After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 113 How Did I Get Injured (Part Two)
"But who knew that Qian'er would encounter bandits on the way? The medicinal herbs she brought back were stolen by the bandits, and she was also injured by them."

"Fortunately, Qian'er was lucky. He pretended to be dead on the spot and escaped a disaster. Otherwise, he would probably have been killed by those bandits."

Old Wei turned his head and looked at Wei Qian, who was lying on the bed with a pale face, and said with heartache.

"Old Wei, you just said that Wei Qian was injured by bandits. Are there still bandits in the Huaizhou area?"

Old Wei calmed himself down and said, "Madam Prefect, you may not know this since you've just arrived in Huaizhou, but there are bandits in Huaizhou, and it's been like this for many years."

"I heard they were refugees who had nowhere to go during the war years. They couldn't survive, so they went up the mountain to become bandits. Prefect Liu had led people to suppress them before, but these bandits were protected by villagers, so the government's efforts to suppress them were not enough to damage their foundation. They usually don't come down the mountain to harm passersby, so the matter of bandits was gradually put aside."

"They're bandits, yet villagers are protecting them?" For some reason, Bai Wanqing felt there was something fishy about this.

Old Wei nodded. "I only found out about these things because of Qian'er's accident. I went outside the city to inquire, but I didn't get any specific answers."

Bai Wanqing nodded slightly, indicating her understanding.

"Old Wei, is Man Niang still at the Fang family's house?" Bai Wanqing was more concerned about Man Niang's condition, after all, she was a human life.

Tears welled up in Old Wei's eyes instantly. "She's gone! Man Niang passed away five days ago. Madam Fang just sent a steward to tell us."

"We wanted to go to the Fang family to see Man Niang, but they wouldn't let us in. We didn't even get to see Man Niang one last time!"

Bai Wanqing frowned. Although such things were common in many inner quarters, this Madam Fang's methods were too wicked.

"So, are the people we met at the wonton stall today also related to this matter?" Bai Wanqing asked, raising her eyes.

Old Wei wiped his face with his sleeve and then nodded.

"Yes! When Qian'er went out to buy medicinal herbs, we didn't have enough money, so we borrowed some from the money shop. Now that we've run out of herbs and Qian'er is injured, those people are coming to our stall to ask for money."

“They’ve been watching our stall every day these past few days, scaring away many of our original customers.”

Sister-in-law Wei added, "If this continues, let alone repaying the money, we're afraid we won't even be able to survive."

After listening, Bai Wanqing finally understood everything about the Wei family.

"Madam Prefect, we will pay back the money we owe slowly. It's just that Qian'er is injured and needs medicine, but the Fang family refuses to sell it to us. Only you can help us now."

Old Wei pulled his wife to kneel down before Bai Wanqing, but Bai Wanqing stopped him by raising her hand.

"Sister-in-law Wei, Old Wei, don't worry about the medicine for Young Master Wei's injury, I'll take care of it!"

"As for the matter of the bandits and the Fang family, I will speak with the prefect, and he will handle it accordingly. What do you think?"

Old Wei and his wife naturally thought it was a good idea. They both nodded and saw Bai Wanqing to the door. Wei's wife even gave Bai Wanqing the consultation fee that Wei Qian had paid for this treatment.

"We don't have much right now, Madam, please take it first."

Bai Wanqing looked at the thirty coins in Sister Wei's hand and did not refuse, letting Ruixin accept them. "Then thank you, Sister Wei."

Sister-in-law Wei blushed. "Madam, you are too kind. We should be thanking you for being willing to save Wei Qian."

After leaving the Wei family, Bai Wanqing lost all interest in continuing her shopping, so she took Ruixin home. Just then, Lin Yunche finished his official duties.

"Did you go out for a stroll?" Lin Yunche asked, noticing the wontons that had been packed up on the table.

"Yes! I took Ruixin out for a walk." Bai Wanqing touched the wontons on the table and found they were a little cold. "I'll heat them up for you."

Bai Wanqing picked up the wontons and went to the kitchen. A short while later, Lin Yunche also came over.

"These wontons smell so good! Where did you buy them?" He went closer to the stove and asked, smelling the aroma wafting from the pot.

"It's just a wonton stall by the roadside. Ruixin and I both thought it was pretty good, so we brought it back." Seeing that the wontons were almost heated up, Bai Wanqing took a large bowl and scooped them out. Lin Yunche kept his eyes on Bai Wanqing's movements until she held the bowl out to him. Only then did he happily take the wontons and start eating with his head down.

"The wontons at this stall are really good. I've never had such delicious wontons in my life," Lin Yunche praised as he ate.

Bai Wanqing thought for a moment and said, "If you like it, eat it while you can. Maybe in a few more days, we won't be able to eat it anymore."

Lin Yunche finished the last sip of soup, not understanding Bai Wanqing's meaning. "What? Are they closing down? Or are they moving away from Huaizhou City?"

He smacked his lips, clearly reluctant to part with the taste.

“I’m afraid they’ll have nowhere to stand in Huaizhou City anymore,” Bai Wanqing said, then sighed softly.

Lin Yunche stared at Bai Wanqing's eyes and knew that Bai Wanqing had something on her mind. He looked at Ruixin and saw that Ruixin had lowered her head.

