Chapter 266 Biting Back
"Mmm," Ye Wanning responded softly, not daring to look up at him.
It was late at night when they returned to the Heritage Hall. Chun Tao brought in a food box from the door, saying it was sent by Lord Pei: "Miss, Lord Pei said this is a whole box of osmanthus cakes that he made himself, and he wants you to enjoy them slowly."
Ye Wanning opened the food box, and the sweet fragrance of osmanthus flowers immediately wafted out.
The warmth of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet had barely dissipated when the Heritage Center discovered an internal traitor.
After the epidemic in Jiangzhou was quelled, the traditional medicine formulas from the Heritage Hall became highly sought after, with many pharmacies vying to purchase them at high prices. Ye Wanning only handed over the basic formulas to the government, keeping the core ingredients a closely guarded secret. However, not long after, Renjitang, the biggest competitor in the capital, launched an identical anti-epidemic decoction and seized the market at a lower price, causing the Heritage Hall's sales to plummet.
What's even more infuriating is that Renjitang turned around and accused the Heritage Center of "stealing their prescription," pushing the Heritage Center into a fire pit! Ye Wanning investigated and found that it was indeed a case of collusion from within and without—the prescription was leaked from inside the Heritage Center.
Ye Wanning gathered all the apprentices together, took out the herbal medicine prescription from Renjitang, and said coldly, "This prescription is exactly the same as our basic epidemic prevention prescription, not even the auxiliary medicine I added has been changed! The Heritage Hall has a rule that prescriptions are not to be passed on to outsiders. You know who leaked it. Don't be so shameless!"
The apprentices looked at each other, but no one spoke. Suddenly, an apprentice named Lian Qiao knelt down, crying, "Master, it's Senior Sister Bai Zhi! A few days ago, she stole my prescription and gave it to the people at Renjitang, and... she even framed me, saying that I was the one who delivered the prescription!"
Bai Zhi was Ye Wanning's most prized apprentice, possessing excellent medical skills, yet she had always been jealous of Ye Wanning, feeling that her talents were wasted. Upon hearing Lian Qiao's words, her expression changed drastically, but she still stubbornly argued, "You're talking nonsense! You're just jealous of me, that's why you're slandering me!"
"Don't you know whether I'm lying or not?" Lian Qiao took out a jade pendant. "This is a token from Renjitang to you. I saw you accept it with my own eyes!"
Ye Wanning looked at Bai Zhi, her eyes flashing with cold light: "Bai Zhi, is what Lian Qiao said true?"
Bai Zhi tried to argue, but Ye Wanning produced another piece of evidence—given to her by Pei Zhi in advance. It contained correspondence between Bai Zhi and the Second Prince's subordinates, which read, "Leak the prescription, destroy the Heritage Hall, and I'll guarantee you a position as a resident doctor at Renjitang."
"Furthermore, do you think your prescription is flawless?" Ye Wanning held up the prescription. "I added a secret mark to the basic prescription—I wrote 'three qian of licorice' as 'three li of licorice.' Outsiders can't see it, only the people at the Heritage Hall know it's a secret mark. Renjitang's prescription also says 'three li of licorice,' and you still dare to say that someone stole your prescription?"
With all the evidence laid bare before her, Bai Zhi turned deathly pale. She collapsed to the ground, too exhausted to utter another word in her defense.
Ye Wanning looked at her, her tone full of disappointment and coldness: "The Inheritance Hall values virtue before talent when accepting disciples. You stole and sold the prescriptions for your own selfish gain and framed your fellow disciples. You don't deserve to stay in the Inheritance Hall at all!"
She immediately ordered Bai Zhi to be expelled from the Heritage Center and forbade anyone from hiring her again; she even publicly announced to all medical clinics and pharmacies in the capital that they were not allowed to hire Bai Zhi in the future.
Bai Zhi's reputation was completely ruined, and she had no choice but to leave the capital in disgrace.
After dealing with the traitor, Pei Zhi went to the courtyard of the Inheritance Hall to help Ye Wanning comfort the remaining apprentices. Seeing the apprentices regain their spirits, Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief.
"With me here, no one can hurt you anymore, and there's still your heritage hall," Pei Zhi suddenly said, his tone incredibly firm.
