The Martial Doctor-Chapter 105 - 103: Finally Arrived

A rare sunny day.

Morning.

At the south gate of Dongshan City, the people are orderly lined up to enter the city, the queue long, reaching four or five hundred meters.

It’s been cloudy for days, the roads muddy and hard to traverse. Now, with good weather finally here, everyone is choosing this day to enter the city to sell goods or shop, including caravans stranded on the road.

The heavy snow had blocked the roads, and the flow of goods in Dongshan City had slowed considerably compared to normal.

With the city gates open, more and more people are entering the city, and the queue continues to grow longer, seemingly endless.

In this long line of people entering the city, three carriages appeared, distinct from the style seen within Lanzhou.

The carriages in Lanzhou are primarily crafted from poplar and boxwood, using iron parts for connections, and the yokes are coarse and prominent, easily recognizable.

However, carriages from Li Jing are much more exquisite, featuring wider cabins made from relatively more valuable birch and nanmu wood. For connections and joints, they use copper alloys, which offer better ductility and shock resistance, naturally increasing costs.

Li Jing is the political and cultural center of Da Li, where a stray brick falling on the street could hit an official.

As such, Li Jing’s carriages, though large, appear subdued and restrained.

The most crucial difference is that Li Jing’s carriages prefer using a pair of horses, while Lanzhou’s generally employ a single horse unless owned by a wealthy and powerful family.

Experienced gate officials can recognize the origin of the carriages at a glance.

The foremost carriage is painted black, with a row of jars behind it like a macabre tower resembling urns for ashes.

The driver is a young man wearing a bamboo hat, his face obscured by black gauze, hiding whatever terrifying visage lies underneath.

In any case, this carriage exudes a certain ’evil aura,’ prompting ordinary people to detour away from it.

Yet, the carriage bears the emblem of the Imperial Pharmacy.

Clearly, inside sits an official from the Imperial Pharmacy.

The two carriages trailing behind also display the Imperial Pharmacy insignia, evidently sharing the same identity, representing three major figures of the Imperial Pharmacy arriving simultaneously in Dongshan City.

According to Da Li Dynasty’s rules, whether officials or commoners enter the city, they must queue to pay taxes; officials may receive partial exemptions.

Otherwise, why would the tax officer at the city gate be considered a lucrative position?

The prestigious physicians of the Imperial Pharmacy can be awarded up to rank five in the officialdom, but rank five is reserved at least for the head of the Imperial Pharmacy. Most high-level physicians are awarded at most rank seven, equivalent to the respect of a county magistrate, yet none can be underestimated, for such individuals surely possess extremely intricate networks.

Especially Departments like the Imperial Pharmacy, able to directly associate with the emperor and interact favorably with high-ranking officials and nobles—its representatives, when stationed locally, command respect from any regional power.

If inadvertently offended, a casual remark at the right place could wreck your career.

Of course, it depends on the individual.

For instance, the three coming to Dongshan City are not highly regarded at the Imperial Pharmacy, so when the commissioner received notice, he merely sent an adjutant along with Sang Shuhuo from the Medical Bureau to greet them.

Naturally, Lin Miao was also notified and came.

These three came to supervise him; regardless of the circumstances, making a good impression is always wise.

Mr. Sang knows Mr. Jia, as every province’s Medical Bureau head must go to Li Jing for presentations and evaluations.

Especially, the evaluation for high-level physician qualification is organized by the Imperial Pharmacy; it’s impossible to advance without attending.

Though Mr. Jia is reclusive, he is one of the judges for the high-level physician evaluations.

Simply put, Mr. Jia has connections!

The driver for Mr. Jia’s carriage, named "Hui," was once a notorious bandit. After being saved by Mr. Jia, he followed him, his face half destroyed; without a hat to conceal it, he could terrify passersby.

"Mr. Jia, it’s been years, and you still look the same!" Mr. Sang greeted, folding his arms as Mr. Jia stepped out of the carriage to undergo inspection by the gate tax officer.

Mr. Jia nodded slightly, expressionless, with an air of unapproachable demeanor.

Mr. Sang didn’t mind, understanding their mutual disposition, knowing better than to take issue over it; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come.

Lin Miao naturally observed this renowned toxic physician, known for curing with poisons, a profession for the bold and self-assured.

Mr. Jia appears to be of the same ilk, not popular due to his dealings with toxins, akin to someone enamored with venomous snakes, unpopular unless among similar enthusiasts.

"I am Lin Miao, greeting Mr. Jia!" Under Mr. Sang’s introduction, Lin Miao stepped forward to pay respects.

"Hmm, Wang has spoken highly of you. I’ll see if you’re worth betting his latter career on!" Mr. Jia glanced at Lin Miao before turning silent.

"Mr. Wan is kind, and I will give my utmost effort!" Lin Miao vowed.

People from the other two carriages were disembarking now. The second carriage carried three people, with the driver staying aboard. A young lady supported an elegantly dressed woman, who approached with genteel demeanor, unadorned but exuding serenity and tranquility.

"Mr. Sang greets Guan Siyao."

Guan Biyun nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"I am Lin Miao, greeting Mr. Guan." Lin Miao bowed low in respectful salutation.

"I heard of Mr. Lin in Li Jing; to pull a woman back from the brink of death amidst an ectopic pregnancy hemorrhage is truly impressive!" Guan Biyun nodded slightly, offering a gentle smile, her demeanor exceptionally amiable.

Guan Biyun’s words effectively substantiated Lin Miao, affirming his account of "ectopic pregnancy" wasn’t mere fabrication, but indeed a recognized condition.

His third-place rank, not second, was honestly deserved, perhaps even worthy of first place.

