Denghuaxiao Chapter 129

Chapter 129 Miao's Recipe

 On the Lantern Festival on the 15th day, the lanterns are turned off on the 18th day.

After putting away the lantern, Lu Zhuo hung the toad lantern from the lantern festival under the eaves of the yard. At night, the huge emerald green toad glowed faintly in the dark, looking scary.

Because Miao Liangfang wanted to give Lu Yuchun medical advice, he stayed late at the hospital every night. When he went to the hut at night, he was startled and fell hard. Originally, he was only lame in one leg, but now both legs are lame. Not so good anymore.

He told Du Changqing many times in secret and overtly that the toad lamp hung by Lu Shu was ugly. He sincerely suggested that it would be better to change the lamp, but Du Changqing refused.

“What should I change it for? You didn't hear what others said, Toad, Toad Palace wins the championship! This lamp must be hung at least until the spring exam is released.”

"I'm warning you," Du Changqing threatened him, "if you secretly take down the lamp and cause Dr. Lu to fail the spring examination, you will be the sinner of the medical clinic and the shame of West Street!"

 Miao Liangfang: “…”

 He flicked his sleeves and said, "It's unreasonable!"

 It's not entirely unreasonable to say that everyone at Renxin Medical Center is really nervous about Lu Yan's spring exam.

Yinzheng goes to Dai Sanlang every day to pick out fresh pork to make soup for Lu Xun to replenish his body. Du Changqing took Acheng to Wan'en Temple to ask for a consecration talisman from Manjusri Bodhisattva. Every day when Lu Zhuo was sitting in the hospital and there were patients, Miao Liangfang would sit aside and watch Lu Zhuo treat the diseases and prescribe them, and at the same time provide guidance and guidance—sometimes, the Spring Examination of the Imperial Medical Bureau also requires on-the-spot diagnosis of symptoms.

Even when Wu Xiucai learned about this, he asked Yuan Hu to send a letter to Lu Huan, but he didn't say anything else. He just told Lu Huan not to be nervous and just go along with it.

Lu Zhen himself was not nervous, it was the others in the medical clinic who were nervous.

 This tension reached its peak the night before the spring test.

All the medical kits and golden needles needed were ready. Du Changqing was afraid of disturbing Lu Zhuo's spring exam the next day, so he closed the door of the medical clinic early and took Acheng home. Miao Liangfang still stayed in the courtyard of the hospital, helping Lu Zhuo with some final matters that he needed to pay attention to.

"There are nine subjects in the spring exam, and it takes three days to take the exam, which is not much worse than that in Qiu Wei. If you are not physically strong enough, it will be too much for you to stay for a day or two. In the past, there were also ordinary medical workers recommended by the medical bank. During the spring exam, because I was too old, there were no people who took the exam. When I went to the spring exam, after three days, my face became thinner, which was very tiring.

"Of these nine subjects, only acupuncture requires face-to-face diagnosis of symptoms. To answer the questions on the examination paper, it is reasonable to read more medical classics. But in the Imperial Medical Bureau, there is "Wang Jinzhen" who is best at acupuncture to give lectures to students every spring. In the examination, students from the Imperial Medical Bureau had the best scores in the acupuncture department. The acupuncture skills of ordinary medical workers were always inferior to those of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

“Xiao Lu, your acupuncture skills are unique. They are different from those at the Shengjing Imperial Medical Bureau. Although I have taught you some, it depends on the specific diagnosis of the disease. It is hard to say what the final result will be.”

"besides…"

He kept chattering, and the green light of the toad lamp shone on his face, making his face look a bit bleak, and every groove in the corner of his eyes was filled with anxiety.

"Mr. Miao," Lu Yan interrupted, "are you nervous?"

Yin Zheng went to the kitchen to heat water. When the chattering stopped, the yard became eerily quiet at night.

Miao Liangfang turned around, and after a while, he forced out a forced smile: "It's a joke, I'm not on stage, why should I be nervous?"

 “What you just said has been said once before.”

Miao Liangfang hesitated and stopped talking.

"Mr. Miao, you might as well tell me what you are worried about." Lu Zhu put the flannel wrapped with gold needles into the medical box and said, "I can make plans in advance."

 From early this morning, Miao Liangfang seemed to be extremely abnormal.

 In addition to instructing Lu Shu on medical classics and pharmacology, he usually took his time most of the time. In his own words, he is "peaceful and indifferent after reading a thousand sails". As long as he is given a drink, he will be happy.

