Chapter 147: then

Chapter 147: then

Chapter 147 That Year

 The night is silent.

It was late, and the lights in all the dormitories in the Medical Officer's Hospital had already been turned off. There were only a few scattered stars in the thick ink-like sky, but the clear moon in the center was exceptionally bright, illuminating the willows in the small courtyard in front of the Medical Officer's Hospital. The layer is cold and thin.

Lin Danqing poured the water, and Lu Yan had already washed himself and walked to the long table in the room to sit down.

 The dormitory in the Medical Officer's Hospital is much better than that in Nanpharmacy. Although the furnishings are not luxurious and exquisite, they are still clean and tidy. There is no shortage of writing desks, short couches, wooden cabinets, and bedding.

Lu Zong and Lin Danqing lived in the same house, one in the inner room and the other in the outer room. This was something Lin Danqing specifically asked Chang Jin for.

Lu Zhu bent down and carried the medical box to the table. He opened the medical box, but did not touch the herbs inside. He only opened the small grid and the small grid popped out, revealing the contents inside.

 It is a silver ring and a white jade pendant.

The ring was somewhat blackened and old due to time, but the jade pendant was as warm and shiny as new, its brilliance flowing under the light.

She picked up the jade pendant and wrapped her fingertips around the red rope on the jade. The round jade hanging on it was pointed at the bright moon outside the window, gradually reflecting the carved texture on the jade.

  It is a picture of Gao Shi playing the qin.

The carvings are extremely exquisite and meticulous, and they are still lifelike after many years. Taking advantage of the moonlight, it seems as if the luthier in the picture is about to step down from the white jade to visit friends and chant in the mountains with his lute.

Lu Zong looked at it, slightly absent-minded.

Lin Danqing came in from the outside with a basin of hot water and saw Lu Zhu sitting at the table in a daze with her back to the door. He thought she was worried about meeting Ji Xun today, so he put down the basin and comforted her: "Sister Lu, Although Ji Xun has an eccentric and aloof character, and occasionally encounters some problems, his character has no flaws."

 “Don’t worry, he will never trouble you for no reason.”

 “Good guy…” Lu Zhuo murmured.

 Of course she knew Ji Xun was a good person.

 It has always been like this from before to now.

The gray shadow cast by the round jade in the hand under the light of the lamp is like a gloomy past, sinking heavily in my heart.

 Lu Xu lowered his eyelashes.

 She had met Ji Xun before.

　　Not in front of the stone steps of the courtyard tonight, not on Queer Street in front of Liu Ji, but earlier.

 In southern Jiangsu.

 …

 That was about four years ago, the thirty-sixth year of Yongchang.

She has followed Yun Niang in identifying poisonous classics and pharmacology, and occasionally treats patients who come to the mountain to seek medical treatment from Yun Niang. Patients who Yun Niang does not want to see are often left to her to save their worries.

 However, treatment is still a cure, and testing of medicines must continue.

Perhaps it was because after her body had tried the medicine many times, the effect of ordinary poisons was minimal. The poison Yun Niang had newly developed became more and more powerful. In the past, she only needed to rest for two or three days after trying the medicine. Now, when she tries the medicine once, it sometimes takes a long time. It took more than a full month to turn around.

Lu Zhen still remembers that it was a spring day in March.

It was another trial of medicine. Yun Niang developed a new poison. After taking it, her whole body was chilled to the bone. Even in the scorching summer, she could not feel any warmth.

“Silkworms are afraid of rain and cold seedlings are afraid of fire.” Yun Niang thought for a long time before she came up with a satisfactory name, “It’s called Hancanyu.”

Lu Yan locked herself in the thatched hut at Luomeifeng and wrapped herself in layers of quilts. She still felt as if she had been thrown naked into an ice cellar for nine cold days. Her teeth were chattering with the cold. For seven days and nights, she felt like A corpse that has not yet completely cooled seems to have turned into a spring silkworm being soaked by the cold rain. The rain also has a corrosive meaning, bit by bit, eroding her body, inside and outside, from the five internal organs. The six internal organs were frozen to pieces.

 After the seventh day, the chill gradually subsided, and she began to feel warm and cold, and could move her body.

Yun Niang is very satisfied with the new poison, but she still needs to improve the "Cold Silkworm Rain" and let her find some fresh corpses.

Lu Zhuo went down the mountain and planned to go to the execution ground.

Sunan Street is bustling with people and cars. It is spring, and people in the city often go out for an outing.

