Seeking Truth with a Sword
Chapter 43 - 42 Post House

Chapter 43: Chapter 42 Post House

"Speaking of practicing medicine," Li Ang unconsciously caressed the medicine chest beside his seat. The chest contained a set of surgical tools he had asked Cheng Juxiu to craft for him, including scalpels, hemostats, and obstetric forceps.

Unfortunately, he had returned the nightmare bell to the Yizhou City Garrison after the White Dog case. Otherwise, possessing a bell that could plunge people into a dormant coma would have greatly increased his confidence in performing actual surgery.

However, Chang’an City is so large, and it’s the location of both the Academic Palace and the Garrison headquarters. There should be many types of Mutated Objects there. Perhaps one exists that could solve disinfection, hemostasis, and anesthesia all at once. As long as these three fundamental prerequisites for surgery are met, I wouldn’t be limited to just orthopedic massage...

Li Ang stared at the medicine chest, lost in thought, when Chai Cuiqiao remarked, "Right, I didn’t see Yu Miaoshui today. I thought that on the last day, he would come, symbolically bearing thorns on his back, to beg for your forgiveness."

"That’s to be expected."

Li Ang said indifferently, "Ever since the news of my recommendation letter spread, he’s had no way out. We’ve already fallen out completely, and he has offended me beyond reconciliation. Even if he were to come bearing thorns, he wouldn’t earn my forgiveness. It’s better for him to just wait at home for news—whether I get into the Academic Palace or not."

Li Ang didn’t consider himself a magnanimous saint. Since Yu Miaoshui had tried to take advantage of the Li Family’s recent bereavement to seize their property and extinguish their line, and had even directed local ruffians to cause trouble at the Security Hall, he deserved to pay the price.

He probably prepared himself mentally for that.

At this thought, Li Ang couldn’t help but smile.

It was said that ever since news of Li Ang obtaining the recommendation letter had spread, Qing’an Hall had closed its doors. Yu Miaoshui had shut himself in at home all day, unseen by anyone.

He must be having a hard time, right? Well, let him suffer for another three months.

Li Ang chuckled and patted the medicine chest. When he left Yizhou, he hadn’t entrusted the Security Hall, which he had painstakingly redeemed, to Aunt Song, nor had he hired someone to manage it.

Firstly, he feared that an incompetent doctor might make misdiagnoses and ruin the Security Hall’s reputation. Secondly, he was concerned there might be something abnormal about the well at the Security Hall—once he mastered spells, he would need to return and investigate it thoroughly.

The master and servant chatted idly. The Academic Palace carriage traveled at great speed, with excellent sound insulation and shock absorption. Moreover, they were on an official Yu Country road, which was smooth and straight, with no trees within ten paces on either side (to prevent forest encroachment on the road and to guard against wild animals). Even if one were to lie down and sleep on the spacious seats, they wouldn’t be jolted or woken by noise.

As the sky outside gradually darkened, the Academic Palace caravan, carrying the students from Yizhou, pulled over at a roadside post house.

A post house was an official hostel established at a relay station. Yu Country regulations mandated one every twenty li in prosperous prefectures and one every hundred li in remote ones.

The primary purpose of the post house was to relay military intelligence and political commands. Envoys could use a "token" to lodge, dine, and change horses there, and officials en route to new posts could also stay.

The Stone Pass Inn had been forewarned of the Academic Palace caravan’s arrival. Its attendants were already waiting by the roadside. They greeted each carriage with smiling faces and helped the students alight.

"Wow."

Li Ang and Chai Cuiqiao stood at the entrance of the Stone Pass Inn, quite astonished by its scale.

Although there were no villages ahead or shops behind, it was built against a mountain and included an inn building, stables, a main hall, a wine cellar, a tea cellar, a vegetable cellar, and even riverside features like boats, a bamboo forest, and a garden. It could accommodate hundreds of people; it could well have been mistaken for a wealthy merchant’s summer villa.

"Yu Country truly is... wealthy."

Standing beneath the post house’s archway, Li Ang and Chai Cuiqiao simultaneously exclaimed like unsophisticated country folk.

"Heh."

From nearby came the gentle laughter of a young girl. Li Ang and Chai Cuiqiao turned to see a girl, about their age, stepping down from her carriage with the help of her maid.

"In the past, the hostels in Yu Country weren’t this spacious," the girl said. "A single hostel would receive hundreds, even thousands, of envoys and officials each year. They would stay the night, eat a full meal, and leave the next day without any regard for the amenities. They’d carelessly tie their horses in the courtyard, bring falcons into the hall, and secretly fish from the pond to roast their catch. They would defile the rooms and destroy the utensils. The hostels could exert some pressure on lower-ranking officials, but for high-ranking ones, even if they levied exorbitant taxes and harassed people wantonly, the hostel staff had no recourse and could only struggle to cope. It’s only in recent decades, since Yu Country reformed the hostel system and rigorously investigated and punished the abuse of travel tokens, that things have significantly improved."

The girl spoke with extensive knowledge, a natural demeanor, elegant phrasing, and a gentle tone. She captured the attention of everyone present as soon as she began.

The person in charge of welcoming them at the post house—a middle-aged female official—said emotionally, her face flushed, "Miss, you are right. The hostels used to have it terribly hard. That we can maintain them now is all thanks to the Holy Empress’s benevolent governance."

The Holy Empress she referred to was the female emperor with the surname Wu, who had reigned a hundred years ago.

"Yes, the Holy Empress is a role model for all women in Yu Country, and indeed, the world."

The young girl gave the female official a gentle smile, then turned and bowed to Li Ang from afar. "Ji Linglang."

"Li Ang."

Li Ang clasped his hands in return, feeling somewhat curious.

Her surname is Ji. She must be the daughter of Ji Chi, Yizhou’s foremost official and its governor.

He recalled Cheng Juxiu mentioning that Ji Linglang, also a recommended student, possessed eleven Spirit Veins. She had reached an excellent standard and had a high probability of being accepted into the Academic Palace.

She possessed extraordinary talent, outstanding looks, a wealthy family background, and was well-educated and refined. It was no wonder that when she appeared, eager anticipation showed on the faces of the students from Yizhou alighting from their carriages. This was especially true for Zhai Yiming, this year’s top scorer in the State School exams.

Cheng Juxiu took out the copper token, paper credentials, and Academic Palace jade pendant from his breast pocket and handed them one by one to the female official at the post house for verification.

Once their identities were verified, post house servants carried the luggage from the carriages to their respective guest rooms and led the horses to the stables.

The horses used by the Academic Palace caravan, like the fine hounds used by the Garrison, were specially bred. Each one was tall and robust, possessing both endurance and speed. They were fed finely prepared fodder, which sometimes included special medicinal supplements.

Only medium to large post houses like the Stone Pass Inn had the facilities to provide such care.

Post house staff led the group from Yizhou to their rooms. Ji Linglang walked in the middle of the contingent, chatting and laughing with another female student from Yizhou who was also heading to the Academic Palace to take the entrance exams. Zhai Yiming and a few other students from Yizhou tried to approach and curry favor with her, but they were all met with a cool rebuff.

"Wow, the governor’s daughter really is something else," Chai Cuiqiao whispered into Li Ang’s ear. "I thought she would be more arrogant and overbearing."

Li Ang nodded nonchalantly, a slight "Mm" escaping him, feeling no particular stir within.

The tens of thousands of students participating in the Academic Palace’s entrance exams that day were all top young elites from their respective localities. Upon reaching Chang’an, they would have to compete with imperial clan members and the descendants of high officials and dignitaries. A governor’s daughter, in this company, was just... alright.