Anzhi Hall.
When Jin Shanyao returned, she saw Meng Anzhi sitting alone behind the desk, gazing longingly at the other doctors who were seeing patients. Looking at those doctors, she saw long queues behind them.
She walked up to Qin Baitang, knocked on the counter, and glanced in Meng Anzhi's direction. "What's going on?"
Qin Baitang said helplessly, " Anzhi just arrived, and she's so young that no one trusts her. I've had the servants call her several times, but no one is willing to go."
Jin Shanyao frowned. "My question is, why are so many people going to the doctor during the New Year?"
Qin Baitang was taken aback before replying, "Most clinics were closed during the Spring Festival, so everyone flocked to the Anzhi Hall."
Only after he said that did Jin Shanyao realize that Anzhi Hall hadn't taken a holiday for the New Year. "Then why didn't we close?"
"We're different from other businesses; Anzhi Hall is an outsider with a shallow foundation. If we don't take advantage of this time to build up our customer base, business will be even more difficult after the New Year."
The capital city is highly competitive and full of unsavory things. Anzhi Hall's current success is entirely the result of his tireless efforts day and night, fearing that a single misstep would lead to total defeat.
Jin Shanyao patted his shoulder, "Don't overwork yourself."
Just then, a master and servant entered the shop and went straight to Meng Anzhi's desk.
Upon seeing this, Su Mu quickly stood up. " Madam Ren, what brings you here?"
Madam Ren glanced at Su Mu and smiled, "I heard that a groom has arrived at the Anzhi Hall, so I came to see him."
This Madam Ren was the wife of Ren Hanzhong, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices... Her name was Wan Ning. She was well-educated, gentle, virtuous, and filial to her parents-in-law. She was also considerate and respectful to her husband. She was the dream wife of every man in the capital.
The Ren Household and Wan Household were meritorious officials who followed the late emperor in overthrowing the previous dynasty and establishing Sheng Dynasty, and are highly valued by the current emperor.
As the saying goes, the moon wanes after it is full, and water overflows when it is full.
Everything in the Ren Household went smoothly, except for one worry... Madam Ren had never conceived since her marriage. They had consulted all the famous doctors in the capital, and even the imperial physicians, but they still couldn't find the cause of her illness.
So much so that whenever she heard of a new doctor practicing medicine, she would personally go to consult with him.
Fearing that Meng Anzhi might offend someone without thinking, Su Mu tentatively suggested, " Madam Ren, why don't you come over here?"
Madam Ren's smile remained unchanged, but her eyes turned cold. Su Mu hurriedly came out from behind the desk and personally pulled out the chair in front of Meng Anzhi.
"Please be seated, Madam."
Ignoring his solicitousness, Madam Ren sat down and smiled at Meng Anzhi, "Are you the new doctor? What's your name?"
Meng Anzhi raised her eyes, calmly allowing Madam Ren to scrutinize her, a smile playing on her lips as she asked, " Meng Anzhi... is Madam feeling unwell?"
As she spoke, she pushed the pulse pillow in front of Madam Ren. Madam Ren's smile turned somewhat bitter. She placed her hand on the pulse pillow and uttered the words she had repeated a thousand times, "We have been married for several years without conceiving. It is not my husband's fault."
Meng Anzhi didn't speak, but simply placed her hand on the pulse. Her Qi and Blood were in harmony, her spleen and stomach were healthy, and her liver and kidneys were not deficient. It was clearly Kangjian pulse without any illness.
But precisely at the uterus, that wisp of pulse energy was weak, cold, and almost imperceptible. Meng Anzhi withdrew her hand and looked past Madam Ren toward Jin Shanyao.
Jin Shanyao had been watching her closely. When their eyes met, she got up and walked over, naturally sitting down next to Meng Anzhi. "How is it?"
Meng Anzhi stepped aside to make room, "The uterus feels cold and weak."
When Madam Ren heard this different explanation for the first time, her heart trembled slightly, and her eyes filled with anticipation. But before she could ask what it meant, she saw the woman who had just come over place her hand on her wrist.
