CHAPTER 733: CHAPTER 733 NEITHER IN A RUSH NOR TAKING IT EASY

"It’s not just these trinkets." Changzai Zhou said with a smile, shaking her head. Beginning to tell her about everything there, treasures and jewelry, beaded hairpins, and ornaments of all kinds were available. She was a fast talker, with a crisp and bright voice, and well-informed. She described each item as being extremely exotic and pointed out their precious aspects.

During the process, Beauty Zhao’s complexion returned to normal and she joined in, adding her own fun comments.

As Lian Hua listened, her eyes sparkled with interest. Finally, she seemed to recall something and couldn’t help but ask an additional question, "Are they all crafted by order of the palace?"

Changzai Zhou nodded, "Exactly, they shimmer with flowing light, each piece extraordinary. For this Longevity Banquet, Consort De has made the arrangements very interesting. Even Sister Zhao and I were mesmerized. Just at the lantern section, we were having so much fun we forgot about returning home. Right, Sister Zhao?"

Beauty Zhao smiled and teased, "Little Sister Zhou is learned and solved many of the riddle lanterns, of course, she forgot to return home?"

She looked at Lian Hua, "Sister Lian, it’s dull for you to be playing here by yourself. Why not join us?"

Lian Hua felt a huge disappointment upon hearing this. Jewelry crafted by the palace was indeed precious, but just too precious—indestructible and unsellable, it had to be revered like an ancestor. Besides, His Majesty had given her so much jewelry already, it was enough.

Gleaming golden melon seeds were better, weren’t they? Wasn’t actual silver better than these pretty but useless pieces of jewelry?

Just as she was about to decline, suddenly a thunderous crying pierced the air.

Everyone looked at once, and there was Cui Laner, face down, crying bitterly.

Several dozen steps away, two Senior Palace Maids leading the way and four eunuchs carefully carrying a palanquin made their approach. Atop the palanquin, dressed in bright and luxurious peony-woven silk brocade, who else could it be but Noble Consort Xue?

Xiao Jizi glanced at Cui Laner with a mocking curl of his lips, thinking she was just a fool. Unexpectedly she was somewhat cunning, indeed very calculating!

Fortunately, their master had reported to Consort De already. Otherwise, it would have been troublesome.

Before Noble Consort Xue arrived, her dignified voice preceded her, "Who is crying here?"

Inside Huang residence.

Divine Doctor Huang was stroking his chin beard, speaking unusually calmly, "Alright, you go back first and take care of the aftermath. I will need a few days to prepare."

Lian Musu nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Wu Sheng was muttering to himself. This old Divine Doctor not only had a difficult personality, but his words were also unpleasant—talking about ’aftermath’ as if they were on their deathbed.

Having stayed in the Huang residence for a whole morning, Wu Sheng had personally witnessed just how difficult Divine Doctor Huang was to serve. First, he put on airs and refused to come out to see them, making them wait for a long time. When he did come out, he treated Lian Mu like meat on the chopping board. Then he began to meticulously press on his leg bones. The pressure made Lian Mu’s forehead sweat with pain, while the Divine Doctor did not stop berating him the whole time. The whole morning was excruciating for Wu Sheng to watch.

The mood of Divine Doctor Huang was buoyant. He calculated with his fingers and said, "Come back in three days, and don’t be late this time. If you delay further, even if you’re crippled, I won’t be responsible."

Lian Musu bowed in thanks, "Thank you for your concern, Divine Doctor. I will definitely visit your residence on that day."

"Mm." Divine Doctor Huang responded indifferently, quite satisfied, thinking to himself that aside from not taking care of his body, this young man was not bad at all. Facing difficulties without resentment, his effort had not been in vain.

He then gave instructions on various matters, telling Lian Musu to rest well in the coming days, to avoid overexertion, and other dos and don’ts—mustering enough energy for the day of the treatment. When the time comes, he should bring all his personal clothing for changing, as after setting the bone he wouldn’t be able to move, and would need to stay at the Huang residence for a while.

Lian Musu agreed to everything.