"Ruixin, could you boil some hot water for us? We'll take a bath later." Lin Yunche stood up and said to Ruixin, then turned to Bai Wanqing and said, "Wanqing, shall we go inside and talk?"

Bai Wanqing nodded to Ruixin and followed Lin Yunche back to her room.

Lin Yunche took off his coat, stretched his arms to loosen his muscles, and walked to the bedside, saying, "Wanqing, what's the deal with that wonton stall owner you mentioned earlier?"

Seeing Lin Yunche's somewhat tired appearance, Bai Wanqing felt that she had been too abrupt today. Lin Yunche had just arrived in Huaizhou City, and he must have a lot of things to take care of, yet she had given him this task. Seeing her hesitation, Lin Yunche said, "Just say what you want to say, Wanqing. Although we haven't consummated our marriage yet, I already consider you my wife. I don't want to be so distant with my wife."

Lin Yunche spoke earnestly, and Bai Wanqing was moved by his expression.

“My husband is right. We are husband and wife as one. It is Wanqing who is wrong.”

Bai Wanqing then told Lin Yunche everything she had learned from the Wei family that day, and Lin Yunche frowned as he listened.

"The Wei family transported medicine from outside, but it just so happened that it was robbed by bandits. Wanqing, don't you think this is also very strange?"

Bai Wanqing nodded, "That's right. According to Lao Wei, those bandits aren't all evil. If they were bad people, why would the villagers near the mountain protect them? There must be something fishy going on."

Lin Yunche also thought so, "So this matter is probably related to the Fang family."

"Of course, all of this is just our speculation," Lin Yunche continued. "Can Wei Qian be saved?"

"Fortunately, the rotten flesh was cut away today, so there is still a glimmer of hope for survival."

"It's good that you can live! It's good that you can live!" Lin Yunche's eyes flickered, and then he looked at Bai Wanqing. "Madam, didn't you intend to bring the century-old medical clinic from Huai'an County to Huaizhou City? Now is a good opportunity."

Bai Wanqing thought for a moment, "You mean, you want me to break the Fang family's monopoly?"

“Husband, we’ve just arrived here. Although I have you as the prefect to rely on, you’ve only just taken office. If I go and compete with the local gentry for wealth, aren’t you afraid they’ll have a problem with you? If you offend people before you’ve even established yourself in Huaizhou Prefecture, it might be difficult to manage them in the future.”

Lin Yunche, however, did not take it to heart. "Madam, you are mistaken. How can we call this fighting for wealth? We are clearly acting for the people."

"Think about it, when we were in Huai'an County, besides your clinic, wasn't there also a Baicaotang clinic?"

Bai Wanqing nodded, "Yes, Baicaotang is actually older than our clinic."

"That's right! This small county town of Huai'an can have two clinics, so why does Huaizhou City only have the Fang family's clinic?"

"This shows that the Fang family has considerable ambitions."

"Of course, they probably have a lot to do as well." Lin Yunche said, a hint of ruthlessness creeping into his eyes.

Bai Wanqing then made a guess, "Husband, are you saying...it's related to the Northern Dynasty?"

Since Yang Cong's incident, although Lin Yunche has not directly told Bai Wanqing about his involvement with the Northern Dynasty, he has guessed a lot about it.

Moreover, putting aside everything else, in previous years, the top scholars of the Shang Kingdom were all kept in the Hanlin Academy in the capital by the emperor. It is probably only her husband who was directly demoted like this.

Thinking about it this way, Bai Wanqing realized that Lin Yunche's reason for staying in Huaizhou was probably still related to the Northern Dynasty.

Lin Yunche originally didn't want Bai Wanqing to know too much, as it wouldn't do her any good. But now that she had guessed it, he wouldn't hide it anymore.

"Yes! The Fang family is indeed related to the Northern Dynasty, but I just got this information from Yang Cong, so there's no evidence to back it up."

So, I think...

"You want me to use my century-old medical clinic to beat the Fang family so badly they can never recover?"

"This way, even without evidence or any leverage, this branch of the Fang family can be rendered worthless."

Bai Wanqing shared her guess.

Lin Yunche nodded. "I wonder if Madam is willing?"

Bai Wanqing was still hesitant, mainly because their century-old medical clinic had always kept a low profile since its establishment and had never thought of competing with other medical clinics.

But when she thought of people like Wei Qian and Man Niang who had nowhere to seek medical treatment, Bai Wanqing felt that this was not what a doctor wanted to see, and she just happened to have the ability to do so.

"Of course I'm willing! But..." Bai Wanqing paused.

"Just what?" Lin Yunche asked.

"But I'm afraid my money is only enough to open a clinic in Huaizhou. I don't have the strength to compete with the Fang family."

Bai Wanqing was telling the truth. Defeating a local tycoon who had been entrenched in the area for several years was no easy feat, especially since she really didn't have that much money!
"It's true that you don't have that much money, but you have a legendary healer as your ancestor!"

"With this title, even without money, one can quickly establish oneself in Huaizhou City."

Bai Wanqing realized at this point that being too good at medicine wasn't necessarily a good thing; there were too many things she couldn't control.

The renowned doctor Luo, who was practicing medicine in Huai'an County, knew nothing about it; he just suddenly sneezed.

"That girl has finally remembered me."

(End of this chapter)