Chapter 158 Selling Fake Medicine
As soon as the clinic door was pushed open, a delicate, exotic fragrance wafted in. Ye Wanning, who was tidying up prescriptions with her head down, suddenly looked up and saw the envoy's wife's maid carrying a wooden box and smiling as she walked in.
“Madam Pei, my wife is grateful to you for curing her acclimatization problem, so she asked me to send some medicinal herbs from the Western Regions, saying they can cure stubborn colds.”
Ye Wanning put down her pen, took the wooden box and opened it—inside was lined with soft silk, several snow-white snow lotuses, and many herbs from the Western Regions that she had only seen in her mother's medical books. They all had a fresh, moist scent and were obviously precious items that had just been transported from the Western Regions.
"Please thank you for me, Madam." Ye Wanning said with a smile, and was about to ask the maid to sit down and have some tea when a hurried sound came from the doorway, carrying a hint of deliberate disdain.
"Oh, what is this that makes Madam Pei so interested?" Su Qingyao, dressed in a peach-colored dress, slowly walked in, fanning herself with a round fan. Her gaze fell on the wooden box of medicinal herbs, and she curled her lip.
"I thought it was some kind of treasure, but it turns out to be just wild grass from the barbarian lands. How dare you bring it to Madam Pei's clinic? This stuff is considered unlucky."
Ye Wanning paused in her hand holding the wooden box—Su Qingyao was Pei Zhi's cousin, and she had bullied her openly and secretly quite a bit. Last time, she even said in front of Old Madam Pei that she was "of humble origin and not worthy of Pei Zhi."
She wasn't angry. She simply closed the wooden box gently, picked up the "Records of Western Region Medicines" left by her mother, turned to a page, pointed to the medicinal herbs, and handed it to Su Qingyao.
“It seems my cousin Su hasn’t read any medical books. This isn’t a wild herb; it’s a snow lotus from the Western Regions. Look, it says here that it can cure a ten-year-old cough. Last year, Lord Pei used it to save many soldiers suffering from frostbite at the border.”
Su Qingyao paused for a moment, but still stubbornly insisted, "Who would believe that you forged this medical book? Besides, you rely on the envoy's wife, isn't that because you're connected with Pei Zhi? Do you really think you're a lady of a prestigious family and can compare to noble ladies?"
These words struck a nerve with Ye Wanning. In her past life, she had been bullied by her stepmother and stepsister because of her humble origins, but in this life, she would no longer be a pushover.
Just as Ye Wanning was about to retort, a familiar voice came from the direction of Murong Courtyard: "Cousin, what you said is not right. Wanning understands medicinal herbs, not because of any connections."
Ye Wanning was startled and turned to see Pei Zhi entering carrying a food box, still carrying the chill of the imperial court. He went straight to the wooden box, picked up the snow lotus, and sniffed it.
"This snow lotus is of excellent quality, and it's perfect for making soup to treat colds. Some people don't understand this, yet they like to nitpick, which makes them seem ignorant."
Su Qingyao's face flushed red, and she tightened her grip on the fan: "Cousin, I'm just worried that my sister-in-law will be scammed by the barbarian medicinal herbs, after all..."
"You haven't even seen them, yet you think they're all bad?" Pei Zhi interrupted her, his tone cold. "Wan Ning's methods are far more sophisticated than you think. If there's nothing else, go back first. There are still patients at the clinic; we don't have time to chat with you."
Su Qingyao was speechless from being choked, glared at Ye Wanning, and turned away sullenly, stepping on her skirt. Ye Wanning breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't immediately say thank you—she felt that Pei Zhi's arrival was too timely.
"I just came back from court and brought you some snacks." Pei Zhi opened the food box, inside were her favorite red bean paste cakes, still steaming. "You didn't eat much this morning, so have something to tide you over."
Ye Wanning took the red bean paste cake and took a bite. The sweet aroma spread in her mouth, but she wasn't completely relaxed. She watched Pei Zhi put away the wooden box and wondered to herself.
Why did he have to show up just when Su Qingyao was causing trouble? Was he genuinely protecting her, or was he afraid that Su Qingyao would cause trouble in the Pei family and embarrass the Pei family?
