Every year, large quantities of medicinal herbs were sent by the Jiang family to the Imperial Hospital, where they were stored.
The matter of handover with the Jiang family naturally fell to the two supervising physicians of the Imperial Hospital.
In reality, Zou Li and Zhang Shuzhong's visit to the Jiang family was merely a formality, a matter of exchanging pleasantries before concluding the task.
In the past, when Zou Li came to the Jiang family for business, he was accustomed to adopting a condescending attitude.
Now that Jiang Guangcheng was also serving in the Imperial Hospital, Zou Li naturally straightened his back even further.
To his surprise, Jiang Guangcheng spoke only to Zhang Shuzhong throughout the entire meeting, as if completely unaware of Zou Li's presence.
Zou Li, who had intended to maintain his aloof demeanor, felt utterly ignored and somewhat embarrassed.
It was one thing for him to ignore others, but it was another matter entirely for others to treat him as if he were invisible.
Thus, no matter how disdainful he felt, Zou Li had to speak up.
However, no matter what Zou Li said, Jiang Guangcheng acted as if he hadn't heard, continuing to converse politely only with Zhang Shuzhong.
Zou Li: "..."
Was this going to go on forever?
And as it turned out, Zou Li was right this time.
Jiang Guangcheng had no intention of ending it.
The Jiang family's medicinal herbs were distributed throughout the city, and news within the city was naturally well-informed.
The matter of Madam Zou wanting to take Ji Zizhao as a concubine had reached the Jiang family the previous night.
While Jiang Guangcheng could not directly discuss this with Ji Zizhao, it did not mean he could not settle accounts with the Zou family later.
Therefore, when the list of medicinal herbs to be sent to the palace was presented, Zou Li could no longer remain silent.
Normally, the Imperial Hospital's medicinal herbs varied in price. When the two supervising physicians handled affairs, they should have distributed them equally, with a mix of expensive and common herbs to be presented to the palace and the court, essentially for show.
Looking at the list in Zhang Shuzhong's hand, there were golden thread ganoderma and Fritillaria, and even several hundred-year-old ginseng roots.
But when Zou Li looked at his own list, it was filled with common and inexpensive herbs.
To put it bluntly, the combined value of his herbs was likely less than that of a single ginseng root on Zhang Shuzhong's list.
Zou Li suppressed the urge to have a blood vessel burst and, holding his list, questioned Jiang Guangcheng, "What does Bureau Chief Jiang mean by this? Are you intending to engage in favoritism and corruption in front of this official!"
Jiang Guangcheng had been waiting for Zou Li's question. Without haste, he compared their lists and replied with a purely businesslike expression, "I believe Supervising Physician Zou has misunderstood."
Zou Li: "..."
After all this, he still claimed misunderstanding?
Did he really think I was blind!
Jiang Guangcheng's expression remained unchanged. "I heard that Physician Zou wishes to marry the eldest daughter of the Ji family as a concubine. While it is a joyous occasion, the eldest daughter of the Ji family does hold a position in the Imperial Hospital. Even if Supervising Physician Zou is not afraid of gossip and does not avoid familial connections when choosing a virtuous person, I, your humble servant, still need to avoid suspicion."
Zou Li was stunned by these words. "What nonsense are you spouting!"
How could the Zou family possibly take Ji Zizhao as a concubine?
Although the Imperial Hospital did not wield political power, its constant need to treat the masters and mistresses of various palaces made its occupants well-informed and, thus, sensitive.
Zou Li having Zou Hansheng join the Imperial Hospital was a continuation of his father's legacy, serving Yulin without issue. However, marrying the only woman in the Imperial Hospital into the Zou family as a daughter-in-law was simply not acceptable.
If the entire family was in the Imperial Hospital, what was the intention? Was it to monopolize the Imperial Hospital?
As the saying goes, "A tall tree catches the wind, and a person of high fame may lose their life."
Having spent decades in the Imperial Hospital, how could Zou Li not understand the principle of avoiding suspicion!
