"The young master's condition is primarily due to kidney deficiency. You are a martial artist, aren't you? I presume the practice of martial arts consumed too much of your energy, leading to internal injuries and stagnation, thus resulting in kidney deficiency." He chuckled awkwardly, his voice losing its usual coherence. Towards the end, he even raised his voice slightly to bolster his courage.
"Kidney deficiency?" Rong Zhi turned to glance at Xia Yunting. "Does my husband look like he has kidney problems?"
Receiving the cue, Xia Yunting slammed his fist onto the table. The solid wood table instantly splintered into pieces, along with the tea set and plates, shattering into smithereens.
Doctor Wang yelped and stumbled back two steps.
"I just remembered I have another appointment. Please excuse me."
Seeing the situation, he realized that making money was secondary to saving his life. He uttered a few words and made for the door, only to be grabbed by the collar.
Rong Zhi yanked him back and pushed him onto a chair. "Don't rush. I told you, I just want to discuss some medical knowledge with you. It's fine if you don't treat my husband. I'd like to ask Doctor Wang, how long have you been practicing medicine here? Or rather... how long have you been swindling money?"
As she spoke the last sentence, Rong Zhi slowed her tone, her grip on his hand tightening.
"W-what swindling money?" Doctor Wang stammered, his eyes darting around nervously. "I'm just a seller of medicine. I admit my medical skills aren't great. I figured since this young master came to see a doctor, he must have problems in that area. My medicine cures all ailments. Even if I misdiagnosed it by a point or two, this medicine won't do any harm."
What a silver tongue! With that explanation, it sounded as though everyone who came here knew their ailment and sought treatment accordingly, making it their own fault for not inquiring properly.
Rong Zhi was not fooled.
"What medicine? Let me see it."
Doctor Wang trembled as he took out a cloth bundle from his robes, containing a few pills. Rong Zhi took them, sniffed, and flung the pills directly at his face.
"Quack! You're trying to trick people with hawthorn cakes! You might as well sell hawthorn cakes directly. Pretending to be a doctor tarnishes the profession!"
Feeling still unsatisfied, she slapped him. He cried out in pain, his head lulling to the side. When he turned back, half his face had swollen into a pig's snout.
Someone outside heard the commotion and peeked through the crack in the door out of curiosity, but quickly scurried away when Xia Yunting glared at them.
Rong Zhi asked with a cold smile, "Tell me, who was your teacher? How long have you been practicing? How many people have you swindled, and how much money have you made?"
Doctor Wang, dazed by the slap, saw stars and panted with a hissing sound. He had experienced the true severity of the situation and dared not lie anymore, his voice laced with sobs.
"I... I haven't swindled many people. I just arrived four days ago. It was that old madam who said I could make money here, so I came. All the ideas were hers. It has nothing to do with me!"
"Old madam..."
The words had barely left her mouth when the door was forcefully kicked open. The old madam, flanked by a group of burly men armed with swords, spears, and clubs, blocked the entrance.
"Who dares to barge in here and cause trouble on my turf? Beat them! Beat them to death!"
The old madam placed her hands on her hips as the brawny men surged forward with great momentum.
Rong Zhi clenched her fists, her eyes chilling.
Three breaths later, the ground was littered with bodies. The brawny men wailed, clutching their knees, their weapons scattered. The old madam still wore her arrogant expression, but her eyes were filled with shock.
"Madam, please come in. I have something to discuss with you." Rong Zhi grabbed her shoulder, pulled her inside, and closed the door, cutting off the view of the onlookers.
The old madam and Doctor Wang knelt side-by-side on the floor, trembling like sieves. They exchanged glares, a hint of blame in their eyes. Doctor Wang blamed the old madam for choosing poorly, for bringing such a jinx in. The old madam blamed Doctor Wang for his lack of discernment, for provoking this person.
As they exchanged silent accusations, Rong Zhi sat down opposite them. "Madam, let me ask you first. Was it your idea to have Doctor Wang here use two worthless hawthorn pills to swindle people?"
"...Yes." The old madam's face contorted with conflicted emotions for a moment before she nodded resolutely. She feared that if she didn't agree now, she would soon be lying on the ground like those brawny men.
"How many times have you done this?"
"The first time..."
"Tell the truth!" Rong Zhi slammed her hand on the armrest. The old madam flinched and tremblingly held up three fingers. "The third time..."
"Who were you with the previous two times?"
"It was him..." The old madam pointed at Doctor Wang beside her. Suddenly, as if a thought struck her, she put on a smile. "Young lady, it was all his idea. He said he knew some medicine, and these pills wouldn't kill anyone. I was just momentarily blinded by greed, and he deceived me. I realize my mistake and will correct it. I'll immediately ask these patients outside to leave. Can you let us off the hook?"
The old madam felt a pang of regret. She thought that if the other party refused, she could always compensate with more money. However, Rong Zhi was not someone easily appeased.
"Do you know that if a patient with a serious condition came to you for treatment and you misdiagnosed them, you could be responsible for their death? You are temporarily greedy, but someone else might lose their life. Isn't that murder for profit? Do you still think you are in the right?"
