maidservant

Chapter 122 "Parental Officials" and "Benevolent and Righteous Government Office"

"What are you doing!" The men were shocked and furious, and jumped out of the car to fight with one of them.

During the struggle, Afu tore off the man's waist tag and hid it in his sleeve, then used the momentum to scratch his ear. However, he was no match for the man's strength and was seriously injured on the ground, unable to get up.

The other burly men remained silent, rushing towards the second carriage and trampling on the medicinal herbs inside. The workers tried to stop them, but the men forcefully pushed them away.

"How dare you be so arrogant in broad daylight!"

"One of the men roared angrily. The burly men sneered a few times, one of them spitting and saying viciously:"

"If you know what's good for you, get out of here and don't ever come here to buy medicinal herbs again!"

After saying that, the group of burly men quickly disappeared into the woods by the roadside.

The workers were furious and anxious as they looked at the trampled and damaged medicinal herbs on the ground. Their eyes were red with tears. Helpless, they could only quickly gather up the remaining herbs and rush back to Xinglin Chuntang to report the news.

Inside the Xinglin Chuntang pharmacy, Yun Shan's face instantly darkened after hearing the waiter's tearful account; her eyebrows furrowed, and her eyes blazed with anger.

"This is outrageous! Zhou Fu is so unscrupulous!"

It's natural to be anxious when encountering something like this for the first time. And upon learning that the medicinal herbs were of inferior quality, Yunshan knew she had offended a petty person.

After calming down, Yunshan sorted out her thoughts:

"The most urgent task is to find evidence to dispel the rumors on their own," Yun Shan said to the servant beside her. "You should first visit the patients you cured before and collect their written testimonies."

The staff visited each patient's home, patiently explaining their purpose. Upon hearing of the injustice suffered by Xinglin Chuntang, the patients were filled with righteous indignation and readily wrote down their testimonies; some even volunteered to testify on their behalf.

Yunshan simply closed the shop for a day, fearing that without everyone around, villains might disrespect Doctor Feng or cause trouble at the clinic.

She rushed to the medicinal herb supply office without stopping.

"We hope that everyone can testify to the quality of the medicinal materials from Xinglin Chuntang. We are truly wronged by the malicious slander against us."

Yunshan took out the list of medicinal herbs to be purchased, which had the handwriting of each shopkeeper on it.

They couldn't shirk this responsibility. If they ignored it, people would implicate them in the problem with their medicine, which would be detrimental to them. So they immediately issued a certificate of the quality of the medicinal materials.

The thugs who blocked the road and robbed medicinal herbs had already violated the laws of Dali. Back at the clinic, Yunshan arranged to strengthen the guards when the staff went out, and at the same time sent someone to report to the government, explaining in detail the recent malicious sabotage incidents and requesting the government to intervene and investigate.

On his way there, Zhanqian stopped Yunshan and said, "Miss, you don't know the true face of this official. If you go to file a complaint, you may be shirked." With that, he took Yunshan's complaint and flew off to the government office.

Yun Shan hurried after him, but couldn't catch up with him.

It's unclear what Zhanqian said to the official, or if he simply showed his face without saying much, but in any case, the magistrate had already set up the courtroom, waiting for Yunshan to arrive.

In the courtroom, the atmosphere was solemn and dignified. Yun Shan stood tall and straight, showing no fear. The magistrate sat high on his throne, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd, displaying the demeanor of a just and righteous official. Yun Shan took a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed, saying:

"My lord, I am Yun Shan from Xinglin Chuntang. Recently, my Xinglin Chuntang has been repeatedly vandalized, and the culprit is Zhou Fu from Jishengtang. I noticed something was wrong before and reported it to the authorities."

The official carefully examined the complaint, then his gaze drifted absently to the back of the hall. Yun Shan, unaware that Zhan Qian was drinking the official's treasured Maojian tea in the back of the hall, only noticed that the official's expression was growing increasingly grim.

Seeing that he remained silent, Yunshan continued indignantly:
"Zhou Fu secretly instructed his men to sabotage the route my Xinglin Chuntang takes to purchase medicinal herbs. When my clinic's staff went to buy fresh herbs from farmers outside the city, several burly men suddenly appeared and deliberately overturned the carriage, scattering the herbs all over the ground, many of which were trampled and damaged. Those are all medicinal herbs that can cure diseases and save lives! His actions are truly heinous!"

As he spoke, he handed over the bandit's waist tag that his waiter had torn off that day: "That day, one of my waiters scratched a man's left ear, causing it to bleed profusely. Sir, you can send someone to investigate."

A familiar cough came from behind the courtroom, and the official slammed his gavel, shouting, "You four, go and gather the evidence! You two, bring Zhou Fu and the others to the courtroom!"

Zhou Fu was escorted to the court by the yamen runners. At first, he pretended to be calm, denied everything, and looked at the magistrate with an indifferent expression.

Unexpectedly, the official coldly said, "Zhou Fu, do you think you've covered your tracks perfectly? There are witnesses and physical evidence. How long do you intend to deny it?"

As the government presented the collected witness testimonies, investigation records, and other irrefutable evidence, Zhou Fu's face gradually turned pale, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees with a thud, unable to defend himself any longer.

"Zhou Fu, for your own selfish gain, you maliciously disrupted others' business operations. Your actions were egregious and disturbed public order. You are hereby sentenced..."

Upon hearing the verdict, Zhou Fu collapsed to the ground, filled with remorse, while Yun Shan breathed a long sigh of relief.

The crowd outside the yamen applauded and cheered. Zhan Qian patted the official on the shoulder from behind the hall, "Lord Fu is truly a good official who cares for the people and is not afraid of powerful figures. I will definitely tell General Lin the truth."

The official nodded and yawned, his smile more painful than a grimace.

The troublemakers have been caught, but the Koubei issue still needs to be addressed.

Inside the clinic, Yunshan and her colleagues worked through the night, meticulously compiling the collected handwritten testimonies from patients into a thick booklet.

Yunshan also posted the quality certificates issued by the herbal medicine suppliers in the most conspicuous place in the clinic.

To further clarify the facts, Yunshan specially invited a renowned pharmacist from the city to appraise the medicinal materials.

On the day of the appraisal, a large crowd gathered outside the clinic. The pharmacist carefully examined each medicinal herb and finally announced to the public: "The medicinal herbs from Xinglin Chuntang are of superior quality and impeccable!" The people nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Yunshan set up a free clinic at the entrance of the clinic. Dr. Feng, dressed in a plain robe, sat steadily in front of the clinic, patiently answering questions and providing free treatment to the people.

Yun Shan stood to the side, her voice clear and strong, recounting the real-life cases of various patients. Recovered patients also eagerly went on stage to share their treatment experiences at Xinglin Chuntang.

"My chronic illness had been cured by visiting many clinics, but I never expected that a few doses of medicine at Xinglin Chuntang would be effective!" an elderly man said excitedly.

As the people listened and watched, their doubts gradually dissipated. Those once rampant rumors were utterly refuted in the face of these irrefutable facts.

What was a vicious attack, handled properly, turned into a positive event. Yunshan also remembered Afu's quick wit and kindness.