"Yeah, look at our backgrounds. Usually, we use money bags sewn from old clothes. This money bag clearly belongs to a wealthy family!"
The crowd immediately began to murmur.
As soon as the money bag fell out of his pocket, the trouble - making man knew that something was terribly wrong. He quickly said, "This... this is really not mine. I picked it up!"
"Oh, really? Picked it up?" Li Zhao said. "If you picked it up, why didn't you return it to the owner but kept it for yourself?"
The man refused to admit his guilt and argued, "I wasn't feeling well, so I came to the medical clinic first. I just hadn't had the chance yet!"
"Or you just hadn't had the chance to destroy it, right? Because you just got this thing early this morning."
Li Zhao said slowly,
"If I'm not wrong, you've been gambling in the gambling house since last afternoon. You didn't leave until exactly dawn this morning."
Hearing Li Zhao's words, the man's face instantly changed.
"Last night, you lost money in the gambling house and probably owed a lot of gambling debts. Just when you were worrying about how to pay them off, a woman approached you and gave you this money, asking you to cause trouble in Huichuntang."
"She also promised that she would give you another thirty taels after you were done, making it fifty taels in total. Am I right?"
With each word Li Zhao said, the man broke out in a cold sweat. When Li Zhao said the last sentence, the man blurted out in disbelief, "How do you know? Did you see it?!"
As soon as he said this, he immediately realized that he had given himself away. He quickly corrected himself, "No, you're just making this up. There's no such thing!"
But people weren't stupid. The words he just blurted out had already revealed his real intention.
"So he's just a gambling - addict who took money and tried to ruin the reputation of Huichuntang and Doctor Jiang!"
"We were even going to stand up for him. We were totally deceived by him!"
At this moment, a voice came from the crowd, "I remember. I know this man!"
"He's the son of a farmer named Zhuang in Magan Village. Since he's the fourth child, he's also called Brother Zhuang Si. He has three older sisters. As the only son in the family, he's been lazy and idle since childhood. After his parents died of illness, he sold the family house and disappeared from Magan Village."
"I didn't expect that he came to Dongli Town and has been hanging around in the gambling house!"
Like a stone thrown into a lake, this statement set off a storm of discussion.
"What a good - for - nothing! Instead of finding a job to support himself after selling the family property, he used the money to gamble. His parents might as well have taken him with them when they died!"
"If I had a son like him, I would have strangled him long ago. Don't let him cause trouble in the world!"
Mrs. Li rolled up her sleeves and rushed forward angrily to kick him. "Good! Our Dongli Town almost lost a great doctor because of you. Let me teach you a lesson today!"
After Mrs. Li rushed forward, one person after another followed...
The scene was in an uproar.
A person hiding in the crowd watched the situation unfold. She clenched her fists and quietly slipped away, turning around and leaving in a hurry.
However, she didn't know that Xiao Jingcheng, whose eyesight and hearing had become extremely sharp, had already noticed her.
It was not until she completely disappeared from sight that Xiao Jingcheng withdrew his gaze, thoughtfully rubbing his fingers.
After the man's identity was exposed by Li Zhao, he was beaten up and finally was forced to kneel in front of Ye Wanmian and kowtow three times respectfully. He called her "Grandma" three times and compensated Huichuntang with the money bag and the twenty taels inside.
Although they managed to stop the man from causing trouble in time and salvage some of the reputation, Ye Wanmian still gritted her teeth in hatred when she thought about his intention.
Temporarily suppressing her anger, she smiled at the crowd,
"Thank you all for standing up for Huichuntang today. Huichuntang will remember your kindness. Starting tomorrow, Huichuntang will set up a shed under the big tree for five consecutive days to distribute summer - heat - relieving soup. Everyone passing by can come and get some. I hope you all can tell your neighbors about this when you get back. If you hear anyone talking about today's incident, please help me explain it."
Free summer - heat - relieving soup for five days!
When the common people heard that there was a good thing, they were more than willing. They kept praising Ye Wanmian and Huichuntang, saying that they would pay attention to the rumors and help Ye Wanmian and Huichuntang.
The man in the green shirt said with a smile, "Speaking of which, this incident is all because of a woman practicing medicine. Although there's no difference between a woman doctor and a man doctor, it's really easy to cause controversy if a medical clinic only has female doctors. I wonder if Huichuntang is recruiting. I'd like to stay and practice here. This way, the rumors can be quelled."
What? He wanted to stay?
This was really beyond Ye Wanmian's expectation. She stared blankly at the man in the green shirt. The man even winked at her when he noticed her gaze.
Suddenly, Ye Wanmian had an epiphany.
Her master had written to her saying that he had sent her a helper, a junior - uncle, but didn't tell her whether the junior - uncle was male or female. She had been waiting for a long time but the person didn't show up. And this person appeared just at the right time. Could it be...
This was her junior - uncle?!
Hearing that the man in the green shirt wanted to stay, Li Zhao was also a bit surprised. He turned around and saw Xiao Jingcheng with a cold face, clenching his fists tightly and staring at Ye Wanmian.
Ye Wanmian didn't notice at all. She readily agreed, "That would be great. May I ask what your name is, Doctor? I..."
Before she could finish her sentence, someone covered her mouth and dragged her back.
"Mm - mm, mm - mm - mm!"
Everyone stared in shock as they watched Ye Wanmian being taken away by Xiao Jingcheng with her mouth covered.
Although they didn't see Xiao Jingcheng's face clearly, his overbearing aura intimidated the others on the scene. Mrs. Li came to her senses and gasped, "Should... should we go and save Doctor Jiang?"
Qi Wen was the first to react. He forced a smile and said, "No, no. They're distant relatives. Maybe they have something private to talk about."
The man in the green shirt didn't get a reply from Ye Wanmian. He wasn't in a hurry either. He said with a faint smile, "I'll wait here for Doctor Jiang's answer."
Xiao Jingcheng took Ye Wanmian into an empty room. Ye Wanmian was angry because she was taken away before she could finish her sentence. She grabbed his hand and bit it hard. He gasped and subconsciously let go of her.
Ye Wanmian broke free from his control and took two steps back. She angrily said, "Jingxiao, in front of so many people, what on earth are you crazy about!"
Xiao Jingcheng looked at the tooth mark on his tiger's mouth and got angry too. "I should be asking you what you're doing! You said you would help me hide my identity. That man just said a few words for you, and you're going to let him stay. Have you even asked for my opinion!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Jingcheng met Ye Wanmian's cold eyes. He immediately realized that he might have said something wrong again.