The Meng family had summoned physicians from across the entire Anyang Prefecture for a consultation. Now, word spread that Old Madame Meng's illness had been cured. All the physicians who had taken their fees and left believed it was Liu Xuanqing and Lao Gu who had accomplished the cure.
Liu Xuanqing stood beneath the signboard of Huiming Hall and shook his head. "Old Madame Meng's illness was not cured by me or Lao Gu. It was Physician Song from the Song Family Clinic, that talented female doctor."
The visitor stared at Liu Xuanqing with dumbfounded eyes, his body rooted to the spot like a wooden stake.
"Physician Liu, you must be joking, surely?"
A female doctor had cured an illness that had stumped all the physicians in Anyang Prefecture, and she was only in her teens!
Liu Xuanqing patted his colleague's shoulder solemnly. "The waves of the Yangtze River push the waves ahead; the younger generation is formidable. We old relics can no longer afford to look down on others."
Anyang Academy.
Song Gaoli ran to the inner dormitory to find Song Qiming and pulled him into a pavilion.
"I heard Sister A'zhao cured Old Madame Meng's illness. Is it true?"
He had been startled to hear this news in his dormitory room and thought it was false.
If all the physicians in Anyang Prefecture couldn't cure it, and only Song Qiming's sister could save her, how exceptionally skilled must her medical art be?
Most importantly, saving Old Madame Meng meant essentially connecting with the Prefect himself.
The corners of Song Qiming's mouth stretched almost to his ears as he nodded happily and emphatically. "That's right, it was my elder sister."
Song Gaoli plopped down on a stone stool, pursed his lips tightly, his mouth twitching, his eyes and heart filled with both admiration and envy.
"Sister Jinzhao is just too amazing. If she were a man, she'd be a thousand, no, ten thousand times more capable than you."
Song Qiming smiled even wider, showing his teeth.
"If my elder sister were a man, in martial prowess she could sweep across battlefields, in literary pursuits she could top the imperial examinations, in medicine she would surely be a royal physician in the palace, and even in commerce, she would undoubtedly amass great wealth."
Song Gaoli suppressed a laugh; the corner of his mouth twitched and his throat felt slightly choked.
This was a full-blown sister-con. Praise her once, and he'd praise her to the heavens.
Forget the rest, but topping the imperial examinations? That statement was truly a bit grandiose.
He himself wouldn't even dare think such a thing.
Under the eaves not far away, Ding Weiyue held a book, his gaze deep and fixed on Song Qiming. Yan Baoyi stood beside him, his fists clenched so tight they seemed about to shatter.
"Forget about what I asked you to do yesterday. The Song family has connected with Prefect Meng. If anything happens to Song Qiming, it's hard to guarantee his sister wouldn't plead her case before the Prefect."
Yan Baoyi gnashed his teeth, asking unwillingly, "So we just let him off?"
Ding Weiyue turned away with a livid face and walked forward. "Who let him have a capable sister? Even if Song Qiming truly committed plagiarism or fraud, Prefect Meng, for his sister's sake, would likely intervene to protect him."
"Forcing him out of the academy would only incur Prefect Meng's displeasure with us. If it were discovered, it would be you and I who suffer the consequences."
Yan Baoyi's features contorted, the hatred in his eyes nearly overflowing.
Song Qiming had outshone him at the Hairpin Flower Banquet with that imperial-bestowed fabric, and now, because his sister cured the Prefect's mother, he gained another powerful backer.
A woman, instead of staying home washing clothes and cooking, parades herself in public all day, scheming and maneuvering. She really is a nuisance.
Song Jinzhao, currently busy without a moment to spare, was unaware that someone had already begun to resent her.
After news spread of her curing Old Madame Meng, the clinic's business instantly boomed.
The benches at the entrance were filled with commoners waiting to see the doctor, a quick glance estimating over a dozen people.
There were even healthy onlookers standing at the door, stealing glances at Song Jinzhao, wanting to see what the talented female doctor, whose skill surpassed all physicians in Anyang Prefecture, actually looked like.
