That same day, Gu Jianing told her master, Elder Chen, about her decision to take Qin Tian as her disciple. After all, with this apprenticeship, Qin Tian would effectively become Elder Chen’s grand-disciple, so it was only right to inform him.
“Alright, if you think that child is promising and want to take him in, then go ahead,” Elder Chen replied after some thought. He then handed Gu Jianing a medical case record book. “I won’t attend the ceremony when you formally accept him as your disciple. Give this to my grand-disciple as a gift from his grandmaster.”
“Understood.”
Gu Jianing took the book and flipped through it, noticing that it contained detailed records of relatively basic medical cases, which would be immensely helpful for a beginner in medicine. Her master had clearly put thought into this gift.
Had Elder Chen heard her thoughts, he would have said, The reason I put so much care into this gift is because of my love for you, my disciple. After all, I haven’t even met this Qin Tian child. But Elder Chen believed that since Gu Jianing had taken a liking to him, Qin Tian must be exceptional.
Gu Jianing thought that since her master had prepared a gift for Qin Tian, she, as his direct teacher, naturally had to do the same. After some consideration, she exchanged points in the system’s shop for several rare and valuable medical books that could be taken out into the real world, along with a protective talisman.
The next day, at the Qin family home, Qin Tian knelt and served tea to Gu Jianing, completing the formal apprenticeship ceremony.
“This is a gift from your grandmaster. Study it well—it will be very helpful for you at your current level.”
“Thank you, Grandmaster.”
Qin Zhihong and Du Lan exchanged glances. They had only learned later that Gu Jianing’s master was Elder Chen. Who hadn’t heard of Elder Chen’s reputation?
“And this is from me, your teacher.”
“You’ll be leaving for the capital soon, and I’m not sure how long it’ll be before I go there myself. Since I won’t be able to personally instruct you in medicine for now, focus on building a solid foundation. Read more—there’s no harm in that.”
“These are books I carefully selected for you. If you can master them, your future achievements will undoubtedly be great.”
“Study these books well. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can write to me and ask.”
“Yes, Teacher. I understand.” Qin Tian solemnly accepted the thick stack of books.
“Study the medical texts diligently, but don’t neglect your regular studies either, understand?” It was 1975, and the college entrance exams would resume the year after next. Gu Jianing naturally hoped Qin Tian would do well in them.
“Yes, Teacher. I will.”
Then, Gu Jianing took out the protective talisman. “Wear this at all times. Don’t ask what it is—Xingxing, Yueyue, and our whole family all have one. Consider it my way of protecting you.”
Qin Tian listened with slight confusion but accepted the talisman from his teacher’s hand. He had seen similar ones on Xingxing and Yueyue before. Now, hearing that the whole family had them, he wondered—*Does this mean I’m also part of Teacher’s family?* The thought warmed his heart.
“Teacher, I’ll wear it close to me at all times.”
“Good.”
With the apprenticeship complete, Gu Jianing and Sheng Zexi shared a meal with the Qin family before leaving. Three days later, the Qin family departed Qin Village and boarded a train bound for the capital.
This time, Gu Jianing did not see them off, as they had agreed beforehand.
On the train, Qin Tian clutched the protective talisman against his chest, wondering how long it would be before he could see his teacher again…
…
Sheng Zexi wasn’t in the capital, but Hua Zhenrong occasionally passed on news from there.
Well, “news” was a stretch—it was more like gossip.
For example, at this moment, Hua Zhenrong was saying mysteriously over the phone—
“Hey, Zexi, you know what? Your stepmother has been frantically searching for doctors lately.”
Sheng Zexi frowned. Doctors? Was she sick? Or…
“Is that old man sick?” Sheng Zexi asked.
“No, your stepmother wants to have another child!”
Sheng Zexi fell silent, lips pressed tightly together.
He immediately understood the reason.
The real Sheng Zerui was dead, and the fake Sheng Zerui was gone too.
His stepmother had always wanted Sheng Zerui to compete with him for the Sheng family’s wealth—to make sure the old man handed everything over to Sheng Zerui.
Now that she had lost her son, she was desperate.
So she wanted to create another child to inherit everything from the old man.
“You don’t need to tell me about these things in the future. I’m not interested.”
He had no interest in matters concerning his stepmother or that old man.
“Alright, alright, if you’re not interested, I won’t mention it again.”
Then, Hua Zhenrong moved on to other topics.
Back in the capital, the Sheng residence had been filled with the smell of traditional medicine lately.
Sheng Xinhao’s face darkened every time he caught a whiff of it.
Fang Wanrong had gone completely mad recently, acting nothing like her usual self.
She had been consulting all kinds of doctors, trying to regulate her body so she could conceive again.
To be fair, Sheng Xinhao wasn’t opposed to the idea of having another child.
But doctors had long ago confirmed that Fang Wanrong’s body couldn’t handle another pregnancy.
Even with treatment, the chances were slim to none.
That was why, even after Sheng Zerui turned ten, they hadn’t had another child.
But now that Sheng Zerui was gone, Fang Wanrong’s desperation for another child had reached an extreme.
If she could actually conceive, it might have been different.
The problem was, no matter how much medicine she took, she still couldn’t get pregnant—the doctors were powerless.
Yet Fang Wanrong was obsessed.
She firmly believed that as long as she drank enough medicine and had enough “marital relations,” she could conceive again.
Every time she brewed a pot of medicine, she would insist on sharing a bed with Sheng Xinhao that same night.
Sheng Xinhao was terrified.
After all, he was middle-aged—his stamina wasn’t what it used to be, and his energy was lacking.
On top of that, his hands weren’t in great condition either, often acting up.
He had to deal with endless work during the day, and then Fang Wanrong at night.
If it were just once in a while, Sheng Xinhao could tolerate it. But now…
Fang Wanrong was brewing medicine every few days, and each time she did, she would…
Sheng Xinhao felt that if this continued, his lifespan would be cut short by several years.
It was no wonder he had dark circles under his eyes lately, looking like he’d been drained of all vitality.
As the medicinal scent lingered in the air, Sheng Xinhao thought for a moment, then decided to return to the military base.
So when Fang Wanrong woke up, she found that Sheng Xinhao wasn’t home—he had gone back to the base and wouldn’t be returning that night due to overtime work.
Fang Wanrong’s face immediately darkened.
“Madam, your medicine—”
When the nanny brought her the medicine, Fang Wanrong suddenly lashed out, knocking the bowl to the ground.
The nanny was so startled she jumped back, her hand scalded by the hot liquid.
“Get out! Get out!”
The nanny hurriedly retreated.
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