Xie Qiqi washed her hands, changed her clothes, and upon emerging, heard Imperial Physician Wang still scolding Wang Zhi.
"Even if a healer sees no gender, Little Bell is different. She is a young lady of a prominent family; if word got out, her reputation would be ruined..."
"It’s one thing for you to be a renegade, but don't lead her astray..."
Eavesdropping was wrong. Xie Qiqi meant to leave, but remembering the purpose of her visit, she steeled herself and walked forward.
She dropped to her knees and said firmly, "Grandpa Wang, you worry too much. If I could save lives like my martial uncle, I wouldn't care about my reputation."
"Second Grandpa, please take me as your student! I am willing to learn medicine from you!"
All medical arts were for the purpose of healing and saving lives. Medicine was a vast and profound field, but the principles of herbs and healing were universal.
Imperial Physician Wang had too many reservations, and Wang Zhi was a renegade—perhaps following Wang Zhi to study medicine was the right choice after all.
Imperial Physician Wang was stunned.
Wang Zhi, however, smiled until his eyes crinkled. The surgical techniques he studied in the *Ghost-Forgotten Prescriptions of Liu Juanzi* required a steady hand, a sharp mind, and great courage.
Little Bell was the perfect candidate!
Happily, he helped Xie Qiqi to her feet and smiled. "Then let us pick a day for the formal apprenticeship ceremony..."
Imperial Physician Wang wanted to object, but seeing Xie Qiqi’s frail frame, he swallowed his words.
This girl didn't have much time left. If she could have a goal, perhaps she could hold on a little longer!
...
Before Xie Qiqi left, Wang Zhi gave her a book on medicinal herbs, telling her to familiarize herself with their properties as soon as possible.
Clutching the book to her chest as if it were a treasure, Xie Qiqi left Baicao Hall.
She touched the hairpin in her bodice and hurried toward the Baosheng Pawnshop at the end of the street.
This jade hairpin had been a gift from her grandmother on her coming-of-age ceremony. Yue Yue had said she liked it, and Xie Qiqi had kept it only because she couldn't bear to part with it.
Yue Yue had even been angry about it, ignoring her for several days.
Xie Qiqi pawned the jade hairpin as a redeemable item. It was a gift from her grandmother, and she intended to buy it back once she had the money.
Because it was a redeemable pawn, the shopkeeper kept the price low; for a hairpin worth a thousand pieces of gold, he gave her only two hundred taels.
Xie Qiqi was satisfied. With the banknotes in hand, she hurried to other pharmacies to fill her prescriptions and buy medicine for her injuries, then headed to Mobao Studio.
When Xie Qiqi began her education at five, she had learned the *Three Character Classic*, but before she could finish the *Thousand Character Classic*, she was sent to the Imperial Prison by her mother and never had another chance to learn to read or write.
After she returned a year ago, her eldest brother, Xie Wenyuan, had tried to teach her to read and write since she was illiterate.
But not long after, Yue Yue intentionally spilled ink on her eldest brother’s official reports and framed Xie Qiqi, claiming she had done it on purpose because she didn't want to study.
In a fit of rage, her brother had never taught her again.
The rumors mentioned by Imperial Physician Wang were true; Xie Qiqi indeed had not yet finished the *Thousand Character Classic*.
Mobao Studio was the largest bookstore in the Capital City. With the spring examinations approaching next year, the flow of customers was endless.
It was Xie Qiqi's first time at Mobao Studio, and looking at the dense rows of bookshelves, she had no idea where the book she wanted was kept.
Mustering her courage, she asked the shop assistant, "Sir, could you please get me a copy of the *Thousand Character Classic*?"
The assistant looked at her with a strange expression before turning to find the book.
Xie Qiqi had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard a burst of laughter behind her.
"Xie Qiqi, I heard you hadn't even finished the *Thousand Character Classic*. I thought it was just a rumor, but it turns out to be true!"
The voice was familiar.
Xie Qiqi stiffened and turned around to see Lin Xiaojing, the Minister's daughter she had met at Jiangxue Pavilion, standing there with Yue Yue and two other unfamiliar young ladies.
