Chapter 39 Opening Ceremony
April 15th, Dingmao day, is an auspicious day for opening a business, free from any negative influences, and will bring great fortune.
It was exactly 3:45 AM, and the sky was already bright. The area in front of Zhaoyu Hall was already bustling with people, filled with laughter and chatter.
Having heard that Zhaoyutang was opening on the 15th, the neighbors on Peach Blossom Street gathered early to witness the grand opening of the new clinic.
Today, Meng Yutong wore a brand-new apricot-yellow cross-collar ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). The dress was brightly colored, a color she rarely wore. Today, the vibrant apricot-yellow accents made her look as radiant as the sunset.
She, along with Bai Zhi, Granny Gui, Wu Ming, Cui Dacheng, and Mei San, got up early and were already prepared inside the inn, waiting only for the auspicious time.
The auspicious time has arrived!
The onlookers immediately raised their hands to cover their ears.
At the same time, Mei San and Wu Ming worked together to pull the red silk hanging in front of the door. At the top of the lintel, the large plaque with the words "Zhaoyutang" in vermilion lacquer and gold characters was clearly revealed in the morning light, shining brightly.
"Grand opening! Thank you all for your support!" Meng Yutong stood smiling on the steps, her clear voice drowning out the lingering sound of firecrackers.
Everyone offered words of encouragement and good wishes.
"May Shopkeeper Meng's business be prosperous and your fortune abundant!"
"Zhaoyutang Hall is a place where doctors practice medicine and bring the dead back to life with their miraculous skills!"
Today, He Haochuan specially changed into an indigo blue Hangzhou silk robe, with a light blue orchid-patterned sachet hanging from his waist. The colors matched well, and the clean and refreshing style suited his temperament, making him look exceptionally energetic.
He pushed his way forward through the crowd, holding a delicate sandalwood box in his hands. With a beaming smile, he said loudly, "Sister Yutong, our Qingfeng Tea House has nothing special, but our tea is quite good. My father and I have prepared some newly made top-grade Fuliang Xuehao tea as a congratulatory gift for today's opening. We hope you won't find it too meager!"
Wang Yong, the drink shop owner, squeezed forward and said in a loud voice, "Miss Meng, thanks to your calming sachet, I've been sleeping very soundly these past few days. I really have to thank you."
Aunt Zhou from the money shop chimed in with a smile, "Miss Meng, your clinic is doing a great job. From now on, if any of our neighbors have a headache or fever, they won't have to rush to Yujie anymore."
Zhaoyutang was renovated on the tenth day of the month. In the past few days, Meng Yutong and a few others have been purchasing medicinal herbs and cleaning the shop. At the same time, they often give some medicinal tea to the neighbors and provide free medical consultations in their spare time. She does not charge for consultations for minor ailments.
Over time, I became acquainted with most of the people on the street.
At first, many neighbors questioned Meng Yutong's medical skills, but after she examined everyone one by one and pointed out some minor chronic ailments, the neighbors all became convinced of her medical skills.
Amidst this joyous atmosphere, Grandma Sun from Qinglai Restaurant, unlike usual, huddled on the edge of the crowd, appearing somewhat out of place.
She usually loved to join in the fun, but this time she unusually didn't go forward to accept the pine nut candy and auspicious cake that Bai Zhi was distributing.
Meng Yutong noticed her unease.
"Bai Zhi," Meng Yutong whispered, "give Aunt Sun a handful of sugar and invite her to come up and share in the joy."
Bai Zhi did as she was told, squeezing over with a handful of candies wrapped in red paper and stuffing them into Aunt Sun's hands, saying with a smile, "Aunt Sun, today is a joyous occasion, please share in the good fortune!"
Meng Yutong quietly observed the scene from the side. She saw that Sun Guifang's face was sallow with a bluish tinge, her eyes were unfocused, and she seemed absent-minded. She stiffly accepted the handful of candy.
"Aunt Sun, why are your hands so cold? Have you caught a chill?" Bai Zhi touched her hand and was stung by the cold touch.
Bai Zhi pretended to grab her hand to take a look, but Sun Guifang was so startled that she took two steps back, and the candy in her hand fell to the ground with a "crash".
Immediately, Sun Guifang's expression hardened, and she suddenly felt as if her bones had been removed, causing her to stumble forward and fall heavily onto the bluestone steps in front of Zhaoyutang with a "thud".
