Pei Xingyuan stood with ease, arms crossed, leisurely gazing at the people before him. Watching their loud complaints, his eyes still curved into a smile, yet he remained silent.
Shang Ruyi instinctively clenched her fist, nervously watching the scene.
anwhile, the patients in Changle Square, stirred by that middle-aged man, were not only discontent with the expensive dicine but also seed eager to vent their frustrations of falling ill these days, seeking treatnt to no avail, and teetering on life’s edge. They continuously complained and cursed, causing the situation to spiral into chaos, like a pot boiling over.
But, no matter how intense emotions are, there is always a ti when they subside.
What’s more, no matter how they cursed, the person opposite them remained silent, leaving them feeling as if their punches were landing on cotton—no, swinging at empty air, which was not only useless but also tiring.
Gradually, the crowd quieted down.
They looked at each other, and for a mont, the scene not only quieted but also beca sowhat awkwardly silent.
Only then did Pei Xingyuan smile faintly: "Everyone, are you done speaking?"
Out of breath and with dry mouths from cursing, the crowd could only look at him as Pei Xingyuan brushed his clothes and leisurely said, "You think this dicine is expensive, and indeed it is, but you should know, there is a reason for the high price. After all—had I not brought these dicines, forget about buying a bowl of dicine with one tael of silver, you might not even get it for one or two."
"..."
"By that ti, you’d have saved your money, but will you still be alive?"
"..."
"Besides, can the ordinary dicine sold here compare to what I’ve brought? I brought these back from near Luoyang, and you know how chaotic it is over there. Transporting them all the way to Daxing, traveling through mountains and waters, even tofu would be sold at the price of at, let alone life-saving dicine!"
"..."
"So, if you want to bla soone, don’t bla , the one selling you life-saving dicine."
"..."
"You should bla the person who, knowing well there would be a plague, deliberately scavenged all the dicinal materials in the city in advance, leaving you to die!"
Upon hearing these words, the faces of the patients around changed.
Indeed, although Pei Xingyuan’s dicine was expensive, it wasn’t to the point of bankrupting people. One tael of silver for a bowl, two bowls a day, even taking them for ten days to half a month is only two or three taels of silver, and ordinary families could still manage. Even poor families could grit their teeth and scrape up enough money for life-saving dicine. The truly detestable one was the person who had previously scavenged all the dicinal supplies in the city, leaving them no avenue for help.
Thinking this way, the patients couldn’t help but gritted their teeth, cursing under their breath.
Seeing the crowd’s emotions being roused once more, yet in a completely opposite direction, Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
No wonder Shen Wuzheng insisted on Pei Xingyuan handling this matter.
Without a bit of "shalessness," there’s really no way to control the crowd at such a ti, and say these words so reasonably and logically.
It’s important to know that selling dicine at such tis, and at such high prices, is akin to profiting from others’ misfortune, even "milking the situation," yet Pei Xingyuan’s silver tongue left everyone speechless; moreover, no one here noticed his conflation of the scavenging of dicinal herbs with the fact that the plague "was known to occur."
This way, their anger was not only directed at the severe shortage of dicine but also at being victimized!
Seeing the crowd’s reaction, Pei Xingyuan knew his words had taken effect, so he stepped forward again and leisurely addressed these variedly emotive patients: "In short, one tael of silver per bowl of dicine, cure guaranteed, no more will be charged, no less will be sold."
"..."
"You want to survive, I seek profit, neither interferes with the other."
"..."
"Now, those who want to live, co forward and buy dicine."
His last sentence seed to make the final decision for today’s turmoil.
For a mont, the entire scene fell into silence once more.
But this ti, the silence wasn’t the powerless, stubborn quiet after cursing; rather, everyone exchanged silent glances, returning to their previous positions, and started to line up again.
After all, everyone wants to live.
Seeing this scene, Pei Xingyuan imdiately signaled to the person behind the long table, and that person who had been about to retreat with the dicine pot imdiately stepped forward again, continuing to pour the decoction into the empty bowls on the table. The clerk sat back down, picked up his pen and account book, and once again asked, "Residential square, and your na."
The person replied, "Datong Square, Chen Anye."
Standing by, Shang Ruyi let out a long sigh of relief.
Only now did she feel her palm cold and damp, having unconsciously clenched her fist, her palm full of cold sweat.
Earlier, she almost thought that sothing would indeed happen today in Changle Square.
Fortunately, Pei Xingyuan stabilized the situation.
Speaking of which, although she really liked Pei Xingyuan as a person, finding him sincere, cheerful, and optimistic, it was only as a friend; but today, she truly had newfound respect for Second Young Master Pei, who seed like a carefree playboy.
This person, although "shaless," remained calm in crisis and composed in adversity, indeed possessing his own abilities!
Thinking of this, Shang Ruyi chuckled softly.
