Chapter 189: Chapter 108: The Whole City Searches for Gu Changsheng
Just as Eunuch Yuan Bao said, the doctors in Liuzhou City were nearly driven insane searching for Gu Changsheng, and without any sleep deep into the night, they all gathered at Hu Yihai’s house, each wearing an expression of urgent concern, their brows furrowed in worry.
“Elder Xu, aren’t you on good terms with Lady Changsheng? Do think of a solution quickly!”
“Yes, Elder Xu, if we can’t find Lady Changsheng, we’re going to lose the dical debate conference again.”
“Elder Xu, I’ve prepared the secret recipe for treating my family’s headaches, and as long as we find Lady Changsheng, I will imdiately fulfill my original promise and hand over the formula to her. Please, think of a way to let us et Lady Changsheng!”
…
The crowd gathered together, each speaking in turn, placing their hopes on Elder Xu.
At that ti, Elder Xu was also frowning deeply, “Look at what you’re saying; the dical debate conference is a serious matter. If I truly knew Lady Changsheng’s whereabouts, would I be sitting here troubled and worried with you?”
“What to do, indeed,” sighed Hu Yihai, “the reconstruction of the Gu Family dical Hall is all handled by Eunuch Yuan Bao from the County Prince’s Mansion. You don’t know how many tis I’ve mustered up the courage to inquire, only to be turned away each ti. With this vast sea of people, where are we to find Lady Changsheng?”
“Those shaless old fellows from Taizhou, turning a perfectly good Jiangnan dical Debate Conference into a spectacle by inviting an Imperial Physician from the Capital City to bolster their side! If we let them win again this ti, what will we do with Liuzhou’s dicinal materials for the next five years?” An old doctor stamped his foot and declared fiercely, “No matter what, we must find Lady Changsheng. She is our only hope!”
“Indeed, though Liuzhou City is large, even if we have to close our businesses, we need to search through each household to find peace of mind! The Gu Family dical Hall is still under reconstruction, so even if Lady Changsheng wanted to find a quiet place to hide, she couldn’t be too far away.”
“That’s right, if we can’t find her in the city, we’ll search outside the city. With only five days left until the dical debate conference, we have to turn Liuzhou upside down if that’s what it takes to find Lady Changsheng!”
“Agreed! Tomorrow, I’ll get everyone in my household to search!”
“…”
The crowd debated back and forth, swearing an oath to find Gu Changsheng no matter the cost.
They were not overreacting; the significance of the dical debate conference was indeed massive.
For a doctor, dicinal materials are of utmost importance. A skilled cook cannot prepare als without rice, and even the best doctors can’t heal or save lives without good dicinal materials! However, top-grade dicinal materials are often limited in production, hence the dicinal firms of the Jiangnan Five Prefectures struggled over them, resulting in bloodshed year after year. A hundred years ago, to settle the disputes over dicinal materials, the dicinal firms agreed to hold the Southern dical Debate Conference once every five years. Representatives from each prefecture would invite major dicinal material rchants of the Zhou Dynasty to witness the conference, during which each prefecture would send two delegates for the dicine identification and preparation contests. The winning prefecture would get the priority to place orders with the rchants and decide the proportion of dicinal materials according to the ranking!
Therefore, the once-every-five-years Jiangnan dical Debate Conference is related to the quantity and quality of dicinal materials each prefecture can procure over the next five years, and it also affects the price of dicine.
And the Liuzhou dical Guild had lost the conference for ten consecutive years, failing to procure even a trace of superior dicinal materials for a decade, and the amount of ordinary dicinal materials obtained had been pitifully small. They had no choice but to buy from the winning prefecture at high prices.
Gu Changsheng’s ergence, however, rekindled their hope. She beca their lifeline, and they believed that as long as she could represent the Liuzhou dical Guild in the contest, they might not secure the top spot, but their ranking certainly wouldn’t be too far behind at this dical debate conference!
The next day, indeed, the doctors across Liuzhou mobilized their entire families, even relatives and neighbors, to search for Gu Changsheng’s whereabouts throughout the city. Before long, the na of Gu Changsheng was known to every household, recognized by everyone.
anwhile, Gu Changsheng was receiving a visitor at the ti.
This visitor was none other than the owner of the small courtyard she had rented at the foot of Baili Mountain.
“Madam, I didn’t co here because of anything else, but only because a neighbor who ca into the city ntioned that soone died after you rented my courtyard…” The owner of the courtyard was from the Lau family, whose son, Lau Quansheng, bought a house in the city to conduct business. He looked at the seated Gu Changsheng with a look of embarrassnt.
Gu Changsheng sighed. There was no wall that couldn’t be breached. She had planned to wait for Uncle Song’s return to discuss with Lau Quansheng in person. If a life is lost in a rental property, you still owe an explanation to the landlord, anywhere you go. Gu Changsheng looked apologetically at the simple and honest man sitting not far away. “My family has been beset with troubles recently. I have been remiss in not coming to discuss this matter with you sooner. Since my family has brought bloodshed to this courtyard, I am truly ashad. May I ask, landlord, what are your plans?”
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