Chapter 414 - Chapter 414: Chapter 401: Made a Clean Sweep

Chapter 414: Chapter 401: Made a Clean Sweep

Zhuang Wencheng returned home, feeling somewhat dazed.

“Wencheng is home, come and eat quickly.” Seeing her youngest son had run a great distance to deliver the package, Mrs. Wang, with a pang of pity, quickly pulled him over to join them for the family dinner.

As she approached, she suddenly noticed his poor complexion and his hands were slightly cold.

“What’s wrong?” Mrs. Wang immediately became anxious, reaching out to touch Zhuang Wencheng’s forehead, “You’re not feverish.”

“What on earth happened? All you did was go out to deliver the sugar cookies, and you come back like this?”

“Did your third aunt say something unpleasant? No, it can’t be. She treats you better than your two other uncles, so she wouldn’t have disparaged you.”

“If it wasn’t your third aunt…”

After considering for a while, Mrs. Wang furrowed her brow and asked,” Did Zhuang Qingning say something to you?”

For instance, comments suggesting that you are not worthy of her?

Of course, that must be it.

Zhuang Wencheng is normally easygoing and often laughing; this sudden listlessness was highly abnormal. The only explanation was that it was related to the issue that had been heavily on his mind recently.

That Zhuang Qingning! She was outrageous!

“No, it has nothing to do with Little Sister Ning.”

Seeing Mrs. Wang becoming increasingly angry, Zhuang Wencheng quickly sobered up a little and hurriedly tried to explain.

“I suddenly realized that I had made a mistake in the prescription I wrote for someone today…” Zhuang Wencheng said, lowering his head.

“Ah, I thought it was something serious. It’s just a mistake in the prescription, it’s not that big of a deal. You nearly frightened me to death.” Mrs. Wang took a deep breath, her hand over her chest.

As long as it wasn’t something that would cause Wencheng to be bullied, anything else was tolerable.

“This is not a minor issue.” Listening to what Zhuang Wencheng said, Zhuang Futian appeared worried on his face, “An incorrect prescription could be harmful to people’s health, that’s a serious issue.”

“That’s not the case.” Zhuang Wencheng explained, “It was just a prescription for flatulence, and the wrong medicine would not harm the patient, it would only weaken the medicine’s effect and the swelling will take longer to go down.”

“Ordinary people wouldn’t notice, but an expert would be able to tell at a glance. Although there’s no harm done, it’s still damaging to my reputation. I’ll go to the pharmacy tomorrow to explain to the patient.”

“You should be more careful next time. Fortunately, nothing serious happened this time. However, if it’s a critical case next time, and the wrong medicine is prescribed, you may end up hurting people. As a doctor, you must bear this responsibility.” Zhuang Futian sternly warned him after his initial relief.

“Yes, I know, father. Don’t worry.” Zhuang Wencheng nodded.

After casually making up an excuse earlier, he actually felt a bit more relieved after having a conversation with Zhuang Futian. Recognizing from Mrs. Wang’s questions that it would be best to keep his thoughts hidden for now to avoid any unnecessary suspicions or cause Zhuang Qingning any trouble, he forced a smile, “Let’s eat.”

“Yes, let’s eat.” Zhuang Futian laughed and returned to his seat.

Zhuang Wencheng also pulled Mrs. Wang to sit down and eat.

Mrs. Wang scanned the room while eating, her lips moving as if about to speak something, but in the end, she simply picked up her chopsticks and continued eating.

Under the clear moonlight that spread a hazy glow as if from a silver plate.

Although the moonlight was enchanting, especially on the fifteenth day when the moon was full, the farmers, after a hard day’s work, were too tired. Nobody paid much attention to these unnecessary details apart from their basic needs for food and clothing, and they all went to sleep early.

A sense of tranquility came over the land.

At this time, Qingzhuyuan was quite lively.

Fan Wenxuan and Chu Jinzhou were playing a game where they recited poems about the moon. If one of them could not come up with a verse, they had to have a drink.

As Chu Jinzhou was too young to drink alcohol, he had to draw a little turtle on the back of his hand as a punishment.

Though the fun had been somewhat reduced because they couldn’t draw on faces, Fan Wenxuan was already over the moon with happiness that Chu Jinnian had unprecedentedly agreed to this. He was not too demanding and played fervently against Chu Jinzhou.

“The bright moon shines among the pines, the clear spring trickles upon the stones.”

“People have sorrows and joys; the moon has its periods of waxing and waning.”

“The moon shines bright over the Qin and Han dynasties; after the long journey of ten thousand miles, the man is yet to return.”

“…”

The two conversed back and forth, and the entire atmosphere was full of energy and delight.

Watching the old and the young happily play their game, Chu Jinnian picked up a cup on one side and took a sip of wine.

The wine was brewed from newly harvested osmanthus flowers. It had a sweet taste and was just right for the moment.

“Mr. Chu.” Jing Zhao came in a hurry.

“Tell me,” Chu Jinnian put down his cup.

“As per your instructions, I have investigated the case thoroughly, and it is indeed related to Mrs. Ruo,” Jing Zhao replied, “Mrs. Ruo commanded her servant, Manfu, to come here and target Third Young Master, planning to take action when opportunities arise. She even instructed him to cover his tracks perfectly and not to leave any clues that you might detect.”

“Manfu stayed outside Qingzhuyuan for a long time, but he never found an opportunity. When he accidentally heard that Third Young Master was going to Cuiwei Mountain with Miss Zhuang and others, he decided to act along the way. He then began to spread rumors about auspicious signs several days in advance, and planted a particular plant in that cave. He also collaborated with someone to bury gunpowder in the mountain, pretending that people were illegally mining there to manufacture an accident.”

“Manfu had even found a scapegoat who will go to the County Government Office to confess to stealing mountain stones as soon as Third Young Master got hurt, in order to cover up the whole thing.”

“Unfortunately, the calculation of the amount of gunpowder was wrong, and thanks to Miss Zhuang who helped, Third Young Master was relatively well. Manfu was shocked to hear about this and didn’t know how to handle it. After seeing you coming and Mr. Fan and Banqing planning to use the explosion to rescue people, he decided to go all in and instructed the man who made the gunpowder to increase the amount in an attempt to kill you and Miss Zhuang. ”

“Fortunately, with your wisdom, Mr. Chu, you noticed that something was not right and revealed his plot. Now Manfu has been caught by me and confessed clean.”

“Mr. Chu, do you want to send Manfu to the capital?”

This will let everyone know about Mrs. Ruo’s despicable means!

“Even if we send Manfu to the capital, it would not solve the problem. Manfu was born to a low-standing family, his parents’ lives are in Mrs. Ruo’s hands. He confessed out of fear of punishment now, but when confronted with Mrs. Ruo in the capital, he might not dare to speak out.”

With a nonchalant expression, Chu Jinnian calmly said,” Moreover, even if this had been exposed and sent to the Emperor, considering the relationship between him and Prince Qi, the Emperor would most likely reprimand and mildly punish, but is unlikely to cause any real harm to Mrs. Ruo.”