On the fifth day of the fifth month in Shengjing, dragon boats raced beneath the Falling Moon Bridge. People loved to bathe in orchid-infused water at noon on this day, believing that “drinking noon water is better than taking three years of medicine.”

Acheng left carrying a wooden bucket, planning to draw some well water at noon for tea. Inside the shop, Yin Zheng sat wrapping dates in bamboo leaves for zongzi, while Du Changqing leaned against a long chair, listlessly reminding Lu Tong who sat before the medicine cabinet: “Doctor Lu, we haven’t had any income for a month.”

Lu Tong remained silent.

“Xianxian” had attracted no customers.

Five taels of silver were too expensive for ordinary people. Moreover, the medicinal tea wasn’t meant to cure stubborn ailments like nasal congestion, which made people somewhat skeptical.

And regular customers like Elder Hu had no interest in such beauty and weight-loss teas. Even if they wanted to support the business, there was nothing they could buy. The clinic had become quite desolate.

Du Changqing had limited patience. Seeing money only going out and not coming in each day, he couldn’t help but worry. However, Lu Tong was even more unresponsive to his concerns. Du Changqing dared only complain verbally, truly at a loss for what to do.

As they spoke, a figure came running from the end of the long street. It was high noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, and most people in the city had gone to watch dragon boat races at Falling Moon Bridge. West Street was very quiet, making this sudden appearance quite strange.

The figure rolled through the scorching street, heading straight for Renxin Medical Clinic. They burst into the shop, and before Lu Tong could speak, shouted: “Medicinal tea! I want two jars of medicinal tea!”

Du Changqing “swooshed” up from his chair, quickly stepped forward, and greeted this month’s only customer with an enthusiastic smile: “Which medicinal tea would you like?”

The visitor was a bold woman with a somewhat plump figure. Without hesitation, she pointed at the white porcelain jar hidden among pomegranate flowers: “That one!”

“Xianxian?” Du Changqing was stunned.

The medicinal tea had sat in the clinic for nearly a month without any buyers. The pomegranate flowers Acheng had picked had withered, leaving only bare branches displayed before the medicine cabinet, adorned with pink paper labels on the white porcelain jars, looking quite pitiful.

“This medicinal tea…” Du Changqing wanted to explain.

The woman interrupted him: “Drinking it makes you lose weight, I know!”

Seeing this, Yin Zheng stepped forward with a smile and asked: “Sister, how do you know this tea helps with weight loss? Did someone tell you?”

The woman replied: “What do you mean someone told me? I saw it with my own eyes! Dai Sanlang, the pork seller at the temple entrance in the east of the city, used to be as fat as a pig. He drank your medicinal tea, and now he’s become a handsome man, very dignified!”

Since many merchants had gone to watch the dragon boats today, few shops were open on West Street. Next door, Tailor Ge was leaning against his doorway drinking tea, squinting as he listened to the conversation. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but say: “Nonsense! Everyone knows Dai Sanlang, his waist is wider than my winnowing basket. How could he be called handsome?”

The woman glanced at Tailor Ge’s thick build and sneered: “Well, he’s different now from before. Even Widow Sun is eager to talk to him. If you don’t believe it, go see for yourself at the temple entrance in the east!”

She spoke with such certainty that Tailor Ge was momentarily speechless.

As Du Changqing tried to speak again, another voice called from outside: “I can testify, she’s not lying!”

Everyone turned to look. It was Mrs. Song, carrying a bamboo basket, running breathlessly. Before she arrived, her voice rang out: “I went to Dai’s shop with Sister Sun. That Dai Sanlang is very handsome now, even more striking than Shopkeeper Du!”

Du Changqing: “…”

Mrs. Song’s silk shoe shop was nearby, and all the West Street vendors knew her. She wasn’t one to spread rumors. Suddenly, everyone stared at her skeptically, asking: “How is that possible? Everyone knows what Dai Sanlang looks like, how could he become handsome?”

Mrs. Song ignored them and rushed into Renxin Medical Clinic, saying to Lu Tong: “Doctor Lu, my sister asked me to buy a jar for her maid too. Do you still have any?”

“Yes.” Lu Tong took out a jar from the medicine cabinet and handed it to her, letting Du Changqing weigh the silver. Du Changqing had suddenly made two sales and was still dazed, not yet recovered from this great joy when he heard Acheng’s voice from the end of the long street: “Master… Master!”

