Chapter 236: No Trace in the Search

Dr. Feng had been at the Meng family’s residence for several days, yet this was the first time anyone came to visit him—and most importantly, it was a woman of extraordinary beauty. It was unusual for an old man to have a female visitor, and not only the servants of the Meng family found it novel but also the concubines. If it weren’t for their fear of Meng Min, the eldest daughter, they would surely have come out to see what was going on. Now, they could only peer through the windows of the east or side rooms, hoping to catch a glimpse of what was happening in the west room.

However, the curtain at the sliding door in the west room blocked their views. It wasn’t until the graceful woman stepped out that their curiosity was satisfied—though they were also somewhat surprised. After all, although Dr. Feng now appeared neater, he was surely over fifty years old, while the visiting girl looked no older than twenty, making them think more of a father-daughter relationship. Only when they saw Meng Min bringing Hongxiu over did they pull back their heads.

Meng Min learned from Du Wan that the visitor was a disciple of Feng Yuanming. Grateful that the disciple had done his best to save her mother, who other doctors said could only live for three to five days, she didn’t want to neglect this guest either. Bringing Hongxiu with her, she happened to meet the woman’s gaze as she stepped down the steps. She immediately felt a sense of familiarity, and soon memories she had almost forgotten surfaced, along with what Zhang Yue had said back then.

Could such a delicate and beautiful girl be from the White Lotus Sect? If she had still been in the capital, she might have exclaimed in shock right away. But after arriving in Shandong, she had first faced her mother’s serious illness, then her father’s disappearance from the Jinyiwei with an uncertain fate, followed by her mother’s repeated critical illnesses. So she was only slightly surprised. Realizing it was Feng Yuanming’s disciple, she decided to keep her here first and try to persuade her if possible. She stepped forward quickly.

“It’s the sister I met at Wang’s family’s estate!”

Tang Sair had hoped the other woman wouldn’t remember her, so she could only smile bitterly to herself. To her surprise, Meng Min came up and kindly invited her inside. If it had been just that, she could have found an excuse to leave. But just then, Feng Yuanming also came out of the room, his face wearing a strange expression.

“Third Madam, have you met Miss Meng? Why didn’t she ask you to treat her and save her life?”

“I’ve only met this sister once,” Meng Min quickly explained with a smile. “Back then, she suggested someone who could treat my mother’s illness, but I sent Brother Yue to Fuching Temple to inquire, with no success, so we had to give up. If Sister had mentioned earlier that she knew medicine, I would have invited her here long ago.”
“This girl is just as quirky as I am!” Hearing the story, Feng Yuanming didn’t press further. After stepping down the steps, he glanced at Tang Sair and smiled again. “Since Miss Meng keeps calling her ‘sister,’ she probably doesn’t know her name yet. Her surname is Tang; you can just call her Third Sister from now on. I’ve taught a few apprentices, all rather foolish folks. Yet she, as a woman, has managed to inherit my skills and even developed her own unique approach to acupuncture. Well, since she’s already met you, I won’t be polite—let her check your mother too; maybe she can find a way…”
At those words, Tang Sair’s heart skipped a beat. Seeing Feng Yuanming’s resolute expression, she immediately understood that the old man was once again eager to delve into medicine. Though she felt it wasn’t right to stay at the Meng family any longer, she hadn’t seen him so enthusiastic in a long time and couldn’t bring herself to find an excuse to refuse. Meng Min, not caring about such details, hurried ahead to lead the way. Du Wan, following behind, was puzzled at the fact that the two had already met.
Entering the east room of the main house and smelling the persistent scent of medicine, Tang Sair frowned. When she saw the patient on the bed, she gasped in shock—there was the traditional method of inspection, auscultation, interrogation, and pulse-taking. Though she had never done pulse-taking before, just by looking and smelling, she had a very bada very bad premonition. When Feng Yuanming signaled her to check the pulse, she examined both hands in turn, her expression turning utterly grim. It was already a miracle that the illness had lasted this long—how could there be any hope of curing it?
Madam Wu had felt much better these days. Now, seeing that it was a strange woman who was checking her pulse and hearing Feng Yuanming say she was his apprentice, her spirits lifted even more. Having taken medicine and suffered from illness for so many years, she had long given up worrying about life and death. Yet she didn’t want to leave this world with unresolved worries. So, without hesitation, she agreed to let the woman perform acupuncture and nodded for Meng Min and Du Wan to leave the room first.

The scent of mugwort quickly filled the room, and through the gaps in the door curtains, people outside could faintly smell that distinctive aroma. At this moment, separated by a room, Meng Min couldn’t help but ponder. Zhang Yue had once mentioned that the incident at Wang’s family estate was the White Lotus Sect preaching under the guise of the Buddha’s mother. Since this Tang Sanjie wasn’t on that platform while preaching, she must not be a significant figure either. It would be a shame if such a skilled physician were destroyed along with that cult.

