Chapter 416: Chapter 416 Father Agrees to Your Marriage_1

All of this has been orchestrated by a rarely-seen figure, Dr. Xu.

This has left a deep impression on the people of Taizhou prefecture, evoking immense curiosity among those who knew little about Xu Heyou.

Now, inside the Zuixian Residence, Fan Chengxu was drinking with Wei Yichen, Xiu Fengyuan, and others.

Out of the seven present, apart from Fan Chengxu, the other six were students from the Anzhou Academy who were trapped in the snowstorm with Wei Ruo that day.

The banquet was in honour of Lu Yuhong, for his upcoming journey.

At the table, the conversation ranged from the recent snow disaster to Xu Heyou, who had helped many of the disaster’s victims by opening a relief station.

“Xu Heyou has contributed both money and effort, even managing to have numerous renowned doctors from Taizhou prefecture conduct free consultations in rotation. It’s quite impressive. Many citizens have benefited from his efforts, they all praise him as a kind person,” said Liu Yu.

“Just the cost of the medicine alone would have been a considerable amount of silver, not to mention providing clothing, blankets, and charcoal for heat for the destitute. All this over the past two weeks must have costed thousands of silver taels,” said Yuan Wangyuan.

“Moreover, he’s not just wealthy; he’s also a highly skilled physician. I’ve heard that even though his free consultations were done through a partition, he could still diagnose each patient’s illness accurately and prescribe effective treatment,” added Gao Wentian.

“I’ve also heard about his excellent medical skills. He led the efforts to combat the epidemic last year, and cured many difficult illnesses during his free consultations. Some elders in my family with chronic conditions wanted to seek treatment from him as well. If it wasn’t for the fact that he only does free consultations, they would have already visited him,” Yuan Wangyuan continued.

Liu Yu added, “My grandmother also had the idea to consult him. She even sent someone to ask him, but Xu Heyou only plans on treating the poor and the disaster-stricken, so even offering money won’t work.”

Lu Yuhong chimed in, “His medical skills are indeed extraordinary, even the seventh prince…”

Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence. He had almost spilled about the prince being rescued by Xu Heyou!

The others curiously turned their gaze on Lu Yuhong, who quickly deflected, “I meant to say that even the seventh prince praised Xu Heyou’s medical skills.”

Xiu Fengyuan summarized, “Being able to provide congee and distribute medicine for several days reveals his substantial wealth; being able to treat people and garner the citizens’ praise speaks volumes of his exceptional medical skills; having so many doctors in Taizhou prefecture provide free consultations under his influence shows his extraordinary rallying power.”

Hearing the others’ compliments, Fan Chengxu said with a smile, “Xu Heyou’s abilities are not limited to just these.”

“It seems that Mr. Fan knows this Dr. Xu quite well?” asked Xiu Fengyuan.

The others turned their attention to Fan Chengxu.

Fan Chengxu waved his folding fan with a mysterious smile, “I wouldn’t go so far as to say I know him well. I only know a little more than you. He has a keen sense of business and given the chance and the capital, he won’t be short of money.”

“Since Mr. Fan praises him so highly, he must be very good at doing business,” Xiu Fengyuan said.

Being a top merchant in Taizhou prefecture, if Fan Chengxu was making such claims, it must be true.

This further heightened everyone’s curiosity about Xu Heyou.

“If given a chance, I’d really like to meet him,” Liu Yu couldn’t help but remark.

The rest of the group agreed, expressing their desire to meet him as well.

After rounds of toasting and banter, everyone was slightly tipsy.

“I’m truly fortunate to have all of you as company today!” exclaimed Lu Yuhong. “But I do miss the thyme wine, it’s not the same as the one we had that day.”

Lu Yuhong looked at Fan Chengxu as he said this, showing a hint of accusation.

Fan Chengxu smiled and said, “You can’t blame me for this. Only two jars of this wine are delivered to my restaurant every day. I’m already going out of my way to save two pots for you.”

This really had to blame Xu Heyou instead!

Liu Yu got up and made a toast to Lu Yuhong, expressing his sadness at parting, “Brother Lu, once you leave for the capital, we don’t know when we will meet again.”

Lu Yuhong replied, “Why would you say that? When you all come to the capital for the imperial examination, I’ll host you there, then we can meet again, can’t we?”

Liu Yu quickly waved his hand, “Only Xiu Fengyuan and Wei Yichen are going for the examination, not me.”

Xiu Fengyuan slapped Liu Yu on the shoulder, “Don’t be discouraged Brother Liu. You’ll surely pass the next time in three years!”

Liu Yu shook his head, “I’m not as learned as you and Brother Yichen, especially you, who passed the provincial examination as the Zhuangyuan (top scholar). Your future is limitless.”

Hearing this, Xiu Fengyuan looked at the silent Wei Yichen and said, “It’s only because Yichen didn’t perform well in the provincial examination. If he had performed normally, I wouldn’t have gotten the Zhuangyuan.”

In their usual academy days, Wei Yichen always performed better than Xiu Fengyuan.

Nobody understood why Xiu Fengyuan was the one who topped the provincial examination while Wei Yichen received a lower rank.

“Xiu Fengyuan, you fully deserved the Zhuangyuan. My usual performance was just a matter of luck,” Wei Yichen replied.

“Alright, alright, you two, no more modesty! You both are the pride of our Anzhou Academy. In the future, the rest of us will need to rely on you two.” Liu Yu stood up to toast them.

Afterwards, they all drank fine wine, enjoyed delicious food, expressed their best wishes for each other, talked about their dreams, and shared their grand ambitions. They continued until dusk before parting ways.

###

After more than twenty days of hard work from everyone in Taizhou prefecture, the damage caused by the snow disaster was almost repaired.

The citizens resumed their normal lives. The farmers who had planted winter wheat started working in their fields again, trying to recover from the damage caused by the heavy snow.

On the first day of the winter month, Wei Mingting, who had just returned from the military camp, called Wei Ruo to the study as soon as he arrived at the mansion.

As soon as Wei Ruo entered, Wei Mingting told her about his decision that he had contemplated for a long time—he agreed to Wei Ruo’s marriage to the scholar named Zhao Xun.

“I have looked into it, that scholar named Zhao Xun is indeed a promising talent, with a family of good reputation. Although he’s a bit frail, I had a physician examine him and there’s no threat to his life. Looking at it from various aspects, he qualifies as a good match. Since you fancy him, I don’t see any reason to object,” he said.

“Thank you, Father!”

Although this matrimonial alliance was only a scheme for her to dissociate from the Wei Family, Wei Ruo was genuinely overjoyed to have Wei Mingting’s approval.

Then, looking somewhat guilty, Wei Mingting said to Wei Ruo, “I have been a government official for many years, but I have always been honest and upright, and have not accumulated much wealth. I am unable to give you a substantial dowry.”

Wei Ruo was touched upon hearing this.

“Father, your years of public service are clear for all citizens to see. You don’t have to be upset about not having amassed much wealth. The wealth you have accumulated is far beyond what money can measure. I don’t care about the size of the dowry,” said Wei Ruo.

“.Knowing you understand makes me very happy,” said Wei Mingting.