I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

"Move all these sacks out!"

"yes!"

The constables got to work and carried more than a dozen sacks into the courtyard.

Zhao Zian said to Zhang Jing.

"My lord, please allow me to inspect the site on the spot."

"allow!"

Zhao Zian took out a set of silver needles from his medicine box and asked the yamen runner to bring him a bowl of water.

He took out the root of the Soul-Severing Grass, pierced its skin with a silver needle, and immersed the silver needle in clear water.

The once clear water turned purplish-black after the silver needle was inserted!

The onlookers gasped in shock!

"Oh my god! It's really poisonous!"

"What...what the hell is this?!"

"You deserve to get paid! You damned beast!"

The outcry erupted once again.

Zhao Zian did not stop.

He ordered the bailiffs to open all the sacks.

"Please take a look, sir."

"These so-called licorice herbs are mixed with at least 20% powdered 'soul-severing grass' (a type of medicinal herb). The two are similar in color, and their smell is masked by the sweet fragrance of licorice, making it impossible for ordinary doctors to distinguish them. Once decocted, their toxicity will be activated."

He then pointed to another sack.

"And the same goes for these astragalus roots."

"These, these, everything is problematic!"

Qian Defa, in order to save costs and make huge profits.

Almost all the best-selling medicinal herbs in his shop contain some powder of the herb *Schizophyllum commune*!

This explains why so many people developed all sorts of strange illnesses after taking his medicine!

Because what they were eating wasn't medicine at all, but poison in varying doses!

The truth is revealed!

The proof is like a mountain!

"The money needs to be distributed!"

Zhang Jing shouted sternly.

"Now that things have come to this, what do you have to say?"

Qian Defa is devastated.

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

"I did it... I did it all..."

"In Liuxi Town, Huichuntang has always dominated the medicinal herb business. But in recent years, the price of medicinal herbs has been rising higher and higher, and the cost of transporting them from the south is frighteningly high. I don't want to raise prices too much, for fear of losing old customers, but I can't bear to part with that money..."

"A medicine merchant from out of town approached me. He said he had a batch of top-quality licorice and astragalus, priced at only 30% of the market price. I was immediately tempted; I was completely bewitched!"

"I inspected the goods and found that many of the medicinal herbs were moldy and covered in green mildew. But that damned merchant told me it didn't matter, just fumigate them with sulfur, dry them, and they'd turn golden yellow, look perfectly good, and no one would be able to tell!"

"sulfur?!"

The old herbalist exclaimed in surprise.

"Medicinal herbs treated with that stuff lose all their medicinal properties and become poisonous!"

"right……"

Qian Defa cried and wailed.

"I used sulfur! I bought three whole cartloads of moldy medicinal herbs and secretly fumigate them in the backyard. The smoke was so choking that I could hardly breathe, and the phlegm I coughed up was yellow. But when I thought about how much money I could save, I just... I just..."

He couldn't continue speaking.

"What about the Soul-Severing Grass?"

Zhang Jing's voice was icy.

"Moldy medicinal herbs are one thing, but what about this highly poisonous substance?!"

Qian Defa shuddered.

"That same merchant sold it to me. He said it's called 'Adding Weight Grass,' and that grinding it into powder and mixing it with other medicinal herbs can increase the dosage. The color and smell are almost identical; even a deity couldn't tell the difference. He said many medicine merchants in the south do this..."

Qian Defa's voice grew softer and softer.

"I tried it, and you really can't tell. I mixed 20% into licorice, 15% into astragalus, and also angelica, atractylodes... I mixed in anything that sells well. I'm worse than an animal! I'm not human! I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

For money.

Just for those yellow and white things.

Qian Defa didn't hesitate to use moldy medicinal herbs, poisonous sulfur, and even highly toxic poisonous herbs to harm his fellow villagers.

After a long silence, Zhang Jing finally spoke.

"Qian Defa, for your own selfish gain, you have harmed the villagers with counterfeit and poisonous medicines. Your crimes are heinous and beyond description! I hereby announce the confiscation of all assets of Huichuntang to compensate the victims! Criminal Qian Defa..."

Two claps suddenly rang out.

It's Zhao Zi'an.

Zhang Jing stopped.

"Brother Zi'an, what's wrong with you...?"

The case has been solved, and Qian Defa has confessed. What else is there to ask?

Zhao Zian glanced in the direction of the crowd.

Two figures squeezed out.

They knelt down before Zhao Zian!

"Dr. Zhao."

"You...you all..."

Qian Defa's lips trembled.

Zhao Zian cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Zhang Jing.

"Lord Zhang, this case is not yet closed."

"Qian Defa's crimes go far beyond this."

"This humble citizen also wants to report another serious crime he committed!"

Zhang Jing asked in a deep voice.

"Oh? Brother Zi'an, please speak freely!"

Zhao Zian pointed to the two people kneeling on the ground.

"This commoner wants to report this, and the manager of Huichuntang has to be paid! To hire a killer!"

"Who is he going to kill?!"

Someone in the crowd couldn't help but shout out.

Zhao Zian's gaze swept over Qian Defa.

"He wants to kill me."

This statement caused an uproar among the crowd.

"What? Kill Doctor Zhao?"

"My God! Has this guy gone mad with money?!"

Zhang Jing's face also darkened.

"Are you telling the truth? Suing someone for hiring a killer is no joke! Do you have any evidence?"

"The evidence certainly exists."

Zhao Zian smiled calmly.

"Brother Fu, you tell us."

Fu Da raised his head and faced Zhang Jing.

"Reporting to Your Excellency, my name is Fu Da, and this is my brother Fu Er. We brothers were indeed hired by Qian Defa to assassinate Doctor Zhao."

"Nonsense! You're talking nonsense!"

Qian Defa screamed.

"I don't know you at all! Who are you? You were hired by Zhao Zi'an to frame me! Yes! That must be it! Lord Zhang, you must investigate! This is a frame-up!"

Zhang Jing ignored his roar and stared at the bat.

"Are you assassins?"

"Yes."

Fu Da answered decisively.

"We brothers take people's money and do their bidding."

Why would Qian Defa hire you to assassinate Zhao Zi'an?

Zhang Jing pressed for further details.

"Jishetang stole a lot of business from Huichuntang. He was afraid that if he lost to Doctor Zhao in the competition, Huichuntang would be unable to continue operating."

The bat paused for a moment.

"So, he offered two hundred taels of silver to have my brother and me end Doctor Zhao's life before the medical skills competition. He said that as long as Doctor Zhao died, Willow Creek Town would still be under Qian Defa's control."

"You...you're spouting nonsense!"

Qian Defa is still making a last-ditch effort.

"You said I gave you two hundred taels, where's the proof? Where's the silver? Show it to me!"

Bat sneered.

He took out his money pouch from his pocket and handed it to the yamen runner.

The bailiff took the money bag and presented it to Zhang Jing.

Inside were twenty ingots of ten-tael official silver, and the bottom of each ingot was engraved with the name of the Qian family.

"Manager Qian, do you recognize this Qian family mark?"