Zhang San paid, while the old man sank into thought, muttering to himself.
"Pregnant... what exactly is going on?"
"One or two would be understandable. Spring and winter are prime seasons for carrying on the family line, so it would be about time for the signs to appear. But so many in a row? That's very unusual!"
Gradually sensing something was wrong, the old man reported the matter to his employer at the Prince of Jin's Residence.
Chong Houhu had businesses of his own, and this Medical Clinic was one of them. He had just bought a champion fighting cock at the Cockfighting Arena outside the city and roasted it to eat.
"A pregnancy pulse? So almost all the women coming in for treatment are pregnant?"
The old man nodded hastily. "Yes, yes. I thought it rather strange, so I came to your residence specifically to report it to you, my lord."
He considered it, still uneasy. Physicians, after all, had at least a basic sense of medical ethics. "Perhaps you should ask the Imperial Medical Bureau, my lord. What if it isn't pregnancy, but an epidemic..."
"Ask what?" Chong Houhu spat out a bone, perfectly composed. "There's no need. Aren't the symptoms always the same? Either they're pregnant or they have some other minor ailment. What's so remarkable about that?"
The old man refused to give up. Anything so abnormal had to conceal something sinister. "But..."
Chong Houhu said impatiently, "It's only women coming in for consultations. It's hardly a major affair."
Chong Houhu comfortably tore off a drumstick. "Keep treating your patients. If any more women come in, just tell them to drink more hot water. They're not that delicate."
The old man had nothing to say. Instinct told him something was wrong, but his words carried little