Song Shixue hurriedly handed the medicine packet to the waiting patient, her expression dazed, her thoughts a bit jumbled.
"He said he wants to apprentice himself to me."
Song Jinzhao turned her head to stare at Liu Xuanqing, who was examining a patient with a serious face.
How interesting. A man of his age, yet so persistent. To study medicine, he really has no bottom line at all.
On the surface, Liu Xuanqing was concentrating intently on taking the patient's pulse, but in reality, his mind had already wandered far away.
He didn't dare look up at Song Jinzhao, afraid of being rejected and driven out. So he pretended he hadn't seen or heard anything.
He focused on demonstrating how hardworking he was, how correct his attitude was, doing his utmost to please Song Jinzhao.
Given how earnest he was being, surely she would take him on.
Song Jinzhao watched Liu Xuanqing's consultation process for the entire afternoon. She had to admit, having practiced traditional medicine for so many years, the man did have some real skill. No wonder Huiming Hall was the best medical clinic in Anyang Prefecture.
As the patients dwindled, Liu Xuanqing's mood grew increasingly anxious.
The surroundings quieted down, the thumping of his own heartbeat loud in his ears, as if it might leap out of his chest at any moment.
Song Jinzhao's eyes held an intimidating, authoritative air, her voice calm. "If Physician Liu practices here, what about Huiming Hall?"
Liu Xuanqing shuddered, instantly standing up, his eyes filled with seriousness and anticipation.
"Doctor Zhao and my two sons are at Huiming Hall. It won't matter much if I'm not there."
"If Miss Song minds, I can close Huiming Hall and have them all come over."
Song Shixue's pupils dilated. All of them coming to become apprentices?
Their place was small; they couldn't possibly fit that many people.
Qingshuang and Fushun, having finished cleaning up next door and noticing Song Jinzhao and the others hadn't come out for a long time, had just reached the doorway when they heard Liu Xuanqing talk about closing Huiming Hall.
Song Jinzhao sat on the chair with her legs crossed, her hands resting casually on the armrests.
"Shixue, are you willing to take Physician Liu as your disciple?"
Meeting Liu Xuanqing's fervent gaze, Song Shixue looked up, thinking.
Since their reputation had spread, many patients had come to the clinic these past two days. She and her sister had been so busy they couldn't stop. Having a free laborer didn't seem like a bad idea.
And he wouldn't need training; he could be put to work right away. When they went home for the New Year, someone would still be there to mind the clinic.
After pondering for a moment, Song Shixue straightened her posture, putting on an air of maturity as she walked up to Liu Xuanqing.
"I can take you as my disciple and let you practice at our family's clinic, but there will be no wages. As an apprentice, you'll have to work for me for several years for free."
Song Jinzhao pressed her lips together tightly, a smile touching her eyes as she lowered her gaze.
Liu Xuanqing agreed immediately without a second thought, showing no hesitation at all.
He nodded joyfully at Song Shixue. "Since ancient times, when a physician takes on a disciple, it requires decades of close, personal instruction. Not to mention a few years of free labor, even ten or twenty years would be perfectly reasonable."
Song Shixue was somewhat flustered by his eager attitude.
Ten or twenty years? By then he'd be seventy or eighty years old!
She looked at Song Jinzhao, wanting to know what to do next.
A few years of free labor was a good deal, but really ten or twenty?
Song Jinzhao uncrossed her legs, folding her arms across her chest. "Since Physician Liu is sincere in wishing to apprentice himself, then you may stay."
"You are my younger sister's first disciple. Remember to call me Grandmaster from now on."
Liu Xuanqing grinned, the wrinkles on his face all gathering together.
Excited, he immediately knelt and kowtowed to Song Shixue and Song Jinzhao right there on the spot. "Your disciple, Liu Xuanqing, pays his respects to Master and Grandmaster."
Qingshuang and Fushun, standing at the door, exchanged a look. The world really was changing.
A man of his age, with one foot already in the grave—was it necessary to strive so hard?
