Who is the black witch in the county government office?

A few days after returning, Bai Fenghua left Yunshui County.

When she first came, she only rode a horse, and now she is leaving on a horse as well.

Zhou Hanzhang was not as busy as before. He could come back before dark every day to have dinner with Shi Yanqing.

"Master, there is a letter from the capital." Shi'an walked into the study with a letter after dinner. He closed the door and stopped in front of the desk.

Zhou Hanzhang took the letter and slowly opened it to read.

"It was from Han Gui. The letter said that Grandfather's condition is improving, thanks to Madam's uncle who arrived in time and provided treatment."

"Shi'an, how is your investigation into the Black Witch going? Have you made any progress?"

After obtaining the wooden plaque and booklet in Wuli Mountain, Zhou Hanzhang asked Shi'an to find the people in Jianshui Village to help him find the whereabouts of the black witch.

The clue about the Jianshui cottage was provided to him by the Empress, otherwise he really wouldn't have the manpower to investigate.

Shi An: "Your Excellency's previous guess was correct. The Doctor Cuo from Huangjia Village is a black wizard. I asked someone to draw a portrait of Doctor Cuo and gave it to the priest for identification. The priest said that he was one of the people who followed the deposed crown prince."

"However, Doctor Cuo has now left Huangjia Village and his whereabouts are unknown. I have searched for him for a long time but have not found any trace of him yet."

Zhou Hanzhang lowered his eyes and thought, "It seems we have alerted the enemy."

Shian was silent.

"Your Excellency, I suspect there might be a black witch in the county government office."

After a few minutes of silence in the study, Shi'an spoke. What he said was a guess, but there was also a certainty in it.

Zhou Hanzhang knew and was certain that there was a black witch in the county government office. The problem was, he didn't know who this person was.

Since Shi'an brought up this matter now, it means that he has found out who this person is.

Shi'an didn't keep anyone in suspense and told everything he had found out during the investigation.

"After receiving Doctor Cuo's portrait, I discovered that a clerk in the county government office bore a resemblance to Doctor Cuo. So I drew the clerk's face and had the priest examine it."

"The priest said he had never seen the young clerk, but he knew that Doctor Cuo had a younger brother who was the same age as the clerk."

"What's his name?" Zhou Hanzhang asked.

Shi'an: "His name is Ning Jiao."

At this time, Ning Jiao, no, it should be Cuo Wubing, did not know that his identity had been exposed.

There was no moon tonight, and there were no lights outside, so it was pitch black. Although it wasn't so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of you, it was completely blurry and you couldn't see anything more than ten meters away.

Cuo Wubing closed the courtyard door slowly and gently. He did not leave immediately after closing the door, but stood at the door and waited for a moment. After confirming that there was no one else, he touched the earth wall and left the alley.

After he walked out of the alley, he turned left and right, and finally turned into a deeper and darker alley.

After walking about ten meters inside, he stopped outside a yard.

It was quiet all around, without a single candlelight.

Cuo Wubing reached out and groped on the door, trying to find the rope connecting to the house.

Soon, the door was opened from the inside.

A tall figure was hidden in the darkness.

The two men didn't speak. Cuo Wubing quickly entered the yard and followed the man into the house.

After entering the house, Cuo Wubing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He sat down and poured a cup of tea. "Brother, this place where you live is too hard to find. I almost got lost when I came here just now."

Cuo Wushang glanced at him coldly without saying anything.

There were candles lit in the room, but the windows were sealed with black cloth, so the candle light could not get out at all, so nothing could be seen from the outside looking in.

When seeing someone who is not injured, he will not say anything; when seeing someone who is not injured, he will just smile awkwardly.

Isn't he just complaining?

"Oh, big brother, Wang Shangcai came to see me yesterday and said that the number of patients at Xinglin Hall has decreased a lot. Many people have gone to the clinic run by the county magistrate's wife for treatment. Among them are not only poor people, but also several rich young ladies and gentlemen."

"That's all he has. He wants us to deal with the county magistrate's wife over just a few patients." Cuo Wushang's tone was light, but one could hear the sarcasm in his voice.

"Don't worry about this matter. Let him do it. If anything goes wrong, there are people from the Wang family to deal with it. Just focus on the situation in the Dragon Cave."

Cuo Wubing nodded.

The battle in the Dragon Cave was supposed to last another year, but according to the adults, it would be best if the results could be seen within half a year.

So he has been sending people to various counties to prepare blood packs during this period.

It's winter now, and death is a common occurrence.

He blended in without attracting any attention.

Seeing that Cuo Wubing understood the seriousness of the matter, Cuo Wushang's expression softened slightly, and he spoke with the concern of an older brother for his younger brother.

"It's been a bit cold these days, so remember to put on more clothes and don't catch a cold."

Cuo Wushang smiled and nodded, "I know, thank you for your concern, big brother."

…

As the Lantern Festival was approaching, Shi Yanqing decided to give everyone in the clinic and the pharmacy a holiday.

However, she and Xun Lu had no way to rest. They had to sit in the clinic for half a day to see patients, and could only close the clinic and go home in the afternoon when there was no one around.