Perhaps the cold poison in his body has not been cleared away. Even though the March sun is shining above his head, Lu Huo still can't feel a trace of warmth. It's as if his frozen body has just stretched out and staggered, and even his steps are a bit shaky.

She had just walked onto the small bridge not far from the inn when she suddenly heard an exclamation accompanied by the sound of horse hooves. She vaguely heard someone behind her hurriedly shouting: "Hey, what are the people in front of you doing? Get out of the way -"

She turned around blankly and saw a carriage on the bridge hitting her head-on.

Shocked, Lu Chen subconsciously turned sideways to hide. However, the remaining poison of the "Cold Silkworm Rain" was not cleared away. She had just endured seven days and seven nights on the mountain. After all, her body was not flexible enough. The speeding carriage brushed her body and passed by. Lu Chen narrowly escaped. But he was staggered and hit the stone beam on the bridge.

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 The coachman in front shouted, and the carriage stopped at the end of the bridge.

 The driver did not get off the car, but sat on the horse. He turned to look at Lu Huan and shouted loudly: "Are you okay?"

 The ankle bone was broken, but Lu Yan didn't feel much pain. Sometimes, her perception of "pain" is a little slower than ordinary people.

  She got up from the ground, quickly put on the dropped coat again, bent down to pick up the medical box on the ground, turned around and left, not wanting to get entangled with others.

 Having only taken two steps, I suddenly heard a voice.

"etc-"

Lu Zhuo turned around numbly and saw someone opening the curtain of the carriage and someone stepping out of the carriage.

 It was a nice spring day.

 The poplars and grasses are green, the east wind dyes the willows, and the whole southern Jiangsu is bathed in the joy of the New Year. On the embankment, tourists and their female companions were laughing together. It rained again last night. On the bridges and under the bridges, poplar flowers were floating all over the lake.

The young man in green robe walked out of the turbulent spring scenery and stopped beside Lu Zhu. He lowered his head and looked at Lu Zhu, his handsome eyebrows slightly frowned, and asked: "How are you?"

 The young man's voice was very calm, which did not match his slightly concerned expression.

Lu Zhuo suddenly came to his senses, lowered his head and left without saying a word.

 A green shadow stood in front of her.

Lu Zhen raised his head. The young man in green pursed his lips and gestured towards her knees.

There, the gravel from the wrestling just rubbed against the clothes, and a secret red color gradually oozed out.

 “You’re bleeding,” he said.

 Next, no matter how Lu Zhuo explained that she did not need the other party to be responsible and that there were more important things, the young man still insisted on sending her to the nearest hospital.

In the end, even the coachman couldn't stand it anymore and started to persuade him: "Girl, just listen to our young master. My young master is stubborn and won't give up. If you don't go to the hospital today, he can spend the whole day with you here!" "

 Lu Zhen was speechless.

She still had to go to the execution ground to find the body for Yun Niang. Spring was not as harsh as winter. As time passed, the body would rot and fester, so she couldn't wait too long.

　　　I had no choice but to accept it.

The young man and his driver took Lu Zhuo to a nearby medical center.

He doesn't talk much and seems to be a bit reticent, and Lu Zhen will not take the initiative to talk to him. When they arrived at the hospital, the coachman helped her sit down. The doctor at the hospital saw the abrasions on her legs and did not prescribe any medicine. He only gave her a bottle of gold medicine.

Lu Zhuo took the medicine and was about to leave. As soon as he got up, he felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground.

 A hand stretched out from the side to support her.

 She said: "Thank you very much."

 The hand holding her was warm, falling from the elbow to her wrist, and did not let go for a long time.

Lu Zhen sensed something was wrong and suddenly shook off his hand, only to meet the young man's slightly surprised gaze.

 He said: "You have been poisoned."

 Lu Zhen's complexion changed slightly.

 There is no antidote for "Han Silkworm Rain".

Most of the poisons Yun Niang made had no antidote, but in order to avoid her immediate death, the weight and toxicity of the poisons were controlled just right, just at the edge. It not only allows her to feel the pain of poisonous hair, but also prevents her from dying in this endless pain.

If you can survive this period of pain, you will live, if not, you will die.

She had survived seven days and seven nights. When the "cold silkworm rain" was at its most ferocious, the remaining poison would not put her in danger of her life, but it was still hidden in her body. She had to wait until the torture of the cold rain and rain had passed before it gradually integrated into her body. In flesh and blood.

She didn’t know that the other person had medical skills, so she could tell something was wrong just by taking a pulse.

Lu Zong held the gold medicine in his hand tightly and whispered: "It's nothing." He turned around and wanted to leave.

　　But he was held by a hand.

