The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 323: Supporting the Ninth Princess’s Medicine

Chapter 323: Supporting the Ninth Princess’s Medicine

"It’s the Ninth Prince!" Suddenly, someone shouted.

The streets were narrow, so Ye Siheng and Nanli had to alight from their carriage and walk the rest of the way to the pharmacy. Without the Black Armor Guard clearing the path, the citizens automatically made way for them.

Chu Shuo followed with Wang Cheng, reminiscing about how ever since his brother-in-law had confronted the Duke Qingguo’s residence, none of the young masters and ladies in the capital had openly mocked him for his merchant background.

Indeed, it was advantageous to have powerful connections.

They arrived at the front of the pharmacy. Qing Feng reported, "Your Highness, we have apprehended all six of them."

The ruffians glanced at Ye Siheng, seeing his stern expression and cold gaze filled with hostility. Trembling uncontrollably, each one of them was more afraid than the next.

"Why has the Ninth Prince come?" they wondered.

Could it be... Could it be...

Sure enough, Ye Siheng looked at the ruined pharmacy, his expression growing darker. "A’Li, they’ve vandalized your shop. How do you wish to punish them?"

Everyone was astonished.

The ruffians widened their eyes, almost fainting on the spot. This was actually the Ninth Princess’s shop?!

No one had expected that the Ninth Princess not only excelled in Taoist arts but also had such profound knowledge in medicine and alchemy.

Thinking back, the previously circulated meat-eating gu inhabiting beggars and the poor were dispelled by pills distributed from the free clinic, seemingly also concocted by the Ninth Princess.

Immediately, regret filled the minds of those ruffians. One of them slapped himself hard, muttering, "So it’s the Ninth Princess’s shop. I deserve to die! I deserve to die!"

After all, he had been infected with the meat-eating gu as well.

If it weren’t for the assistance of the Mansion of Marquis Anyang and the Ninth Princess, he might have been beheaded long ago.

The others, who hadn’t been infected, narrowly escaped throat-biting and the subsequent misfortunes of those infected.

Therefore, the Ninth Princess was their benefactor!

And today, they had accepted money from others and vandalized the Ninth Princess’s shop. Was this something a decent person should do?

Surely, retribution would come!

The six of them acted in unison, first slapping their own faces in self-punishment, continuously apologizing, "We’re sorry, Ninth Princess! Please don’t be angry with us, Ninth Princess. We were just doing it for money. We truly know we were wrong..."

Ye Siheng rolled his eyes imperceptibly.

How had they managed to start punishing themselves?

Had he already lost his temper?

Chu Shuo was also dumbfounded. He had expected a confrontation and perhaps some interrogation, but these ruffians had spilled everything as soon as they saw the Ninth Princess.

With several slaps landing on their faces, the impact was quite strong. The cheeks of the six ruffians were now swollen and bleeding from the corners of their mouths.

Initially paying them no heed, Nanli first went to check on the shopkeeper’s injuries.

Wang Cheng helped the shopkeeper to sit on the street. His head was battered and bleeding, his face bruised and swollen. Seeing Nanli and Chu Shuo, despite their own injuries, the shopkeeper choked up, "Master, Ninth Princess, it’s all my incompetence. I couldn’t protect the pharmacy. Many of the pills were trampled and destroyed. Only these remain."

He produced a small box, which he had protected with his own body.

It was because of this that he had been beaten so badly.

Chu Shuo’s eyes were slightly red. "If they want to cause trouble, just go along with them. Don’t risk your lives over this."

"Exactly. The shop can be repaired after being vandalized, and the pills can be remade after being trampled, but once your life is lost, it’s lost forever. No matter what, your own safety always comes first," Nanli said earnestly.

The shopkeeper’s eyes welled up with tears as he nodded incessantly. "I understand."

His previous employer had never cared about the lives of his employees; he was always focused on suppressing them.

Nanli knew the shopkeeper was injured, so she had brought the medicine box with her.

After tending to the shopkeeper’s wounds, she turned her attention to the six ruffians.

"Stop," Nanli said.

The six were not only in pain in their cheeks but were also too exhausted to lift their hands.

At this moment, the Shuntian Office’s magistrate arrived with his officials.

"Greetings, Your Highness, Your Highness," the magistrate said, his face slightly pale. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. "As soon as I received the report, I immediately rushed here with my men."

Ye Siheng glanced at him indifferently. "It seems that the magistrate is quite busy. How do you intend to handle this case?"

The magistrate’s forehead sweated even more profusely. He looked around nervously. "These men vandalized the shop and caused serious injuries. It would be appropriate to execute them publicly as a deterrent."

Two of the six ruffians fainted from fright upon hearing this.

How unlucky could they get?

They knew that brawling or causing trouble in the black market was never policed by the authorities.

They had unwittingly stirred up a hornet’s nest today! Now, even their lives were at stake!

The surrounding bystanders whispered among themselves. After all, officials had the law on their side. Ordinary folks like them wouldn’t dare challenge the authorities.

Nanli frowned slightly. "They’ve committed a crime and should be sentenced accordingly. Moreover, they were acting on someone else’s orders. Their crime doesn’t warrant death."

She looked at the ruffians with their swollen faces, thinking that they had suffered enough punishment in her opinion.

This magistrate didn’t seem capable of dealing with real issues.

The magistrate glanced at Ye Siheng discreetly. Seeing that the prince remained silent, he quickly changed his stance. "Yes, the princess is right."

He gestured for his officials to take the ruffians away, promising to interrogate them to uncover who was behind the scenes, giving Nanli an explanation.

Nanli could guess who was behind this. There were many vendors of Man-Up Pills in the black market, and her interference must have threatened their business, making them anxious.

She continued, "Let’s leave it at this for now. If there’s a next time, I will definitely investigate thoroughly. Even in the black market, fair competition should be upheld. If your pills truly cure ailments, customers wouldn’t go to other shops."

She knew that the owners of those shops were probably present.

Chu Shuo added, "Exactly. Instead of causing trouble, why not spend this time improving your pill formulas?"

One brave soul among the market-goers, his face red, spoke up, "I didn’t expect the princess to open a shop here in the black market selling these pills. Princess, if you need funding, us common folk will gladly support you! I’ll reserve ten Man-Up Pills to show my support!"

Ye Siheng’s expression grew colder.

Initially, he had been reluctant to let A’Li start a business selling pills in the black market precisely because of situations like this.

Qing Feng was furious too. He felt like pulling out this man’s tongue and silencing him forever!

However, Chu Shuo chuckled and said, "The reason our Sixth Sister opened this shop was to help people like this gentleman with hidden health issues!"

"Making money is a small matter. Solving life’s problems for gentlemen like him is what truly matters!"

The man blushed and stammered, "I... I was just trying to support the Ninth Princess, not..."