After a busy day, Chunxing returned home in the evening and was cooking in the kitchen. Under the eaves, Song Anhao was lying on Lan Xi's stomach, playing with his hair with his little hands.
Watching the chubby little hand trail from the boy's temple to the corner of his eye, then grab the clothes on his chest.
Lan Xi frowned, pulling his neck back to avoid it, but a white scratch appeared on his face, not serious, only surface-level.
Song Shixue's eyelashes fluttered rapidly twice. She walked over, picked up Song Anhao, and held his hand. His nails, uncut for a while, were a bit long.
Staring at the scratch on the boy's face, she had a suspicion but didn't voice it directly.
"Elder sister said she will start treating your eyes in a couple of days."
Lan Xi's breath hitched, his mind going completely blank in an instant.
He lifted his gaze to look at Song Shixue. "My eyes... can be cured?"
Song Shixue nodded. "Elder sister says it's possible. Such beautiful eyes, it would be a pity if they couldn't see."
"Touch, touch, touch." When Song Anhao heard a sensitive word, he leaned forward, his hand reaching towards Lan Xi's eyes.
Song Shixue reached out and pulled him back. "Touch what, touch? Such long nails, let your second sister trim them for you."
Watching Song Shixue's retreating figure as she carried the child away, Lan Xi tried to lift his bandaged, sling-bound arm to touch his blind eye.
Whether in the past or now, everyone had always disliked and despised his eyes, finding them insulting—an anomaly. Only the Song family was different.
Song Jinzhao and Song Qiming treated him as an ordinary person, thinking blue eyes were no big deal.
Both Song Shixue and Song Anhao actually liked his eyes. One would always glance at them a few extra times with an appreciative look whenever she saw them; the other expressed his fondness unabashedly through touch.
So what if his face got scratched? It was just a bit of broken skin. Compared to those who wanted to kill him, this was a trivial matter, too small to be smaller.
Every time those pure, innocent big eyes came close and stared at him, Lan Xi always felt a sense of peace.
As if everything from the past no longer had anything to do with him. He was no longer He Mingjue, but Lan Xi, simply Lan Xi.
Song Qiming stopped suddenly after classes were dismissed, utterly bewildered as he stared at Yang Yanfeng, who had expressed a desire to take him as a disciple.
Since entering the inner dormitory, Tutor Yang's attitude towards him had been quite good. He never expected him to want to take him as a disciple.
Seeing Song Qiming silent, Yang Yanfeng thought he was too surprised to react.
So he continued, "I admire your talent greatly, and your performance since entering the inner dormitory has been outstanding."
Originally, I hadn't planned to take you as a disciple. But later I discovered that Tutor Ding was trying to make things difficult for you because of Yan Baoyi. After some thought, the only way is for me to accept you as my disciple. Then, out of respect for me, he won't continue to pick on you, and the other students won't avoid you anymore either.
Song Qiming bowed with his hands clasped. "Thank you for your recognition, Tutor. However, this student already has a master and cannot become a disciple of another."
Now it was Yang Yanfeng's turn to be stunned.
He raised his voice in disbelief, "You've already become an apprentice? Which tutor at the academy is it?"
His own speed was already quite fast. Who could have beaten him to it?
Song Qiming smiled and introduced his teacher. "My teacher is not currently teaching at the academy. You likely know him, Tutor. It is Master Ye, who resides at the Ye Residence."
Yang Yanfeng blinked, his mind buzzing, feeling as if it had been kneaded over three times.
"You mean Ye Liangyu, Master Ye? The former Vice Censor-in-Chief, Lord Ye? The one living at the Ye Residence near the academy?"
Yang Yanfeng's voice grew louder with each question, the man utterly unable to calm down.
Song Qiming nodded calmly. "That's correct. Even before the academy entrance examination, I was already receiving instruction from Master Ye at the Ye residence. After entering the academy, I have been going there daily. It has been over half a month since I formally became his disciple."
