A moment later, one of the physicians took the lead and agreed. “Miss, what you said is right; we should work together to save people instead of arguing. Then, we can bring fortune to the citizens of Beimin, as well as raise our families.”
The other physicians nodded in agreement. Finally, they turned towards Mei Jinxiu, with one of the old uncles speaking out first. “Miss, I have decided to be like you and only accept money for the herbs when treating the impoverished commoners. My prices will only remain the same for those from influential families. At the same time, we should also exchange opinions on our medical skills often. How’s that?”
Mei Jinxiu hadn’t expected to not only be able to reopen her medical clinic, but also have others begin to emulate her! That’s fabulous!
She repeatedly nodded. “Of course we can! Thank you for letting me continue running my medical clinic. I have just come to Beimin, and I am unfamiliar with the area. Thank you!”
The surrounding civilians were very satisfied with this result. This way, the impoverished commoners can save a lot of money!
Meanwhile, the window curtain of a spacious horse carriage that was parked at the corner of the street was lifted up by a large hand. The person inside had a smile on his face after listening to the discussions coming from the commoners. She managed to change the culture of medicine practice amongst the medical clinics in Beimin’s capital.
My princess consort is really amazing!
The guard driving the horse carriage jumped down and stopped beside the window. “Prince Hao, do you need to alight the carriage?”
Pei Qianhao waved his hand, and instructed another guard, “After Princess Consort Hao has finished settling this matter, inform her that this Prince will be waiting for her in the restaurant beside the Merchant River.” He then signalled for the guard to continue moving ahead.
The two guards acknowledged the order, one of them waiting for Su Xi-er at the end of the street, while the other leapt onto the carriage and began to drive it towards the restaurant.
Soon, the carriage vanished into the distance, leaving everyone none the wiser that the renowned Prince Hao had just come to witness his wife single-handedly turning the situation around.
~~~
It was a bustling scene along the banks of the Merchant River, with many passenger boats and merchant ships travelling to and fro. This sight was also testament to Beimin’s prosperity.
An ordinary boat was docking at the shore, and a young lady dressed in brown coarse clothes alighted the boat, her two braids swinging lightly from her head. Her eyebrows were curved, and her eyes shone. Despite being born to a farmer’s family, her complexion was still smooth.
After getting down from the boat, she passed three copper coins to the boatman. “Big Brother Liu, keep these.”
“There’s no need. You should know that you’re the flower of our village. I won’t accept this little bit of money, so you should keep it for yourself.”
“No way, that won’t do. The journey has been long, and it’s only right that I pay you for sending me all this way. Quickly take it, otherwise, I’m going to get angry!”
The woman forcefully pushed the coins to the man, and he had no choice but to embarrassedly place them into his purse. “Zhen Yu, you’re no longer young. At 23, you should have long been married. I secretly sent you out here, so you have to quickly return, do you understand?”
Zhen Yu repeatedly nodded. “Big Brother Liu, I will definitely go back. You should also understand that my purpose in coming out this time is to search for Brother Hu[1]. I will start from the capital, and continue my search from there.”
The man sighed. “You silly lass, it has already been more than 10 years since Brother Hu left. If he still remembered you, he would have long returned.”
“He will definitely remember me, Big Brother Liu. I’ll be going then.” Zhen Yu tightly clutched her cloth bundle and waved to the man before swiftly leaving.
I didn’t tell my parents about coming out to look for Brother Hu. He must have forgotten our promise from 18 years ago. That year, he was seven years old, and my parents had taken him in after his own had passed away. Yet, he silently left the village after only 2 months.
I have long fallen for my childhood playmate. He had once told me, “Zhen-er, I will take care of you for a lifetime.”
She couldn’t forget those words he had said, holding onto them even now.
During the prime of her youth, she had stubbornly waited, refusing countless marriage proposals. Now that she was 23, she could no longer keep waiting, and had decided to come out to look for him. As confused as she was, she decided to start looking from the most prosperous place in Beimin.
1. ‘Hu’ means tiger.
