Miss Truth
Chapter 301 - 190: Medicine in the Great Tang

Chapter 301: Chapter 190: Medicine in the Great Tang

Ran Yan had made up her mind to seize the opportunity to visit Chang’an. Once she had determined her resolve, she brushed aside the impatience and instability in her heart and strived to carve out a place for herself in the Great Tang.

That day at Yingmei Temple, a conversation with Liu Qingsong suddenly enlightened her about many things. She disliked living in a haze, and since she was given the chance to live again with her memories intact, she had to maximize her strengths to make this life worthwhile!

With a calm mind, Ran Yan would not let herself act recklessly like she did in Suzhou; at least, she wouldn’t impulsively conduct an autopsy when her foundation was still unsteady.

Ran Yan didn’t plan to change the entire Great Tang’s view of the forensic doctor profession but instead planned to use a roundabout strategy. She would first establish herself with other talents, gain people’s respect, and then gradually penetrate deeper.

However, doctors’ social status wasn’t high in the Tang Dynasty. The Medicine King, Sun Simiao, originally gained fame for his scholarship and was extremely talented. Wei Zheng, commissioned to compile the histories of the Qi, Liang, Chen, Zhou, and Sui dynasties, feared omissions and visited Sun Simiao, Meng Xian, and Lu Zhaolin frequently to learn from them. Yet, merely because he was skilled in medical skills, he was grouped under "technicians," roughly meaning someone proficient in a particular skill. At that time, technical skills were the least valued.

"Scholars from all over despised the name of medical arts, often teaching their children to recite concise articles and orchestrate minor strategies to find a way out; medical arts were neglected and hardly discussed." This meant that scholars, whether imperial or local, all considered learning medical arts shameful, mostly teaching the younger generation to read short and powerful texts and construct political arguments to seek advancement. As for medical skills, they were utterly disregarded.

This was the ethos of the Tang Dynasty; even Sun Simiao was in such a position, making Ran Yan’s efforts seem minuscule and insignificant.

Then what could she use to establish her reputation?

The Tang Dynasty valued Confucianism and respected those who could produce splendid writings or recite beautiful poetry, but these were precisely Ran Yan’s weak points, hardly sufficient to handle on the spot.

After pondering for two to three hours, she still had few leads.

Unknowingly, it had grown late. Wan Lu, Ge Lan, and Xing Niang began dressing Ran Yan for the family dinner. Since it was a family affair, the attire wasn’t overly extravagant. A simple Chao Yun hairstyle close to her temples, pinned with two jade hairpins; because Ran Yan liked purple, her purple clothing was the most refined, while the rest, whether fabric or craftsmanship, were slightly inferior.

"Last time, didn’t Shilang make a large box of clothes for Madam? Why not pick from there?" Wan Lu asked Xing Niang.

After pondering for a moment, Xing Niang didn’t adopt the suggestion, instead choosing a water-blue silk embroidered jacket with a pattern of wintervine, and a piece of silk fabric with silver thread embroidery, "This outfit’s fabric is good, and the pattern is unique; wear this, Madam."

The outfit Xing Niang picked appeared somewhat plain, which quite suited Ran Yan’s taste, but Wan Lu didn’t understand, "Isn’t it said that the grander the attire, the more it shows respect for the host? Why is Madam wearing this?"

Wan Lu was straightforward, which was one of her strengths; she would always ask questions about things she didn’t understand, never hiding or hoarding them.

Xing Niang glanced outside and spoke in a lowered voice, "To put it bluntly, most of the Ran family is sustained by Sanlang. Although Mrs. Luo doesn’t voice it, she hasn’t visited Suzhou for many years, clearly expressing her disapproval. This being merely a family dinner without public scrutiny, if Madam dresses too luxuriously, would Mrs. Luo be pleased?"

The luxurious items were all from her household’s silver, after all! Who could be happy about that?

Wan Lu suddenly understood, embarrassed, she said, "I see, I really need to learn the rules properly."

Xing Niang nodded in agreement, "The more you know the rules, the less trouble you’ll face."

Ge Lan had been listening attentively. Xing Niang was originally someone from the Zheng family tasked with teaching decorum. In Suzhou, Ran Yan hardly ever left the house, so her presence was barely necessary. Only after arriving in Chang’an did she understand from Xing Niang what it meant to come from a prominent family.

After dressing and preparing Ran Yan, they checked several times to make sure everything was perfect.

If it couldn’t be luxurious, it had to be as meticulous as possible, making it evident at first glance that a lot of effort was put into the makeup; only then would it be considered fine.

Not long after they had finished, a maid came from the front court to summon her.

The maid arrived in a jade-green dress, very thin, hair styled in twin buns on each side, with a slender elongated face and neat bangs nearly covering her slender eyes, looking about sixteen or seventeen years old.

The first impression this maid gave was "slender": a slender figure, a thin face, even her eyebrows and eyes were slim, not beautiful, but the overall look was harmonious and dignified, not unrefined.