Chapter 168 Rumors
The bandits were also sentenced to heavy penalties and imprisoned.
Ye Wanning looked at Pei Zhi, her heart filled with gratitude. She noticed a scratch on Pei Zhi's arm and quickly took out some ointment to bandage it for him.
"You were injured, why didn't you say so sooner?"
Pei Zhi smiled and said, "This little injury is nothing. As long as you're alright, I'm relieved."
Ye Wanning bandaged Pei Zhi's wound, trying to be as gentle as possible so as not to hurt him.
Pei Zhi looked at her earnest profile and felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He whispered, "With you here, I don't feel any pain anywhere."
Ye Wanning's ears immediately turned red, and she quickly lowered her head to continue bandaging him.
The Wan Ning Medical Clinic, which is usually packed with people, was deserted today.
Several former patients lingered at the door, craning their necks to look inside, but hesitated to go in.
Chuntao leaned on the counter, pouting and complaining, "Miss, Liu Wantong is so unethical! Why would he spread rumors like that?"
Ye Wanning was sorting through medicinal herbs when she heard this. Her fingers paused on the herbs and then brushed over a dried licorice root next to her.
"What's the rush? Rumors don't last long."
Even so, looking at the empty clinic, she knew that the rumors were quite damaging.
Since yesterday, rumors have been circulating wildly in the capital: "Wanning Medical Clinic is using banned drugs from the Western Regions to treat patients!"
They even claimed that "Ye Wanning's medicine is effective quickly, but in reality, it uses banned drugs that damage the body's foundation."
"It's fine for young people, but it will shorten the lifespan of the elderly and children!"
The one who spread these words was Liu Wantong, the owner of Liu's Medical Clinic, which had just opened in Beijing.
Liu Wantong was originally a medicine dealer. Seeing that Ye Wanning's clinic was doing very well, he became extremely jealous.
He opened his own clinic, but he wasn't very skilled and had few patients, so he resorted to spreading rumors.
"Madam Ye, may I ask something?" An old man with a white beard walked in, trembling, carrying a bag of medicine.
"My grandson got some cough medicine from you the other day. Is that rumor true?"
Ye Wanning put away the medicinal herbs and went over to support him: "Don't worry, all the medicinal herbs in our shop are sourced from legitimate channels and do not contain any prohibited drugs."
"But what people outside are saying..." Grandpa Zhang was still worried.
"The people at Liu's Medical Clinic said that the snow lotus from the Western Regions that you use is a forbidden substance, and that a child who took your medicine is now weak all over."
"That's a lie Liu Wantong made up." Ye Wanning pulled out a medicine book and turned to the page about Western Region snow lotus.
"Look, this snow lotus is a tribute from the Western Regions. It can cure cold coughs and replenish qi and blood. The Imperial Hospital uses it. How could it be a banned medicine?"
Just then, a commotion broke out outside the door.
Liu Wantong, accompanied by several henchmen, swaggered in, fanning himself with a fan, and laughed provocatively: "Madam Ye, stop deceiving yourself!"
"Who in the capital doesn't know you used banned drugs?"
His henchmen behind him chimed in, "That's right! Close the clinic immediately, stop harming people!"
Ye Wanning raised her eyes, her tone turning colder: "Boss Liu, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."
"You accuse me of using banned substances, do you have any evidence?"
"Evidence?" Liu Wantong sneered, "The discussions of the entire city are the evidence!"
"Furthermore, I have a patient here who feels weak all over after taking your medicine. Isn't that proof enough?"
He beckoned, and a thin, frail boy was pushed in. The boy was deathly pale, and he kept his head down, not daring to speak.
"Ask him if he took your medicine," Liu Wantong said smugly.
Ye Wanning walked up to the boy, squatted down, and said softly, "Little brother, what medicine did you take? When did you take it?"
The boy bit his lip and remained silent, but his eyes glanced at Liu Wantong several times.
Ye Wanning knew what was going on and reached out to take his pulse, but Liu Wantong grabbed her arm: "Madam Ye, what are you trying to do? Try to silence him?"
"I just want to check his pulse to confirm if he really took my medicine." Ye Wanning stood up and glanced at everyone.
"Since Boss Liu insists that I used banned drugs, why don't we test the drugs in public!"
She turned around and opened the cabinet, which was filled with various medicinal herbs: "This is all the medicinal herbs in the clinic. I will report to the authorities now."
"We invite officials and prominent figures from the capital to witness and see if any prohibited drugs are present!"
Liu Wantong's heart sank. He hadn't expected Ye Wanning to be so resolute, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Let's test it! I don't believe we can't find out!"
Ye Wanning immediately sent Chun Tao to report to the authorities, and also sent people to invite Imperial Censor Zhang and Scholar Li to witness that these two were known for their impartiality and that no one could bribe them.
The news spread quickly, and onlookers surrounded the clinic in layers.
Liu Wantong stood in the crowd, his heart growing increasingly anxious, but he had to maintain a calm demeanor.
Before long, the Prefect of the Capital arrived with his officials, and Imperial Censor Zhang and Academician Li also arrived.
Ye Wanning laid out the medicinal herbs one by one in front of everyone, and the officials took samples on the spot, sealed them, and sent them to the Imperial Hospital for testing.
Ye Wanning looked at Liu Wantong and said, word by word, "If the test results show that my clinic does not have any banned drugs, what will you say?"
Liu Wantong swallowed hard: "Then, then I'll apologize to you! But what if I do have something to apologize for?"
"You'll have to close your clinic and accept punishment from the authorities!"
Ye Wanning nodded: "Okay, it's a deal."
The hours spent waiting for the test results felt like years.
Liu Wantong was restless in the crowd, but Ye Wanning remained calm as she arranged the medicinal herbs, seemingly unconcerned.
Actually, she was also panicked, but she believed in her medicinal herbs and in Pei Zhi.
Last night she had someone deliver the message to Pei Zhi. Knowing his temperament, how could he let her suffer such an insult?
As evening fell, people from the Imperial Medical Academy ran over with the results, shouting, "After testing, all the medicinal materials at Wanning Medical Hall are genuine!"
"Contains no prohibited drugs from the Western Regions and meets the standards for medicinal use!"
An uproar erupted in the crowd, with people discussing among themselves: "It really was a rumor! Liu Wantong is a complete scoundrel!"
"I said Madam Ye is a good doctor, how could she use banned drugs!"
Liu Wantong's face turned pale instantly, and his legs went weak, almost causing him to fall: "Impossible! This is impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible." A cold voice rang out.
Pei Zhi entered from outside the crowd with several bodyguards, holding a stack of papers in his hand: "Boss Liu, you are not only spreading rumors and slander."
"You even bribed pharmaceutical dealers to adulterate the herbs in your clinic, passing them off as high-quality ones. Do you want to see this evidence?"
The secret guards handed the evidence to the Prefect of the Capital, which included the time, place, and amount of Liu Wantong's purchase of counterfeit medicine, as well as the drug dealer's confession.
The Prefect of Jingzhao's face was extremely grim: "Liu Wantong, do you know your crime?"
Liu Wantong collapsed to the ground, unable to utter a single word.
The officers took him and his companion away immediately.
"Madam Ye, I'm sorry, I believed the rumors and wronged you!" Grandpa Zhang walked over, his face full of apology.
"It's alright, Uncle Zhang," Ye Wanning said with a smile. "Just be more careful if something similar happens again in the future."
One by one, the people came to apologize to Ye Wanning, and the clinic returned to its former bustling state, even more prosperous than before.
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