Chapter 658: What Is This Prescription? Is It Proper or Not?

"What is this?"

Zhao Kangtai watched Gu Lianggong pull a money pouch from his pocket, and in the process an object slipped out of the pocket onto the ground; on close inspection it was a wad of paper, and he reminded:

"Gu Lianggong, you dropped something!"

"What could I possibly drop? You have the consultation fee and the medicine money!"

Gu Lianggong didn't believe Zhao Kangtai's words; instead he opened the money pouch, took out the cash, counted it to confirm it matched the amount Zhao Kangtai required, then handed the money over and, dissatisfied, said:

"I think you're looking for trouble just to tease me!"

"Uncle Gu, Uncle Zhao didn't tease you; you really did drop something!"

In contrast to Gu Lianggong's disbelief, Zhuo Tie, who was nearby, acted on Zhao Kangtai's prompt, immediately spotting the paper wad Gu Lianggong had dropped, picking it up from the ground without opening it, handed it over, and asked curiously:

"Uncle Gu, this wad of paper isn't a bill from Uncle Le's family, is it?"

Le Wenmao's funeral was handled entirely by Gu Lianggong; apart from items owned by the Le Family or borrowed from neighboring households, many things were purchased in town, most on credit.

Don't think the Le Family is destitute; they were once very wealthy. Otherwise, with Le Wenmao bedridden and paralyzed for so many years, unable to work, and Le Zhuang still a child, if the household had no savings, Le Wenmao wouldn't even have three meals a day, let alone the daily medicinal broth made from premium herbs.

Even if the Zhao family isn't greedy and doesn't make excessive profit on the herbs, selling them to the Le Family at cost is still not cheap.

They said bluntly.

Just relying on Le Wenmao alone is enough to sustain the Zhao family; thus Le Wenmao's expenditure on herbs is, to ordinary people, an astronomical sum. If the Le Family had no savings, Le Wenmao would have already reported to the Yama King, and no one would allow him to hang on to his life with precious herbs.

Not to mention.

The Le Family's small courtyard occupies a considerable area, and they also own the Kumu Guan property, which could fetch a good price if sold.

Merchants in Liangshui Town are naturally willing to extend credit to such a high-quality client.

"How could it be the Le Family's bill? The goods the Le Family buys and sells are all handled by me, but whether it's bookkeeping or negotiating with merchants, I don't make the decisions, so the bill wouldn't fall on me!"

Gu Lianggong snorted. He handles many affairs, both big and small, and has been involved in many matters. He knows that procurement of this sort requires multiple people to supervise; he usually doesn't involve himself in purchasing, leaving it to a few honest, loyal men, and the bills never fall on him. This wad of paper is clearly unlikely to be the Le Family's bill.

The next moment.

Gu Lianggong casually took the paper wad Zhuo Tie handed over, and as soon as he opened it and saw the text, his brows twitched slightly and his expression turned odd as he said, "Zhao Kangtai, are you sure this wad of paper is mine, not yours?"

"What are you saying? This wad of paper clearly fell from your pocket; it's not yours, so how could it be mine?"

Zhao Kangtai snorted in displeasure, as if he had thought of something, and smiled, "Could it be that this paper records some unspeakable secret, and you're afraid of embarrassment, so you frame me, claiming this paper is mine?"

Zhao Huai added, "Grandpa Gu, my grandfather didn't lie; this wad of paper truly fell from your pocket, it came out accidentally when you took the money pouch and dropped onto the ground!"

"Look at it yourself; once you see clearly, you'll know whether this wad of paper is mine or yours!"

Gu Lianggong sneered, "Fine, I'll look. It's obviously from your pocket; how can you have the nerve to say it's mine!"

Zhao Kangtai didn't waste words; he smoothly took the paper Gu Lianggong handed over, but upon his first glance his brows twitched slightly as he read the text, and only then did he understand why Gu Lianggong claimed the wad was his.

The paper lists only one herb after another, including rare and common ingredients, with the quantities clearly marked.

It's clearly a prescription!

Gu Lianggong, seeing Zhao Kangtai's dazed expression, mocked, "Zhao Kangtai, now you can tell me whether this wad of paper is yours or mine!"

Zhao Kangtai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the words stuck at his lips and he couldn't speak.

This wad of paper clearly fell from Gu Lianggong's pocket; in Zhao Kangtai's case, a prescription isn't needed.

Wrong!

Suddenly.

A flash of insight flickered briefly in Zhao Kangtai's mind; he glanced at the prescription in his hand and at Gu Lianggong, and asked in doubt, "Gu Lianggong, tell me honestly, did you see another doctor before me?"

In Liangshui Town, aside from their Zhao Clan Medical Hall, there are other clinics, but they are all low‑tier; their treatments are odd, dealing with rare ailments like male impotence or female infertility. A respectable clinic like the Zhao Clan Medical Hall doesn't exist among them.

In this novel, you...

Who made the Zhao Clan Medical Hall so powerful that, even without being domineering or cheating the market, it still drove other respectable doctors out of business, forcing them to develop elsewhere.

Just.

The prescription in Gu Lianggong's hand doesn't resemble one for treating rare ailments.

"Dad, Uncle Gu, what are you arguing about? It's just a prescription, is it really that important that Uncle Gu dropped it?"

Zhao Derun, holding the prescription in one hand and the packaged herbs in the other, briskly walked over; as soon as he finished speaking, he saw the prescription in Gu Lianggong's hand and exclaimed, "Dad, this prescription isn't for treating Uncle Gu, is it?"

Gu Lianggong retorted, "Impossible, Derun, don't misunderstand. Apart from your father, only you have ever shown me a patient, and only your father has ever written a prescription, which is still in your hand. How could I possibly have taken another person to see a doctor, and even if I wanted to, there would have to be someone in our Liangshui Town!"

Zhao Kangtai ignored Gu Lianggong's rebuttal, even though it made sense, and instead looked at Zhao Derun with curiosity, asking, "Derun, why do you say this prescription is for treating Gu Lianggong?"

"Dad, don't you think this prescription looks familiar?"

Zhao Derun added, noticing Zhao Kangtai subconsciously looking at the prescription in his hand; after a brief nod, he said, "Some of the herbs are the same as those you prescribed, only the dosages differ. Uncle Gu, who gave you this prescription?"

"Derun..."

Gu Lianggong snorted in displeasure, about to repeat what he had just said, but before he could finish, Zhuo Tie interrupted, "Uncle Gu, could this prescription have been written by Kumu Daozhang?"

(End of chapter)