In the following days, Wang Ping'an took care of Qi Lao Da's illness and continued to take medicine. Under his careful care, Qi Lao Da's illness improved day by day. By the fourth day, he was able to move around in the yard and exercise. Although his body was still weak, the stubborn disease that had plagued him for almost a year had disappeared. From then on, all he needed was good care and nourishment.

  Wang Ping'an bid farewell and prepared to return to his own home in Wulicun. Qi Huan did not retain the guest, in fact two days ago, he was no longer grateful for Wang Ping'an's words of thanks, and his attitude towards him became ordinary.

  On this day, the two of them left the Qi residence together. Only then did Qi Huan say: "Wang Xiongdi, great kindness doesn't need to be thanked. The kindness you've shown my Qi family is etched in my brother's heart. If I keep thanking you over and over again, that would be too insincere, and my own character wouldn't be worth much either. I won't say anything else. From now on, Wang Xiongdi, you are my own brother. If you have any matters, just send someone to bring a message, no matter whether it's in fire or water, your brother will go through thick and thin for you!"

  "Alright, with Brother Qi's words, I, your younger brother, won't say anything else. From now on, we're brothers!" Wang Ping'an was also straightforward and sincere. In Qi Huan's words, he had treated him as a sworn brother for life and death. He didn't plan to play any tricks like "a gentleman's promise is light as water". If they were brothers, then they were brothers - directly saying it out loud made it so, no need to hide it in their hearts!

  Qihuan personally escorted him back to Wulicun, and after entering the village, Qihuan went from door to door to apologize, giving each household one guan of money and two hens as a gesture of apology for occupying the river water in previous days.

  The villagers of Wulicun thought they had encountered the brutal and tyrannical soldiers from Fangmazuang, and this matter would be settled with just a return to normal. But unexpectedly, the commander of the imperial guards personally came to apologize and brought gifts - one yuan and two hens, which was a considerable unexpected fortune for a small household!

  All this is thanks to the blessing of the young master, who is kind and skilled in medicine, and also has the ability to turn bad luck into good fortune. It seems that life will get better after leaving Wulicun!

  In the ten-mile-eight-village area, Wang Ping'an's reputation was loud and clear. Everyone knew that the young master of the Wang family had become a self-taught genius doctor through his own efforts. As the news spread, it evolved into Wang Ping'an encountering an immortal who enlightened him to discover unparalleled medical skills, rivaling those of Bian Que and Hua Tuo. He could revive the dead and bring flesh back to bare bones. In short, if you had an illness, finding Wang Ping'an, the young genius doctor, was the right thing to do!

  More and more people came to the door asking for medical help, although there was a sign at the entrance of the Wang family's mansion that said "no more than three visits per day", but no one took it seriously. The high threshold of the Wang family's gate was almost trampled down, and no matter how unhappy Yang was, she couldn't stop others from coming to see Wang Ping'an.

  Wang Ping'an thought that since his reputation was already loud, why not go up another level? Wait until his name is thoroughly loud in Xuzhou, then when the time comes to take the imperial examination in the capital, who knows, he might be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort, pass the exam in one try, and smoothly become a jinshi!

  He sees patients and prescribes medicine every day, and in a few days, he has already treated over a hundred people. Wang Youcai sees this and says to Yang, "This is also good. Anyway, our son has decided to take the medical exam, so accumulating some clinical experience is also beneficial. It's much better than encountering cases in Beijing after passing the exam and being at a loss." Yang thinks about it and agrees, and from then on, she no longer blocks the door.

  Wang Ping'an made preparations in advance to pass the imperial examination, and so did others. The students in Xuzhou City had no choice but to study hard if they had no connections, while those with connections couldn't help but think about how to take advantage of them!

  Xuancheng Academy. The academic style of the academy is known for its simplicity and elegance in Xuzhou, and so is its architectural style, which does not seek luxury but seeks refinement in simplicity. In the backyard of the academy, there is a small study with a thatched roof standing beside a pond, symbolizing the return of a great talent to seclusion. On the wooden door hangs a small plaque with three round black characters: Xianglan Hall.

  There were two people sitting in the study, one was a young man of twenty-seven or eight years old, wearing coarse linen clothes, extremely handsome, with several sheets of paper on the table in front of him. The other was a middle-aged man in gray clothes, and they were talking to each other.

  The man in grey said: "When the little ones went to the capital, they must have investigated and returned with news. I'm sure other academies also investigated, so our academy doesn't have much of an advantage."

  The young man nodded and said, "From the news you brought back, it seems that next year's imperial examination poetry requirements are not difficult, compared to last year's, they have actually been lowered a bit. Could it be that the number of successful candidates will increase next year?" He paused for a moment, then suddenly said, "Could it be that the Emperor's health is not good, and he wants to store up talent in advance, so that it can be used by the Crown Prince in the future?"

