The Martial Doctor-Chapter 61: Liuli’s Bottom Line

Huaye Tower.

Besides these trained courtesans, the most famous are the Twelve Beauties, known as the Huaye Twelve Beauties. Among them, the oldest is almost thirty.

The youngest is in her early twenties.

The ranking is based on the order of joining.

Moreover, the ranking of these Twelve Beauties is not fixed; they must complete a certain amount of tasks every month, not by receiving guests, but through "Flower Selection."

This "Flower Selection" is similar to patrons spending money to vote, where every woman working there must perform on stage, whether it’s singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, or showcasing other talents.

If you can make the guests willing to spend money to buy a ticket and vote for you, each ticket costing ten taels of silver, that’s the Flower Selection. In Dongshan City’s brothels and upper-class venues, this is quite popular.

To maintain their status among the Twelve Beauties, the competition among these twelve women is quite fierce, so when encountering wealthy clients, some means are inevitably used.

These stimulating drugs are certainly indispensable.

Tonight, the incident happened with one of the guests in Qingwen’s room, a wealthy silk merchant who spent a lot of money on Qingwen to become an intimate guest.

Qingwen, having a good relationship with Liuli, was extremely panicked after the incident and immediately sought out Liuli.

Liuli quickly went to report to Mrs. Qin.

This led to Liuli going next door to seek Lin Miao’s help.

If a guest were to die of exhaustion in Huaye Tower, it would surely make big news tomorrow. By then, the business would undoubtedly be affected, and if competitors were to exaggerate and exploit it, it might be a long time before recovery.

Qin Yanran, having managed Huaye Tower for ten years, had never seen a guest die from exhaustion, so she was somewhat panicked and unsure of what to do.

She could only have Liuli quickly fetch a physician.

During the day, fetching a physician might still be in time, but in the dead of night, even if a physician were fetched, the person might already be dead.

In desperation, Liuli could only think of Lin Miao, who lived next door and was skilled in medicine. Although not yet licensed, as long as the person could be saved, no matter the cost, it was worth it.

"Liuli, Liuli..." Qingwen paced back and forth in panic inside the room, not daring to run out.

Inside the room, there was also a maidservant attending to her.

"Qingwen." Liuli’s voice came from outside, and Qingwen hurriedly went forward to open the door, letting her in.

"Liuli, why are you alone? Weren’t you going to fetch a physician?"

"At this hour, how can we fetch a physician? Even if we manage to, it would be too late." Liuli shook her head.

"Then what should we do? If Mr. Song dies here, everything’s finished..." Qingwen cried out in fear.

"Don’t cry, I’m still here!" Liuli said calmly, although she was as panicked internally, unsure if Lin Miao’s method would work, but now it was the only hope.

"You?"

"Is he still breathing?"

"Yes, yes, I just checked, he still has some breath..."

"Give me your hairpin, and grind these two herbs into powder. Soon, give it to him with warm water." Liuli handed Qingwen a paper packet.

"Liuli, what’s in here?"

"Don’t ask too much, knowing won’t do you any good, just do it." Liuli said, "Can I possibly harm you?"

"Okay, okay..." Qingwen removed her hairpin and gave it to Liuli, then took the herbs from the paper packet to grind into powder.

Liuli went over, lifted the quilt, and was hit by a "foul" smell. She knew what it was, but there was no avoiding such things when saving a life. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Following Lin Miao’s instructions, she thrust at the perineum of the man named Song with all her might, maintaining it for about three to five seconds before releasing.

Perhaps it was from the pain, the man named Song groaned, opening his mouth.

Liuli, thinking once wasn’t enough, thrust twice more before Qingwen brought over the ginseng and aconite powder mixed in warm water.

The two women worked together, pinching Mr. Song’s nose to force the medicinal soup down his throat.

Then came the long wait, intensely torturous for both Qingwen and Liuli. If Mr. Song died, Qingwen would bear the brunt, and Liuli, having brought the medicine and administered it, couldn’t escape responsibility.

Now, the two were inextricably linked.

If it weren’t for her good relationship with Qingwen, and Qingwen seeking her out first, Liuli really didn’t want to get involved in this mess.

Shortly after giving the medicinal soup, the face of the man named Song visibly returned to normal, his breathing became steady, and the sweat on his body stopped.

Seeing this, both women felt a sense of surviving a disaster.

It seemed that this fellow’s life was saved.

Qin Yanran naturally paid close attention to the situation in Qingwen’s room. If a guest died in the room of a girl at Huaye Tower, it would be a huge blow to Huaye Tower’s reputation.

When the incident occurred, it was already deep into the night. She had immediately sealed off the news to prevent it from leaking out and disturbing other guests staying in the building.