After collapsing to the ground, she clutched her abdomen tightly with both hands, her body curled up like a shrimp, her face drained of color instantly, her features contorted in pain, and she let out a wail:
"Ouch! It hurts so much! It's...it's that sachet! The sachet that Zhaoyutang gave us...it's poisoned!"
Bai Zhi was shocked and dropped the candy in her hand, rushing to help her: "Aunt Sun, are you alright? You can eat anything, but you can't say anything carelessly. How could our sachets be poisonous?"
Sun Guifang was drenched in cold sweat. She struggled to lift her head, her eyes filled with pain, and cried out in a hoarse voice, "I...I felt dizzy and lightheaded this morning, and my stomach was cramping like it was being stabbed. Everything I eat, wear, and use comes from my own restaurant; there's never been a problem. Only two days ago...two days ago I received this damn sachet from you! It must be it! It must be what killed me! That smell...it just didn't smell right!"
Then, he collapsed backward as if utterly exhausted, his back hitting the cold stone steps. His face was ashen, and his breath was barely a whisper, yet he still managed to point at Meng Yutong, wailing intermittently, "Miss Meng...you...you have such a talent for harming people...how could you...how could you open a clinic...this...this is taking lives...please, neighbors...help me..."
"poisonous?!"
"Oh my god! Aunt Sun threw up!"
"Quick! Quickly take off the sachet!"
An uproar erupted in the crowd. Many people's expressions changed drastically, and some frantically tore off the sachets from their waists or sleeves and threw them violently towards the entrance of Zhaoyu Hall.
Almost instantly, accusations and doubts came from all sides:
"A heartless clinic! They've only been open and they're already harming people!"
"I knew it! No wonder a woman runs a clinic. She really is a menace!"
"Report to the authorities! Report to the authorities immediately and have them arrested!"
Seeing this, He Haochuan's expression turned anxious. He spread his arms to block the entrance of the clinic and said, "Everyone, calm down. There must be some misunderstanding. Doctor Meng is not that kind of person. Please don't act impulsively!"
Upon seeing this, Cui Dacheng and Mei San glared angrily and stood like two gatekeepers in front of Meng Yutong and the clinic, exchanging insults with the enraged crowd.
Cui Dacheng: "Bullshit! Miss Meng is kind-hearted, how could she harm anyone! This woman must have eaten something bad and is just making baseless accusations!"
Mei San: "Which bastard dares to utter another slanderous word? I'll tear his mouth off!"
Seeing that the two were about to go back to hurling insults, Wu Ming was sweating profusely and desperately pulled them back, saying, "Brothers, calm down! Calm down! Let the boss deal with this first! Don't make things worse!"
Bai Zhi was so angry that she trembled all over. Just as she was about to step forward to argue, Meng Yutong gently pulled her arm.
Meng Yutong remained calm and shook her head slightly, indicating that she should not be impatient.
She seemed oblivious to the crowd's rebukes, and under their watchful eyes, she slowly walked to Sun Guifang, who was groaning in pain, and knelt down.
When Sun Guifang saw her approaching, a hint of panic flashed in her eyes. She subconsciously wanted to shrink back, but she felt that she didn't have much strength and could only stand there and watch her approach.
"Don't move." Meng Yutong's voice wasn't loud, but her grip was quite strong. She firmly held Sun Guifang's wrist with one hand, pressing it hard against the stone steps, while her other hand rested on her wrist pulse.
The pulse under the fingers is slippery, rapid, and urgent, like pearls rolling on a plate. This is clearly a sign of gastrointestinal irritation and internal damp-heat.
Combining the vomit with the symptoms... she immediately understood.
"Bai Zhi," Meng Yutong called Bai Zhi closer and whispered in her ear, "Go to the backyard and quickly boil some medicine. Take Coptis chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Pueraria lobata..."
After giving the instructions, she released Sun Guifang's wrist and looked at her with a deep gaze: "Aunt Sun, since you say the sachet is poisonous, please take it out and let everyone see it. If it is indeed the fault of my Zhaoyutang sachet, I will not hesitate to compensate and punish you. Otherwise, you are slandering us with empty words, and we will not accept this mudslinging."
Grandma Sun hadn't expected her to be so calm and to get straight to the point with just a few simple words. She was speechless for a moment, her eyes darting around, and she stammered, "You...you're not a good doctor...you've harmed people and you still want to make excuses...I only beg...I only beg you to stop harming people and close this clinic..."
She tried to distract herself by crying out, but she used too much force, and another wave of excruciating pain washed over her. She clutched her chest and curled up even tighter, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead, and her breathing became increasingly short.