  The man in grey clothes raised his thumb and praised, "Young master has a good mind, just by looking at the requirements of the poem's rhythm, he inferred the situation in the palace! Indeed, the emperor is getting old, his body is not as good as before, and there are indeed plans to pave the way for the crown prince!"

  Young people from an early age have only heard praise, and the flattery of the man in gray is not taken seriously. There was no smile on his face as he flipped through the few papers on the table and said, "It's easy to talk about poetry and literature, but the key is policy debate. From these messages, it seems that the most discussed topic in the court recently is how to clear the silt from the canal and dredge the canal. Is it possible that the emperor wants to go to war with Liaodong again?"

  The man in grey smiled and said, "The dredging of the canal is a decree personally issued by the Emperor. As officials, we naturally have to do our best to get it done well. That's why Chancellor Changsun has personally appointed Cong Li to oversee this matter!"

  "What's the Cong Li about? I've heard of this person, but he's an expert in penal law, not river management!" The young man furrowed his brow, then suddenly realized and said: "It seems that His Majesty is thinking... wants to calm down Liaodong before something unbearable happens, so as to avoid the Crown Prince mishandling it later. But Grand Master Zhangsun is superficially agreeing while actually delaying, he doesn't agree with sending out a large army for a distant expedition!"

  The man in grey nodded and said, "That's right. Chancellor Changsun is deeply loyal to the Emperor, and they have a special bond from their youth. Chancellor Changsun delayed the expedition because he was worried that something unexpected might happen to the Emperor while leading the troops." After saying this, he stopped talking, looking at the young man, knowing that some things are better left unsaid, lest one appears to be showing off and ends up being disliked.

  Indeed, the young man thought for a moment and said: "The ministers in the court are all astute men, how could they not see through the intentions of Duke Changsun? I think that in the city of Chang'an now, everywhere is filled with praise and admiration for the Emperor's past military achievements, one poetry gathering after another!"

  The man in grey robes laughed and said, "Isn't that right? Nowadays the capital is full of voices actively preparing for war, and poetry meetings are all about golden armor and iron horses. If some bookworm who only knows how to read dead books comes to the capital, they will inevitably think that next year's policy essay will be about the Liaodong War, and they will put their energy into this aspect. When the time comes and they enter the examination hall, it would be strange if they don't get confused!"

  "In my opinion, next year's policy will be about how to rest and recover, this is the true intention of Lord Zhangsun! The young man snorted and said: "The imperial examination is all about guessing the intentions of those above, but next year it will be guessing the intentions of Lord Zhangsun, not the Emperor!"

  The man in grey said, "Young master, you're absolutely right. If Director Changsun can influence who becomes the crown prince, then what's the difficulty in making someone pass the imperial examination? For ordinary people, passing the exam is like ascending to heaven, but for those in power, letting someone pass is just a matter of saying so!"

  Young Master said: "Now the wind in Chang'an is preparing for a distant expedition, but the real intention is to rest and recover. This point we want to get, people with heart also want to get it, as for those who only know how to read books, don't need to pay attention. From my enlightenment to now, I have been preparing for twenty years, just for one day's imperial examination, but the ranking after passing the exam..."

  "It all depends on who the scroll is submitted to, this 'knowing one's master' is the key to determining one's ranking. Of course, it would be best if it could be submitted to the chief examiner himself. If the chief examiner and the examinee become acquainted, how could the ranking possibly go wrong? The only question is who the Marquis will let serve as this chief examiner!" said the man in gray.

  The young man's face showed an impatient expression, saying: "If I knew who it was, wouldn't everyone have gone under his door, and if I waited until the main examiner decided before going to offer my services, wouldn't that be too late!"

  The man in grey said, "This is a major matter, and it's not something that can be investigated by someone like me. We'll have to ask the old master of the mountain to come forward. The big shots in the capital don't sell out other people's faces, but they will definitely sell out the old master's face!"

  The young man sighed and shook his head: "Father has recently contracted a cold, his body is not comfortable, at this time if he worries again, it will be detrimental to his health!"

  The man in grey clothes nodded and asked, "Have you invited a doctor to take a look? In our Xuzhou city, only Cheng Jisheng is considered number one, it's not worth inviting other doctors."

  "Father himself is well-versed in medicine, why bother inviting a doctor!" The young man said, disapprovingly, he didn't even look up to Cheng Ji's birth.

  This young man was the son of Qiu Weng Pu, the master of Xiangtong Academy, named Qiu Tingxuan. Like Wang Pingan, he also planned to take part in the imperial examination next year.

  Attached: Thank you to book friends Xiao Zhu and Bian Li for rewarding this book, thank you to book friend Lian Ye Ren for the reward, Ping An is grateful here, bowing hands repeatedly!

  Braised duck eggs with rock sugar

  Recipe: 1 duck egg, 15g rock sugar.

  Method: First dissolve rock sugar in boiling water, let it cool down, then beat in duck eggs and mix well, steam until cooked.

  Efficacy: Clearing heat and detoxifying, tonifying spleen and opening stomach.

  Usage: Twice daily for 1 week.