Chapter 174 I Truly Like You
“I like…” Pei Zhi looked at her, his eyes deep, “I like seeing you smile, I like seeing your seriousness when you treat patients and save lives, I like the time I spend with you.”
Ye Wanning's face instantly turned red, and she dared not look at him again. She lowered her head and pretended to organize her medicine box: "I...I'll go down and see if the driver is alright."
She was about to get out of the car when Pei Zhi stopped her: "Don't get out, Wan Ning."
His palm was warm and strong, holding her hand tightly, making her tremble.
“Wan Ning,” Pei Zhi said in a low, gentle voice, “I know you have concerns, but I truly like you, it’s not just a passing fancy.”
"I'll wait for you, until you completely let go of the past. Believe me."
Ye Wanning's eyes were a little red. She wanted to break free from his hand, but she couldn't bear to.
Pei Zhi's kindness to her was genuine, but the hurt inflicted by the Su family in her past life was too deep for her to take that step.
"I...I understand," Ye Wanning said softly.
Pei Zhi didn't press her any further and let go of her hand: "Alright, let's continue on our journey and get to Jiangnan as soon as possible to find out about your mother's matter."
The carriage started moving again, and the carriage became quiet again, but the atmosphere was different from before.
Ye Wanning leaned against the car wall, her mind in turmoil, Pei Zhi's words echoing in her ears.
She knew that her feelings for Pei Zhi were growing deeper, but could she really let go of the past?
A few days later, the two finally arrived in Suzhou, in the Jiangnan region.
The Su family was a prominent family in Suzhou, and their mansion was located in the city center, so it was easy to find them by asking around.
However, when they arrived at the gate of the Su residence, they were stopped by the gatekeeper.
"Who are you? What business do you have with our master?" the servant asked rudely.
"We came from the capital to talk to Master Su about Lin Yuewei," Ye Wanning said.
Upon hearing the mention of Lin Yuewei, the servants' expressions changed, and their tone became even harsher: "Our master said he doesn't know any Lin Yuewei. You'd better leave now and not cause any trouble!"
"You must know us!" Ye Wanning exclaimed anxiously. "My mother mentioned the Su family in her letters. You stole her family's medical manual, and you must return it to me!"
"Bullshit!" the servant roared. "My Su family is a scholarly family, how could we do such a thing? If you don't want to live, then get out!"
After saying that, the servant reached out to shoo the person away.
Pei Zhi pulled Ye Wanning aside, blocking her way: "Tell your master to come out, or don't blame us for being impolite!"
The servants were intimidated by Pei Zhi's imposing manner, but they still forced themselves to say, "Master is not home, get out of here!"
Both of them knew that this was the servants deliberately making things difficult for them; Master Su was definitely at home, but he just didn't want to see them.
"It seems the Su family intends to renege on their debt." Pei Zhi frowned. "Don't worry, let's find a place to stay first."
"I've already sent people to investigate the Su family; we'll have results soon."
Ye Wanning nodded, feeling somewhat disappointed, but also knowing that she couldn't rush things.
The two found an inn to stay in.
That evening, Ye Wanning sat by the window, gazing at the night view, her mind heavy with worries.
Pei Zhi brought in a bowl of soup: "Here, have some soup to warm yourself up. Don't think too much. The truth will definitely be found out."
Ye Wanning took the soup and drank a sip, feeling a warm current spread throughout her body.
She looked at Pei Zhi and whispered, "Pei Zhi, thank you for coming to Jiangnan with me and for getting injured for me."
“I’ve already said we’re husband and wife, there’s no need to be so polite,” Pei Zhi said with a smile.
"Go to sleep early. We'll go to the Su residence tomorrow. If that doesn't work, I'll ask the prefect of Jiangnan for help so that Master Su will have no choice but to see us."
The next morning, Ye Wanning and Pei Zhi arrived at the Su residence again.
