Chapter 473: Intimidation

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A faint smell of herbal medicine filled the clinic.

Dong Haoran held a teacup in his hands, eyes gently narrowed.

After Doctor Sun’s death, he had been frightened for a while, but the many Confucian scholars who came to visit had calmed his heart.

Because so many scholars supported him in this matter, it proved he was right and his junior apprentice was wrong.

“Everyone’s words are reasonable. We have no objection to Prince Qi’s reforms, but these reforms must not break our rules—whether it’s the rules of the clinic or the rules of the officialdom. What do you all say?” Dong Haoran spoke passionately.

“That’s right, that’s right. No other principality acts as recklessly as Prince Qi. We’ve tolerated it for a long time, but this time Prince Qi really went too far,” the three scholars immediately showed fierce unity.

The four grew more and more agitated as they spoke, when suddenly there was a loud bang. The clinic’s main door was pushed open by a group of fierce soldiers. Leading them, a general strode into the main hall and asked, “Who is Dong Haoran?”

With so many soldiers bursting in, the clinic immediately fell silent. The three scholars’ faces turned pale. They quickly stood up and pretended to be patients.

Dong Haoran trembled all over. He looked at the three once resolute scholars, now acting like they didn’t even know him, cursing in his heart, “Fence-sitters… cowards.”

“I, I am…” Seeing the scholars wouldn’t help, Dong Haoran had no choice but to admit it.

“In that case, come with us,” the general sneered, signaling the soldiers behind him. They immediately stepped forward to escort Dong Haoran out.

As Dong Haoran was taken away, the three scholars breathed a sigh of relief.

They exchanged glances. One said, “This is bad. Prince Qi is truly furious now. What are we going to do?”

The others panicked too. Another said, “We should go back and tell Xie Ziyun. Let him figure out what to do.”

The three nodded and left together.

Meanwhile, Dong Haoran was directly taken to the Qingzhou government office, where he saw Pang Yukun and Prince Qi.

“Your Highness, Dong Haoran has been brought here.”

Xiao Ming and Pang Yukun turned to look Dong Haoran over. Xiao Ming sat in the main seat and said, “So you are Dong Haoran. You forced Doctor Sun to death, didn’t you?”

“Your Highness, Doctor Sun was my junior apprentice. How could I harm my own apprentice? I am innocent! Innocent!” Dong Haoran knelt down, crying bitterly.

“Innocent? If so, what did you say to Doctor Sun before he died?” Xiao Ming asked sharply. His image in Qingzhou was always kind, but he wanted everyone to know he could kill too. This matter started with Doctor Sun, and now someone was using it to spread rumors about him among the people.

He had to clarify everything and severely punish those stirring trouble in his territory.

Dong Haoran’s face changed immediately. He hadn’t expected Xiao Ming to know about his visit to Doctor Sun. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He defended himself, “I only spoke some old matters with my junior apprentice. As to why he committed suicide, I’m just as confused as you.”

“You really don’t feel remorse until it’s too late. I know exactly what you did at the Sun family. Do you forget who rules Qingzhou? The four great families were wiped out by me overnight. Do you think I will care about you doctors?” Xiao Ming’s tone suddenly turned harsh.

This matter annoyed him. He wanted to promote medicine, but these people were sabotaging it for their own selfish reasons.

Dong Haoran’s body stiffened. He recalled the bloody February two years ago when the Qingzhou aristocrats were almost wiped out overnight. Even now, some dried black bloodstains could occasionally be seen near the lotus pond outside Qingzhou city.

“Your Highness, I deserve death! I was blinded by greed! I shouldn’t have pressured my junior apprentice. Please spare me, Your Highness, spare me!” At this moment, Dong Haoran suddenly understood that the kind-looking Prince Qi was once a ruthless killer.

When Xiao Ming mentioned this, he was basically telling Dong Haoran he could kill him anytime.

Pang Yukun shook his head helplessly. He finally understood why Xiao Ming arrested Dong Haoran. No harsh torture was needed—simple threats were enough to keep Dong Haoran obedient.

Now that Qingzhou’s people lived in peace and safety, no one wanted to lose their life for no reason.

Dong Haoran was fearful. His dislike of Xiao Ming setting up the medical academy was because his clinic’s business had increased three or four times in these two years.

The growing merchants and population in Qingzhou made him wealthy daily. Because he wanted to monopolize this profit, he pressured Doctor Sun to refuse the reforms.

Faced with Doctor Sun’s past life-saving help to him, Dong Haoran was caught in a dilemma, which eventually led Doctor Sun to take his own life.

“Spare you? Who can spare Doctor Sun!” Xiao Ming roared. “I have investigated everything thoroughly. If you hadn’t threatened him with that past life-saving debt, how could he have committed suicide? What you did is no different from murder. Take him to the prison. Tomorrow at noon, he will be executed in the East Market.”

“Your Highness! Your Highness!” Dong Haoran felt his mind go numb. Coming back to his senses, he crawled to Xiao Ming’s feet and cried, “Your Highness, spare me, spare me. This was not my intention. It was Xie Ziyun’s idea. If not for him, I wouldn’t have pressured my junior apprentice. Please spare me!”

“Xie Ziyun?” Xiao Ming looked at Pang Yukun. “Who is this Xie Ziyun?”

Pang Yukun explained, “Your Highness, Xie Ziyun is the leader of Qingzhou’s Confucian scholars. He claims to have studied under Cui Hao.”

“Cui Hao?” Xiao Ming narrowed his eyes. “This just got interesting.”

“Your Highness, Cui Hao is a famous Confucian scholar of the Great Yu Empire. Many students studied under him. Every year when Qingzhou scholars went to the capital for the exams, they would visit Cui Hao. In the past two years, Cui Hao has become more fond of Qingzhou scholars and often helped them,” Pang Yukun said.

Xiao Ming nodded and looked at Dong Haoran, “Is everything you said true?”

“Absolutely true. I dare not lie,” Dong Haoran said, pale-faced.

“Then do you dare face him directly?” Xiao Ming continued. He didn’t want a big public commotion but needed to make an example of the troublemakers so these scholars would behave.