The Commoners Turn Hostile
Wang Lin’s shout completely shook everyone that heard it!
Hundred Herb Hall was being forced to close by someone else?
This information was spread among the people. From the entrance of Hundred Herb Hall, it spread in all directions. Very quickly, this information became known to everyone that had come to complain.
But following this, someone voiced their confusion: “What sort of person could force Imperial Daughter Ji An to do it?”
“That’s right! That’s an imperial daughter! Who could have that ability?”
In the eyes of the commoners of the capital, Feng Yu Heng was an existence that could do anything. Not only was she skilled in medicine, but she had also produced steel for Da Shun. This sort of person was a national treasure that even the Emperor carefully held in his hands, fearing that he would drop her. Now, they actually said that someone forced Imperial Daughter Ji An to close Hundred Herb Hall. Was this not madness? Who would have the courage to do it?
Everyone’s doubts gradually began to spread. Starting from quiet discussions to loud shouting, the people seemed to have become crazy. “Who was it? Who dared to force imperial daughter to close Hundred Herb Hall? Call them out! Call them out!”
The loud and repeated shouts caused Wang Lin to sigh with emotion. Boss really was viewed as a deity. The scene today had been described by the boss on the night that the three had enjoyed a hotpot together. There was not the slightest difference.
The people’s shouts continued; however, it had changed from shouting about the closure of Hundred Herb Hall to shouting about the people that had forced Feng Yu Heng. The men loudly shouted while the women sobbed. It had been over two years. Under Feng Yu Heng’s guidance, Hundred Herb Hall had already become a special existence inside the capital. This place did not just have miraculously-fast-acting medical pills, but it also had the best medical techniques and best nursing services. Not only did they take in the people from wealthy families, but they also treated the commoners equally and did not provide anyone with special treatment. Of course, they could not afford the medical pills, but Hundred Herb Hall had not completely rejected medical herbs and medical soups. The doctors could still provide prescriptions for those, and they could buy the necessary medicine in the hall. It could be said that Hundred Herb Hall was a medical clinic that catered to everyone. As long as Hundred Herb Hall was there, no matter how severe the illness, people would no longer be as scared about dying as in the past because everyone knew that if they came to Hundred Herb Hall, there would definitely be someone that could save them. After a period of over two years, Hundred Herb Hall had become a pillar of support for the capital. For it to suddenly be closed, nobody could accept this reality.
The shouts continued, and there were even some that began to loudly shout: “Shopkeeper, just reveal the names of those that forced Imperial Daughter to close Hundred Herb Hall. No matter who they are, we will need to go and demand an explanation! A medical clinic that was so beneficial to the citizens, on what basis do they insist it be closed?”
“Right, right! Boss, just say it. Even if that person is in the palace, we will risk our lives to go and kneel in front of the palace’s entrance!”
The people were very emotional, and this was the desired result that Wang Lin was hoping for. With a troubled expression, he stood on the table and endlessly stomped his feet while trying to advise: “Everything must calm down! You must not go and cause any trouble for them! They’re all government officials. They’re not people that us commoners can offend. Hah! Speaking of, it was a matter that occurred during the palace banquet on the first day of the new year. There were some officials that began to oppose our boss for some reason. Not only did they kneel to ask His Majesty to no longer allow Imperial Daughter into the palace, but they also made a threat, saying that Hundred Herb Hall had to be closed. They said that our imperial daughter is of the weaker sex and is not suited to doing these things. For the sake of not causing His Majesty any trouble, she could only agree while feeling wronged. Hah!”
Wang Lin’s words were spread by the masses. Nearly all of the people that had come to voice their complaints were commoners in the capital. Among them were quite a few wealthy people; however, there were not many people of nobility. After all, nobles needed to pay attention to face. They could not possibly run out into the streets to cause a stir. But each large family sent a maidservant, granny or male servant to come out and participate while also gathering information. There were even some officials’ manors that saw their concubine mothers and children of concubines also head out. This included Feng Xiang Rong, who had clearly expressed that she stood on Feng Yu Heng’s side during the palace banquet.
After the concubine mothers from those officials’ families heard Wang Lin’s words, they could not hold back, and someone rushed to say: “Hearing our husbands talk about the happenings from that night’s banquet, there were indeed some high-ranking officials that threatened Imperial Daughter Ji An. Their words were incredibly terrible, and they forced her into a dead end. They repeatedly caused a fuss to try and chase out Imperial Daughter Ji An.”
Some other daughters of concubines also chimed in: “That’s right, they just couldn’t get used to seeing Imperial Daughter have a good reputation. That’s why they thought of a way to squeeze her out. My family’s father said that those people all kneeled on the ground and threatened His Majesty. It was as though they were saying that it was either them or the imperial daughter. After all, the court must not fall into disarray. That was why His Majesty had no choice but to agree.”
The ones that spoke were the family members of officials. Although they did not know which families the concubine mother and daughter of a concubine came from; however, they had recounted what had happened during the banquet. The things that they said were rather trustworthy. After the people heard these things, they became even more emotional. There were even some that shouted to have them beaten and killed. As for Feng Xiang Rong, she also spoke up at this time, saying: “They’re just a group of lowly third to fifth rank officials. To have this sort of courage, who knows what sort of powerful person is urging them on! Hundred Herb Hall has been operating peacefully for over two years. How could this sort of thing suddenly happen this year? It really is quite strange.”
