After sending away the commoners outside, Su Yuanyuan gathered her belongings and entered the inn.
She requested an upper - class room. Pushing the door open, Su Yuanyuan walked in. After closing the door and turning around, she saw a man in a blue cloth shirt sitting in the once - empty room. It was the very man who had suddenly fainted on the bustling street earlier.
This man was actually played by Cang Xuan. He and Su Yuanyuan had staged this act of saving a life to spread the news that "the disciple of the Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove has appeared in Chenzhou City", aiming to catch the attention of those from the Wang Family Merchant Guild.
Su Yuanyuan's eyes curved into a smile. She walked over, put down the medicine box in her hand, and said to Cang Xuan, "Brother Yunjian, you played your part so realistically just now that even I was convinced."
Cang Xuan replied, "No wonder those acupuncture needles you used were so real. I can still feel a faint pain."
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his embrace. Their noses almost touched as he whispered, "You didn't deliberately take this opportunity to take revenge on me and give me some poison, did you?"
The young girl hooked her arms around his neck, raised her eyebrows like him, and said with a smile, "Yes. From now on, it's a poison that will make you follow my every command."
After staying in the room for a while, they changed their outfits and appearances and left. They headed for the busiest restaurant in Chenzhou City - "Jinyun Restaurant".
Teahouses and restaurants have always been gathering places for all kinds of gossips. Cang Xuan, the master of Liuyun Pavilion with an intelligence network as vast as the sky and as intricate as a net, understood this principle well. To spread the news that the disciple of the "Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove" had reappeared in the world, a restaurant was a better place than the street.
"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough..." The common woman played by Su Yuanyuan looked pale and sickly, as if a gentle breeze could blow her down. Every two steps she took, she would stop to cough.
Thanks to Qin Wanrong, Su Yuanyuan played the role of a weak and sickly person so vividly that hardly anyone suspected she was acting. Some people even stepped back because of her realistic performance and complained:
"This young lady is really something. Why does she go out when she's sick? What if it's tuberculosis? What if she spreads the illness to others?"
"Exactly. If she's sick, she should go to the medical clinic. What's she doing in a restaurant? It's really a killjoy!"
The waiter instinctively felt that it was inappropriate for a sick person like Su Yuanyuan to enter the restaurant. But since she was neither a beggar nor a vagrant, there was no reason to turn a customer away. So he stepped forward, bowed his hands, and said to Cang Xuan and Su Yuanyuan,
"Dear guests, there are private rooms upstairs. How about going upstairs?"
The ordinary - looking man played by Cang Xuan showed a hesitant expression, "This..."
Two streams of clear tears rolled down Su Yuanyuan's eyes. She covered her face with a handkerchief, looking extremely frail, and said to Cang Xuan, "Husband, let's not cause trouble for everyone. Let's leave quickly."
This address of "husband" made Cang Xuan feel extremely comfortable. He bowed his hands and bowed to the guests in the main hall,
"We're really sorry for disturbing you all. But I'd like to clarify that my wife's illness is congenital. It's not tuberculosis and won't be transmitted to others."
"You say it won't be transmitted, but why should we believe you?" someone immediately said.
Cang Xuan looked at the woman in his arms "affectionately" and said,
"My wife has had this illness since she was born. A Taoist priest once predicted that she wouldn't live past eighteen. But I never believed that she would leave me so early. To treat her illness, we've seen countless doctors and spent all our savings, but there's been no improvement. Seeing that there are only two months left until her eighteenth birthday, we heard that the once - famous 'Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove' has reappeared in the world and is extremely skilled in medicine. So we sold our old family house, left Shuzhou, and followed the towns the divine doctor had passed through before finally arriving in Chenzhou City."
Cang Xuan and Su Yuanyuan exchanged a look. The love and concern in their eyes were so obvious that the waiter was deeply touched.
"If we can successfully seek medical treatment this time and cure my wife, breaking that Taoist priest's prophecy, I'll have no regrets in this life. But the journey from Shuzhou to Chenzhou is long, and most of the silver we got from selling the house has been spent. We always thought we should save as much as we could. We just wanted to have a couple of simple dishes in the main hall. A private room is really too expensive for us. If you're really worried that my wife will spread the illness, we'll leave."
After saying that, Cang Xuan held Su Yuanyuan's arm and was about to leave immediately.
A diner chased after them, bowed his hands, and said embarrassedly, "Brother, I'm a straightforward person and I speak without thinking. I'm really sorry for what I said just now."
"Yes, we didn't expect your wife to be in such a situation. Since it's clear that it's not tuberculosis, we're all relieved. Come on, there are still seats in the main hall. You two sit down quickly and try the delicious food in Chenzhou City."
The two who had planned to leave were soon warmly invited by the diners in the main hall to sit in the empty seats.
The diner who had just apologized said to the waiter, "Waiter, serve them a few of your signature dishes. Put it on my bill!"
Cang Xuan quickly stood up and pretended to take out his money bag, "We can't let you spend your money, brother. I have silver. We can pay the bill ourselves."
The diner pressed Cang Xuan's hand and said, "Save your silver for your wife's treatment. If you can really cure her one day and break that so - called prophecy of the evil Taoist priest, you can invite me to a big meal then. How about it?"
Cang Xuan showed a simple and honest smile and agreed.
Su Yuanyuan also stood up and bowed gently to the man, "Thank you, big brother. My husband and I are extremely grateful for your kindness. We'll surely repay you in the future."
After they sat down, the diners around them began to ask Cang Xuan about the "Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove".
Only a small number of people knew about the act that Su Yuanyuan and Cang Xuan had staged in the city today. Most of the diners in the restaurant were still unaware. Su Yuanyuan secretly pinched Cang Xuan's hand, and he began to explain the origin of the "Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove" to everyone.
"I heard that she passed away five years ago. It's said that she accidentally fell off a cliff while collecting herbs on the mountain with her two apprentices. Maybe the disciple survived the disaster. After surviving, she dedicated herself to studying medicine. After achieving success, she came out to treat the sick and save the dying."
"Is it true that the disciple of the 'Divine Doctor of Apricot Grove' has really come to Chenzhou City?" another diner asked curiously.
Cang Xuan nodded, "Yes, she's staying at the Tongfu Inn. It's said that she'll have a free medical consultation in the city tomorrow. My wife and I plan to go to her early tomorrow morning for treatment."
After telling the diners about the free medical consultation, not long after, Su Yuanyuan used the excuse of "feeling dizzy and weak" to bid farewell to everyone with Cang Xuan and left.
After walking out of the restaurant, the two, who were supporting each other, exchanged a look and burst into laughter.
The hook had been cast. All they had to do next was wait for the fish to take the bait.