Sun Guifang didn't say where the sachet was, so Meng Yutong stopped wasting words with her and reached out to touch her body. As he did so, he smelled a familiar medicinal fragrance on her chest.
Her eyes sharpened, and she decisively leaned forward, saying, "Excuse me."
Before she finished speaking, she had already reached into Granny Sun's bosom and, after a few gropings, took out the sachet.
"Give it back to me!" Sun Guifang screamed in panic, struggling to snatch it away.
Wu Ming reacted quickly, stepping forward and pressing down on her shoulder: "Auntie, don't move!"
Meng Yutong held the sachet, lowered her head and sniffed it lightly. Among the familiar medicinal fragrance, there was a very faint but unusually spicy odor.
Just as I expected.
She held up the sachet and showed it to everyone: "Please look, everyone, this is undoubtedly a sachet given to me by Zhaoyutang."
She then took out a plain white brocade handkerchief and laid it on the ground. She pulled out a silver hairpin from her hair and used the tip of the hairpin to make a small cut about an inch long at the bottom of the sachet.
With a slight flick of the wrist, all the medicinal herbs inside were poured onto the white cloth.
Not knowing what she was going to do, everyone watched her movements intently.
Not far away, on the second floor of Qingfeng Teahouse, are private rooms. The windows facing the street are wide open.
Li Jing leaned leisurely against the window, toying with a teacup in his hand, looking down with great interest at the farce in front of Zhaoyutang downstairs.
"Tsk, she acted quite convincingly." A playful smile curled at the corner of his lips as he glanced at Zheng Hui, who stood respectfully behind him. "That woman, did you arrange that?"
Zheng Hui hunched his back slightly, a thin layer of sweat beading on his forehead, and nodded repeatedly, replying in a low voice, "Your Highness, it was indeed my arrangement."
"Hmm, not bad, quite clever." Li Jing took a satisfied sip of tea, his gaze returning to the apricot-yellow figure downstairs, a look of anticipation flashing in his eyes.
He wanted to see what extraordinary methods Meng Yutong could use to make this little clinic stand firm after he ruined her clinic's reputation!
At the foot of Zhaoyu Hall, Meng Yutong remained calm, unaware of the gaze from above.
Her attention was focused on the sachet in front of her. With a light touch of the silver hairpin in her hand, she parted the pile of white-gray calming powder on the white handkerchief as if brushing aside flowers and willows.
The hairpin tip paused slightly, precisely picking up a small pinch of incongruous dark brown powder. This small pinch of powder had tiny particles and a striking color; if you smelled it closely, you could detect a pungent odor.
"Please look," she said, holding up a white handkerchief to show the scented powder to everyone. Her clear voice rose, drowning out the surrounding noise, "This is croton powder. It is pungent and hot in nature, and highly poisonous. Anyone who accidentally ingests it will immediately suffer from severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, just like Granny Sun's symptoms. However, if this substance is only placed in a sachet and smelled, there is absolutely no reason for poisoning. This brown powder is clumped together and has not dispersed, which means it was adulterated afterward and is not the original product of my Zhaoyutang."
The crowd gasped, their eyes fixed on the brown figure, and murmurs arose again.
Just as Manager Meng said, this is clearly a deliberate frame-up!
But Aunt Sun and Manager Meng had no prior grudges, so why would she take such a risky step? It's truly puzzling.
Sun Guifang was now deathly pale, her temples soaked with cold sweat, but she still managed to hold on to her last breath and retorted in a hoarse voice, "Nonsense! How do you know... how do you know it wasn't you... when you prepared the prescription... you mixed it in?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Yutong smiled faintly. She calmly turned over Granny Sun's sachet and then gestured for He Haochuan to hand over the one at his waist. The two sachets were then displayed to everyone.
“Look again, everyone,” she said, lightly touching the seal of the sachet, “this sachet was hand-sewn by my maid Baizhi. The white thread used for sealing is soaked in madder juice, which both fixes the color and adds medicinal properties. Over time, it will turn crimson. Young Master He’s sachet has crimson thread, a unique craft of my Zhaoyu Hall. As for Granny Sun’s sachet,” she held it up to Granny Zhou of the money shop, “the sealing thread is as white as new, clearly indicating that it was opened and resewn afterward.”
"Excellent!" Aunt Zhou exclaimed after examining it closely. "Sun Guifang's stitching is new, definitely not original!"
The evidence is irrefutable; the onlookers can judge for themselves who is right and who is wrong. What Sun Guifang just said only further proves her guilty conscience and her intention to frame someone.
