While he was lost in wild thoughts, his expression changing constantly, Chang Yuncheng merely smiled faintly on the other side.

“There’s no need to say more. What’s there to say? Qi Yueniang’s medical skills are beyond question,” he said. “So I must have her treat my mother. As for this injured person, I can only apologize.”

Qi Yue was so angry she stamped her feet.

“Shut up!” she shouted, trying to break free from Chang Yuncheng’s grip.

“You shut up!” Chang Yuncheng turned his head and barked at her.

Him speaking to her like this… it had been a long time since he’d done so…

Qi Yue was suddenly startled.

“This matter is just that simple.” Chang Yuncheng no longer looked at her, but instead turned to look at the others in the hall, finally settling his gaze on that family. “So then, what do you want? Whatever conditions you name, I’ll agree to them all.”

Agree to everything?

So he was admitting fault? No, no, this man had been admitting fault from the beginning.

More accurately, he was… backing down?

Wang Qingchun stared wide-eyed at Chang Yuncheng, shouting inwardly.

Just moments ago he had the attitude of being unmovable like oil and salt, acting like “I’ll kill you so what,” but how did he suddenly back down!

No! Lord! Don’t forget your status! What conditions are you negotiating with lowly commoners!

You should insist that this injured person deserved to die in the first place!

Speaking like this, isn’t it tantamount to saying you killed someone yourself?

Murder, this is murder!

He was thinking this in his heart, and couldn’t help but shout it out loud.

“Murder, murder your sister!” Qi Yue shouted, breaking free from Chang Yuncheng’s hand. “Can a dead person be murdered again? Can a person die twice? I’ve said it a hundred times already—this person wasn’t delayed, he died from severe injuries that couldn’t be treated. Are you even a doctor? Do you have eyes? If you can’t see, can’t you ask? Go ask! Ask what this man’s symptoms were at the time!”

Wang Qingchun laughed disdainfully.

“Ask? Ask whom? At the time, besides the people from Qianjin Hall, there were only the family members and villagers present,” he said with a smile. “What do family members and villagers understand? So ask the people from Qianjin Hall? ‘Those close to the matter shouldn’t be questioned’—surely Qi Yueniang knows this principle?”

Qi Yue was about to charge forward again when Chang Yuncheng reached out and held her back.

“So you mean we need to ask someone who was present at the time, who wasn’t from Qianjin Hall, wasn’t a family member or villager, and was a doctor—is that right?”

A voice rang out from outside the door.

Who’s being meddlesome! Wang Qingchun turned around in annoyance and saw a short, slightly plump old man walking in.

The hall was dark inside while it was bright outside. He couldn’t make out the man’s features clearly for a moment.

“I was also present at the time, and I’m a doctor,” the old man continued.

A doctor! Wang Qingchun glared at him irritably.

“This is a medical inspection case being handled by the authorities. Doctors are not permitted to interrupt!” he said.

Which short-sighted doctor is this…

Wang Qingchun squinted to look. By now the old man had walked closer. He looked unfamiliar and shouldn’t be a doctor from Yongqing Prefecture.

No wonder he’s so tactless!

“Oh.” The tactless old man responded. “So that means you also need to have official status. Only medical officials can inquire about this, right?”

“Of course,” Wang Qingchun replied irritably, while looking at the prefect. “My lord, can just anyone enter the prefectural office? How is it…”

He didn’t finish his sentence as something waved in front of his eyes.

“What are you…” Wang Qingchun irritably reached out to push it away, but the touch felt somewhat familiar. Looking closely, he saw:

Imperial Medical Academy Left Vice-President Zhou Maochun.

Wang Qingchun was very unfamiliar with this elderly man. But he was very familiar with this plaque and the name on it.

“Left… Left Vice-President…” he stammered, then his legs gave way and he actually knelt down.

“Ah.” Imperial Physician Zhou frowned. “Why such formal ceremony! Although you’re my subordinate, it’s not necessary to be so formal!”

I didn’t want to be so formal either, but I was startled and couldn’t control myself.