 But this morning, Miao Liangfang was jumping up and down, scratching his head and ears. Even Yin Zheng suspected that he was possessed by Du Changqing.

Facing Lu Zhen's puzzled gaze, Miao Liangfang finally sighed: "I heard that this year's imperial physician's bureau's spring examination nominee has been replaced by Cui Min."

 “Cui Min?”

"Cui Min is the current envoy of Hanlin Medical Academy." Miao Liangfang tightened his hands on his knees, "He dislikes ordinary medical workers the most. In the year when he ranked the list, no ordinary medical worker has ever been on the red list of the spring examination. .”

Lu Zhu frowned and looked at the person in front of him, his heart suddenly moved.

She asked: "Is he the one who harmed you?"

Miao Liangfang was stunned.

Immediately afterwards, the man's expression changed rapidly, as if he had glimpsed something he hated and someone he hated so much that he could not conceal his anger. It took a long, long time before he gradually calmed down.

 When he raised his eyes again, there was only fatigue left in them, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

His voice was also sad, with a hint of helpless bitterness.

“Yes, he is the person who brought me to where I am now.”

 When Miao Liangfang was young, he was very proud.

 He was born in a little-known village in the Yunling area, and his family has practiced medicine barefoot for generations. He is the youngest son in the family. None of his brothers and sisters could inherit his father's medical skills. However, he was gifted with this skill after he was born, and he is better than others. He is able to practice medicine on his own at a young age, and many people from outside the country come here to seek medical treatment.

 Everyone else said that there was a "little miracle doctor" in Miaojia Village.

“When I was twenty years old, I heard that there was a spring examination for the Imperial Medical Bureau in Beijing. My family raised all the money for me and sent me to Beijing to take the examination.”

Young Miao Liangfang came to the capital with a longing for the future and a yearning for Hanlin Medical Hospital.

Since there was still about half a year before the spring exam, he found a job in a drug store.

There are many medicine shops in the medical clinic. The medicine shop where he works is not small. Because of the shortage of manpower, he was recruited as a medicine clerk.

The clerk at Shengjing Pharmacy's monthly salary is very low, almost nothing, but it only covers food and accommodation. The food was not good, but as for the place to live, we cleared out an open space in the firewood shed where the medicine was piled in the backyard of the medicine shop, and spread out a mat to sleep on.

“At that time, there was another person living in the woodshed.”

 “That person is Cui Min.” Miao Liangfang said.

Cui Min is also a handyman in a drug store.

He is about the same age as Miao Liangfang. He is very thin and doesn't talk much. He is always yelled at and beaten by the drug store owner. Miao Liangfang sometimes couldn't stand it and wanted to help him, but Cui Min held him back - Cui Min's parents died young and he had no relatives around him. Without this job, he might have to live on the street.

"At that time, every day after the medicine shop closed, I would hide in the woodshed at night and read medical scriptures to prepare for the spring exam, just like you do now." Miao Liangfang talked about the past, his eyes vaguely nostalgic, "Cui Min never bothered me, just sat quietly aside and filled my lamp with oil."

 Even now, Miao Liangfang still thinks of that scene occasionally.

Two handymen huddled on the ground covered with tattered mats, holding books and reading at night. There was no arrogant shopkeeper, no hustle and bustle during the day, and the thin blanket with leaky cotton could not cover the cold winter night, nor could it cover the young people. Yearning for the future.

Cui Min is literate.

 He has been working in the drug store for more than ten years. Before Miao Liangfang came, he did everything from picking up medicine to cleaning and spreading. The pot-bellied shopkeeper wanted to use one person as ten people, but he was a little tolerant and allowed Cui Min to read the medical books in the pharmacy.

Cui Min also learned a lot from seeing doctors every day to diagnose symptoms and prescribe medicine. He was also very smart and clever. Miao Liangfang talked with him several times and found that this man's medical knowledge was not as good as those doctors.

 This surprised Miao Liangfang.

Perhaps because they both come from ordinary families and both work in a drug store, Miao Liangfang was not only kind to Cui Min, but also showed some sympathy and consideration. In addition to looking down on Cui Min's timid, tolerant and cowardly temperament.

"Then one day, some customers in the drug store made trouble, saying that we had grabbed the wrong medicine. The people who came were bullies from near and far. The shopkeeper was afraid of causing trouble and wanted to calm things down, so he said that it was me who did it. I quarreled with them. Cui Min said I spoke, and we were kicked out together."

