Chapter 122: Case Closed

After a while, Ye Xin Ran wiped off the remaining ointment from her arm and once again displayed it to the crowd.

Everyone was shocked to find that the previously red and swollen area was indeed gone.

“It’s gone! It’s really gone!”

“What kind of ointment is this? How is it so magical?”

“Impossible! I’ve touched nettles before, and it took four or five days for the swelling to go down, not to mention the pain and itchiness! It was awful!”

Some people raised doubts about what they were seeing.

“But we saw it with our own eyes, how can you say it’s impossible?”

After show casing her results, Ye Xin Ran once again asked the magistrate:

“Your Excellency, may I please be allowed to use the ointment to treat these two ladies? If the ointment restores their faces, it will prove they intentionally framed our Yong Le Hall. If it does not, Yong Le Hall will compensate them as per their request.”

Upon hearing Ye Xin Ran’s request, the two women immediately refused:

“No, don’t put your ointment on our faces!”

“Your Excellency, our faces were ruined by this ointment! We cannot let it touch us again!”

Although the two women shouted loudly, at the magistrate’s signal, four officers quickly stepped forward, grabbing their shoulders and holding them in place.

Ye Xin Ran applied the ointment to their faces.

The two women tried to struggle, but they couldn’t break free.

After a while, Ye Xin Ran wiped the remaining ointment off their faces, and everyone immediately saw that the previously swollen and red areas on their faces had flattened and become smooth and clean.

“Fraudsters! They are really fraudsters!”

“This is so malicious! If it weren’t for Magistrate Qiao, Yong Le Hall’s reputation would have been ruined!”

“They are ruthless, even hurting themselves to frame others.”

“This wasn’t a baseless accusation. Didn’t you hear? They immediately demanded three hundred taels of silver!”

“Three hundred taels! My goodness, they really have big appetites!”

The crowd began to chatter excitedly.

The two women no longer dared to act arrogantly.

They hadn’t expected this Snow Face Ointment to work so effectively.

Such severe rashes were healed instantly.

“Bold and treacherous people! How dare you maliciously accuse others! Do you two know your crimes?” Magistrate Qiao asked sternly.

“Your Excellency, we don’t know what happened. We truly don’t know!” the two women pleaded desperately.

The two women still tried to claim they were wronged.

“Still daring to argue? Guards, bring the rack!” Magistrate Qiao shouted angrily.

Upon hearing that they were about to be tortured, the shorter woman could no longer hold out.

“Your Excellency, I confess! Please show mercy!” she cried, trembling as she knelt.

“My sister came to me and said there was a business deal worth three hundred taels of silver, and asked if I was willing to do it. I was blinded by greed, which led me to do such a thing. I beg for Your Excellency’s mercy, please show mercy!”

Hearing her younger sister speak, the taller woman also immediately knelt, banging her head on the ground. “Please, Your Excellency, I was blinded by greed. I truly never intended to harm anyone!”

“Was this plan your own idea? Was no one behind you?” Ye Xin Ran asked.

“No, no one instructed us. It was our own idea,” the taller woman replied, taking full responsibility for everything.

The magistrate questioned her several more times, but she insisted on sticking to her story. Finally, a conclusion was reached:

The two sisters, Sun Wu and Zhao Wu, were consumed by greed. They intentionally harmed their own faces with nettles and falsely claimed it was due to using the Snow Face Ointment from Yong Le Hall, intending to extort money from the medical hall.

Fortunately, the county physician discovered the flaw in their story, and the Snow Face Ointment was proven to have restored their faces, clearing Yong Le Hall’s name.

Thus, Magistrate Qiao ruled that Sun Wu and Zhao Wu should compensate Yong Le Hall with six hundred taels of silver. Additionally, they were to receive twenty lashes each and be detained.

They would only be released when their family paid the full amount of the six hundred taels.

As for the Zhao family, Yong Le Hall promised to visit and treat Madam Zhao’s facial scars.

At the same time, Yong Le Hall made a public announcement: if anyone using Snow Face Ointment developed purple bruising, they were welcome to come to the hall and receive free treatment from the shopkeeper.

This was a normal side effect of using the ointment, and there was no need for concern.

“Yong Le Hall is really good, they take responsibility when something goes wrong!”

“Didn’t they just say it was a normal reaction? This isn’t even a problem, they’re just helping out.”

“Yong Le Hall’s Snow Face Ointment is really amazing. Look at how effective it was just now! Who said their ointment is worse than Shun Yi Tang’s?”

“Exactly! It works so well, and it’s cheap!”

…

Magistrate Qiao, listening to the discussions in the hall, suddenly felt something was off.

It seemed like Yong Le Hall was using his court to drum up business?

They were really bold!

After the case was concluded, everyone left, except for Ye Xin Ran, who was kept behind by Magistrate Qiao.

Magistrate Qiao looked at Ye Xin Ran’s face, unable to hide his surprise any longer. “I didn’t expect your face to heal so quickly.”

Ye Xin Ran smiled lightly. “Thank you for your concern, Uncle Qiao. It’s all thanks to the Snow Face Ointment that it healed so fast.”

Here it comes again! Again!

Magistrate Qiao sighed. “Zi Yu, that child, is so unfortunate. Back then, when he broke off the engagement with you…”

Seeing Magistrate Qiao bringing up old matters, Ye Xin Ran quickly interjected, “Magistrate Qiao, that’s in the past. Let’s not bring it up again.”

Magistrate Qiao was stunned.

After a long pause, he spoke again, “I know this matter was our family’s fault. I hope you don’t hold a grudge and that you can still call me Uncle Qiao in the future.”

It was naturally a good thing to build a relationship with the magistrate.

Ye Xin Ran wasn’t so particular as to sever all ties with him over the past.

She nodded and agreed, “I will listen to Uncle Qiao.”

The atmosphere became a bit awkward, and neither of them knew what to say next. Magistrate Qiao suddenly asked, “Some time ago, you severed ties with the Ye family. Was it because you found out something?”

“Something?” Ye Xin Ran asked, confused.

After a moment, she remembered. “Could it be that Uncle Qiao is referring to the fact that I’m not the biological daughter of the Ye family?”

“Not… biological?”

Magistrate Qiao was taken aback. Could it really be as he suspected?

Seeing that Magistrate Qiao’s expression wasn’t what she had expected, Ye Xin Ran quickly added, “I was just guessing. I thought they treated me badly because I wasn’t their biological daughter.”

“Well, that could be…” It was possible.

Although Magistrate Qiao had some suspicions in his heart, he didn’t dare to make a definitive judgment. He said, “In any case, I’m still your Uncle Qiao. If you ever encounter any difficulties in the future, don’t hesitate to come to me.”

“Thank you, Uncle Qiao,” Ye Xin Ran said, standing up to take her leave.

Magistrate Qiao returned to his study, took up his brush, and wrote a letter, instructing someone to deliver it swiftly to the capital.

When Ye Xin Ran returned to the medical hall, she found everyone waiting for her in the inner hall.

In addition to the medical hall staff, the Zhao family’s housekeeper was also present.

“Housekeeper Ye, thank you for waiting so long.”