The Martial Doctor-Chapter 47: Redeeming the Physician’s Token

Shanyuan Square, Ye Mansion!

"You ungrateful son, kneel before me! How could I, Ye Shengyuan, have given birth to a son like you!" Ye Shengyuan was participating in paper grading at the Xinglin Institute when he received a notice from the Arresting Department.

He immediately understood what was going on and rushed home in fury, dragging Ye Xizhao out of his room.

Ye Shengyuan was not only a famous doctor but also a martial arts expert, and Ye Xizhao was helplessly dragged into the Ye Family’s ancestral hall like a chick.

With a thud, he knelt before the ancestors of the Ye Family.

Ye Xizhao hadn’t yet realized what had happened. Last night, he waited for Dong Hu and Zhao Wu to bring the beauty he longed for, but they never returned, so he pulled the maid who was serving him onto his bed...

This wasn’t the first time something like this happened. The handsome maids at home, besides taking care of his daily needs, had another function, which was to warm his bed.

As a young noble, he had long understood matters between men and women before marriage, all thanks to the maidservants.

After a wild night, he had only slept for a short while before being yanked up by his father, with dark circles under his eyes, looking exhausted and overindulgent. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Father, what’s the matter, it’s so early..."

"Dong Hu and Zhao Wu are dead, and you ask what’s the matter!" Ye Shengyuan’s rage surged as he grabbed a rattan and pointed at Ye Xizhao, demanding an answer.

"Dong Hu, Zhao Wu are dead, how is that possible? Doesn’t everyone know they are people of mine, of the Ye Family, Father, who did this?" Ye Xizhao was startled by the news, trembling slightly.

"What do you think?"

"I, how would I know, they didn’t come back all night yesterday..."

"They were the ones I assigned to protect you, yet they ended up murdered outside. Who else should I question but you?" Ye Shengyuan rebuked, "Speak, what did you have them do?"

"Nothing, didn’t do anything!" Ye Xizhao wasn’t afraid of heaven or earth, but he was afraid of his nearly seventy-year-old father.

Meanwhile, Ye Xizhao’s mother Xiao Lianhong, though only in her forties and looking not older than thirty, seductive and charming, anxiously approached the door of the hall to peer inside but did not dare to step foot in.

According to the rules, concubines were not allowed in the Ye Family’s ancestral hall, and despite being deeply loved, Ye Shengyuan did not dare break these rules for her.

So, even though her son was being punished inside, she could only remain outside.

"Speak, will you?" Ye Shengyuan, in a fit of rage, directly picked up the rattan and harshly lashed Ye Xizhao’s back!

Sss...

In Ye Xizhao’s life, the times he had been hit by the rattan were few, since he had shown medical talent, he hadn’t been beaten again. Today marked a rarity.

This trouble was undoubtedly big.

"Father, I’ll talk, I’ll talk..." Unable to bear the pain after a few lashes, Ye Xizhao opened his mouth to confess, "I fancied a young lady and wanted to invite her to the mansion, so I sent Dong Hu and Zhao Wu to handle the matter."

"Are you mad, do you realize this is essentially abducting a maiden?" Ye Shengyuan was furious beyond control, visiting a pleasure establishment was a paid transaction, perfectly understandable. In his youth, he frequented them as well.

But forcibly taking a good family girl was a different matter entirely. If both parties were agreeable, then perhaps compensation could settle matters, but if the other side was unwilling and you resorted to force.

If a scandal broke out, the Ye Family’s reputation in Dongshan City would be ruined.

"Father, it’s just a young lady, what’s the big deal, if she catches your son’s eye, it’s her good fortune..." Ye Xizhao grumbled discontentedly.

"Nonsense, do you understand the gravity of this? Don’t you realize I’ve been painstakingly arranging a marriage for you, and now this happens..." Ye Shengyuan was exasperated, lashing down harder with the whip.

"Father, I don’t want to marry." Ye Xizhao cried out in pain yet continued to shout about not wanting marriage.

"You don’t want to marry, do you know whom I’ve chosen for your betrothal?" Ye Shengyuan paused, irked, demanding.

"Which family’s daughter?"

"The Xu Family from Baoan Hall, the seventh young lady of the Xu Family."

"That little girl, I refuse!" Ye Xizhao listened and refused without hesitation.

"You refuse? Do you know how many are begging to marry into the Xu Family? Xu Qixi has inherited Xu An’s teachings, mastering the Qi Observation Skill. If combined with our Ye Family’s pulse-diagnosis method, our lineage has the potential for greater achievement, understand?" Ye Shengyuan was exceedingly frustrated, his ambitions were considerable.

"Father, even if you desire the Qi Observation Skill, you don’t need me to marry into the Xu Family, correct?"

"If it were the Ye Family, it wouldn’t be marrying into the family. You little bastard, stop causing trouble for me. From today onwards, you’re not allowed to step out of the main gate, and tell your mother not to secretly open the back door for you. A kind mother often spoils her child!" Ye Shengyuan shouted angrily, but after hitting his son, most of his anger dissipated.