"I thought it was okay at the time. Anyway, I didn't plan to work as a handyman for the rest of my life. At worst, I would go back to Miaojia Village. But Cui Min was driven away because he spoke for me, and I always feel bad about it."

“At that time, there was still three months before the Spring Trial. I had a sudden idea and suggested that Cui Min should also try.”

Lu Zhen asked: "Did he agree?"

Miao Liangfang smiled bitterly: "At first, he refused."

 When Miao Liangfang told Cui Min his innermost plan, he was shocked.

"No...I haven't studied...I can't pass the spring exam." Cui Min whispered: "Besides, there is no quota for medical recommendation, so I can't participate."

Miao Liangfang slapped his chest: "What's so difficult about this? It's just money, I'll pay it for you!"

At that time, the spring examination for ordinary medical workers was not as difficult as it was in recent years. As long as you gave the medical practitioners a little money, they could be added to the roster. Miao Liangfang himself stuffed his money as soon as he arrived in the capital, and Cui Min was going to take part in the spring examination, so it was impossible without some planning. Miao Liangfang took out all the remaining money he had and the monthly silver he had saved working in the drug store, and pieced together everything.

Cui Min still resisted: "This is a waste of money... I am just a handyman, there is no way I can pass the exam."

"Amin," Miao Liangfang persuaded him earnestly, "believe me, you are much better than those doctors. If you really want to feel sorry for me, just take the exam well and get admitted to Hanlin Medical College. I will be treated as a stipend for the first month." Go drink!"

The money has been sent out and his name has been added to the spring test roster. Cui Min had no choice but to accept the offer.

 “He works hard.”

Miao Liangfang looked at the night sky in the distance and sighed.

Cui Min's temperament is completely different from Miao Liangfang. Miao Liangfang is arrogant, impulsive, and always thinks of the best in everything. Cui Min is melancholic, cautious, and always strives for perfection in everything. Fearing that his money would be wasted, or perhaps cherishing this hard-won, once-in-lifetime opportunity, Cui Min only slept for two hours a night and spent the rest of the time reading medical scriptures. .

They earn some odd wages by helping the ships move cargo at the dock during the day, and at night they live in abandoned houses and study on the floor. Days like this continued until the Spring Examination of the Imperial Medical Bureau that year.

Lu Huan said: "He passed the spring examination." Miao Liangfang smiled: "Yes, in the spring examination that year, we were the only two people who entered the medical hospital."

Miao Liangfang still remembers the excitement at the moment when the results were released. He and Cui Min stood under the red list, looking for their names one by one. Miao Liangfang's name was ranked third, and he could see it at a glance, with Cui Min behind him. When he saw Cui Min's name appearing on the red list, Miao Liangfang was even happier than if he had passed the exam.

My friend stood blankly under the red list, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

Miao Liangfang punched him on the shoulder, excitement beyond words: "I told you you can do it!"

Cui Min rubbed his eyes and stared at the red list for a long time. Finally, he pinched himself hard. He pinched himself so hard that his eyes filled with tears. Then he suddenly came to his senses and murmured: "I...passed."

 He passed the spring examination that year.

"We... entered the Imperial Medical College together." Miao Liangfang said.

One is a barefoot doctor from a remote mountain village, and the other is an unknown clerk who has been working in a drug store for more than ten years, but both of them were admitted to the Imperial Medical College. For both of them, it can be said that they have overturned their fates and become a legend for a while, especially Miao Liangfang was unparalleled in the Medical Officer's Hospital at that time.

"Xiao Lu," Miao Liangfang smiled bitterly, "You only see the glorious appearance of the Hanlin Medical College, but you don't know that there is a difference between ordinary people entering the palace and students from the Imperial Medical Bureau entering the palace. People like us are in the palace Here, that is the fate of being bullied."

"Good things don't happen to you, and all the dirty work is left to you. When there is a problem, everyone will run away and push you out to take care of the problem. Do you know how many medical officers have died in the Medical Officer's Hospital over the years? ? Nine out of ten of these **** medical officers are ordinary medical workers. Is that because their medical skills are not good? It's because their lives are cheap! "

“Here, if you are not careful, there are many people who help you save money after being sold!”

These words sounded like a threat, but also like a sad statement. Lu Zhuo said nothing and quietly waited for Miao Liangfang to continue.

“When I first entered the hospital, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to help the Queen Mother cure a cough she had suffered for many years. She was often summoned by the Queen Mother, and I gained some limelight for a while.”

