TMBIABHL: Chapter 24
Glossary
·Ye Chutang (叶初棠): Female Protagonist. Heir to an ancient medical family. "Black-Hearted Lotus." Runs a clinic in Jiangling.
·Ye Jingyan (叶璟言): Third Brother (阿言). Calm, studious.
·Ye Yunfeng (叶云风): Fourth Brother (阿风). Impulsive, protective.
·Yang Zhen (杨真): The Magistrate of Jiangling county.
·Wu Xu (吴旭): A yamen runner who owes Ye Chutang a favor.
·Lian Zhou (连舟): Shen Yanchuan's attendant/guard.
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Chapter 24: Master, We've Suffered a Huge Loss
"This... this…"
The officer stammered, unable to get a word out for a long moment.
Wu Xu simply stepped forward and snatched the pieces of Sichuan aconite. "Useless! Can't even handle a simple thing like this!"
The officer was startled, instinctively reaching out to grab them back, but he stopped mid-action, remembering the many people watching, and barely held back.
The woman was also dumbfounded. "Tung oil? Wh-what tung oil!?"
Ye Chutang lifted her chin slightly. Ye Jingyan immediately stepped forward and pulled open an entire row of medicine cabinet compartments.
The not-yet-dry tung oil gleamed with a faint oily sheen, and the air was filled with a subtle yet unmistakable scent.
Ye Chutang said, "Actually, I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I was too busy before and never found the time. It just so happened I had some free time recently, so I instructed A-Yan and A-Feng. But they usually have to attend the academy, so they barely managed to squeeze in some time today."
She sighed as if regretful. "This Sichuan aconite looks to be of decent quality. What a pity it can't be used now."
A deathly silence fell inside and outside the small courtyard.
The tung oil needed a full three hours to dry completely, yet the pieces of Sichuan aconite were stained with it, proving they had been placed there recently!
The woman panicked. She never imagined Ye Chutang would pull the rug out from under them so completely!
Yang Zhen stared sternly at the pieces of Sichuan aconite. At this point, who couldn't see what had happened!
"That's not right!" the woman suddenly shrieked in rebuttal. "This medicine cabinet is yours! The stuff must have been put in by you too!"
Ye Chutang retorted leisurely, "Oh? You mean, I emptied the entire medicine cabinet, painted a layer of tung oil, and then, before it dried, specifically put wine-soaked Sichuan aconite inside?"
The woman's face flushed and paled alternately. She was speechless.
Ye Chutang continued, "How interesting. Of all things, I put nothing else in, only the poisonous one that supposedly harmed someone? Was I afraid it wouldn't be discovered?"
A series of rhetorical questions left the woman tongue-tied.
Yang Zhen demanded sternly from the woman, "What else do you have to say for yourself?!"
The woman's eyes darted around in panic. Finally, she simply plopped onto the ground, wailing and throwing a tantrum. "Your Honor, the Magistrate! I don't know! I really don't know anything! I didn't find that thing; it has nothing to do with me!"
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
Hearing this, the officer who had found the aconite widened his eyes, both angry and anxious. "What do you mean by that!"
Wasn't she clearly implying he was the problem!
The woman ignored him, continuing to wail and wipe non-existent tears, claiming she was wronged.
By now, everyone could guess what had happened. That officer must have taken the opportunity during the search to plant the evidence in the medicine cabinet, attempting to frame her.
And it was highly likely he had colluded with the woman; otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted on searching the clinic.
Yang Zhen frowned deeply. "Will you talk here, or shall we return to the yamen to talk?"
Returning to the yamen most likely meant facing torture.
Realizing the situation was dire, the officer finally fell to his knees with a thud. "Your Honor! It was her! She put me up to it! She gave me fifty taels of silver to sneak this thing in here! I know nothing else!"
"Don't you frame me!" the woman shrieked, jumping up and lunging at him. "I'll tear your mouth shut!"
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But she was no match for him. She barely managed to scratch a bloody line on his face before he kicked her away.
Both looked utterly disheveled. At a time like this, who cared about anything else? Saving their own skin was what mattered!
Ye Chutang raised a hand to cover her mouth as she let out a slight yawn.
She was truly tired of watching this dog-eat-dog farce.
"Earlier, you said that if nothing was found, you would submit to my disposal, correct?"
The woman's movements halted immediately. She looked up, her hair disheveled, her face filled with terror.
Ye Chutang's lips curved. "Then tell me, who put you up to this?"
She had no grudge against this woman. It was obvious she was driven by profit.
She already had a good idea of the answer, but she needed the woman to say it aloud, in public.
Hearing the question, a flash of panic crossed the woman's eyes. She shook her head repeatedly. "N-No! No one put me up to it!"
Perhaps realizing the scheme was exposed and further denial was useless, she simply admitted it.
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
"It was me! I saw you for a consultation before and felt unwell afterward! I wanted revenge, so I came up with this plan!"
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Ye Chutang applauded slowly and deliberately, her expression admiring. "To think an ordinary woman like you understands pharmacology, knows that wine-soaked Sichuan aconite is toxic, and can readily take out fifty taels of silver to bribe an officer to do your bidding. Truly admirable."
Her words left the woman deathly pale.
Anyone with eyes could see someone else must have been behind it.
Her expression shifted rapidly. Then, gritting her teeth, she suddenly turned and hurled herself toward the wall!
Ye Chutang seemed to have anticipated this. She said calmly, "A-Feng."
The next moment, a strong, tall figure flashed past, arriving first and blocking the woman's path!
It was Ye Yunfeng!
He raised an arm, grabbed the woman's wrist, and gave a fierce yank!
A powerful force pulled her; the woman didn't even have the strength to struggle before she was thrown to the ground.
Ye Yunfeng snorted coldly. "Trying to kill yourself before explaining? Dream on! You—"
He suddenly paused, looking up at Ye Chutang with exasperation.
"Elder Sister, she's fainted."
Who knew if it was from fright.
Ye Chutang didn't seem to mind. "As long as she's not dead, she'll wake up eventually. Besides, there's still this one, isn't there?"
As she spoke, she looked at the officer still kneeling on the ground.
Knowing he had no defense, the officer, pale-faced, kowtowed frantically. "I beg for your mercy, Your Honor! This lowly one was momentarily confused! I beg you to spare me this once!"
His forehead was bleeding from the kowtowing, but Yang Zhen's face remained icy. "The nature of this act is vile! Since you did wrong, you must be punished! Men! Take him back!"
"Yes!"
(read @cherrybombbertranslations.blogspot)
Watching the officers take the man away, Ye Chutang asked loudly, "Your Honor, since the matter has been clarified, can our clinic be unsealed now?"
Silence fell for a moment.
Who would have thought? Sealed in the morning, and now to be unsealed just half a day later.
Ye Chutang, in less than a day, going there and back, had resolved the trouble.
Many onlookers were still outside the Ye Clinic, and they had seen and heard most of what happened.
There was no choice but to unseal it.
Yang Zhen had no choice but to gesture to the side. Wu Xu immediately went over and removed the sealing strip from the main gate.
Ye Chutang bowed to Yang Zhen. "Thank you, Your Honor, for restoring justice to my Ye Clinic."
Yang Zhen, irritated, gave a perfunctory response before leaving with his men, dragging the unconscious woman away as well.
The previously noisy courtyard returned to peace.
Inside the room, Lian Zhou, who had witnessed everything, murmured:
"...Master, we just paid half a month's food and lodging fees... Did we just suffer a huge loss?"
(End of Chapter)
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