Abandoned Woman Busy Farming
Chapter 1502 - 1603: Free Clinic_1

Chapter 1502: Chapter 1603: Free Clinic_1

But Bai Ruozhu turned around, only to find that the private room was empty! She was surprised as she swept her eyes across the room and even glanced under the short table, but there was no sign of Gao Zhou anywhere. Could it be that in the time it took for her to turn her head, he disappeared into thin air?

When she looked towards the window again, she noticed it was open, with one side still slightly trembling. She then understood that Gao Zhou must have left through the window.

Why did he suddenly leave without so much as a word? She hastily got up and rushed to the window, looking down at the bustling street below, but she could not spot Uncle Gao Zhou’s figure.

The door was pulled open, and Jiang Yichun walked into the room, "Didn’t you say you were inviting friends over? Haven’t they arrived yet?"

Bai Ruozhu was still in a state of confusion, but when she turned her head to meet his scrutinizing gaze, she immediately felt annoyed.

"Jiang Yichun, did you hear some news and come here specially to check on me?" Bai Ruozhu asked, raising her eyebrows.

Jiang Yichun was taken aback. It was true that he had heard that Bai Ruozhu entered Yingkelai with a disheveled scholar, and his jealousy flared so intensely, how could he not come and see for himself?

"What is checking on me? Do you think I suspect you?" Jiang Yichun retorted.

Bai Ruozhu thought about his jealousy and resignedly sighed, "It was an uncle who saved me twice. Just now, he helped me resolve a crisis when Duanyan attacked me. I just don’t know why he suddenly left and how he did it, but it seems his martial arts skills are extremely high."

Jiang Yichun frowned. The man had left as soon as he arrived; could it be that he felt guilty? He was tempted to ask, but wouldn’t that be the same as suspecting his wife? He didn’t dare to upset her any further. Of course, he absolutely trusted his wife in his heart. He was just worried about some foolhardy people trying to take advantage of her.

"This person is quite strange, leaving without saying goodbye?" Jiang Yichun asked as he sat down. In front of him were the bowl and chopsticks that Gao Zhou had used, and he called for the waiter to bring in new tableware.

"Yes, could it be he ran away after hearing your voice?" Bai Ruozhu expressed her suspicion. At first, she had worried that Gao Zhou was using her to get close to Achun, but it turned out to be the opposite, as Achun’s arrival prompted him to leave.

"He said his name was Gao Zhou, a merchant from Chengshui Country, but looking at his bearing and skills, he’s definitely not an ordinary merchant. I didn’t think it was appropriate to ask more questions, after all, he saved me twice." As Bai Ruozhu recalled the way Gao Zhou had saved her, she couldn’t help but laugh, "Do you know? The first time he used dimsum to hit the assassin sneaking up on me, and he sent the man flying. Just now, he repelled Duanyan with a folding fan. Later, when Duanyan ran away, he threw a hairpin, shattering the white jade. I even offered to compensate him with a new one."

Jiang Yichun’s expression shifted uncertainly. For some reason, he found the scenario described by Bai Ruozhu to be quite comical, but also oddly peculiar.

"I’ll have an opportunity to meet this senior someday. He seems to be a quite interesting person," Jiang Yichun said.

"Perhaps it’s because he’s an eccentric that he behaves so oddly," Bai Ruozhu commented offhand.

At this moment, the waiter had already brought over new bowls and chopsticks, and Jiang Yichun joined Bai Ruozhu for a meal.

"You’re usually too busy to have lunch with me. Why do you have time today? I’d say you’re more here to check on me than anything else." Bai Ruozhu thought back to that matter again.

Jiang Yichun touched his nose awkwardly, "Isn’t it just because I’m afraid bad people will get close to you?"

"Hmph, any man who gets too close to me is a ’bad person’ in your eyes, aren’t they? Even my two brothers can’t be too affectionate with me, right?" Bai Ruozhu gave him a stern look.

Jiang Yichun’s lips curled into a smile, "You know me well, my dear wife."

The two exchanged a few jokes before Bai Ruozhu inquired about the female Shadow Guard, and Jiang Yichun immediately responded solemnly, "I’ve been busy with official duties and haven’t visited her, and given her special identity, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to visit. But I’ve heard she’s already getting better."

"Oh, so you did ask after all," Bai Ruozhu pouted, thinking how Jiang Yichun should be grateful to Ling for taking arrows for him. She truly couldn’t warm up to a woman who thought about her man and talked about wanting to hold her. She may be called selfish for this.

"No, it was Jiu who insisted on telling me. I told him to take care of her since he’s fond of Ling," said Jiang Yichun.

Listening to this, Bai Ruozhu felt much more comfortable and did not continue on this subject.

...

Before they knew it, the day of the Medical Alliance’s free clinic had arrived, and unexpectedly, Tang Yin’s single remark brought a whole group of Imperial Doctors, including Mao Xingcai.

"I would like to thank everyone here on behalf of Bai. However, we cannot neglect our duties in the palace, so let’s divide into three groups: one for the free clinic, one on duty in the palace, and the third resting in turns," Bai Ruozhu addressed everyone.

Previously, she had won a bet against Mao Xingcai, and he had apologized to her publicly. With Wei Pengbo falling from grace for framing her, the Imperial Medical Hospital’s staff no longer dared to underestimate her as before.

Furthermore, since the emperor himself had spoken about this free clinic, everyone naturally cooperated, even Mao Xingcai didn’t utter a single word of opposition.

But Hao Baishuang was not so easy to deal with. She raised her eyebrows and said, "You’re going to do the dividing? Why do you get to call the shots?"

Bai Ruozhu gave her a look, "If you’re not satisfied, you’re welcome to leave; the free clinic doesn’t need those who won’t follow orders."

After she spoke, she stopped paying attention to Hao Baishuang and began assigning people to groups. One group was led by Mao Xingcai, another by Jiu Sheng, and naturally, she led the third one. Seeing that she fairly divided each group’s strength, everyone agreed. Hao Baishuang, who wasn’t assigned to a group, became so angry her face turned the color of a liver and ultimately had no choice but to shamelessly join Mao Xingcai’s group, claiming she wanted to learn from her master.

Bai Ruozhu consulted with Mao Xingcai and decided to let his group start in the morning while hers would take over in the afternoon, and the other would return to the palace to await further orders.

The morning passed, and the free clinic ran very smoothly; many people came by word of mouth, and even those without serious ailments came for a check-up since it was free after all.

In the afternoon, it was Bai Ruozhu’s group turn to take over. As the two groups were handing over duties, a woman ran over with a prescription in her hand.

"Oh dear, the prescription you doctors formulated is too expensive! The free clinic may not charge, but it’s useless if we can’t afford the medicine," the woman said, dressed in coarse clothing and appearing to have an average household. She shook the prescription in her hand and added, "Can’t you prescribe something cheaper for my condition?"

Bai Ruozhu glanced at the characters on the paper. The medicinal materials weren’t very expensive, but for someone from a poor household, they were indeed burdensome.

"What was the diagnosis for the auntie?" Bai Ruozhu asked softly, "Please sit down, and I’ll take another look for you."

The woman, with a flushed face, lowered her voice, "It’s irregular menstruation."

Bai Ruozhu nodded, placed her hand on the woman’s wrist, and after a careful examination, confirmed indeed it was a case of irregular menstruation and both Qi and blood were deficient.

Considering the woman’s situation, she took up the pen and wrote a new prescription.