This master is truly poor, apart from some medical books and the formulas he's researched, he owns almost nothing.
The most valuable thing must be the "Physician" token, and he even pawned it temporarily at "Yuanheng".
Counting them, there are about a dozen medical books, the pages are almost torn, he can take his time reading them, anyway, his memory is very strong, he hasn't lost the ability to retain things at a glance.
All of these need to be taken, and there's also a notebook for the "Physician" exam, looking at the notes, they date back to thirty years ago.
I don't know if it will be useful, but I'll put it away for now.
I intended to find a box to store these books, but Lin Miao discovered a compartment inside the box, it was very hidden, if he hadn't accidentally knocked on it and heard a hollow sound, he wouldn't have known there was an empty layer underneath.
Open the compartment.
Lin Miao saw a scroll that looked rather old, with a slightly yellowed patina, but not a speck of dust on it.
It looks like it's often taken out for view.
However, he seemed to have no memory of this scroll.
Could this be a secret his master kept hidden? Everyone has secrets, it's very normal. Out of curiosity, Lin Miao took out the scroll and slowly opened it.
Wow!
It turned out to be a rare silk painting, depicting a woman in warrior attire, full of heroism, with some resemblance to his senior sister in her expressions.
The painter's technique wasn't great, a bit mechanical, not like a famous artist's work.
With his eyesight.
It seems like his master's handiwork, after all, the penmanship in writing can be discerned with careful examination.
This painting is at least twenty years old, his senior sister wasn't born yet twenty years ago, besides, there's no reason for the master to have someone paint a portrait of his daughter and hide it in a box's compartment, taking it out occasionally to admire it!
Could this be the master's wife whom he's never met?
The master can paint, after all these years, he's hidden it so deeply!
When a man is determined, it really has nothing to do with a woman.
He hasn't met the master's wife, the senior sister doesn't know if she's met her, after all, he's been at the Sun Family for eight years and never heard the master mention her. When the senior sister brought it up before, the master got angry and she never asked again.
The master hid it so deeply, even the senior sister probably doesn't know there's a portrait of the master's wife?
"These words look quite familiar..." Lin Miao noticed the inscription on the painting, quite similar to the master's handwriting, could it be written by the master twenty years ago?
Hua Qingye?
Could this be the name of the master's wife...
The master never mentioned his wife on his deathbed, this is somewhat unexpected, could it be that the pain was too deep, unwilling to speak of it, but if so, why leave this painting?
Besides this painting, there's also a box, Lin Miao opened it to find a thumb ring, quite simple in design, with a ring of engraving on the outside, like a landscape painting, the craftsmanship is quite high, and it's heavy, not like gold, nor silver, or copper, Lin Miao couldn't identify the material at once.
The master didn't have the habit of wearing a thumb ring, but if it belonged to his wife, why was its size made for a man's thumb?
Could his wife's hands be unusual?
Why not try wearing it?
Lin Miao didn't think much of it and put the thumb ring on his left thumb, surprisingly it fit perfectly, just right.
Lin Miao hesitated as he took it off and was about to put it back in the box, suddenly noticing the pattern on the ring seemed intriguing, they were done using intaglio, with reversed graphics and text...
Could it be that the landscape on this ring can only be seen when printed on paper?
It's just a thumb ring, is it necessary to be so unusual?
As they say, when things are strange, there must be demons!
Driven by curiosity, Lin Miao found a piece of hemp paper, got some red ink paste, pressed the ring onto the ink paste, then rolled it onto the hemp paper, transferring the landscape pattern onto it.
While wiping the red ink off the ring, Lin Miao carefully examined the miniature landscape under the light.
The more he looked, the more he felt that this miniature landscape looked like a map, a stream flowing from the mountains into a great river, with a sharp bend, judging from the splash patterns, it's very rapid, with three peaks, the middle one is the lowest, the left is a bit higher, and the right the highest, there's snow on the peaks, and the middle mountain seems to have a pavilion at its midsection...
What is this place?
There's nothing in Lin Miao's original memories that match the features on this map.
If this thumb ring belonged to the master's wife, then she must have had secrets, and is she alive or dead?
If she's dead, why didn't the master accept Yun, even when her intentions were so clear, the master remained unmoved?
In his view, Yun is thirty years old, and in Qingping Town, besides his senior sister, she's the most beautiful and charming.
Such a woman is most enchanting.
The master is already fifty, any other man would have agreed, even for the senior sister's sake, it's not worth dying alone, is it?
Holding it in, isn't it uncomfortable?
From this, it seems that the master's wife might still be alive.
The master had mixed feelings about her, both love and hate...
Alas, this secret the senior sister might not know, should he tell her? Lin Miao was troubled, if he did, he'd worry she might overthink, her current condition can't handle intense emotions. If he didn't, it seemed a bit unethical.
Forget it, better not to mention it for now. As a married couple, if he knows, it's as if she knows too, and he could tell her once Sun Youwei gets better.
This is a white lie.
For now, I'll hide the scroll and thumb ring back in the box's compartment, anyway, the senior sister won't find out.
The books and formulas were all packed, and what remained were the master's clothes, most of which were burned when he was interred, leaving only a few newer ones for remembrance.
Over the years, the master hadn't acquired many new clothes, usually wearing them for three years new, three years old, and then three years patched up again.
The new clothes were always for him and the senior sister, as they were growing and their clothes would easily become too small.
Even with the clothes and books, the box wasn't full, but once packed with the master's "inking stone" and brushes, it just filled the box.
He heard two "bang, bang" sounds from outside the main gate, the town watchman's knocking of the night watch drum.
By now, it was already the second watch.
Returning to the main hall, Lin Miao lit a stick of incense before his master's memorial, also burning some paper money, after today, it would be a long time before he could come to offer incense or burn paper for his master again.
He remembered the pinhole near his shoulder well point, reached to touch it, and that thought resurfaced.
The senior sister should be asleep, he could hear steady breathing from the room.
Tomorrow is the day of the burial.
Now is the last chance, Lin Miao gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and decided to open the coffin.
With a gentle lift, he removed the coffin lid.
Inside, the master's body lay quietly. It's been seven days, though the weather was cool, there was still a faint smell of decay.
He found a piece of gauze to cover his nose and mouth, and began to inspect.
Though he hadn't worked as a forensic pathologist, he had some understanding of autopsies, something seemed off at first glance. If he died naturally from illness, why would the body be pale purple?
This clearly indicated poisoning.
The master suffered a stroke compounded by poisoning to have died so quickly, as a doctor, he'd witnessed many life and death situations and wasn't so mentally frail.
Moreover, strokes could be treated, there were prescriptions for such illnesses in the medical books he left behind.
Why did this happen?
Could the Huang Family have poisoned him secretly? Only with the master's death, would they have a chance to get the land of the Herbal Hall, they had a motive for murder.
But why would they want to kill the original self too?
Could he be an obstacle to their acquiring the Herbal Hall?
He sat by the wall at the gate, staring at the eight characters on the coffin, lost in thought. If the original self hadn't died, he wouldn't have had a new life, should he seek vengeance on his behalf?
And what about the future journey, does it need serious planning?
To earn money, taking the "Physician" exam is just the first step, his medical skills should have great potential in this world.
Master, if you're in heaven, bless me, I must pass this time!
By then, we can seek revenge for our grievances, not only can we redeem the Herbal Hall, but also retrieve your "Physician" token.
There's still over two months, the problem isn't too big, after all, he's been solving problems all the way through life, overly familiar with this exam-orientated education system.