Wang Qingchun shouted inwardly, but since he had already knelt, he couldn’t waste the gesture.

“This subordinate greets Your Excellency. Such ceremony is naturally appropriate,” he said.

“You’re thoughtful.” Zhou Maochun smiled and accepted the courtesy.

The prefect also came to his senses and hurried over.

“Is it Vice-President Zhou who has arrived?” he asked respectfully with some surprise.

Although he wasn’t a capital official, he still knew Zhou Maochun’s great reputation. Zhou Maochun was the fifth-generation direct disciple of the great physician Wang Weiyi. This elderly man excelled at acupuncture and had a great reputation in the palace. The Empress Dowager especially relied on him. Of course, his reputation in the capital was even greater, but precisely because of his great reputation, he had inevitably been spoiled into having a somewhat eccentric temperament. Ordinary families truly couldn’t invite him, especially in recent years when he claimed to be compiling his master’s medical classics and hid in the palace without coming out, making him even harder to invite.

Such a person who had almost withdrawn from the world had come to their Yongqing Prefecture.

“I came to examine the Lord’s mother’s illness,” Zhou Maochun said, too lazy to pay attention to the prefect, and instead looked at Wang Qingchun. “You, where are you from?”

Of course he wasn’t asking where Wang Qingchun was from originally.

“This subordinate is Wang Qingchun from the Bureau of Pharmacy,” Wang Qingchun quickly replied.

Zhou Maochun made an “oh” sound.

What was the Bureau of Pharmacy?

“It’s like being a menial worker in your medical halls,” Zhou Maochun considerately explained to Qi Yue.

Menial worker…

Wang Qingchun’s heart was bleeding.

Was there any need to step on people like this?

“Alright, get up. Let’s get on with the real business quickly. How did such a small matter turn into this mess? What kind of Medical Doctor are you?” Zhou Maochun said with a frown.

Wang Qingchun stood up with his head lowered, repeatedly saying yes.

“This subordinate was just about to ask…” he said while speaking.

“No need to ask. I was at the scene at the time,” Zhou Maochun said, walking several steps to the family members. “Bleeding wouldn’t stop, plowshare wound, bamboo pole pierced through the chest, internal organ injury—how could you be so certain the person could live?”

The young woman had never spoken from beginning to end, and the children naturally wouldn’t speak either. The young girl’s expression became somewhat panicked upon hearing this.

Even the prefect was so respectful to this person…

His background must be very significant, and he was also a doctor…

This… this…

“Qi Yueniang said she could save him…” she raised her head and said.

“I did indeed try to save him, but I didn’t succeed. I needed you to provide blood, but none of you were willing to provide it,” Qi Yue said, looking at them with somewhat sorrowful expression. “Never mind the bamboo pole wound piercing the chest. Just the unstoppable bleeding from the thigh alone would have been enough to kill him. I could indeed save him, if there had been enough suitable blood.”

Zhou Maochun waved his hand somewhat impatiently, interrupting her.

“Hey. Isn’t that settled then.” He looked at the young woman. “Since you believed her when she said she could save him, why don’t you believe her when she says she couldn’t save him?”

The young woman was left speechless by the question.

There was actually this way of asking…

“That… menial worker…” Zhou Maochun looked at Wang Qingchun again. Unable to remember his name, he simply used this shorthand.

Wang Qingchun felt extremely depressed.

“Yes, what are Your Excellency’s instructions,” he still had to say respectfully.

“You know about this deceased person’s injuries, right?” Zhou Maochun asked.

Wang Qingchun reluctantly but still nodded.

“Then do you think such injuries could still be treated?” Zhou Maochun asked, looking surprised.

“Naturally…” Wang Qingchun stammered, “they cannot. But, but Qi Yueniang’s medical skills are superior…”

Zhou Maochun didn’t like hearing this.

“Superior? Are you saying Qi Yueniang is more skilled than me?” he asked.

“That’s naturally not the case…” Wang Qingchun quickly said.

“Then how could she treat it successfully?” Zhou Maochun asked with a curious expression.

