After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

Chapter 96 Confrontation in the Hall

Zhao Wu remained calm when questioned by the prefect.

He spoke calmly and methodically: "Your Honor, I am Zhao Wu, a native of Wuqing County, and I work as a guard at Zhu's Trading Company. This is my brother, Wang Er, who also works at Zhu's Trading Company. He often suffers from headaches, and I heard that the Medicine King Sect of Zhenwu Temple distributes medicine that can cure all diseases, so I spent five hundred coins to buy one pill. Who knew that after taking it, he was in pain all over his body, bedridden, and almost lost his life! Today I have come to file this complaint and beg Your Honor to grant me justice!"

Han Zhong looked at Wang Er and saw that his face was sallow, his lips were chapped, and he looked sickly.

"Wang Er, is what you say true? If it's a false accusation, you'll be punished accordingly."

Wang Er said weakly, "My lord, I dare not lie."

Han Zhong asked a few more questions, and Zhao Wu and Wang Er answered fluently without any flaws.

He pondered for a moment, then stared at Wang Er and asked, "How can you prove that your illness was caused by taking the elixir from the Medicine King Sect?"

Wang Er said weakly, "Your Excellency, that day I had a terrible headache and no appetite all day. I didn't eat anything, just drank a few sips of water. In the afternoon, Brother Zhao Wu brought the pills, and I took them with water. Less than half an hour later, my stomach started to hurt, and then my whole body ached, like bugs were crawling in my bones. Your Excellency, you think, I didn't eat anything, just that pill. If it wasn't the pills that were the problem, what else could it be?"

Zhao Wu added from the side, "Sir, we originally wanted to go to Zhenwu Temple to confront those people from the Medicine King Sect, but who knew they would suddenly announce they were stopping the distribution of medicine! Think about it, sir, if they weren't guilty, why would they stop distributing it now of all times?"

Han Chong frowned slightly upon hearing this.

The sudden announcement by Zhenwu Temple that it would stop distributing medicine is indeed very suspicious.

Could it be that there's something wrong with the medicine?

Thinking of this, he looked at Liu Yong and said, "Go to Zhenwu Temple and ask the people from the Medicine King Sect to come and confront us."

"yes!"

Liu Yong responded and turned to leave.

About half an hour later, he returned with a person.

The man was dressed in a gray-blue Taoist robe. He was young, only about thirteen or fourteen years old, with fair skin and a hint of arrogance in his eyes. Upon entering the main hall, he didn't even glance at Wang Er and Zhao Wu kneeling on the ground, but instead bowed to Han Chong in the hall.

"This humble Daoist greets Your Excellency, Prefect."

Han Chong frowned slightly upon seeing that he was merely a young Taoist disciple: "Where is your sect leader?"

Qingfeng said calmly, "The sect leader is currently in seclusion refining pills and has no time to spare. If there is anything you need, please speak to me."

Han Zhong was somewhat displeased, but he didn't show it. He simply explained the whole story.

After listening, Qingfeng glanced at Wang Er and snorted coldly, "Impossible! The Hundred Herbs Pill of my Medicine King Sect is made from the essence of hundreds of herbs and can cure all diseases. How could it be poisoning? This person is clearly framing me!"

Wang Er struggled to lift his head: "Even in this state, you're still framing me?"

Qingfeng raised his chin: "What you are like is none of my business. Maybe you ate something dirty, or maybe you're actually seriously ill and trying to blame it on us. I've seen plenty of these kinds of troublemakers."

Zhao Wu said angrily, "How dare you speak like that, you little Taoist priest?"

Qingfeng didn't even glance at him, turning to Han Zhong and saying, "Your Excellency, let me be clear: the medicine from my Medicine King Sect is absolutely safe. If you don't believe me, you can ask the imperial physicians in the palace, or the common people who have taken the medicine. This man, on the other hand, is clearly trying to extort money!"

Han Zhong remained silent, lost in thought.

The medicines from the Medicine King Sect have been tested by the Imperial Hospital and even His Majesty has taken them. If there were any problems, something would have happened long ago.

But the Wang Er in front of him did indeed look like he was terminally ill.

As he hesitated, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the door.