Finally, as they were saying their goodbyes, Divine Doctor Huang remembered something and said, "Last night my son Zude brought a case to me. This case is somewhat tricky, urgent and yet not urgent. I won’t have a definitive opinion until I’ve seen the patient, so there might be uncertainties three days from now. If I cannot get away, I will send someone to inform you."

Lian Musu bowed and said that Divine Doctor Huang had worked hard, and his own injury was not urgent. If there were severe cases, those should be prioritized.

Wu Sheng became somewhat anxious on the spot, no longer able to hold back, mentioning the phrase "injuries to the muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal," and if not treated, then by the next Spring Imperial Examination...

Lian Musu waved his hand to interrupt, saying there are matters of different urgency and priority. His foot was merely an inconvenience for walking, and human lives were of the greatest importance. They should focus on the more urgent matters first. His foot couldn’t get better in a short time anyway, and even after the Spring Imperial Examination, it would be manageable.

The words were well-intended, but Divine Doctor Huang snorted coldly, recalling that they had previously said it was untreatable, and he suddenly found them disagreeable. With an abrupt turn of his face and a flick of his sleeve, he sent them away.

It was Lian Musu who thought everything through, leaving his new address with the gatekeeper before leaving.

Once outside, Wu Sheng grumbled: "Wasn’t Divine Doctor Huang said to be highly skilled in medicine? I don’t know what kind of illness would give him trouble, being both urgent and not urgent, strange."

Lian Musu replied, "There are all sorts of strange and peculiar diseases in the world. Perhaps it’s a latent illness, imperceptible on ordinary days and thus not urgent, but life-threatening when triggered. I fear even a divine doctor would find it difficult to make a judgment."

He sighed, recalling his mother’s illness, which had almost cost her life from the longing for her children, and then thought of the illness afflicting his little sister. A shadow passed over his bright spirits as he thought to see the patient before discussing anything further...

He stuck to his original plan, taking Wu Sheng to the area Lin Yuejuan previously mentioned they should visit.

It wasn’t that Wu Sheng was bragging; when the streets were less crowded, it was manageable, but with Lian Musu along, navigating through populated areas became extremely difficult.

Lian Musu was simply too popular. His appearance alone attracted considerable attention. Following the re-examination and the announcement of results, his fame had grown greatly in the Capital. His portrait was circulated in many places, and both acquaintances and strangers felt he looked familiar. More and more people were intentionally or unintentionally gravitating toward him, making Wu Sheng quite nervous, thinking they had encountered thieves.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd seemed to recognize him and shouted, "Isn’t that Lian Mu, the Jieyuan from Taiyuan Prefecture, the one who wrote ’Public Opinion’?"

The crowd exploded at this declaration, clustering around to get a look at this famous individual. Then, two groups of arguing scholars, one group immediately forgetting about their quarrel, rushed over to see him.

The leading scholar was so excited that he turned red and stumbled over his words while introducing himself. He said he was a student from such-and-such academy, surnamed Zheng. The others by his side were surnamed Wu and others with various names, each giving a brief introduction. They expressed that they had also gone to admire him during the re-examination at Shanxue Square, holding him in high regard and having long admired Lian Musu.

Lian Musu could only return their greetings, and the group of scholars was overly enthusiastic. They discussed everything from the day of the re-examination to the critique of "Public Opinion," even extending a special invitation for him to attend a literary gathering, imploring him to go by all means.

The other group of quarreling scholars tried to take the opportunity to leave, but the sharp-eyed Scholar Zheng saw them, flew into a rage, and started to mouth off, not having settled their issue yet. He threatened them to wait, but stopped abruptly upon seeing that Lian Musu was still nearby.

Seeing Lian Musu’s confusion, the scholar surnamed Wu immediately explained. It turned out Scholar Zheng and Tian Cuozi had made a bet on the re-examination outcome, a bet on who would be the "father" based on who won. Scholar Zheng bet on Lian Musu winning, while Tian Cuozi bet on him losing. Ultimately, Scholar Zheng won.