[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming":3,"chapter-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-947":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Unorthodox Sword of Ming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2338152,4570,"Chapter 947","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-947",947,"\u003Cp>Miao Zhen looked at Pan Yun, who was lost in thought, and asked, “Little Master, are you thinking of using Pu Min?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: “Pu Si has pledged allegiance to the new emperor; if I’m not mistaken, Cao Jixiang is the one ordered to watch him—but the Maritime Trade Office is busy, and Pu Si is clever and cunning, so clearly, Cao Jixiang hasn’t kept tabs on him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maritime trade has only just begun, and the Pu family’s power is too great. With Pu Si’s sharpness, if he leverages the imperial family’s influence, within a few years, Quanzhou’s maritime trade will center on him.” Pan Yun said grimly, “I want maritime trade to flourish, but in any industry, monopolies are the greatest taboo—especially given the Pu family’s past record.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If Pu Min returns and teams up with Pu Si, won’t that only strengthen the Pu family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though Pu Min and Pu Si are of the same clan, their blood ties are distant. Pu Si won’t fully trust Pu Min. Pu Min… do you think he knows his family’s illness is unusual? Tomorrow, check the condition of his mother and sister. Miao He, you go retrieve their past pulse records and prescriptions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen and Miao He agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With their higher cultivation, investigating these matters wasn’t difficult—especially for Miao Zhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She changed clothes and secretly visited the Pu family residence, secretly observing the mother and daughter for half a day until she had a clear understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s Pu’s mother’s condition that has worsened. Pu Min’s sister, Pu Yue, has been attending to her day and night, which is why she hasn’t left home recently.” Miao Zhen said, “There are four servants caring for them—a husband and wife with their two children—who behave with great respect; no abuse is evident.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun asked, “Given Pu Min’s original household, didn’t they have servants or hired help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. I asked their former neighbors. The mother-daughter pair who used to work for them quit and returned home two months after they moved into the Pu family’s old residence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun’s lips curled slightly: “Let’s wait a little longer for Miao He’s report.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Folk physicians rarely record pulse cases, but they do preserve prescriptions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He went directly to Pu Min’s former physician, revealed her abilities, and began practicing at his pharmacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this era, physicians were rare; female physicians were rarer still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a pharmacy had a female physician on duty, it could attract many female patients.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, the Renxin Pharmacy was flooded with patients—all women, from seventy-year-olds down to five- or six-year-old girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai watched with burning interest and wanted to join in, but the physician refused to hire him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She’s a female physician; women prefer to see her. Are you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai hurriedly said, “I’ve studied gynecology too…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you think I lack such knowledge? But most women, especially young maidens, refuse to see male physicians. If she hadn’t promised to bring in many female patients, I wouldn’t have paid to hire anyone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Renxin Pharmacy cruelly rejected Tao Yanbai, so he could only carry his banner and continue wandering the streets as a traveling physician. When tired and with no patients, he’d sit across from the pharmacy, staring longingly at the long queue before Miao He.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun had quietly sat beside him, propping her chin as she watched with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai said, “Little Master, this place is very different from others.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How so?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s more open here. Elsewhere, female physicians face much discrimination, but Miao He is warmly welcomed here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun’s lips twitched. Too bad this attitude wouldn’t endure here. In two hundred years, women here would be crushed under oppression; for centuries after, the bias toward males would be etched into bones and branded into culture—hard to eradicate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two hundred years from now would be the height of the Sheng Qing era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun’s eyes were as dark as ink: “The people of Quanzhou are skilled merchants, profit-driven. If a woman has ability, she can gain status here. Miao He brings more business to the pharmacy, so she’s hired; as long as her medical skill is good, she earns respect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The fishing women by the coast are also highly capable—they haul in the sea, dive deep, spin thread—contributing and earning no less than men. Thus, they hold half the household authority.” Pan Yun said, “I’ve heard coastal fishing women even kill sea pirates to protect their families and property, wearing three hairpins on their heads—called ‘hairpin knives.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, women aren’t inferior to men. If the world gives them opportunity, they can earn the same wealth and attain equal status.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai stared intently at Miao He inside the pharmacy, nodding fiercely: “I think Miao He will surpass me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun smiled and patted his shoulder. “I notice your cultivation has stalled lately. Are you having trouble in your practice?