Liu Xuanqing returned to Huiming Hall beaming, his entire demeanor changed, looking at least five years younger at a glance.
Seeing him like this, Doctor Zhao felt half his heart die.
"Did Song Jinzhao agree to take you as her disciple?"
Liu Xuanqing shook his head. "She didn't agree, but her disciple did. I am now Song Jinzhao's grand-disciple."
Standing in front of the medicine cabinet, Liu Renyi and Liu Renzong were as motionless as mummies, only their rising and falling chests indicating they were still breathing.
Doctor Zhao slapped his own forehead, feeling as if the sky had darkened and the earth was spinning.
"You have money and fame now. Why must you force this issue and go through all this trouble?"
"You're sixty years old. Song Jinzhao's younger sister hasn't even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet. A twelve-year-old girl as your master, a sixteen-year-old as your grandmaster—how will people laugh at you when word gets out?"
Liu Xuanqing said solemnly, "That's because you haven't seen with your own eyes how Song Jinzhao performs surgery. As a physician, when there's an illness others can cure but you cannot, how can I possibly be content with that?"
"Mu Song, past ninety every year, still goes down the mountain to save people. I'm only sixty. It's not too late at all."
Suppressing his anger, Doctor Zhao retorted, "What will happen to Huiming Hall if you leave?"
Liu Xuanqing looked into his eyes, his gaze full of trust. "With you and Renyi and Renzong here, I am at ease. Starting tomorrow, your share of the consultation fees will increase by thirty percent. I'll have to trouble you to take more care of Huiming Hall from now on."
Facing his old friend's tone, which sounded as if he were entrusting him with an orphan, Doctor Zhao closed his eyes, feeling only helplessness.
"It's not about the money. I just think at your age, it's really unnecessary. You finally taught Renyi and Renzong all you know; you should be enjoying your life now."
Liu Xuanqing frowned, but his eyes were bright.
"The path of medicine is endless in learning. Now that such a splendid opportunity has appeared, if I don't move forward, I will regret it for the rest of my life and die with my eyes open."
Seeing his resolute, almost martyr-like determination, Doctor Zhao could no longer voice any opposition.
Calm and restrained for a lifetime, to have this one moment of madness in old age—let him be.
Liu Renyi raised his hand and spoke. "Father, after you learn Physician Song's skills, can you teach me?"
Liu Xuanqing held his breath. "After your father's position is secure, I will seek the permission of the master's lineage to teach you."
Doctor Zhao rolled his eyes skyward. "By then, your two sons will have to call Song Jinzhao, who is over twenty years their junior, their Great-Grandmaster..."
Liu Renyi and Liu Renzong shut their mouths tightly, their eyes darting around.
It was a little embarrassing. But with their father taking the lead, they, as sons, probably wouldn't feel too awkward.
After all, their master was their own father. As for who their grandmaster and great-grandmaster were, if no one brought it up, who would ask? At most, someone might ask who their master was.
The next morning, Liu Xuanqing arrived with celery, lotus seeds, red beans, dates, longans, and dried meat to perform the formal three kneelings and nine prostrations of the apprenticeship ceremony.
The common people who came to seek treatment were stunned.
It was like a drop of water splashing into hot oil, instantly causing a sizzling commotion everywhere.
Physician Liu of Huiming Hall was now the disciple of the younger female physician at the Song Family Clinic. Not the disciple of the female physician who cured Old Madam Meng, but the disciple of that female physician's own disciple.
A sixty-year-old physician apprenticing himself to a twelve-year-old girl.
Had Physician Liu gone mad?
When Gu Zhongheng heard the news, a thunderclap seemed to explode in his mind, and the medicinal pillow in his hand fell to the ground.
Song Jinzhao wouldn't take him, so he apprenticed himself to Song Shixue instead. Why was this man so stubborn? So her medical skills were a bit better—was it really necessary?
There are so many patients in the world; how could you possibly save them all!
