Chapter 137: Catching Them Red-Handed

Seeing that the crowd had quieted down, Shopkeeper Qian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. “Guangren Hall has been in business for over a hundred years here in the prefectural city, earning a reputation as an old and trusted establishment. Situations like this are extremely rare, and we are committed to handling this positively and providing the victims with a satisfactory resolution. This time will be no different, so please trust us.”

The medicine apprentice quickly echoed his sentiments, saying, “Our shopkeeper is also a victim here. Doctor Su is very well-known in Xihe Town, and even the soldiers use this wound medicine. Our shopkeeper bought it to benefit the common folk, but who would have thought that even a renowned doctor’s medicine could have issues?”

Shopkeeper Qian let out a bitter laugh. “It’s my fault for being foolish. I didn’t ask Doctor Su for the recipe to verify whether the wound medicine was as effective as rumored.”

Hearing this, Su Wan couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. She wanted nothing more than to deliver a sharp kick to his gut and see if his intestines were as black as his heart.

Not only had he sold fake medicine under her name, but he also intended to use the public’s anger to pressure her into revealing her formula.

Su Wan pushed her way into the crowd.

“You’re talking nonsense!” Wang Dong rushed forward, grabbing Shopkeeper Qian by the collar and landing a punch on his cheekbone. “I bought ten bottles of wound medicine from Xinglin Medical Hall, and every single one worked perfectly, stopping the bleeding immediately. But half of the medicine you sold us is fake! If Doctor Su was the one selling you fake medicine, then why isn’t there any problem with the medicine sold elsewhere? Why is it only the medicine you sold that has issues?”

“Wang Dong, have you lost your mind?” Shopkeeper Qian, furious and disheveled, shoved Wang Dong away. As he touched his cheekbone, a sharp pain made him wince, his face contorting in agony.

A surge of anger flared up within him. “Do you think I would dare to sell fake medicine? If this gets out, how could I continue doing business? Who would ever buy medicine from me again? I’m not that short-sighted!”

“Doctor Su lives in Xihe Town; she certainly wouldn’t sell fake medicine there and ruin her reputation. If her name is tarnished, she wouldn’t be able to survive in Xihe Town,” Shopkeeper Qian said coldly, his face dark with anger. “Don’t take it out on me—go take it up with Doctor Su!”

Most of the townspeople believed Shopkeeper Qian’s words.

To them, Doctor Su was just a stranger, but Guangren Hall was different. It had been in the prefectural city for over a hundred years, and many of them had sought treatment there. Although the treatments were slow and more expensive than at other medical halls, they had never experienced their conditions worsening.

Wang Dong, his face flushed with anger, was about to confront Shopkeeper Qian further when he noticed Su Wan emerging from the crowd.

He urgently called out, “Doctor Su, you’re here! Please, come and explain to everyone whether this fake medicine was sold by you!”

Hearing Wang Dong’s words, the crowd turned to look at Su Wan, their eyes blazing with fury. Someone spat in disgust and said, “A young girl who hasn’t even grown up properly dares to call herself a divine doctor? I bet she’s the one who sold the fake medicine. Shopkeeper Qian was deceived by her and almost got ruined because of her!”

“Exactly! Women should know their place. Does she even recognize all the characters yet? How dare she write prescriptions and sell medicine? Where are the authorities from the Medical Affairs Bureau?”

“Don’t waste time talking to her! Pay up! Compensate us! Ten times the amount!”

“And not just ten times! Our wounds have festered badly because of her medicine. She should also compensate us for the consultation fees and lost wages!”

The crowd was growing more agitated, and one man raised a wooden pole, charging toward Su Wan. “You heartless crook! Selling wound medicine for thirty wen per bottle, and you have the gall to sell fake medicine? That’s our hard-earned money! I’ll beat you to death, you quack, so you can’t deceive and harm us poor folks anymore!”

Gu Huaizhi’s face darkened, and with a flick of his finger, a piece of silver shot out.

The man cried out in pain as he tripped and fell flat on his face.

The crowd suddenly fell silent.

