Under Du Yiyi's guidance, the two soon arrived at a bookstore called "Lu's Collection."
At first glance, Su Xiaoqi was amazed.
This bookstore was a two-story small building.
Including the small courtyard behind where people lived, it occupied an area of one mu.
Despite such a large space, the bookshelves inside were arranged with extreme orderliness.
The aroma of ink was rich, the books were categorized and placed, and when her fingers touched them, not a speck of dust adhered.
They followed the categories and found the medical books shelf.
Su Xiaoqi didn't have much hope, as given the limitations of the era, she couldn't expect people of this time to publicly share their research like modern people.
In this era, it was all about family inheritance and master-disciple succession.
She had originally intended to find some simple, common medical books.
This would also explain her knowledge of medicine.
However, here she found a treasure.
A medical scripture titled "Miscellaneous Diseases."
As Su Xiaoqi flipped through it, she saw it described the diagnosis and treatment methods for various difficult and complex diseases of the time.
She felt as if she had found a priceless gem.
She immediately wanted to take the book to the counter to pay.
Unexpectedly, Du Yiyi stopped her and pointed to a note on the nanmu bookshelf with some difficulty: Books on this shelf are for viewing only, not for sale.
"What?" Su Xiaoqi rubbed her eyes, thinking she had misread.
The bookstore explicitly stated that the books were not for sale, only for viewing.
What kind of logic was that?
"The owner of this shop is rumored to be from the Lu family, a prominent medical family.
He once served as an imperial physician in the capital, possessed exceptional medical skills, and had a very eccentric temper.
Later, he resigned from his official post and returned here. For some unknown reason, he stopped practicing medicine, refused to take over the family's medical hall, and instead opened this bookstore."
Du Yiyi explained in a low voice.
Su Xiaoqi noticed that Du Yiyi's attitude was very respectful when she spoke, as if she knew this old gentleman named Lu Yang.
"If they can be displayed for people to read, why aren't they for sale?" Su Xiaoqi still didn't understand how his past experience related to these books not being sold.
"I don't know. I heard my father say that something happened in the capital that broke Mr. Lu's heart..."
Du Yiyi whispered to her, not daring to raise her voice.
Su Xiaoqi frowned and pondered. With Du Yiyi's explanation, she seemed to recall something.
The original novel seemed to have mentioned a peerless divine doctor in the Daliang Dynasty.
He wouldn't favor anyone, but he was good friends with Shen Yun, the powerful minister.
The world said he was flattering Shen Yun, but it wasn't true.
In the few scenes where he appeared, Shen Yun's attitude towards him was extremely respectful.
Could this be the peerless divine doctor from the novel?
If it was him, should she find Shen Yun?
Su Xiaoqi figured she couldn't find Shen Yun at the moment, so she simply opened the book and began to read it seriously.
This medical scripture was divided into three volumes: upper, middle, and lower. The first volume discussed basic medical principles, written very simply, understandable even to beginners.
It taught how to regulate the body.
Such as not eating too much salt, not eating too many pickled vegetables, and exercising more.
There was also the saying, "A hundred steps after a meal can prolong life by ninety-nine years."
The middle volume, however, was quite obscure.
Even those with some foundation in medicine couldn't understand it; it was full of specialized terminology.
Fortunately, Su Xiaoqi came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in modern times and had read many difficult medical books in her childhood.
Therefore, she could still manage to understand what was described.
But memorizing it was a bit of a stretch.
The lower volume discussed the properties and effects of various poisonous herbs.
Of course, it also used very difficult and obscure language. Some sentences even seemed grammatically incomplete.
It always felt as if some words were missing.
One knew of such an herb and its effects, but not how to refine and use it.
After reading for a while, Su Xiaoqi quickly came to terms with it.
Thinking about the poisonous herbs described,
if the refining methods were also included, it would inevitably be exploited by malicious people. It was better this way.
She flipped back to the section on difficult and complex diseases in the middle volume and truly found a description of palpitations and chest obstruction.
The more she read, the more she wanted this book.
The author of this book was definitely a divine doctor with extensive clinical experience.
It even cited patient cases during pulse diagnosis, describing the illness, the symptoms, how the pulse beat, and the complexion.
It was extremely detailed.
She again expressed her desire to buy it, but Du Yiyi regretfully shook her head and stopped her.
"Don't waste your effort, he won't sell it."
Su Xiaoqi, unwilling to believe it, took the book to the counter with a try-it-and-see attitude.
When she entered, she had noticed an old man with a white beard sitting there.
He wore a plain grey Taoist robe, his sparse hair tied into a bun, secured with an ordinary wooden hairpin.
He was leaning back in an armchair, his eyes closed, resting.
"Old sir, I'd like to buy a book," Su Xiaoqi called out to him softly.
But the other party showed no reaction.
"Old sir?" Su Xiaoqi tried calling again.
But after several calls, he still didn't open his eyes.
Su Xiaoqi was dejected. She finally realized that this old gentleman wasn't truly asleep; he was simply rejecting her in this manner.
She sighed, placed the book back, and stood by the bookshelf, looking at it with disappointment.
"Oh, right, Sister Xiaoqi, didn't you say earlier that you also wanted to buy books on making pastries and embroidery?
Look, these two books describe the food and patterns from the capital."
Su Xiaoqi quickly looked over. The first reaction upon seeing the books was to look up at the bookshelf for any "not for sale" notices.
Du Yiyi covered her mouth and smiled, saying she had already checked and that these books could be sold.
Only then did Su Xiaoqi relax, put the books away, and take them to the counter to pay.
At this moment, the old gentleman who had kept his eyes closed had already woken up.
His opened eyes were bright and spirited, with a hint of brilliance.
This appearance was nothing like that of a man in his sixties; he looked like a robust youth.
However, his voice betrayed his age, being hoarse and ancient: "That will be one string of cash. Thank you for your patronage."
Su Xiaoqi tugged at the corner of her mouth helplessly.
This old man was truly cunning, extremely shrewd.
A mischievous thought struck her. She suddenly took out the medical scripture from behind the two books and said, "Old sir, you're awake now. Why don't you tell me how much this book is worth?"
Lu Yang raised his eyes and frowned, the space between his eyebrows furrowing into a character that resembled "川."
This girl was even more cunning than him, playing such a trick on him.
However, the rule he had set was that if it wasn't for sale, it wasn't for sale.
He shook his head in refusal, too lazy to even speak, and directly pointed to the notice on the bookshelf.
Su Xiaoqi, not giving up, pressed, "Old sir, why isn't it for sale? What is the reason?"
Seeing her so troubled, Lu Yang simply lowered his gaze, closed his eyes again, and maintained his indifferent demeanor.
Su Xiaoqi's full mouth of persuasive words was immediately swallowed back.
Fine, she truly couldn't do anything about this eccentric old gentleman.
However, she thought, if she couldn't do anything, there was someone who definitely could.
She would bring him next time!