Ye Lingyue carefully examined the body of Lady Qiu's husband and found a bite from an animal on the lower side of his left thigh.

But this injury was not fatal.

"It's a pity that there was only one elixir pill, and it was consumed by Lady Qiu's husband at the time. Without the elixir, we have no way to clearly investigate whether it was indeed the cause of his death," Vice Manager Cui sighed incessantly while watching by the side.

"Vice Manager Cui, you go first and inquire where Lady Liu Niang obtained the elixir from and from whom, and also call out all the alchemists of the Alchemist Mansion. Have Lady Qiu identify them," Ye Lingyue sent Vice Manager Cui away and turned her attention back to Lady Liu Niang's husband's corpse.

Vice Manager Cui was right; once the elixir pill had been swallowed, it was certainly not easy to examine.

Fortunately, she had her own methods to confirm whether the elixir pill indeed came from the Alchemist Mansion.

Ye Lingyue controlled the Cauldron Breath to seep into Lady Liu Niang's husband's corpse.

Soon, the skin disappeared, and the blood vessels and internal organs appeared clearly in Ye Lingyue's consciousness. After a thorough search, Ye Lingyue found an elixir pill that had not yet been fully digested in the stomach of Lady Liu Niang's husband.

Lady Liu Niang mentioned that her husband had an attack shortly after taking the elixir, and since he had been dead for only a few hours, Ye Lingyue suspected that the elixir had not been fully digested.

Using Cauldron Breath, she extracted the undigested elixir and inspected it, discovering that it was not an elixir from the Alchemist Mansion.

After Ye Lingyue took office as Cauldron Master of the Alchemist Mansion, she implemented reforms for easier management, one of which was marking every elixir refined by the Alchemist Mansion with the words "Dan City" using spiritual power.

However, the elixir retrieved from Lady Liu Niang's husband's stomach bore no such inscription.

"Master, I have already inquired; Lady Qiu said the elixir was sold to her by an alchemist wearing an Alchemist Robe while she was working as a tea hostess in a teahouse, priced at fifty taels of silver. She has also identified that this alchemist is not one of our people from the Alchemist Mansion. Actually, my lord, you need not take so much trouble; this kind of deception has happened often in the Xia Capital too," Vice Manager Cui relaxed after knowing the incident was not done by someone from the Alchemist Mansion.

She had been the Deputy Chief of the Imperial Hospital for nearly twenty years and had seen all sorts of things.

Elixir pills, for the nobility and the Imperial Family, were as common as daily meals.

But for the common people, these were luxury goods; an ordinary family would find it as difficult as reaching the skies just to purchase a low-grade elixir pill.

Lady Qiu also wanted to save her husband, but due to financial constraints, she resorted to desperate remedies. Little did she know that not only would her husband's life not be saved, but it would also lead to his death. These kinds of tragedies, where one loses both money and life, are not uncommon among the common people.

"Since it's an incident involving counterfeit medicine within Dan City, it is a matter for us at the Alchemist Mansion. Otherwise, why would the court appoint me as Cauldron Master to take charge? Take a look at this elixir." Ye Lingyue flicked her finger, and the unfully digested elixir landed in Vice Manager Cui's hand.

The latter examined the elixir and quickly her expression changed.

"You've noticed too. This Elixir Pill, apart from lacking the Elixir Seal of the Alchemist Mansion, has all the same components as the ones from the Alchemist Mansion. The reason it killed someone is not because of the pill itself but because it was the wrong medicine for the condition. Lady Qiu's husband had a severe injury with substantial blood loss. In such a case, he should have taken a Blood Replenishing Pill, but the fake Alchemist sold Lady Qiu a Blood Dispersing Elixir, which thins the blood and resolves stagnation. That's why Lady Qiu's husband suffered internal bleeding and eventually died from it," said Ye Lingyue, her brow furrowed and never relaxing.

She never knew that people would recklessly use medicine without understanding medical principles and thus directly cause the death of a person.

Fifty taels of silver may be just enough for nobles to have a meal and a few drinks, but for a commoner's family, it represents a lifetime of heartache.

After the truth was told to Lady Qiu Liuniang's family, she, clutching her two underage children, cried as if life and death hung in the balance.

Lan Cai'er, who was standing by and constantly wiping away tears, even took out a hundred taels of silver to give to Lady Qiu for the funeral expenses.

"Ling Yue, you must take care of this matter. The private sale of Elixir Pills among the commoners can lead to the death of even more innocent people," Lan Cai'er's hatred for evil manifested in full force at this moment.

"I've already discussed this with Vice Manager Cui. It's time to start cracking down on those practicing Evil Methods in Dan City," said Ye Lingyue, her fingers tapping heavily on the tabletop.

Ye Lingyue had been in Dan City for over a month now and had gradually come to understand the situation within Dan City.

Recently, a number of Evil Alchemists from the Central Plains had come to Dan City selling subpar Elixir Pills, treating illnesses without qualification, and what was more, in order to make a huge profit, they were even privately selling Spiritual Artifacts.

These Spiritual Artifacts, once in the hands of commoners, could easily trigger violent incidents.

Ye Lingyue had even sought out General Su, but after hearing about it, General Su said regretfully that he was powerless to assist.

"Cauldron Master Ye, it's not that I don't want to help you. As you can see, recently there have been frequent beast disturbances on the Xixia Plain. As a General, I have to guard the city and also escort Elixir Pills to various cities. We are already short on troops within Dan City. At such times, when you are asking for manpower, I really am short of both resources and power," General Su naturally refused.

With the conversation having reached this point, Ye Lingyue could only leave the General Mansion.

Ever since Ye Lingyue drove away a dozen Alchemists, the relationship between the General Mansion and the Alchemist Mansion had fallen drastically.

Ye Lingyue knew that this time, Su Mu was clearly mixing public and private grievances.

After returning to the Alchemist Mansion, Ye Lingyue immediately issued two orders. The first was to control the supply of charcoal in Dan City starting from that day, and the second was to establish a Medical Hall.

Vice Manager Cui still did not understand Ye Lingyue's specific intentions.

"Whether it's the Alchemist Mansion or the Evil Method, both need charcoal for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. By controlling the quantity of charcoal in the city, we're essentially controlling those Evil Alchemists' ability to refine Elixir Pills and artifacts. As for the Medical Hall, it's to provide the commoners with a better place to seek treatment and buy Elixir Pills. We only need to dispatch two or three Alchemists to the Medical Hall for consultations each day, with the consulting Alchemists receiving the same compensation as they would for Alchemy. Also, distribute the substandard Elixir Pills produced by the Alchemist Mansion and pills that have been stored for too long in the warehouse to the commoners for free. Over time, naturally, no one will turn to those Evil Alchemists to buy pills or seek treatments."

After Ye Lingyue's orders were issued, Vice Manager Cui swiftly acted upon them.

A struggle between the Alchemist Mansion and the Evil Alchemists from the Central Plains had officially begun.