Lin Xiaojing looked at her with disdain and mocked, "Xie Qiqi, what is the point of learning the *Thousand Character Classic* at your age? You’d be better off studying the *Lessons for Women* and trying not to bring more shame to the Marquis’s estate."
Lin Xiaojing and Yue Yue had attended the same school and were of the same age; she was one of Yue Yue's closest friends.
Having heard from Yue Yue about how Xie Qiqi had supposedly troubled her, Lin Xiaojing had no love for her.
The other customers in the shop began to gossip.
Someone said, "She looks like she's already come of age, so why hasn't she finished the *Thousand Character Classic*? My son is only seven and finished it long ago!"
Another added, "Even if you learned one character a day, you'd finish in three years. Could she be such a blockhead that she hasn't finished it after all this time?"
Someone else chuckled, "At her age, why bother with the *Thousand Character Classic*? She should just get married and focus on raising children."
Xie Qiqi’s face burned with humiliation.
Was she supposed to explain to every person she met that it wasn't that she didn't want to learn, but that she never had the chance?
"To hear the Way in the morning, one can die content in the evening! Even if this young lady only lives to sixty, she has decades left to study. Can you guarantee that she won't catch up and surpass you later?"
A crisp voice cut through the mockery.
Xie Qiqi looked up in astonishment.
A tall, handsome man in a pale purple silk robe emerged from the crowd.
His fair, clear face held a trace of displeasure as he gestured vaguely.
"This young lady has the heart to learn. You are all scholars; instead of offering encouragement, you are arrogant and judgmental. Do you not feel any shame?"
The onlookers looked embarrassed; some recognized the man and quietly slipped away.
It was Lin Zeming, the eldest son of Minister Lin and a newly appointed imperial censor who had passed the imperial examinations. Who would dare offend him?
Seeing Xie Qiqi staring at her eldest brother, Lin Xiaojing’s face darkened with displeasure. She stepped partially in front of her to block Xie Qiqi's view.
She pouted, "Brother, you don't even know who she is—how can you speak up for her!"
"Do you know she is morally corrupt and full of lies? She even framed Yue Yue at Jiangxue Pavilion before..."
Lin Zeming frowned and interrupted Lin Xiaojing: "Do not gossip about others, Xiaojing. Keep your tongue in check."
Regardless of the character of this frail young girl, his own sister, as a lady of good standing, should not be mocking her in public.
When Lin Xiaojing realized her brother didn't believe her and was actually scolding her, she pulled Yue Yue over in a fit of pique.
"Brother, if you don't believe me, surely you believe Yue Yue? Yue Yue, tell him, am I telling the truth?"
Yue Yue put on a troubled look and whispered, "Xiaojing, the Crown Princess has already punished her. Please, say no more. After all, she is my sister!"
While Yue Yue’s words appeared to be defending Xie Qiqi, they actually confirmed Lin Xiaojing’s claims.
Her voice was low, but both Xie Qiqi and Lin Zeming heard it. He looked at Xie Qiqi with suspicion.
Had he truly helped the wrong person?
Xie Qiqi lowered her head in humiliation.
Even her eldest and second brothers didn't believe her—could she hope for this stranger to believe her?
For a moment, Xie Qiqi no longer wanted to buy the book; she just wanted to escape.
Yue Yue seemed to read her thoughts. She stepped forward, took her hand, and said softly, "Sister, I came to get medicine for Mother. You ran out to play without having lunch and without telling Mother. She is very worried about you!"
"Why do you want to buy the *Thousand Character Classic*? You don't like reading, do you? The last copy Brother gave you was torn to shreds by you!"
The shop assistant, who had just returned with the book, gave Xie Qiqi a look of disdain upon hearing this.
"Our bookstore does not sell books to those who do not cherish them!"
The assistant put the book back with a cold face.
The onlookers pointed at Xie Qiqi and began to whisper again.
"Her mother is ill, yet she has the leisure to run out and play. What a beast!"
"Studying is meant to bring wisdom; she doesn't even understand basic filial piety. Why buy the *Thousand Character Classic*? Don't waste the book."
Watching the people around her pointing fingers, Xie Qiqi’s face turned scarlet...