“Have you all finished?” Su Wan stood at the entrance of Guangren Hall, facing the crowd as she spoke. “Now it’s my turn to say a few things. First, I sell my wound medicine to medical halls and pharmacies for twenty wen per bottle. They sell it to the public for twenty-two wen per bottle, making a profit of two wen per bottle. Up until now, except for Guangren Hall, no one else has sold it for more than twenty-two wen.”

“Second, I have never sold fake medicine. My conscience is clear, and I have nothing to fear. If you want to take this to the authorities, go ahead. Let the officials send their people to investigate at Xinglin Workshop. If they find even one bottle of fake medicine, I won’t just compensate you tenfold—I’ll compensate you a hundredfold. And if that happens, I’ll give up practicing medicine altogether!”

Her words were firm and resolute, causing the crowd to hesitate.

Shopkeeper Qian, growing anxious, immediately jumped in and said, “What are you implying? That I’m the one selling fake medicine? By the time people go to report this to the authorities, your people will have already destroyed the fake medicine!”

The medicine apprentice, equally indignant, added, “Doctor Su, the people gave you that title as a mark of respect, and yet you’ve betrayed it by selling fake medicine and harming them! 

Thankfully, this time it was just wound medicine. But what if it had been something they had to ingest? People could have died! Our shopkeeper is suffering because of your involvement.”

The mention of “people could have died” struck a nerve with the crowd, who began shouting again, “Don’t try to talk your way out of this! Compensate us now! If you don’t, we’ll go to Xihe Town, to Xinglin Medical Hall, and ruin your reputation there!”

“Pay up! Pay up!”

Su Wan’s face grew darker.

Shopkeeper Qian, feeling smug as the crowd sided with him, said, “If you claim it’s not your fault, then show us the proof. Wang Dong understands medicine too. Bring out the recipe, and Wang Dong and I will verify it. If we confirm that the formula is correct, we’ll believe it’s not your fault. It might be an issue with the workshop’s production process.”

“Qian Wensheng, you sell fake medicine and then try to smear my name, all while attempting to extort my wound medicine recipe. You’ve got some nerve.”

A cold, icy light flashed in Su Wan’s eyes as she glared sharply at Shopkeeper Qian. “I don’t need to show you the recipe to prove my innocence.”

Shopkeeper Qian suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, a bad premonition creeping up on him.

Sure enough, Su Wan continued, “My products aren’t something that can be easily counterfeited. Just because someone mimics the appearance doesn’t mean they can pass off a fake as the real thing and frame me.”

With that, Su Wan selected two medicine bottles from the counter and let them drop from her hand. They shattered on the ground with a sharp “crack.”

Shopkeeper Qian felt his heart tighten, forcing down his growing unease. “Stop trying to play tricks. If you refuse to show the recipe, then produce evidence! Otherwise, we’ll take this to the authorities!”

He reassured himself that the bottles were near-perfect imitations of Su Wan’s, and the powder inside was almost identical, though a bit coarser. Su Wan would have a hard time clearing her name.

“I’ve already provided the evidence,” Su Wan said, pointing to the shattered porcelain bottles on the ground. “Each of my medicine bottles has three distinct marks from the Xinglin Workshop. One of these marks is the words ‘Xinglin Workshop’ engraved inside the bottom of the bottle during production.”

Shopkeeper Qian’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly picked up the two broken bottle bottoms and, sure enough, one had the “Xinglin Workshop” imprint, while the other did not.

He recalled how Su Wan had carefully selected the bottles from the pile before smashing them, clearly distinguishing between the genuine and the fake. It was obvious she hadn’t been lying.

Shopkeeper Qian desperately tried to maintain his composure, arguing, “This still doesn’t prove that someone else is framing you!”

“Boom—”

Suddenly, a person was thrown out from inside Guangren Hall, tumbling down the steps and writhing a bit before collapsing on the ground.

Qi Third followed closely behind, announcing, “Young lady, this man was caught red-handed making fake medicine in the backyard of Guangren Hall. There are still many unfinished products inside.”

“I’ve got someone too!” Qi Fifth came galloping in on horseback. He leaped off his horse, dragging another man with him. “Young lady, I found the owner of the ceramics shop. Someone commissioned him to make ten thousand bottles identical to our wound medicine bottles!”