Chapter 108 Zhang Xia
Chen Ji looked outside the clinic. There was no one in front of the bun shop, as if no one had ever stood there staring at them.

He said, "We need to first figure out whether this person is following the prince or the princess. Prince, have you ever been followed by this person alone?"

The prince shook his head: "No."

"Princess, have you ever met this person when you went out alone?"

Bai Li replied, "I have met him before. I remember last year during the Lantern Festival, my brother was drinking with his friends, and I took my maid to guess lantern riddles. That person was also hiding in the crowd and secretly watching me."

"Has the princess mentioned this to Madam Yunfei?"

"My mother told me not to overthink it. Maybe it's just a coincidence."

Chen Ji was slightly startled.

According to normal people's logic, if one's daughter is being followed by a stranger, the first reaction would be to send someone to protect her, rather than telling her not to think too much.

Concubine Yun probably knows who that person is.

However, at this moment, the sound of horse hooves interrupted the thoughts of Chen Ji and others. They saw a chestnut horse hurriedly stopped in front of Taiping Medical Clinic.

Everyone in the clinic stopped talking and looked at the chestnut horse and the person riding it. They seemed to be born to be the protagonists on the stage. No matter whether they were singing the role of Qingyi or Huadan, they were always the most dazzling one.

The chestnut horse was covered in sweat, and in the early winter sunshine, it was steaming with mist.

The silver-covered wood saddle was inlaid with gold threads and gems. On the saddle, a girl in red jumped off the horse and threw the whip in her hand away. The horse seemed to have a spirit and held the whip in its mouth.

There was no need to tie the reins anywhere; the chestnut horse just stopped at the entrance of the clinic and didn't go anywhere.

The girl, dressed in a neat polo outfit, walked straight into the Taiping Clinic and asked loudly, "Who is Chen Ji?"

Everyone subconsciously looked at Chen Ji, who stood behind the counter and said calmly, "It is me."

The girl walked up to the counter as if no one was around, and carefully looked at the wooden hairpin on Chen Ji's head and the gray cloth on his body that had been washed so hard that the starch had come off and turned white.

The girl looked at Chen Ji across the mahogany counter and asked directly, "Have you ever read a book?"

"I have read it."

The girl asked again: "Of the "Great Learning", "The Analects", "Mencius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean", which one do you know best?"

Chen Ji was startled: "I'm not good at these."

The girl frowned slightly and asked, "Which of the six arts are you good at, the five rituals, the five archery, the six music, the six charioteering, the six calligraphy and the nine numbers?"

Chen Ji thought for a moment and replied, "Nine should be okay."

The girl frowned even more tightly: "Can you write poetry? If you have, show it to me."

Chen Ji shook his head: "No."

Liu Quxing, She Dengke, Bai Li, the Prince and others looked at each other, none of them understood the situation.

The girl appeared suddenly and vividly as if she had fallen from the sky.

But the girl was standing in front of the counter, examining Chen Ji. She was silent for a long while, as if she was conflicted and struggling.

Finally, she rolled up her sleeves neatly and placed her slender wrists on the counter: "Examine me."

Chen Ji said softly, "My dear girl, I am just a junior apprentice in Taiping Clinic. I have not yet completed my training and cannot diagnose patients. The old man over there is my master. You should go to him for diagnosis."

There was a sound.

The girl took out a silver ingot from her waist pouch and slapped it on the counter, saying stiffly, "I want you to examine me."

Chen Ji was about to say something when he saw that Old Man Yao had already put the silver ingot away.

As Old Man Yao stuffed the silver ingot into his sleeve, he said slowly, "When patients make such requests, we doctors should comply with their wishes. After all, mental illness is also an illness."

The girl looked at Chen Ji and said, "Your master has already spoken, don't waste time."

Seeing her arrogant attitude, Bai Li was about to step forward to argue with her, but was pulled back by the prince's arm.

Chen Ji looked at the girl. She was wearing a crimson jade hairpin on her head, as transparent as the sunset clouds, and her pair of phoenix eyes were full of sharpness.

But how can he diagnose illnesses?
When he first crossed over, Chen Ji had thought about brushing up on his medical skills. Later, he found out that what Old Man Yao's direct disciple taught him was not medical skills at all, but tiger skills, so he gave up completely.

Now, how do we diagnose people?

Chen Ji was silent for a moment, and then said: "Hello, girl. I need to ask you some questions now. After you answer, I will make a score based on my judgment according to the five levels of 'none', 'very mild', 'moderate', 'severe', and 'very serious'. Is that okay?" He was familiar with this.

The girl across from the counter was startled at first, then her expression became serious: "Are you kidding me?"

Chen Ji said calmly: "It was the girl who played tricks on me first."

The fiery girl frowned and asked, "When did I ever trick you?"

