The visitor was the general manager of the Imperial Medicine Hall, Chu Kang.
The two carriages came to a halt opposite each other. Chu Kang jumped down from the shaft and strode over. Seeing the household crest of the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion attached to the corner of the carriage roof as he got closer, he first secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed with clasped hands. “I am Chu Kang of the Imperial Medicine Hall. Might I inquire if this is the carriage of Heir Wei?”
The carriage door was pushed open from the inside. A pale hand lifted a corner of the curtain. Chu Mingxi slightly furrowed her brows. “Uncle Kang?”
Uncle Kang was an old hand at the Imperial Medicine Hall. He would never be this flustered over trivial matters.
“It is me. Eldest Young Miss.” Having finally found them, Chu Kang responded with relief. He stood with his hands at his sides by the carriage. Only after Heir Wei had helped the Eldest Young Miss down did he step forward to explain the whole story.
Early that morning, the Imperial Medicine Hall had opened as usual. Not long after, a shop assistant from the southern branch had come looking for him, saying a mother and her son had come to the shop. As soon as the woman arrived, she had sat down in front of the counter and started wailing loudly, crying and making a scene, accusing the Imperial Medicine Hall’s medicine of killing someone. Her son, just a young man of seventeen or eighteen, had started cursing as soon as he arrived and had even beaten the attending physician.
“Shopkeeper Lin sent an assistant to the main shop to find me. I rushed to the branch and saw them. I tried to have someone placate them for a while, but the woman wouldn’t listen to reason. She cried and screamed about hanging herself,” Chu Kang said helplessly. “I had no choice but to go to the Marquis Mansion to respectfully request the Eldest Young Miss. The mansion told me the Heir and Eldest Young Miss were at Lady Xihua’s residence, so I came all this way looking for you.”
“The person they claim was killed by medicine—who was it? Did they ever consult a physician at our Medicine Hall?” Chu Mingxi’s face remained expressionless, but her gaze turned cold.
The Imperial Medicine Hall, through generations of the Chu family’s ancestors practicing medicine, couldn’t claim a flawless record, but there had never been a precedent of medicine directly causing someone’s death. This mother and son, the moment they arrived at the Imperial Medicine Hall, had immediately resorted to wailing, making a scene, and threatening suicide. This matter was likely not so simple.
“The woman said her husband saw a physician at our Imperial Medicine Hall, went home, used the medicine, and his illness worsened. She says he’s about to die. I had someone check the medical records. He did have a consultation at our Medicine Hall.”
As they spoke, they split up and boarded their separate carriages. The driver cracked a sharp whip, and the horses galloped off swiftly.
“Don’t be too anxious. One moment they say killed by medicine, the next they say the illness is severe. We’ll decide after seeing for ourselves,” Wei Qingchen said with a smile as she saw Chu Mingxi constantly frowning. “The Imperial Medicine Hall has a widespread reputation. Looking at this, maybe they’re just here to scam money.”
Chu Mingxi leaned against the carriage wall, her gaze looking into the distance. “I’m not anxious. I’m just wondering if this matter is aimed at the Imperial Medicine Hall, or at me.”
“If you put it that way…” Wei Qingchen’s fine brows knit together for a moment. “You just married me, and now the shop kicks up this fuss. Could it be these people are… aiming at me?”
Seeing Wei Qingchen’s serious, thoughtful expression, Chu Mingxi’s lips curved up slightly. She gently tapped Wei Qingchen’s hand with hers. “We’ll see. Let’s observe first.”
“Alright.”
Arriving at the Imperial Medicine Hall, they found the front of the branch shop surrounded by several layers of people, inside and out. It was already an uproar.
Several long-term attendants shouted to clear away the crowd. Wei Qingchen and Chu Mingxi entered the Medicine Hall together.
The main culprit had arrived. The woman throwing a tantrum on the ground paused her crying. In the chaos, she exchanged a glance with her son. The son pursed his lips, and the woman immediately started wailing again.