That day, Shi Yanqing had just locked the door of the clinic. When she turned around, she saw a young woman running towards her in a hurry.

When the woman came closer, Shi Yanqing could see her face clearly and felt that she looked somewhat familiar.

"Doctor Shi, please save my sister!" Lin Duo's eyes were slightly swollen, and the corners of her eyes were stained red. Her voice was dry and hoarse, and it made people feel nervous when they heard it.

Shi Yanqing recognized who this person was. He was the one who had accompanied his sister Lin Yun to see a doctor.

However, if you calculate the time, it has been more than a month. Even if Lin Yun is determined, she has already been completely infected by the peach blossom nightmare, and her thoughts and behaviors are all controlled by others.

"Come in with me and I'll explain everything," Shi Yanqing reopened the door, brought Lin Duo in to sit down, and poured her a glass of boiled water to moisten her throat.

Lin Duo did not take the water. She sat down and clasped her hands tightly together, trying to control her body from shaking.

"Doctor Shi, my sister, she really has become a completely different person."

"My sister and I came to see you earlier. You said my sister was beset by a peach blossom nightmare and asked us to find the object that caused the nightmare and then come back to you to relieve it."

"My sister and I didn't dare waste any time, so we left Yunshui County that day and returned home to look for the item that caused the nightmare. But we searched for a long time and found no clues at all."

"Even if we knew who did it, we couldn't find the item that caused the nightmare. As the one-month deadline was about to expire, I was afraid my sister would be harmed, so I persuaded her to come to Yunshui County first. But she insisted that she had to find it before leaving."

"We were originally planning to leave when the time was almost up, but my sister suddenly disappeared and didn't come back until seven days later." When Lin Duo said this, tears flowed from her eyes with deep regret.

"If I had known earlier, I would have brought my sister out even if I had to knock her out."

The more Lin Duo spoke, the more her body trembled.

Shi Yanqing saw that something was wrong with her, so he quickly held her hand, kissed and massaged it to help her calm down.

"Don't be impatient, take your time. Even if Lin Yun is controlled by someone now, I still have a way to save her."

Perhaps these words gave Lin Duo hope. She took a deep breath and calmed her heart which was beating wildly due to fear.

After a few breaths, Lin Duo continued.

"After returning, my sister still had some memories of our time together, but her thoughts and behavior were completely different. She used to like the color purple and drink vegetarian tea, but now she wears plain white clothes and eats meat and drinks alcohol."

"I told my parents about the Peach Blossom Nightmare, but they acted as if they didn't hear anything. It was as if they were being controlled by someone too."

"It wasn't until one night when I overheard a conversation between my father and mother that I realized they had helped sow the seeds of my sister's peach blossom nightmare."

Shi Yanqing was a little surprised. How could that be?

Seeing her expression, Lin Duo smiled sarcastically, "You might find it hard to believe, but that's the truth. They sold my sister to someone else just for the sake of their family's honor and future, just like selling a piece of clothing, without any extra feelings."

"If you sell it to someone else, have you heard the identity of that person?" Shi Yanqing asked.

Lin Duo shook her head.

"I didn't hear the man's identity at the time, but I knew he was from the capital and had a high status."

"My father is from a branch of the Lin family. He sold my sister to a young lady from the main family. But that young lady wasn't the real buyer either. She had someone above her."

Shi Yanqing was very surprised to hear so many secrets at once.

This matter was actually related to someone in the capital. Could it be that it was done by a royal relative? After all, methods like Peach Blossom Nightmare were not accessible to ordinary nobles. Only those with strong backgrounds and powerful influence could know about it.

The first to be affected are the royal family, and those who are powerful.

It seems I have to ask my grandmother.

"There are many complicated issues behind this matter. Until it is resolved, you'd better not go back and stay in Yunshui County for the time being." Shi Yanqing sighed.

Lin Duo nodded while crying. She took out a handkerchief embroidered with orchids from her wide sleeves and wiped her tears silently.

"I don't dare go back anymore. I'm here to visit my aunt and stay for a while. But I'm worried about my sister. She will be sent to the capital by my father in early March next year."

Shi Yanqing wanted to say don't worry, but this was not something that could be solved by just talking.

Outside the screen, Xun Lu listened to what happened in silence.

His gaze fell on the screen with a complicated expression, and he was hesitant in his heart. Finally, he left the clinic with light steps.

He just passed by the clinic and saw that the door, which was usually closed, was still open. He thought that there were too many patients today, so he wanted to go in and help.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered, he heard a woman crying and talking. He wanted to turn around and leave, but he heard the three words "Peach Blossom Nightmare".

Peach Blossom Nightmare, this is a method that can cause great harm to people.

Xun Lu's memory suddenly went back to twenty years ago, when his second brother was born not long ago, and he and Xiao Jiangyan also met because of the eldest princess's peony flower party.

The Peony Flower Festival is a banquet held by the eldest princess every year. Its purpose is to allow unmarried women and men of appropriate age from various families to meet each other.

That year's Peony Festival should have ended smoothly like previous years.

But in the end it was burned down.