Lu Tong was roused from her afternoon nap when an inn servant came knocking at the door, saying there was a young master downstairs looking for her.

Yin Zheng was overjoyed, but suppressed the delight on her face and went downstairs slowly. When she saw Du Changqing, she lifted her chin with restraint: “My miss is dressing her hair. Please wait a moment, young master.”

Du Changqing smiled warmly: “No rush.”

Heaven knew that to find Lu Tong, he had searched all the inns in the vicinity that sounded similar. When he finally found this place and the innkeeper confirmed that indeed two young ladies were staying here, Du Changqing was almost moved to tears with excitement.

He silently recited several times that one should be respectful to one’s benefactors, and finally gradually calmed down.

After about half an incense stick’s worth of time, Lu Tong came downstairs.

Today she wore a dark blue dress with algae-pattern embroidered cloth, her black hair loosely gathered at the back of her head with thin braids, with only a blue-green velvet flower of the same color pinned at her temples. With bright eyes, white teeth, snow-like skin and black hair, she gave people a sense of tranquility at first sight.

Du Changqing was momentarily stunned, then came to his senses and stepped forward: “Miss.”

Lu Tong looked at him.

Du Changqing glanced around and smiled at Lu Tong: “It’s noisy here. If you don’t mind, miss, there’s a tea stall next door. We can sit at the tea stall and chat while drinking tea.”

Lu Tong nodded: “Fine.”

The people of the capital loved drinking tea, and tea houses were everywhere. Not far from Laiyi Inn, an entire street was full of tea stalls. Du Changqing picked and chose, selecting the smallest stall, and invited Lu Tong to sit down.

This tea stall was very small, with only two tables set up inside, which were already occupied. Du Changqing and Lu Tong sat at a small table outside the tea stall. Before long, the shop owner brought two bowls of clear tea and a plate of red-skinned melon seeds.

Du Changqing pushed the clear tea toward Lu Tong, his tone completely different from their first meeting – much warmer. He asked: “I am Du Changqing. May I ask what your honorable surname is, miss?”

“Lu Tong.”

“So it’s Miss Lu.” Du Changqing nodded pretentiously, then rubbed his hands together. “Miss Lu, I imagine you’ve already guessed the reason for my visit…”

“I apologize, Young Master Du.” Lu Tong said calmly: “It’s inconvenient to use fire at the inn, so I no longer make pollen typhae carbonisata.”

Du Changqing choked.

Yin Zheng behind them burst out laughing with a “puchi.”

Du Changqing’s face showed some embarrassment. After a moment, he coughed lightly: “Miss Lu, I didn’t come for pollen typhae carbonisata today. Your medicinal tea…” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Could you sell me some more?”

Lu Tong picked up the porcelain bowl on the table to moisten her lips and asked softly: “How much silver is Young Master Du prepared to offer?”

Du Changqing stared at her: “One tael of silver. Miss Lu, I’ll buy your medicinal tea for one tael of silver per package. How about it?”

One package of medicinal tea could last at most six or seven days. One tael of silver per package was quite high.

Lu Tong smiled.

Du Changqing asked: “What is Miss Lu smiling about?”

Lu Tong shook her head, her voice still unhurried: “It seems Young Master Du isn’t very interested in doing this business with me. I notice there’s an Apricot Grove Hall not far from Renxin Medical Hall – they’re big and established, perhaps they could offer more.”

She returned Du Changqing’s original words back to him unchanged, which made Du Changqing’s expression change dramatically.

After a pause, Du Changqing gritted his teeth: “Then could Miss Lu name a price?”

Lu Tong: “Three taels of silver per package.”

“So expensive!” Du Changqing jumped up, shouting: “Why don’t you just go rob people?”

Lu Tong raised her eyes to look into the distance.

The Luoyue River flowed through the city, with both banks planted full of willows. It was spring, with willow catkins flying and orioles singing while swallows danced.

She withdrew her gaze and looked at the agitated Du Changqing: “Young Master Du, the willow catkins in the capital will continue flying for quite some time, won’t they?”