"At that time, he relied on his superb medical skills and was highly regarded by the nobles. He was a little arrogant and often offended people. Every time, it was only thanks to Cui Min's advice that he could escape safely."

"But I didn't see it at that time, and I thought it was my own ability. Every time Cui Min tried to persuade me, I turned a deaf ear, and he stopped talking later."

Miao Liangfang no longer remembers when he and Cui Min drifted apart.

He was always very busy at that time. One day he was preparing medicine for the empress, and the next day he was treating the general's old illness. He was the busiest at Hanlin Medical Hospital. Others said that he would definitely become the envoy of Hanlin Medical Academy in the future, and Miao Liangfang thought so himself. People who complimented him and were jealous of him were always around him, and he couldn't see Cui Min's shadow.

Until one day, when he returned to the Imperial Hospital after seeing the emperor, he happened to bump into Cui Min. Cui Min was being bullied by several medical officers. He rebuked those medical officers loudly. Cui Min looked at him and respectfully called him "Vice President". Only then did he realize that they had become such strangers without knowing it.

Friends who once talked about everything, partners who lit lamps and studied together in the woodshed, it seems as if they happened a lifetime ago.

Miao Liangfang's voice became very soft, and Lu Yan asked, “Did you break up?”

Miao Liangfang came back to his senses: "No."

　　It's not so much a breakup as it is a close person gradually drifting apart.

"Later, the emperor's beloved Concubine Yan took the medicinal diet I sent and suddenly fell into a coma. The medical officer found a poison that damaged the heart and pulse in the medicinal diet, and I was thrown into a dungeon."

 “Concubine Yan?” Lu Zhu frowned slightly.

She remembered that Concubine Yan was Meng Xiyan's cousin in the Wenjun Palace. It was Concubine Yan who gave "Little Children's Chou" to Meng Xiyan, so that Meng Xiyan had the opportunity to attack the child in Pei Yunshu's belly.

 Later, the "Xiaoerchou" incident was exposed, and Concubine Yan was dealt with. Lu Zhen did not expect to hear Concubine Yan's name from Miao Liangfang.

Miao Liangfang didn't notice the strange look on Lu Zhuo's face, and continued: "I know that Concubine Yan framed me for this matter. Concubine Yan just entered the palace ten years ago, and there were overt and covert fights in the harem. She wanted to win me over to help her harm others. I don't want to Ken, I think he hated me for it."

 “But I didn't expect that she bribed Cui Min.”

“Cui Min poisoned the bowl of medicinal food.”

Miao Liangfang still remembers that day. It was a summer afternoon, the air was hot and humid, and lightning flickered in the clouds. He was sipping a medicinal meal when he felt a severe pain in his abdomen for some reason, as if he had eaten something bad. He wanted to wait for the medicinal meal to be ready before going, but he didn't know that the pain in his stomach was getting more and more uncomfortable, and he couldn't bear it any longer.

 At this moment, Cui Min walked in.

As if he had seen a savior, Miao Liangfang said without thinking: "Amin, help me look at the medicinal food. I'll come as soon as I can!"

Cui Min naturally took the bamboo fan from his hand and sat down in his seat: "Go ahead."

 He never thought that Cui Min would harm him. Even though they are no longer as close as they were when they lived in the same woodshed, in Miao Liangfang's heart, Cui Min has always been a friend.

 A friend who will not betray.

 So when something happened later, when the envoy of the hospital asked Cui Min whether he had ever been in the medicinal kitchen, Cui Min shook his head and said that he had never been in, so Miao Liangfang was so surprised.

 He was thrown into a dungeon and was expected to lose his life. However, because he was favored by the Queen Mother at the beginning, the Queen Mother spoke and exempted him from the death penalty. He was only punished with fifty canes and was expelled from the Medical Officer's Hospital.

The executioner beat him very hard, and he was bullied in prison and broke one of his legs. It was in prison that he learned that Cui Min had replaced him and became the new deputy director of the Medical Academy.

 The truth is revealed.

 “Do you hate him?” Lu Yan asked.

Miao Liangfang was startled for a moment, nodded, shook his head again, and finally smiled with a complex expression, "I trusted others, and as a medical officer, I pushed the medicinal diet to others. I am to blame for this end, but..." He spoke in a solemn tone. He came down and said, "Cui Min, he took away my "Miao Family Prescription"."