The young apprentice came running with a wooden bucket as if being chased, gasping as he reached Renxin Medical Clinic. Du Changqing looked at his empty bucket and asked puzzled: “Weren’t you going to fetch water? Where’s the water?”

Acheng wiped the sweat from his brow and trembled: “…It’s terrifying.”

“What’s terrifying?”

“I had just reached the well at the street corner when suddenly a group of people asked me where Renxin Medical Clinic was. I thought I’d show them the way, but then…”

Hearing this, Du Changqing became more confused: “Then what? Did you lose the people?”

Just as he finished speaking, suddenly they heard a chaotic rumbling from the distant end of the street, growing closer. Everyone looked up to see the previously quiet street end suddenly filled with a mass of people. The crowd included both men and women, all robust and plump, running so heavily it seemed they might break the street. Amid the thunderous movement, the crowd rushed toward the clinic, shouting: “Xianxian, save me two jars of Xianxian!”

“I came first, I want it!”

“Get lost, I was here first, shopkeeper, give it to me!”

Yin Zheng was stunned.

Lu Tong acted decisively, saying only “Close the door” before pulling it shut.

“Bang!” It sounded like someone had crashed into the door, followed by a series of “ping pang pang” sounds accompanied by chaotic shouts: “We want to buy medicine!”

“Open up! Why are you closing the door?”

“Stop hiding! Come out and do business! Don’t stay silent inside!”

Countless people crowded at the clinic’s entrance, pounding on the door. The transformation from desolation to chaos seemed to happen in an instant.

Yin Zheng was somewhat surprised, while Lu Tong remained calm.

Only Acheng looked helplessly at Du Changqing.

Du Changqing swallowed: “…Indeed… terrifying.”

…

The frenzy at Renxin Medical Clinic’s entrance continued for a long while.

Lu Tong waited until the crowd outside had calmed somewhat before opening the door.

No one at Renxin Medical Clinic had seen what Dai Sanlang, the pork seller at the east temple entrance, looked like now, but he must indeed be a completely different person from before. Otherwise, so many people wouldn’t have rushed here to buy “Xianxian” after seeing the current Dai Sanlang.

There were far more medicine buyers than Du Changqing had expected. The “Xianxian” that Lu Tong had made in recent days sold out in an instant, leaving only bare pomegranate branches swaying.

A round, fat man searched desperately among the pomegranate branches for a while, but couldn’t find even one extra jar. He looked pitifully at Lu Tong: “Doctor Lu…”

Lu Tong said: “Don’t worry, I’ll make and sell another batch of Xianxian in the next few days.”

The man had been dejected, but hearing this, his eyes lit up and he quickly agreed. The customers behind him who hadn’t been able to buy any heard this and began asking Lu Tong to make more, or offering to pay in advance to secure their medicine tea, fearing they wouldn’t get fresh stock when it became available.

Yin Zheng managed to send this group away with a combination of coaxing and persuasion, then closed the shop early under the envious gazes of their West Street neighbors.

As evening approached, the lanterns in the inner shop were lit early. Du Changqing carefully brought out the iron box and held a handful of today’s earnings, letting the silver pieces flow through his fingers, still doubting if he was dreaming.

Yin Zheng came over and after a moment’s silence said: “I’ve counted three times already, Shopkeeper Du. Today we sold fifty jars of Xianxian, that’s two hundred and fifty taels of silver. After deducting the hundred taels you gave Miss Lu for medicine ingredients earlier, we’ve earned one hundred and fifty taels today.”

“One hundred and fifty taels…” Du Changqing sat in his chair, mumbling to himself, then suddenly turned and grabbed Lu Tong’s skirt hem, looking up at her as if she were the God of Wealth in the temple: “Doctor Lu, you’re truly Renxin Medical Clinic’s savior, my living Bodhisattva!”

Lu Tong reached down and pulled her skirt from his grasp, saying: “It’s a pity we don’t have any extra medicine tea today.”

“That’s no problem!” Du Changqing slapped his thigh and pushed the iron box toward Lu Tong: “Take this silver, let’s make more. If it’s not enough, I have more! Let’s make as much as we can, and while we have these days, let’s earn a fortune!”

