After hanging up the phone, Yu Ke immediately walked out of the anatomy lab to find Principal Ma Guotao and defend Zhao Yuan.
After taking a few steps, she turned back. She felt that she wouldn't be persuasive enough on her own and decided to rally her colleagues from the anatomy building to go with her.
While the teachers in the anatomy building had all heard of the prestigious Jinling Zhao Family, none of them had ever met any of its members. Zhao Yuan, however, was different. As an assistant in their building, they saw and interacted with him every day.
They simply could not believe that such a conscientious and hardworking student would try to impersonate the Jinling Zhao Family! So, after Yu Ke explained the situation, they all erupted in fury, shouting indignantly one after another:
"And to think the Jinling Zhao Family calls itself a medical Noble Family with a legacy hundreds of years old! How could they do something so shameless? It's a disgrace!"
"It was clearly their mistake, but they're framing Zhao Yuan and making such a huge scene to completely ruin him. The Jinling Zhao Family is too damn arrogant! We can't let them get away with this!"
"Exactly! Zhao Yuan is one of our students. We have a duty to protect him. We can't just let outsiders bully him!"
"Well said! Others might be afraid of the Jinling Zhao Family, but we aren't! Let's go find Principal Ma and tell him the truth! If we let the Jinling Zhao Family's scheme succeed, not only will Zhao Yuan's future be ruined, but the reputation of our own West Hua Medical University will be dragged through the mud!"
The teachers from the anatomy building were all rallied. They put down their work and marched en masse toward the principal's office.
But even with all this support, Yu Ke felt it wasn't enough. After a moment's thought, she also called He Chengwei, a renowned acupuncturist in Jing City, and told him what was happening.
Just like Yu Ke, He Chengwei absolutely refused to believe that Zhao Yuan would impersonate the Jinling Zhao Family.
In He Chengwei's opinion, Zhao Yuan's medical skills were in no way inferior to those of the Jinling Zhao Family.
That much was evident from how Zhao Yuan had dealt with Kobayashi Haruo previously!
'A person with such profound medical skills and a promising future impersonating the Jinling Zhao Family? What a joke!' After hearing Yu Ke's account, He Chengwei was both furious and frantic. He immediately declared that he would rush to Rongcheng City to vouch for Zhao Yuan!
He Chengwei didn't just decide to come himself; he also called Chairman Cui of the Jing City Acupuncture Association.
When Chairman Cui heard the news, he was even more incensed than He Chengwei.
Zhao Yuan was a great benefactor to the Jing City Acupuncture Association! How could they possibly stand by and do nothing while their benefactor was in trouble?
So, while cursing the Jinling Zhao Family for their shamelessness, Chairman Cui started calling the other renowned acupuncturists in the association, inviting them to travel to Rongcheng City with him to back Zhao Yuan up.
Meanwhile, the faculty of the Medical Ancient Texts department also heard the news: Zhao Yuan was about to be expelled for impersonating the Jinling Zhao Family.
Qiu Haogu's beard bristled with rage. He slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Zhao Yuan, impersonating the Jinling Zhao Family? You can't be serious! With the talent Zhao Yuan has demonstrated in Medical Ancient Texts, he has absolutely no need to impersonate anyone!"
Professor Liu Bo chimed in, "I agree with Elder Qiu! Zhao Yuan's accomplishments in Medical Ancient Texts are so profound that even the likes of Zhao Dezhu from the Jinling Zhao Family might not measure up. Him, impersonate them? What a joke!"
"Could there be some kind of misunderstanding?" a Medical Ancient Texts teacher asked with a frown.
Professor Lu Bo sighed. "The person accusing Zhao Yuan is none other than Zhao Dezhu, the Patriarch of the Jinling Zhao Family. He threatened Principal Ma, demanding he expel Zhao Yuan at once, or else he'll sue the entire university."
"There's definitely something fishy going on here. I refuse to believe Zhao Yuan would impersonate the Jinling Zhao Family!" Qiu Haogu shot to his feet and strode out of the office.
The group from the Medical Ancient Texts department was stunned. "Elder Qiu, where are you going?" one of them asked, bewildered.
Without looking back, Qiu Haogu replied, "I'm going to see Principal Ma and save Zhao Yuan! He's only a freshman, yet he was able to re-punctuate and re-translate the *Treasure of Life and Form Theory*, get published in the *Chinese Medicine* journal, and spark a heated debate throughout the industry. How could a talent like that possibly need to impersonate anyone? Someone is clearly trying to frame him! I must protect him! If I don't, it will not only be a loss for West Hua Medical University, but a tremendous loss for the entire medical community!"
A brief silence fell over the office. Then, a moment later, everyone rose to their feet and followed Qiu Haogu out the door.
"Elder Qiu is right! We have to protect Zhao Yuan! We can't let him be slandered like this!"
"We have to get justice for Zhao Yuan!"
"If I find out who's behind this slander, I'll make sure they live to regret it!"
In that moment, all the experts and professors of the Medical Ancient Texts department were filled with rage.
On their way to find Principal Ma Guotao, they ran into Director Ma from the Chinese Herbal Medicine department.
Seeing the grim-faced procession looking like they were marching off to a brawl, Director Ma felt quite puzzled and couldn't help but ask, "Elder Qiu, where are you all going in such a large group?"
"To demand justice for Zhao Yuan!" Qiu Haogu replied.
"Demand justice? What for?" Director Ma asked, not understanding.
Clearly, he hadn't yet heard that Zhao Yuan had been framed and was about to be expelled.
Qiu Haogu had already strode far ahead, but Lu Bo slowed his pace to give Director Ma a concise summary of the situation.
After hearing the explanation, Director Ma changed course and fell in line behind the group from the Medical Ancient Texts department.
Lu Bo stared in surprise. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"To help you save Zhao Yuan, of course!" Director Ma said.
Lu Bo was confused. "Why are you getting involved? Do you even know Zhao Yuan?"
"Of course I do!" Director Ma replied. "He's the one managing the medicinal herb garden for our Chinese Herbal Medicine department! You know how it was—the garden was practically abandoned due to mismanagement. A short while ago, Zhao Yuan volunteered to take on the job, and in less than a few days, he completely turned the place around. All those dying herbs are now bursting with new Vitality! From the garden's transformation, it's clear Zhao Yuan has an incredible talent for Chinese Herbal Medicine. I refuse to believe a good kid like that would go around impersonating people and committing fraud!"
"Oh, I see," Lu Bo said, nodding. "It's good that you're coming with us. The more people we have, the stronger our voice will be, and the better our chances of protecting Zhao Yuan!"
Zhao Yuan had no idea that his predicament had galvanized so many teachers and experts, both on and off campus.
After his call with Yu Ke, he didn't head back to class. Instead, he strode directly toward the principal's office.
He wasn't going to be a scapegoat. He would explain the truth to the principal himself.
What he didn't know, however, was that the school's online forum was already in an uproar over the post he had just published.