TTLJDFL Chapter 43

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Li Jin asked so solemnly that Qin Muwen was at a loss.

Though he usually had his own small opinions, he had never refused Li Jin’s requests.

So before Qin Muwen could even respond, Li Jin made the decision for him. “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow morning, take Brother Zhuzi’s ox cart to Xinglintang and wait for me there.”

Qin Muwen nodded, completely unaware that he had forgotten about the baby.

Fortunately, Li Jin had arranged everything properly. Early the next morning, after feeding Baozi, he sent the child to Li Zhuzi’s house.

Baozi didn’t want to leave his father and wailed a few times, but his father didn’t change his mind and placed him on the kang bed in Li Zhuzi’s house.

“Don’t worry, the child is with me. I guarantee he won’t go hungry,” Li Zhuzi reassured him.

Li Jin said, “I appreciate your trouble.”

Baozi watched his father walk away with wide eyes. Feeling dejected, he cried for a while before sleepiness overtook him, and he dozed off.

Li Jin knew children well—if you kept coaxing them, they’d only cling tighter and cry harder. So he believed in the philosophy of “short pain is better than long pain” and left quickly, ensuring Baozi would settle down sooner.

Meanwhile, Qin Muwen had just finished preparing breakfast when he noticed Baozi was missing.

However, he didn’t panic because he trusted Li Jin unconditionally. Seeing this, Li Jin was quite pleased and took the initiative to explain.

Only then did Qin Muwen realize that he was really going to the temple fair today.

Looking down at his coarse cloth clothes, he hesitated. Would going out like this embarrass A’Jin?

Li Jin reassured him, “It doesn’t matter. A beautiful person is enough.”

Qin Muwen was overjoyed—this was the second time A’Jin had praised his looks.

But he had self-awareness. Even with the best mirror, he still felt that he wasn’t as good-looking as A’Jin.

After spending some time at home, Li Jin slung a basket over his back and headed to the academy.

Qin Muwen didn’t need to go so early—there wouldn’t be anywhere for him to stay even if he did. So, he waited until noon to ride Li Zhuzi’s ox cart to town. Otherwise, if he, a ger, walked such a long distance alone, Li Jin would worry.

At the Academy

That day, Li Jin and Chen Xiran’s lessons completely changed in style. No longer were they quietly copying books or memorizing texts by the window.

Instead, they were now checking each other’s dictation and composing couplets together.

To be honest, as an academic high-achiever, Li Jin preferred studying alone in silence—reciting texts, drawing the citric acid cycle, or deducing organic chemistry sequences.

But creating couplets, which required him to generate phrases on the spot, made him nervous.

He wasn’t worried about matching the tonal patterns—when Chen Xiran gave an upper verse, he could always provide a suitable lower verse.

But coming up with an original upper verse? That was a real headache.

Even though he had memorized a vast number of texts in the past few months and could cite classics effortlessly, his adult mindset made it difficult to produce fresh, lively phrases off the cuff.

As their teacher, Mr. Song, took a break from overseeing another class’s recitations, he came over to check their couplet exercises.

At a single glance, he nearly blew his top.

He had little hope for Chen Xiran, who wasn’t known for diligence.

But what was going on with Li Jin?

Did he really need that long just to come up with a couplet?

Mr. Song snapped, “If you two don’t take this seriously, you’ll be copying Poems for Children’s Enlightenment (Shi San Bai) as punishment!”

Li Jin and Chen Xiran exchanged looks of despair.

Once their teacher left, Chen Xiran whispered, “What do we do now?”

He had hoped to coast through by letting Li Jin compose the upper verses while he supplied the lower ones.

Who knew that Li Jin wasn’t good at it either—and had even been caught by the teacher?

Li Jin calmly pulled a copy of Poems for Children’s Enlightenment from the bookshelf and began grinding ink to start copying.

Chen Xiran was dumbfounded. “That’s a book for beginners! Wake up!”

Li Jin replied, “Or, you can compete with Dalang and see who can compose an upper verse faster and better?”

Dalang was Mr. Song’s eldest son, the little boy who usually opened the academy doors for them. He was only seven years old.

Hearing this, Chen Xiran covered his face. “Move over, let me copy with you.”

Half an hour later, Mr. Song figured they should be able to handle couplets more fluently now.

Even if Chen Xiran wasn’t great at it, surely Li Jin would have improved.

However, the study room remained eerily quiet.

Pushing the door open, Mr. Song found the two of them still copying a picture-annotated version of Poems for Children’s Enlightenment.

Even with his deep patience, Mr. Song couldn’t help but slam the door in frustration.

He stormed out, throwing one last sentence at them: “Copy it twice!”

Another half-hour passed before he returned with a dark expression and finally dragged both of them out to the courtyard.

Li Jin calmly put down his brush and responded with composure, which slightly improved Mr. Song’s mood—at least he had the bearing of a true scholar.

But Chen Xiran looked bewildered. “I haven’t finished copying yet.”

Before he could say more, Mr. Song flicked his folding fan and knocked him on the head.

As they stepped into the front yard, Chen Xiran was shocked to see that the entire other class was already gathered there.

Mr. Song’s arrival instantly silenced the students.

But many of them were sneaking glances at Li Jin and Chen Xiran.

Everyone knew that those who studied in Mr. Song’s personal study were preparing for the next year’s imperial exam.

However, these students usually arrived earlier and left later, so the rest of the academy rarely interacted with them.

Now, seeing Mr. Song personally bring out his two “prized students,” they wondered if he was trying to motivate everyone else.

Most students were simply curious.

