"My name is Yuan Ziwen, and my father is Yuan Maode. I presume that Lady Su has already met him."

It turns out he's Doctor Yuan's son. Why did he suddenly come here? Could it be that he's also gone back on his word about cooperating with Ji'an Hall on herbal oil?

"It's Dr. Yuan! You've come at the perfect time. We were just about to serve the dishes. Dr. Yuan, would you like to dine with us?"

“Madam Su, my father said that he had arranged to meet you at a certain time, but something came up and he couldn’t make it. So he asked me to keep the appointment. I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

Yuan Ziwen went out to make house calls this morning, and only upon returning did he hear from his father that he had made an appointment with Lady Su.

He sent someone to inform Lady Su that he didn't have to come.

However, considering what just happened at Juyuantang, it seems no one will be attending Su Niangzi's dinner party.

In order to continue the cooperation, he had no choice but to make an appearance in place of his father.

"It's alright. I've ordered some dishes. I wonder what Dr. Yuan likes to eat? May I ask the waiter to add a few more?"

Yuan Ziwen gently shook his head: "I've already eaten. I'm only here to sign the cooperation agreement with Madam Su on behalf of my father."

After a pause, Yuan Ziwen continued.

"Madam Su must be wondering why the other pharmacies suddenly changed their minds."

Yes, Su Luo had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, but she was still very curious.

"Does Doctor Yuan perhaps know something?"

"I don't know anything, but when I returned from my house call this morning, something interesting happened at Juyuantang."

Looking at the refined and cultured Yuan Ziwen, he made sure to distance himself completely from the situation in his words.

"What is it?"

"This morning someone said he had a large quantity of herbal oil and could supply it to Juyuantang indefinitely. He said that if they cooperated with them, a bottle would only cost twenty-five coins."

However, we can set the price as we see fit, which gives us much more freedom than collaborating with Ji'an Tang.

Su Luo frowned. Yuan Ziwen's words reminded her of the fake herbal oil that Fu Zhengqing had given to Mo Sang.

In just a few days, the fake herbal oil had already spread to Anchangzhou.

Fake herbal oil, apart from smelling similar to theirs, offers no relief from pain whatsoever; it's as bland as water.

"Dr. Yuan, haven't you considered that their herbal oil might be fake?"

Yuan Ziwen knew, of course, that herbal oil was fake; otherwise, he wouldn't have been here.

Others thought he was just an ordinary doctor, but little did they know that he could identify medicines blindfolded when he was three years old.

He relied on his keen sense of smell; he and his father had researched the herbal oil from Ji'antang.

Although we can't figure out the ingredients, it definitely doesn't have the faint musky scent that the person brought this morning did.

"I know. Our cooperation with your esteemed establishment is our sincere intention. I suppose Madam Su is too full to eat this meal. Why don't we sign and stamp the document? I won't take up any more of Madam Su's time."

Su Luo gave the contract to Yuan Ziwen, who signed it, and then Ji'antang could transport the herbal oil to Juyuantang for sale.

He meant it and didn't delay Su Luo's time. After signing the papers, Yuan Ziwen got up and took his leave.

As they reached the door, Su Luo called Yuan Ziwen to a stop.

"Dr. Yuan, do you know the person who came to Juyuantang today to sell fake medicine?"

Juyuantang is no ordinary small pharmacy. Anyone who dares to sell counterfeit medicine there and manages to get away unscathed must be someone of extraordinary status.

"I know, but I can't say. Lady Su is so clever, she doesn't need to know from me."

After Yuan Ziwen left, the private room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Madam, would you like to eat this meal?"

Qiu Yue tentatively asked Su Luo, "What if Su Luo never lost her temper with them?"

In this atmosphere, Qiuyue didn't dare to ask that question.

Suppressing her anger, Su Luo sat down.

"eat……"

The three of them quickly ate a few bites and then hurriedly left the restaurant.

The area in front of Anxintang was packed with people, and the young apprentices were inside greeting customers.

"One bottle of herbal oil costs fifty coins. Please don't fight over it. Everyone should get one. Please line up."

There were fifty or sixty people in the queue alone, and some people were so afraid of not being able to get a ticket that they almost started fighting.

"Su Zuo, let's go back to the Xu residence."

With counterfeit drugs rampant, now is not the right time to alert them.

Go back and discuss it with Lord Xu and the others. If we're going to fight, we should catch these people off guard.

Before they even reached the gate of the Xu residence, Nangong Qing and Ah Xu came into view.

Upon seeing Su Luo's carriage, the two quickly ran over.

"Luo Luo, someone at Anxintang is selling fake herbal oil. What we were worried about has finally happened."

"I know, let's go inside and talk."

When the two returned to the Xu residence, Old Madam Xu had also heard about what happened at Anxin Hall.

What she hated most in her life were those who were deceitful and dishonest.

Since she now knows that someone is making fake medicine, she can't just stand by and watch ordinary people be deceived.

“Mother, let me go back to the yamen first. There are still a lot of things waiting for me there. I will deal with them one by one. Keeping me at home will not help.”

Xu Hongkuo paced anxiously at home, yet dared not disobey his mother.

"You can't leave. Young Master Nangong and the others have already gone out to look for Lady Su."

You can put other matters in your office aside for now, but this fake medicine must be dealt with first.

This is what the common people are most urgently concerned about. Even if the government office is closed, there's still your clerk; things won't get chaotic.

Xu Hongkuo knew, of course, that things wouldn't get out of control, but if he was kept at home, how could he go out and investigate the fake medicine?

Based solely on the statements of Nangong Qing and A Xu?

He needed to go out and find evidence. As the prefect of a prefecture, he couldn't just arrest people without any proof.

Madam Xu sat angrily in the high hall.

Upon seeing Su Luo return, he immediately got up and went downstairs.

"Lady Su, you're finally back! If you hadn't come back, something terrible would have happened."

Madam Xu thought Su Luo was unaware of Anxintang's affairs.

"Madam Xu, Lord Xu..."

Before Su Luo could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Old Madam Xu.

"Look, Madam Su! Fake herbal oil has appeared in Anchangzhou. This is even worse than reselling!"

As she spoke, Madam Xu took out a bottle of fake herbal oil from the table and showed it to Su Luo.

She had her maid specially go to Anxintang to buy this.

She was so angry that she had a headache, and the herbal oil had no effect at all.

The results were already quite obvious on her, but we didn't have any substantial evidence.

The group had no choice but to wait for Su Luo to return before discussing a solution.

"Madam Su, the herbal oil that appeared at Anxintang and three other pharmacies is a counterfeit of your Ji'antang's herbal oil. What do you think about this?"

Xu Hongkuo could only investigate this matter secretly.

If you want to conduct an open investigation, you can only wait until the public finds that using fake herbal oil is ineffective and then reports Anxintang to the authorities.

But by then, Anxintang will have made a fortune, and he will then reveal the place where he sourced the medicine.

If we give him another performance of the Empty City Stratagem, then this matter will be dropped.

Without substantial evidence, the government can't do anything to them.