At noon, due to Lingxi’s matters and Qiuhen feeling unwell, Amber personally carried a food box to the Meng family to deliver meals. Although the Meng family now had servants responsible for buying vegetables and meat outside, many of Lady Wu’s medicinal herbs and precious ingredients were always sent from Zhang Yue’s office in the government compound, so she often came here. Upon entering and learning that there was a guest today—still that female disciple of Doctor Feng—she was surprised and recalled the time Zhang Yue had taken her for treatment.

Her illness had been cured by Imperial Physician Shi, and now, aside from occasional dizziness, she was fine. Yet, that Doctor Feng, whom the young master had once called a quack, turned out to be highly skilled, managing to save Lady Wu, who others had declared doomed to death. Lady Wu even regained some color on her face—what clever tactics.

Carrying the food box, she pushed aside the curtain and entered the main room, only to find all the seats empty—no one was sitting there. Du Wan was lost in thought in the corner, while Meng Min was biting her lip, deep in thought, hardly looking like someone who had come to offer help and felt relieved. Seeing this, she first placed the food box on a table, then quietly approached Du Wan and asked in a low voice, “Miss Du, what’s going on here?”

Du Wan was thinking about how Zhang Yue would handle the trouble caused by Le’an this time, as well as pondering the letter left by Monk Daoyan. It wasn’t until she heard Amber’s voice that she snapped out of her thoughts. Glancing up, she also noticed that Meng Min’s expression seemed strange, so she smiled and said, “It’s nothing serious. We’re just lost in thought over some personal matters.”

Just then, the curtain in the east room was finally lifted high. The first to emerge wasn’t Feng Yuanming but Tang Sair. Although she usually practiced medicine in the countryside, she was extra cautious this time because the old man who was her nominal master had boasted that he could extend Lady Wu’s life by a year—or else burn himself to death!

“Sister Tang, I’m so sorry. You’re a guest here, yet I still ask you to help!”

Tang Sair secretly grumbled in her heart about Feng Yuanming’s refusal to give up even in old age—how dare he boast that he could extend someone’s life by a year? Hearing this, she quickly set those thoughts aside. Seeing Meng Min’s concerned expression, she couldn’t help but think of her own deceased parents and husband, and for a moment she became distracted again. After a while, she forced a smile and said, “Don’t worry. I’ve never met anyone with better medical skills than Master. My acupuncture is just to relieve the lady’s pain; the rest of her recovery still depends on Master.”

At that moment, Feng Yuanming also came out and happened to hear this. He immediately raised his eyebrows in displeasure and said, “Stop flattery. I’m getting old, and some of my acupuncture techniques are no longer effective. If you have time in the future, come and help me every ten days. Your medical skills have also reached a bottleneck; if you don’t practice hard, you won’t make any progress.”

Neither of the two who came out noticed Amber, but Amber was staring intently at Tang Sair. Although it was her first time seeing her, and despite the strong scent of medicine filling the air that could blur everything else, she could faintly detect a scent of osmanthus. She still remembered that the bearded man who had appeared suddenly also carried a similar faint fragrance. That alone wouldn’t be strange, but the sash tied around Tang Sair’s waist was exactly the same as the one she had seen around that man’s waist!

Could the two of them really be connected?

Even though she usually didn’t want to defy her mentor who had taught her medicine, Tang Sair didn’t dare to wander around Qingzhou city repeatedly. So she could only vaguely agree for now, feeling somewhat regretful for her rash decision. Feng Yuanming was a reclusive person who rarely interacted with the outside world and only knew that she practiced medicine in the countryside. If he discovered her other identity, his eccentric temper would surely cause a storm! Just as she was about to take leave, a man’s voice came from outside.

“Hongxiu, I’ll send four more servants over in a bit. Tell the family to squeeze in temporarily. The Meng family has more women than servants now, and there aren’t enough people to take care of the yard. Oh, and tomorrow I’ll find some masons to add more things to the wall. Tell the others first.”

Immediately afterward, the speaker entered the room. Tang Sair immediately guessed who that person was. The moment they met, her expression changed slightly, and she couldn’t help but smile wryly to herself. If she had known this, she wouldn’t have gone out of her way to visit this strange old man. In the past, when practicing medicine under the name of the Buddha Mother, she would often cover her face, but this time she didn’t use that name, revealing her true identity. Who would have thought that the man and woman she had seen at Wang’s Manor were actually officials?
Compared to her surprise, Zhang Yue was even more shocked. Despite there being many people in the room, he noticed the woman on Meng Min’s left at first glance—although he had only seen her face once, he couldn’t forget it. Logically, this should have been the case of “after much effort, nothing is found, only to get it effortlessly,” but why exactly at this time and place?