Ye Wanning looked up at him. The bright moonlight shone on him, and his gaze was earnest and firm. Ye Wanning felt a warmth in her heart. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she held back and simply nodded gently: "Thank you."
The aroma of herbs had not yet dissipated from the heritage hall.
Just as Ye Wanning expelled Bai Zhi from the mountain gate, Chun Tao brought in hot water. She tapped the bottom of the porcelain bowl on the wooden table: "Miss, please rest. You haven't slept for more than two hours in the past three days."
Ye Wanning rubbed her sore eyes, her fingers still covered in herbal residue—the matter of Bai Zhi stealing and selling herbal prescriptions had blown up, and she not only had to re-examine the herbal medicine ledgers of the Heritage Hall, but also had to keep the remaining apprentices in line, lest someone else be lured away by the Second Prince's people.
"Put the account book here." She took the ginger tea, the warmth flowing down her throat. Just as she was about to say something, a servant suddenly ran in through the courtyard gate; it was Cui'er who had hired him to deliver a message.
"Miss Ye! Miss Cui'er asked me to bring you a message!" The servant ran quickly, his forehead covered in sweat, and pulled a crumpled envelope from his pocket. "She said that Young Master Xiao Bao is not well, and she wants you to take a look!"
Ye Wanning's heart skipped a beat.
Cui'er was her mother Lin Yuewei's former maid. She had just moved to the outskirts of the capital with Xiao Bao half a month ago. Previously, the remnants of the Wei family had kidnapped Xiao Bao, and she had specially asked Pei Zhi to send two secret guards to follow him. How could something have happened again so suddenly?
She opened the envelope. The letter was on ordinary coarse paper, and the handwriting was crooked and messy, but it was indeed like Cui'er's handwriting—Cui'er had never been to school, and she always wrote with force, leaving marks on the back of the paper.
“Wan Ning, Xiao Bao has been experiencing heart palpitations these past two days. He cries every night saying his chest hurts. I failed to protect him properly, causing him to develop these palpitations. I dare not let Lord Pei be distracted by matters of state. Go and check on him at the small courtyard next to the dilapidated temple outside the city. Just come alone. Xiao Bao is afraid of strangers and cries when he sees them. Moreover… I have a feeling that the Wei family hasn’t gone far, and having too many people around could easily alert them.”
At the end of the letter was a crooked silver lock drawn on it. It was a gift she gave to Cui'er when Xiao Bao was born, and it was their secret code.
Ye Wanning clenched the letter in her hand, her fingertips gradually turning white. Xiao Bao's heart palpitations were an old problem; she had prescribed him medicine to relieve greasiness last time, and he should be better by now. But Cui'er's special reminder, "Don't tell Pei Zhi," and her repeated emphasis on "Going alone," left her with a slight sense of unease.
“Miss, there’s something wrong with this letter.” Chun Tao leaned over and glanced at it, then frowned. “Miss Cui’er told you before that Xiao Bao’s shyness stems from his fear of the guards in black. If you had taken two apprentices in ordinary clothes, how could you have alerted them?”
Ye Wanning also felt there was a problem.
She took out the sachet that Pei Zhi had given her for epidemic prevention, and ran her fingertips along the embroidered character "挽" (wǎn, meaning to ward off) on it. Last time she went to Jiangzhou, Pei Zhi personally tied this sachet around her waist, saying that the seventeen medicinal herbs inside could not only ward off the epidemic, but also contained "ambergris," which his secret guards could use to track her for ten miles.
"I'll go tell Pei Zhi." She stood up and walked towards the Pei residence. Just as she reached the door, she remembered the words in the letter—Cui'er was afraid that Pei Zhi would be distracted.
Pei Zhi has been surrounded by the Second Prince's men these past two days. The Second Prince's period of self-reflection has ended, and the first thing he did upon emerging was to join forces with the imperial clan to impeach Pei Zhi for "facilitating Ye Wanning's possession of medical texts," causing a great uproar in the court. If he learns of Xiao Bao's accident, he will surely abandon his official duties to go there. If the Second Prince finds out he's "neglecting his duties for personal reasons," things will be very troublesome.
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