"Yes, yes, yes, we were wrong."
The two dared not argue, only nodding their heads.
"You practiced medicine fraudulently and swindled money. Shall I send you to the authorities, or will you turn yourself in?"
"Ah?" Doctor Wang was dumbfounded. Prison too?
However, at this moment, the old madam beside him nudged him. He immediately reacted, nodding in agreement. "I'll go myself, I'll go myself."
The old madam also smiled apologetically. "Young lady, I will refund all the money to those patients outside. Will that be enough?"
"Hmm, that's more like it."
Rong Zhi moved aside and waved them away. "Hurry up and go!"
As if granted a great pardon, a hint of relief flashed across their faces, and they quickly ran out.
Taking advantage of this moment, Rong Zhi asked Xia Yunting, "What about that stooge who ran out earlier?"
"Tied up. Outside."
Rong Zhi nodded.
The old madam and Doctor Wang disappeared as soon as they went out. However, some patients outside, seeing that Doctor Wang did not emerge for a long time, lost their patience and left. Young Master Zhang did not leave and instead curiously approached, startled by the mess in the room.
"Doctor Lin, what happened?"
"Nothing, Doctor Wang accidentally fell while having tea."
"..." What kind of fall could cause this?
They waited in the room for a long time, but no apology message came from outside. After a while, there was a sudden sound of footsteps. A group of officers ran over and surrounded the entire room. The one in the lead immediately flashed a token upon entering. "Officers! Why are you here..." He stopped mid-sentence.
"Li Zhao?"
Rong Zhi immediately understood what was happening. So the old madam had disappeared as soon as she left to report to the officials. They arrived so quickly.
Li Zhao also felt a bit unlucky. Ever since that Prefect arrived, their group of officers had been under investigation. They had only recently been released and then heard about a disturbance at a brothel. He had expected to show off their authority, but instead, they encountered her.
Li Zhao cleared his throat. "Someone reported that you were smashing things here and maliciously injuring people. What's going on?"
Rong Zhi said, "They were using fake medicine to swindle money here. I merely couldn't stand by and watch, so I spoke a few words of justice. These people then took out knives, spears, and clubs to attack us. Is it not self-defense to fight back?"
Li Zhao looked into the room. The injured lay scattered on the floor. There were only two of them, yet they had incapacitated so many thugs. It was evident how terrifying their skills were. Li Zhao swallowed and his tone became somewhat more polite. "You claim they were selling fake medicine here. Where is the evidence?"
"Right! You have no evidence and want to frame us. You even smashed our things. You have to compensate for all of this!"
The old madam yelled loudly from behind Li Zhao, as if she had found a backer. Her demeanor changed completely. Even Doctor Wang put his hands behind his back. If half his face wasn't swollen into a pig's snout, he would have looked quite imposing.
Rong Zhi saw that they were about to turn their backs on reality.
"This is the evidence." Rong Zhi tossed something to Li Zhao. Li Zhao took it and sniffed it near his nose. "It's sour. What is this?"
"This is the medicine they were selling, for one tael of silver! Such a high price. In a pharmacy, you could buy a large bag for that. But this is just hawthorn pills that can be found everywhere on the street, and they can't cure any illness."
Li Zhao listened, and then, half-believing, broke the pill open and picked a small piece to taste. "Indeed, it tastes like hawthorn."
He turned and glared at the old madam and Doctor Wang.
The old madam panicked. "Constable, you must settle this for us. We've paid the county magistrate."
Li Zhao felt like beating her to death. With the Prefect here, the officers were already suspicious of them. The old madam's few words had directly exposed the county magistrate's private acceptance of bribes!
"Stop talking!"
He threatened her in a low voice, then turned to Rong Zhi. "We will handle this matter properly. You must have been frightened. Why don't you go back and rest for a while?"
"We are fine. Please handle this matter quickly. They must apologize to all the patients, explain the situation, and return the money. As for this doctor, you should take him back to be judged by the Prefect for how many days in prison he deserves. We discovered this matter. If it's not handled properly, we would be letting down the Prefect as well."
Well, it seemed they weren't leaving.
Li Zhao felt a headache coming on.
"In that case," he turned to the old madam. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up and return the money to them."
The old madam blinked her confused eyes, thinking, *How did this turn out differently than I expected?*
"Constable, you took money."
"Shut up!" Li Zhao reprimanded her coldly. If she continued talking, he would end up in prison too.
"The evidence is conclusive. What else do you have to say?"
"She says it's evidence, so it's evidence? How can she be sure that pill was given by Doctor Wang? This is clearly a frame-up!"
Seeing that Li Zhao was unreliable, the old madam decided to go all out. After all, a large part of the people in this building were her people, and the rest were her regular customers. Having been in this business for so many years, she still had some skill in twisting facts. She didn't believe he couldn't turn a living person into a dead one!
This commotion attracted quite a bit of attention. With the arrival of the officers, many people came to watch the spectacle.
Rong Zhi raised her eyebrows. This old madam, doesn't she think the situation is chaotic enough? It seems she wants to stay in prison for a few more days.