"Xia Zhu, where is Lin?"

"Mr. Lin and Mrs. Lin haven’t come over yet. I came first. Mr. Guan, is there something you need?" Xia Zhu still held a great deal of respect for Guan Biyun.

Guan Biyun lived at the back of the consultation point and had helped them a lot, especially in the processing of medicinal materials. She had learned quite a bit by following him.

Given his experience and skills and his open and accommodating attitude—willing to teach anyone eager to learn—Xia Zhu had no choice but to maintain a certain level of respect for him.

"Last night, Old Poison came by. He reviewed the cases and prescriptions Lin consulted and prescribed over the past few days. He was a bit concerned about the prescription for the Shang Family and asked me to remind Lin first thing this morning," Guan Biyun said.

"What’s wrong with Mr. Lin’s prescription?" Xia Zhu asked, confused. Lin Miao had specially instructed her to oversee the Shang Family’s decoction and consumption of the medicine to ensure there were no mistakes before returning.

Moreover, after taking the medicine, Shang Youwei’s symptoms rapidly improved, and his periods of clarity grew longer. At times, he hardly seemed like someone who had ever been mentally ill.

"There is an ingredient in this prescription, cinnabar, which is highly toxic and should not be taken in excess. You’re aware of this, right?"

"I know. Mr. Lin emphasized that the dosage must be precisely one-third, taken with the decoction, and not to be consumed continuously within a day. It must be taken every other day to avoid poisoning. He mentioned all of this," Xia Zhu nodded.

"Patients aren’t doctors. Even if you give medical advice, they might not follow it. That’s why Old Poison is worried that the Shang Family might not follow orders and overdose, and if something goes wrong, it will be a big problem," Guan Biyun said with concern.

"But this... it has nothing to do with Mr. Lin..."

"Xia Zhu, if Lin weren’t in the ’Path of Entry to the Sage’ trial, this would certainly be none of his concern. When doctors give their advice and patients don’t listen and mess around, Lin wouldn’t have any responsibility at all. But the situation is different. If a fatality occurs, even if it’s not Lin’s fault, he did use toxic substances in the treatment. If the patient dies, how should the responsibility be borne? What if the patient’s family insists they followed his advice?" Guan Biyun explained. "The human heart is the most unpredictable thing."

"This..." What Guan Biyun said made Xia Zhu break out in a cold sweat.

She was suddenly fearful of the potential consequences.

"According to rules, I shouldn’t be reminding you, but a human life is at stake. It’s best if nothing happens. If something does, and it brings in the authorities, interrupts Lin’s trial, and he misses the timeline and can’t complete the trial, all his efforts and hard work will be in vain," Guan Biyun said.

Countless people have had accidents during the ’Path of Entry to the Sage’ trial, leading to interruptions or failures that could have been completed.

Examples like these are all too familiar.

Jealousy can drive people to do irrational and even criminal things.

"Mr. Guan, I’m going to check on the Shang Family right now. Let Mr. Lin know when he returns," Xia Zhu couldn’t sit still any longer. She immediately dropped what she was doing and headed toward the Shang Family.

"This child, always so impulsive..."

...

It turns out something really did happen to the Shang Family. By the time Xia Zhu arrived, a crowd of neighbors had gathered at the small courtyard entrance.

Everyone whispered among themselves, pointing fingers.

"Excuse me, excuse me, make way," Xia Zhu squeezed her way in.

She saw Tang and his wife crying their hearts out, while their son lay motionlessly on a door plank in the central hall—he was clearly gone.

She froze for a moment; Mr. Guan’s warning had been timely enough, yet she still arrived a moment too late.

"Everyone, step back. Official business..." Suddenly, there was a commotion from behind. A man dressed like a captain, accompanied by four or five governmental constables, pushed through the crowd and entered the Shang Family courtyard.

Tang was taken aback to see officials arrive. His son had just passed away, and he hadn’t even reported it, so why were the authorities here?

"Old Tang, was it you who reported this?" The captain demanded immediately upon arrival.

"Reported?" Old Tang was at a loss. His son had only just died, and he and his wife were consumed by grief. They hadn’t even considered such a thing, so how could they have reported it?

"Your son is dead, and it appears he was murdered. Someone reported it to the South City District authorities, correct?" The captain questioned.

"My son was murdered?" Old Tang clearly didn’t grasp what was happening, but several governmental constables had already rushed into the main hall.

"Sir, Old Tang’s son’s face is darkened; it looks like he died from poisoning!" an officer quickly reported.

The crowd gasped at the news.

"Poisoned? Out of nowhere, how could he be poisoned?" The captain, intrigued by this, ordered without hesitation, "Bring Shang Youwei’s body back, and take Old Tang and his wife along for questioning!"

The constables quickly conducted a brief investigation at the scene, taking Shang Youwei’s body and Old Tang and his wife with them, sealing the Shang Family courtyard with tape and placing guards to secure it.

Seeing this, Xia Zhu was jostled by the constables and immediately realized something serious had occurred. She turned and ran back.

Lin Miao and Sun Youwei arrived at the consultation point, curious about Xia Zhu’s absence, and inquired with Lin Yurou across the room.

The young girl was dismissive, only mentioning that she’d seen Xia Zhu leave, but didn’t know where she went.

Lin Miao didn’t think much of it, assuming Xia Zhu had something to attend to and would be back soon. He opened up shop and personally began preparations for consultations that day.

Everything unfolded in an orderly fashion.

When everything was prepared, the first patient entered the consultation room. After four diagnoses, Lin Miao determined it was just a common cold with slight symptoms of Shaoyang syndrome, half external, half internal, and prescribed a dose of warm Chinese medicine for Li Zhong soup to let them go back and fetch the medicine.

