"What do you mean by that? What do you mean by not being able to guarantee that everyone will be cured?"

Chu Qiuyue was the first to break down, stepping out from the crowd and shouting, "You told us to listen to you and stay in the village, which is why we didn't run away. You told us to group ourselves according to our illnesses, and we listened to you and slept in the storeroom of this ancestral hall. Now you're telling us that you can't cure us and you don't want to care about us anymore? Are you treating us all like fools?"

"If you can't cure it, don't brag in front of the magistrate! Do you feel good when you make everyone believe and respect you, treating you like a savior?"

“But if I hadn’t spoken up for you before the magistrate, your ashes would be cold by now!” Shen Yuan’s tone was very calm. She didn’t even look at Chu Qiuyue when she spoke, yet she left Chu Qiuyue speechless.

Chu Qiuyue clenched her fists tightly, feeling indignant, but she couldn't think of a response. She wanted to incite the villagers to denounce Shen Yuan, but no one responded to her.

Finally, Chu Qiuyue could only turn her pleading gaze to Chu Yuning, hoping that her brother would stand up and say a few words for her.

"Stop messing around! Aren't you embarrassed enough already?"

Chu Yuning pulled Chu Qiuyue behind her.

Chu Qiuyue was surprised that her brother not only didn't help her, but also blamed her. She immediately pouted in grievance, her eyes reddened, and she was about to cry.

“Yuan’s daughter can’t guarantee that she can cure everyone, but that doesn’t mean she can’t cure anyone! Even if Hua Tuo were alive, he couldn’t guarantee that he could cure everyone, let alone the plague we have! It’s not a minor illness! Yuan’s daughter is willing to risk her life to come back to the village to help us. This great kindness is enough for the generations of Chu Family Village to remember!”

The old clan chief struggled to sit up and scolded, "Chu Erya, if you continue to disobey her or show her no respect, I will have you tied up at the village entrance and handed over to the government officials for punishment!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Qiuyue's face turned deathly pale, and she dared not utter another word.

Having grown up in the village, she knew the old clan chief's temperament. If he said he would tie her up at the village entrance, he really would tie her up at the village entrance.

Seeing Chu Qiuyue's discomfiture, Shen Yuan smiled and said, "Those who are foul-mouthed will be dealt with by others."

After Shen Yuan finished checking on everyone's condition in the ancestral hall, the porridge that had been cooked in the courtyard was ready. She gave everyone a bowl of porridge so they could eat something to fill their stomachs, while she squatted outside the door preparing the medicine.

At this moment, Chu Yuning stepped forward with a bowl of porridge: "Chen Yuan..."

He had barely opened his mouth, before he could say anything, when Shen Yuan gave him a cold glare.

"Stay away from me."

Chu Yuning took two steps back sullenly and looked at Shen Yuan from a distance: "You've been working hard all day treating us, you should rest and eat something to fill your stomach."

As Chu Yuning spoke, he put the bowl of porridge in his hand on the ground, willing to give his only bowl of white porridge to Shen Yuan.

But Shen Yuan only glanced at the white porridge in the bowl, then took out a package of pastries from her bosom. She opened the exquisite oil paper printed with the words "Yipin Pavilion", and the pastries that emitted a fragrant aroma made people drool.

Shen Yuan picked up a lotus-shaped pastry and took a small bite under Chu Yuning's gaze.

She didn't say anything, but Chu Yuning felt incredibly humiliated.

He frowned, picked up his bowl of congee, and walked back without saying a word.

Shen Yuan shrugged, ate two pieces of pastry, and drank some water. Then she rolled up her sleeves and began to brew medicine for the people in the ancestral hall.

Fortunately, the ancestral hall has had a well since the village was built. Shen Yuan drew water and set up seven or eight small jars on the fire, each containing a different medicine.

After the medicine was brewed, Shen Yuan poured the broth from the jar into bowls and distributed them to the villagers in the ancestral hall.

Shen Yuan personally brought the old clan chief's bowl of medicine to his bedside and fed it to him. The old clan chief was not in good spirits and fell asleep not long after drinking the medicine.

"Brother, this medicine is so bitter!" Chu Qiuyue looked at the black, sewage-like soup in her bowl and felt nauseous.

Chu Yuning frowned: "No matter how bitter it is, I have to drink it."

Chu Qiuyue glanced at the medicine in her bowl, then at the medicine in the bowls of the others around her. Her and her brother's medicine soup was noticeably darker in color than the others', almost black.

Chu Qiuyue pursed her lips and whispered, "Brother, that Shen Yuan hates us so much, do you think she might have given us poison? Otherwise, why is our medicine, cough cough cough, different from everyone else's?"

Hearing Chu Qiuyue say this, Chu Yuning was also somewhat uncertain. He looked at the medicine bowl in his hand, hesitating, unsure whether he should drink it or not.

Shen Yuan turned her head and saw Chu Yuning and Chu Qiuyue holding the medicine bowls in a daze. She sneered, "What? You don't dare to drink it? If you don't dare to drink it, give the medicine back to me! I don't want to waste the medicinal herbs on you two!"

Upon hearing this, Chu Yuning picked up the medicine bowl, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

Seeing that Chu Yuning had drunk it, Chu Qiuyue pinched her nose and tried to drink the medicine herself, but she couldn't drink any more because the medicine was too bitter!

Not only is it bitter, but it also has a distinct foul odor!

Chu Qiuyue couldn't help but vomit twice, and the medicine in her hand spilled all over the ground because of this action.

Chu Yuning felt a little sorry to see that Chu Qiuyue had spilled so much medicine, but she couldn't bear to scold her. "You didn't drink much medicine. I'll have Shen Yuan make you another bowl later."

"The medicine is gone, so be it. There's no need for more!" Shen Yuan glanced at Chu Yuning; she had no intention of brewing the medicine again.

Chu Yuning frowned slightly and said to Shen Yuan in a negotiable tone, "How much is this bowl of medicine? I can pay you, but could you please brew another bowl for me?"

Shen Yuan leaned against the door and scoffed upon hearing this, "Ten taels of silver for a bowl, are you willing to pay that?"

Upon hearing this number, Chu Yuning was visibly startled, but he gritted his teeth and took out a handful of loose silver from his bundle and handed it to Shen Yuan.

His parents were dead, and his younger sister was dead too. Now, only his sister Chu Qiuyue was left in the family. He couldn't bear to watch his only sister die in front of him.

Chu Qiuyue was surprised that her brother could produce so much silver, and she couldn't help but glance at the bundle in Chu Yuning's arms a few more times.

Shen Yuan walked up to Chu Yuning, took the silver from Chu Yuning's hand with a cloth, and put it into her sleeve.

"Now that you've received the money, it's time to prepare the medicine for my sister!" Chu Yuning urged.

But Shen Yuan didn't move. "She just drank a quarter of the medicine. She can't take it again, otherwise we won't be able to control the dosage. When it's time for her to take the medicine tomorrow morning, I will brew it again for her."

"you……"

Chu Yuning was furious. He decided to wait until tomorrow morning, when Shen Yuan would prepare medicine for everyone. Even if it didn't cost money, he and Chu Qiuyue would still be able to drink the medicine!

He was fooled by Shen Yuan again!