All his gloom from recent days had vanished, joy evident in every feature.

Acheng stared at him: “Master, didn’t you say we had no money?”

Du Changqing spat: “What do you know? If I hadn’t said that, how would we avoid spending all our silver? Every household needs someone to manage the finances!”

Acheng couldn’t respond to that.

Yin Zheng couldn’t bear it: “But this morning you were still trying to convince Miss Lu to sell something else…”

“That was because I failed to recognize greatness, my judgment was poor. Of course, Miss Lu won’t hold it against me.” Du Changqing could be both humble and proud. He sighed: “Those people praised Dai Sanlang to the skies, I want to see him myself now. What nonsense about being as striking as me? In just one month, how could he become a handsome man?”

“Miss Lu said drinking the medicinal tea would make you lose weight, and of course it does.” Du Changqing waved his hand: “But I originally thought only women in Shengjing cared about beauty, I didn’t expect men to be the same.”

Lu Tong said: “It’s not necessarily about beauty, after all, people fear what others say.” She pulled the dried pomegranate branches from the flower pot, “Whether man or woman, no one likes being pointed at behind their back.”

“That makes sense.” Du Changqing nodded, looked at Lu Tong thoughtfully, and then suddenly asked: “Doctor Lu, have you made this medicinal tea before?”

Lu Tong looked up.

Du Changqing rubbed his nose: “Otherwise, how could you be so certain about its effectiveness? We never saw you test it on anyone.”

Lu Tong gathered the dried pomegranate branches together and said: “Yes, I had.” She looked up to meet the bright, eager gazes of the three people in the room.

She paused, thought for a moment, then slowly began: “When I was studying medicine with my master, about five or six years ago, a lady came to my master, hoping she would create a magical medicine that could make her slender.”

Lu Tong sat down in the chair, still clutching the pomegranate branches.

“This lady and her husband had been married since youth, living in harmony and raising children. According to her, in her younger years, she had been slender and beautiful. But after years of managing the household, she couldn’t take care of herself, and when she finally realized it, she had grown old, lost her beauty, and become so fat she couldn’t bear to look at herself.”

The three people in the room remained silent, quietly listening to her speak.

“Her husband wanted to take a concubine, one who was young and beautiful, graceful and delicate, completely different from her plumpness.”

“She felt both hatred and love for her husband – hatred for his unfaithfulness, for despising the wife who had devoted years to him, and love because he still held some old affection for her, as the concubine he wanted to take resembled her eighteen-year-old self in appearance, dress, and every gesture.”

“So she came to my master, hoping she could create a magical medicine that would make her as graceful as a willow, to win back her husband’s heart.”

“My master then gave this task to me, asking me to create this magical medicine for her.”

The room’s lamplight was dim, and wind from the small courtyard blew through the felt curtain, making the flame flicker precariously.

Lu Tong’s gaze grew distant.

She still remembered what the woman looked like, wearing a worn brown robe, mud-stained from slipping on the rain-slick roads of Luomei Peak. The woman took out a silver box from her bosom, the silver ingots inside worn bright from handling, still warm with body heat when handed over.

The travel-worn woman looked at Yun Niang as if seeing all the hope in the world.

However, Yun Niang’s fees were expensive, and a mere hundred taels of silver wasn’t enough to commission her to make medicine.

After being flatly refused by Yun Niang, the woman seemed to lose all spirit, collapsing to the ground. Lu Tong stood to the side, her heart aching for this person.

Perhaps seeing the sympathy in Lu Tong’s eyes, Yun Niang looked at her with a smile: “Though I cannot make medicine for you, this girl can. Why not ask her?”

The woman started, instinctively looking at Lu Tong, hope rising again in her eyes.

Faced with such a gaze, it was hard to refuse. After much internal struggle, Lu Tong finally nodded with difficulty: “I… I’ll try.”

She accepted the woman’s fee and began making medicine for her, working from dawn to dusk, reading countless medical books, trying numerous medicinal decoctions herself, even dreaming about it at night. Yun Niang watched her efforts with interest, her expression unreadable.

Until later…

“Then what happened?” Acheng, completely absorbed in the story, couldn’t help asking when Lu Tong stopped.

