The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

"Everyone come and see! People are dying from drinking this medicine from Wan'antang!"

Shen Cao stood nearby and saw a man dressed in tattered clothes shouting. There was a mat at his feet, on which lay an elderly man over fifty years old with his eyes closed, who must have been dead for some time.

"Everyone, please be the judge. Seven days ago, my dad wasn't feeling well and asked me to get him some medicine. I thought Wan'antang was a large, reliable pharmacy."

I came all the way to Wan'an Hall specifically to get my medicine.

"But who would have thought that after my father drank the medicine for two days, he was almost cured."

That noon, my wife's family gave her a box of pastries as a reward.

My dad couldn't eat a single bite of food for several days, so my wife gave him two pieces of pastry.

Our whole family ate the pastries and were fine, except for my dad, who also took medicine after eating them.

The person was gone the next morning.

"It must be Wan'an Hall selling fake medicine! My father died unjustly!" The man said, throwing himself on the old man and crying.

After hearing the man's words, the onlookers all pointed at the manager of Wan'an Hall, demanding an explanation.

I never imagined that Wan'antang's medicine would actually kill someone. I'll never dare come here again.

Oh dear, my mother just bought medicine here a couple of days ago. I need to hurry back and tell her not to drink it anymore.

Who would dare buy medicine from Wan'an Tang after this?

"Wan'antang, pay up!" Someone in the crowd shouted, and this shout was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, breaking the silence that had been filled with whispered complaints.

"Pay up!" the crowd shouted indignantly.

"We have to return the medicine we bought."

"that is!"

"Refund!" The scene quickly spiraled out of control as everyone crowded towards the entrance of Wan'an Hall, making it nearly impossible for the shop assistants and manager to hold them back.

Suddenly, a group of people carrying long sticks walked out of the gate, pushing the crowd that was about to step into Wan'an Hall back out.

"Everyone, please calm down and listen to me," the shopkeeper said first.

"It's Wan'an Hall's responsibility. We will definitely refund everyone without asking for a single penny. Don't worry, Wan'an Hall will not shirk its responsibilities in this matter." The shopkeeper's words calmed the restless crowd slightly.

The crowd quieted down, waiting for the shopkeeper to continue.

The shopkeeper did not continue speaking. At this moment, a tall, elegant young man with a graceful figure, dressed in white brocade and holding a bone fan, walked out of the gate. After he came out, he addressed the crowd, "Please calm down, everyone. I am the young master of the Shen family. I have come here specifically to deal with this matter and will definitely give everyone an explanation."

Shen Yu'an's words put everyone at ease, and the crowd quieted down for the time being.

Shen Yu'an walked up to the young man and said, "We are deeply sorry for what happened to your father. If it really was Wan'an Hall's fault, then we will definitely take responsibility."

"Shopkeeper, tell me, what happened?"

When the young master asked him, the shopkeeper explained the whole story: "This young master came to the pharmacy seven days ago. When we asked him, he said he came to get medicine and gave us a prescription. We then prepared three doses of medicine for him according to the prescription."

"Looking at the prescription, it was for regulating the spleen and stomach, so we didn't pay much attention to it."

"Young master, is this true?" Shen Yu'an asked.

"Yes, that prescription was given to my father when he was feeling unwell before. He was fine after taking it before, but this time he got the medicine from you and died after taking it."

"If it's not your problem, whose problem is it?" the man said, becoming somewhat agitated again.

"Please don't get agitated. I don't mean anything by it; I just want to understand what happened."

"I wonder if your father showed any unusual symptoms before taking the medicine?" Shen Yu'an continued.

"And you know what? Before my dad took the medicine, he had a very good appetite and could eat several bowls of rice in one meal."

"Ever since I started taking this medicine, I haven't been able to eat a single bite. I feel constantly tired and have no energy to do anything. I also have to relieve myself frequently," the man continued.

“From your description, your father’s problem isn’t related to his spleen or stomach,” Shen Yu’an said.

"Your prescription is for regulating the spleen and stomach, but it's not the right treatment."

“My father had the same problem before, and he recovered after drinking that prescription. Why won’t it work this time?” The man thought Shen Yu’an was trying to shirk responsibility and immediately retorted.

“Even if it’s not the right treatment, your father shouldn’t have passed away,” Shen Yu’an said.

"Aside from pastries, are you sure your father didn't eat anything else that day?"

"I can't eat anything."

Shen Cao, standing in the crowd, listened to their conversation and pondered for a moment. Then, looking at the old man lying down, she had some thoughts in mind.

"That doesn't necessarily prove that there's a problem with the medicine," Shen Yu'an said.

"What, you're trying to renege on your debt?"

“They definitely won’t renege on their debt. Why don’t we report it to the authorities and have a coroner examine the body? If it’s our fault, then we’ll deal with it accordingly,” Shen Yu’an suggested.

"Report to the authorities? Everyone knows you officials and businessmen are colluding. I'm just an ordinary citizen. Who will stand up for us ordinary people? You're clearly shirking your responsibility."

Upon hearing the man's words, the people below immediately chimed in, "That's right, that's right."

Shen Yu'an looked at the person who was acting like a rogue with some helplessness. It was really hard to say whose responsibility it was.

But he was unwilling to take the blame, so he could only have his servants carry the old man's body to the yamen to report it to the authorities.

When the old man's son saw that someone was coming to carry his father's body, he immediately rushed up to stop them, and the people below also helped him to block the Shen family's servants.

The scene became chaotic again.

"I wonder how you intend to handle this?" Shen Yu'an asked helplessly.

"I want you to pay for my father's life," the man said.

“A life for a life. You have no evidence to prove that your father’s death was definitely caused by Wan’antang’s medicine. Who knows if your father had any other illnesses before he died?”

Upon hearing Shen Yu'an's words, the man became so angry that he rushed forward to beat him, but was stopped in time by Shen's servants.

Although the man is pitiful, Young Master Shen's words are not without reason. Some people in the crowd began to discuss among themselves.

Indeed, the deceased didn't receive treatment at Wan'an Hall; they only got medicine. Perhaps the medicine wasn't suitable for their condition, which led to their death.

Alas, now we need to determine what illness the old man suffered from before he died in order to know the cause of his death.

Listening to everyone's words, Shen Cao considered some possibilities.

Someone walked up to the man and whispered a few words in his ear. The man replied, "Then you can't prove that my father's death wasn't related to your medicine."

Yes, what this person said makes sense.

After hearing what the man said, the crowd started talking again.

Well, looking at it this way, neither of them can prove it.

Shen Yu'an looked troubled as he listened to everyone's words.

Yes, they also cannot prove that the deceased's death had nothing to do with them.

This is indeed a difficult matter to handle. If all else fails, we will have to force them to go see the authorities.

However, this will definitely damage the reputation that the Shen family has built up over the years.

Just when he was at his wit's end, a pleasant voice suddenly said, "I have a way to prove it!"