"No, you don't want to find out how your mother died?"
Leng Ruo Li stared intently at the farmer's expression and asked.
"No, no... it's not like that, Princess Leng. Since you've already proven that my mother's death has nothing to do with your An Ji Tang, let's let this matter rest. I want to bury my mother as soon as possible," the farmer stammered.
"Don't worry, I won't take up too much of your time, nor will I prevent your mother from being laid to rest," Leng Ruo Li assured the farmer.
"This... this..."
The farmer hesitated for a long time, unsure how to stop Leng Ruo Li's actions.
At this moment, the surrounding onlookers started to stir up trouble: "Today, you brought your mother's corpse and made a scene outside Princess Leng's medical clinic, shouting and threatening. You severely affected An Ji Tang's reputation. Although we know Princess Leng's pills are fine, if what happened today is spread with distortions and falsehoods, and if ill-intentioned people frame Princess Leng because of today's events, it will affect everyone's trust in Princess Leng. Therefore, you must let Princess Leng find out the cause of your mother's death today."
"Exactly, you can come and go as you please, but your mother's death must be thoroughly investigated by Princess Leng before you can leave."
"Yes, Princess Leng must find out the cause of death, so everyone knows the cause of your mother's death."
One by one, the crowd incessantly accused the farmer.
Unable to withstand the barrage of words, the farmer finally had to allow Leng Ruo Li to examine his mother's body.
He prayed silently in his heart that Leng Ruo Li wouldn't find any flaws on his mother.
With the support of the crowd, Leng Ruo Li uncovered the white cloth covering the female corpse on the ground. She meticulously examined the corpse from head to toe. She found no signs of rigor mortis. As a result, she discovered that this woman was not dead. Leng Ruo Li guessed that she might have taken a drug that induced a state of suspended animation.
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li glanced up at the farmer. In the end, she said nothing, took out a pill and a set of silver needles from her sleeve.
Under the bewildered gazes of everyone, she fed a black pill to the apparently deceased woman. Then, she picked up a silver needle and quickly inserted several needles into the woman's head.
Upon seeing Leng Ruo Li's actions, the farmer immediately stepped forward to stop her, but before he could grab her arm, he was restrained by He Zi Yi and Chu Ming Xuan.
"Princess Leng, my mother is already dead, why are you still tormenting her corpse like this? Let me go! You, you, you can't insult my mother's body like this."
The farmer roared at Leng Ruo Li, making it seem as if he was protectively defending his mother, but only he knew that his actions were meant to prevent Leng Ruo Li from proceeding.
The onlookers also did not understand Leng Ruo Li's actions, but they did not cause a commotion. Instead, they watched Leng Ruo Li quietly.
Unexpectedly, what followed was a statement that astonished everyone.
"Your mother isn't dead at all. She took a death-feigning drug!" Leng Ruo Li declared loudly, glancing at the farmer.
"What? My mother isn't dead? That's impossible. I touched her several times today, and she clearly stopped breathing."
The farmer feigned disbelief. Hadn't that person said that after taking the death-feigning drug, his mother would enter a state of suspended animation for three days, and then wake up on her own after the matter was over?
At this moment, Leng Ruo Li ignored the farmer's reaction. After performing acupuncture on his mother, she quickly removed the silver needles. A moment later, the woman slowly opened her eyes. Upon seeing the farmer, her face instantly turned furious.
"Er Niu, you ungrateful wretch, you actually wanted to bury your mother alive."
"Mother, it's not like that. I just asked you to take the medicine and pretend to be dead for three days. After three days, she said you would wake up on your own, and I could get a good sum of money to pay off my gambling debts."
"You damned soul, I couldn't speak just now, but I heard everything you said. I fainted after taking the medicine you gave me, not the medicine prescribed by An Ji Tang. How can you frame An Ji Tang? You still want to earn that kind of ill-gotten money? Have you forgotten how I usually taught you? You're simply not human."
The farmer's mother became increasingly enraged as she spoke. In the end, she was so angry that she stood up from the wooden plank, grabbed the farmer by his ear, and began to hit him fiercely.
The onlookers also pointed and spoke about the farmer.
At this point, everyone understood why the farmer had claimed that the medicine prescribed by An Ji Tang's clinic had killed someone. It turned out to be his scheme.
"Mother, I was wrong. Please stop hitting me."
The farmer immediately begged his mother for mercy. In truth, he didn't want to do such a wicked deed, but how could he repay so many gambling debts?
However, his mother still used her frail fists to hit her son again and again. Finally, she stopped when she grew tired.
She immediately knelt before Leng Ruo Li and said tearfully, "Princess Leng, we wronged you today. After I took the medicine prescribed by your An Ji Tang doctor last night, my headache improved, and I wanted to go to sleep."
"But this unfilial son of mine, he surprisingly brought me a bowl of rice porridge. Seeing him show such filial piety for the first time, I was moved and drank the bowl of porridge he brought. Little did I expect that I would lose consciousness soon after drinking it. I couldn't speak, and I couldn't move, but my entire consciousness was still there. I knew everything my son did afterward. The reason my son has become like this is my fault as a mother for not teaching him well. Please, Princess Leng, spare him this time."
"Mother, what your son did today was truly excessive. If I hadn't insisted on investigating your 'cause of death,' this matter would have had a negative impact on my An Ji Tang. However, considering your advanced age, I can spare his life. His death penalty is waived, but he cannot escape punishment. Today, this Princess will send him to the yamen."
Leng Ruo Li said meaningfully.
"Thank you, Princess. As long as you are willing to spare his life, you can punish him however you see fit," the mother said, crying.
Subsequently, Leng Ruo Li instructed He Zi Yi to immediately escort the farmer to the yamen for punishment.
After the farmer and his mother left, Leng Ruo Li looked up and saw a furtive figure in the corner opposite her. As the woman felt Leng Ruo Li's gaze on her, she immediately concealed herself.
Leng Ruo Li sneered. Seeing that woman, she knew without a doubt who was behind today's events.
Qin Xi Xue, even in her current state, was still plotting to cause trouble for others.
However, Qin Xi Xue wouldn't be able to cause trouble for long.