A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of Concordia dical Hall.
Caras, cell phones... all sorts of recording devices were set up in the open space by the entrance. A mob of people chattered away into their devices, live-streaming and blocking the doorway completely.
May Ford stood on the steps, using a gaphone to maintain order.
"Clear a path down the middle! You’re blocking the way. Patients can’t get in or out, and you’re disrupting our work."
The scene in front of the entrance remained chaotic. Not a single person was listening to her.
The dia personalities and strears were all talking to their caras, explaining the situation. "Concordia dical Hall won’t let us in, and they won’t let us live-stream here either."
The more May Ford spoke, the more excited the crowd beca, continuously spreading a ssage across the dia: Concordia dical Hall’s defense of Luna Axton is a tragedy for traditional Chinese dicine.
Where there was controversy, there was traffic. Where there was a point of discussion, there was buzz. And where there was buzz, money was sure to follow.
And when there was money to be made, no one cared about the truth.
Mason Frost stood by for a mont, watching his wife shout until her voice was hoarse. But these people remained as unmovable as a mountain, twisting the truth to suit their narrative.
Dressed in his white coat, he stood before the entrance and roared at the shaless dia.
"What are you live-streaming? This is Concordia dical Hall’s property! The public area is beyond that line. All of you, get out!"
This only further energized the people live-streaming and recording. One said sarcastically, "Oh, a male doctor ca out to chase us away. Concordia dical Hall is really sothing else, so impressive. Is this the magnanimity of a century-old family of traditional Chinese dicine?"
"Doctor, your intern at Concordia dical Hall, Luna Axton, slept her way into a rich man’s bed. She’s pregnant and still interning here. Don’t you feel ashad to be associated with soone like that?"
"Ashad my..." Mason was about to curse.
May Ford quickly covered his mouth. Now was not the ti to escalate the conflict. She soothed him in a low voice, "Go back inside. I’ll handle this."
He was the dean of Valoria dical College. Scolding students who didn’t study hard or discussing work issues with his faculty was one thing.
But facing this dia mob, who had no moral compass, was like confronting a pack of madn. It was a classic case of a scholar eting a soldier—reason versus brute force. Mason wasn’t suited to handle this.
These unscrupulous dia types could spin a fart into a rainbow if it got them enough attention. There was no need to give them any more mud to sling.
Ethan Frost directly called the police. The local police arrived quickly to maintain order, but the crowd at the entrance only grew larger, and patients couldn’t squeeze through.
The online scandal had blown up. Everyone there used the internet, so they all knew about what Eliana Yates had done to Luna Axton, airing her dirty laundry online.
Now, the looks they gave Luna Axton were filled with sympathy.
’What did gentle Luna do to deserve being bullied like this by Eliana Yates?’
Anyone who had spent any ti with Luna would feel that the things shown in the videos Eliana Yates released were completely out of character for her.
Feeling everyone’s eyes on her, Luna Axton felt a little awkward. "Please don’t look at like that. I’m okay."
"Miss Cheney brought so beef jerky today—the spicy kind," soone said. "I’ll go get it for you. Eat sothing spicy, and all your troubles will pass."
"Oh, Luna likes spicy food? You know what they say, ’crave sour for a son, spicy for a daughter.’ She must be having a girl."
"Based on the shape of her belly, you can’t even tell she’s pregnant from behind. Her limbs are slender, and her skin is fair and smooth. I think it’s a boy."
"A girl."
"A boy."
The two began to argue over the baby’s gender until soone else suggested, "Have Academician Frost check her pulse."
Theodore Frost, his hands tucked in his sleeves and his eyes closed, said cryptically, "Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed."
Miss Cheney from the pharmacy asked, "Luna, would you prefer a boy or a girl?"
Luna Axton lowered her head, feeling a little shy as she recalled what Blaze Fairchild had said.
"I’m fine with either. The baby’s father would prefer a son. He says a boy would be good to practice on."
The pharmacy’s floor-to-ceiling windows looked out onto the main road, and Miss Cheney had seen Blaze Fairchild pick up Luna Axton many tis.
"From the looks of your husband’s car and his whole deanor, your family could afford to have two or three kids without any trouble. It doesn’t matter if the first is a boy or a girl."
"I always wanted an older brother when I was little," another colleague said. "I hope the first one is a boy."
A woman who had a son of her own chid in, "But if the oldest is a sister, you won’t have to worry about the younger brothers. It’s a natural pecking order."