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai shook his head: “I’ve hit a barrier. My dantian’s yuan energy is sufficient, but I lack the inner sense of breakthrough. I think it’s insufficient insight—Miao He feels the same, so lately we’ve only done daily cultivation, spending the rest of our time treating patients and studying medicine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, they were Dao physicians, cultivating medical arts—and…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai smiled sheepishly: “Little Master, you and Miao Zhen can attain sudden enlightenment through fighting or engaging the world. Miao Zhen gains insight by observing people and stars. Miao He and I don’t have your talents—we can only keep treating patients, accumulating experience, and if that still fails, we’ll have to refine pills and force a breakthrough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: “You’ll break through to the Fifth Stage soon, won’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun lowered her gaze: “Earlier, sending you to Japan delayed you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no, no—it didn’t delay us!” Tao Yanbai hurriedly said. “The three of us reached the peak of the Fourth Stage in just half a year, and Miao Zhen broke through to the Fifth Stage precisely because of our experiences in Japan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai told Pan Yun that after arriving in Japan, they didn’t stay in Daisen Village managing the port and silver mines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost as soon as Wang Cong set sail for trade, the three of them packed their bags and set out to wander the Japanese underworld—of course, Japan’s underworld.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He and Tao Yanbai treated patients along the way; Miao Zhen read faces and observed Japanese society, and at night they all studied the stars together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miao Zhen even drew a map of Japan, but we didn’t travel far, so the map’s incomplete—we didn’t show it.” Tao Yanbai said, “We also went to Heian-kyo. If the General’s residence hadn’t been so chaotic with energy, we’d have explored inside.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun: “…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Miao Zhen cast a divination and said entering would bring great misfortune, so we didn’t dare go in. Little Master, do you think we’re too cowardly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Being cautious is better,” Pan Yun said. “We cultivate the Dao for immortality, not for death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai scratched his head, grinning foolishly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He served as a resident physician at Renxin Pharmacy for five days when Wang Cong’s fleet returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty-odd large ships arrived, and the entire city of Quanzhou erupted in excitement; everyone rushed to the harbor to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Workers eagerly waited to be chosen for unloading cargo, while merchants already in town waved banknotes or dragged crates of silver and copper coins, ready to select goods the moment the ships docked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Maritime Trade Office also prepared its accounting rooms and storage warehouses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Official silver had to go into storage; goods entering customs required tariff payments—two separate funds, to be kept apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, among this fleet were two ships belonging to the Pu family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Pu family pledged loyalty to the imperial court, so part of their profits went to the Neiwu Prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Jixiang, under secret imperial orders, managed these accounts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such excitement, even the Renxin Pharmacy’s shopkeeper and physicians rushed to the shore, having heard one ship carried rare medicinal herbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“An entire ship—full of scarce herbs imported from abroad.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rare indeed. Previous ships brought all kinds of goods, but herbs were the least common.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you know who brought them back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The senior disciple of the State Preceptor—Wang Cong, Daoist of Mount Sanqing. Their sect is descended from Dao physicians.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah, so that’s it. Maritime trade truly needs insiders—those outside merchants wouldn’t know good herbs from bad ones.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly, exactly. Only those who understand medicine and medical principles can bring back proper herbs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone rushed to watch; the pharmacy emptied. Miao He voluntarily stayed behind to guard the shop, and the others gladly left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He had become familiar with the pharmacy. With no one around, she found the previous prescriptions for Pu Min’s mother and sister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She didn’t hide them but deliberately placed them in plain sight. When the shopkeeper returned, she feigned casual curiosity: “Master, while cleaning the shelves today, I found an old prescription. One of the formulas resembled a case I saw yesterday, so I looked closer and noticed the prescription had been changed. Why replace Shu Di Huang with Shan Zhu Yu, and Huang Qi with Wild Ginseng?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper glanced at the prescription she’d pulled out, his face paled, and he quickly snatched it away, whispering, “After taking medicine, the pulse changes—naturally, the prescription must be adjusted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did her condition improve?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes, it improved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if it improved, why switch to Wild Ginseng as the main herb? The potency surged. If the illness was easing, you should gradually tonify—not suddenly administer strong medicine. It would overwhelm her weakened state and inflate medical costs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>oC〇\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Didn’t I replace Shu Di Huang with Shan Zhu Yu? Her condition improved, so at this stage, tonifying qi is key—Wild Ginseng must be the main herb.