Chapter 27: The Su Family's Apology

Su Zhengzhen was about to refuse, but a wicked idea suddenly crossed his mind.

"Alright, I want to do something for Grandpa too. I'm just as anxious and can't help!" Su Zhengzhen quickly declared.

Qin Fei took the paper and pen, writing down a list of over a dozen medicinal ingredients.

"Grind these herbs into a powder, mix them with water in a 1:1 ratio, and please have Shen Gong boil it into a paste," Qin Fei instructed.

Su Zhengzhen glanced at the prescription and noted that the first few herbs, like Angelica and Fo-Ti, were easy to find.

However, the last ingredient listed was a hundred-year-old reishi mushroom, which puzzled him.

"Qin Fei, are you joking? A hundred-year-old reishi is priceless! Where would Baicaotang get something like that?" Su Zhengzhen fumed. "Are you trying to embarrass me on purpose?"

Qin Fei shot him a glance and replied, "That's why you need to speak with Shen Gong and ask him to spare half of a hundred-year-old reishi as a favor in return."

"Is there really a hundred-year-old reishi at Baicaotang?" Su Zhengzhen asked, skepticism etched on his face. However, seeing Qin Fei's confident demeanor, he said nothing further.

Once Su Zhengzhen left, Su Yu pulled Qin Fei aside.

"Can that prescription really save my grandfather?" Su Yu asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

Qin Fei smiled, "Of course. If I weren't confident, I wouldn't dare take this on."

"Are you not worried that Su Zhengzhen will run off with your prescription? You should know what treating cancer entails!" Su Yu said, her anger flaring. Su Zhengzhen was a businessman who wouldn't miss such an opportunity for profit.

Qin Fei chuckled, "Why worry? The herbs written on the paper are all auxiliary; the main ingredient is right here."

He shook the thousand-year-old ginseng in his hand.

"Is that a radish?" Su Yu asked in confusion, eyeing him.

"This is ginseng—thousand-year-old ginseng, which I just acquired from a Chinese medicine expo without spending a dime," Qin Fei replied with a grin. "What do you think? Impressive, right?"

"Is this really a thousand-year-old ginseng?" Su Yu exclaimed, taking it from him to smell.

The rich medicinal aroma nearly overwhelmed her.

Qin Fei nodded, "True thousand-year-old ginseng is hard to come by worldwide. If Su Zhengzhen had that kind of ability, he'd be wealthy from selling it."

Meanwhile, after leaving the Su family, Su Zhengzhen rushed to Baicaotang with the prescription in hand.

As he entered, Shen Gong, who had been treating a patient, quickly stood up and asked, "Did Qin Fei go? Is your grandfather's illness cured?"

Su Zhengzhen forced a smile, saying, "He gave me this prescription and specifically instructed that I needed you to spare half a hundred-year-old reishi."

Upon hearing this, Shen Gong's brow furrowed.

While he respected Qin Fei, a hundred-year-old reishi was too rare to just give away, and he naturally hesitated.

"I knew it! How could such a precious item be so easily given away? Qin Fei really has some nerve!" Su Zhengzhen seized the moment to disparage Qin Fei, noticing Shen Gong's expression.

"He also said it's just a favor owed to you. How ridiculous! Who does he think he is?" Su Zhengzhen continued, growing more pleased with himself.

However, Shen Gong's expression shifted when he heard the last part. He grabbed Su Zhengzhen's arm and asked, "Did Qin Fei really say that?"

"Absolutely," Su Zhengzhen said, a bad feeling creeping in.

"Hongyi, immediately fetch half a reishi!" Shen Gong commanded without hesitation.

Turning to Su Zhengzhen, he said, "Could I take a look at that prescription? It will help me gather the ingredients."

Su Zhengzhen hesitated, waving his hand, "No way! Qin Fei specifically instructed that this is a secret recipe and can't be shown to others!"

"How about this: I'll read it aloud, and you can gather the ingredients, alright?"

Shen Gong smiled wryly, thinking that Su Zhengzhen might not be thinking straight. Even without the prescription, he would see the ingredients when grinding the herbs.

But he didn't call him out, just nodded in agreement. "Fine, let's do it your way."

"Two liang of Fo-Ti, half a liang of benzoin, one liang of Bupleurum, and one and a half liang of Angelica," Su Zhengzhen read from the prescription.

