lcionline Chapter 634 Use the best medicine, choose the most expensive one. I'll pay for it.
Chapter 634 Use the best medicine, choose the most expensive one. I'll pay for it.
Upon hearing this, Grandma Sun's vision went black, her body swayed, and she almost fell to the ground.
Chu Ruohan caught her and her face turned completely cold.
"Look at it again."
The old doctor waved his hand impatiently: "It's the same no matter how many times I look at it. This child is too weak, and he caught a cold. It's been dragging on for too long, and his internal organs are all damaged. I can't do anything about it."
Gu Junze remained silent.
He held the child and simply watched the doctor quietly.
He did nothing, not even a change in expression, but the old doctor felt uneasy under his gaze, and cold sweat gradually seeped from his forehead.
What kind of look was that?
It was as calm as a deep well, which made you feel like you were in hell!
The old doctor felt a chill run from his tailbone to the back of his head, and his legs felt weak.
"My wife wants you to look at it again," Gu Junze finally said.
"I...I..." The old doctor's lips trembled as he met that gaze, unable to hold back any longer, his voice trembling, "I'll talk, I'll tell the truth!"
He stood up cautiously, looked around, and then lowered his voice, afraid that someone would overhear their conversation.
"Sir, the root of this child's illness is years of not having enough to eat; his body has long been depleted."
"I caught a cold a few days ago, but I didn't have the money for good medicine, so I ended up taking moldy old medicine residue, which turned a minor illness into a serious one!"
The old doctor took a deep breath, "Now... now even a god couldn't save him!"
"Moldy medicine residue?" Chu Ruohan frowned.
"Yes...yes." The old doctor was almost in tears. "In this city, the medicinal herb business is all controlled by Baicaotang."
"Good medicines are very expensive, how could those poor people afford them? Our boss... our boss sold them those medicinal herbs that were about to go bad, cheaply..."
"Who is your boss?" Gu Junze asked.
"That's right... our boss's surname is Lin, and most of the businesses in the city belong to our boss, even Jinxiuge is our family's property..."
In an instant, all the clues came together.
They exploited weavers, monopolized the fabric, and then used inferior medicinal herbs to siphon off their last remaining funds for saving their lives.
This isn't business; it's ruthless exploitation.
Chu Ruohan was filled with anger and was about to speak when Gu Junze pressed her hand down.
Gu Junze's voice was completely calm. "Prescribe the medicine. Use the best medicine, the most expensive one. I'll pay for it."
He took out a heavy gold ingot from his pocket and casually tossed it onto the counter.
The sound of the gold falling was crisp yet heavy, making the doctor and all the waiters in the room twitch.
No one expected that this ordinary-looking couple would be so wealthy; they must have been keeping a low profile and not wanting to ostentatiously display their wealth.
Having received the order, the doctor dared not delay any longer. He quickly wrote out a prescription and directed his assistant to fetch the best medicinal herbs in the city.
She thought of the Chu family's business association, which would be more convenient for family members to use.
"Is there a shop in Chengdu owned by someone surnamed Chu?"
She stopped a passerby who had just come out of the pharmacy and asked him.
The passerby glanced at her and shook his head: "The one surnamed Chu? She closed down a long time ago. A couple of years ago, the prefect said that outside merchants were disrupting the market, so he drove them all out."
"Now, apart from Jinxiu Pavilion, there are no other large businesses in this city."
Chu Ruohan's heart sank little by little.
She had thought that she could use the Chu family's power to find a way out for Granny Sun and the others.
Unexpectedly, the roots of the Chu family had already been uprooted here.
They expelled foreign chambers of commerce, monopolized the market, and colluded with officials.
This prefect of Chengdu has quite the grand gesture.
Gu Junze, holding the child, turned and walked out of Baicaotang, his gaze sweeping across the long street.
There were patrolling "city guards" on the streets, dressed in uniform uniforms, carrying sticks, and walking in a slovenly manner.
But Gu Junze could see clearly that those people walked steadily, their temples bulging, clearly indicating that they were all trained martial artists.
Moreover, since entering the city, he has not seen a single soldier wearing the uniform of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Such is the state of the defenses of a once bustling and important town.
Chu Ruohan walked to his side, followed his gaze, and understood what was going on.
The two exchanged a glance and saw the same solemn expression in each other's eyes.
The sky is high and the emperor is far away.
This prefect of Chengdu is probably acting like a local tyrant here.
They came out for a trip, but little did they know they would stumble into a massive web of corruption.
The two decided to stay in Chengdu for the time being.
Instead of flaunting his place in the best location in the city, Gu Junze found a quiet two-courtyard house in the southern part of the city, near the countryside.
The courtyard is small, but it's quiet and peaceful.
He bought the courtyard directly from the brokerage firm with a single gold ingot, and even took the land deed with him.
Grandma Sun and her grandson were settled in the innermost courtyard.
New bedding, clean clothes, and a specially invited doctor who comes to see me three times a day, with a constant supply of herbal medicine.
Late at night.
In the villa in the south of the city, Chu Ruohan blew out the extra candles, leaving only one on the table.
Looking at the dark bamboo shadows outside the window, she felt a tightness in her chest.
"I still don't understand, how dare they do this?"
"The emperor is far away, this is their territory." Gu Junze's voice came from behind her.
He had changed out of his daytime clothes and into a tight-fitting black night suit, which made his figure appear even more upright. He looked like a sharp sword sheathed in its sheath, its sharpness concealed.
"I want to go out."
Chu Ruohan turned around: "To the Lin residence?"
"Let's go check out Jinxiu Pavilion first," Gu Junze said.
Without saying much, he vanished into the night outside the window in a flash, as if he had never been there.
In the backyard of Jinxiu Pavilion, several guards yawned drowsily.
A dark shadow swept across the wall like a ghost, landing silently.
Gu Junze's agility was honed on the battlefield with his life on the line, specifically designed to take the head of the enemy's commander. Dealing with a few shop guards was no different from taking a leisurely stroll.
He went straight into the largest warehouse.
The air was filled with the smell of fabric and camphor wood.
Rows of shelves were piled high with all kinds of fabrics.
He carefully inspected the area and found nothing but brocade.
Expected.
The real secrets are not kept in places like this.
He turned and left the Brocade Pavilion, his figure rising and falling on the rooftops as if walking on flat ground, heading straight for the Lin Mansion in the city center.
The Lin family mansion occupies a vast area, with high walls and large courtyards, and two stone lions in front of the gate, making it even more magnificent than the homes of ordinary officials.
The defenses here are more than ten times tighter than those at Jinxiu Pavilion.
Hidden in the shadows are many skilled martial artists with long, drawn-out breaths.
Unfortunately, they were facing Gu Junze.
Like a weightless leaf, he easily scaled the courtyard wall, evaded all the patrolling guards, and headed straight for the study.