Time Travel: The Best Doctor in Ancient Times

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 medical 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 immediately fulfill my original promise and hand over the formula to her. Please, think of a way to let us meet Lady Changsheng!”

…

The crowd gathered together, each speaking in turn, placing their hopes on Elder Xu.

At that time, Elder Xu was also frowning deeply, “Look at what you’re saying; the medical 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 Medical Hall is all handled by Eunuch Yuan Bao from the County Prince’s Mansion. You don’t know how many times I’ve mustered up the courage to inquire, only to be turned away each time. With this vast sea of people, where are we to find Lady Changsheng?”

“Those shameless old fellows from Taizhou, turning a perfectly good Jiangnan Medical 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 time, what will we do with Liuzhou’s medicinal 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 Medical 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 medical 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 medical debate conference was indeed massive.

For a doctor, medicinal materials are of utmost importance. A skilled cook cannot prepare meals without rice, and even the best doctors can’t heal or save lives without good medicinal materials! However, top-grade medicinal materials are often limited in production, hence the medicinal firms of the Jiangnan Five Prefectures struggled over them, resulting in bloodshed year after year. A hundred years ago, to settle the disputes over medicinal materials, the medicinal firms agreed to hold the Southern Medical Debate Conference once every five years. Representatives from each prefecture would invite major medicinal material merchants of the Zhou Dynasty to witness the conference, during which each prefecture would send two delegates for the medicine identification and preparation contests. The winning prefecture would get the priority to place orders with the merchants and decide the proportion of medicinal materials according to the ranking!

Therefore, the once-every-five-years Jiangnan Medical Debate Conference is related to the quantity and quality of medicinal materials each prefecture can procure over the next five years, and it also affects the price of medicine.

And the Liuzhou Medical Guild had lost the conference for ten consecutive years, failing to procure even a trace of superior medicinal materials for a decade, and the amount of ordinary medicinal materials obtained had been pitifully small. They had no choice but to buy from the winning prefecture at high prices.

Gu Changsheng’s emergence, however, rekindled their hope. She became their lifeline, and they believed that as long as she could represent the Liuzhou Medical Guild in the contest, they might not secure the top spot, but their ranking certainly wouldn’t be too far behind at this medical 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 name of Gu Changsheng was known to every household, recognized by everyone.

Meanwhile, Gu Changsheng was receiving a visitor at the time.

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 come here because of anything else, but only because a neighbor who came into the city mentioned that someone 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 embarrassment.

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 ashamed. May I ask, landlord, what are your plans?”