"Wait a minute, which young lady are you talking about, where does she live, and what’s her background?"

"I only know that she has a junior disciple named Lin Miao who signed up for the physician examination this time. Also, her master is called Sun Simiao, from Qingping Town in Baihe County," Ye Xizhao replied honestly, sharing what he knew.

"Alright, I understand. I’ll handle this matter, you don’t need to worry about it. If the people from the Arresting Department ask, just say you don’t know anything," Ye Shengyuan instructed with a stern face.

"Yes."

"Son, if you truly like that young lady, after you marry the Seventh Miss of the Xu Family, it’s not impossible to take her as a concubine, but for now, stop causing trouble for me!"

For this son, Ye Shengyuan was really exhausted.

...

After leaving the city, Lin Miao sped along the official road. Although the horse he rode was not a warhorse, its stamina was better.

His plan was to go quickly and return quickly. Alone, his speed on horseback was at least three times that of a carriage, and he didn’t have to necessarily plan for staying at inns.

In the wild, as long as there was a place that sheltered him from the wind and rain, he could manage for a night.

Therefore, early the next morning, he arrived back in Baihe County. Apart from the cold weather, the streets of Baihe County hadn’t changed much.

Leading the horse, he went straight to "Yuanheng Pawnshop."

It was early in the morning, and Mr. Xie, with his hands clasped, was dozing at the counter when he was suddenly startled upon seeing Lin Miao.

"Mr. Lin, where have you come from?" Although he hadn’t seen Lin Miao for more than two months, Mr. Xie clearly felt that Lin Miao had undergone a dramatic change; his demeanor was more composed, and his eyes deeper, giving an unfathomable feeling.

"Mr. Xie, although it hasn’t been three months, I now want to redeem the Sun Family’s Herbal Hall and my master’s physician’s token!" Lin Miao placed the pawn ticket, agreement, and silver notes on the counter.

Mr. Xie’s expression subtly changed.

The house deed and land deed for the Sun Family’s Herbal Hall were in his possession, easy enough to manage, but Sun Simiao’s "physician’s token" was no longer with him.

He had never expected Lin Miao to come back with the silver to redeem the items, so after receiving the "physician’s token," he immediately turned it over to the Dongshan Prefecture branch of "Yuanheng Pawnshop."

Keeping it with him would be of no use.

He never expected Lin Miao to bring the money ahead of the agreed time to redeem the "physician’s token," and failing to deliver it today would mean damaging the reputation of "Yuanheng Pawnshop."

Moreover, he reported upwards claiming that the "physician’s token" was a lost pawn to seek credit, for which he was praised by his superiors.

Suddenly, sweat began to roll down Mr. Xie’s forehead; this was early winter, and the outside temperature was already below zero.

"Mr. Xie, as per our agreement, please immediately return the land deed, house deed, and physician’s token to me?" Lin Miao said with a face sinking with concern over any unforeseen events.

"The land deed and house deed are certainly no problem, but the physician’s token is a valuable item. After receipt, I have to immediately submit it to the Dongshan Prefecture branch for safekeeping. So, Mr. Lin, if you intend to redeem the pawn, you must notify us in advance for our shop to arrange retrieval from Dongshan City," Mr. Xie’s mind skipped a beat, coming up with an excuse to delay the issue.

"Fine, then I can just directly go to the Dongshan City branch to redeem the pawn," Lin Miao put away the "physician’s token" pawn ticket, feeling half-believing about the excuse. "Yuanheng" Pawnshop was a chain pawn shop, and the item was in Dongshan City, so redeeming it there would be the same.

"Mr. Lin, wait." Mr. Xie was startled. If Lin Miao were to go to the Dongshan City branch with his pawn ticket and agreement, his intentional deception of the branch would be exposed.

And if it’s a lost pawn, at this point, this "physician’s token" might have already been circulated somewhere...

If the matter gets exposed, the reputation of "Yuanheng" might get tarnished in Dongshan City, and those competitors would love to see this happen.

Mr. Xie was now regretting submitting that physician’s token because he was in a dilemma.

"Mr. Xie, what do you want to say?" Lin Miao asked calmly, observing Mr. Xie.

"Mr. Lin, if you give me some time to arrange the shop’s affairs, I will personally accompany you to Dongshan City to redeem your master’s physician’s token, okay?" Mr. Xie suddenly proposed sincerely, his eyes turning.

"Are you sure?" Lin Miao was slightly taken aback. This Mr. Xie had already handed over the master’s physician’s token, and it couldn’t have been too short a time. If lucky, the master’s physician’s token might still be at the Dongshan City branch of "Yuanheng." If unlucky, it might have already fallen into the hands of someone else, making it difficult to retrieve.

However, as long as he could get back the master’s physician’s token, he wouldn’t mind. He didn’t want to fall out with a large entity like "Yuanheng" Pawnshop.

However, one cannot be too cautious. Lin Miao redeemed the Sun Family’s Herbal Hall’s house deed and land deed first, and collected all the original pawn tickets and agreements.

These were evidence. If they were in Mr. Xie’s hands, he wouldn’t be able to hold the other party accountable.