Seeing Li Qing nod, Lu Qing Wan was delighted, "This is truly too interesting!
Feng Qing Heng had just proposed to forcefully take me as his concubine, and now someone appears accusing me of seizing someone else's property.
Let's not wait for them to report to the authorities. Li Qing, immediately invite the Jing Zhao Yin to Bai Xing Lin and escort them over with gongs and drums.
Prepare the carriage. I want to see whose hand is so long that they dare to reach into my courtyard to pluck peaches?"
Shen Tang Zhou stood in place, unsure whether to go or stay. "Wang Fei, then your subordinate...?"
Lu Qing Wan was already preparing to change her clothes when she heard his voice and remembered his presence.
She asked again, "By the way, is the headquarters of Bai Xing Lin located in Da Qian?"
"Yes, Wang Fei, it's roughly in the area of Qin Zhou..."
Shen Tang Zhou muttered to himself, "Speaking of which, Qin Zhou is also under Nan Zhi Li?
Wang Fei, could the people from Bai Xing Lin headquarters also have been stirred up by the new Emperor?"
Lu Qing Wan did not answer him, but spoke to herself, "Hurry and find me the procedures required for Bai Xing Lin headquarters to open branches everywhere. I'll read them on the way."
After speaking, she went directly into the inner chamber. Through the screen, Li Qing and Shen Tang Zhou heard her sighing faintly, "Feng Qing Heng, you truly are relentless in courting disaster!"
In less than half a year, Bai Xing Lin had become the leader in the medical industry in Shang Jing City.
As soon as the news spread that someone was trying to seize Bai Xing Lin, the common people of Shang Jing City were more eager than the Jing Zhao Yin, who was trying to find fault with Lu Qing Wan and flatter Feng Qing Heng.
They all wanted to see who was so bold as to dare to provoke the Regent's Consort at this time.
Therefore, when Lu Qing Wan arrived, the area outside Bai Xing Lin was crowded with people, and the entrance was bustling. She, the legitimate owner of Bai Xing Lin, could barely squeeze in.
Ying Yi, with no other choice, imitated the eunuchs in the palace and shouted loudly, "The Regent's Consort has arrived!"
Only then did the surging crowd part.
A throng of people squeezed together like a ball of yarn, yet they still knelt to pay their respects, "Greetings, Regent's Consort!"
The originally crowded area instantly cleared as everyone knelt. Lu Qing Wan's vision immediately broadened. Walking through the path that people had willingly cleared, she raised her hand and said, "All of you, please rise."
The crowd thanked her and then squeezed together again.
Lu Qing Wan did not have anyone drive them away. She elegantly walked into Bai Xing Lin and said in a clear voice, "I heard someone wants to compete with this consort for Bai Xing Lin?"
"Regent's Consort, what you said is not entirely accurate. Bai Xing Lin has always belonged to us, so how can it be called seizing?"
The speaker was an elder who looked like a divine doctor, with a scholarly demeanor.
At that moment, he was sitting in the main hall of Bai Xing Lin. Seeing Lu Qing Wan, he did not stand up and merely stroked his beard, saying, "All Bai Xing Lin establishments are one family. It was indeed Bai Xing Lin's fortune that the Regent's Consort once practiced medicine here.
However, even though this branch became famous because of the Regent's Consort, she cannot occupy the nest and claim Bai Xing Lin as her own, can she?"
"If something belongs to others, this consort will naturally not occupy their nest. But if something belongs to this consort, and someone tries to forcibly pluck it, then their hand will be chopped off."
Lu Qing Wan raised an eyelid and said coldly, "You say this establishment is a branch of your Bai Xing Lin. Do you have any proof?
Transaction records, contract data, even if the land deed has your names on it, this consort can return this place to you.
But the premise is that you must present evidence that convinces this consort."
On her way here, she had read the intelligence provided by Shen Tang Zhou. A hundred years ago, Bai Xing Lin still provided premises, dispatched doctors, and supplied medicinal herbs to its branches.
But in recent decades, Bai Xing Lin's headquarters had been running at a deficit. Let alone dispatching doctors and supplying medicinal herbs, they had even sold their premises.
This Bai Xing Lin, apart from its signboard, was entirely built up by Meng Tang's grandfather. It had nothing to do with Bai Xing Lin, not even a copper coin.
But she knew that Feng Qing Heng had gone to great lengths to find these people, and they would not easily retreat.
As expected, when the elder heard Lu Qing Wan's words, he did not present account records or mention what contributions he had made to Bai Xing Lin.
He firmly clung to the point of the signboard, with full confidence, "Proof?
The three words 'Bai Xing Lin' are the proof. Although my Bai Xing Lin has declined now, in the past, it was comparable to Medicine King Valley. Can it bully a small establishment?
Moreover, when we reclaim our own establishment, why would we need proof?
The Regent's Consort is using the Regent's influence to show off. Did those people who knelt to you and bowed nine times ask for any credentials?"
This time, it was a young man beside the elder who spoke. He was dressed like a scholar but seemed to have "I am rich" written all over his forehead.
At that moment, he looked at Lu Qing Wan from head to toe as if appraising an object. Ying Yi saw this and stepped forward, kicking the man in the stomach.
"The Wang Fei is willing to reason with you here because she does not want the people of Shang Jing to return to the plight of being unable to afford medical treatment when sick.
Do you really think she's giving you face? If you can't control those eyes, it's better to do without them!"
Speaking of which, he landed two punches, giving the young man a pair of black eyes.
The young man groaned, at a loss whether to moan about his stomach or cover his eyes.
The elder was also stunned by Ying Yi's brutal assault. Seeing Lu Qing Wan watching leisurely and not reprimanding Ying Yi, he became angry and said, "What does the Regent's Consort mean by this? Are you going to bully people to the end with your power?"
"Bullying with power?"
Lu Qing Wan scoffed, "You are probably too unworldly. If the people of the Regent's Mansion were to bully with power, it wouldn't be such a minor squabble."
She said, turning and walking out of Bai Xing Lin, staring at the three gilded characters and tilting her head, "You want the signboard of Bai Xing Lin?
Come on, take this signboard down and return it to them."
This turn of events truly confused the onlookers.
The Jing Zhao Yin, who was hiding behind the crowd, ready to act when the opportunity arose, stood there, caught between a rock and a hard place.
His subordinate whispered, "My lord, shouldn't we go over there now?"
The constable was an old subordinate of the former Jing Zhao Yin, Han Guang, and had been fortunate enough to witness Lu Qing Wan's formidable methods with Han Guang. At this moment, he kindly reminded his new superior.
"The Regent's Consort has always acted unconventionally. If we don't go out now, this matter may be difficult to resolve!"
The Jing Zhao Yin did not believe it. "Although Bai Xing Lin is not what it used to be, it was once a renowned establishment. How could it not be able to handle a mere woman?"
Saying this, he stood there leisurely, waiting for the elder and the young man to solidify the crime of Lu Qing Wan bullying with power and seizing property.
When Lu Qing Wan said she would take down the signboard, the doctors and staff of Bai Xing Lin had not yet reacted, but the onlookers collectively shouted, "Wang Fei, you cannot!"
Although the onlookers were bored, they didn't just watch any gossip.
Most of those who came here were concerned about Bai Xing Lin, and a significant portion of them were patients or their family members who had been treated at Bai Xing Lin.
It was rare to have a place where one could get medical treatment and have the backing of the court, so no one was willing to see it change hands for no reason.