Du Changqing frowned: “So what?”

“If your medical hall can provide medicinal tea, at least for the next two or three months, you won’t worry about lack of customers.”

Du Changqing was stunned.

Lu Tong smiled slightly.

When she first arrived in the capital, she had already noticed this. The capital’s river banks were planted full of long willows. During spring when willow catkins danced in the air, inevitably some people would be troubled by nasal congestion and sinusitis. People also loved drinking tea, so making it into medicinal tea would be more easily accepted.

“However long the willow catkins fly, that’s how long the medicinal tea can continue selling. My medicinal tea is effective for relieving nasal congestion, but cannot completely cure it. Come next year, previous customers will return again. Making a fortune every March year after year, Young Master Du’s Renxin Medical Hall won’t be in such a precarious situation as it is now.”

Du Changqing’s words stuck in his throat, as if Lu Tong had hit upon his most secret pain.

Lu Tong was in no hurry. Du Changqing needed to maintain the medical hall’s livelihood and had to find irreplaceable business in the shortest time possible. The nasal congestion medicinal tea was the only lifeline he could grasp.

When faced with a lifeline, people always made unprincipled concessions.

After a long silence, Du Changqing finally spoke. He looked at Lu Tong and said slowly: “Miss Lu’s thinking is very good, but what if other medical halls learn how to make medicinal tea? What advantage would Renxin Medical Hall have?”

Hearing this, Lu Tong smiled: “Setting aside whether others can learn to make my medicinal tea, why doesn’t Young Master Du consider that if I can make nasal congestion medicinal tea, couldn’t I make other kinds of medicinal tea?”

Du Changqing was dumbfounded.

He looked at Lu Tong suspiciously: “Could it be that you made that medicinal tea yourself? Impossible, you’re so young… Perhaps there’s a skilled doctor in your family? Or you happened to obtain a prescription from somewhere else?”

He kept guessing on his own while Lu Tong just smiled without speaking.

Seeing that Lu Tong still had no intention of relenting, Du Changqing felt somewhat dejected. He picked up his tea bowl, took a sip, thought for a moment, then spoke hesitantly: “To be honest, Miss Lu, what you’ve said is very tempting to me. But the silver you’re asking for is really too much. Could you… lower it a bit?”

Yin Zheng’s face showed disdain.

Lu Tong looked at the tea bowl in front of her and didn’t speak for a while. After some time, she looked at Du Changqing: “Young Master Du, I can make medicinal tea for you. You keep all the money, and I won’t take a penny.”

Du Changqing looked at her with suspicion and uncertainty.

“However, I have several conditions.”

Du Changqing breathed a sigh of relief and said readily: “You should have said so earlier. Miss Lu, what conditions do you have?”

“First, when I make medicinal tea for Renxin Medical Hall, Young Master Du provides the materials, and I decide how much to make each day.”

Du Changqing frowned: “That doesn’t seem right.”

“I certainly won’t let Young Master Du suffer any loss.”

“But…”

Yin Zheng interjected: “My miss isn’t taking Young Master Du’s silver, which is essentially giving Young Master Du free money. This is a business with no capital investment – however Young Master Du calculates it, he won’t lose money. Why are you still haggling over details?”

Du Changqing held back his words and managed to say: “Then what’s the second condition?”

“Yin Zheng and I have just arrived in the capital with nowhere to stay. I trouble Young Master Du to help find us lodging and provide room and board.”

Du Changqing’s eyes widened as he looked at them both as if they were strange creatures: “You’re from out of town? Two young ladies traveling to the capital alone? Don’t you know anyone in the capital?”

Lu Tong didn’t answer his question. She lowered her head to take a sip of tea, and when she raised her head again, she smiled: “I’ve heard that among the resident physicians at medical halls in the capital, even the most ordinary resident physicians receive two taels of silver per month.”

Du Changqing nodded without understanding: “Yes, so what?”

“I want to be the resident physician at Renxin Medical Hall. This is the third condition,” she said.