As night descended, the aroma of cooking food drifted through the back garden of the Thousand Gold Hall.

A queue formed outside the building bearing the sign for the canteen.

This dining hall was originally intended solely for the disciples, but as the number of hospitalized patients grew, it became popular due to its low prices and the fact that Qi Yue personally reviewed and formulated the patient meals. Consequently, more and more family members of the patients began queuing up for food here too.

The single master chef they initially employed quickly became overwhelmed, so Hu San temporarily hired two more cooks. Following Qi Yue’s instructions, they separated the serving areas for the disciples and the patients.

These cooks were preferentially selected from the disciples’ families. Although their wages were lower than what the disciples earned, they received the same benefits. Moreover, being apprentices here created employment opportunities for their relatives, which, for a time, significantly boosted the disciples' morale.

Naturally, Hu San grumbled about the overly generous benefits, calling it a waste of money.

“This is called a sense of belonging,” Qi Yue replied with a smile.

“Master, really, once a teacher, always a father. What nonsense is this about belonging? Does a son dare defy his own father?” Hu San retorted.

“Since once a teacher is always a father, isn’t it only natural for a father to want his son to live a little better?” Qi Yue chuckled.

A Ru knocked on the door, and Qi Yue set down her book.

“Time to eat,” A Ru entered, carrying two plates.

She had grown accustomed to Qi Yue’s simple, fast-food style—a modest meal of two dishes and one soup, but with a proper balance of meat, vegetables, and broth.

“Don’t listen to Hu San’s whining. I’ve looked at the ledgers; the canteen isn’t losing money; it’s actually showing a surplus,” she remarked while eating.

Qi Yue smiled.

“And quite a few people have been asking for the recipes for those soups,” A Ru continued. “Do you know what Hu San told them?”

“How did he respond?” Qi Yue asked with a smile, though she already knew what Hu San would say; after all, that’s what made a conversation a conversation.

“He asked for money, of course. He bragged extensively about secret formulas, proprietary techniques, and ancestral secrets from the Medicine King,” A Ru laughed. “He’s truly shameless.”

“Thick-skinned, perhaps, but good-hearted,” Qi Yue said, pausing with her chopsticks to look at A Ru. “A Ru, how is everything proceeding with you two?”

“What?” A Ru didn’t understand, looking back at Qi Yue.

Qi Yue winked at her.

“When… are you getting married?” she lowered her voice and said.

A Ru’s face instantly flushed crimson.

“Whenever the Madam gets married, I’ll get married then,” she replied, meeting Qi Yue’s gaze instead of retreating shyly as she might have before, placing her bowl and chopsticks down firmly.

“That won’t do at all,” Qi Yue laughed heartily. “Then you’ll never be able to marry in this lifetime.”

A Ru looked at her steadily.

“If the Madam can live like this forever, why can’t I?” she stated.

Qi Yue smiled, twirling her chopsticks, and lowered her head.

“Madam, actually, about what Madam Yang mentioned that time…” A Ru hesitated, then spoke through gritted teeth.

Before she could finish, the sound of a disciple speaking was heard from outside the door.

“Master, Young Master Wang requests an audience.”

Startled, A Ru’s bowl and chopsticks clattered noisily.

“Come in,” Qi Yue said quickly, rising to her feet.

Wang Qian stepped in, dressed in simple everyday clothes. Seeing them eating, he immediately offered a humble apology with a slight smile.

“Forgive me for disturbing you.”

“Don’t be so formal. Sit, please,” Qi Yue said warmly.

Wang Qian sat down and inhaled lightly.

“The food at the Thousand Gold Hall is indeed excellent. No wonder people say you could open a restaurant alongside the clinic,” he commented with a smile.

“A Ru, please bring a portion for Young Master Wang to sample,” Qi Yue instructed with a smile.

“I’m truly sorry for the imposition,” Wang Qian said politely but made no move to refuse.

Sorry? Showing up specifically during mealtime…

A Ru murmured an assent, gathered her own bowls and chopsticks, glanced at Wang Qian, and then quietly left.

