Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 490 Excuses

Song Ying, who had a good dream in January, suffered from insomnia that night. She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She simply sat up and said in frustration, "You said so many people came to see me, but why is there not a single one from Shunqing Prefecture?"

Luo Yanxing was speechless. He turned over and faced her sideways. "You're a miracle doctor now, right? You're their hope. Those patients want to worship you. Unless they're truly ill and can't get out of bed, who would dare to make you travel so far?"

She shook her head. "It's only a one-day exam. I took the provincial exam there before, so I'm pretty familiar with it. And didn't you say that there aren't as many candidates for the academy exam as there are for the county exam, so I don't have to get up very early? It's still August, so I don't have to worry about catching a cold during the search.

Besides, you've got all the pills and medicine sachets ready, so what's there to worry about? Can you take the exam for him?"

Song Ying frowned. She understood the reason, but she still couldn't help but worry. She imagined that if she was outside the examination hall like the county examination, any situation could be resolved in time and she could get all kinds of news at the first time.

Luo Yanxing persuaded Song Ying to fall asleep in a daze, but it did not alleviate her worries. It was also because they were young and did not sleep well that night, so they could not see anything the next day.

Song Ying went out worriedly, but before she reached the clinic, she met Lu Xu's mother who also looked worried.

"Doctor Xiao Song, I'm so worried. Can you tell me if Taoist Master Yuanrong is really a bad person?"

"Bad guy? Are you worried he's a liar?" Song Ying smiled and soothed him softly, "The entrance exam should have been opened by now. We'll know when they come back. There's no point in worrying now."

When she advises others, she still has a lot of reasons, but unfortunately they are of little use to herself.

"That's not it. Yesterday, I thought Xu Wa was going to the capital, so I took some clothes, food, and money to Qingfeng Temple. I thought I had to give him some instructions no matter what. But I found the gates of Qingfeng Temple closed. I asked people in the nearby villages and found out that Taoist Master Yuanrong had gone to the capital with my Xu Wa a few days ago."

Song Ying raised his eyebrows, thinking that Taoist Yuanrong had thought it through very carefully. He was already nervous before the exam, and the conversation with Lu's mother had suppressed his nervousness, so he might even fail.

The worry on Lu's mother's face was almost overflowing. "The more I think about it, the more uncertain I feel. In the past few months, the pens, ink, paper and inkstone have been sent in, but I haven't seen my Xuwa once.

The situation is all what Taoist Yuanrong said. No one knows whether it is true or not. Now I haven’t seen him before entering the examination room. Do you think Taoist Yuanrong is a bad person? Will he kill my Xuwa?... "

She made a motion of wiping her neck, then clenched her right fist and pounded the palm of her left hand fiercely, jumping up and down anxiously: "Oh, what should I do if something happens to Xuwa!"

Song Ying tried to comfort him, "That shouldn't be the case. Taoist Yuanrong looks kind and benevolent, and he has no grudges against you. How could he do such a thing?"

"You young people don't know that some people are born bad. A few decades ago, such an incident happened in the next county. A scholar also went to a temple to study hard in seclusion. As a result, he was pushed into a well by a crazy monk in the temple and drowned.

When their family went to look for him, the monk from the temple pretended to be surprised and said that the young man had returned home a month ago.

The family thought they had encountered robbers on their way back, but who would have thought that a few years later, they would fish out bodies from a well in the hills behind the temple. It was said there was more than one body!

This was the first time Song Ying had heard of this. He was both curious and puzzled. "Which county next door? When did it happen? This is a major case, right? The government should have shared the results of the investigation with the public to reassure them. How could they not know the cause?"

Mother Lu shook her head. "I heard that after the murderer was found, he committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Who knows why? In short, people don't need a reason to be evil."

Song Ying carefully considered his words and said tactfully, "That being said, there's a saying that goes, 'The monk may run away, but the temple cannot.' Qingfeng Temple is just outside the city. Taoist Master Yuanrong shouldn't give up such a large temple for one person."

Although Qingfeng Temple is not very popular with only Taoist Master Yuanrong, it is a big place with a large fertile land. The Lu family is poor and can only become rich after Lu Xu passes the exam. Taoist Master Yuanrong must be crazy to abandon such a big Taoist temple to harm a poor scholar.

As he spoke, Song Ying suddenly had an idea and realized that this was a good excuse to go to Shunqing Prefecture!

She immediately changed the subject, "But your worries are not without reason, ma'am. How about this? I'll go with you to Shunqing Prefecture, and we can ask in front of the examination hall. I think only Master Lu will be accompanied by the Taoist priest to take the exam, and the officials will definitely be impressed."

"Okay, okay!" Mother Lu was delighted, but then felt embarrassed. "Is this too much trouble for you?"

Song Ying smiled and said, "It's not a problem. I have a patient in Shunqing Prefecture who needs a follow-up visit in the next two days. I was planning to go tomorrow, so it wouldn't hurt to go a day earlier."

Mother Lu felt relieved.

Song Ying continued, "Auntie, please go to the west city gate and wait for me. I need to go to the clinic to tell my uncle and hire a carriage."

"Okay, you can pay for the car first, and I'll pay you back when I have more money."

"That's not true, Auntie. I was going to Shunqing Prefecture, but I wanted to give you a ride. How could I let you pay for the car fare?" Song Ying knew the situation of the Lu family. The money for hiring a car was nothing to her, but it was a considerable expense for the Lu family. How could she be asked to pay for it?

Mother Lu put on a fake smile and rubbed her hands helplessly, "How can I feel so embarrassed? Doctor Song, you've already helped us a lot. It's only right for us to pay for your car fare. How can I ask you to..."

Song Ying waved her hand, interrupting her, "Auntie, please leave quickly. We can discuss these matters later. The most important thing now is to set off first and get to Shunqing Prefecture as soon as possible. You will feel at ease after you have learned everything."

Mother Lu stopped being polite to her and after thanking her, she hurried to the west gate.

Song Ying first went to the carriage shop in Nancheng District to hire a carriage, and then went to Huichun Hall to tell Doctor Ma and Lin Wenxuan that Lu's mother was worried that Taoist Yuanrong was a bad person, and begged her to accompany her to Shunqing Prefecture.

After all, she was the one who had initiated this matter, so she couldn't just ignore it now, so she agreed to accompany Lu's mother.

Dr. Ma agreed without thinking too much.

At noon, the carriage arrived at Shunqing Prefecture. Song Ying asked the driver to drive straight to the examination hall. Upon hearing this, Lu's mother was naturally grateful, "Thank you so much today."

Although Qingshui County was not far from Shunqing Prefecture, she had never been there. If she did not have a carriage, she would not be able to find the examination room for a long time even if she arrived in Shunqing Prefecture.

Song Ying was also worried and didn't want to be polite with her, so he just smiled and said it was nothing.