Chapter 28

Had it not been on the main street, with fear that passersby would say the Prince Rong's manor was throwing its weight around, bullying and humiliating a court official and disgracing the court, the manor's servants would have come straight over to slap Magistrate Cai a few hard slaps.

It's not that the Prince Rong's manor is throwing its weight around; it's that these petty officials' extortion and graft are something everyone knows full well.

I never expected they'd dare to extort even the physician specially appointed by the prince!

The manor's servant gave a light cough, glared, and said:

"Magistrate Cai, is it really true that...? If you need to shut down and cease business, you can enforce the law impartially; at worst we'll go back and ask the prince to wait a few days."

Magistrate Cai naturally knew this was just official talk for the masses; if he went back and told the prince, would he still have his life?

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! The Cang Medical Clinic really doesn't need to shut down and cease business!"

Seeing Magistrate Cai's face turn deathly pale, Jiang Yunzhou turned and asked:

"Magistrate Cai, that's strange then—if there's no problem, why would you show up at our Cang Medical Clinic for no reason to investigate? Could it be aimed at us?"

"How could it be! Young Master Jiang, you're really joking—I am—"

Seeing Magistrate Cai tense and speechless, Jiang Yunzhou gave a sideways glance at Yu Tieying, who stood behind with a black line on his face, and said:

"Magistrate Cai isn't targeting us...... I get it—someone must have reported us. Since our Cang Medical Clinic has no problem, it must be someone framing us, right?"

Seeing Jiang Yunzhou look at Yu Tieying, Magistrate Cai immediately understood his meaning.

"Exactly, exactly! That's right—someone is framing us! Men, arrest Yu Tieying! Groundlessly framing the Cang Medical Clinic—I'll definitely investigate thoroughly when I go back and give Young Master Jiang an explanation!"

Originally, it was because Yu Tieying had bribed me to cause trouble for the Cang Medical Clinic; although we had some acquaintance, compared to my future and life, I still clearly knew which was more important.

Moreover, just now when Jiang Yunzhou said he'd cured the prince's consort's eyes, I already had my doubts, fearing to offend the Prince Rong's manor, and this damned Yu Tieying actually swore up and down that it was false!

Otherwise, how would I find myself in this predicament? At this moment, pushing him out as a scapegoat is just right.

A few constables nearby, hearing this, stepped forward and directly bound Yu Tieying; in this situation he couldn't really resist.

Yu Tieying was also seething with anger; he originally thought that if he couldn't win them over, he could still use his connections to get the Cang Medical Clinic shut down, but he never expected it would backfire on him.

The people from the Hua Shou Pavilion were the same—they didn't even know that this kid had cured the prince's consort's illness.

Yu Tieying, despite being bound, when he walked up beside Jiang Yunzhou, turned sideways and whispered:

"Young Master Jiang, need you go this far? There's no need to alarm the authorities; we're both jianghu people, we can settle this among ourselves."

Jiang Yunzhou snorted coldly, thinking, 'This guy can't pull off using official connections, and now he's starting to talk jianghu to me?'

He immediately feigned fright and stepped back two paces, saying:

"Magistrate Cai! Chief Yu told me to wait! Does this count as threatening innocent civilians? You'd better guarantee the safety of us unarmed healers!"

Yu Tieying, who had wandered the jianghu for so many years, never expected that Jiang Yunzhou, as a half‑jianghu person and moreover a healer, could be so shameless.

Before he could even explain, Magistrate Cai behind him kicked him squarely in the buttocks, sending him stumbling.

When it came time to show his stance, Magistrate Cai naturally didn't mince words; after kicking Yu Tieying, he slapped his chest and declared righteously:

"Please rest assured, Young Master Jiang; it is my duty to see that such repression and retaliation will never happen! Also, please sir, go back and tell the prince that we will surely keep this region peaceful."

Looking at his solemn, earnest expression, there was not a trace of the ruffian‑like behavior he'd shown just moments ago in the clinic's rear hall.

No wonder they say those with poor acting go into acting, while those with good acting go into officialdom.

The manor's servant, seeing this scene, turned and smiled at Jiang Yunzhou, saying:

"Since everything's fine now, we'll head back to make our report, and await Young Master Jiang's visit for treatment."