This time, the gatekeeper didn't chase them away, but stammered, "Master... Master is still not home, he went to the estate outside the city."
"Which estate did he go to? Let's go find him," Ye Wanning pressed.
The servant panicked and stammered, "I...I don't know, the master didn't tell me."
Ye Wanning knew he was lying at a glance and was about to lash out when a young man in a blue robe walked out of the mansion.
He was gentle and handsome, and asked, "Who are you? Why are you making a scene at the door?"
"We're looking for Master Su about Lin Yuewei," Pei Zhi said calmly as he stepped forward.
Upon hearing the name "Lin Yuewei," the man's eyes flickered slightly: "I am Su Mingxuan, the second young master of the Su family. My father is indeed not in the mansion."
"What do you need him for? I can pass on your message."
Ye Wanning looked him over and felt that he didn't seem to be lying, so she said, "I am Ye Wanning, the daughter of Lin Yuewei. My mother's family medical classic, 'Qing Nang Mi Yao,' was taken away by the Su family, and I want to get it back."
"The Secret of the Green Bag? I've never heard of this book." Su Mingxuan frowned. "My father is an upright man and would never rob others. Perhaps there's been a misunderstanding."
Ye Wanning took out her mother's letter and handed it to her: "This is a letter written by my mother herself, and it is written very clearly on it."
Su Mingxuan took the letter and looked at it: "This... I'll give it to my father and wait for him to come back so he can give you an explanation."
"You guys go back first, I'll let you know if there's any news."
Looking into his earnest eyes, Ye Wanning nodded: "Okay, I'll wait for your news."
After leaving the Su residence, Ye Wanning felt uneasy: "Do you believe Su Mingxuan's words?"
“It’s hard to say.” Pei Zhi shook his head. “The Su family is a prestigious family with many rules. Perhaps Mingxuan really doesn’t know what happened back then.”
"Let's wait and see if he will contact us on his own initiative."
Just then, Chuntao sent someone to deliver a letter written by Chen Sheng.
The letter said that the Jiangnan branch was almost ready, but the medicinal herb supplier Wu Kun suddenly raised the price and refused to supply the herbs if the price was not accepted.
“Wu Kun.” Ye Wanning frowned. “He is the largest medicinal herb merchant in Jiangnan, monopolizing most of the supply. He must know that I want to open a branch hospital and is deliberately making things difficult for me.”
Pei Zhi's eyes turned cold: "This Wu Kun is really bold. Don't worry, I'll take care of the medicinal herbs for you."
"I don't need your help." Ye Wanning shook her head. "I opened the branch hospital to benefit the people, and I can't rely on you from the beginning."
“Wu Kun’s monopoly on price gouging must have offended many small pharmaceutical companies. I can join forces with them to break his monopoly.”
Pei Zhi smiled as he looked at her serious expression: "Okay, give it a try first. Let me know if you need any help."
Over the next few days, Ye Wanning visited small medicine merchants in various parts of Jiangnan.
Just as she expected, Wu Kun had been taking advantage of his monopoly to raise prices and hoard goods all these years, leaving small drug dealers angry but unable to speak out.
Ye Wanning proposed the establishment of a "Medicinal Herbs Mutual Aid Association" to share sources of goods and set prices together, and also promised to help them open up sales channels in the capital.
The small pharmaceutical companies were very interested when they heard this, and soon more than a dozen agreed to cooperate.
But just as the mutual aid association was about to be established, Wu Kun arrived.
He barged into the inn where Ye Wanning was staying with a few of his men, his tone arrogant: "Madam Ye, I heard you're going to team up with the small medicine merchant to oppose me?"
"If you know what's good for you, disband this mutual aid society right now, or I'll make sure you can't move an inch in Jiangnan!"
Ye Wanning sat in the chair and looked up at him: "Mr. Wu, doing business is about fair competition. Your monopolistic practices of raising prices and exploiting small pharmaceutical companies are against the rules."
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