TMBIABHL: Chapter 22
Glossary
·Ye Chutang (叶初棠): Female Protagonist. Heir to an ancient medical family. "Black-Hearted Lotus." Runs a clinic in Jiangling.
·Yang Zhen (杨真): The Magistrate of Jiangling county.
·Wu Xu (吴旭): A yamen runner who owes Ye Chutang a favor.
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Chapter 22: A Countermeasure
The woman lived up to her name; even from a side profile, it wasn't hard to see her slender waist, possessing a willowy grace mixed with an indescribable coquettishness.
No wonder Yang Zhen doted on her so, outfitting her according to the standards of a primary wife.
Ye Chutang quickly averted her gaze and followed Wu Xu inside.
…
Only one other patient appeared at the yamen today; the other three, it was said, were too ill to come.
She was a woman in her thirties. The moment she saw Ye Chutang enter, she clutched her stomach and began moaning and groaning incessantly.
"Your Honor, the Magistrate! You must grant us justice! The Ye Clinic gave us spoiled medicine and harmed us like this! If this kind of clinic is allowed to continue operating in Jiangling, who knows how many more people it will kill!"
Ye Chutang couldn't help but laugh.
Though light, the laughter sounded particularly jarring at that moment.
The woman looked over, furious. "How can you still laugh! You are far too arrogant! Your Honor, you must deliver us justice!"
Yang Zhen's gaze fell upon the young woman who had just entered, a flash of admiration in his eyes.
He had long known there was a Ye Clinic in Jiangling with a Physician Ye, only seventeen years old, yet possessing considerable medical skill and a beautiful appearance.
If she weren't saddled with several younger siblings, her doorstep would likely have been worn out by suitors.
Previously, he hadn't paid it much mind, but seeing her today, he felt those words weren't exaggerated.
The woman wore a light white dress embroidered with crabapple blossoms, standing gracefully, serene and lovely.
Simply standing there, she seemed coated in a soft light, exceptionally eye-catching.
Yang Zhen collected himself, his expression stern. "Ye Chutang, what are you laughing at?"
Ye Chutang performed a slight bow before looking up and explaining with a faint smile, "I laugh because she dares to be so brazenly reckless and spout nonsense in the official hall, right before Your Honor."
The woman instantly became frantic. "What did you say!"
Ye Chutang turned slightly to face her directly. "You just said that if the Ye Clinic continues to operate, who knows how many more people it will kill. Doesn't that imply I already have lives on my hands? Perhaps my news is lacking, but how is it I am unaware of such a major occurrence?"
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
The woman hadn't expected Ye Chutang to latch onto that particular phrase. She immediately tried to retort: "You—"
Ye Chutang didn't give her a chance to speak, continuing,
"Or were you just speaking carelessly, saying it deliberately? But what place is this? Not a single word or action here can be false. Since you dare to make irresponsible remarks before the Magistrate, who knows how much truth is actually in your words?"
Everyone was stunned.
No one expected this seemingly gentle and meek woman to be so sharp-tongued the moment she spoke.
And her words were impeccably reasoned; the woman's dramatic wailing had indeed involved exaggeration.
Perhaps knowing she was in the wrong, the woman's eyes darted shiftily, but people like her often grew louder and more ostentatious the guiltier they felt.
She raised her voice defiantly, "Stop twisting words! We're just ordinary folks, no match for your sharp tongue! But the fact is, we got sicker only after seeing your clinic and taking your medicine! You have to take responsibility for this!"
Ye Chutang looked her up and down, thinking the woman currently seemed full of vigor, without a trace of illness.
She said calmly, "You came to the clinic on the morning three days ago, complaining of a headache from catching a chill. Because two herbs were missing from the prescription, I only wrote you a prescription and told you to take it to an herb shop to get the medicine yourself. Now you say this is all my fault. That's easily settled. Produce the prescription from that day and let other physicians see if there was anything wrong with what I prescribed. Then everything will be clear."
The woman hadn't expected Ye Chutang to remember the events of that day so clearly and felt a moment of panic.
But she quickly composed herself and snorted, "That was days ago! A scrap of paper—who knows where I put it!"
Ye Chutang had anticipated this answer. She nodded lightly. "That's fine too. I am in the habit of writing two copies of every prescription. One for the patient, one for the accounts. I happen to have brought the ledger. I beg Your Honor to examine it."
With that, she took a thin booklet from her sleeve and presented it.
Everyone was shocked by this move.
Ye Chutang had clearly come prepared! Who would have thought she kept a second copy of every prescription she wrote!
"This book records all prescriptions issued by the clinic in the past half month, with the time recorded down to the hour and moment. Your Honor will see upon inspection," Ye Chutang added by way of explanation.
Yang Zhen opened the booklet and found every prescription indeed neatly recorded.
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
He gave Ye Chutang a meaningful look. "You are quite clever."
Ye Chutang sighed inwardly.
Not having digital records here was really troublesome, directly doubling her workload!
"Sometimes the clinic has many patients; there are days with dozens of prescriptions. Because patients have lost their prescriptions and returned to inquire before, and also to avoid confusion, I took the extra precaution of transcribing a separate copy for unforeseen needs."
Now it had indeed come in handy.
Yang Zhen beckoned to Wu Xu. "Go invite a few physicians to check if this prescription has any issues."
Wu Xu immediately obeyed and left.
Soon, three physicians were invited. After examining the prescription, they all shook their heads, saying it was a normal prescription for headaches, without any issues.
The woman panicked instantly and cried urgently, "Who's to say you didn't fill this in later! You can write whatever you want!"
Ye Chutang blinked. "A good question. Therefore, all prescriptions in this ledger are written on consecutive pages in chronological order, leaving no room for insertion or alteration in the middle. Moreover, with Your Honor's discerning eye, you should be able to roughly deduce when it was written based on the dryness of the ink."
Yang Zhen nodded. "Correct. One can indeed tell this was likely written several days ago, not recently."
He returned the booklet to Ye Chutang, now viewing her in a new light.
To be so thorough and meticulous at just seventeen was truly rare.
If she hadn't offended the Cao family, she wouldn't be in this trouble.
However, he had promised Yiyi to help her cousin vent his anger, so at the very least, he needed to keep her clinic sealed for a while longer…
Just as Yang Zhen was pondering what reason to use, the woman suddenly raised her voice again, "Even if the prescription is fine, the medicine you gave must have been problematic!"
Ye Chutang narrowed her eyes slightly. "What did you say?"
The woman wiped non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes and wailed, "That medicine was taken from your Ye Clinic! Who knows what kind of poisonous, filthy stuff it was! Your Honor! Send someone to search her clinic now! You'll surely find out the truth!"
(End of Chapter)
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