He Haochuan took a closer look at the two sachets, took his own and hung it back on his waist, then turned to Sun Guifang and said, "Aunt Sun, we're all neighbors, why are you doing this to harm people?"
As the surrounding chatter grew louder, Sun Guifang could no longer hold on, her vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.
"Brother Cui, Wu Ming, carry the person into the examination room," Meng Yutong immediately ordered.
The two quickly carried the person inside.
She immediately turned to face the neighbors with their varied expressions and calmly bowed: "I apologize for disturbing you all today; it was all a misunderstanding. I suppose it was because Aunt Sun mistakenly ate croton seeds and happened to be wearing one of our sachets that she had this suspicion. Zhaoyu Hall is newly established and has been well received by the neighbors. There are many shortcomings, and I hope you will forgive us. To express my apologies, and because the summer heat is approaching, our hall has prepared some mugwort sachets to repel insects and ward off evil spirits. I will ask Granny Gui to distribute them to you later as a token of our appreciation. I hope you will not find them too simple."
Granny Gui immediately responded and called Mei San inside to fetch the item.
The crowd, which had been indignant just moments before, was now calmed down by Meng Yutong's composure and generosity, and they all bowed in respect.
"Thank you very much, Manager Meng!"
"Manager Meng is a man of great kindness and righteousness!"
Some people sheepishly picked up the discarded sachets, their faces showing shame.
The grand opening day of Daji Clinic has turned into this mess. It's only thanks to the calm and quick-witted young lady Meng Yutong that the danger was averted; otherwise, the clinic would probably have had to close before even opening for a day.
After this incident, those who were initially just looking on with amusement had no choice but to take Zhaoyutang and its manager Meng Yutong seriously.
He Haochuan helped disperse the crowd and looked at Meng Yutong with concern, asking, "Sister Yutong, is Aunt Sun alright?"
Meng Yutong shook her head. "I've already had Bai Zhi prepare the medicine in advance. You just need to take the medicine and rest. Thank you for your help today, Young Master He. Your father's medicine should be running out soon. Come to the shop later and I'll prescribe some more for you."
"It's alright, Sister Yutong, please don't stand on ceremony with me. Then I won't bother you any longer. If there's anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask!"
Meng Yutong smiled, said she understood, and turned to enter the clinic.
Inside the elegant room of Qingfeng Tea House.
Seeing Sun Guifang suddenly faint, Li Jing abruptly stood up, glaring angrily behind him: "Are you sure she was just acting?!"
Zheng Hui's face was ashen, and he said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness, please understand! I... I did give her a packet of croton powder and told her... she only ate a tiny bit, about the size of a fingernail, to pretend... I never... I never expected that she would actually... swallow it all!"
I never expected this fool to be so reckless. I only wanted to scare that guy surnamed Meng, but he actually took the harmful laxative and instigated others. If things get out of hand, he will be scolded to death by his father and mother!
They're utterly incompetent and more likely to cause trouble than anything else!
"Idiot!" Li Jing was furious and kicked him hard. "If someone dies, let's see how many heads you have to take the blame!"
He ripped aside the obstructing hem of his robe and hurried downstairs.
He sped all the way to the gate of Zhaoyu Hall, where he stopped, panting heavily, but dared not go in.
He peeked inside and saw that in the consultation room on the right, Cui Da, Wu Ming, and Granny Gui were distributing mugwort sachets in an orderly manner.
In the left-hand consultation room, Sun Guifang lay slumped on a narrow couch with her eyes closed and her face deathly pale.
Meng Yutong sat to one side, her apricot-yellow narrow sleeves rolled up, revealing half of her fair, frosty wrist. She held a medicine bowl and personally poured the warm medicine slowly into Sun Guifang's mouth.
From afar, the misty medicinal aura blurred her features, making it impossible to discern her appearance.
Every move they make is inexplicably captivating.
While feeding the medicine, Meng Yutong said to the two people beside her, "Bai Zhi, get a dry handkerchief."
"Wu Ming, go and prepare another dose of medicine."
Before long, the effects of the medicine kicked in, and Sun Guifang’s throat bobbed. With a “wah,” she vomited some more filth, which spilled all over the ground.
She caught her breath, opened her eyes blankly, and met the complicated gazes of the people around the bed. Recalling the embarrassment of being exposed in front of everyone, she felt ashamed and indignant. So she simply closed her eyes, fell back, and continued to play dead.
But a wave of abdominal cramps surged up, like a stampede of ten thousand horses. Her face turned from white to blue, her lips trembled, and her toes unconsciously rubbed against the edge of the bed. She had reached her limit.