Liu Yong hurried out and returned a moment later with a strange expression: "Sir, more than a dozen people have arrived outside. They've all taken the pills from the Medicine King Sect and they say—they want to file a complaint!"

Qingfeng's expression changed slightly.

Han Zhong waved his hand: "Bring him in!"

A moment later, a dozen people were led into the hall and knelt down in unison.

There were men and women, young and old, and everyone looked very unwell.

Han Zhong's heart skipped a beat upon seeing this scene, and he asked, "Did you all take the Medicine King Sect's pills and are feeling unwell?"

A middle-aged man kowtowed and said, "Your Excellency, I came from Huaiyuan. I queued for three days and finally managed to buy one Hundred Herbs Pill. After taking it, I felt dizzy, weak all over, and couldn't even walk!"

Another woman, wiping away tears, said, "My husband is the same. After taking the medicine, he vomited and had diarrhea, and he's still bedridden!"

There was also an old woman who said tremblingly, "My old woman is weak. I thought that medicine would strengthen my body, but after taking it, I felt palpitations and shortness of breath, and I couldn't sleep at night—"

Qingfeng's face turned pale and then flushed, and he said stubbornly, "You're talking nonsense! How could there be a problem with the divine medicine of my sect?"

Zhao Wu angrily retorted, "You still say there's no problem? If one or two people got sick from the food, that would be understandable, but look at so many people, it can't all be a coincidence, can it?"

Qingfeng opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't utter a word.

Han Zhong looked at him and said in a deep voice, "Qingfeng, how do you explain this?"

Qingfeng forced himself to speak, "It must be—it must be that these people were already in poor health, and they just happened to take the medicine, so they're blaming us! Your Excellency, think about it, our Medicine King Sect has distributed at least several thousand pills these past few days, why are the others unharmed?"

Han Chong stroked his beard and thought that there was some truth to it.

Just as he was about to speak, another series of footsteps came from outside the door.

Liu Yong went out again, and when he returned this time, his expression was even stranger.

"My lord, it's here again—again."

Han Chong frowned: "Who is it this time?"

Liu Yong swallowed hard: "It's Physician Xue from the Imperial Medical Academy."

Han Zhong was taken aback: "Imperial Physician Xue? What's he doing here?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a young man walked in; it was Xue Xinfu.

He was dressed in a blue official robe, with a thin face and a steady gait. After entering the main hall, he clasped his hands in a salute to Han Chong and said, "This humble official, Xue Xinfu, greets Prefect Han."

Han Chong returned the greeting, then asked with suspicion, "What brings Physician Xue here?"

Xue Xinfu glanced at the people kneeling on the ground, then at Qingfeng standing to the side, before taking out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve and placing it on the table.

"This is a herbal elixir that I have collected from the common people over the past few days. After careful examination, I found that it contains a large amount of aconite. Aconite is a potent medicine. When used properly, it can restore yang and reverse collapse; when used improperly, it is a deadly poison. The dosage of aconite in this herbal elixir is far beyond what is common. If an ordinary person takes it, they will experience dizziness and nausea in the short term, and damage their vital energy in the long term."

He paused, then looked at Qingfeng: "May I ask this young Taoist priest, why does your Medicine King Sect's Hundred Herbs Pill contain such a large dose of aconite?"

Qingfeng's face turned deathly pale, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a word.

The people kneeling on the ground immediately erupted in uproar.

"What is it? Tell me, what kind of poison is it?"

"I knew something was wrong with what I ate!"

"Liar! Give me my money back!"

Han slammed his gavel down heavily: "Silence!"

The people in the hall all fell silent, and then it became quiet.

Han Zhong stared at Qingfeng, his gaze sharp: "Qingfeng, what else do you have to say?"

Qingfeng, sweat beading on his forehead, forced himself to say, "I—I need to go back and report to the sect leader—"

Han Chong snorted coldly: "Someone, go to Zhenwu Temple and invite the sect leader of the Medicine King Sect here!"

Liu Yong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Yes!"

Just as I was about to leave, a voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"No need."

"1

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, and Qian Xuzi, the leader of the Medicine King Sect, stepped in.