If this matter was known, he would probably laugh like a monk without buck teeth."

At this moment, Chang Geng suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind him, as if a team of carriages and horses was passing by. He turned his horse's head to the side to make way, and subconsciously looked back, and saw several handsome tall horses galloping towards him in a blink of an eye, pulling a carriage behind them.

From a distance, those knights were in casual clothes, no different from other travelers on the road in a hurry, but Chang Geng's heart suddenly began to beat wildly for some reason.