The woman delivering the news ran until she was drenched in sweat. Beside her, Mother Mo quickly poured her a cup of water.
After drinking the water, the woman finally calmed down and hastily said, "Someone tried to poison the pharmaceutical factory's warehouse. That person is the son of the eldest son of the Shen family!"
Shen Chengcai?
Li Yue Shu's eyes flickered, and a wave of anger emanated from her. Poisoning the warehouse would contaminate all the medicine produced by the factory. Losing some money was a minor issue, but this world lacked any testing machinery. If the medicine produced was sent to pharmacies and the inspectors didn't discover the contamination, it would lead to the deaths of innocent patients!
The woman was startled by her fierce aura and instinctively retreated, "Don't… don't worry, he didn't succeed."
Everyone was taken aback.
"Oh my, what happened? Tell us clearly!" Aunt Liu anxiously slapped her thigh.
Under so many stares, the woman didn't know how to explain. "Everyone is waiting at the pharmaceutical factory. You can go and see for yourselves!"
Upon hearing this, Li Yue Shu wasted no more words and hurried towards the pharmaceutical factory, with the others following closely.
When they arrived at the factory, they saw a large crowd of workers gathered at the entrance. In the center, being held by the workers, was Shen Chengcai.
Seeing Li Yue Shu arrive, Aunt Zhao, standing at the front, quickly ran over. "Eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family, you're finally here! Come quickly and see your nephew; he actually tried to poison us!"
"If I hadn't gone to the warehouse to get something and happened to see him, I don't know how much trouble would have been caused!"
"I didn't! Don't spout nonsense!" Shen Chengcai, held by two women, tried to struggle to his feet but couldn't. He could only crane his head back and shout with difficulty, "I really didn't! I… I was carrying flour! I'm just a child, how could I do something like poisoning!"
"You know you're just a child!" Aunt Zhao walked over and smacked the back of his head. "Why would you need to wrap flour in paper and sprinkle it in the medicinal herbs like a thief?"
Li Yue Shu slowly walked over, her eyes chilling. "Bring me the flour he claims to have been carrying."
Whether it was her imposing presence or her cold voice, the boisterous atmosphere instantly fell silent. Aunt Zhao paused and hesitantly said, "Well… when I caught him, I accidentally spilled all that powder…" The last three words were spoken softly, and Aunt Zhao seemed hesitant to meet Li Yue Shu's eyes.
Li Yue Shu frowned but did not get angry. Instead, she asked, "Did you spill it in the warehouse?"
Aunt Zhao nodded repeatedly.
Seeing this, Li Yue Shu said no more. She instructed someone to keep an eye on Shen Chengcai and headed directly to the warehouse.
As soon as Li Yue Shu entered, she saw medicinal herbs scattered all over the floor. She walked straight over and discovered that some of the herbs were indeed stained with a white powder. Li Yue Shu picked up a herb with powder on it, brought it to her nose, and her expression instantly turned cold.
She stood up and walked out quickly, stopping directly in front of Shen Chengcai, her face full of fury. "At such a young age, your heart is so venomous! Do you know how many people would die if arsenic were smeared on medicinal herbs!" If she hadn't seen that he was just a child, not much older than A'Min, she would have slapped him long ago!
"Hiss—"
As soon as these words were spoken, a collective gasp of shock rippled through the crowd. Arsenic? That was a deadly poison that even immortals couldn't save from, and Shen Chengcai dared to smear it on medicinal herbs!
Feeling the astonished and disgusted gazes from those around him, Shen Chengcai panicked instantly. "I didn't! You… you're slandering me, you have no proof, you're deliberately slandering me!" Yes, the powder was all spilled; she had no evidence. As long as he didn't admit it, she couldn't do anything to him!
A chilling glint flashed in Li Yue Shu's eyes. "Clueless fool!" She didn't care how much trouble the Shen family caused her; she would retaliate on the spot. But Shen Chengcai, at such a young age, had done something so wicked. Had he considered how many innocent people would die once those medicinal herbs were made into medicine and sold?
"Sister-in-law Sun, go to the warehouse and wrap the herbs stained with arsenic in a handkerchief," Li Yue Shu suddenly said to Mrs. Zhou, who was nearby.
Mrs. Zhou, who was so angry she wanted to rush forward and beat Shen Chengcai, didn't hesitate and quickly ran to the warehouse. Seeing that it was arsenic, Sun Mingda quickly followed to watch, lest she accidentally get some on herself.
Then, Li Yue Shu turned to Old Man Liu. "Uncle Liu, take a few people to escort Shen Chengcai to the county yamen and report today's events truthfully." For the villagers, reporting to the authorities was a major affair. For any issues in the village, they would at most ask the village head to mediate justice. Therefore, upon hearing that he was to be sent to the yamen, the villagers instinctively wanted to intercede. But the next moment, Li Yue Shu's words instantly silenced everyone. "Also, ask the county magistrate to investigate. Shen Chengcai, at such a young age, dared to do such a wicked thing, and could sneak into the warehouse alone. Is he perhaps working with accomplices?"
Li Yue Shu's temperament was notoriously difficult to provoke in the village. If she mistakenly believed someone was an accomplice, they would likely be sent to the yamen along with the culprit. Naturally, no one dared to speak up. Thus, Shen Chengcai was, in broad daylight, tied up by Old Man Liu and his men.
While the villagers were tying up Shen Chengcai, Li Yue Shu suddenly spoke loudly, "Aunt Liu, go to the accounting office and withdraw fifty taels of silver to give to Aunt Zhao."
As soon as she said this, all eyes were drawn to them, and everyone looked at Li Yue Shu in shock. Aunt Zhao's jaw almost dropped. "You… what did you just say?"
Li Yue Shu looked at everyone calmly, as if fifty taels were no different from a copper coin in her eyes. She deliberately raised her voice, "Aunt Zhao, if it weren't for you today, it would have been difficult to discover Shen Chengcai's attempt to poison us. At that time, it wouldn't just be the pharmaceutical factory that would be ruined, but also Heng De Pharmacy, and countless innocent lives."
"These fifty taels are your well-deserved reward. From now on, anyone who reports information detrimental to the pharmaceutical factory, as long as it is verified to be true, will receive a bonus. Of course, if anyone lies deliberately for the sake of a reward, I will never let them off lightly!" By the end of this sentence, her expression was very cold, making it impossible for anyone to doubt that she was joking.
Aunt Liu had followed Li Yue Shu for a long time and her horizons had broadened considerably. She naturally understood her intentions and quickly ran to the accounting office to get the fifty taels. Then, in front of everyone, Li Yue Shu personally handed the fifty taels to Aunt Zhao. Although she had been mentally prepared, when Aunt Zhao actually held the heavy silver, she still felt as if she were dreaming. She quickly pinched herself.
"Hiss—" It hurt. This wasn't a dream! Aunt Zhao's eyes lit up, and she repeatedly thanked Li Yue Shu. She was rich now! She had never seen so much silver in her life!
"Eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family, don't worry, I will definitely work hard at the pharmaceutical factory. Anyone who dares to do anything detrimental to the factory is against me, Aunt Zhao. I will not let them go even if it costs me my life!" At this moment, Aunt Zhao's words became the sentiments of everyone present. The villagers, who had originally just wanted to earn some money to supplement their household expenses here, now felt a sense of responsibility towards the pharmaceutical factory.