I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

The conference room was completely silent. How could these people dare to ask Chen Hao to treat them? If anything was discovered, it would be embarrassing.

Just when the atmosphere was at a stalemate, the door of the conference room was suddenly pushed open.

"Sorry, I'm late."

The man who came in was a man in his sixties, with white hair but a vigorous spirit. Chen Hao knew him; he was Zhang Mingde, a descendant of Zhang Zhongjing, the most prestigious traditional Chinese medicine practitioner in the city.

"Mr. Zhang, why are you here?" Li Hua quickly stood up to greet him.

"I heard some people were questioning Xiao Chen's medical skills, so I came to see him," Zhang Mingde said with a smile. "Xiao Chen saved an old friend of mine, and I know his medical skills very well."

Chen Hao felt a warm feeling in his heart. Zhang Mingde must be talking about Mr. Liu.

"Mr. Zhang, which friend are you talking about?" Li Hua asked curiously.

"The old man from the Liu family." Zhang Mingde sat down. "I've seen his illness before, and it's really quite difficult. The fact that Xiao Chen was able to cure him shows that his medical skills are truly superb."

The faces of those "famous Chinese medicine practitioners" changed when they heard Zhang Mingde's words. Zhang Mingde held a high position in the local Chinese medicine community, and his words carried great weight.

"Mr. Zhang, we are not questioning Dr. Chen's medical skills, but his lineage." The old Chinese doctor with a goat beard said with a stiff upper lip.

"Master?" Zhang Mingde looked at Chen Hao. "Xiao Chen, who did you learn your medical skills from?"

Chen Hao thought about it and decided to tell the truth: "I don't have a fixed teacher. I mainly learn on my own."

"Can you reach this level through self-study?" Zhang Mingde was a little surprised.

"I have been interested in traditional Chinese medicine since I was a child. I have read many ancient medical books and through practice, I have gradually reached my current level," explained Chen Hao.

Zhang Mingde nodded. "As the ancients said, a master leads you to the door, but the practice is up to you. A gifted person can indeed learn without a teacher."

He looked at the people who were questioning Chen Hao and said, "You said Xiao Chen stole the Wang family's secret manual. Do you have any evidence?"

Several people began to hesitate again and could not produce any substantial evidence.

"Since there's no evidence, then don't make such irresponsible remarks." Zhang Mingde's tone became stern. "What the Chinese medicine community needs is real talent and knowledge, not this kind of groundless suspicion."

The atmosphere in the conference room changed instantly. With Zhang Mingde's support, those who questioned Chen Hao were speechless.

"Let's end today's meeting here." Li Hua saw that the situation was not good and quickly ended the meeting. "Doctor Chen, thank you for your cooperation."

Chen Hao stood up and prepared to leave, but Zhang Mingde stopped him.

"Xiao Chen, wait a moment."

"Mr. Zhang, what's going on?"

"I want to talk to you alone." Zhang Mingde looked at the others and said, "You guys go first."

After everyone else left, Zhang Mingde spoke: "Xiao Chen, you have to be careful."

"Mr. Zhang, what do you mean?"

"Someone is targeting you, and it's someone quite powerful." Zhang Mingde lowered his voice. "I've heard rumors that foreign forces are collecting our traditional Chinese medicine data."

Chen Hao's heart trembled. It seemed that Zhang Mingde had also noticed something.

"Do you know who it is?"

"I'm also investigating." Zhang Mingde shook his head. "But you have to remember that Traditional Chinese Medicine is a precious treasure left by our ancestors. We can't let outsiders steal it."

"I understand." Chen Hao nodded solemnly.

"If you need any help, feel free to come to me." Zhang Mingde patted Chen Hao on the shoulder. "The Chinese medicine community needs young people like you."

Chen Hao left the association building with mixed emotions. Although he had escaped danger today, he knew this was just the beginning. The Wang family and Huakang Pharmaceutical would not give up easily; even greater storms lay ahead.

After returning home, Chen Hao told Li Wan'er what happened today.

"Fortunately, Mr. Zhang helped me, otherwise we would be in trouble today." Li Wan'er breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mr. Zhang reminded me to be wary of foreign forces. It seems he's also aware of something." Chen Hao frowned. "We must investigate Huakang Pharmaceutical's background as soon as possible."

"I already have some clues." Li Wan'er opened her laptop. "Look at this."

The screen displayed a business registration form. Huakang Pharmaceutical's shareholder structure was complex, ultimately linked to a Japanese pharmaceutical group through layers of offshore companies.

"They are indeed Japanese." Chen Hao gritted his teeth, "These people are really evil and have not given up."

"Not only that, I've discovered an even more serious problem." Li Wan'er clicked on another file. "This Japanese pharmaceutical group has applied for many patents related to Traditional Chinese Medicine in recent years, many of which are our traditional prescriptions."

Chen Hao looked at the list of patents on the screen and was furious. These precious treasures that originally belonged to the Chinese nation had been patented by foreigners.

"How despicable!" Chen Hao slammed his fist on the table. "We must stop them."

"But how do we stop them?" Li Wan'er asked worriedly, "They haven't broken any laws yet, and we don't have any solid evidence."

Chen Hao calmed down and began to think about countermeasures. Indeed, now was not the time to show his hand; more evidence was needed.

"We must first secretly collect evidence and prevent them from succeeding." Chen Hao said, "The Wang family will definitely cooperate with them. We have to find a way to stop them."

Just then, Chen Hao's phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Doctor Chen, this is Zhang Li from Huakang Pharmaceutical." A familiar voice came over the phone. "Our boss wants to meet with you to talk."

Chen Hao and Li Wan'er looked at each other and decided to take advantage of the situation.

"Okay, when?"

"Tomorrow afternoon at 3:00, Huakang Pharmaceutical Company. Is that convenient for you?"

"No problem." Chen Hao agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Li Wan'er said worriedly, "Are you really going? It might be dangerous there."

"No venture, no gain." Chen Hao held her hand. "I want to see what they are planning to do."

"Then I'll go with you."

"No, it's too dangerous." Chen Hao shook his head. "Wait for me outside. If anything happens, call the police immediately."

The next afternoon, Chen Hao arrived at Huakang Pharmaceutical Company as scheduled. It was a modern office building with luxurious decoration.

"Dr. Chen, welcome." Zhang Li personally greeted him in the lobby. "Our boss has been waiting for you for a long time."

Chen Hao followed Zhang Li to the top-floor office. When he opened the door, he saw a middle-aged Japanese man sitting behind the desk.

"Hello, Dr. Chen." Tanaka Ichiro stood up and said in not very standard Chinese, "I am Tanaka Ichiro, the chairman of Huakang Pharmaceutical."

"Hello." Chen Hao responded indifferently, having already confirmed the other party's identity in his heart.

"Please sit down." Tanaka Ichiro gestured, "Doctor Chen, I have great respect for your medical skills."

"Thank you." Chen Hao sat down and took in the office's layout. Portraits of famous ancient Chinese doctors hung on the wall, and numerous Chinese medicine classics lined the bookshelves.