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But according to the prescription, the patient clearly had weak spleen and stomach. Shu Di Huang nourishes blood, moistens yin, and replenishes essence and marrow. For years, Shu Di Huang was the primary herb. If the condition improved and tonifying qi became the focus, Huang Jing would be the ideal main herb. Using Wild Ginseng won’t just cause her weakened body to reject tonics and raise false fire—it will also burden her financially.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper suddenly flew into a rage: “Miao He, are you accusing me of prescribing incorrectly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He jumped, but she wasn’t afraid of arguments. She immediately placed her hands on her hips: “I didn’t say that. I was just discussing medical principles with you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Miao He was fired—she didn’t even receive her five-day wages and was thrown out of the pharmacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He: …\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He returned to their rented courtyard, her medicine chest on her back, furious, her eyes red as she saw Pan Yun: “Little Master, I’ve been mistreated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Yun immediately took Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai to block the pharmacy’s entrance, demanding payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the evening, Quanzhou’s streets were still crowded. With so many ships returning today, stalls and restaurants were all bustling with food, waiting for returning travelers to come in for meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Four young Daoist disciples in robes stood before Renxin Pharmacy, pointing at the shopkeeper and shouting insults. Everyone peered out curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they hadn’t been busy preparing evening meals, they’d have gathered to watch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who weren’t busy didn’t hesitate to crowd around for the spectacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They heard Pan Yun and the others, hands on hips, berating the shopkeeper: “If my disciple misdiagnosed or prescribed wrongly, I’d leave without a word. But because we merely discussed medical principles and you couldn’t argue your way out, you fired her? Do you have any shame?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen: “You’re an elder, yet you lack decency. You broke the contract, refused compensation, and now you won’t even pay her wages!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tao Yanbai: “My little sister worked five full days here—every day from Chen to Xu, seven hours straight. Even oxen aren’t worked that hard.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He stood nearby, wiping tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao Zhen fumed: “How many patients did my little sister treat for you these five days? How much profit did she bring your pharmacy? Everyone saw it. Now you’ve used her to treat every gynecological case in the city, then kicked her out. Do you think we’re wild oxen you can use and discard?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder your pharmacy doesn’t make money—you’re short-sighted, heartless, rotten to the core.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard Tang the physician of Renxin Pharmacy was kind-hearted. How did it turn to this under you? Did your father never teach you, or have you forgotten him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each of them spoke one line, leaving the pharmacy staff and resident physician flushed with shame—but their eyes kept darting toward the back room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miao He simply stood by, wiping tears.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The resident physician, Fang, saw them growing more heated, their insults shifting from “you forgot your father” to “perhaps your ancestral grave’s feng shui is broken, giving birth to something not even human…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang wiped his face and rushed to the back room, dragging out the hiding shopkeeper, heartbroken: “You can’t let them keep shouting—will your pharmacy even survive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang the shopkeeper: “Do you think I don’t know? But I can’t argue with them—I was shouted into hiding.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, why just think of shouting back? Pay them quickly and send them off!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I pay now, won’t that mean I admit I’m wrong?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang stamped his foot: “What’s the point of pride now? Send them away first! Besides, you’re clearly in the wrong. How could you just throw her out? How old is Miao He?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tang the shopkeeper: “How is it my fault? I think she had ill intentions, trying to harm me. I merely dismissed her—didn’t even insult her—that’s already generous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh dear, don’t just think of yelling back—quickly pay her off and send her away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You don’t understand, she dug up the old prescriptions...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Regardless of what she dug up, she broke the apothecary’s rules—didn’t she openly do something wrong?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shopkeeper fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If she didn’t, we have no grounds to drive her out. Even if you refuse to keep her and throw her out, you still owe her pay for these five days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She only worked five days and already wants pay? How can that be justified?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Master Fang: \"...She did plenty in these five days—the number of patients she treated equals what the pharmacy normally sees in two months. If you paid her properly and sent her off politely, how could this disaster have happened?\"\u003C\u002Fp>",2408,"2026-06-20T22:04:01.137Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","03d4f8c77503f151b77055853caf10e21c0f24f1e6a99faf17f94b0af1666048","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-948","the-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-chapter-946",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-unorthodox-sword-of-ming-cover.jpg"]