Chu Mingxi didn’t even look at her and walked straight to the desk, flipping through the medical records.
The woman cried while beating her chest. “Heavens strike them! This black-hearted Medicine Hall killed my man!!!”
“It was typhoid fever seven days ago. If they’d used the wrong medicine…” Chu Mingxi raised an eyebrow. “How could they have lasted until now?”
The woman on the ground was still covering her face, crying. She peeked through her fingers at her son. The young man immediately cursed, “What a vicious woman! How dare you curse my father! Fellow townsfolk, take a look! It’s this wicked woman who wants to kill my father!”
The crowd of onlookers, oblivious to the truth, muttered and pointed, and some even shouted loudly, protesting the injustice.
Wei Qingchen watched coldly. What mistaken medicine? This was clearly deliberate troublemaking! There was no need for courtesy. “Someone! Report this to the authorities!”
The accompanying long-term attendant acknowledged the order and turned to leave. The woman on the ground hugged his leg and wailed dryly, “Aiyah! The Imperial Medicine Hall killed someone and now they want to kill me! How bitter is my fate! Father of my child, you were murdered!!”
The main hall was in a chaotic uproar. The young man glanced left and right, his gaze meeting someone’s in the crowd. He turned his head and suddenly lunged violently at Chu Mingxi, “Give me back my father’s life!”
“What are you doing!” Wei Qingchen was already guarding beside her wife. Seeing a pair of claws reaching out, she scolded sternly and slapped out with her hand.
None of the crowd saw clearly where the contact was made. The man let out a great shout, stumbled backward, and his head heavily struck the bluestone floor. He instantly fell silent, making no sound.
On the other side, the woman let out a shrieking cry of “Aiyah!” and immediately threw herself over. “My son! What’s happened to you! Aaaah! My son has been beaten to death by the Imperial Medicine Hall! I don’t want to live either!!”
The entire Medicine Hall erupted into chaotic shouting. Chu Mingxi, however, walked forward without much expression. Wei Qingchen hurriedly pulled her back by the hand. “Don’t go!” Afraid she might not understand, she lowered her voice slightly. “I held back. This person is faking it.”
Chu Mingxi slightly curved her lips at her and gently squeezed her hand back. “I know.”
“Ah! This…” Chu Kang saw things were going wrong and ran over first. He placed a hand under the young man’s nose and instantly broke out in a cold sweat. The young man wasn’t breathing.
Although Wei Qingchen didn’t understand medicine, she could see that Chu Kang’s expression was terrible, meaning the situation was likely worse.
In this moment of delay, another commotion arose outside. A group of bailiffs parted the crowd and walked in. “What’s going on, what’s going on? What happened here?”
“Officers! The Imperial Medicine Hall has beaten someone to death!” someone shouted from the crowd.
Chu Mingxi frowned and looked over but couldn’t identify who had yelled.
Wei Qingchen, however, knew that the person, ducking low within the crowd, had deliberately shouted those words.
Such a long disturbance today, the young man’s head had just hit the floor, and now the authorities arrived immediately. Even in a storybook, it wouldn’t be this coincidental.
This trap was aimed at her.
One of the bailiffs, dressed in red, strolled over to the young man. The woman was still beside him, wailing incessantly, crying until her voice was hoarse. The red-clad bailiff reached out to feel the young man’s breath and turned to scan the crowd. “Who killed this man?”
“He’s dead! Beaten to death for real!” Another shout rose from the crowd. Some people stepped back, others pushed forward.
Wei Qingchen clasped her hands behind her back. “Which government office are you from?” Judging by his attire, he should be from the Jingzhao Prefecture, yet his face was unfamiliar.
The bailiff didn’t answer, stroking his beard as he looked at her for a long moment. Suddenly, he cupped his hands in salute. “So it is Heir Wei. This humble one has eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai. I beg your forgiveness first. Might Heir Wei have seen which villain committed this murder?”
