I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

"And me! My mother bought some calming soup from you, and after drinking it, she had nightmares every night. She almost went crazy!"

"My son's cough got worse after taking your medicine, and he even coughed up blood! You owe me money, or you'll give me back my son's life!"

"Damn it! Last month I had diarrhea, took some medicine from Huichuntang, and almost died in the outhouse! It turns out it was poison on top of poison!"

Each and every accusation was filled with heartbreaking pain.

"Kill him!"

"That utterly depraved beast!"

"Send him to the county government! Make him pay with his life!"

"A blood debt must be paid in blood!"

Someone shouted first, and the villagers swarmed forward!

They broke through the weak resistance of the Huichuntang staff and surrounded Qian Defa.

"Don't come any closer! What are you trying to do!"

Qian Defa was so scared that he wet himself.

A hand grabbed his collar and slapped him across the face.

"what!"

Qian Defa let out a miserable scream.

Having lived a life of luxury, he had never suffered such hardship.

Countless hands reached out, tearing at his clothes and scratching his face.

His hat was knocked off, and his silk jacket was torn into strips.

"Spare me! Fellow villagers, spare me!"

"It wasn't me, I was deceived too! It was the herbal medicine merchants! It was the herbal medicine merchants from the south who ruined me!"

Even at this point, he was still trying to make excuses and shirk all responsibility.

But this only earned him the fists and kicks of his fellow villagers.

"Tie him up! Take him to the authorities!"

"Yes! Take them to the county yamen! Please, Magistrate Zhang, do us justice!"

Several men tied Qian Defa up tightly.

Qian Defa was still struggling desperately, but it was all in vain.

......

The county government hall.

"mighty."

The yamen runners lined up on both sides.

Outside the hall, people were gathered in layers.

County Magistrate Zhang Jing sat upright behind his desk.

He slammed the gavel!

"Who is kneeling below? State your name at once!"

Qian Defa collapsed to his knees on the ground.

"This humble citizen, Qian Defa, kowtows to Your Excellency, the County Magistrate."

Zhang Jing snorted coldly.

"Qian Defa! How dare you! As a doctor, you should be dedicated to healing and saving lives, but you are blinded by greed, using poison as medicine, harming the villagers, and disregarding human life! Every single one of these crimes is irrefutable. What else do you have to say?"

Qian Defa kowtowed several times.

"Your Honor, I'm innocent! This humble subject is innocent!"

"Even if I had the greatest courage, I wouldn't dare to joke with the lives of my fellow villagers! Huichuntang has been operating in Liuxi Town for decades, relying on the word-of-mouth of the neighbors. How could I dig my own grave?"

"I'm a victim too, sir!"

He pointed outside the hall.

"It was them! The herbal medicine merchants from the south! They cheated me! I bought a batch of herbs from them, only to find they were poisoned! I was deceived! Your Honor, please investigate! Your Honor must do me justice!"

The crowd outside the hall erupted in uproar.

"Bullshit! You're still trying to argue even now!"

"A herbal medicine merchant from the South? Why don't you just say the gods in heaven tricked you?"

"Who would believe such nonsense! Lord Zhang, don't be fooled by him!"

Zhang Jing frowned.

Of course, he didn't believe Qian Defa's nonsense.

But the key to handling cases is evidence.

Witnesses included poisoned workers and civilians.

The physical evidence is not conclusive enough.

Qian Defa insisted that the problem lay with the upstream pharmaceutical company, and that if irrefutable evidence couldn't be found in his own territory...

He might mess up the case and delay it.

"grown ups."

Zhao Zian stepped out from the crowd.

Zhang Jing felt relieved when he saw Zhao Zian.

My virtuous brother would never speak without reason.

"What insightful opinion does Dr. Zhao have?"

Zhao Zian stepped forward.

"Sir, whether what Manager Qian said is true or not, we will leave that aside for now."

He took out a paper packet from his sleeve and presented it with both hands.

"This is a sample of licorice that I personally took from the counter of Huichuntang just now. It is the ingredient in the licorice soup that those poisoned employees drank."

A constable stepped forward and presented the evidence to Zhang Jing.

Zhang Jing opened the oil paper package, and a pungent odor wafted out.

Zhao Zian continued.

"Relying solely on Manager Qian's word is indeed insufficient. In my humble opinion, uncovering the truth is actually quite simple."

"As the largest pharmacy in Liuxi Town, Huichuntang must have a warehouse for storing medicinal herbs. We only need to immediately send people to seal off Huichuntang's warehouse and inspect all the stored herbs in front of the entire town. Then, whether the poison came from the so-called southern pharmaceutical merchant or was hidden in Manager Qian's own warehouse will naturally become clear!"

The audience erupted in cheers!

"Yes! Check his pharmacy!"

"Let's expose his past! Let's see how he tries to deny it now!"

"Dr. Zhao is right! This method is excellent!"

Qian Defa was struck dumb!

The medicine storehouse, inside the medicine storehouse...

Zhang Jingyi slammed the gavel!

"Alright! We'll do as Doctor Zhao says!"

"Someone come here!"

"Present!" Two constables stepped forward.

"I hereby order you to immediately take my token and proceed to Huichuntang at full speed to seal off its rear pharmacy! No one is permitted to approach it; any violator will be treated as an accomplice! Report back immediately after sealing it off!"

"Yes, sir!"

The two constables took the token and turned to leave.

About an incense stick later.

Report.

A yamen runner returned to the court and knelt on one knee.

"Lord Qi, the Huichuntang pharmacy has been sealed off. The main gate is sealed and guarded by four brothers. No outsiders can enter!"

Zhang Jing nodded.

"Court is here immediately! Send the convict Qian to Huichun Hall! I, the official, will personally open the medicine storehouse and inspect the medicines in front of the entire town, to restore justice to Liuxi Town!"

"mighty."

The bailiffs shouted in unison.

A large group of people set off from the county government office, escorting Qian Defa, and headed to Huichuntang.

At the entrance of Huichuntang.

Zhang Jing walked to the door and glanced at Zhao Zian beside him.

Zhao Zian nodded slightly.

"Tear off the seal!"

Zhang Jing gave the order.

The bailiffs stepped forward and tore open the seal.

The wooden door was pushed open.

The medicinal herbs were moldy and had a pungent odor.

Zhang Jing frowned.

"Light the torches and search inside! Don't overlook anything suspicious!"

"yes!"

Several yamen runners, holding torches aloft, went inside.

Zhao Zian followed him inside.

The medicine storehouse was very large, with wooden shelves piled high with medicinal herbs.

"Let's go take a look over there."

Zhao Zian pointed to that corner.

A constable carrying a torch walked over and lifted the tarpaulin.

Under the tarpaulin were more than a dozen burlap sacks.

The constable untied the rope of one of the sacks and held the torch closer.

The bag contained a dark brown, rhizome-like medicinal herb.

"Dr. Zhao, what is this?"

The bailiff asked.

Zhao Zian stepped forward and picked up a small piece.

This aura...

Soul-Severing Grass!

This herb is colorless and odorless, but its toxicity is latent and requires specific processing methods to unleash its potent poison.

Once poisoned, the toxins can invade the internal organs and damage the heart.

Moreover, this preparation method is extremely secretive and cannot be mastered by ordinary people.