Chapter 1086 - 1088: The Important Discovery of the Second Brother_1
Bai Ruozhu felt that reputation was important and making money was also important, but not more important than her own conscience.
She quickly finished a set of acupuncture on the fat man, who slowly regained consciousness, then retched and spat out a mouthful of blood, though his complexion looked much better.
That was the blood stasis due to internal bleeding accumulated inside his body; it was better for it to be vomited out.
"What kind of hellhole is this? I will never come to Welcome again to eat, nor will I let my relatives and friends come. I almost lost my life here," the fat man cried as soon as he woke up. Seeing that he still had the energy to curse, it was clear that his injuries were not serious.
Ignoring the fat man, Bai Ruozhu continued to administer acupuncture to another person with internal injuries. Soon, that person stopped vomiting blood, took a pill Bai Ruozhu provided, and his complexion also improved somewhat.
Immediately after, Bai Ruozhu treated the injuries of others, dressed and bandaged their wounds, and by the time she finished, the Government Office’s men had arrived, as well as the person she had sent to fetch the medicine box.
She took the finest Golden Wound Medicine from the medicine box and distributed it to the injured, instructing them how to apply it.
At that moment, an officer walked in and asked, "An accident occurred at Welcome, and it’s said to be man-made? What have you found?"
The shopkeeper quickly looked at Bai Zepei, since Bai Zepei was the one who had discovered the problem. They had been too busy treating the injured and had not yet asked him what exactly he had discovered.
Bai Zepei bowed respectfully to the officer and said, "My name is Bai Zepei, a newly admitted scholar at the Imperial Academy. Please, officer, take a look at this."
The officer, upon hearing he was a scholar, thought to himself that perhaps this young man would pass the higher exams next year, or even become one of the Capital Officials in the future. He knew he had to be respectful.
"Alright, please enlighten us, Mr. Bai," the officer replied courteously as he approached.
Bai Ruozhu, meanwhile, was asking the shopkeeper for paper and a pen to write a prescription but the corners of her mouth lifted slightly. Her second brother was, indeed, very meticulous in his approach, asserting his identity first, thereby giving more weight to his words, which made things easier to handle.
Bai Zepei’s actions drew everyone’s attention. Although all the guests had left the restaurant, those injured and their companions could not leave, which provided them with a good opportunity to listen in on what had happened.
He pointed to a broken section of the balustrade, saying, "The balustrade broke accidentally, but if you look closely at the fracture, you can see the signs. This balustrade had been soaked in the water of wick flowers’ stamens. A small cut makes it very easy to break. Without knowledge of wick flowers, one would never find it and might simply assume it was caused by a lack of maintenance due to age."
The shopkeeper quickly responded, "Officer, we renovated three months ago. This balustrade was only recently replaced, and we checked the quality at that time. It certainly wasn’t due to age and lack of repairs."
The officer turned to Bai Zepei and asked, "What are wick flowers’ stamens?"
"That’s something I read about in my younger sister’s Medical Book. There’s a type of wick flower. When it blooms, you pick the stamens and dry them. Then the water soaked with those stamens can make even the hardest wood lose its toughness. A small nick can cause the wood to fracture easily," explained Bai Zepei.
Tang Feng, who was standing on the second floor, reached out to touch the type of railing that connected to the columns, even bringing it to his nose to smell.
"How do you prove this balustrade was soaked with wick flowers’ stamens?" the officer inquired, hearing about wick flowers’ stamens for the first time and adopting a cautious attitude.
"According to the book, the water soaked with wick flowers’ stamens has a sour odor, not like the smell of rotting wood, but somewhat similar to that of pickled vegetables. Officer, if you smell it, you’ll know," Bai Zepei continued, pointing to the broken edge of the railing. "And here, the cut on the edge is too neat, clearly made with a knife, but just a shallow part. Without knowledge of wick flowers’ stamens, who would think such a shallow cut could break a balustrade?"
Bai Ruozhu nodded as she listened. Her second brother indeed had a good memory. He had casually flipped through her medical book before, and surprisingly, he remembered such an inconspicuous thing as the lampwick herb; moreover, the book only briefly mentioned twice that the lampwick herb was used in medicine.
The officer approached the railing and took a sniff, indeed detecting the sour smell Bai Zepei had described at the broken end. He looked at Bai Zepei with increased admiration.
"Young Master Bai is truly well-informed and knowledgeable. It seems that this matter is likely man-made, but as for who did it and who is the instigator behind it, we still need to investigate thoroughly," the officer said, then turned to the shopkeeper who was waiting on the side and asked, "Has there been anyone suspicious recently entering or leaving Greeting Guests Inn, or do you have any suspects in mind?"
The shopkeeper quickly related his findings but didn’t name any suspects; instead, he said, "Officer, as you know, our Greeting Guests Inn is doing well with the favor of many nobles from the Capital, and it’s normal for someone to feel jealousy over it."
The officer’s eyes darted, roughly understanding what the shopkeeper meant—it was a hint that it was likely a competitive rival of Greeting Guests Inn who had sabotaged them.
At this time, Bai Ruozhu had already written the prescription, mainly for the three people who were seriously injured. She instructed the shopkeeper to arrange for someone to gather the medicine and then told all the injured, "I am truly sorry that all of you were hurt. As such, today’s meal is on the house, and for the entire month, all meals at Greeting Guests Inn will be free for everyone."
When the people heard this, they became slightly excited. After all, it was the beginning of the month, and dining at Greeting Guests Inn cost a considerable amount of money. Being able to eat for free for an entire month meant they would save a fortune!
"Does Doctor Bai have the authority to make this decision?" someone asked doubtfully.
Bai Ruozhu smiled, "I do hold some shares in Greeting Guests Inn, so I can make a decision on this matter."
"Great! Then I won’t stand on ceremony. I’ve lost a lot of blood, and I’ll need to come to Greeting Guests Inn to replenish," the man said cheerfully.
Remember these guests, shopkeeper, and don’t charge them for their meals this month," Bai Ruozhu emphasized to the shopkeeper once again.
"Yes, yes, I will heed the lady’s orders," the shopkeeper responded.
The officer had some evidence collected—since the broken railing couldn’t be moved in its entirety, the officer had someone cut off a small piece, then they collected several testimonies and he reported back to the Government Office.
Tang Feng came down from the second floor. He smiled at Bai Zepei and said, "Brother Bai has indeed outdone me. Today’s competition was won by you, Brother Bai."
Bai Zepei frowned and said, "Without a result from the third round, there is no winner or loser. Let’s compete again in the future."
However, Tang Feng just smiled and said, "Knowing about that lampwick herb, you’ve already outdone me by a notch."
Bai Zepei bowed to him but did not say more.
Now that the injured had been taken care of and the officer had completed his inspection and returned, Bai Ruozhu had the shopkeeper hire several horse carriages to send a few people home, leaving only the three most injured individuals. They were to drink their medicine soup before they could leave.
At this time, Tang Feng also left. Bai Ruozhu approached her second brother and asked, "Didn’t he help you out last time in Jiangnan? Why did you start fighting as soon as you met this time?"
Bai Zepei shook his head with a smile, "It wasn’t a falling out. It’s precisely because of a mutual admiration that we like to have a friendly contest when we meet, to see who is better."