Chapter 121: The Experiment

Li Mo and Ye Xin Ran followed closely behind.

The housekeeper from the Zhao family also walked with the officers towards the county office.

Apart from them, the onlookers formed small groups, following along as well.

Today’s events were quite the spectacle, and everyone was eager to see how it would unfold.

After the gong sounded, Magistrate Qiao, wearing a black cap and a double-bird patterned robe, slowly walked to the front of the court.

Once seated and looking down, he was surprised to see Ye Xin Ran among the crowd.

However, Ye Xin Ran was no longer the same person. With her original appearance restored, she resembled someone entirely different.

Magistrate Qiao’s heart skipped a beat.

Realizing now was not the time to dwell on this, he slammed the wooden gavel and sternly called, “Who stands before this court? What is the matter?”

Li Mo knelt and spoke, “Your Excellency, I am Li Mo, the owner of Yong Le Hall.

Our establishment has always maintained integrity, faithfully adhering to the principles of medicine.

This morning, these two women suddenly came to our shop and caused a disturbance, which severely affected the reputation of our clinic. I tried to persuade them several times, but they insisted on extorting three hundred taels of silver. Unable to resolve the matter, I reported it to the authorities and ask for Your Excellency to render judgment.”

The tall woman, flustered and fearful, immediately cried out before he could finish, “Your Excellency, I am wronged! I used Yong le Hall’s Snow Face Ointment, and now my appearance has been ruined. I came to the shop seeking justice. But this shopkeeper kept delaying the matter, it is not I who wanted to cause trouble.”

The other woman quickly echoed, “As my sister said, I am also wronged.”

Magistrate Qiao asked, “Li Mo, I ask you, are the wounds on these two women’s faces truly caused by the ointment from your shop?”

Li Mo shook his head repeatedly, “Your Excellency, please see clearly, the wounds on their faces have nothing to do with our Snow Face Ointment.”

Magistrate Qiao asked, “Can you prove that?”

Li Mo was silent.

A voice interrupted, “Your Excellency, I can prove it.”

Ye Xin Ran spoke up.

“Oh?” Magistrate Qiao looked up at her, listening as Ye Xin Ran continued, “I’ve been using Yong Le Hall’s ointment for over a month, and there has been no issue with my face. Moreover, the young lady in the shop, Miss Tao Hua, has been using it for more than ten days, and her scars have started to heal.

Using Snow Face Ointment will not result in such issues.”

“Is it possible that they used the wrong method or that the ointment is unsuitable for them?” Magistrate Qiao speculated.

After all, the effects of medicine could vary from person to person.

Ye Xin Ran responded, “Your Excellency can ask anyone present if anyone else has experienced the same issue as these two women.”

Magistrate Qiao’s gaze turned to the crowd of onlookers.

Everyone took a step back, except for Zhao family’s housekeeper who stepped forward and said, “Your Excellency, my mistress also had a problem with the medicine, but it is different from these two women. The area where the ointment was applied turned bruised.”

Before Magistrate Qiao could ask further, Ye Xin Ran interjected, “Your Excellency, bruising is a normal symptom that can occur after using Snow Face Ointment. It happens to help scars heal better.

Yong Le Hall has a special ointment for repairing such bruises. After applying that ointment, the bruise will fade within two days.”

Li Mo was stunned.

Since when was there a new ointment? He didn’t know about it.

But after hearing Ye Xin Ran, he immediately nodded in agreement, “Indeed!”

“Well, since you say bruising is normal, then what about these two women’s facial injuries?” Magistrate Qiao asked.

“Your Excellency,” Ye Xin Ran replied, “You can summon the county physician to examine them. The doctor is well-versed in such matters and will likely be able to tell right away what has happened to them.”

“You are suggesting…”

Magistrate Qiao was somewhat confused. Up until now, Ye Xin Ran had been the one doing most of the talking, did she work at the clinic now?

However, he still agreed with Ye Xin Ran’s suggestion, “Take the two women down, let the county doctor examine them.”

“Understood!”

The officers stepped forward and took the two women away.

It wasn’t long before the doctor returned with the two women, and reported, “Your Excellency, I have investigated. The redness and swelling on their faces is caused by nettles.”

“Nettles?” Magistrate Qiao asked.

“Yes,” the doctor explained logically, “Nettles contain toxins. When touched, the affected area will turn red, and small, dense rashes will appear. The symptoms on these two women’s faces match this condition exactly.”

“Do either of you have anything to say?” Magistrate Qiao asked, slamming the gavel.

The two women had not expected the doctor to be so skilled that he identified the cause so quickly. They hurriedly spoke up.

“Your Excellency, we don’t know what happened. We didn’t touch any nettles! Could it be that they put nettles in the ointment? We only used the Snow Face Ointment, and now we look like this.

They are harming people! Your Excellency, please, you must uphold justice for us!”

“Your Excellency!” Ye Xin Ran smiled faintly.

“They might not understand, but nettles cause red rashes on anyone who touches them. If there were nettles in my ointment, then everyone who used it would have the same symptoms as them.”

Ye Xin Ran then turned to the doctor and asked, “Do you happen to have any nettles here at the clinic?”

“Yes.”

“Then could you try it on my arm?”

The doctor hesitated.

Seeing his reluctance, Ye Xin Ran added, “I only want to show everyone the effect. After applying it, I will ensure the red, swollen area will return to normal.”

The doctor, intrigued, glanced at the Magistrate.

Seeing that the Magistrate didn’t object, he agreed, “Fine, with all the witnesses and evidence here, if anything goes wrong, it will be on your own request.”

“I would never go back on my word,” Ye Xin Ran replied.

Soon, the doctor brought out some nettles.

Ye Xin Ran rolled up her sleeve and lightly pressed her arm against the nettles placed on the plate.

Before long, her forearm developed a dense layer of small rashes.

Because Ye Xin Ran’s skin was very fair, the rashes looked even more alarming.

She glanced at the Magistrate and the crowd, ensuring everyone saw her arm.

They immediately noticed that her arm looked similar to the two women’s faces, with the only difference being that Ye Xin Ran’s symptoms seemed a bit more severe.

After showing them, Ye Xin Ran pulled out a bottle of Snow Face Ointment from her pocket and, in front of everyone, applied the ointment to the swollen area on her arm.

She then said, “Our Snow Face Ointment not only doesn’t cause rashes or swelling, but it can also effectively treat these issues.”

All eyes were now on Ye Xin Ran’s actions.

Once she finished applying the ointment, everyone eagerly watched her arm, waiting to witness the treatment’s effect firsthand.