Furthermore, given Ji Zizhao's status as a divorcée, she was utterly unworthy of entering the Zou family's gates.
At this point, Zhang Shuzhong also became indignant. "Zou Li, do you have any shame left!"
He had only one disciple, whom he cherished like the apple of his eye, and now the Zou family wanted to take her as a concubine?
Could the Zou family's audacity be any greater!
Zhang Shuzhong was truly enraged. Even after leaving the Jiang residence, he continued to berate Zou Li.
He even declared, "If your Zou family truly intends to do such a thing, I will forsake my old face and beg the Emperor to make a ruling."
Zou Li knit his brows. "As a distinguished supervising physician of the Imperial Hospital, how can you be so shameless?"
Zhang Shuzhong laughed in anger. "You've already discarded your face, so why should I care about shame!"
Drenched in Zhang Shuzhong's spittle, Zou Li was filled with indignation.
Completely unaware of his wife's actions, Zou Li felt greatly wronged and firmly believed that the differential treatment he received today was simply a meticulously planned trap set by Jiang Guangcheng and Zhang Shuzhong.
With this thought, Zou Li proceeded directly to the Ministry of Revenue.
While the Imperial Hospital directly handled the giao dịch for medicinal herbs with the Jiang family, the Jiang family needed to obtain funds from the Ministry of Revenue.
However, before Zou Li could speak, Xie Jinglan, who had just finished discussing matters with the Minister of Revenue, opened his mouth with a gentle smile. "I heard that Supervising Physician Zou's family is preparing for a celebration. I had intended to pay a personal visit to offer my congratulations, but I did not expect Supervising Physician Zou to come here instead."
The other officials at the Ministry of Revenue looked at Zou Li with curiosity.
Even the Minister of Revenue discreetly perked up his ears.
When was the Zou family holding a celebration? They hadn't heard anything!
In fact, Zou Li had only just heard about this...
"Your Highness the Fourth Prince is fond of joking. If my family were truly holding a celebration, why would I not know?" Zou Li couldn't understand why everyone today seemed intent on smearing his reputation.
Xie Jinglan smiled faintly. "Matters of marriage are the responsibility of the mistress of the household. It is understandable if Supervising Physician Zou is unaware."
Zou Li: "..."
He felt that the Fourth Prince's words held hidden meaning.
However, before Zou Li could inquire further, Xie Jinglan resumed his discussion with the Minister of Revenue.
Zou Li actually wanted to wait for the Fourth Prince to clarify the matter further. But for some reason, although he saw the Fourth Prince smiling, the smile seemed eerily sinister and unsettling.
Having suffered repeated setbacks, Zou Li was not entirely foolish. Even if he found the talk of marriage and concubinage hard to believe, having been subjected to such an onslaught of information for a day, he turned and headed back to his mansion, deciding to investigate the matter first.
Upon entering the mansion, Zou Li inquired of a servant, "Where is Madam?"
The servant quickly replied, "Madam has awoken and is currently speaking with the eldest wife of the Ji family."
Upon hearing the name Ji family, Zou Li's heart skipped a beat, and he hastened his steps towards the back courtyard.
In his life, he had only taken one concubine, who later died during childbirth. Since then, he had no intention of taking any more.
Over the years, he had dedicated all his energy to the Imperial Hospital and gradually paid less attention to household affairs.
After all, his principal wife was the mother of their children and would surely not mistreat them.
If not for the successive blows he had received today, Zou Li would never have bothered to involve himself in his household's affairs.
As Zou Li entered the main courtyard, he heard faint voices from within.
"The eldest daughter of your Ji family is of high status and has a strong personality. Our Zou family cannot possibly aspire to such a match. Eldest Wife of the Ji family, it would be best to find someone else more suitable." Lying on the bed, Madam Zou still trembled as she recalled the events of the previous night.
Zou Li, who was eavesdropping from outside, nearly dropped his eyeballs onto the ground.
So, there was indeed a plan to take Ji Zizhao into the family as a concubine?