Chapter 160: Those Are Silver Needles That Absorb the Essence of the Sun and Moon

As this was a case of collective food poisoning, the principal naturally attached great importance to it and had connections expedite the investigation.

Soon, the results came out. Shen Chutang's specially formulated tea had no issues whatsoever. Furthermore, the ingredients used were of high quality and completely harmless to the body. Drinking it in moderation could even help expel internal dampness and bodily toxins. Even the doctor who delivered the report could not help joking, asking if he could learn how to make such special tea himself.

Now that the investigation proved the special tea was not the cause, Zhu Yongmei was instantly rendered speechless.

Finally, one of the students with milder symptoms spoke up, "It might be because we ate grilled sausages after class."

The principal hurriedly asked, "What grilled sausages?"

The student then explained that there was a mobile food stall near the back gate of the school selling grilled sausages. Since peddling was not allowed at the school entrance, they had craved the smell when they saw it and couldn't resist buying a few skewers.

Because the sausages were small, they could be passed directly through the bars of the school fence, so several of them had bought some.

However, he felt that the sausage tasted strange, so he left half of it uneaten and threw it into the trash can.

Liu Yuan also snapped back to realization and stated that because he was hungry, he had eaten two grilled sausages.

"You child, why didn't you say anything about eating sausages! You made us all wrong Teacher Shen!"

Liu Yuan lowered his head and said, "I forgot just now. I didn't expect such a small sausage to cause such a serious issue. Afterwards, Teacher Zhu kept insisting it was because of the special tea, so I just assumed it was the tea's fault."

Qian Huazhi immediately rushed over to apologize to Shen Chutang, "Teacher Shen, I am truly sorry. I was just too anxious earlier and misunderstood you. I really owe you an apology."

Shen Chutang nodded, indicating that she understood.

Shen Chutang looked at Zhu Yongmei and asked, "Teacher Zhu, do you understand now?"

At this moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on Zhu Yongmei. Her expression flickered between pale and flushed, but since these were parents and students from Class F, she had to put on an attitude.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Shen, it was my misunderstanding!"

Shen Chutang stared at her. This was not the first or second time Zhu Yongmei had given her trouble.

"Teacher Zhu, I know you hold a grudge against me. That includes this morning in the office, where you kept belittling the special tea I prepared for the students. I suppose it's because a student from your class was caught by my class sneaking into the girls' locker room to take photos, which caused you to lose your promotion opportunity, and that's why you've held a grudge against me ever since."

Zhu Yongmei never expected Shen Chutang to blurt it out so directly. For a moment, the principal's gaze toward Zhu Yongmei grew even more solemn.

"Y-You, what are you talking about? I don't understand!"

Shen Chutang pretended to ponder, wearing an innocent expression, "Then perhaps I'm just overthinking it. A seasoned teacher like Teacher Zhu surely wouldn't hold a grudge over a single promotion spot and constantly make things difficult for me, speak ill of me behind my back, or form cliques to target me, right?"

A forced smile hung on Zhu Yongmei's face, "O-Of course not."

Shen Chutang smiled knowingly, "Then I am relieved. Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, I hope I won't have to hear you jumping at every opportunity in the office to claim my special tea is problematic, or that the students in Class Z are the source of trouble."

Zhu Yongmei was filled with awkwardness; this brat had done it on purpose!

Even if she wanted to make an issue out of the special tea in the future, she no longer had any grounds to stand on. Even the doctor had said drinking it was beneficial and completely harmless to the body. If she kept trying to stop the students from drinking it, wouldn't she just look petty?

Moreover, if she ever gossiped behind Shen Chutang's back again, she would be branded with the reputation of isolating Shen Chutang out of bitterness over a missed promotion.

The principal spoke up, "Since everything is fine, let the children go back and rest. They can come back to class tomorrow once they have fully recovered. Feel free to contact me if any issues arise."

With that, the principal called someone at the school, instructing them to immediately go to the trash can near the back gate, retrieve the leftover grilled sausage, and send it over for inspection to verify if the sausage was indeed the culprit.

The next day, data arrived from the hospital confirming that the food poisoning had indeed been caused by unhygienic grilled sausages.

Consequently, the principal used the campus broadcasting system to issue another strict warning: no one was allowed to buy unhygienic food from roadside stalls. The school cafeteria would be adding several popular snacks to its menu, which was especially important for the senior students, as nothing could be allowed to go wrong during this crucial final stretch.

However, the news of Shen Chutang practicing acupuncture on the students had already spread, taking on increasingly miraculous proportions.

Rumors flew that Shen Chutang was the closed-door disciple of a divine physician, and her acupuncture skills could "bring the dead back to life and regenerate flesh on bones"!

Others claimed that Shen Chutang's silver needles were multi-colored because they had absorbed the spiritual essence of the sun and moon!

There were even whispers that Shen Chutang was actually a master of internal energy who didn't even need silver needles—she merely had to wave her hand over a patient's body, and the pain would instantly vanish!

As Shen Chutang walked into Class Z and looked at those pairs of glowing eyes, she calmly said, "Clear off your desks. Exam time."