"It's good that you're out. I was originally looking for your senior brother, but he wasn't here, so I had to take it out on you first," Ye Xingchen sneered.
"What exactly do you want? You ruined my reputation today. If you don't give me a straight answer, this isn't over." Chen Zhengde's temper flared up instantly.
"So what if I ruin your reputation? Just because you're a quack, because your medicine isn't right, because you use the name of the Ghost Doctor to make money while ignoring the lives of the poor, isn't that enough?" Ye Xingchen sneered.
"Ye Xingchen, you should be responsible for your words. You ruined my reputation and insulted me. Do you really think I, Chen Zhengde, am easy to bully?" Chen Zhengde laughed angrily. "My medicine is not suitable for the condition? Look at these hundreds of people in front of you. Who isn't here for my reputation, Chen Zhengde?"
"Really? Then what about this prescription?" Ye Xingchen took out the old man's prescription: "I have Yin Fire deficiency? I've come here three times, each time with a registration fee of three thousand and a medicine cost of twenty to thirty thousand."
"Are traditional Chinese medicines really that expensive? Fine, they are expensive, but if they don't work after three months and instead worsen the patient's condition, can you really say your medicine is effective?"
“His condition is a case of yin fire rising and deficiency, and the prescription I gave him is correct.” Chen Zhengde narrowed his eyes: “I always use medicine in a cunning way, using poison to fight poison, so there’s no problem with that.”
"Heh, fight poison with poison? Using medicine in a deceptive way?" Ye Xingchen laughed angrily: "Your so-called use of medicine will kill a thousand enemies but also lose eight hundred of your own."
"The medicine contains centipedes and spiders, both of which are highly poisonous. If a young person is strong and healthy, they can withstand it, but the problem is that he is over sixty years old. Such a potent medicine would be more harmful than beneficial."
"If you're so capable, why don't you prescribe a remedy to cure him?"
"Exactly, he's not a doctor, so what right does he have to question Dr. Chen?"
Before Chen Zhengde could say anything, the people around him began to speak up for him.
"Since I dare to come and challenge you, and dare to expose Chen Zhengde's true colors, do you think I don't understand traditional Chinese medicine?" Ye Xingchen sneered: "This old man's illness is that he has difficulty breathing and his lungs have a rattling sound."
"I spent so much money and wasted three months of my life with Chen Zhengde, and my condition worsened. Now I'm telling you, a five-cent medicine will have an immediate effect."
There was a moment of silence in the crowd, then a buzz of discussion broke out.
"How is that possible? Three months of medicine costing tens of thousands of yuan couldn't cure it, but five-cent licorice can?"
"What a load of bull! Someone actually thinks his medical skills are better than Doctor Yuan's?"
"Is this guy an internet celebrity? He's just here to attract attention. Where's his livestreaming equipment?"
"Whether it's true or not, we'll find out by trying," Ye Xingchen sneered, then turned to the old man: "Old man, would you be willing to give it a try?"
"I...I'll give it a try?" The old man hesitated for a moment. He didn't believe Ye Xingchen at first, after all, he was too young.
However, after thinking about his experiences over the past few months, he decided to grit his teeth and give it a try. He had been seeing Chen Zhengde for several months without getting better, but he had spent a lot of money.
Now that someone has come forward to stand up for him, he's going to give it a try, no matter what.
"Excuse me, go to the pharmacy across the street and buy five cents worth of licorice root," Ye Xingchen said to a young man who was watching the commotion.
"Okay, right away." The young man nodded, turned and ran off, returning a moment later with a few cents' worth of licorice.
Ye Xingchen borrowed a bowl and some hot water, poured it into the bowl, and then covered it up. Five minutes later, he opened the bowl and said, "Old man, it's good that you've drunk it."
"Will it be fine after drinking it?" The old man looked at Ye Xingchen with disbelief.
He himself felt that things were getting a little unreliable, after all, his illness had been tormenting him for so long, and it was an old problem that would flare up from time to time.
In the past, I could only control the symptoms with medication, but they would recur after a while. I came to Yanjing to see Chen Zhengde because I wanted to get a complete cure, but I didn't expect that the treatment would only make it worse.
Although Chen Zhengde is unreliable, Ye Xingchen's words seem even more unreliable.
"This is just a few qian of licorice. Even if it doesn't cure your condition, it won't make it worse. Why not give it a try?" Ye Xingchen smiled slightly.
"Alright." The old man gritted his teeth, picked up the bowl, and drank all the licorice in it.
The old man had been coughing frequently, with wheezing sounds in his lungs, and his face was yellow and bloodless.
He stood there panting after saying just a few words, as if a gust of wind could blow him over at any moment.
But after drinking a bowl of water infused with licorice, his complexion became rosy and his breathing became easier.
Even the coughing wasn't as frequent, and there weren't as many wheezing sounds in the lungs when breathing.
More importantly, he felt that he had regained his strength.
"Huh... I feel like my condition is much better!" The old man was surprised. He stood up, took a few steps, and then seemed quite energetic.
"Your illness is indeed caused by lung heat due to deficiency of yin fire, but Chen Zhengde's medicine is too strong, making your body weak and unable to tolerate the nourishment."
Ye Xingchen said, "Licorice is sweet and neutral in nature, and enters the heart, lung, and stomach meridians. It invigorates qi and nourishes the middle jiao, relieves spasms and pain, moderates the properties of other medicines, and clears heat and detoxifies."
"Of course, if you want to be completely cured, you need a dose of traditional Chinese medicine to replenish your Qi. Go back and drink it for a week, and the illness will be cured."
After Ye Xingchen finished speaking, he casually wrote down the prescription and handed it to the old man: "Don't go for any prescriptions just because of someone's name. You'll just waste your money. Traditional Chinese medicine takes three to seven days. If it works, it works. If it doesn't work, it means the medicine is not right for your condition."
"Thank you so much, young man. I really appreciate it."
The old man excitedly took the prescription from Ye Xingchen, then turned and spat in Chen Zhengde's direction: "Pah, what a load of crap, the head of the Imperial Hospital, he's just a deputy."
“His chief physician is named Yuan Zhengde. No wonder there are rumors that the Imperial Medical Academy has two virtues but only one virtue. His Zhengde is the true virtue. You are nothing but a fart.”
"You..." Chen Zhengde trembled with anger.
But the old man had already left. When he came, he was walking unsteadily, but after he left, he walked with an arrogant and domineering gait, as if he didn't recognize anyone.
"This old man is a shill, definitely a shill."
"Yeah, what era are we living in? Still putting on this kind of show? You're kidding me."
The crowd started cheering again, after all, the scene seemed too magical, giving people a sense of unreality.
"You're a regular patient, aren't you?" Ye Xingchen pointed to the person in the crowd who was shouting the loudest: "Are you feeling depressed, with a dry mouth and a bitter taste, and dizziness? You've been diagnosed with liver qi rising upwards?"
"How did you know?" The patient was slightly taken aback.
“I not only know that, but I also know that you have been taking Bupleurum Liver-Soothing Decoction to control your condition for a long time, and you come every three months. Each time you come, you must have to buy tens of thousands of yuan worth of medicine, right?” Ye Xingchen smiled: “Actually, your illness can be cured by adding just one more herb.”
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