A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Nie Qianqian had already discussed with Director Zhang that she would not practice medicine under her real identity. Therefore, when she entered the clinic as "Doctor Qian," she wore a loose robe that concealed her figure, a bamboo hat to cover her face, and silk gloves on her hands. There was no exposed skin on her body. When she spoke to people, her voice changed to a hoarse, deep old man's voice. She was "fully armed." Nie Qianqian was confident that even if Liu Yan stood in front of her, she would never recognize that the "Doctor Qian" in front of her was Nie Qianqian.

The arrival of "Dr. Qian" caused quite a stir in the clinic for several days. His attire itself carried an air of mystery, making people unable to help but speculate.

The younger apprentice doctors gossiped behind his back, saying that Doctor Qian was probably ugly, which was why he wore a bamboo hat and didn't show his true face. Some said that Doctor Qian might have survived a fire and his face was disfigured. Others said that Doctor Qian had defected from a hermit clan and was afraid of being captured if he revealed his face. Still others said that Doctor Qian had enemies and was afraid that they would seek revenge.

Nie Qianqian, the young apprentice doctor, joined the clinic shortly after Doctor Qian. She enjoyed the same treatment as Doctor Qian and also sparked a lot of discussion, from the initial question of whether it was feasible for a woman to be an apprentice doctor to the discussion of Nie Qianqian's appearance and then to speculation about the relationship between Nie Qianqian and Director Zhang.

After several versions of rumors, the final version is that Nie Qianqian is the child of Director Zhang's wife's younger sister, and is Director Zhang's distant niece.

Nie Qianqian always tried her best to suppress her laughter whenever she heard others discussing "Doctor Qian" and "Medicine Boy Nie". As the saying goes, three men can make a tiger, and that's how rumors start.

Nie Qianqian has been sitting in her clinic for a while now, feeling lonely and having no opportunity to use her medical skills.

There was no other way; she fabricated the story of a reclusive master who was unknown and had no reputation, and the two taels of silver consultation fee alone deterred many people.

Two taels of silver is not a small amount. When faced with difficult-to-treat illnesses, patients would rather pay a consultation fee to have Director Zhang personally treat them than choose some reclusive master.

Therefore, during this period, she often entered the clinic under the identity of Nie Qianqian, and occasionally showed her face by wearing the attire of Doctor Qian.

With no one seeking medical advice, she spent more time at the clinic looking at medical books from that era, identifying the medicinal herbs available at the time, and exchanging insights on acupuncture and medicine with Director Zhang.

To outsiders, it seemed that Director Zhang doted on his niece, taking her in as his personal medicine apprentice and teaching her regularly. Everyone treated Nie Qianqian with great respect and did not ask her to do anything. Nie Qianqian benefited from this, as no one cared about or restricted her, and she was free to come and go as she pleased, which made her very happy.

Nie Qianqian was planning to find a way to get Gu Xiao to come to the clinic for treatment in the next few days, as she wanted to cure his hand ailment as soon as possible. One of the reasons she agreed to work at the clinic was to have an opportunity to treat him.

That day, Nie Qianqian entered the clinic as usual as Doctor Qian. When she went up to the third floor, she overheard Doctor Wang and Director Zhang talking.

Dr. Wang's real name was Wang Shouren. Like Dr. Huang, who bought her Ganoderma lucidum, he was a senior doctor at Jishetang. However, he was not as easy to get along with as Dr. Huang. From the first day that "Dr. Qian" entered the clinic, they did not get along.

Wang Shouren: "Director, it's not that I have a problem with him, but this Doctor Qian always covers his face and acts mysteriously, saying he's some kind of reclusive master. But I've never seen him treat anyone in the clinic. Nobody knows how good his medical skills are. How can he enjoy such high-level treatment and be given a private consultation room?"

Zhang Zhongjing stroked his beard and explained, "Before entering the clinic, he treated a patient with an acute illness. The patient was quite difficult to treat, and even I was not confident that I could successfully treat him. However, Doctor Qian was able to do it. Doctor Huang witnessed this firsthand."

In order to conceal Nie Qianqian's identity, Zhang Zhongjing did not explicitly state that the doctor Qian was treating the patient with acute pneumothorax who had fallen ill at the clinic that day.

