The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!-Chapter 209: Miasma

How had the doctor ever seen such a distinguished person? And now, he had received five taels of silver, totaling eight taels. Normally, when he went out on a house call, he would be overjoyed for several days if he received even one tael of silver, including both the visit and treatment fees.

This was a bumper harvest, and thus he calmed down.

However, along the way, Huangfu Jingchen had to ensure he didn’t fall off the horse seeing that he truly couldn’t ride. In the end, Huangfu Jingchen rode the horse himself, lifted him by the collar, and sped off.

The doctor, who had previously been babbling like a mischievous moth, was now silent, with the long sword at his neck and silver in his pocket, not daring to utter a word.

Thus, they arrived without a hitch.

Earlier, his legs had indeed been weak, and coupled with speculating about the relationship between the homeowner and the distinguished young master, when he heard that there was a consulting fee to be had, he was very happy, so he smiled obsequiously and said, "Young Master, rest assured, my medical skills in this area are second to none! I can treat any illness!"

Zhuzi quickly said, "Thank you, thank you!"

The doctor entered the house, and Zhuzi’s mother exclaimed, "Doctor Zhang, why have you come?"

After all, he was the only doctor in town, and indeed, everyone knew him.

Doctor Zhang smugly said, "Someone invited me to see you!"

Zhuzi’s mother turned pale, her heart pounding even more. Everyone knew this Doctor Zhang charged exorbitant fees, and she was worried that the savings for Zhuzi’s bride price at home would greatly diminish.

It was all because of her frail old bones, a burden on her son.

Doctor Zhang looked around the sparse and chilly room, knowing there was not much to be had. Anyway, he had already gotten enough, and seeing Zhuzi’s mother’s expression, he knew what she was thinking.

He declared beforehand, "You needn’t worry; someone has already paid the consulting fee, which I am not going to refund anyway. Whether you get treated or not, there’s no refund!"

Zhuzi’s mother urgently asked, "Who paid? How much?" Even if someone else paid, it still needed to be repaid.

Doctor Zhang, with an air of superiority, said, "You don’t need to ask how much. Asking won’t change anything. I have medical ethics; I took the money to treat you. Come, extend your hand so I can take your pulse! Eight taels of silver—you can’t repay it even if you ask!"

Hearing this, Zhuzi’s mother, though suspicious, still extended her hand.

Doctor Zhang began taking her pulse, placing his thumb and index finger on Zhuzi’s mother’s wrist. After a while, he frowned and asked, "Did you also go up the mountain?"

Feeling like a child who had done something wrong, Zhuzi’s mother nodded blankly.

Doctor Zhang immediately started lecturing, "You people just don’t listen, rushing into the miasma for a little gain before your eyes. Now look at you, inhaling the miasma. Isn’t that a loss?"

Inhaled the miasma?

Zhuzi’s mother’s face turned ashen, yet she was somewhat relieved. Living at the foot of the mountain, they were used to seeing people recover after being ill for ten days or half a month from inhaling the miasma.

Feigning a smile, Zhuzi’s mother asked, "Doctor, so—is there no need for medicine?"

"No medicine? Do you expect to get better on your own?" Doctor Zhang retorted, his face turning red with urgency, "I’ve come all this way, checked your illness, and you don’t want treatment. It would take ten days or half a month to recover, wouldn’t it ruin my reputation?"

"But...but I have no money," Zhuzi’s mother hesitated. "Moreover, this ailment...can recover without medicine!"

Doctor Zhang snorted, "That depends on your body. You’re thin as a monkey and frail. Can you withstand it? Besides, no one is asking you to pay, so what are you saving?"

Zhuzi’s mother hadn’t considered such a fortunate turn of events, but the old woman couldn’t help but ask, "Who paid?"

Doctor Zhang jerked his mouth toward the door, "The young master who fetched me!"

Zhuzi’s mother quickly said, "No, no, we have no kinship with him..."

"Are you stupid?" Doctor Zhang sneered. "Isn’t it good if someone wants to be a fool with money?" He mumbled as he opened the medicine box to find medicine.

However, he also thought that if he just gave the medicine directly to the woman, the gentleman outside wouldn’t know.

So, he slung the medicine box and went to the main hall, speaking obsequiously to Huangfu Jingchen, "Young Master, I’ve checked the illness, and I happen to have ready-made medicine. Shall I administer it to the patient?"

Xia Wenjin questioned, "Every illness and every person’s condition differ, changing with the season and individual factors. Medicine should be tailored to the case. How can you have ready-made medicine? You’re not some Holy Doctor, a peerless master with a cure-all!"

Seeing Xia Wenjin so young, Doctor Zhang assumed she knew nothing. Proud, he noticed her attire and demeanor were similar to Huangfu Jingchen’s and guessed their relationship was unusual, so he responded more politely, "What this young master says is reasonable. Indeed, every illness varies with the season and individual factors. However, I’ve practiced here for many years and am unique in the whole town. No one’s medical skills compare to mine. So, for all the villages around here, whenever there’s illness, I am the one consulted. In these villages around this time of year, various illnesses from inhaling mountain miasma have occurred. I’ve prepared medicine in advance for convenience to prevent worsening from waiting."

This reasoning seems fair enough, Xia Wenjin thought, but she caught the critical point, "You said there have been several cases with the same symptoms? Already consulted you? All due to inhaling miasma?"

"Naturally!" Doctor Zhang affirmed, "It happens every year and is treated this way every year!"

Huangfu Jingchen asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Xia Wenjin shook her head. She hadn’t seen Zhuzi’s mother’s specific condition, nor did she know what symptoms those who consulted Doctor Zhang had. If this area had recurring symptoms each summer due to mountain miasma, Doctor Zhang would indeed have more experience and authority.

She couldn’t let a shred of doubt overshadow other people’s medical skills without basis.

Though suspicious, Doctor Zhang seemed to have some skill. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Doctor Zhang said to Huangfu Jingchen, "Shall I administer the medicine to the patient then?"

Huangfu Jingchen understood his implication and said, "Go ahead!"

Doctor Zhang left gleefully to administer the medicine.

Xia Wenjin was curious, "He’s the doctor, but he still asked you about administering medicine?"

Huangfu Jingchen recounted what happened along the way, and hearing that this Doctor Zhang was such an avaricious person, Xia Wenjin couldn’t help but shake her head. It seemed that the villagers around the area had often been exploited by him. But with only one doctor around, anyone who fell ill had no choice but to seek him.