Chapter 24: Master, we have suffered a great loss

“This... this...”

The bailiff stammered, unable to find his words for a long moment.

Wu Xu stepped forward decisively and snatched the pieces of Chuanwu away. “You can’t even handle such a simple task! What use are you!”

Startled, the bailiff instinctively reached out to grab them back, but as he moved, he remembered the crowd watching and barely managed to restrain himself.

The woman was also stunned. “Tung oil? Wh-what tung oil!?”

As Ye Chutang lifted her chin slightly, Ye Jingyan immediately stepped forward and pulled open an entire row of medicine cabinet drawers.

The partially dried tung oil shimmered with a faint oily luster, and a very light but unmistakable scent filled the air.

Ye Chutang said, “Actually, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, but I’ve been quite busy and couldn't find the time. It just so happens that I have some leisure lately, so I instructed A-Yan and A-Feng. However, they usually have classes at the academy, so they had to squeeze in some free time today.”

She sighed as if with regret. “The quality of this Chuanwu looks decent, but unfortunately, it can no longer be used.”

A deathly silence fell over the small courtyard, inside and out.

It would take three hours for this layer of tung oil to dry completely; however, the Chuanwu were stained with traces, proving they had just been placed inside!

The woman began to panic. She had never imagined that Ye Chutang would pull the rug out from under her like this!

Yang Zhen stared grimly at the pieces of Chuanwu. By now, anyone could see exactly what was happening!

“That’s not right!” the woman suddenly retorted shrilly. “This medicine cabinet belongs to your family, so the items must have been put in by you!”

Ye Chutang asked leisurely, “Oh? Are you suggesting that I emptied this entire cabinet, coated it in tung oil, and then specifically placed alcohol-soaked Chuanwu inside before the oil had even dried?”

The woman’s face flushed and paled in rapid succession, leaving her speechless.

Ye Chutang continued, “How interesting. Out of everything, I chose to place only the specific item that was poisonous and had harmed someone? Are you afraid people won't find it?”

A series of rhetorical questions left the woman utterly speechless.

Yang Zhen asked the woman in a heavy voice, “Do you have anything else to say?!”

The woman’s eyes darted around in panic. Finally, she simply sat on the ground and began to wail like a spoiled child, “Magistrate! I don't know! I really don't know anything! I didn't find that thing either, it has nothing to do with me!”

Hearing this, the bailiff who had previously "found" the Chuanwu widened his eyes, feeling both angry and anxious. “What do you mean by that!”

Wasn't she clearly implying that he was involved!

The woman ignored him, continuing to cry and wipe her tears, clamoring that she was being wronged.

At this point, everyone could guess what had happened. The bailiff must have planted the items in the cabinet while searching, attempting to frame them.

Furthermore, it was highly likely that he and the woman were working together; otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted on searching the clinic.

Yang Zhen’s brow furrowed deeply. “Are you going to say this here, or back at the yamen!”

Going back to the yamen meant a high probability of being subjected to torture.

Realizing things had gone wrong, the bailiff finally dropped to his knees with a thud. “My Lord! It was all her! She instructed me! She gave me fifty taels of silver to secretly plant this here! I don't know anything else!”

“Don't you dare slander me!” The woman jumped up and immediately lunged at him. “I'll tear your mouth apart!”

But she was no match for him; she had barely managed to scratch his face before being kicked aside.

Both of them looked wretched. At this stage, no one cared about anything else—survival was the only priority!

Ye Chutang raised her hand to her lips and let out a soft yawn.

She was truly tired of watching these dog-eat-dog dramas.

“Just now you said, if nothing was found, I could make you do whatever I wanted, right?”

The woman’s movements froze instantly. She looked up, her hair disheveled and her expression terrified.

The corners of Ye Chutang’s lips curled upward. “Then tell us, exactly who told you to do this?”

She had no grudge against this woman; it was obvious this was driven by profit.

She likely already had the answer in her mind, but she needed the woman to say it aloud in public.

Upon hearing the question, a flash of panic crossed the woman's eyes, and she shook her head repeatedly. “N-no! No one instructed me!”

Perhaps realizing that the truth was out and no amount of arguing would help, she simply confessed.

“It was me! I saw you for a consultation before, and I wasn't feeling well, so I wanted to get revenge! That's why I came up with this plan!”

*Clap.*

*Clap.*

*Clap.*

Ye Chutang clapped slowly and deliberately, her expression one of admiration. “To think that an ordinary woman like you would understand pharmacology well enough to know that alcohol-soaked Chuanwu is toxic, and even possess fifty taels of silver to bribe an official to do your dirty work. Truly admirable.”

Her words left the woman's face deathly pale.

Anyone with eyes could see that someone was definitely pulling the strings behind her.

Her expression shifted wildly, and then, with a sudden burst of desperation, she turned and lunged her head toward the wall!

As if she had expected this, Ye Chutang said calmly, “A-Feng.”

In the next instant, a sturdy and upright figure flashed past, intercepting the woman just in time!

It was Ye Yunfeng!

He raised his arm, grabbed the woman's wrist, and gave a violent yank!

With the sudden force, the woman didn't even have the strength to struggle before being thrown to the ground.

Ye Yunfeng snorted coldly. “Trying to seek death without speaking clearly? In your dreams! You—”

He suddenly paused, looking up at Ye Chutang in speechless exasperation.

“Sister, she fainted.”

Whether she was scared or not, no one knew.

Ye Chutang didn't mind. “As long as she isn't dead, she'll wake up eventually. Besides, isn't there still one more?”

As she spoke, she looked toward the kneeling bailiff.

Knowing he had no defense, the bailiff's face turned white as he kowtowed frantically. “I beg the Magistrate for mercy! I was only momentarily confused! Please forgive me this once!”

His forehead was bleeding from the impact, yet Yang Zhen’s expression remained icy. “This is a serious offense. Since you have done wrong, you must be punished! Men! Take him back!”

“Yes!”

As the bailiffs led the man away, Ye Chutang raised her voice and asked, “Magistrate, since this matter has been cleared up, can our clinic be unsealed now?”

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Who would have thought that the doors were sealed this morning, and in less than half a day, they would be unsealed again?

Ye Chutang had arrived and left in less than a day, having resolved the trouble.

There were still many onlookers outside the Ye Family Clinic, and they had witnessed or heard most of what had transpired.

It was impossible not to unseal it now.

Yang Zhen had no choice but to signal to the people beside him. Wu Xu immediately stepped forward and peeled the seals off the main doors.

Ye Chutang bowed to Yang Zhen. “Thank you, Magistrate, for restoring justice to the Ye Family Clinic.”

Yang Zhen, feeling irritated, gave a brief response before leading his men away, dragging the unconscious woman along with them.

The once-noisy courtyard returned to tranquility.

Inside the house, Lian Zhou, who had witnessed everything, murmured

“...Master, we just paid half a month's worth of room and board. Haven't we taken a massive loss?”

(End of Chapter)