Clearing the Name: This Is Medicine, Not Witchcraft

Vincent Su arrived with a child, but the first to reach the scene was actually Dominic Zhai. However, Serena Feng wasn’t in the prefectural hall—she was in the morgue.

"The morgue? Has something happened to Evan Zhou? Is he dead? Is Serena Feng here to claim the body?" Vincent Su, who arrived shortly after, immediately assumed that Evan Zhou had finally been killed, and that with his death, Serena Feng’s last hidden threat was gone.

Unfortunately for him, he was disappointed—Evan Zhou was fine. Serena Feng was only here to help.

"Doctor Feng, these five bodies all died after taking medicine sold by the Young Family Pharmacies. Their deaths were sudden, and the medicinal ingredients they used were completely different." Capital Prefect Victor Wei followed Serena Feng politely, explaining in detail the time and circumstances of each death.

‘Never underestimate the young, nor bully the poor.’ How true that is. Just half a year ago, Prefect Wei treated Serena Feng with nothing but arrogance and official authority. But now? He was all smiles, eager to please.

"Doctor Feng, they all share one thing in common: blackened lips and purple faces—classic signs of poisoning. I’ve sealed all medicinal stocks from the Young Family Pharmacies and found no issues with the herbs. Yet the families insist that before their deaths, the only unusual thing was taking medicine from the Young Family Pharmacies."

"Doctor Feng, I swear on my life, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with our Young clan’s medicine." Harold Young, Fourth Uncle of the Young clan and head of their Eastlyn business, could not escape blame for this disaster. It wasn’t the first time, but this incident was especially severe—Harold Young looked as if he’d aged decades.

"If your family’s medicine isn’t the problem, then it must be something else. So why ask me? I’m no constable." Serena Feng replied to Harold Young.

The Young clan might lead the medicinal trade, but what did that have to do with her? She didn’t know traditional medicine, rarely used herbal remedies, and though she’d been studying with Simon Sun lately, she still hadn’t mastered any prescriptions. Who knew when she’d become a true expert in both Eastern and Western medicine?

Traditional medicine demands a custom prescription for each patient—far harder to learn than Western medicine. And since she couldn’t let Simon Sun teach her openly, her progress was even slower.

Sun Zhengdao hurried forward, "Qingchen, Harold Young and I are old friends. If you can help, please do—if only for my sake, all right?"

Sun Zhengdao knew Serena Feng had been busy these days. If he had any other choice, he wouldn’t trouble her.

He felt quite embarrassed, even putting his own reputation on the line. If Serena Feng refused him, where would he put his old face?

Serena Feng sighed. Five thousand years of Huaxia history—human relationships are always the hardest to handle. "Imperial Physician Sun, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but there’s really nothing I can do here."

"Exactly! Serena Feng’s just a woman—what can she do? Imperial Physician Sun, you’re grasping at straws." Dominic Zhai strode forward. He disliked Serena Feng, but wouldn’t let anyone bully her.

Serena Feng nodded repeatedly, "Imperial Physician Sun, His Lordship isn’t wrong. I’m just a weak woman—how could I possibly have the ability? Besides, I barely understand herbs."

It was the truth, but coming from her, it sounded almost humble.

Harold Young fell silent. He wasn’t close to Serena Feng, so her reluctance was understandable. Sun Zhengdao knew it was a tough request, but...

"Qingchen, your anatomical dissection skills are unmatched. Harold Young came to me hoping I’d dissect these bodies and find clues, but you know my technique—it can’t uncover anything. That’s why I thought of you."

"That’s a coroner’s job—you won’t get anywhere asking me." Serena Feng felt a headache coming on. She was a doctor, not a forensic examiner; the last time she moonlighted at Hsieh Manor, she’d only done it because she was forced.

"The coroner has already dissected three bodies and found nothing." Harold Young spoke in a muffled voice. "Doctor Feng, a healer’s heart is like a parent’s. The Young clan may not practice medicine, but our business is medicinal herbs—and their quality is a matter of life and death. We don’t care about losing money or reputation, but what we do care about is making sure the same mistake doesn’t happen again. No one should ever die because of Young clan medicine."

Sun Zhengdao said that Serena Feng might be young, but she had a compassionate heart and always put patients first. He believed this would move her.

A drug merchant and a doctor are not the same—the former is a businessman, and businessmen always put profit first. Harold Young’s words were only partly sincere, but he wasn’t wrong: if the cause couldn’t be found, more people would die because of Young clan medicine, and the Young Family Pharmacies would lose their reputation.

But...

Some things aren’t as simple as they seem. If she got involved, what if she couldn’t get out? The herbs were clean, yet people were dying after taking Young clan medicine—something about this was clearly fishy.

Now it was Serena Feng’s turn to fall into deep thought. Vincent Su, Leon Su, Caleb Wang, and Ethan Hsieh arrived almost at the same time.

"What happened?" Vincent Su asked.

"Sister Feng, are you okay?" Leon Su asked.

"Serena Feng, who did you offend this time?" Caleb Wang asked.

Ethan Hsieh stayed silent, waiting for Serena Feng to answer.