But just then, a soft sigh sounded from behind her, seemingly echoing her laughter.
Turning her head, she saw Su Qinglan, who had been quietly standing behind her. At this mont, she was watching Pei Xingyuan from a distance, her expression sowhat peculiar.
Shang Ruyi looked at her, then at Pei Xingyuan, and instinctively asked, "Mr. Su, do you know him?"
Su Qinglan still looked at Pei Xingyuan from afar, her gaze sowhat misty, and softly said, "When I was little, I t him."
"Oh? Then you two—"
"I never thought that after so many years, he would have beco like this—, I thought he was still the sa as when he was a child..."
"Huh?"
Shang Ruyi was taken aback.
She vaguely sensed sothing but couldn’t quite discern it, while Su Qinglan had already let out a light laugh. The glimr in those gentle eyes dimd at this mont.
It’s as if she had let sothing go, turning her head around without speaking and began to walk back.
Shang Ruyi instinctively said, "Mr. Su?"
Su Qinglan stopped, just glanced back at her, and then said, "Young Madam, there are still patients over there who need my care, they—cannot afford the silver."
With that, she quietly walked away.
Watching her slender silhouette fade into the distance, Shang Ruyi was montarily stunned.
At this mont, a hand lightly tapped her shoulder, and Shang Ruyi quickly turned around to et a pair of crescent moon-like eyes smiling at her. It was Pei Xingyuan, who had just faced off with the patients and now appeared nonchalant. He said with a smile, "What are you looking at? Rember how I looked just now, you must go back and tell your brother I was—huh?"
He inadvertently saw the figure ahead and was taken aback.
Shang Ruyi promptly asked, "Mr. Pei, do you recognize her?"
Pei Xingyuan furrowed his brows, thought for a mont, and said, "She seems to be Su, Su—"
"Su Qinglan!"
"Right! Su Qinglan, her mother is a dical Officer in the Imperial dical Bureau, a female officer, that’s impressive!"
Shang Ruyi smiled and said, "She is now also the dical Director of the Imperial dical Bureau and is taking care of the patients with the most serious conditions over there."
Pei Xingyuan raised an eyebrow and said, "Amazing, when she was little, she would cry with a runny nose when bullied, I thought she could only get married and would be oppressed after marriage, but I didn’t expect such achievents."
"..."
Shang Ruyi suddenly found it both infuriating and amusing.
No wonder Lei Yu always treated him badly, ready to resort to physical ans after just a few words. Pei Xingyuan sotis really had a way of getting on people’s nerves.
However—
She thought for a mont and said, "Since you know each other, why don’t you go and have a chat with her?"
For so reason, thinking of Su Qinglan’s look just now, Shang Ruyi felt uneasy, thinking they should probably et. Yet Pei Xingyuan nonchalantly waved his hand and said, "I won’t go over, we’re not that familiar. Besides, there’s much to do here, if anyone else stirs up trouble, no one can keep them in line."
"...Oh, that’s true."
Shang Ruyi nodded but felt a bit empty inside.
She couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but it seed that sothing had silently begun and then silently ended, yet those involved—whether it was the silently departing Su Qinglan or the proudly smug Pei Xingyuan—seed unaware.
At this mont, Pei Xingyuan looked around and asked, "By the way, where did that person go?"
He also apparently felt sothing was off about the middle-aged man, who incited people’s emotions but then suddenly disappeared. If he were rely an ordinary patient, even after a quarrel, he’d have to stay and queue for dicine like everyone else in the market.
Shang Ruyi imdiately said, "I asked—"
Before she finished, she saw Wo Xue returning with a tense expression, saluting Shang Ruyi and Pei Xingyuan, "Young Madam, Mr. Pei."
Shang Ruyi didn’t expect her back so soon and imdiately asked, "Where’s the person?"
Wo Xue replied, "Forgive , Young Madam, I lost him."
"What?!"
Shang Ruyi furrowed her brows, "Even you lost him?"
It should be noted that Wo Xue wasn’t an ordinary maid but ca under Chu Yang’s command. Her skills were remarkable; a regular person shouldn’t be able to shake her off.
That middle-aged man is of unusual origin.
Shang Ruyi thought for a mont and asked, "Then, is he still in Changle Square?"
Wo Xue’s expression grew more serious, and she lowered her voice, "No, I followed him out of Changle Square, all the way into Yanzuo Square."
"..."
"Initially, I wanted to follow him more closely to find out who he really was, but—there was an incident in Yanzuo Square, and in a mont of distraction, I lost him."
An incident in Yanzuo Square?
Hearing this, Shang Ruyi and Pei Xingyuan quickly set aside matters regarding the person’s whereabouts and imdiately asked, "What happened?"
Wo Xue took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Soone was distributing dicine in Yanzuo Square."
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