Lin Shen，please be my teacher！

Lin Shen's words were not meant to console Sun Simiao.

Traditional Chinese medicine is indeed on the right path.

Although it cannot be compared to modern medicine after the Industrial Revolution.

But compared to Western medicine, which is more like witchcraft and only knows bloodletting therapy...

Traditional Chinese medicine is more like a medical science, or rather, pharmacology.

It determines what substances each herb contains, what damage they may cause to the human body, and what benefits they may provide.

Behind each thin prescription, there may be the sacrifice of several, or even dozens, of lives.

However, the limitations of the times force them to study pharmacology from these herbs...

Lin Shen couldn't help but sigh.

If only he had a set of machines specifically designed to study pharmacology, he could completely move Sun Simiao in.

But unfortunately, he didn't draw it.

Sun Simiao is now seriously doubting himself: "Am I really on the right path?"

Lin Shen nodded, "Of course it's the right path."

"Although in my eyes, your use of herbs is quite rough, undoubtedly, this path is correct. What you lack is just a deeper opportunity."

Sun Simiao didn't say anything anymore, lowered his head, and stared at his hands.

Contemplating.

Lin Shen didn't pay attention to him either, carefully took the pesticide from Sun Simiao's hand, and tightened the cap.

He wasn't afraid of the toxicity of the pesticide now.

But the smell was unpleasant!

He didn't want to sleep in a room filled with the smell of pesticides.

Just as he had placed the pesticide on the table.

Thud—

A loud noise echoed into Lin Shen's ears.

He quickly turned his head to see Sun Simiao kneeling in front of him, saying loudly, "Please accept me as your disciple, Your Highness the King of Chu, and teach me the true medical skills!"

Lin Shen waved his hand, "Don't be like this, get up and talk first."

"I don't know much about medicine. I've only heard my elders talk about these things before, so I can only provide you with a general direction."

"So let's not talk about apprenticeship. You can stay here first, and I'll see if I can make some instruments or something when I have time."

"You can research it yourself then."

Sun Simiao climbed up from the ground, his eyes shining, "Thank you very much, Your Highness the King of Chu!"

It's hard to imagine that an old man in his eighties still has such a strong desire for knowledge.

The ancestors of the Han people were always like this...

They do not resist knowledge.

It's just that when one can eat their fill, they never think about how to eat better themselves.

But instead, they consider how to let their relatives and friends eat better. Once this is achieved, they will think about the people in their village, the people in their city, and the people in the whole world...

Lin Shen waved his hand, "It's nothing, all for the prosperity of the great Tang Dynasty."

Sun Simiao settled down in Lin Shen's residence.

The Chu King's Mansion is still under renovation.

Lin Shen's requirements are very high. He even drew a simple layout himself, and the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works are working day and night.

Sun Simiao could only stay in the adjacent hotel.

Fortunately, this old man is not so strict about living environment requirements, and all his thoughts are now focused on studying pharmacology...

He pays even less attention to the outside world.

The plague seems to have subsided.

Duke of Lu's Mansion.

Hou Junji looked grimly at the intelligence in his hand.

"Damn it!" He hammered the table fiercely, threw the paper aside, and a few flashes of sinister light flickered in his eyes from time to time.

The contents of the intelligence are all about Lin Shen.

"It's not over until I'm dead!"

The four words uttered by Lin Shen seemed to pierce his heart like a knife, but he couldn't pull it out.

For the past few nights, he has dreamed of Lin Shen every night.

That gentle, serene smile!

But for Hou Junji, it was undoubtedly a nightmare.

This mental anguish must be resolved, or he will never find peace.

But Hou Junji couldn't find any reason to attack Lin Shen.

Look at the reputation Lin Shen has outside...

A sage!

A celestial being from heaven!

Within a hundred li outside Chang'an City, every village within this range has built shrines for Lin Shen, offering incense day and night, praying for his well-being.

His prestige even surpasses that of Emperor Li Shimin.

How can one deal with such a person?

If he confronts Lin Shen today, tomorrow the gates of his Duke of Lu's Mansion might be splattered with filth and pelted with rotten eggs by the enraged populace.

If he tries to lodge a complaint, the Ministry of Rites may not even entertain him.

Does he have no choice but to wait for death...

Hou Junji collapsed weakly into his chair, staring at the papers on the table, despairing.

Just then...

Knock, knock, knock—

A series of knocks sounded at the door.

"Sir, someone is here to visit." The steward of the Duke of Lu's Mansion had already been replaced by a new one, as the previous one had been imprisoned in the Dali Temple for falsely accusing His Highness the King of Chu.

Hou Junji waved his hand and said softly, "Who is it?"

The steward hesitated and said, "Sir, the visitor did not give his name, only said his surname is Zheng."

Zheng?

That's not a common surname.

There's no one surnamed Zheng among the nobility of the entire Tang Dynasty...

Could it be the Zheng family from Xingyang?

Thinking of this...

Hou Junji immediately sat up straight and nodded heavily, "Quickly, please."

The steward acknowledged and led the visitor in.

It was a middle-aged man dressed in silk garments, slightly overweight, with an extremely arrogant demeanor.

The steward was astute, even closing the door behind them as he left.

In the study, only the two of them remained.

Hou Junji bowed to the middle-aged man, "May I ask who you are?"

The middle-aged man puffed out his chest, "I am Zheng Qian from the Zheng family of Xingyang."

Hou Junji raised an eyebrow.

So it really is that Zheng family.

The Seven Noble Families...

They were the most prominent families during the Sui and Tang periods.

Like Li Shimin, who came from the Li family of Longxi...

Alongside them were the Zhao family of Zhaojun, which is a branch of the imperial family today, the Cui family of Boling, the Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Wang family of Taiyuan, and finally, the Zheng family of Xingyang.

The Zheng family of Xingyang had quite a reputation.

They were already a prestigious family during the Northern Wei period, even before the rise of the Li family.

Hou Junji dared not be negligent.

Although he was a duke, compared to these prominent families that had stood on the land of China for several dynasties, his foundation was too shallow.

He asked softly, "May I ask what brings Mr. Zheng Qian here?"

Zheng Qian squinted his eyes and said softly, "Naturally, I've come for His Highness the King of Chu."

Although the Zheng family of Xingyang was in Xingyang and adjacent to the fiefdom of Chu where Lin Shen resided...

Their roots were deeply embedded in the soil of the Chu region.

Originally, those counties were considered the property of the Zheng family.

Now, because of a word from Li Shimin, these counties have become Lin Shen's possessions. How could this not make them resentful...