Just as he was about to call in the second patient, Xia Zhu hurriedly pushed the door open from outside: "Mr. Lin, something’s happened, Tang’s son is dead."

"Who’s dead?" Lin Miao didn’t instantly react to who "Tang’s son" was, but quickly understood who Xia Zhu was referring to, and stood up at once, querying, "How did he die?"

"The government officials from the South City District came, did a simple check, said it was poisoning, and took the body away, sealing the courtyard as well!" Xia Zhu said.

"Poisoned to death, shouldn’t they first determine whether it was murder, suicide, or an accident? Why take the body away first thing?"

"The captain from the government office said Tang reported the case, claiming his son was murdered."

"Murdered by someone..." Lin Miao shivered, feeling something was off, understanding somewhat the situation. He worried that Tang might not follow medical advice when taking medicine, and if too much cinnabar was ingested, it could be fatal due to poisoning. He had repeated warnings, even sent Xia Zhu to oversee the first dose of medicine personally. He had visited once, confirming the medicine worked well for Shang Youwei, but then within a few days, the person was gone.

This was a vibrant life. Are these people really indifferent to human lives just to set me up?

These were just his suspicions, hoping they were incorrect.

"Mr. Lin, as soon as I arrived in the morning, Mr. Guan came over to remind you..." Xia Zhu recounted the warning from Guan Biyun.

Lin Miao nodded gravely. He hoped humanity wouldn’t stoop so low, but Xue Wulang’s malice was evident.

If the guess was correct, the matter involved more than one person. Those people, to deal with him, didn’t hesitate to sacrifice an innocent person, destroy a family.

This was a long-planned scheme.

Why was Tang’s son chosen? His diagnosis and medical records weren’t something anyone could randomly access, this was patient privacy.

Apart from the three supervisors from the Imperial Pharmacy and those around them, it was the pharmacy Tang had bought the medicine from.

Cinnabar is highly toxic.

Only physicians and pharmacologists familiar with pharmacology know this; ordinary people wouldn’t consume cinnabar. Only some enthusiasts of "Alchemy" would, and cinnabar sales must be recorded, especially in pharmacies. Toxic substances must be documented; otherwise, if something goes wrong, it’s unspeakable.

"Xia Zhu, which pharmacy did Tang buy the medicine from?"

"Anning Hall!"

"Go to Anning Hall immediately and obtain records of cinnabar and medicine sales!" Lin Miao instructed, "Also, based on Shang Youwei’s medication rate, how much cinnabar should be left in his home?"

"He prescribed up to three doses at a time. After finishing, he’d buy more. Originally, you prescribed three fen of cinnabar, later reducing it to one fen. So, however many doses remain, that’s how much cinnabar is there. The pharmacy matches the prescription exactly, neither more nor less." Xia Zhu said. Medicine isn’t ordinary merchandise; sold amount must be precise, with records kept.

"This medicine doesn’t pass through my hands, and there’s no issue with the prescription, but cinnabar shouldn’t be taken for long; prolonged use leads to chronic poisoning. If someone truly did this, they must be utterly heartless." Lin Miao quickly calmed down, analyzing the causality of the entire situation, though still uncertain who operated behind the scenes, but it likely couldn’t be separated from certain people.

The influence of these people in Dongshan City is immensely large.

For an ordinary person encountering them, it’s like a lamb to the slaughter, powerless to resist.

No matter what, the consultation work cannot halt.

If such a small wave can’t be overcome, then greater storms and difficulties await him ahead.

Guan Biyun seemed to have heard news, hurriedly approaching.

"Lin..."

"Mr. Guan, I’m aware of the situation. This was my oversight; perhaps someone indeed intends to target me. They’re truly ruthless, I’ve witnessed it." Lin Miao calmly told Guan Biyun.

"Who do you think is targeting you?"

"I’ve clashed with Marquis Lingyang’s Xue Wulang, and have ongoing issues with the local renowned Ye Family, as well as Anning Hall. I’m unsure whether this time it was one side, or two sides cooperating; in any case, their actions are despicable, cruel, costing a life just to make me fail my trial, ruin my reputation!" Lin Miao said through gritted teeth.

"If it’s indeed the case, then these people surely lack ambition, don’t support the younger generation, occupying their positions without merit, envious of talent, despicable!" Guan Biyun disapprovingly remarked.

"Mr. Guan, I’m not someone who lets others slaughter me as they wish. Since they’ve made a move, I’ll take them on." Lin Miao calmly said, "A senior family member used to say, ’Fighting with heaven, fighting with earth, fighting with people, is endless joy.’"

"You still have elders in your family?" Guan Biyun asked, surprised.

"Sort of, but they passed away long ago." Lin Miao smiled cynically, leaving the matter open, unwilling to elaborate, letting Guan Biyun ponder it.

"Mr. Lin, Mr. Lin, are you here..."

A familiar voice drifted in.

"Mr. Han, is something wrong? Please come in." Upon seeing Han Chunyang, Lin Miao warmly greeted him, cupping his hands.

"Mr. Lin, the plaintiff alleged the prescription you provided contained toxic substances, leading to death. We need to summon you; please don’t make it difficult for me, accompany me to the Arresting Department?" Han Chunyang truly disliked coming, but he was executing orders from the top, unable to defy them.

"Alright, let me arrange things, then I’ll accompany you." Lin Miao readily agreed; what’s destined to happen will come.

Only he didn’t expect it to come so quickly; were these people that eager?