A team of uniformed soldiers rushed into Lin's Pharmacy in an orderly fashion.

In no time, they surrounded the pharmacy, and the shop assistants and customers inside were all so frightened that their eyes widened and their calves trembled uncontrollably.

Manager Lin had never seen anything like this before. He quickly hid under the counter, squatted on the ground, and trembled with his head in his hands.

Soldiers led the way, followed by an official in a ceremonial robe who strode into Lin's Pharmacy.

Magistrate He glanced around, and his advisor, standing beside him, called out, "Where is the manager of Lin's Pharmacy? Come out here immediately, the magistrate has questions to ask!"

Knowing he couldn't escape being called out, Manager Lin gritted his teeth, suppressed his fear, and stood up shakily with a forced smile on his face, his hands gripping the counter.

"I am the manager of Lin's Pharmacy. May I ask what brings you here, sir?"

Magistrate He turned to face Manager Lin directly. He sized up Manager Lin and, seeing that he was nearly fifty years old, did not deliberately frighten or bluff him.

He said in a deep voice, "I have received intelligence that Lin's Pharmacy has been stockpiling wound medicine recently. Whether they intend to make a fortune during this national crisis remains to be investigated."

Therefore, they were specifically ordered to hand over the account books for inspection by the authorities.

Upon hearing that it concerned matters of national importance, Manager Lin's face turned deathly pale. He hurriedly tried to prove his innocence, "Please, Your Honor, investigate thoroughly! Even if I had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard, I would never dare to hoard large quantities of wound medicine to profit from the national crisis at this critical juncture!"

As he spoke, Manager Lin walked around the counter and knelt directly on the ground, begging Magistrate He to believe that he had not done such a thing.

Magistrate He had seen countless people and events like this, yet his expression remained unchanged, unmoved in the slightest.

Risking a beating, Manager Lin knelt and walked toward Magistrate He. Before he could even touch Magistrate He's trouser leg, the clerk ordered his men to drag him away.

The clerk said sternly, "If the manager wants to clear his name, he should readily present all the account books for the past three months, and the master will make his own decision."

Manager Lin was startled by the clerk's shout and suddenly realized what was happening. He quickly got up and went back behind the desk. After rummaging through the drawers and cabinets, he took out an account book and presented it to the clerk with both hands.

After receiving the account book, the clerk handed it over to Magistrate He.

Magistrate He, having taken the ledger, casually instructed, "You handle the rest."

The clerk accepted the order, saying, "Yes."

As soon as Magistrate He left Lin's Pharmacy, he was helped into the carriage by the coachman.

"Sir, these are the ledgers of Lin's Pharmacy."

Changing his previous serious and stern expression, Magistrate He presented the account book with both hands as soon as he entered the carriage.

An Shi took the ledger and looked at the densely written characters, all of which contained medicinal herbs that he couldn't understand.

He thought to himself, "If he were to read through this ledger, his eyes would probably go blind!"

Just when he was going through a lot of hardship, a thought flashed through his mind: he could just hand the account book over to Ninth Brother!

That's a great idea!

Magistrate He had been glancing at An Shi's expression out of the corner of his eye. When he saw An Shi's face turn as dark as ink as he looked through the account books, he was startled. Could it be that there really was something wrong with Lin's Pharmacy?

If that's the case, and treason has occurred within his jurisdiction, he doesn't need to wear this official robe anymore; he can simply lay down his arms and return home.

An Shi had no idea that Magistrate He was so cunning, and that such a large-scale operation could not possibly involve only inspecting Lin's Pharmacy; such an approach was far too obvious.

Therefore, An Shi instructed, "Search all the account books of every pharmacy within your jurisdiction. I will send someone to the government office to retrieve them at noon tomorrow."

The implication was that Magistrate He only had one day to search the account books.

During the hottest days of summer, Magistrate He received his orders with cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"Yes, sir."

......

Lu Qiqi ate lunch with Song Yanqing in the main tent.

At that moment, the two were drinking tea brewed by An Yi.

The two of them sat down quietly for the first time, and as they drank a cup of fragrant tea, they felt as if they had been transported to another world.

In the end, Lu Qiqi couldn't hold back. She put down the Sancai covered bowl and stared intently at Song Yanqing.

She said, "The doctors at the pharmacy have all been detained. Have they gotten any useful information from them?"

An Yi, who was standing to the side, stepped forward as if to remind her that this matter concerned military secrets and that she should not inquire about it casually.

Before he could speak, Song Yanqing took a sip of tea and said, "Not yet, but it should be soon."

Upon hearing this, An Yi was somewhat relieved that he hadn't said anything more. Hearing a commotion outside the tent, he went out of the camp.

The Shadow Guards have endless methods for interrogating prisoners, and even prisoners with steely bones or thick-skinned, determined Tatars cannot withstand them, let alone doctors who are writing and picking medicine.

Lu Qiqi has been feeling uneasy these past two days, with a sense that a storm is brewing, which keeps her on edge.

Just as she was lost in thought, An Yi walked up to Song Yanqing and whispered a few words in her ear.

By the time she realized what was happening, An Yi had already stood up straight, waiting for Song Yanqing's instructions.

Song Yanqing looked up at the outside of the tent and said, "Let him in."

As soon as An Yi stepped out of the tent, Lu Qiqi guessed that they must have something important to discuss and that it would be inconvenient for her to stay. So she stood up and said, "Then I'll go back first. If you have any news about the anesthetic, please let me know. After all, I brought this medicine, and no one knows its uses and properties better than me."

Song Yanqing looked up at her, "I'm afraid that won't work. We need your help with this matter."

Since she wanted to help, Lu Qiqi went over his words in her mind and then sat back down to wait quietly.

When An Jiu came in, he was holding an account book. An Shi handed it to him and then made a quick getaway.

He didn't understand the effects of the medicinal herbs recorded in the ledger, but when he saw that the wound medicine had sold out in just one day, he found it suspicious and brought the ledger to the prince for a decision.

As An Jiu approached, Song Yan said calmly, "Let the head of Kang Le Township examine it."

"yes."

Since the head of Kang Le Township is a doctor, it would be most appropriate for her to review the account books; she would certainly be much more useful than someone who doesn't understand the properties of medicines.

Lu Qiqi took the ledger from An Jiu, glanced down at the words "pharmacy," and then looked up at Song Yanqing.

Seeing that Song Yanqing nodded to signal her to look through it, she suppressed her doubts and began to look through it.

For a moment, the only sound in the tent was the turning of pages.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Lu Qiqi finally finished opening the ledger. She said, "In the first month recorded by Lin's Pharmacy, the best-selling item was for treating colds. In the last two months, they actually sold out of wound medicine and antipyretics. Who exactly is hoarding so much wound medicine and antipyretics?"

These words immediately gave everyone present a sense of foreboding.

The army was short of medicine, and they searched for it in various shops in the border town without success.

In the border regions, where war rages, wound medicine is especially important. Although Lin's Pharmacy records that it does not sell a large quantity of wound medicine, the sheer volume makes up for it.

If all the wound medicines from the pharmacies in the border town were stockpiled, it would be enough to treat at least several hundred seriously injured people over a period of two months.

If it's just treating minor injuries, the number of people affected is even more immeasurable!