zChapter 840 - The Capital’s Newly Opened Thousand Herb Hall (2/2)
Xuan Tian Mo quietly held his breath, but this was not too big of a problem. A granny and a few strong men, people like this could not affect him. Who would believe them? Even if someone came to act as a witness, it would just be a bit troublesome. It would not do any real damage. They could not accuse a prince of a crime just based on a granny and a few large men, right? It was just… the kidnappings on the other roads might end up being caught. If only one case of this appeared in the capital, it would be fine, but if more and more appeared, he could not suppress it. Old ninth and old seventh were not herbivores. He did not want to cause too much of a disturbance before old ninth left the capital.
He secretly gave his subordinates orders and immediately informed the people responsible for the other routes to have them return the long way around. They must not mention anyone’s name, not even His Highness the ninth prince’s name would be used. This matter would be concluded.
It was just as Xuan Tian Mo had expected. The governor began a trial for the matter, and the fat granny continued to admit it, but her words did not carry any weight. Even with that many girls acting as witnesses, it was not much of a threat to the eighth prince. The eighth prince just needed to resolutely say that there was no such thing and that the fat granny was acting under someone else’s orders. Just like this, he brushed off responsibility for this matter.
Xu Jing Yuan also understood the logic of this, and he did not insist. He just used this case to write a clear notice and sent it to the surrounding areas, saying that such a thing would happen. It served as a reminder to everyone. It was this that caused even more people to suspect that the eighth prince was guilty of the kidnappings. It also happened that there were many families whose daughters had been kidnapped. Everyone turned their sights on the eighth prince, and the officials began to secretly hate him. The merchants had also decided that they would do their best to avoid the eighth prince. Any business that had even the slightest connection to the eighth prince, regardless of how beneficial it may be, would be avoided.
As for the officials that had lost their daughters, although they did not clearly state which prince they supported, if they were supporting the eighth prince, they definitely had some sort of understanding. This sort of thing might not be worth much now; however, it could become something that would trip him up. But if these people occasionally sent in reports to cause him trouble, it would be quite frustrating for him. The Emperor was also happy to share these reports causing trouble for His Highness the eighth prince with the officials. In just a short span of time, it created a phenomenon where many people began to hate the eighth prince.
Xuan Tian Mo had dropped a rock on his own foot, and he felt even more resentment toward Feng Yu Heng. From time to time, he would inquire about the location of the reports of skirmishes in the South. He was waiting for the Emperor to order Xuan Tian Ming to go South. The battlefield in the South was his territory. Once Xuan Tian Ming set foot on the battlefield, he had hundreds of ways to ensure Xuan Tian Ming went but did not return.
Unfortunately, before the report from the South could reach the capital, the Thousand Herb Hall that he had opened in a grand way had run into a big problem. The Persian doctor, for the sake of copying Feng Yu Heng’s treatment methods and to have Thousand Herb Hall quickly take the place of Hundred Herb Hall in the eyes of the citizens, had actually taken a risk and performed a chest surgery on a patient. Unfortunately, he did not even understand the basics of surgery. After just a few cuts, the person was cut to death.
With one person dying in Thousand Herb Hall, the patients began to cause a stir. This was in addition to the people that had bought the cheap medicinal herbs, only to find that they had no medical effect, and even some had found spots of mold in the medicine. These people gathered together and began to analyze this situation. They immediately understood that the eighth prince was a fraud, thus they could no longer sit still. The citizens gathered up a large crowd in front of the governor’s office, and the family members of the patient that had been killed carried the corpse to the office’s entrance. At the same time, another group had forcefully dragged the Persian doctor to the location. When the governor opened the court, the Thousand Herb Hall and the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, were reported to the court.
There were not many cases of a commoner reporting an official, and it was even more unheard of for a commoner to report a prince. Normally speaking, when standing against the imperial family as a commoner, one had to be paddled 30 times when the trial began. After the paddling, they would need to have nails struck into them before they could begin to voice their complaints. Those that died could only be considered unlucky.
But there were too many citizens in the capital that had gone to Thousand Herb Hall to fetch medicine and be treated. These people were not completely ignorant of the laws. In regards to the lower-class people reporting the people above them, they understood it clearly. That was why all of the citizens that had gone up to bang on the drum. It was such that the entire hall was completely filled. There were at least 200 citizens that had participated, and the banging of the drum could still be heard coming from the outside.
Everyone pointed and accused Thousand Herb Hall, and the corpse of the deceased was placed in the hall, their family members continuing to cry. Even the officials calling for silence were drowned out.
The governor, Xu Jing Yuan, sat in court and looked down below; however, he was not angry in the slightest. Even if the citizens continued to squeeze inside and continued to curse the eighth prince and Thousand Herb Hall, he would not get angry. He even closed his eyes with a faint smile.
Very good, he liked this sort of outcome. The eighth prince, His Highness Prince Sheng, let’s see how you will handle this stage!