The young man frowned and stared at her, then slowly repeated: "You are poisoned."

 The voice is determined. The place held by the other party suddenly became hot, as if the most embarrassing part that she had always wanted to hide was revealed. She wanted to break free, but the lingering poison of "Cold Silkworm Rain" still made her very weak, and she could not even resist. Seems a little weak.

The doctor at the medical center was called by the young man to check Lu Zhuo's pulse. After looking at it for a long time, he looked puzzled: "I'm sorry for my incompetence, but I really can't tell where this girl is suffering from poisoning."

 The two of them were startled at the same time.

Yun Niang is very clever in using poisons. If she wants to hide it, even the best doctors in the world will find it difficult to detect the clues. The same is true for "Han Silkworm Rain".

Lu Yan unexpectedly was that the doctor of the medical museum failed to see the disease of poisoning. The teenager looked only 17 or eight years old, but he could see through at a glance. I am afraid that the understanding of medical scriptures and pharmacology is already the best in the world.

She then said in a deep voice: "In this case, the young master must have made a mistake." After saying this, she was about to leave.

The young man stopped her again, and this time his tone was a bit reproachful: "Why do you always want to leave?" He said coldly: "As a doctor, there is no reason to let the patient leave."

“Since he can’t be cured, I’ll do it.”

 Lu Zhen was stunned.

 In fact, in those years, she was polished off by Yun Niang on the mountain and had no temper at all. It was difficult for her to make waves in anything. However, there was a rare trace of panic in front of the young man in green. She tried her best to explain to him that she was not poisoned and that she had more important things to do. However, the other man was determined to see this world-saving Bodhisattva to the end. Give her medicine to cure her illness.

"My parents will be worried if I don't come back for a long time." Lu Yan said.

The young man nodded: "That's true." The next moment, he looked at Lu Huan: "Where your home is, I and your father-in-law will personally explain it."

 Lu Huan: “…”

 She naturally can't take him back, otherwise Yun Niang might regard him as the next medicine man when she sees him.

Seeing that Lu Zhen remained silent, he took the initiative and took Lu Zhen to a nearby inn.

“If you want to send a message to your family, just tell me and they can come here to stay with you.”

Lu Zong pursed his lips and said, "No need."

She thought that this person might just have a whim and could not put down his overflowing good intentions. At night, when they were all asleep, it was not too late for her to leave secretly.

Lu Zhen thought so, but she didn't expect that the other party was far more persistent than she imagined. The coachman following the boy seemed to have some skills and extremely sensitive ears. She just opened the door a crack at night and was chased out.

　　It was almost as if he was looking at her on purpose.

Lu Chen had never seen such a person before. She thought that the other party wanted to kidnap her. In the flower house in Sunan City, many girls were abducted by kidnappers before falling into the world of prostitution. The graves in Luomeifeng were often filled with people. She had buried many of the corpses of sick husbandmen who had been abandoned.

 But if you want to kidnap her, why bother? He also locked her in an inn and wasted money.

 Unexpectedly, Lu Zhuo simply gave up. She thought that she would wait and see what would happen. If these two people really had evil intentions, she would poison them with the poison from the doctor's box.

 But these two people were actually treating her.

The coachman bought all kinds of medicinal materials according to the instructions written by the young man in green clothes. The young man studied the recipes and made the medicine in the house, and boiled the medicine and fed it to her to drink every day.

Lu Zong didn't care whether the medicine was poisonous or not. Ordinary poison would not poison her.

She just felt that the taste was a little bit novel. She took poison more days than medicine. To her, poison was just like ordinary meals. This was the first time in these years that someone had tried so hard to detoxify her.

The young man's coachman pulled the young man outside the door, and Lu Zhuo overheard their conversation. The coachman lowered his voice: "Master, we have been in Sunandu for half a month. The master has written to remind us that it is time to go back."

 “Her poison has not been completely cured yet, please wait.”

"But... I didn't bring much money with me when I came out. It's enough for the journey back, but the medicinal materials you bought every day are precious, and the person sent by the master to deliver the banknotes hasn't arrived yet... If this continues, we won't have enough money to go back. ”

 There was silence outside for a long time.

After a while, the young man's voice sounded: "Take this to them."

 “Master, that is your jade pendant!”

 Lu Zhuo was startled.

The man's tone was still calm and he urged: "Go back quickly."

Lu Zong sat back in front of the window just before the door was pushed open, pretending to be nonchalant. The young man frowned and looked at her: "Did you hear everything?"

 After a moment of silence, Lu Zhuo spoke: "Why did you save me?"