He followed the written amounts until he reached the last ingredient, where he deliberately increased the amount of Mountain Tzi Mushroom from three qian to five qian.

When Shen Gong heard the amount, he frowned, "The maximum dosage for Mountain Tzi Mushroom is three qian; exceeding it can be fatal. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

Su Zhengzhen felt a jolt of panic, forcing himself to appear calm as he replied, "No, Qin Fei said to use that amount."

Shen Gong didn't think much of it; after all, treating cancer was already a difficult endeavor, and perhaps Qin Fei intended to use poison to combat poison.

Once the herbs were ground and prepared into a paste as Qin Fei instructed, Su Zhengzhen hurried back to the Su family.

As soon as he entered, he angrily exclaimed, "Qin Fei, I can't believe you have such malicious intent! Shen Gong said that your prescription isn't a remedy at all but a poison! Are you trying to kill Grandpa?"

The room erupted in shock, even causing the old master to tremble slightly.

"Qin Fei, how could you do this? Grandpa may have treated you poorly, but you don't need to retaliate like this! Isn't your heart a bit too cruel?" Su Zhengzhen accused, his tone dripping with disdain.

"I knew this Qin Fei was no good. How could he treat patients? What illness could he possibly cure?"

"He's trying to harm Grandpa; let's report him to the police!"

Hearing the murmurs around him, Qin Fei remained unfazed.

He picked up the jar of medicine, opened the lid, and sniffed it before saying, "This medicine is indeed toxic."

"You!" Hearing this, Su Zichang stepped forward, fists clenched.

"Qin Fei, you're trying to harm my father? I'll kill you today!" Su Zichang roared, his anger palpable.

The old master coughed violently, clearly agitated.

"Qin Fei, I trusted you, thinking you were just incapable, but I never expected such malicious intent! Get out!" the old master said, pointing at Qin Fei in fury.

"Dad, is there a misunderstanding?" Su Ziping quickly interjected, attempting to smooth things over.

"Get out with you too! From now on, none of your family members are allowed to step foot in my house!"

Su Zhengzhen felt a wave of satisfaction; wasn't Qin Fei so arrogant before? Now, how would he hold up?

"The medicine is indeed toxic, but the issue doesn't lie with my prescription," Qin Fei suddenly spoke up, breaking his silence.

"What do you mean?" Su Yu asked anxiously.

Qin Fei pointed at Su Zhengzhen and said, "I wrote three qian of Mountain Tzi Mushroom on the prescription, but you added it to five qian. The saying goes, 'A medicine can be toxic in excess.' If the dosage exceeds what's prescribed, it naturally becomes poisonous."

Su Zhengzhen's face turned pale; he never expected that a mere two qian difference would be caught by Qin Fei.

"What do you mean?" Su Zhengzhen asked, his voice laced with panic.

Qin Fei smirked, "You should know what I mean. You took it upon yourself to increase the dosage, intending to frame me, didn't you?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Su Zhengzhen protested, panic evident in his eyes. "I followed your prescription precisely!"

At that moment, Su Zhengzhen secretly pulled out the prescription, intending to dispose of it.

But before he could, Qin Fei stepped forward and grabbed his wrist.

"Ah! That hurts!" Su Zhengzhen cried out, immediately losing strength, causing the prescription to fall into Qin Fei's hands.

Qin Fei held up the prescription and said, "It clearly states three qian here, yet you insisted on five. This is evidence in my hands; do you have anything else to say? Should I call Shen Gong?"

"The one trying to harm Grandpa is you, not me," Qin Fei shook his head.

As his words sank in, Su Zhengzhen felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He suddenly sank to his knees, tears streaming down his face, "Grandpa, please let me explain! I just wanted to embarrass Qin Fei! I didn't expect this Mountain Tzi Mushroom could be deadly!"

"The less you use, the more potent the medicine," Qin Fei replied, shaking his head.

The old master's face turned sour, feeling both anger and a hint of guilt.

"Qin Fei, I'm truly sorry; I misunderstood you," the old master said, his voice trembling.

Qin Fei smirked, "This medicine now has added toxicity because you've ruined the hundred-year-old reishi. If you want to seek treatment, you'll have to look elsewhere."