The food arrived quickly. A Ru didn't leave but stood nearby, tidying Qi Yue’s books.

“It truly is delicious,” Wang Qian commented after taking a bite.

Qi Yue smiled and continued eating her own meal.

“Is Young Master Wang here specifically to dine with me?” she teased.

Wang Qian chewed slowly, swallowed his mouthful, sat up straighter, and then spoke.

“Actually, I should be asking the Madam out to eat,” he replied.

Qi Yue bit her chopsticks and smiled, raising an eyebrow.

“This meal is deducted from my wages,” she joked. “Remember to pay me on your way out.”

Wang Qian laughed.

“The emergency treatment guide that the Madam distributed to the various clinics in the city—could you spare me a few copies?” he asked.

“What do you need those for?” Qi Yue asked, puzzled.

“I believe that besides Yongqing Prefecture, other places will need them too,” Wang Qian said with a smile.

Qi Yue suddenly realized that Wang Qian was some kind of official in a particular department.

“Oh my, truly a benevolent official,” she praised. “Having a good official like you as a parental figure is truly a blessing for the common people.”

Saying this, she set down her chopsticks and personally went to the cupboard to search, pulling out a thick stack.

These were the pamphlets Hu San had distributed, but which the city’s clinics and apothecaries had refused.

“If this isn’t enough, come back and ask me for more,” she said happily.

“If it’s not enough, I can print more myself. I certainly wouldn't let the Madam pay,” Wang Qian countered, standing up and accepting the stack with both hands.

Watching Wang Qian and his page slowly disappear down the street, A Ru couldn’t help but sigh softly.

“He really knows how to win the Madam’s favor,” she murmured.

Not like the Crown Prince. When he tries to win favor, he either doesn't know how, or even if he tries, it doesn't work…

So foolish… pitiful…

After seeing Wang Qian off, Qi Yue went for her ward rounds. After completing the circuit, the clamor of eating, cleaning, preparing medicine, and nursing subsided, and the Thousand Gold Hall began to enjoy the quietude of the night.

She had just sat down to resume reading when there was another knock.

“Teacher, why haven’t you left yet?” Qi Yue asked, standing up as Liu Pucheng entered.

Liu Pucheng looked agitated and placed a cantaloupe on the desk.

“We’ve already had fruit after dinner,” Qi Yue said with a smile, reaching for it. “But this will do for a late-night snack.”

“Oh, no, it’s not for you to eat,” Liu Pucheng quickly took it back. “Zhang Tong said this might be medicinal?”

He seemed incredibly excited, which left Qi Yue momentarily stunned.

“Oh, that thing,” she said, recalling it, then shook her head. “That, that’s complicated; it’s not as simple as that.”

“If it can be used, we must try!” Liu Pucheng urged.

Although Qi Niangzi often stated that the medicines left by her master were irreplaceable, Liu Pucheng never truly believed it. Anything that exists in this world, he felt, must be reproducible.

Zhang Tong had indeed carried back a cantaloupe that day and excitedly recounted the details to Liu Pucheng.

“Is it the medicine from those small vials you used at the very beginning?” Liu Pucheng asked when he heard Zhang Tong’s description.

Qi Yue nodded.

“Qi Niangzi!” Liu Pucheng exclaimed in excitement.

Qi Yue jumped, both startled and amused.

“Teacher, it really won't work. I only know the general idea; this, this truly cannot be made,” she explained with a wry smile.

“How do we know if it won’t work if we don’t try?” Liu Pucheng insisted.

Qi Yue was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

“But, we know it won't work even without trying,” she spread her hands. “Western medicine that comes out of a laboratory—this, this is completely…”

She gestured around them. “…completely impossible here.”

“Then tell me what to do, and I will try,” Liu Pucheng offered.

Qi Yue sighed.

“Teacher, the reason I said that medicine was unattainable back then was precisely to stop you from neglecting your existing skills to waste time chasing an impossible creation,” she said earnestly.

