Chapter 148: Clearing the Rumors and Unexpected Events

Today, the entire capital was buzzing about the Minister’s residence.

From Ye Jingchuan plotting his wife’s dowry, to Ye Chutang publicly blocking the dowry and exposing Kong Ru’s poisoning of Tang Wanning, to Ye Anzhi’s arrest for committing murder, and finally, Ye Chutang being pregnant before marriage.

No matter which incident you talk about, they can all be described as “explosive.”

It was like a chain reaction of bombshells!

“The Minister’s residence has surely offended the gods, right? The scandals just keep coming, and it’s never quiet.”

“What do you mean offending the gods? The problems only started after the legitimate eldest daughter returned.”

“Both her parents and her brother were killed, if it were me, I’d seek revenge too!”

“But that doesn’t justify her having an illegitimate child. Truly disgraceful.”

“That’s a rumor! News from Xinglin Hall says that Miss Ye is inviting all the doctors to check her.”

“Is that true? Let’s go and see the commotion.”

Ye Chutang sat in the carriage, listening to all kinds of discussions, as they arrived at Xinglin Hall.

The crowd outside Xinglin Hall was packed, eager to see the spectacle.

As soon as Ye Chutang got off the carriage, they immediately made way for her.

Ye Chutang appeared to keep her eyes forward, but her peripheral vision remained alert, watching the crowd.

The people spreading rumors would certainly take further action.

“Smack!”

A foul-smelling fish was thrown at Ye Chutang’s feet.

Even a normal person would feel nauseous at the smell, let alone a pregnant woman.

Ye Chutang shut off her sense of smell and frowned slightly in disgust.

She raised her hand and pointed at the woman who threw the fish, asking, “Who sent you? How much silver did they give you?”

The woman thought that no one would notice her in the crowd, especially with everyone’s attention on Ye Chutang.

However, she was immediately exposed.

Feeling guilty, she quickly turned and tried to squeeze her way out.

“Smack!”

Ye Chutang kicked the rotten fish away, hitting the woman in the back of her head.

The crowd around her quickly stepped back as the woman fell to the ground.

The rotten fish exploded, and its foul, decayed innards splattered all over her head.

“Ugh! Ugh…”

Ye Chutang mocked, “Half of her body is already in the grave, yet she still thinks she’s pregnant. Truly impressive.”

Everyone could hear the sarcasm in her voice.

But they also felt she was right.

If vomiting confirmed pregnancy, men would be pregnant too.

The others who had bad intentions quickly gave up on making her vomit and dropped their schemes.

Ye Chutang successfully entered Xinglin Hall.

Manager Lin smiled and stepped forward. “Miss Ye, these are some of the most famous doctors in the capital.”

The implication was that their words carried weight.

As long as they confirmed that Ye Chutang was not pregnant, those nasty rumors would fall apart on their own.

Ye Chutang nodded. “Thank you all for coming.”

After saying that, she glanced at her dirty shoes and turned to Manager Lin. “May I go to the back courtyard to clean up?”

“Of course, Miss Ye. Please.”

Taking advantage of cleaning her shoes, Ye Chutang used silver needles to restore her sense of smell.

Returning to the main hall of the pharmacy, she sat down at the consultation table and placed her left wrist on the pulse pillow.

“Please, gentlemen, proceed.”

Traditional Chinese medicine can’t determine virginity just from the pulse. Typically, it’s based on facial features combined with the pulse to make a judgment.

So, she wasn’t worried about revealing anything.

Besides the doctors from Xinglin Hall, six more had arrived.

They each took turns checking Ye Chutang’s pulse, and none detected a slippery pulse.

First, the child’s gestational age was still very early, just over a month, so it was difficult to detect.

Second, she had temporarily altered her pulse using silver needles and diet.

Although the doctors felt that Ye Chutang’s pulse was a bit unusual, they were certain it wasn’t a pregnancy pulse.

“Miss Ye is not pregnant.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the common people erupted in angry curses. “Who spread this outrageous rumor? It’s truly vicious!”