At the same time, the other doctors all turned their gazes over, wanting to see just how skilled their employer was.
After the follow-up visit, Jin Shanyao her hand and said to Meng Anzhi, "Your diagnosis is correct." Then she looked at Madam Ren and said, "Your health is fine."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked disappointed. Just when they thought that was the end of it, Jin Shanyao a sentence that almost made everyone burst out laughing.
"There must be a ghost around you; the excessive yin energy is what's causing your inability to conceive."
Upon hearing such absurd remarks, Madam Ren's expression changed repeatedly. Suppressing her anger, she stood up and turned to leave.
Jin Shanyao hurriedly called out, "A consultation costs five coins; you haven't paid yet!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the maidservant, her face ashen, pulled out five coins and slammed them on the table. "Pah... He looks respectable, but he's actually a swindler."
Jin Shanyao didn't want to hear this. She leaned back in her chair and said with a half-smile, "You're not human at all. I can tell at a glance you're a reincarnated beast..."
The maidservant was furious, her face turning ashen. Seeing her mistress walking further and further away, she stamped her foot in frustration and turned to chase after her.
The shop fell silent for a moment.
Several patients in line covered their mouths and chuckled, whispering among themselves, "What a pretty young lady, how come she's spouting such nonsense..."
"Of course! A little ghost? I've lived for fifty years, and this is the first time I've ever heard of someone finding a ghost in a gynecologist."
The doctors didn't dare laugh out loud because of the Jin Shanyao, indicating it was their boss, but their eyes and the corners of their mouths betrayed their laughter.
Su Mu stood to the side, his face flushing red and then turning pale. He thought to himself, "It's all over... I misjudged him. I thought the young master was just young and easy to offend people, but it turns out the master is the real troublemaker."
He secretly glanced at Jin Shanyao, thinking to himself, "If your medical skills aren't that great, you could at least shut up. Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. You come up here and call Madam Ren's maid a beast."
Now things are really messed up. In less than three days, the whole capital will know that Anzhi Hall is arrogant and has offended powerful figures. Who would dare to come here for treatment now?
At this moment, Qin Baitang walked over and sighed, "Isn't what you said... a bit too blunt?"
Jin Shanyao glanced at him, lifting her eyelids slightly. "So straightforward, yet she didn't seem to listen."
Qin Baitang choked.
Jin Shanyao up, walked to Su Mu's side, and patted him on the shoulder. "You're a doctor, not her servant... Why are you helping her with her chair?"
After saying that, he slapped Su Mu on the waist, "Straighten up! If I see you bowing and scraping to anyone again, I'll send you to work in the storeroom."
Su Mu on the spot, feeling a burning sensation in his lower back... She... she... she actually dared to pat his waist! Was this boss a pervert? If so, he couldn't work here anymore.
Ren Mansion.
Madam Ren sat in the bedroom, her anger simmering in her chest. "No wonder they're from a small town. Their medical skills are lacking, so they resort to ghosts and gods. I don't think Anzhi Hall will last long."
The maid picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup of hot water, and handed it to her. "Madam, please don't be angry. Qingzhou Prefecture is adjacent to the border, and the people are uncivilized and uneducated. It's not worth getting angry with such short-sighted people."
Madam Ren picked up her teacup, took a sip, and sighed deeply. "I have no choice. The woman in the west courtyard is pregnant again... My husband has been staying with her for almost half a month now."
She put down her teacup. "I am still young, and my parents and brothers are still alive. The woman in the west courtyard wouldn't dare to overstep me. But if I get old and don't have any children by my side, will I still have a place in this mansion?"
Madam Ren looked at the maid with a deep gaze and said, " Suyue, do you think our mansion is really haunted?"
Suyue recalled Jin Shanyao's words calling her a beast, and felt indignant. "Madam, what are you thinking? That Anzhi Hall is clearly a fraud; he only resorts to ghosts and gods because his medical skills are incompetent."
Madam Ren secretly thought to herself that she had been grasping at straws in her desperation... She waved for Suyue to leave, then lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a short rest, feeling exhausted.