Chapter 887: Governance

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Auntie Xu glared at her angrily. “Don’t I know you? You’re already so old, but you’re still like when you were young. When you’re angry, you sulk on your own. Don’t you know how your body was damaged?”

When the Old Madam passed away, Auntie Xu couldn’t say much and could only try her best to take care of Yu Youyao. Auntie Xu couldn’t let her cause trouble for herself now. Otherwise, at such a young age, she would cause trouble for herself sooner or later.

Yu Youyao looked guilty and quickly picked up the small bowl. The mushroom soup was light and delicious. The soup was salty and fresh in her mouth, and it was very appetizing. The mushrooms had absorbed the soup and tasted a little sweet. It was very refreshing.

After finishing the soup, Yu Youyao was covered in sweat and finally felt a little better. She couldn’t help but chatter to Auntie Xu about what had happened today. Then, she mentioned the Bai couple’s actions of using inferior medicinal herbs to earn ill-gotten gains.

After hearing this, Auntie Xu understood why she was so angry.

Before Yu Youyao came to the North, she had already understood the power of the nobles entrenched in the North. The Bai Residence was a well-deserved noble in the Liaodong area. When Madam Bai went to the Dragon Phoenix Temple to express the Bai Residence’s intention to join them, Yu Youyao was naturally happy to see it happen.

Firstly, the Bai Residence did not directly participate in the persecution of King Li of Zhou.

Secondly, the Bai Residence and the You army were related by interests, but over the years, although the two sides had constant friction, they were still in harmony.

Thirdly, the medicinal herbs business under the Bai Residence had a good reputation.

Although Yu Youyao was dissatisfied with the Bai family taking sides with the evildoer, she could understand the helplessness of merchants.

It was already not bad for the Bai Residence to be like a fish in water between the government, the land-owning class, and the You army.

However, when she found out that the Bai Residence had earned ill-gotten gains, other than being angry, she was more disappointed. Helping to abuse others could be a helpless move, but it could be used to deceive the commoners and earn ill-gotten gains. At the same time, it also showed that human nature was heartless. It showed the greed and virtue of merchants vividly.

Auntie Xu smiled. “That’s a separate matter. The Bai Residence has done many injustices, and they will ultimately be devoured by greed. They brought this on themselves. The law of the country is to clearly distinguish wrongful treatment. Whether Madam Zhang should be protected or not depends on whether Madam Zhang’s husband’s death is related to the People’s Relief Hall.”

It was obvious that those involved were confused by such an obvious question.

Yu Youyao was enlightened. “Auntie is right. If Madam Bai and her husband had nothing to do with Husband Zhang’s death, they shouldn’t have to bear this responsibility.”

At this moment, Shu Yun came over to report, “Young Miss, someone from the government office has come. They said that they want to bring Madam Zhang back to the government office for interrogation overnight. They’re outside now.”

Yu Youyao did not expect the government office to act so quickly. She instructed, “Tell Madam Zhang about the seriousness of this case. Get her to do her best to accompany the government office for the trial. Let Old Madam Sun work harder and accompany her.”

As the plaintiff, Yu Youyao would be summoned at any time when the government office was investigating the case. However, as a Princess, it was not appropriate for her to enter and leave the government office often. If it was not necessary, she would find someone close to her and summon them on behalf of the government office. It would be more appropriate for them to cooperate with the government office to investigate the case.

The case had entered the interrogation process. According to the confessions of the parties involved, they would capture all the people involved one by one. The case would go through layers of interrogation and go deeper.

After the case was filed, Ye Xiaoci would also go to the Imperial Court, and the royalists and the nobles of the North would also become turbulent.

Once the Han family was implicated, it would also implicate Elder Han in the capital, and the royalists would further encroach on the cabinet power.

Every step she took and every decision she made was in line with the interests of the royalists and the Empress Dowager. Only then would the royalists fully support her.

In a way, she was indeed in politics.

However, the backyard was often related to the previous dynasty, and her every move had to follow the court’s rules. There was no concrete evidence that she had indeed interfered in the court’s rules. Everything she did was only for a woman from the inner residence. It was only right for her to follow the court’s actions.

Yu Youyao lowered her eyes to hide the darkness in them.

At nine o’clock, Uncle Sun and Xia Tao arrived at the Yu Garden.

Uncle Sun said, “There are more than 600 medicinal herbs in the People’s Relief Hall, and most of them are commonly used. Not all the medicinal herbs are inferior. Some medicinal herbs that are cheap can also have more than 70% of their original medicinal effect. The other medicinal herbs have effects, ranging from 50% to 20%.”

“The doctor in charge of picking out medicine in the People’s Relief Hall has ordinary medical skills, but he’s proficient in pharmacology. I’ve checked the list of medicinal herbs in the shop recently. The doctor uses better medicinal herbs for serious illnesses, and poorer medicinal herbs for minor illnesses…”

There were about 300 to 400 types of medicinal herbs in the small medicinal shop, and the larger ones were all more than 500 types. For example, there were no less than 2,000 types in the Baiji Medicinal Shop.

Yu Youyao felt relieved. These words matched Old Master Bai’s previous words.

From this, it could be seen that the Bai couple indeed only wanted money and did not want to harm the lives of others. Although they had earned ill-gotten gains, the medicinal herbs in the People’s Relief Hall were indeed relatively cheap.

Uncle Sun continued, “I’ve seen Madam Zhang’s list of medicinal herbs. The medicinal herbs used are indeed all ordinary medicinal herbs. The physicians-in-charge at the People’s Relief Hall are very experienced in choosing medicinal herbs. If Husband Zhang really had a cold, the cold should ease after using the medicine for three days. Ox bezoar is a rare and precious medicinal herb in the People’s Relief Hall. The People’s Relief Hall isn’t big and doesn’t have much stock. It’s only used for a few emergencies.”

If there was an emergency, life-saving medicine would be given. Usually, medicinal shops with some foundation would prepare some medicine to treat an emergency as much as possible.

In other words, the problem was not with the People’s Relief Hall.

Yu Youyao had an idea. “According to you, it’s impossible for the doctor to have grabbed the wrong medicinal ingredient. He should be able to start with the ingredient that killed Madam Zhang’s husband, the ox bezoar.”

Ordinary cold medicine only included ordinary medicinal herbs. Even if it couldn’t cure one’s cold, it wouldn’t kill them. If the people from the Bai Residence wanted to tamper with the medicine, they could only use strong medicine according to the prescription. However, the scale of the People’s Relief Hall wasn’t big, and there wasn’t a complete collection of medicinal herbs. If they wanted to choose a “strong medicine”, they could only choose from the herbs available in the People’s Relief Hall. The range of choices was very limited.

Ox bezoar became the first choice.

Yu Youyao’s sharpness amazed Uncle Sun. He felt even more regretful that she didn’t learn medicine.

The Bai Residence was guilty, but not guilty to death. Protecting the Bai Residence was beneficial to the current situation. Yu Youyao asked carefully about the situation in the People’s Relief Hall. Then, she instructed Xia Tao to prepare a room and bring Uncle Sun over to rest.

The Bai couple waited in the side courtyard for four to six hours, completely tormenting them until they felt guilty and short of breath. They were extremely terrified and were brought to the living room with trepidation. They knelt on the ground, not daring to get up.

Yu Youyao did not make things difficult for them. “Not long ago, the state government office has already sent someone to summon Madam Zhang to the government office. They want to interrogate her overnight. I think that the investigation of the case will reach you in a few days.”

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