“Indeed, a woman’s reputation is so important. This is ruining Miss Ye’s name!”

“Such a wicked heart, but thankfully, Miss Ye’s integrity is strong and she has nothing to fear.”

“If we could find the one spreading these rumors, I’d spit in her face!”

Hearing this, Ye Chutang confidently said, “Everyone, please rest assured. I will definitely find the person behind these rumors!”

With that, she placed a one-tael silver note on the consultation table.

“Thank you to all the doctors for your hard work. Let me treat you to some tea.”

The doctors quickly declined.

“Miss Ye, your generosity is greatly appreciated, but we’re just doing what’s right. There’s no need for you to spend money on us.”

After that, they made excuses about being busy and quickly left.

Ye Chutang, having achieved her goal, said her goodbyes to Manager Lin and stood up to leave.

Manager Lin, seeing the one-tael silver note on the table, quickly took it to her.

“Miss Ye, I cannot accept this tea money.”

Ye Chutang didn’t refuse and took it.

As she reached the door of the pharmacy, she was stopped by the Imperial Physician sent from the palace.

“Excuse me, would it be possible for the official to check Miss Ye’s pulse?”

News of Ye Chutang’s supposed pregnancy had spread to the palace, and the Emperor wanted to know the truth, so he sent a trusted Imperial Physician.

Accompanying the Imperial Physician was Xue Shenyi, who had been retrieved from the deep mountains yesterday.

As soon as Xue Shenyi returned, he was summoned to the palace to treat the Emperor’s impotence, and he stayed overnight in the palace.

Today, upon hearing about Ye Chutang’s situation, he followed the Imperial Physician out of the palace.

This girl looked remarkably like her mother, so beautiful it made everything else fade in comparison.

But their temperaments were entirely different.

One was gentle and reserved, the other sharp and assertive.

Ye Chutang did not respond to the Imperial Physician but met the gaze of the middle-aged man who was sizing her up.

“Do you know my mother?” she asked.

The reason she asked was because this man’s eyes carried a look of reminiscence.

Xue Dong smiled and said, “My name is Xue Dong, and I’m commonly known as Xue Shenyi.”

Hearing this, Ye Chutang’s heart skipped a beat.

Her illusion could fool ordinary doctors, but not someone with medical skills as strong as hers.

“I didn’t expect that such a small rumor would even alarm Xue Shenyi.”

She said this to probe Xue Dong, wondering if he was here to sabotage her or simply to watch the commotion.

Manager Lin immediately invited Xue Dong in.

Not knowing the truth, he happily said, “Miss Ye, a single word from Xue Shenyi is worth more than a thousand words from the other doctors.”

He had no idea he was making things worse with good intentions.

Ye Chutang bowed to Xue Dong.

“If it weren’t for Xue Shenyi’s help in saving both me and my mother back then, I would come to thank you personally another day.”

“Miss Ye, there’s no need for such formalities. Paying for services rendered is only natural.”

The Imperial Physician, seeing that Ye Chutang kept talking, urged, “Miss Ye, you’re not afraid that the official might discover something, are you? Don’t waste time.”

Ye Chutang knew the Imperial Physician’s medical skills and didn’t mind letting him check.

But his aggressive attitude made her dislike him.

“False rumors don’t bother me, but I’d like to ask, is the official here under orders from the Emperor?”

Though the Imperial Physician had been sent by the Emperor, the Emperor had instructed that this should remain confidential, to prevent unnecessary speculation and rumors.

“No, the official just came to join the excitement on his own.”

Ye Chutang raised an eyebrow. “So, in that case, I can refuse the official’s request to check my pulse, can’t I?”

The Imperial Physician, realizing that Ye Chutang was deliberately making things difficult for him, furrowed his brow in displeasure.

“Miss Ye, are you looking down on the official?”

He thought that since he was an official and Ye Chutang was just a commoner, she wouldn’t dare confront him.

But Ye Chutang nodded decisively.

“You’re right, I really do look down on your medical skills.”