Chen Ji said, "You didn't come here to see a doctor, but you asked me all sorts of random questions as soon as I entered. I don't even know who you are or what your name is. It's very polite of me to answer those questions."

The girl pursed her lips and said, "I just want to see what you have learned in the two years you have been in the clinic."

Chen Ji said calmly: "What I learned or didn't learn has nothing to do with you. I think you are also a straightforward and generous person. If you have something to say, you can say it directly without beating around the bush."

The girl didn't get angry, but slowly calmed down: "You are really like the rumors."

"What do people say about me?"

The girl thought for a moment and said, "It's said that you are dull and eccentric, with mood swings. You gamble excessively and hang out in places like Red Dress Lane. You came to Taiping Medical Clinic to be an apprentice because you were kicked out by your family."

Chen Ji nodded: "What they spread is true, it is true."

The girl was stunned for a moment: "You don't want to make an excuse?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Since it is a fact, there is no need to explain it... or, there is no need to explain it to you."

The girl raised her eyebrows: "My name is Zhang Xia."

"Zhang Xia?" Chen Ji looked to the side with a little confusion in his eyes. Liu Quxing gestured anxiously, but no one could understand what he was gesturing.

Zhang Xia was puzzled: "You haven't heard of me?"

Chen Ji said sincerely: "I haven't heard of it."

Zhang Xia stood outside the counter, talking to himself as if no one was around: "You don't have to pretend that you haven't heard of me. I came to the clinic today to tell you something: where I want to go and what I want to do in the future are all my business, don't bother me. If you insist on nitpicking, you will only make yourself unhappy."

"As long as you behave yourself, I will give you money every month. But you must not go to the gambling house or to Red Lane again. If I find out that you have embarrassed me outside, I will stop giving you money."

"By the way, you should also have less contact with the Chen family. I will arrange gifts for you to send during festivals, but you'd better go back less often."

Taiping Medical Clinic fell silent.

She Dengke's hand holding the copper scale to weigh the medicine was suspended in the air, Liu Quxing's mouth was big enough to fit a whole bun, and the prince's hand holding Bai Li's arm was getting stronger and stronger.

Old man Yao slowly stroked his pure white beard with a complicated expression.

Chen Ji sighed softly: "Miss Zhang Xia, you must have misunderstood something. I don't understand what you are saying."

Zhang Xia placed his hands on the counter and said in a deep voice, "My father is in your Chen residence right now. You said you don't understand? I came here just to remind you and teach you how to get along with others in the future."

Seeing that the other party was speaking so frankly, Chen Ji threw all the chess pieces in his hand into the chess basket and said, "Second Miss Zhang, I won't even go back to the Chen Mansion, and they can't decide my affairs. I can see that you look down on me. In this case, why don't you go and persuade your father to give up this absurd idea?"

Zhang Xia shook her head and said, "This is my parents' order, they can decide. Besides, it doesn't matter who I live with, just be obedient. You don't have to feel wronged. As a legitimate daughter, marrying you, a bastard, is also a face-saving thing for you. You will have no worries about food and clothing in the future, and you can live a good life."

Chen Ji looked at Zhang Xia across the counter and said, "Please go back and tell Lord Zhang that I will sign a marriage contract with Prince Jing today and ask him not to try to get the cement formula. Second Miss Zhang, no matter what you think, I have no plans to start a family for the time being, so please go back."

Zhang Xia was surprised: "You don't like me? Why do you think so? You are not even a little bit inferior to your biological brother Chen Wenzong. I don't know why father likes you."

Bai Li couldn't help but said, "What you just said is no different from marrying into the Zhang family. Even if Chen Ji is a bastard, he would never be so spineless as to marry into the Zhang family!"

Zhang Xia squinted at Bai Li and said, "Who are you? What does my relationship with him have to do with you?"

Bai Li was furious: "We are all his best friends, we cannot allow you to look down on him like this! Also, you said he is not as good as Chen Wenzong, but we think he is a hundred times better than Chen Wenzong and Chen Wenxiao!"

Zhang Xia was puzzled: "Have you lost your mind? Chen Wenzong just won the first place in the imperial examination today. He has read the Four Books and is proficient in the six arts of a gentleman. You said Chen Ji is a hundred times better than Chen Wenzong. How is he better?"

Bai Li was so angry that veins on his neck were throbbing: "I am stronger than Chen Wenzong!"

Zhang Xia did not continue to argue with Bai Li, and turned to look at Chen Ji: "If you look down on me, that's fine, go and tell your father to stop thinking about my father. If you don't dare to go, just do as I said just now."

After saying that, Zhang Xia turned around and left the clinic.

She stepped out of the clinic, took the whip out of the horse's mouth, and got on the horse: "Zao Zao, go home!"

(End of this chapter)