Lu Tong came back to herself, paused, then said: “Then I made this medicine and gave it to her.”

“Did she become beautiful after drinking the medicinal tea? Did her husband change his mind?” The young apprentice was anxious to know.

Lu Tong was silent for a moment: “No.”

Acheng was stunned.

“She drank the medicinal tea and indeed became very slender, looking like an unmarried maiden from behind. However, her husband did not change his mind and still took that concubine.”

“How could that be?” Acheng couldn’t help but speak out angrily, “She had become beautiful, how could her husband still take a concubine?”

Yin Zheng gave a cold laugh: “She only became thin, but still couldn’t match the fresh beauty of the new woman. Besides, men are such creatures that even if they had a celestial maiden, they’d still be unfaithful. How could a mere medicinal tea win them back? Those who rely on beauty to serve others will lose favor when their beauty fades, and when love wanes, kindness ends. Young married couples can’t compare to what’s new and interesting.”

“Agreed.” Du Changqing nodded, “Men are no good. Once they’ve found a concubine, don’t talk about cherishing old feelings anymore.”

Acheng was dejected: “How could it be like this…” He looked up and asked Lu Tong: “What happened to that lady afterward?”

“I don’t know,” Lu Tong said after a long while, “I never saw her again.”

“Ah.” Acheng let out a long sigh, looking somewhat disappointed. This wasn’t the ending he wanted.

After hearing this unhappy story, everyone’s earlier joy about earning silver was considerably dampened. They discussed the medicine tea production plans for the next few days before Du Changqing left with Acheng.

Yin Zheng busied herself in the courtyard, finding the medicinal ingredients needed for tonight and sorting them into bamboo baskets.

Lu Tong returned to her room in the small courtyard, where the shadow of the plum tree fell across her desk. That small bundle of dried pomegranate branches lay on the table, dry and sharp.

Lu Tong adjusted the lamp wick and held the bundle of dried branches over the oil lamp. The flame made crackling sounds as it burned them, a small whiff of scorched smell rising from the lamp, abruptly breaking the night’s tranquility.

She lowered her eyes.

She had seen that lady again.

The woman, now thin from the medicinal tea, returned to Luomei Peak, and Lu Tong saw her again. She was no longer plump, could even be called frail, her withered body floating in her robes like a dried pomegranate branch, showing no trace of the bright flowers, only shriveled aging.

Though she had achieved what she wanted, her eyes looked even more desperate than before.

She offered all her silver, wanting Yun Niang to make her a magical medicine for rejuvenation, hoping to return to how she was before.

But how could there be such a medicine in this world?

Yun Niang smiled, pushing back the hand holding the silver.

The woman’s face turned ashen.

“It needn’t be so complicated. If you want to win back your husband’s heart, it’s very simple.”

Yun Niang reached out, handed her a snow-white porcelain jar, and whispered in her ear, “Here is a poison. Colorless and tasteless, used continuously for a month, the person will die, and no one will notice.”

Yun Niang released her hand and looked down at the bewildered woman, speaking gently: “Once he’s dead, he can’t be unfaithful any more.”

Lu Tong stood behind the building, watching the woman clutch the porcelain jar tightly as she stumbled down the mountain.

A month later, Lu Tong heard that a woman in the town below had poisoned her husband and then drowned herself in a well. She ran back to the house, where Yun Niang was making wine-steamed chicken. Though the kitchen was filled with the crisp aroma of fine wine and steamed chicken, Lu Tong felt nauseous.

Yun Niang turned around with chopsticks in hand, smiling at her as if watching a clumsy, amusing play. Finally, she asked: “Do you see now?”

Lu Tong remained silent.

Yun Niang said quietly: “Medicine can’t cure people, but poison can.”

Medicine can’t cure people, but poison can.

Above the flickering flame, the last dried pomegranate flower branch had burned completely, leaving scattered black ashes on the desk, no trace of its original beauty discernible.

Yin Zheng called from the courtyard: “Miss, the medicinal ingredients are sorted.”

Lu Tong responded, cleaned away the ashes, and carried the oil lamp out the door.

How pitiful to be misled by a slender waist…

Perhaps Xianxian wasn’t medicine at all, but poison.

Just like herself, she was never really a doctor who saved lives and helped the injured.

Yun Niang, a true madwoman…