The old man checked the prescription and noticed that there was nothing wrong with it. He then yelled out to everyone, "This prescription is an ordinary prescription to treat the common cold and there is nothing wrong with it. By reducing the dosage, the toxicity of the herbs can be removed and the effects are still just as good. It is truly brilliant."
After scanning through the prescription, he walked over to the side of the "corpse" and inspected it carefully.
"Madam, when did you say your son pa.s.sed away?"
"Yesterday… night. I don"t remember the exact hour."
"Okay. When your son pa.s.sed on, was he facing the sky or the ground?"
That madam stuttered as she replied, "I don"t remember."
The old man seemed to have understood something and he stopped his questioning. He immediately turned to look at the "corpse".
"This corpse doesn"t seem to be actually dead… If it was truly as madam described, your son"s corpse should have livor mortis if he had pa.s.sed away last night. But right now, this corpse is clean and spotless. This doesn"t seem like a dead person."
The moment the words left the old man"s mouth, Bai Luochu walked over to the corpse before anyone could react. She circulated qi in her palm and slammed it against a few large acupoints on the "corpse" Several silver needles were forced out of the body and she kicked the man"s lower body. The man sat up as unbearable pain surged through his body.
Someone from the crowd yelled out, "Aiya, why did the corpse move?!"
"Moving corpse? Everyone, please listen to what I have to say about the entire situation." Bai Luochu glared at the woman who instantly felt a chill run down her spine.
"Earlier on, this woman said that I provided treatment to her son seven days ago in the streets of the southern part of the city. However, everyone should know that I only conduct a voluntary diagnosis every ten days. As the east, west, and south of the city are densely populated by medicine stalls, I avoided those areas in order to prevent disruption to their livelihood. I only went to the northeastern and northwestern part of the city. This is my first point."
"The people living in those areas are impoverished citizens who will grit their teeth and endure small illnesses normally! The prescription in your hand is one to treat the common cold. When I provided treatment to them, I only prescribed medicine for those suffering from long-term illnesses. This is my second point."
"The moment I appeared before all of you, I had long noticed that this is a living human with all his meridians sealed. I was simply suppressing my anger, waiting for someone to screw up! I never expected that someone so stupid would be sent here… You even jumped into the pit I dug with a few simple statements. Since this is the case, there is no longer a need for me to waste my efforts. It"s time for me to make my move."
After Bai Luochu said her piece, everyone felt a little apprehensive. The man sitting on the ground suffered in silence as he didn"t dare to say anything.
In the end, the madam insisted, "You are talking nonsense! Things aren"t like this at all! Proof, where is the proof that you provided treatment to those people?!"
"This prince brought the proof of the treatments!" Just as the madam"s voice died down, the crowd consciously opened up a path. Someone slowly made their way over and as the figure was seated on a wheelchair made his way forward, everyone knew it was the Second Prince, Pei Qingfeng. Behind him were plenty of commoners wearing tattered clothes.
"This prince brought these commoners from the northeastern and northwestern parts of the city. Why don"t all of you hear what they have to say?" Pei Qingfeng opened up his folding fan and waved it gently. He relaxed and got ready to watch a huge show play out.
"What Divine Physician Bai said earlier was all true. When he diagnosed our illness, he would only instruct us to pay attention to our diet if we weren"t suffering from a serious illness. He would tell us to grit out teeth and endure it by paying attention to what we eat and drink. Divine Physician Bai understood that even if we had the prescription, we wouldn"t waste money on the medicine."
"Divine Physician Bai would only write a prescription for a serious illness. The herbs required were all cheap ones. If anyone here has any doubts, you can take a look."
The one who spoke seemed to be the leader of these commoners. As soon as he finished speaking, he took out some medicine and pa.s.sed it to the veteran overseeing physician from the Hundred Herbs Hall.
That old man nodded and said, "It is indeed so. This person is speaking the truth. Those who have knowledge in the field of medicine can come over and take a look."
After the old man spoke, there were really people who went over to take a look. When they saw that everything was true, they looked at the crowd and nodded, indicating that everything was true.
At this moment, someone in the crowd turned their attention to the man who was pretending to be a corpse. He seemed somewhat familiar... "Hurry up and look at the person pretending to be dead. Isn"t he from the Spring Returning Hall!?"
Everyone instantly turned to look at that man who was currently yelling out curses in his heart. After all, he wasn"t able to succeed in his scheme. Such a huge sin was even pinned on his back. After messing everything up, there was no doubt he was going to be yelled at the moment he returned.
"The sin of an innocent person will clear itself up. I, n.o.body Bai, have always done things righteously and I believe that no one will be able to frame me. Never have I thought that I will actually be a thorn in someone"s side, waiting to be removed. I am truly disappointed. I originally wanted to conduct a voluntary diagnosis after my breakfast today… I should just forget about it. It"s possible my life might be lost in a scheme one day."
After speaking, Bai Luochu flicked her sleeve angrily as she made her way back to her courtyard.
Seeing as Divine Physician Bai left with seething with anger after cancelling the session, a sense of loss and anger appeared in their heart. All of their anger was directed towards the mother and son duo. The fact that they were throwing around cynical remarks in the first place seemed to have vanished from their mind altogether. After beating the two of them up, everyone got tired and left.
There was a portion of people who saw that the show was over as they immediately left the area. Peace returned to the streets and only two individuals who were whimpering in pain were left. Before long, it seemed as though nothing happened.
In a small alley not too far away, Pei Qingfeng bowed to the elder and said, "It"s a troublesome matter for Elder Li to help Divine Physician Bai."
"It"s not trouble at all. I can see that the la.s.s has a good heart. Otherwise, even if you dragged me here, I won"t say a single good thing in her favor."
"You…" Pei Qingfeng was speechless as he was astonished that the elder had seen through Bai Luochu"s disguise.
"Heh heh, she can cheat others but she cannot trick this old man. I immediately saw through the fact that the la.s.s" voice was altered with some sort of medicine. Even though her voice changed, the effects won"t last for long. Qingfeng, you had better cherish this chance!"
The elder finished speaking and looked at Pei Qingfeng with a deep gaze. He then boarded the carriage Pei Qingfeng had arranged for him and returned to his residence.
"The older Physician Li gets, the more childishly he behaves."
Pei Qingfeng broke into laughter and shook his head. He then said to his manservant, "Let"s go. Our Divine Physician Bai seems to have eaten a belly full of anger before breakfast. She should be livid by now. Let"s go and treat her to some tea. It should calm her down."
He chuckled to himself and instructed the manservant to push him towards the First Prince"s residence.