The Martial Doctor

The Xu Household was large.

Although Mr. Xu An’s courtyard was within the Xu Household, it had a separate entrance. There were not many descendants in Xu An’s branch; he only had one son, Xu Lin, and two daughters who were married off.

Mrs. Xu passed away early. Xu An spent a lifetime curing countless patients, yet he couldn’t save his own wife.

This too was a lifelong pain for him.

The two daughters were not born to Mrs. Xu; Xu An married two concubines, each giving him a daughter.

The two concubines were proper women, and one now served tea while the other administered medicine, taking care of the old man with dedication.

Xu Lin was Mr. Xu An’s only son and naturally cherished from a young age. When he was younger, Mr. Xu An focused his heart on treating illnesses and saving lives, leaving his son’s education entirely to his wife. By the time he turned his attention back, Xu Lin had reached a rebellious age, resulting in a strained father-son relationship. The outcome was that the problems not only remained unsolved but got dragged into the current situation.

This was likely an unsolvable issue, and Xu An didn’t expect his son to wake up one day and change his ways.

Fortunately, Xu Lin was married and had a decent wife who gave him two sons. Although these two grandchildren weren’t particularly gifted in medicine, they had far better character than their father.

So Xu An’s branch still held some hope.

Therefore, Xu An didn’t inquire much into Xu Lin’s affairs anymore, as long as he didn’t commit crimes or act recklessly, it was fine to let him be.

But then, Xu Lin made a big blunder by being tricked into a business deal, resulting in a loss of a hundred thousand taels of silver.

This hundred thousand taels were borrowed from others, and now creditors were demanding repayment.

One hundred thousand taels of silver wasn’t something Mr. Xu couldn’t come up with. As a renowned doctor in Dongshan Prefecture, his years of savings and investments meant this sum, though astronomical to ordinary people, wasn’t a problem for him—provided Xu Lin didn’t squander the family fortune, his wealth could have been much more substantial.

He could manage to take care of it this time, but what about next time?

Moreover, this hundred thousand taels of silver wasn’t liquid cash; he would have to liquidate some assets to collect the full amount. Doing so would mean that the little family wealth he painstakingly accumulated might be completely squandered by Xu Lin.

What will a big family eat and drink afterward? They cannot rely on future clan help, which would only prevent starvation, not support living.

Mr. Xu, at his age, appeared healthy but his organs were starting to deteriorate; this is a process of life. While he had some martial arts training, it had not reached a level where his lifespan was beyond normal; at most, he may have fewer health issues than the average person.

Lin Miao initially planned to visit Xu An in a few days; this old man was one of the few in Dongshan City without any prejudice toward him and supported him from the beginning.

One must learn to be grateful.

So, after lunch, Lin Miao selected a piece of precious ginseng from Li Hen City, packed it in a box.

He called upon Lin Mao and Qiu Ze and set off lightly to the Xu Household.

Qiu Ze would later travel frequently between Dongshan and Li Hen City and needed to know some people, especially those whom Lin Miao interacted with.

That’s why he brought Qiu Ze along.

Without alerting the main house of the Xu Family, he went directly to Xu An’s courtyard.

After notifying them, Xu An, upon hearing of Lin Miao’s visit, wanted to get out of bed to greet him but was persuaded otherwise by his two concubines.

Instead, Xu Qixi came out to greet him.

Nominally grandfather and granddaughter, Xu An and Xu Qixi, were actually a mentor-mentee pair. Xu An educated Xu Qixi because his own son and grandsons were disappointing, hoping the main family would take better care of things in the future.

Lin Miao had visited Xu An’s home once or twice, so it wasn’t unfamiliar. Xu Qixi coming to greet guests wasn’t surprising to him.

Xu Qixi probably spent more time with Xu An than her own parents did.

As the daughter of the main family, Xu Qixi naturally conducted herself as a host at Xu An’s place, even her wastrel uncle feared this little Miss Qi.

Thus, Xu Qixi was considered half a host at Xu An’s home.

Lin Miao followed Xu Qixi straight to Xu An’s room; no one from the Xu Family found it inappropriate or tried to stop them.

Upon entering, a strong medicinal smell filled the room, and Lin Miao slightly frowned as he noticed a few medicinal components seemed off.

However, without seeing Xu An’s exact condition, he couldn’t draw any conclusions.

Though Xu An lay on the sickbed, he appeared to have basic mobility, albeit a bit weak.

Upon seeing Lin Miao, he sat up with the help of a nearby concubine and put on a heavy fur coat.

"Mr. Lin, forgive an old man’s rudeness."

"Mr. Xu, you put me to shame, please don’t call me ’Mr.,’ just calling me Lin is fine," Lin Miao quickly stepped forward, "I heard about your illness only when I returned, what exactly happened?"

"Ah, it’s embarrassing to say, it’s the misfortune of this household..." Xu An sighed. There’s an old saying that family scandals shouldn’t be spread, but he didn’t consider Lin Miao an outsider and thus told him about his illness in detail.

"I thought it was something major, but it’s just money, anything solvable with money isn’t a big deal," Lin Miao said with a relaxed smile.

"Mr. Lin, you don’t know, this money constitutes my great-uncle’s funeral expenses. If it’s given away, how will my great-uncle manage in the future? That uncle of mine is utterly worrisome," Xu Qixi said.