But those who had studied with Li Jin before were utterly shocked.

They hadn’t seen Li Jin in a long time and had assumed he had given up on academics to farm.

As for the rumors about a “miracle-working country doctor” spreading through town, they had never connected that figure to Li Jin.

After all, they had studied alongside him for years.

They thought they knew his abilities.

Yet now, standing right in front of them, was Li Jin.

Their eyes widened in disbelief.

Sensing their stares, Li Jin glanced back at them and gave a polite nod.

“It really is Li Jin!” someone exclaimed.

Mr. Song glanced over, and everyone immediately lowered their heads, falling silent.

Seeing that time was running short, Mr. Song couldn't be bothered to pursue the matter further. He got straight to the point: "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Everyone, come up with an upper verse using the theme of Mid-Autumn, and the others will match it with a lower verse."

"Li Jin, you and Chen Xiran will be responsible for recording."

Li Jin and Chen Xiran acknowledged the task.

Li Jin thought that Mr. Song was truly an excellent teacher—he was essentially helping them gather material.

A few students who knew Li Jin wanted to take advantage of the commotion to ask him how he had suddenly earned Mr. Song’s favor.

As they got closer, they saw Li Jin’s handwriting, and suddenly, all their words got stuck in their throats.

A person's handwriting reflects their character, and Mr. Song had previously praised Li Jin’s writing, saying that every stroke carried strength and integrity.

Mr. Song rarely gave direct compliments. If he was satisfied with someone, he would express it in other ways, like gifting books or inviting them to stay for a meal.

For him to praise someone openly meant that person was truly exceptional.

So, when these students saw Li Jin’s handwriting, they immediately realized that he was no longer the same Li Jin as before.

The Li Jin of the past could not have written like this.

After class, a few of them huddled together, whispering:

"Could it be that Li Jin was hiding his true ability all along?"

"That seems very likely."

"Sigh, if we had known earlier, we should have sincerely befriended him."

Otherwise, after three years of being classmates, their relationship wouldn't have degraded to nothing more than a nodding acquaintance.

Meanwhile, the students from the neighboring academy had also finished their lessons. Li Jin and Chen Xiran remained behind, as Mr. Song continued to guide them in analyzing the couplets submitted by their peers.

Watching their reactions, Mr. Song felt like he was talking to two wooden blocks.

He said, "The county-level exam still includes a poetry composition section. Although it doesn’t carry much weight in the scoring, if you perform this poorly, don’t go around saying you are my students!"

Li Jin thought this was probably similar to a homeroom teacher saying, 'You are the worst class I’ve ever taught.'

He quickly said, "Sir, I will gather more material from my surroundings and make sure I don’t disappoint you next time."

Chen Xiran also patted his chest in assurance.

Only then did Mr. Song let them go, allowing them to return home and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Before they left, Dalang carried a tray over and handed each of them a mooncake.

"Father said to wish everyone a happy and harmonious Mid-Autumn Festival."

"Thank you, Sir, and thank you, Dalang." Li Jin accepted the mooncake gratefully.

Chen Xiran took a bite, then froze, his face contorting as he swallowed it down. "It's five-nut filling."

Li Jin had been about to take a bite himself but suddenly paused. He wrapped the mooncake back up and put it in his basket.

Chen Xiran asked, "Why aren’t you eating it?"

Li Jin replied, "A good thing should be shared with my husband."

Chen Xiran muttered, "…I suddenly feel sorry for your husband."

The festival market would start in the evening, but in the afternoon, Li Jin still had to attend his duties at the medical clinic.

When he arrived at Xinglintang, Li Zhuzi and Qin Muwen happened to arrive at the same time.

Li Zhuzi was sweating profusely. "The streets are packed with people. I swear, even cows can’t move."

Li Jin, having left early in the morning, had found the streets no different from usual.

Li Zhuzi continued, "I still have to deliver supplies to Uncle Dahe, so I won’t be joining you all tonight. But with so many people around, you won’t have to worry about encountering bad things."

"Thank you, Brother Zhuzi," Li Jin said.

After Li Zhuzi left, Li Jin turned to Qin Muwen.

Today, Qin Muwen wore a white outfit with red trim along the sleeves and collar. His hair was tied back with a matching silk ribbon, with no extra adornments, yet he still looked striking.

Li Jin took his hand and led him to eat.

At the clinic’s dining table, it was just the three of them—Li Jin, Zhou Gui, and Qin Muwen. Since they had all met before, the atmosphere was relaxed.

After eating, patients started arriving.

Li Jin asked Qin Muwen to sit in the inner hall, separated from him by a curtain.

Zhou Gui smiled and said, "This curtain allows you to see out, but because of the lighting, people outside can’t see in. You can sit here without worry. If anything happens, just call for me or Doctor Li."

Hearing his polite reassurance, Qin Muwen quickly returned the courtesy and thanked him.

It was precisely because of Zhou Gui’s words that Qin Muwen felt more at ease.

The clinic was an unfamiliar place to him, and the only person he fully trusted wasn’t by his side. Even though he maintained a calm expression, he still felt nervous.

But with Zhou Gui’s reminder, Qin Muwen relaxed. He sat quietly in the inner hall, watching Li Jin diagnose and treat patients.

The anxiety in his heart gradually faded, leaving only pride and joy.

A while later, a young girl in a pink dress, about fourteen or fifteen years old, entered, holding a letter.

When Zhou Gui called out, "Next!" she walked straight to Li Jin’s table.

Instead of offering her wrist for a pulse reading, she handed him the letter.

"Doctor Li, my mistress said that once you read this letter, you will understand her feelings."

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