Seeing this, Bai Zhi said worriedly, "Miss, she seems to have fainted again. Is she alright?"
Seeing this scene from outside the door, Li Jing's heart leaped into his throat. If someone had really died... it was hard to guarantee that the investigation wouldn't trace it back to Zheng Hui, and then he would naturally be implicated as well...
He was immediately filled with fear. Why did he go through all this trouble just to spite someone? He had only made things worse and gotten himself into a mess.
Li Jing silently prayed in his heart: I hope nothing bad happens to this old lady!
He had initially firmly believed that Meng Yutong was a cunning person who knew nothing about medicine and was using the guise of opening a clinic to rekindle her relationship with her cousin. Now, however, he desperately wished that Meng Yutong were a living Hua Tuo (a legendary Chinese physician) who could quickly save that fool on the bed!
Meng Yutong washed her hands and slowly wiped the water droplets from her fingertips with a plain handkerchief. Her clear voice reached everyone's ears: "The poison of croton, though not fatal upon contact with blood, is dangerous because it fiercely attacks the stomach and intestines. The medicine's effects force the poison out completely to ensure safety. If one forcibly endures it, keeping the enemy at bay, at best, one's vital energy will be severely damaged; at worst..."
She paused, her gaze sweeping almost imperceptibly over the slightly trembling figure on the bed, "His life may be in danger."
Bai Zhi replied, "So dangerous? We can't delay any longer!"
The hand on the couch twitched suddenly.
The person outside the door also stepped forward nervously.
Meng Yutong's tone remained calm: "Naturally, the longer you hold it in, the deeper the injury, and the closer you are to death."
Before she could finish speaking, Sun Guifang could no longer bear it and suddenly jumped up from the bed.
She no longer cared about saving face, and without even putting on her shoes properly, she staggered out.
She would rather die in the outhouse across the street than suffer such a disgrace in this place!
Bai Zhi tried to stop her, but Meng Yutong raised her hand to stop her, and said to the hurried figure, "Aunt Sun, the poison is not yet cleared. You will need to take another dose later. Don't forget."
Sun Guifang paused at the door, gave a very low, mumbled reply, and then dashed off like an arrow toward her own restaurant across the street.
The restaurant was not yet open, and Grandma Sun's husband, Wu Qinglai, was still fast asleep in the inner room.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang as the door was slammed shut. When he opened his eyes, he saw his wife with disheveled hair, rushing towards the outhouse in the backyard like a madwoman, still groaning in pain.
Wu Qinglai, still half asleep, assumed his wife was having another bout of hysteria. He muttered a curse, "Going crazy in broad daylight!", turned over, and resumed snoring.
Bai Zhi glared at Sun Guifang's fleeing figure, stomped her foot in anger, and muttered, "What a heartless woman! Girl, she framed us like this, and we're just going to let her go so easily?"
Meng Yutong's gaze also turned to the door, but it did not fall on the Qinglai Restaurant across the street. Instead, it focused on the corner of the screen wall outside the threshold, where a piece of emerald green brocade embroidered with exquisite cloud and thunder patterns was quietly revealed.
That was clearly the finest brocade in Lin'an, the kind of flamboyant color that Li Jing was fond of.
Her eyes darkened slightly, and her voice carried clearly out of the house: "Aunt Sun is shrewd and calculating, but not a reckless person. I'm afraid someone is behind this."
The words had barely left her lips when the hem of her dress outside the door trembled violently, as if startled, and shrank back inside.
Meng Yutong understood immediately; what was originally just a three-tenths guess had now become a complete certainty.
She moved lightly to the door, raised her hand and suddenly grabbed the edge of the inner door, pulling it sharply inward!
Just as he was about to fall flat on his face, a cool hand firmly pressed down on his shoulder, stopping his fall.
Meng Yutong's face appeared just above him, her voice carrying a hint of concern as she softly asked, "Young Master Li? Are you feeling unwell and have come to Zhaoyu Hall seeking medical advice?"
Those gentle words, however, carried a chill in Li Jing's ears.
This woman... must know!
Li Jing hurriedly grabbed the door frame to steady himself, and turned around with a forced calm. Just as he was about to lash out, his gaze met Meng Yutong's clear and bright eyes, and he suddenly froze.
Didn't Zheng Hui say that Meng's daughter was plain-looking, dull, and full of money?
But the woman before him... clearly had exquisite features and a calm demeanor; she was nothing like the woman he had described.
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