Early the next morning, Xiao Xixi came running to the Lu household.

“Something big just happened in our village!”

“How big? Did someone’s rooster lay an egg?”

“No! Someone from the county office came and took Ding Hongshi and his daughter Ding Xiang to treat the magistrate’s son!”

…???

“Lots of people saw it. Those men treated Ding Hongshi with great respect. What’s going on? Isn’t Ding Hongshi just a half-baked doctor?”

“Half-baked doctor” — that was Lu Qingqing’s evaluation.

Xiao Xixi lowered his voice and asked,
“Say… could it be the man you saved yesterday was really the magistrate’s son—and he got the wrong person?”

Xiao Xixi was sharp—he’d figured it out in one go.

But… was that man really the magistrate’s son?

“Forget it. Doesn’t concern us.”

“How could it not? That was clearly your achievement…” Xiao Xixi looked anxious on her behalf, cheeks puffed up in frustration. “That old crook has no shame!”

“Truth can’t be faked. Ding Hongshi can’t cure the magistrate’s son. The truth will come out eventually. Anyway, we’re not going herb-picking today. Let’s go catch some fish!”

They were out of fish at home—time to catch some more.

“Don’t be mad.”

Lu Qingqing tugged gently at Xiao Xixi’s cheeks.

Too skinny.

Not satisfying to squish.

He needed to eat more.

Xiao Xixi’s face turned red.

“Who’s mad! It’s your business, not mine! Aiya, stop pulling my face!”

Even though he said that, his awkwardly placed hands and nervous gaze gave him away.

Mouth says no, eyes say yes.

The two of them went off to fish.

Meanwhile, Lu Yun was still tirelessly tending his bug collection.

10 copper coins.

20 coins.

100 coins…

This time, Lu Qingqing and Xiao Xixi caught four big grass carps, found two nests of duck eggs, and luckiest of all—caught a grass turtle sunning on the riverbank, weighing a whole three jin!

“Amazing! Tomorrow is market day in town—we could sell this turtle! I heard the Lord of the Wan family loves eating them. Last time someone sold one for three taels of silver! Though, not sure how big it was…”

“Something this good—we should eat it ourselves,” Lu Qingqing said.

“Eat it… ourselves?” Xiao Xixi stammered.

Three taels of silver—that’s not three copper coins!

This woman doesn’t know how to live frugally at all!

No wonder the villagers said Grandpa Lu raised a little debt collector.

“W-we could just eat frogs instead… Frogs taste really good.”

Three taels could buy so much meat—why insist on eating a grandpa turtle?

So what if it could grant longevity?

“No frogs. We eat the turtle! We’ll stew it tonight. Bring a bowl and get some soup. You should taste it too. We who practice medicine must taste all things, understand sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy—that’s how we learn the nature of the world.”

But he was just an herb gatherer, not a doctor…

Xiao Xixi thought to himself.

If only he could become a real doctor.

Then maybe he wouldn’t have to endure those looks… wouldn’t have to beg for medicine.

He glanced at Lu Qingqing’s hands and remembered her deft movements with the needles that day. His lips tightened slightly.

…

By dusk, Ding Hongshi and Ding Xiang returned.

In the county magistrate’s own carriage!

They came back with bolts of cloth and silver as reward.

In just a short time, the whole village knew.

A crowd gathered outside the Ding house.

Turns out—it was Ding Xiang who saved the magistrate’s son!

“Never thought Ding Xiang was more capable than her father. She really had hidden skills!”

“She saved the magistrate’s son with just one treatment! I always said her broad face was a sign of good fortune.”

“Tch, Ding Xiang said a few days ago that Lu Qingqing is a fraud. You all better not go to her for treatment anymore.”

“Not going. She doesn’t even know how to prescribe medicine.”

“Exactly. Probably Lin Zhuang was just lucky to survive.”

“Stop already,” said Huang Cuixiang, wife of Li Laogen, rolling her eyes. “She even said our food was the problem the other day. My old man eats three bowls of rice every meal—what problem? She clearly doesn’t know how to treat anything!”

…

Inside the Ding courtyard, a tall, stern man with thick eyebrows and sharp features stood stiffly.

Listening to the chatter outside, he frowned impatiently.

“You were supposed to stay at the county office in case you were needed. But since my young master dislikes strangers around, this is the arrangement. You’d better not take any more house calls—what if we need you and can’t find you?”

Ding Hongshi bowed and nodded obsequiously.

“Rest assured, Young Master Fu, I’ll be on call at all times.”

The man turned to Ding Xiang, gaze sharp as a blade.

“You performed acupuncture on my master. You’re certain—you didn’t untie his belt?”

“I didn’t! I swear!” Ding Xiang stiffened in fear.

“Good. If I find out you lied, there’ll be consequences.”

So the jade from the belt must’ve fallen off during the episode.

The man gave his warning and left.

Ding Hongshi and Ding Xiang let out a huge breath of relief.

“Xiangxiang, you’re too bold. How dare you tell such a lie? You barely know a few needles—you’ll be exposed sooner or later!”

“Dad, they’re the ones who mistook me. I just saw how richly dressed he was and went to look. Who knew they’d assume I was the one who saved him?”

“He’s the magistrate’s son! No matter what, we have to cling to this chance.”

Of course Ding Hongshi didn’t want to let this golden opportunity go.

But… the magistrate’s son’s illness was beyond him.

If they got caught lying—it’d be the end.

“You’re too reckless…”

“What are you so scared of? Even the famous Doctor Pang in the city couldn’t cure him—said he was waiting to die. Next time he has an episode, I’ll just poke a few needles to make it look like I’m doing something.

When it doesn’t work, we just say it’s incurable. Doesn’t matter. We were summoned by the magistrate—who dares look down on us now?”

“But then… who did treat the magistrate’s son?” Ding Hongshi asked worriedly.

“I don’t know. I only saw Lu Qingqing and Lu Xixi heading that way, so I followed. No one else was around. It couldn’t have been Lu Qingqing, right?”

Impossible.

Ding Hongshi agreed.

Doctor Pang said the acupuncture was highly refined—a veteran’s hand.

Even if Lu Qingqing had some knowledge, there was no way she could master such needlework in a few days.