Chapter Ten: Jiang Bai Has Returned

“Can Jiang Xiaoyou really not even distinguish such easily recognizable medicinal herbs?” Military Doctor Liu said in disbelief. “You know, the root of clematis clashes with several other ingredients in this prescription. Taking them together will definitely cause poisoning.”

“That’s impossible. Jiang Xiaoyou is so skilled that just one pill can detoxify. How could he make such a mistake? Could it be that...”

“Any doctor should be able to tell the difference, even by just touching it,” Liu murmured.

Beside him, Chen Jie was initially shocked. Then, recalling the words Wang Da and the others had said last night, which still echoed in his ears, he began to suspect this might be a setup. But honestly, was the plan to make everyone think Jiang Bai didn’t understand pharmacology and was treating patients recklessly? If Jiang Bai simply came forward and personally prepared a prescription, wouldn’t the truth be revealed?

While Chen Jie was pondering this, someone suddenly rushed in. “Deputy General Yang, there’s a man outside claiming he has evidence against Doctor Jiang! He says Jiang is not a real doctor but just a helper!”

“What?” Yang Bin was shocked. What was going on? How did Jiang suddenly become a mere assistant?

“Deputy General Yang, should we bring him in?” Wang Da suggested.

“Bring him in,” Deputy General Li said as he entered with his men.

Yang Bin looked silently at the man before him. How was it that Li Yuan seemed to be everywhere?

The newcomer was about thirty-five years old, shrinking his head and cautiously glancing around the room before immediately lowering it again.

“Are you the one accusing Jiang Bai?” Li Yuan asked the man.

“Yes, it’s me.” The man swallowed nervously. “Jiang Bai isn’t a doctor at all. She’s an impostor. Because her father was an herb gatherer, she recognized a few herbs and was introduced to work at the clinic. Then, out of greed, she stole several prescriptions from her employer, which allowed her to pretend to be a doctor. But she doesn’t actually understand pharmacology. She’s a fraud!” He spoke more fluently and quickly as if he had rehearsed.

“Is that true?” Li Yuan echoed him.

“I swear on my life it’s true,” the man insisted solemnly.

Yang Bin stared at the two in collusion. Oh right, there were also two others backing them up. He didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t just an attack on Jiang Bai; it was an attack on themselves. He waved off a soldier nearby, unwilling to pay more attention to them.

Yang Bin told Chen Jie to continue examining the patients’ conditions instead of wasting time pretending to act here. They should hope Jiang Bai had indeed prepared the wrong medicine. If he discovered these people were joking with human lives to frame her, then there would be serious consequences.

“Where is Jiang Bai?” Li Yuan suddenly pretended to remember and angrily asked where she was.

“Doctor Jiang said she went to gather herbs in the mountains,” the medicine boy just now replied.

“Could she be fleeing out of fear?” Wang Da gasped.

“Yang Bin, look at the people you’ve brought!” Li Yuan shouted.

“Maybe she really went to the mountains to gather herbs,” Yang Bin said, keeping an eye on his soldiers and replying briefly.

“Check if their belongings are still in the tent,” Li Yuan decided immediately.

Yang Bin gave him a look, thinking Li Yuan’s mind was cracked.

“Deputy General Li, the luggage of Jiang Bai and Jiang Ye is missing, and we found a prescription on the corner of her table,” the returning soldier reported.

“Ha! So she really fled out of fear,” Li Yuan seized the opportunity, leaving no chance for Yang Bin. “This is... Military Doctor Wang, take a look.”

Wang Da examined it carefully. “Brother Chen, is this the ancestral prescription from your family?”

Chen Jie took it and confirmed it was indeed their family recipe. Honestly, if it weren’t for the shadow he saw while crushing herbs and the secret meeting of Wang Da and Military Doctor Liu that day, just finding his family’s prescription from Jiang Bai’s belongings would have seriously diminished his impression of her. He would have been angry, and after some more persuasion from Wang Da, he might even join the attack on Jiang Bai.

Suddenly someone shouted, “Jiang Bai is back.”

“Jiang Bai, you dare come back?” Li Yuan roared.

Jiang Bai looked at the situation before her and understood well enough what was going on. It was probably Wang Da and the others making a move. Jiang Bai felt she should play along; otherwise, it would be awkward for everyone. “What happened?”

“Look at the mess you made!” Li Yuan reached to grab Jiang Bai, but she dodged his large hand.

“A few people fell ill after taking the medicine you personally prepared,” Yang Bin stepped forward to block Li Yuan’s hand and summarized briefly.

Jiang Bai saw that Yang Bin had intervened and didn’t bother with this stranger who had come to harass her. She quietly withdrew the energy from her fingertips and stepped forward to examine the patients. “They took the wrong medicine.”

“So you admit it? You’re not a real doctor and just randomly mixed medicines?” Military Doctor Liu lamented.

Jiang Bai looked at the absurd old man and said, “Are you crazy?”

“They took the medicine you prepared, and now they’re having problems. And you call me crazy?” Liu fumed.

“Jiang Bai, just admit it—you made a mistake. It’s okay if you don’t know everything. After all, you gave us many prescriptions and have contributed. But don’t pretend to know when you don’t; that could kill people,” Wang Da pleaded earnestly.

Jiang Bai looked at the two pretending so badly and clarified again, “I didn’t prepare the medicine.”

“You still deny it? People saw it and recorded it. It was you who prepared it,” they insisted.

“What do you think?” Jiang Bai turned toward Yang Bin and the others. These people talked nonsense and couldn’t communicate. She might as well have gone and beaten them up last night. But the immediate priority was solving this problem. So the one who could help solve it was...

“I believe Doctor Jiang,” Yang Bin declared. After all these days together, he knew Jiang Bai’s character and quickly expressed his support.

“First, get the prescription and prepare the medicine for these people,” Jiang Bai said, ready to treat the patients directly. This was more effective than arguing back and forth.

“You still want to prescribe medicine? Are you trying to kill them?” Wang Da stopped her. The longer this took, the more permanent damage these patients would suffer. If the accusations were severe enough, he was confident he could expel Jiang Bai from the army. The more victims, the easier it would be to crush her.

Jiang Bai handed the prescription to Chen Jie. After all, these people were willing to go this far to frame her, so they clearly had no bottom line. It was better to entrust it to someone righteous.

“All right, I’ll go right away.”

“Brother Chen, you still trust this fraud? I know you care about patients, but she’s not just a fraud—she’s a thief. We can’t trust prescriptions from someone like her,” Wang Da blocked Chen Jie, trying to persuade him.

“You said she stole the prescription. What if this one is stolen too? Then these people would be saved. Why are you stopping me?” Chen Jie retorted.