"Have you found out what's going on yet!"
Old Master Xu's face turned green as he roared at the secretary.
Having been in business for generations, they had never encountered such a situation.
All the guests from the three brothels had been drugged with aphrodisiacs and dragged out onto the streets from the establishments, utterly humiliating them. The stench enveloped the entire Yao County.
All the guests were demanding an explanation from Old Master Xu, as such a disgraceful incident was a severe blow to their reputation and self-esteem.
Old Master Xu was in a frantic state, constantly having people investigate the matter.
A subordinate replied, "Reporting to Master, we've found a clue. The water tanks in the three establishments were tampered with."
"Who did it? Have you found out?"
"No... no... the kitchen has always been a top priority, constantly guarded, and no suspicious individuals entered."
Old Master Xu gritted his teeth. "No suspicious people entered? Then the one who administered the drug must be from within the kitchen! Go, arrest everyone who entered the kitchen last night and interrogate them severely. I don't believe they won't talk!"
"Yes!"
The subordinate took his orders and left. After a while, all the kitchen staff from the three brothels were brought before Old Master Xu.
"Beat them until they confess!"
The sounds of beating echoed through the courtyard. The cooks, helpers, and maids cried out in agony.
As the torture was underway, another person rushed in in a panic, "Master, bad news! The gambling house... the gambling house is on fire!"
Old Master Xu's vision went black, and he almost fainted.
"What's going on? How did the gambling house catch fire? Which gambling house?"
"Reporting to Master, both gambling houses are on fire, and Young Master... Young Master is still inside..."
Old Master Xu cried out, "My son!"
He lunged a few steps towards the main gate, but his vision darkened, and he fell headfirst.
Instantly, his head was bleeding.
"Master!"
The Xu family descended into chaos.
Jiang Wan couldn't help but curl her lips as she heard the news brought back by the errand boy.
This was just the beginning; the real show was yet to come.
Old Master Xu was revived by the physician's needle. He found that half of his body was unresponsive, he couldn't even speak clearly, and saliva uncontrollably dripped from his mouth.
The physician withdrew the needle, saying with an embarrassed expression, "Old Master Xu has suffered a stroke. My medical skills are insufficient, and I cannot treat this condition. Madam Xu, it would be best for you to quickly send someone to fetch Divine Physician Jin. He is extremely skilled in this area. The sooner you invite him, the greater the possibility of Old Master Xu's recovery."
Madam Xu, anxious, exclaimed, "Hurry and invite Divine Physician Jin!"
Old Master Xu's confidant drove a carriage towards the outskirts of the city, fearing that any delay would worsen Old Master Xu's condition.
However, the more anxious they were, the more prone to accidents. For some reason, the horse's legs suddenly weakened as it ran, and it stumbled forward, causing the carriage behind to overturn.
The confidant sitting on the carriage shaft was thrown out, landing heavily in the grass by the roadside. After struggling for a few moments, he lost consciousness.
After the horse got up, it seemed to be stimulated by something and bolted away, quickly disappearing from sight.
Madam Xu waited anxiously for Divine Physician Jin at home. However, an hour passed, then an hour and a half, and Divine Physician Jin had still not appeared.
So, she sent the butler to find out why the physician had not been brought.
When the butler reached the spot where the confidant had his accident, he found the confidant, head bleeding, rushing towards the medical clinic.
"What happened? How did you get like this? Where is the carriage? Where is Divine Physician Jin?"
The confidant said with a mournful face, "I drove the carriage here, and it suddenly overturned. I was thrown out and injured like this. I don't know how long I was unconscious."
The butler stomped his feet in frustration, "You haven't seen Divine Physician Jin yet?!"
The confidant nodded.
The butler, disregarding his condition, instructed a servant to hurry the carriage towards the medical clinic.
Upon finally reaching the medical clinic, as soon as they announced their names, the clinic's servant shooed them away, "The master has ordered that no one from the Xu family is allowed in!"
The butler was dumbfounded. "Why! Why is Divine Physician Jin not allowing the Xu family in?"
The servant said with a fake smile, "Your master knows why. The master has ordered that all disciples of the Jin family's medical clinic are forbidden from treating Xu family members. You should seek help elsewhere."
The butler caused a scene at the entrance for a long time but didn't even see Divine Physician Jin.
Knowing that Divine Physician Jin could not be invited, the butler quickly turned back to the mansion to deliver this news to Madam Xu.
Old Master Xu was also awake at this time. Upon hearing the order given by Divine Physician Jin, Old Master Xu's eyes widened in anger. He let out a series of wails and fainted again from rage.
The Xu family was in turmoil.
When Old Master Xu woke up again, it was already the next morning.
Old Master Xu mumbled incoherently for a long time, and no one could understand what he was trying to say.
Madam Xu had cried all night, her eyes swollen like walnuts. "Master, what are we going to do? Our pleasure boat sank halfway last night. Fortunately, the nearby pleasure boat provided timely rescue, so there were no fatalities."
"What exactly is going on? Is Heaven trying to destroy our Xu family?"
Hearing Madam Xu's words, Old Master Xu became so agitated that he kicked his legs and abruptly breathed his last.
"Ah— Master, Master!"
Before long, white banners were hung on the gate of the Xu mansion.
Old Master Xu, who had been influential in Yao County for half his life, died so suddenly that the people of Yao County couldn't react.
After all, they had seen him parading through the county with a group of lackeys just the day before.
They thought that with the death of the family head, the Xu family had suffered enough misfortune. Little did they know that before the Xu family's mourning hall was even set up, the drum at the yamen was struck.
The person who struck the drum was Jiang Pan.
He was not wearing his yamen uniform today but his casual clothes.
The yamen runners came out to see him striking the drum, looking somewhat shocked. "Brother Pan, what are you up to?"
Jiang Pan put down the drumstick, picked up a bundle, and said loudly, "I am here to file a complaint."
"Your Honor, your humble subject Jiang Pan, I accuse Xu Tianming of being a menace to the neighborhood, disregarding human life, and forcing good people into prostitution!"
The yamen runners gasped in unison. "Brother Pan, are you crazy? You can't be reckless, that's the Xu family!"
Jiang Pan smiled faintly. "Since I dare to come and file a complaint, I am not afraid of retaliation from the Xu family."
He was very insistent, and the yamen runners had no choice but to invite Master Cheng to preside over the court.
Master Cheng was also troubled and alarmed by Jiang Pan's actions and wanted to persuade him. However, as soon as the drum sounded, many citizens gathered.
In front of so many people, Master Cheng could not show favoritism and had to proceed with the court session according to normal procedures.
Jiang Pan knelt in the hall. After answering Master Cheng's questions according to procedure, he submitted the evidence he had brought.
Master Cheng's mouth fell open in astonishment as he reviewed the evidence.
"Where did you get all this?"
Jiang Pan simply said, "Your humble subject found a way to investigate it. All the evidence is true, and your humble subject dares to guarantee it with his life."
Master Cheng's mood became somewhat excited.
If all this evidence was true, then the Xu family was doomed.