Then, after Liuli returned, she followed along.

"How is it?"

"Mrs. Qin, it seems that everything is fine for now, but he hasn’t woken up yet," Qingwen quickly reported to Qin Yanran.

Qin Yanran came to the bedside and glanced over. Although she was not a physician, as a martial artist, she was highly sensitive to human breath.

The breath of a dying person is very different from that of a normal person; it can be distinguished.

It’s clear that although Mr. Song’s breath is somewhat weak, there isn’t the situation of a dying person. It’s completely different from when she came before.

Now, it’s just due to excessive exhaustion, and he is in a deep sleep, which is also a process of self-recovery.

"It seems to be okay now. Qingwen, take good care of Mr. Song, and I will talk to him when he wakes up tomorrow," Qin Yanran instructed.

"Yes, Mrs. Qin." Qingwen, upon receiving this confirmation, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Liuli, come with me."

Liuli knew Qin Yanran had something to ask her, nodded, and followed her out.

"Liuli, did you go to the neighbor’s?" Qin Yanran asked directly.

Liuli neither admitted nor denied.

Lin Miao’s suspicion was something she later figured out herself. Why did Qin Yanran send her, a young woman alone, to find a physician in the middle of the night?

Wasn’t it just to make her go to Lin Miao’s next door?

Lin Miao had no medical qualifications. If someone found out that he provided consultations or prescriptions privately and reported it to the Medical Bureau, it would be a huge disaster.

No matter how skillful he was in medicine, he would have no opportunity to work in this field in the future.

Such strict regulations must have a painful story behind them; otherwise, why would the court oppose such a benevolent act of treating the sick?

However, sometimes regulations can be exploited, and there’s nothing to be done about it. No law is perfect.

Liuli didn’t know what Qin Yanran intended for the neighbor, but she had one principle: not to disclose anything about the neighbor.

"Liuli, even if you don’t say anything, do you think I wouldn’t know? I could ask Qingwen; she’s not like you."

"Mrs. Qin, even if you found out, so what? Anyway, the person has been saved, and Huaye’s reputation will not be affected," Liuli said slowly.

"Was it him who taught you the life-saving technique?"

Liuli remained silent.

Qin Yanran suddenly smiled and said, "Liuli, although we are in a master-servant relationship, I have always admired you, treating you as a sister. Huaye Tower can be what it is today partly because of your contributions. Tell me this method he taught you to save Mr. Song, and I promise to grant you freedom by the time you turn thirty, without charging the three thousand taels of silver for redemption. How about it?"

Liuli was slightly shocked, her breath becoming hurried. Could it be that the method Lin Miao taught her was worth such a hefty price for Qin Yanran?

She was already over twenty-six now; according to this condition, in just over three years, she could regain her freedom without spending a penny.

The temptation was too great, so overwhelming that she couldn’t refuse.

But this method was taught to her by Lin Miao, and without his permission, it would not be right to exchange it for her freedom.

Although freedom was precious, it violated her lifelong principles. Liuli fought an intense battle within her heart, but she finally gritted her teeth and said, "Mrs. Qin, while I long for freedom, I also understand; using something that isn’t mine for exchange is no different from stealing."

Qin Yanran was thoroughly surprised; Liuli had unexpectedly maintained her principles, refusing her offer, although she had somewhat intended to test Liuli’s resolve.

Nonetheless, Liuli’s refusal was outside her expectations.

"Liuli, it’s exactly because it’s you; I wouldn’t offer this chance to anyone else. Think it over and come to me; my proposal stands valid for three days," Qin Yanran said, stepping away with an enchanting stride.

Liuli took a deep breath. Such temptation was absolutely fatal for a Huaye Tower girl craving freedom.

But if she revealed the method to Qin Yanran, she feared she’d never again be able to enter the neighbor’s door.

And Shi Yin and Sun Youwei wouldn’t consider her a friend anymore.

Weighing the importance, she pondered within her heart.

...

"Master, Mrs. Qin from next door is here again!" Early in the morning, Lin Miao finally managed to clear his mind a bit.

But then, maid Yu Zhu’s announcement completely ruined his good mood.

A visit from the neighbor, ignoring it seemed rude, but her constant visits seemed inappropriate too; she ran a Huaye Tower...

Dropping by the neighbor’s house frequently, if word got out, people might think she had some designs on him.

Could this female demon be harboring some perverted interest?

Thinking about this, Lin Miao shuddered. Still, he had to meet her since she was a neighbor, putting on customary courtesy was necessary.

"Invite her to the main hall and serve tea. Tell her I’ll be there shortly," Lin Miao instructed. "Also, don’t let my elder sister know; it’s best if she avoids contact with Qin Yanran."

"Yes, master," Yu Zhu replied.