Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

He put down the medical book and was about to stand up when Xiao Yan placed two bowls of ice drinks in front of him with a smile on his face.

"Come, eat some of this to cool down."

This ice drink is made of small glutinous rice balls in sugar water, with some tiny dried flowers spread on the crushed ice, giving off a hint of coolness. Just looking at these two bowls makes you drool on a hot day.

But, this fragrance is...

Lu Ziqing quickly picked it up and smelled it. There was a faint floral scent in the air conditioning. This scent alone made people feel happy and familiar.

A mouthful of glutinous rice balls with ice slag and sugar water slides into the mouth, and the cool feeling instantly spreads to the whole body, and the lips and teeth are filled with sweet fragrance.

With a smile in his eyes, he asked, "Why are there osmanthus flowers at this time of year?"

Seeing his satisfied face, Xiao Yan also took a bite of the ice dumpling. Without giving a direct answer, he just smiled and asked, "Do you like this?"

Without thinking, Lu Ziqing nodded and said, "I have liked osmanthus since I was a child. Every time it blooms, my senior sister will pick a lot to make this kind of sweet soup, but it is hot."

Xiao Yan nodded and asked casually while eating, "Why Senior Sister? Why not Mother?"

This question stumped Lu Ziqing, and his eyes dimmed immediately. He didn't know how to answer for a moment, so he just put a mouthful of glutinous rice balls into his mouth and chewed them.

Seeing his expression, Xiao Yan felt that he had asked something he shouldn't have asked, and quickly apologized, "Sorry, I..."

"It's okay." Lu Ziqing quickly regained his composure and said slowly, "Don't be afraid of being laughed at by the Marquis. I'm an orphan. My master took me home and raised me when I was seven years old. So, I don't have any parents, only my master and my senior sister."

Speaking of having no mother, Xiao Yan is the same. The word "mother" mentioned by others does not mean anything to him. It is more like a symbol, or some kind of familiar mark, without any practical meaning.

Besides, the desire for my mother only existed for a certain period of time in my childhood and did not last long.

With only one father left, it seems that the relationship between the couple is not as good as in most families.

Due to a long period of emotional deprivation, Xiao Yan became relatively indifferent to family affection. He did not have the warmth that touched the heart, and only maintained superficial relationships, accepting things as they came.

So, how could he laugh? He just felt a sense of empathy.

"No, I don't have a mother either."

Xiao Yan spoke as if he was talking about someone else's business, calmly and nonchalantly.

"My mother had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me, so I don't know what she looked like."

"Then we're in the same boat, eh?"

As Lu Ziqing was about to take another bite, Xiao Yan took the bowl away and finished it in just a few bites.

He stared at the empty bowl with a spoon in his hand, complaining about the culprit in front of him who stole other people's food.

"My Lord, you've finished your own meal, and you're here to steal mine?"

Xiao Yan wiped the corner of his mouth and said, "Your stomach doesn't like to eat too much cold food. Just have a couple of bites to satisfy your craving. If you like it, I'll make it for you next time."

He cleaned up the water stains on the table and saw Lu Ziqing nodding and staring at him with a smile without saying a word.

Xiao Yan also laughed, wiped his face twice, and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

Lu Ziqing said, "I was thinking, Lord Marquis, you are not only tall and handsome, and a master of martial arts, but you can also cook. The most important thing is that you are so thoughtful. Any woman who marries you in the future will be truly blessed."

Xiao Yan chuckled and said, "I was born to eat sand. If a woman marries me, she might become a widow one day. Marriage is not something I am good at."

Speaking of marriage, after Xiao Yan's brother passed away due to illness, he was the only son left. Ever since his father became lame, he has been particularly concerned about his father's marriage.

This is true not only for Xiao Cong, but also for the Empress Dowager and Emperor Shengzhi.

Knowing that Xiao Yan had been on the battlefield all year round, he was worried that the Xiao family's lineage would be cut off in the future and there would be no one to succeed it.

Therefore, two years ago, Emperor Shengzhi wanted to arrange a marriage for him and intended to marry him to the youngest daughter of Grand Tutor Shen.

The Shen family has been prominent for generations, and the young lady of the Shen family is also a beautiful and talented woman who is well-known in the capital. She has also long had a crush on Xiao Yan.

Regardless of their family background and appearance, the two were a perfect match made in heaven. Everyone was optimistic about this good match, but Xiao Yan alone disagreed and rejected Emperor Sheng Zhi on the spot for the same reason he had just said.

Miss Shen was bedridden for half a year and was depressed because of this.

Judging from Xiao Yan's cold personality, he seemed to be planning to either live out his life alone or die on the battlefield.

Although Lu Ziqing felt that Xiao Yan's words were pessimistic, for some reason, he also deeply understood them, just like him now.

Life is short, and it is enough to fulfill one's wishes. He is destined to have no chance of having such a leisurely thing as marriage in this life.

Lu Ziqing suppressed his smile and picked up the medical book to flip through it. Xiao Yan asked him, "What are you reading?"

Lu Ziqing said, "I'm preparing for the exam. The judge told me today that the Imperial Hospital is short of clerks and that he can make an exception and let me take the exam."

Lu Ziqing was happy about this for a long time. At first, he just wanted to take the exam to become a doctor, but he never thought that he would be lucky enough to be directly promoted to a clerk.

Moreover, it happened a month earlier than he expected. As long as he passed this assessment, he would be promoted to the ninth rank and could take turns to see patients alone in the future.

Xiao Yan opened the window a little and said, "Congratulations, with your ability, there will be no problem."

"Thanks for the good wishes, Lord Marquis." Lu Ziqing said with a smile.

In terms of medical theory, Lu Ziqing has become quite proficient in what he has learned from his master over the past ten years. He can even recite it by heart without reading medical books.

However, since it was his first time participating in the highest-level Imperial Medical Service assessment, he was inevitably nervous. To be on the safe side, he reread the medical books.

It was not until two days later when I was sitting in the teaching hall that my colleagues stood around me and whispered to me.

"Oh, look at this! This clerk position is the most difficult to get promoted to, and he's already got the chance."

"Don't be envious, if you and I had his ability, we could do it too."

"Tell me, with the exam questions from our Imperial Hospital, how could a country doctor like him, who hasn't even studied systematically, be able to answer them?"

"I guess, it's hanging!"

"Hey, Doctor Wu, how about we make a bet? Not much, just two taels of silver, how about that?"

"You gamble away your little change all day long. I'm afraid you'll cry if you lose."

"........."

Lu Ziqing sat below without looking away, staring at Lin Yi as he brought the test paper and placed it in front of his desk.

"These are eight questions from a book. You must answer them all within one stick of incense. Do you understand?"

Lu Ziqing nodded and said, "I understand!"

Lin Yi lit the incense and started the timer. Lu Ziqing's eyes quickly examined the questions, and only the voice of Lin Yi could be heard in his ears.

"How to explain chest pain?"

"If a person experiences chest tightness and pain that extends to the shoulders and back, palpitations, and a sense of fear, and has a purple tongue with petechiae and a white coating, and a deep, thready pulse, what condition is this? What medicine should be used to treat it?"

"A woman has been pregnant twice in the past three years, both times miscarrying before the third month. She also has hearing loss, thin vaginal discharge, lower back pain, a pale tongue with a white coating, and a weak pulse. What are her symptoms? What treatment should be used?"

"........."