How would I know! Wang Qingchun screamed internally.

“She… she naturally also couldn’t treat it successfully…” he could only say, his heart bleeding.

What terrible luck. How did everything go so smoothly, only to have this person appear and ruin everything!

“Well isn’t that settled then? What have you, this Medical Doctor, been babbling about for so long?” Zhou Maochun shook his head.

“Yes, yes, this subordinate is incompetent,” Wang Qingchun said with a bow.

“Hurry up and explain clearly to the people!” Zhou Maochun said. “A medical case that even someone who isn’t a doctor can see the outcome of, yet you’ve wasted so much time. Really… are you actually a doctor? Who recommended you to enter the Bureau of Pharmacy?”

Wang Qingchun’s face flushed red, but what could he do? He dared to challenge Chang Yuncheng because they were in different professions, but he didn’t dare with the person before him—this was someone who could decide his future with a single word.

He still had to rely on this fate to live and absolutely couldn’t carelessly ruin it.

There would be other opportunities in the future…

Wang Qingchun gritted his teeth, responded affirmatively, and was about to walk outside.

“You know how to explain this, right?” Zhou Maochun called out to stop him and asked.

Wang Qingchun respectfully turned around to ask for instruction.

“From the cause to the consultation time, to the initial examination and injury assessment, everything must be explained clearly. This can be inquired about…” Zhou Maochun said, looking toward Qianjin Hall.

“Your Excellency, we have consultation records,” Liu Pucheng quickly stepped forward and said.

Zhou Maochun nodded.

“Good, having these makes it even better,” he said, pointing at Wang Qingchun. “Show him, so he won’t know how to write it.”

Might as well just let the people from Qianjin Hall go out and explain! Wang Qingchun nearly ground his teeth to powder.

Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky!!

After Wang Qingchun left, Zhou Maochun began lecturing the prefect.

“Public opinion is public opinion, but you can’t ignore right and wrong just because of public opinion,” he said, then pointed at the family members. “They don’t understand, so you need to explain properly to them. How can you, as their parent official, join in their confusion? This isn’t loving the people like your children, this is indulgence and spoiling. Strict fathers produce filial sons—don’t you even understand this?”

The prefect almost wanted to cry. Why was this old man such a chatterbox?

“I understand, I understand,” he could only keep saying, hoping this old man would leave quickly.

After Zhou Maochun finally finished lecturing the prefect, he looked at Chang Yuncheng.

“This whole matter was entirely your own doing,” he said. “There was nothing wrong originally, but you had to stir up trouble. What were you trying to achieve?”

Chang Yuncheng looked at him and turned his head away without responding.

Zhou Maochun didn’t lecture him the way he had lectured Wang Qingchun. He just pointed at him and said nothing, then looked at Qi Yue.

“Do I also have fault?” Qi Yue looked at him and asked.

Zhou Maochun instantly put on a smiling face.

“Of course not. How could Qi Yueniang have any fault?” he said with a grin.

The prefect nearby couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

What kind of person was this!

Meanwhile, Wang Qingchun outside was frowning and reluctantly explaining the results with a heavy heart. What responded to him was a crowd full of discussion.

“Is this true or false?”

“I still think Qi Yueniang could have saved him…”

“…Right, isn’t it said that officials protect each other…”

“We don’t know how they investigated behind closed doors…”

“…Naturally the powerful protect the powerful…”

Such questioning discussions grew more and more numerous. Wang Qingchun was happy to hear them.

So what if he explained? So what if someone came forward to testify? This time, you Marquis Dingxi’s heir still can’t wash yourself clean!

Before Wang Qingchun could smile, a shoe came flying from somewhere and hit him in the face.

“Officials protecting officials!” came the accompanying curse.

Wang Qingchun cried out in bad luck. No longer in the mood to listen to these pleasant clamoring sounds outside, he had someone post the notice and hurried back inside.

Here he was lost in wild thoughts, his expression changing, while Chang Yuncheng merely smiled faintly on the other side.