“That’s right!” Hearing this analysis, the people immediately began to feel puzzled, “What sort of person could have those officials oppose Imperial Daughter like that?”
But Xiang Rong did not say anything else. Having directed the discussion to this point, this was all that she could do. Looking up at Wang Lin, who was standing on the table with the Hundred Herb Hall behind him, Xiang Rong felt very emotional. Ever since she had expressed her feelings during the banquet, she still had not summoned the courage to see Feng Yu Heng! She had finally managed to summon the courage to visit the imperial daughter’s manor this morning; however, she was told that Imperial Daughter had left the city and did not return the previous night. In a bit of a daze, she walked through the streets and ended up running into this group of people complaining about Hundred Herb Hall.
Wang Lin did not say another word. He just focused on wiping away tears. It was the members of officials’ families that were spread out in the crowd that went back and forth in their discussion that revealed the names of those officials. There were even some that did not fear death that analyzed: “Each year has been fine, but trouble only appeared this year. Could it be because His Highness the eighth prince returned to the capital?”
The people were not fools. Although they were just commoners, in any case, they were commoners from the capital. Furthermore, the crowd was not just comprised of commoners. There were also the family members of various officials, businessmen and wealthy families. Which one of them did not have a way to obtain information?! The precise cause of this situation was already very clearly placed before them. The officials were very clear that it was the eighth prince’s faction, which meant that them causing trouble could not be unrelated to the eighth prince.
Some people wanted to shrink back. After all, the situation was getting too large. If these were just third to fifth rank officials, they could also go along and cause a scene. After all, Hundred Herb Hall took care of the lives of everyone in the capital. It could be said that they always felt as if they had some sort of base to stand on with Hundred Herb Hall. They felt as though they had a second life, and no matter what happened to them, Hundred Herb Hall would have a way of dealing with it. But if they were to go and oppose the eighth prince and ended up having their heads cut off in the middle of the night, that would be something that even a real deity could not bring them back from.
Under this sort of pressure, some of the people from larger families began to shrink back. They slowly backed out of the crowd and snuck back home. This included the servants, concubine mothers and children of concubines from officials’ families. The words that had come out of their mouths had already caused a great deal of momentum, but they were worried that the head of their household would not be able to hold onto their positions.
Thus this group of people also suddenly left.
But they were still in the minority. No matter where a city is established, there would always be more commoners than officials and more commoners than wealthy families. That was why the crowd of people was still very large, even after those people had left. It seemed that the departure of those people had no effect on the large crowd.
After that, it was unknown who took the lead, as the people decided to stop causing a fuss in front of Hundred Herb Hall. Thus they asked amongst themselves to find the locations of those officials’ residences. The groups of people then surged in that direction. Wang Lin watched, as even the eighth prince’s palace was not avoided. There were nearly 100 people that arranged to head toward the eighth prince’s palace.
This act was very spectacular, and it had obtained the desired result. Seeing everyone leave, he stepped off of the table and let out along sigh. Preparing to head back inside, he turned around and saw Feng Xiang Rong standing at his side and looking at him.
Wang Lin was startled and quickly said: “Is this not the third young miss? How come you’re here? Could it be that there’s someone at home not feeling well? Is Madam An ill?” Because Xiang Rong had already moved out of the Feng residence, Feng Yu Heng had advised everyone to no longer refer to An shi as Concubine Mother An. They would instead refer to her as madam. In regards to this, An shi was secretly moved by this for many days. At this time, Feng Xiang Rong was standing here, and Wang Lin’s first reaction was that An shi had fallen ill.
Who knew that Xiang Rong would shake her head and ask: “Shopkeeper Wang, is my elder sister really going to be closing Hundred Herb Hall?”
Wang Lin did not hide it from her, nodding and saying: “It’s true. Including today’s matters, it was all advised by boss herself.”
“Then…” Xiang Rong was a bit worried, watching the crowds go further away. She asked: “With them just going to the officials’ manors to cause trouble, will anything happen?”
Wang Lin heard this and laughed, “If there really was any danger, how could boss have brought up such a suggestion? She is someone that loves the citizens more than anyone. Everything that she does is with the citizens in mind. Third Young Miss, don’t worry. Boss said that the law does not punish the majority. If just one or two went to cause trouble, they could be beaten or beaten to death, but since hundreds of people are going together, the other side will not dare to do anything. Moreover, we have already made arrangements ahead of time. We have already notified the governor. The citizens will be protected.”
When Xiang Rong heard this, she calmed down. After thinking a bit, she could not help but smiled bitterly. “It was me that was being too nosy. Second Sister has never done something without making preparations. How could she have allowed these citizens to act for Hundred Herb Hall without making arrangements to properly handle problems that arose?! Shopkeeper Wang, I just went to the imperial daughter’s manor to look for elder sister, and the servants said that she left the city. Do you know when she will return?”
Wang Lin thought a bit then shook his head, saying: “Boss did not mention it, but it will just be a day or two. It will not be too long.”
Xiang Rong nodded then said a few pleasantries before leaving with her maidservant. As for Feng Yu Heng’s imperial carriage, it returned that evening before the city gates were closed…