“How can that be called neglect?” Liu Pucheng said with a smile. “Some things must be done by someone. If everyone waits for others to do it, that is waste.”

The night deepened. A Ru had already gone to sleep. Qi Yue sat at her desk, finishing the day's medical records. A faint sweetness drifted to her nose. She looked up at the cantaloupe Liu Pucheng had placed on the table.

Some things must be done by someone. Could she be the one to do it?

Qi Yue reached out and picked up the melon.

Should she force things to appear ahead of schedule, rather than waiting for them to emerge according to their natural progression?

Could this truly succeed?

A crisp sound echoed in the room. Qi Yue slowly took a bite of the cantaloupe.

Having sat for several days with Zhang Tong, the pure, naturally uncontaminated melon was even sweeter.

Qi Yue nodded in satisfaction and began eating heartily.

Hu San looked astonished when he saw the list Qi Yue handed him.

“…What are these for?” he asked.

“To make a medicine similar to an injectable solution,” Qi Yue replied.

“Is it the medicine from the cantaloupe that Eldest Senior Brother mentioned?” Hu San inquired.

It seemed Zhang Tong’s big mouth had already spread the news. Qi Yue smiled.

“Yes,” she confirmed.

Hu San was about to shout with joy.

“Hey, hey, don't shout. First, let’s see if you can manage to procure these materials for me,” Qi Yue cautioned.

Hu San carefully tucked away the several sheets detailing strange apparatuses.

“Master, just wait. I will definitely get them, no matter what,” he declared.

Hearing Hu San’s resolve, Liu Pucheng couldn't suppress his smile either.

“Don’t celebrate yet. There’s a high chance this might take several lifetimes to develop,” Qi Yue warned, throwing her hands up.

“As long as we try, there’s a possibility. That's certainly better than not trying at all,” Liu Pucheng maintained.

As they were chatting and laughing, the faint sound of a bell rang from the main hall.

“Emergency at the front courtyard,” Qi Yue announced immediately, and everyone bustled into action preparing.

The patient seeking aid was a carpenter who had fallen while repairing a statue at the Great Buddha Temple; it seemed his bones were broken.

The foreman, clutching a flyer distributed by the Thousand Gold Hall, knew that certain injuries should not be moved casually, so he rushed over seeking immediate help.

Seeing the disciples of the Thousand Gold Hall, uniformly dressed, rushing over, the onlookers parted to make way.

“Alcohol…” Qi Yue said.

This single word drew immediate murmurs from the crowd.

“Why alcohol?”

“Is it to ease the pain by drinking?”

Amidst the speculation, they watched a disciple dip a large brush into a jar of wine and begin applying it directly to the injured man’s wound, causing another wave of stunned silence.

However, the Thousand Gold Hall had always operated differently from other clinics, so after a moment’s thought, everyone decided this was likely normal for them.

As the crowd continued to murmur, a disciple produced a red umbrella and snapped it open directly over the patient’s head.

“…Here… here…”

Beneath the umbrella, a woman and a disciple intently examined the injured man, pointing out positions on his body.

The umbrella was closed, and the patient was firmly bandaged and stabilized. After securing him onto a stretcher a second time, Qi Yue decided against using carts—which lacked shock absorbers—for such serious injuries. She reverted to the safer, human-carried method, even though it was slower.

The procession moved quickly toward the temple gates, escorted by the attendants. Although it wasn't the time for incense offerings, there were still quite a few people visiting.

“Yue Niang.”

A voice sounded near her side.

Qi Yue stopped and turned to look.

A luxurious carriage had pulled up, surrounded by a retinue of maids and wet nurses attending a beautiful woman who had just alighted.

“Yue Niang,” the beautiful woman called out again, offering a gentle smile.

Concubine Zhou?!

Qi Yue stared, her eyes widening in surprise.

Recommendation: A new novel, "Dong Chuang," by Yu Fang, the author of "A Wan," is now over 400,000 characters—it’s worth killing time with! There's a direct link on the book page, click to see it~

One more chapter coming later. RS