Wang Shouren, however, did not believe it. "How do you know that he just happened to be lucky enough to save that person? If even you, the curator, couldn't cure the patient, I don't believe he has the ability. It was just good luck."

"Besides, he hasn't treated any patients since he arrived at the clinic, so he probably doesn't have any real skills and would look foolish if he did."

Zhang Zhongjing said helplessly, "Shouren, don't you trust my judgment?"

Wang Shouren: "Shouren dares not. I'm afraid he's set up a trap to deceive Doctor Huang and you. Doctor Qian's actions after entering the clinic have indeed made many people in the clinic suspicious and unconvinced. Many people say that he's just a charlatan, putting on airs."

Zhang Zhongjing: "This..."

During this period, there were many rumors circulating in the clinic, with doubts about "Dr. Qian's" medical skills.

Nie Qianqian shook her head as she listened, walked up the stairs, and said in a low voice, "Whether I have real talent or not is for Director Zhang to judge. I think it's not that others are dissatisfied, but that you, Doctor Wang, are dissatisfied."

When Wang Shouren realized that the person he was talking about behind his back had overheard him, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. However, he quickly regained his composure and said, "If Doctor Qian is truly capable, he should prove it himself. The rumors will then fall apart on their own, and I will naturally be convinced."

When Zhang Zhongjing saw Nie Qianqian approaching, he lowered his voice and addressed himself as "this old man" in a deep, aged tone, his expression somewhat unnatural.

He knew that the person under the straw hat was not an old man at all, but a young girl. She was so young, yet she so confidently called herself an old man. This girl really made him both laugh and cry.

Nie Qianqian: "Then how do you suggest we prove it?"

After pondering for a moment, Wang Shouren replied, "Naturally, it's about diagnosing and treating patients. How about I have a contest with Doctor Qian, where we'll treat the next patient who walks into the clinic for free and see who can cure the patient? What do you say?"

Nie Qianqian thought for a moment and agreed, "I will compete with you, not to prove myself, but to show you what it means to be outdone by others."

Nie Qianqian thought that if she didn't hold clinic hours, there would indeed be some rumors in the clinic, so it would be better to make a move sooner to save a lot of trouble.

Just as the two had agreed to begin their contest, Zhang Zhongjing's apprentice, Tiandong, rushed over, shouting, "Master, Master, Dean Qiu has arrived again with his wife. The lady looks very unwell; she...she's vomiting blood..."

Dean Qiu?

Nie Qianqian's heart skipped a beat. The person who could be called Dean Qiu must be the dean of Tiande Academy, where Gu Xiao was. Was his wife ill?

Upon hearing this, Director Zhang's expression changed drastically, his voice filled with sorrow, "In the end, they couldn't make it through this winter..."

Nie Qianqian said to Director Zhang and Doctor Wang, "Doctor Wang, let's have a competition to see how we treat this Madam Qiu."

Wang Shouren shook his head and said, "Madam Qiu has been suffering from lung disease for more than three years. She came to the clinic a few days ago and found that her condition had reached a critical stage and could not be cured by human intervention."

Director Zhang sighed and said, "You should find someone else to treat the contest. I'll go down and check on Dean Qiu and his wife."

Nie Qianqian: "It is not my style to conclude that this person is incurable without examining him."

Wang Shouren scoffed, "Don't you believe the curator's diagnosis?"

Director Zhang turned to look at Nie Qianqian, "Do you really have a way?"

Nie Qianqian: "I need to see a doctor and assess the situation before I can make a judgment; perhaps there is a cure."

There are many types of lung diseases, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, or lung cancer.

She needs to examine Mrs. Qiu carefully before she can make a judgment.

Wang Shouren waved his sleeve, saying, "It's all a waste of effort. Why should Doctor Qian put on airs?"

Nie Qianqian said coldly, "It seems that Doctor Wang is at a loss when it comes to this patient. If I can cure this lady, then I will win this competition."

Wang Shouren said coldly, "In my decades of medical practice, I have never seen a patient with such severe lung disease who can be cured. Very well, if you, Doctor Qian, can cure him, I will admit defeat and apologize to you personally in the clinic, and I will never question you again!"