Someone in the crowd let out an indignant shout, which instantly roused the emotions of the surrounding villagers. They surrounded Mu Fengqie tightly, leaving her no way to escape.
Mu Fengqie let out a soft chuckle. "I'd love to reopen the pharmacy, but I'm simply unable to. If things were as you claim, it would be a breeze. But the truth is far from it."
She paused for a moment before continuing, "I closed the pharmacy because Li Jiaojiao hired someone to set fire to all my medicinal herbs. Without any herbs, what's the point of keeping the pharmacy open?"
Mu Fengqie's words carried such weight that the onlookers fell silent. They stared at her in disbelief. They had always assumed that the pharmacy remained closed because Li Jiaojiao had offended Princess Tianlin.
"Why should we believe you? The rumors from the past few days didn't come out of thin air!" someone protested.
"Yes, I did say those things. But I only intended to close the pharmacy for one night and reopen it the next day. I never imagined that Li Jiaojiao would be so ruthless as to burn all my medicinal herbs.
Even though I'm the master of the Medicine Master Valley, I can't possibly replenish all those herbs overnight."
This time, the skeptical voices died down. Meanwhile, Li Jiaojiao, who had been hiding in the corner, was already panicking. She never expected Mu Fengqie to make such accusations and smear her reputation. When had she ever hired someone to burn Mu Fengqie's herbs?
Realizing that the situation was turning against her, Li Jiaojiao decided to slip away quietly.
But she had only taken two steps when Mu Fengqie spotted her. "Li Jiaojiao, don't you think you owe everyone an explanation? Why did you burn my medicinal herbs?" Mu Fengqie shouted at her retreating back.
Hearing Mu Fengqie's voice, Li Jiaojiao froze for a moment. Without hesitation, she took off running.
Mu Fengqie watched Li Jiaojiao's panicked flight and sneered disdainfully. If Li Jiaojiao hadn't run, the onlookers might not have believed her so easily. But her hasty escape spoke volumes.
It was clear that Li Jiaojiao had a guilty conscience.
The villagers were instantly enraged. They had thought Li Jiaojiao was quite pitiful these past few days, spending so much money every day. They assumed her life must be tough. But now...
They realized they had been fools to pity her! Tough life? She deserved every bit of it!
After learning the truth, the villagers immediately made way for Mu Fengqie. They even apologized to her sincerely. But Mu Fengqie didn't respond. She simply left.
"Are you okay, my lady?" Zhu Fei asked worriedly, fearing that Mu Fengqie might have been frightened by the incident.
"I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired," Mu Fengqie replied, closing her eyes and leaning against the carriage.
Yuan Yerui had remained silent ever since he got into the carriage. Zhu Fei and the others were so focused on Mu Fengqie that they didn't notice the killing intent in Yuan Yerui's eyes.
These people were truly despicable! How dare they threaten his master? Instead of admitting their mistakes, they had the audacity to threaten her! Yuan Yerui clenched his fists tightly in anger.
After returning home, Mu Fengqie collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. She was truly exhausted. Treating Mrs. Jiang had taken a great deal of her energy. And then she had to deal with those villagers. Her body simply couldn't take it anymore.
Mu Fengqie slept until the afternoon the next day. When she woke up, Zhu Fei told her that the Jiang family had sent some gifts as a token of gratitude. The gifts were placed in the front hall, and the messengers were still waiting outside.
Mu Fengqie nodded with her eyes closed. If it weren't for her growling stomach, she felt she could sleep for another day.
"Tell them to leave the gifts and go back. I'll go there again tomorrow," Mu Fengqie said. She knew why the Jiang family's messengers were still waiting. They were eager to know when the next treatment would take place. Fortunately, Mu Fengqie was straightforward. After getting the answer they wanted, the messengers left.
After having a hearty meal, Mu Fengqie finally felt alive again.
"How's Xiujuan doing lately?" Mu Fengqie had been so busy with the Jiang family's affairs that she had forgotten about her.
"She's been quiet lately, waiting for the news you promised her from the palace," Zhu Fei reported, filling Mu Fengqie in on Xiujuan's recent activities.
Mu Fengqie nodded and said, "We can't keep dragging this on. We need to find a way to resolve this." Given Xiujuan's stubborn personality, even if they told her that Mu Rendong had found another woman in the palace and forgotten about her, she wouldn't give up on finding him. The problem was that Mu Rendong was already dead, and the one in the palace was an impostor.
"My lady, I think it's best to send her back," Zhu Fei suggested. She was worried that Xiujuan would cause trouble if she stayed any longer.
Mu Fengqie sighed and rubbed her temples. "I'd like to send her back too, but can you guarantee that she won't come back?"
After hearing Mu Fengqie's words, Zhu Fei fell silent. She realized she had thought things through too superficially.
Mu Fengqie closed her eyes and pondered. Zhu Fei was right. Xiujuan couldn't stay here forever. They needed to find a way to make her leave voluntarily.
"How's Lord Qian doing? Any news?" Mu Fengqie remembered that she had sent Qian Tu to the palace to investigate Mu Rendong's situation. She wondered if he had managed to find out anything.
"I'll go and check," Zhu Fei said, then took off in a flash. She didn't want her lady to worry about this alone. Lord Qian was also responsible.
When Zhu Fei arrived at the Qian Mansion, Qian Tu wasn't there. Only his parents and elder brother were in the house.
Just as Zhu Fei was about to leave, she was spotted by Qian Tu's third elder brother, who immediately shouted for the guards to catch the intruder.
Since Zhu Fei hadn't entered through the main gate and had assumed Qian Tu was in the mansion, she hadn't bothered to conceal her presence.
"Who are you? How dare you break into the Qian Mansion!" Qian Tu's third elder brother surrounded Zhu Fei with his guards. He looked at her triumphantly. After spending so many days in the capital, he finally felt like he had done something meaningful.
It seemed that his younger brother's mansion needed better security. Look, someone had managed to break in today!
Zhu Fei looked at the man in front of her in disbelief. She couldn't help but think he was incredibly childish. Not wanting to engage in a fight, she took out her identification token.
"I'm Princess Tianlin's personal guard. I'm here to see Lord Qian," Zhu Fei explained, expecting that once she revealed her identity, the third young master would let her go. But to her surprise, the third young master was a complete fool.