Magistrate Cai, wearing a fawning smile, followed the manor's people as they headed toward the inner city.

After watching the spectacle, the outside crowd dispersed on the spot; as the people scattered, naturally there was also the news that Jiang Yunzhou had healed Prince Ning Le's consort's eyes.

Everyone returned to the clinic, more or less feeling dazed; they had just been preparing to close up, but they hadn't expected to encounter the prince's reward, and besides their surprise they naturally first congratulated Jiang Yunzhou on his award.

Only then did Shen Qingshu tell everyone what had happened yesterday.

The physician Liu Kuo of the Cang Medical Hall couldn't help but exclaim in admiration:

"Yunzhou, you're really something—you silently took on the Prince Rong's golden list and even cured the princess; truly, your skill is great and your courage bold."

The physician beside him nodded and said:

"Even more impressive is that you dared to openly rebuke the Director of the Imperial Medical Bureau—how satisfying! If I had done that, and even slapped his face on the spot, being exiled would have been worth it, yet you managed to hold your tongue and not tell us!"

Jiang Yunzhou explained:

"It's not that the princess's eyes aren't fully healed yet; besides, I'm worried about offending the Imperial Medical Bureau and Huashou Pavilion, which would implicate all of you as well."

Liu Kuo laughed and said:

"You're underestimating us—you're young and unafraid, while we, half-buried in the earth, still worry? To speak plainly: everyone in this Cang Medical Hall, from the proprietor down to the assistants, would have already defected to Huashou Pavilion if we wanted to collude with them; we're just stubborn folk who want to earn an honest meal."

So we've long been prepared to shut down; we only lament that we lack your ability to let the Cang Medical Hall compete with Huashou Pavilion. Since you have that ability, we certainly won't let you down.

Looking at the pairs of eyes turned toward him, Jiang Yunzhou felt a stir in his heart, smiled, and nodded:

"It was my rudeness!"

Not long after, the stuttering herbal doctor Cao Zhi instructed his assistant to hang the "Miao Shou Dan Xin" plaque in the center of the clinic.

The assistant stood on a chair, holding the plaque, turned around and asked:

"Mr. Cao, is the position alright?"

"Hang... hang... hang..."

The assistant beside him hurriedly hammered the nail in; after two strikes, he heard the second half of Cao Zhi's words from behind:

"Hang... it's crooked!"

"......"

Uncle Hu reluctantly glanced at the gold cakes on the tray, but fearing to delay meeting his old friend, he still left first.

Jiang Yunzhou thought it over and handed the hundred taels of gold to Shen Qingshu, who hurriedly refused:

"Yunzhou, this is a personal reward from the prince; just accept it."

"If it weren't for Sister Qingshu's introduction, I couldn't have earned this money; it should be ours together—could Sister Qingshu hold it for me first?"

Sister Qingshu isn't as greedy for wealth; keeping it here puts my mind at ease—the key is to keep it with myself, in case Uncle Hu comes borrowing again some day.

Okay, then I'll help you open a separate account to save the money, and I'll give it to you when you need it.

As soon as he lifted his head, he saw Jiang Yunzhou shaking his empty money pouch, gazing at him pleadingly.

"Sister Qingru, I'm out of money."

Without hesitation, he handed over a hundred taels of gold to himself, then asked himself for pocket money, really making Shen Qingru unable to hold back her laughter.

After giving Jiang Yunzhou another ten taels of silver, Shen Qingru felt it was truly a bit like a married couple running a small shop, managing the household—her husband earning money outside while she handled the household expenses.

The warm feeling even let Shen Qingru imagine a bit of a future for herself and Yunzhou in her mind.

It was only when Xiao Baizhi beside her reminded her that the young master had already gone out that she came to her senses.

Having finished copying the two secret manuals, Jiang Yunzhou brought the original book to the Dong Yin residence, with a jade tablet on his person, and this time entry went smoothly.

The one who came out to meet the visitor, Dong Fu Jian, said to Jiang Yunzhou:

"Young Master Jiang, the master has gone to the Ministry of Justice."

"No problem, I've come to see Mr. Dong."