 Lu Zhen couldn't understand this person.

From the occasional conversation between the coachman and him, she probably knew that the other person was a young master from Shengjing, and he just passed by here on his way back to Beijing. He should come from a wealthy family. Although the robes he wore were simple in style, the brocade embroidery was so luxurious and detailed that even the first-class tailor shops in southern Jiangsu could not produce them.

Others are also very polite, and their gestures and gestures are as elegant as those from aristocratic families. Like a blue crane flying from the clouds, standing among the chickens, there is always an out-of-place aloofness.

He didn't say anything, so Lu Zhuo said again: "You and I are just passers-by. I'm not poisoned, and it has nothing to do with you. Why did you save me?"

Lu Zhen didn't understand. If it was a momentary pity for a noble boy, but half a month had passed and his interest had subsided. He must have been tired of this drama of "seeing uneven roads", so why was he still so persistent?

“Doctors treat diseases as a matter of course.” He glanced at the medical box that Lu Zhu placed in the corner and said, “You are also a doctor, don’t you know it?”

 Lu Zong's heart tightened.

 She never opened the medical box in front of the other party, nor did she reveal her identity.

"I've seen you feel your own pulse." As if seeing her confusion, the young man took the initiative to explain.

Lu Zhen didn’t know what to say, so he could only respond dryly.

He carefully sorted the medicinal materials newly delivered by the driver, and said: "You have lived here for half a month, and I still don't know your name. What is your name?"

Clusters of medicinal herbs are scattered, and dust is flying in the golden sunlight. Probably because most of the cold poison on his body had been cured, Lu Yan felt that the cold sunlight was a little warmer.

She lowered her head, a thin layer of sweat broke out on the tip of her nose covered by the mask, and whispered softly: "Seventeen."

 Seventeen, this name was not his real name at first glance, but the other party was just slightly startled and did not ask any more questions, saying: "My name is Ji Xun."

Ji Xun…

Lu Zong silently recited the name twice in his mind.

Ji Xun is a strange person.

 He never asked about Lu Zhuo.

Lu Chen stayed in the inn for more than ten days. No one came to look for her and she did not go home. Ordinary people were already curious about her origins, but Ji Xun never mentioned it.

He didn't ask where Lu Zhen came from or why he was poisoned. He didn't even have the slightest interest in Lu Zhen's face under his mask. He seemed indifferent to everything around him.

 But he is very considerate.

He borrowed a stove from the inn to cook the medicine carefully every day. After watching Lu Zhu take it, he checked her pulse to see if she was getting better.

 He even asked the coachman to buy a skirt for Lu Zhen.

Lu Zhen's old clothes were scratched by gravel when he fell down, and there were cuts at the knees, which looked strange and unsightly. Ji Xun asked the coachman to buy a new skirt. It was a beautiful embroidered skirt. The color was the color of spring willow leaves, which was a very fresh and vibrant color.

Lu Zhen took off his coat while he was asleep at night, put on the skirt, and stared at the strange girl in the mirror in a daze.

 There is no mud from picking herbs, there is no rags wrapped in layers because they don’t fit, there is no rotten smell from picking up corpses in mass graves...

 She looks like an ordinary girl of thirteen or fourteen.

If she had not left her parents, if she were still with her brothers and sisters, Miss Lu San from Changwu County would look like this now.

 Early on the next morning, Lu Zhuo got up and found someone knocking on the door.

 She opened the door, and Ji Xun and the coachman stood outside.

The coachman stared at the skirt on Lu Zhen's body in surprise, as if he was surprised that Lu Zhen today was different from the past.

Lu Zong was a little uncomfortable, but Ji Xun seemed not to notice, walking past her, going straight into the house, taking out the stove and medicine pot, and started to boil medicine.

 The coachman went out, and Lu Yan silently walked to the long table in front of the window and sat down.

Ji Xun doesn’t have much sense of guarding against men and women, perhaps because she is just an ordinary person from southern Sunan, not a wealthy lady, so she doesn’t have so many rules to abide by.

 Perhaps it’s because, as Ji Xun is a doctor, doctors always take precautions against men and women.

 Lu Zhen looked out the window.

The arch bridge at the entrance of the inn is covered with new willow trees. Looking over from a high place, the long embankment of the lake is covered with fresh green. In the distance is the shadow of Luomei Peak hidden in the clouds. The spring mountains are green and the spring water is rippling.

Lu Zhen was looking at it in awe, when he suddenly heard Ji Xun's voice in his ear.

 He asked: “How long have you been studying medicine?”