Moreover, the idea of entering the bureaucracy through medicine and stirring up the imperial court was quite attractive to someone who had lived in modern times.
It wasn’t just about saving Qingfeng Village, her family, and her own life… the prospect of entering office through medicine alone was enough to intrigue Shen Yu.
The fact that The Imperial Court now intended to completely eradicate Qingfeng Village was set in stone.
Although her parents and grandfather were desperately trying to maneuver, their strength was ultimately limited.
Qingfeng Village had thrived until today mostly because in this bitter cold borderland, the heavens were high and the emperor was far away.
No one wanted to manage such a mess.
As long as the taxes were paid every year, those high-ranking officials didn’t have the time to pay attention to this place.
But the situation was different now.
Qingfeng Village had surfaced before the eyes of The Imperial Court, and there were invisible forces above determined to destroy them.
Within a few months at most, Shen Yu’s entire family would surely die.
To break the deadlock, only this one method remained.
Furthermore, in Shen Yu’s view, since she had finally transmigrated, if a person had no dreams, what was the difference between them and a salted fish?
What was the point of visiting brothels and seeking flowers?
She didn’t come to this place often anyway, and the romantic atmosphere of such establishments made her feel quite uncomfortable…
“Miss Shen, you still have a jar of Osmanthus Wine stored from your last visit. Shall I bring it out for you today?”
“Miss Shen, I’ve studied that Facial Cleanser Play you mentioned before. I’ve been waiting for you to come so I can let you check the results of my learning.”
“Miss Shen, here are the ten taels of silver your father gave. After the madam took her cut, this is what’s left for us sisters to return to you. How could we possibly take your money when you visit? We’d even pay out of our own pockets to accompany you…”
The three beautiful sisters in thin gauze dresses were incredibly enthusiastic, pulling at Shen Yu’s hands with pink hearts practically popping out of their eyes.
In their eyes, Shen Yu was like a succubus; the more they looked, the more they liked her.
Despite being aloof Qingguanren who would never normally take guests, the way they clung to Shen Yu’s hands was no different from the fickle Hongguanren.
“You three, wait a moment. As you know, I, Shen Yu, am the Eldest Miss of Qingfeng Village, a person of status. Isn’t your enthusiasm a bit too…”
Shen Yu’s tone carried a hint of embarrassment.
The slap to her own face came so quickly and suddenly that she hadn’t even had time to find an excuse for herself in her mind.
“Then? Shall we not open the Osmanthus Wine?”
“No Facial Cleanser Play?”
“This ten taels of silver…”
“Ahem!”
Shen Yu cleared her throat.
“But then again!”
She thought to herself: who was she pretending to be a gentleman for?
Besides, she wasn’t exactly a gentleman now anyway.
The three Qingguanren were quite famous in this border region and could be considered the “face” of this brothel.
Usually, they played the zither and wrote poetry.
Even powerful figures could only watch from afar, often separated by a layer of thin gauze just to admire their graceful figures and beautiful faces.
Even when Shen Yu’s father, Shen Bashan, visited, he could only watch from the sidelines.
Whether they accompanied a guest depended entirely on the mood of the three Qingguanren.
But Shen Yu was the exception.
The three beautiful sisters rushed to accompany her.
As soon as Shen Yu arrived, things like poetry, tea tasting, and zither playing were all pushed aside.
Nothing was more important than accompanying Eldest Miss Shen.
As for why…
Shen Yu being good-looking was one point, and her good personality was another, but the most important thing was that Shen Yu had done favors for all three of them.
“Chuntao, how is your younger brother’s illness?”
“Thanks to you, Miss, he is almost completely recovered. He can eat and drink now and has even gained quite a few circles of weight.”
Chuntao’s eyes were clear.
Her beautiful phoenix eyes were lightly made up, looking like a pool of autumn water—glamorous and moving.
It was this pair of beautiful eyes that enchanted the entire borderland, but now those eyes only reflected Shen Yu’s exquisite face.
“That’s good. It was just eczema combined with a Staphylococcus Aureus infection. Don’t you dare invite any more masters to perform rituals. Use the ointment I gave for a while and pay attention to personal hygiene, and it will heal quickly.”
Shen Yu took a sip of Osmanthus Wine.
The taste was slightly bitter with a hint of sweetness.
The distillation technology was poor and the alcohol content wasn’t high; she could only say it still didn’t taste as good as modern wine.
“Yes. Miss Shen’s life-saving grace is something Chuntao will never forget. Those doctors all called it ‘Fetal Toxin’ or ‘Evil Wind,’ and the prescriptions they wrote were expensive and useless…”
“It’s nothing, just a minor illness.”
“But all the doctors in this border region were helpless. Only Miss Shen saw the cause at a glance and prescribed the right medicine. If it weren’t for Miss Shen, I’m afraid my only younger brother would have… and if those medicines hadn’t drained our family savings, I wouldn’t have had to sell myself into a place like this…”
“…”
Shen Yu didn’t argue.
This borderland was indeed a bit backward.
If the productivity and technological level of feudal dynasties were one-third of modern times, then this borderland far from the capital was one-tenth, or perhaps even less.
Shen Yu had also used the influence of Qingfeng Village to barely produce some near-standardized antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs.
However, the ingredients were all traditional medicines; without a laboratory environment, Shen Yu had no way to synthesize chemical reagents.
Not to mention that most drugs would have to start from drilling for oil, which was far beyond the productivity that Qingfeng Village could achieve.
Even with the power of the whole nation and the entire empire working together, it would probably still be extremely difficult.
There was no other way; it was too poor and backward.
Sometimes, looking at children who could have been easily saved but died due to a small infection, Shen Yu wished she could conjure a laboratory out of thin air.
Others transmigrated with systems; with just a call, they could have not only fever reducers and antibiotics but even perform heart bypass surgery.
Like those who transmigrated to the Ming Dynasty with systems next door, they probably would have already cured Empress Ma, the Crown Prince, and the Imperial Grandson for Old Zhu, and by now would have been promoted and gained titles for their families.
Looking at herself, she had transmigrated for several years, growing from a young girl into a young woman, and still couldn’t even handle standardized production.
As a local tyrant of the borderland, her whole family supported her, and her own mother, in order to refine strange medicines and sorcery, had countless unusual medicinal materials at her disposal.
She was already in a privileged position, but if it were anyone else, they might truly have been unable to accomplish anything…
“Sigh…”
Shen Yu sighed softly, then buried her face against the chest of another beautiful sister named Qiushi and rubbed against her vigorously.
“Miss, it tickles. Don’t breathe so hard… haha, it tickles so much.”
Although she said this, Qiushi still gently held Shen Yu’s head.
She also liked Shen Yu very much because Shen Yu was her savior.
Early the year before last, a flu epidemic raged and killed many people.
Coincidentally, Qiushi fell seriously ill with a persistent high fever.
No one in the entire brothel dared to approach her, even though she was the head of the three famous Qingguanren, even though just a glance and a smile could make countless people fall for her.
But a dying person with a persistent high fever suspected of being contagious—everyone treated her the same, keeping their distance.
The brothel madam drove her to a small basement, fearing she would infect others and cut off the madam’s source of income.
Falling from heaven to hell in an instant, Qiushi was absolutely helpless at the time.
With a persistent fever and curled up in the cold and damp basement, she couldn’t even get a sip of water.
Just when she thought she was going to die, a pair of warm hands helped her up.
In a daze, Qiushi heard a voice she would remember for the rest of her life…
“She can still be saved. Bring the fever medicine.”
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