"What are you thinking about?" Pei Zhi noticed that she was lost in thought, looked up at her, and asked with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"I wasn't thinking anything." Ye Wanning quickly lowered her head and swallowed the red bean cake in her mouth. "Thank you for the snacks, sir, and thank you for helping me out of that situation earlier."
Seeing her strange expression, Pei Zhi didn't press further, only smiling and saying, "You are my wife, it's only right that I help you. Keep the medicinal herbs safe, and if you need more, have someone get some from the Western Regions." Ye Wanning nodded, but she still felt uneasy.
As soon as the clinic opened in the early morning, an old man rushed in, clutching his stomach, his face pale: "Madam Pei, please save me! I took the medicine you prescribed yesterday, and I've had diarrhea and stomach pain all day!"
Ye Wanning's heart tightened, and she quickly helped the old man sit down to take his pulse, but she found it strange - the old man's pulse was normal, and it looked like a symptom of drug incompatibility.
She pressed the old man to tell her how he prepared the medicine, and he replied, "Just as you instructed, I boiled three bowls of water down to one bowl, and I also added the snow lotus from the Western Regions that you gave me."
Ye Wanning said "Oh," got up and walked to the medicine cabinet. She told the old man to wait while she picked up the snow lotus that was left over from yesterday—and her heart sank immediately upon seeing it.
The snow lotus, which was originally pure white, had somehow become mixed with some grayish-white grass roots, and upon closer inspection, it even had a faint musty smell! It was definitely not the precious gift that the envoy's wife had sent!
"Don't worry, I'll prescribe some more antidiarrheal medicine for you." Ye Wanning calmed herself down, wrote out the medicine, saw the old man off, and quickly checked the other medicinal herbs.
Sure enough! Not only were the snow lotus mixed with inferior grass roots, but other herbs from the Western Regions were also mixed with inferior grass roots!
"How could this happen?" Ye Wanning clutched the medicinal herbs, her fingers turning white. She had personally put these herbs into the medicine cabinet yesterday; no one except her and her two apprentices was allowed in. Could it be that something had happened to the apprentices?
Before she could think it through, another commotion arose at the entrance of the clinic. Several people surrounded a servant boy, who held up a piece of paper and shouted, "Come quick! Ye Wanning is harming people with fake medicine! Everyone who drank her medicine yesterday has stomach aches today!"
Ye Wanning's heart sank. This was clearly someone deliberately trying to smear her and embarrass her! Just as she was about to go out to explain, she saw Su Qingyao's maid in the crowd, secretly exchanging glances with the servant.
"Madam Pei, what exactly is going on?" a commoner couldn't help but ask. "We thought you were a good doctor, but we never expected you to be selling fake medicine!"
"Don't listen to him! My medicinal herbs have been tampered with. I've already sent people to investigate, and we'll have an answer soon!" Ye Wanning shouted.
But the people didn't believe it, and some even cursed, "Heartless doctor!" "You have no conscience!" The two apprentices panicked, and the one named Amu looked away, not daring to look at her.
Ye Wanning had a suspicion, but didn't expose it. By evening, everyone in the clinic had left, and she sat at the table, staring blankly at the tampered medicinal herbs.
Suddenly the door was gently pushed open, and Pei Zhi walked in, holding a note in his hand: "Found it, it's Amu!"
"How did you find out?" Ye Wanning took the note, her fingers trembling slightly.
“I sent my guards to follow Su Qingyao’s maid. Yesterday, she went to the gambling den to deliver money to Amu and was caught red-handed by the guards!” Pei Zhi sat in front of her, his tone calm. “Tomorrow, I will bring Amu to the clinic and question him in public to clear your name!”
Ye Wanning looked at Pei Zhi, her heart filled with a thousand words, but in the end she only said, "Thank you, I'm sorry to have troubled you again."
“This clinic is your life’s work; it can’t be ruined by these people.” Pei Zhi looked at her with a hint of tenderness in his eyes. “If something like this happens again, don’t bear it alone. Tell me, and I’ll help you investigate.”
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