Yet the rankings were established, changing them was unfeasible.

The last carriage was slightly bare, a single-yoke carriage. From it descended a young man in blue-stone robes, a simple silk ribbon tying back his hair, leaner and slightly taller than Lin Miao, with an inscrutable gaze but an air of elegance and charisma.

Although the three were all supervising, authority lay with Mr. Jia and Guan Biyun; Cui Wanquan was merely there to assist and gain experience.

Otherwise, how could someone just reclassified less than a year as a physician be qualified for assignment?

Cui Wanquan passed the physician examination two years before Lin Miao, of course, he passed it in the Capital Prefecture of Li Jing, which is different from Lin Miao who passed it in Dongshan Prefecture, naturally giving him a sense of superiority, but in terms of ranking, they should belong to the same generation.

"Lin Miao from Dongshan greets Mr. Cui."

"Cui Wanquan from Yingchuan, hello, Mr. Lin." Cui Wanquan just nodded slightly, clasping his hands in salute.

Lin Miao didn’t mind, as Cui was there to supervise him, it was natural to maintain an appropriate distance to avoid any perception of favoritism during supervision.

He was on the rise in his career, unlike Mr. Jia and Guan Biyun, one was unpopular, the other had charges pending, so he naturally didn’t have as many concerns.

The tax officers quickly finished their inspection.

Apart from some "special" items on Mr. Jia’s carriage, the other two carriages only contained personal luggage and some daily necessities.

These were not considered goods and fell into the tax-exempt category; officials and their families could exempt one vehicle from tax upon entering the city.

Since there were three of them, the city gate officer could not collect their vehicle tax, but the poll tax had to be paid, except for the officials.

Attendants were not exempt.

This was the rule; otherwise, anyone could exempt themselves from tax by mingling with the attendants.

Therefore, for their party of seven, they only paid the poll tax for four people, totaling only forty qian.

If they were ordinary civilians, the three carriages’ entry tax would be three hundred qian, with each person paying a poll tax of ten qian, totaling three hundred seventy qian.

If Mr. Jia’s carriage’s jars and jugs were considered goods, the valuation would be hard to say, but sticking to the rules, they would indeed need to pay quite a bit of tax.

Ordinarily, physicians holding a physician’s token could also be exempt from tax.

"Please, the three of you may enter the city, we’ll lead the way ahead." Mr. Sang said.

Mr. He, on horseback, and Mr. Sang’s carriage led the way, with Lin Miao’s carriage following behind Cui Wanquan’s carriage at the back.

Since they were from Li Jing, arrangements were made for them to stay at Xinglin Hall, a routine procedure.

Guests followed the host’s arrangements.

The three supervisors made no additional requests; after settling in, a welcoming banquet was held.

The welcoming banquet was hosted at the famous De Yue Tower in Dongshan City, with the Prefect Pei personally inviting renowned physicians from Dongshan City to accompany them.

Because of the presence of Guan Biyun, a female physician, two other female physicians were invited, one being the deputy from Benefit People Pharmacy, Cai Rui, and the other, the head of the city’s only female medical hall, Lianyue Hall, Chu Lianyue.

As the person involved, Lin Miao was placed at the main table, though naturally seated at the end.

At the table, Prefect Pei spoke well of him, and Mr. Sang, the head supervisor, also gave him positive comments.

As for Ye Shengyuan, he claimed illness and did not come, and Xia Yuan said his "leg ailment" flared up, but in truth, he had been walking briskly, full of vigor.

It wasn’t any "leg ailment," he was simply afraid of awkward topics being brought up at the table concerning his "mistakes."

Not coming was better, as it spared everyone from feeling uneasy.

A welcoming banquet was enjoyed happily by all, with no unpleasant incidents occurring.

However, after the banquet.

Mr. Sang and others escorted Mr. Jia, Guan Biyun, and Cui Wanquan to Tongren Hall, but Cui Wanquan, having drunk too much, was taken to rest by his attendant.

Mr. Jia and Guan Biyun, however, kept Lin Miao behind.

After dinner and drinks, it was time to discuss business.

Had Cui Wanquan stayed, it would have had a feeling of a three-court trial.

Mr. Jia took out a pill from his bosom and tossed it over: "I saw you drank quite a bit of wine just now; here’s something to sober you up, take it."

Lin Miao was slightly taken aback.

Was this a test?

He sniffed the pill under his nose, then tossed it into his mouth and swallowed it.

Seeing Lin Miao’s action, a flicker of a strange color passed through Mr. Jia’s eyes.

"I owe Wang Bin a favor from years ago, and I’m here to repay that favor, but I won’t show leniency. If you pass, you pass naturally, but I won’t let you pass!"

"I understand, senior."

"Lin Miao, I’m friends with Wan Bin, and if he hadn’t told me the story of how you saved a woman from massive bleeding during your physician exam, I wouldn’t have agreed to come," Guan Biyun said, continuing, "Like Mr. Jia, I won’t show favoritism."

"Thank you, Mr. Guan."

"How far is it from here to your clinic?"

"Quite far, about half an hour’s carriage ride," Lin Miao answered.

"Then living here is really inconvenient for us; do you have any houses for rent over there?"

"There are, but the conditions don’t match up to here at Xinglin Hall."

"No matter, if we can rent a small courtyard where we’re not disturbed, it would be best," Mr. Jia stated directly.

"We’re not too particular about lodging, as long as it’s not too bad," Guan Biyun nodded in agreement.

"Do you need me to help find one?"

"That would be fine, come pick us up early tomorrow morning to go to the clinic; we’ve delayed long enough and you must be quite eager by now."

"Yes, I take my leave, seniors."