 ""Miao's Recipe"?"

"It is a prescription handed down from my ancestors of the Miao family. It records the prescriptions made by the Miao family over the years. My father passed it on to me. When I entered Hanlin Medical College, I planned to add these prescriptions to these. In 2001, I compiled the prescriptions developed by my own practice into a book for the benefit of medical workers all over the world.

"The second year after I was expelled from the Medical Official Hospital, I heard that Cui Min, the Vice President of the Medical Official Hospital, compiled a book "Cui's Pharmacology", which was praised by the medical workers in Shengjing Medical College. It was because of this that Cui Min was promoted from the Vice President to the Medical Official Hospital. He immediately became the envoy of the main courtyard."

Lu Zhen said thoughtfully: "What do you mean..."

“I bought that copy of "Cui's Pharmacology" and it is exactly the same as my "Miao's Prescriptions".

 Speaking of this, Miao Liangfang's hands on his knees clenched tightly.

The days when he and Cui Min lived in the woodshed, the days when he and Cui Min first entered the Medical Officer's Hospital, the days when the ordinary medical officer who just entered the palace was repeatedly made things difficult for him, he told Cui Min more than once what he expected. Cui Min accompanied him to sort out the prescriptions, and sometimes they would even argue over the drugs used in a prescription.

Cui Min never showed the slightest bit of coveting this prescription. In Miao Liangfang's heart, this cowardly and submissive person was always the boy who refilled lamp oil for him in the woodshed at night. He didn't expect Cui Min to do something. Will be so cruel.

"I tried to find him, but he was already the high-ranking envoy of the Medical Officer's Hospital, and I couldn't get close to him at all. No one believed a sinner's words. They said I was full of nonsense. None of the people who flattered me in the past were gone, for fear of being raped. I'm in trouble."

"Ten years have passed, and you are the first one," Miao Liangfang looked at Lu Huan. "You are the first person who said that he would help me take revenge."

That day at Renxin Medical Center, he felt guilty and angry because his identity was exposed. He was like a gopher who had been hiding in the darkness for a long time when the piled tiles and stones in his cave were lifted. He was always humble and unconsciously adapting to the sunshine on the ground. However, Lu Zhuo sat in front of him and said calmly to him: "I can help you get revenge."

 Retaliation.

Miao Liangfang closed his eyes.

Miao Liangfang knows better than anyone how difficult it is for civilians with no status like them to retaliate against noble officials. If back then he had the arrogance to reject the noble young prince Zhaoning, now ten years of wandering and suffering have already made him realize the reality.

 It is simply impossible to succeed.

 But he was still shamefully moved by Lu Zhuo's proposal.

Perhaps it's because Lu Zhuo's tone is too calm, which makes people want to trust him inexplicably, or maybe ten years have softened his temper, but not his unwillingness.

"Xiao Lu, I told you that it is not as easy for an ordinary person to enter the Hanlin Medical Academy as you think. The palace is a place where people can eat people without spitting out their bones. You are still young. Even if you want to be angry with the Taifu Temple Minister, It's not worth losing your life." Miao Liangfang said.

In fact, he had been hoping that Lu Zhuo could pass the spring examination. When it came to the end, he was inexplicably relieved when he learned that this year's examiner was Cui Min and that Lu Zhuo would most likely fail.

It was a fire pit, and no matter how colorful it was, it could not change the fact that it was cannibalism.

He didn't want Lu Zhen to be buried there in vain like himself.

What's more, revenge itself is an out-of-reach thing.

Lu Yan said: "I said, if you help me pass the spring examination and enter the Imperial Medical College, I can help you get revenge and do what you say." She looked at Miao Liangfang: "Mr. Miao, just help me I."

 Under the night, the woman's eyes were clear and clear, without any hesitation in her gaze.

Miao Liangfang was a little confused.

He only knew that someone from the palace of Taifu Temple humiliated Lu Huo, and Lu Huo was so angry that he boasted about it. But these days when he got along with Lu Huo, he felt that Lu Huo did not seem to be a man who acted on his own initiative.

How could such a person insist on putting himself in danger just for the sake of a verbal dispute? She can clearly weigh the pros and cons calmly better than anyone else.

 After hesitating for a moment, Miao Liang finally suppressed the doubts in his heart and patiently comforted him: "Cui Min will not let ordinary people pass..."

"Try it."

Lu Zhen interrupted him, "You will never know the result until you try it."

˷Cui Min=urge to death

Chapter end