Luna Axton listened with a gentle smile. It wasn’t often that people talked to her like this.
Perhaps because she was a mother-to-be, hearing others talk about their children made her inevitably wonder what her own Lucky would be like one day.
With the entrance blocked by the live-strears, there were no patients. A group of people gathered around Luna, making small talk in hopes that the siege outside wouldn’t affect her mood.
Russell Frost was on leave from work. Since the other busy mbers of his family couldn’t take a break, he had made a habit of coming to Concordia dical Hall to have lunch with them every day.
The mont he got out of his car across the street, he saw that the entrance to Concordia dical Hall was completely mobbed.
One phone call to his brother, Mason Frost, was all it took to find out what was going on.
This kind of scene was just part of a day’s work for Russell Frost; it was what he excelled at.
Russell Frost was elegant and handso. Even as he aged, his deanor and way of speaking remained extraordinary.
He was intelligent and shrewd. The tales of him verbally sparring with ambassadors from various nations were household knowledge, making him one of the most popular diplomats on the internet.
The mont Russell Frost appeared, everyone noticed him, turning their devices to adjust their focus.
He stood beneath the Concordia dical Hall sign, the very picture of a refined gentleman, noble and graceful.
"Everyone," he began, "Concordia dical Hall exists to promote and pass on the traditions of Chinese dicine. Everyone in my family, the Frost family, aside from myself, has dedicated their lives to this practice."
The crowd below didn’t dare make a peep. Special Envoy Frost’s words were a sharp weapon used to defend the nation and its people.
Who would be foolish enough to open their mouth now and kill their own traffic?
"Concordia dical Hall has stood in Valoria for a century. The plaque above my head was an imperial gift. My father, Academician Theodore Frost, receives a state stipend. My brother, Dean Mason Frost, is a specialist in liver diseases. And my nephew, Ethan Frost. All of them are well-known figures in the dical world. Do you really think the judgnt of all three of them could be flawed at the sa ti?"
At this, Russell Frost’s sharp, cold gaze swept over the crowd below.
As one, everyone lowered their heads, daring not to et his eyes.
"As mbers of the dia, as people who disseminate information, I implore you all to be rational about your words and actions. Ti will provide the answer. I suggest you all focus on the case itself and wait for the official announcent."
Having said his piece, Russell Frost brought his hands together and gave a slight bow. "I ask you all, please cooperate and let the patients enter so they can have their ailnts treated."
May Ford watched from the side. ’He really is worthy of his title as the Plenipotentiary Envoy to Kamaria.’
Her brother-in-law had spoken his piece and shown more than enough courtesy. Now it was her turn to play the bad cop.
May Ford raised her gaphone and, in a hoarse voice, warned the live-strears below.
"If you continue to block this entrance and obstruct our work, I have every right to protect Concordia dical Hall and our patients by having the police remove you."
The doctor in the white coat had already said it: the area in front of the entrance was private property, so having them removed would be a reasonable request.
The crowd mbers looked at each other. Though reluctant, they had no choice but to retreat.
These were people who lived off of dia traffic, but now that soone from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had shown up, they certainly didn’t dare to stick around.
Seeing the heads in the crowd bobbing as people began to back away, May Ford shot a grateful look toward Russell Frost.
"Brother-in-law, thank goodness you were here."
"Let’s go inside, Sister-in-law."
The two of them walked inside together. "Luna ca to work today?"
"She’s inside. She seems to be taking it well, though. Not affected at all."
"Hasn’t Blaze been told about this?"
"What’s there to tell Blaze? This is our business. Luna works at Concordia dical Hall, she earns a salary from Concordia dical Hall, so it’s our duty at Concordia dical Hall to protect her."
"Blaze is pretty nonchalant himself, letting Luna go out when things are like this."
"Does staying ho an she doesn’t have to face it?" May Ford retorted.
She knew about what had happened with Blaze’s mother, Susie. May had represented the Frost Family at Susie’s funeral.
"It’s better for her to be out here with people, with everyone chatting and keeping her company. If she were alone at Fairchild Estate, she’d be more likely to start overthinking things, and that could lead to problems."
Russell Frost saw the logic in that and said no more.
But the ntion of Susie made him think of Adriana.
Ever since returning to Valoria, his thoughts had often turned to Adriana.
’Where did she run off to all these years? There hasn’t been a single word. How can a person just vanish so completely?’
As Russell Frost stepped over the threshold of Concordia dical Hall, he froze, stunned by the scene before him.
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