“Heir Wei? He’s Heir Wei!” A single voice in the crowd stirred public anger. The onlookers shouted one after another. “Heir Wei killed someone! Heir Wei bullies people with his power!”
Wei Qingchen recognized that voice. It had spoken up several times today, always instigating. Whoever set this trap had done it flawlessly!
“So it was indeed Heir Wei who struck?” The bailiff’s expression changed several times. Helplessly, he said, “Even if the Emperor’s son breaks the law, he is guilty as a commoner. Heir Wei, I must ask you to come with us.” As he spoke, he waved his hand, and the several bailiffs who had come with him surged forward together.
At that moment, several long-term attendants from the Jingyuan Marquis Mansion also circled around their Heir. The two sides were momentarily at a standoff.
“Hold it!”
Just as the scene was spiraling into uncontrollable chaos, a light, clear voice rang out. Everyone looked over involuntarily.
Chu Mingxi swept her gaze around the room, her eyes finally landing on the “corpse” lying on the ground. Wei Qingchen, unwilling to drag her into this, pulled Chu Mingxi’s hand and stepped back to shield her.
“I’ll take a look.” Chu Mingxi patted Wei Qingchen’s hand reassuringly and still walked toward the young man.
“What are you doing?! Don’t you touch my son!” The woman spread her arms to block.
The bailiff also frowned. “Madam Wei, I’ve examined this man myself. He isn’t breathing.”
“How does the officer know I am Madam Wei?” Chu Mingxi asked with a pleasant smile, her eyes calm and unruffled, yet utterly devoid of warmth.
The bailiff choked for a moment and was just thinking of an explanation when Chu Mingxi had already ordered someone to bring a medicine box. Several physicians from the Medicine Hall surrounded them. The woman who had been there before looked anxious but couldn’t find an opening to interfere.
Chu Mingxi didn’t avoid the crowd. She reached out and pressed the side of the young man’s neck, nodded in understanding, then took out silver needles from the case. With a steady hand, she inserted needles into several major acupoints. The final needle, she thrust heavily into the pressure point between his thumb and forefinger.
The man on the ground let out a cry of pain and his eyes immediately flew open.
The onlookers were startled into shouting. After a cacophony of exclamations, someone, no one knew who started it, began to cheer. “The Imperial Medicine Hall has a living Bodhisattva! They brought a dead man back to life!”
The young man, having just regained consciousness, had a moment of blank confusion on his face. The bailiff and the woman, who had witnessed it all up close, both wore rather unsightly expressions.
Wei Qingchen pulled Chu Mingxi aside and asked in a low voice if she was alright. She shook her head and instead addressed the bailiff. “As the officer has seen, this man merely lost consciousness briefly. He has now awakened. He will recover after a few days of rest at home.”
The red-clad bailiff’s face was dark. He glanced at the young man, then at the woman, who still looked completely bewildered, wondering how this situation could be resolved.
The woman’s heart pounded like a drum. She hadn’t just taken money; her entire family’s lives and livelihood were held in someone else’s hands. She had no choice but to fight with everything she had!
“My son! Ah, my poor, miserable son! You were almost beaten to death!” The woman hugged her son tightly. Her heart was filled with panic and fear, and this time her tears were full of genuine emotion. Tears and mucus smeared messily across her face. “Why is my fate so bitter! Your father was just harmed by this Imperial Medicine Hall, and when you came to reason with them, you were struck by this Heir Wei whatever! My son!!! Officer, the proprietor of the Imperial Medicine Hall has crippled my husband! We came here to reason with them!”
“You’re talking nonsense! Our proprietor didn’t even see your husband for the consultation, and besides, so many days have passed since then!” Chu Kang was so angry his beard bristled as he glared furiously.
The crowd outside was chattering—some advising the woman kindly, others cursing her for being bad. The bailiff waited a moment, then said, “If that’s the case, then I must ask the proprietor of the Imperial Medicine Hall and this complainant to come with us for a trip.” As he spoke, his provocative gaze once again fell on Chu Mingxi.
What a comedic theatrical