Chapter 63: Fate An ox cart loaded with straw stopped in the east of the city...

An ox cart loaded with straw stopped in front of an orphanage in the east of the city.

In the sunlight, several half-grown children were standing on tiptoe trying to extract the straw, while several elderly people and helpers were shuttling back and forth, moving bundles of straw mats from the cart into the house.

"Sister Lin, please take a break!" A little girl with twin buns, holding a straw bale taller than she was, stumbled to block Lin Xiangli's hand as she tried to reach out. "We can handle the rough work!"

A face covered in sweat popped out from behind the straw pile. Lin Xiangli tucked the strands of hair that had slipped in front of her eyes behind her ears and said, "Look, little bean, the bundle I'm holding is taller than you." She deliberately lifted the straw pile higher, causing the little girl to stomp her feet to reach it, and straw debris fell all over her clothes.

Yan'er hurried out of the yard and took the straw from Lin Xiangli's arms. Her fingertips touched the back of Lin Xiangli's slightly cool hand, and her brows furrowed even more tightly. "Miss, you haven't recovered yet. If you collapse from exhaustion, who will help the whole family?"

As he was speaking, an old man leaning on a bamboo cane came over, trembling. "Miss Lin, the old straw mat can still be used after drying it in the sun. Why bother you with the expense?... The orphanage you built, taking in people like us who have no one to rely on, is already a great favor to us."

Lin Xiangli neatly spread the straw on the earthen kang, and the fresh fragrance of the new grass instantly filled the air. "Grandpa Zhang, smell this warm fragrance of sun-dried straw." She turned to support the old man, gently brushing the straw debris from his shoulders. "It's been raining for so long, the old mats are getting moldy. If everyone gets sick from sleeping there, wouldn't that be a betrayal of the original purpose of the orphanage?"

A childish cry of surprise came from the corner. A small child with pigtails was seen staggering with a haystack wider than himself. Lin Xiangli quickly ran over to catch it. The child tilted his straw-covered face up and smiled innocently, "Sister Lin, I can help Grandpa with his work now!"

"We are really capable." She squatted down and wiped the dust off the tip of the child's nose with a handkerchief, then nodded towards the kitchen. "Go help Granny Li light the fire, okay? She just steamed some sweet-scented osmanthus cakes."

By the time the last kang was covered with new straw, the sun had already crept over the eaves. Amidst the constant stream of thanks, Lin Xiangli rubbed her aching lower back and walked out of the courtyard. Yan'er hurriedly opened an oil-paper umbrella to shield her from the increasingly scorching sun.

"Miss..." The maid twisted the umbrella handle, hesitant to speak, "This morning's cartload of straw cost two qian of silver, not to mention the monthly expenses for rice, flour, and herbs. At this rate, we only spend money and never earn anything. How can our little savings be enough for such a lavish expenditure..."

Hearing this, Lin Xiangli sighed softly, "Yan'er, this isn't squandering. Father made so many mistakes during his lifetime. I'm doing this now not only to atone for his sins, but also to find peace of mind for myself."

She paused, her gaze passing over the bustling streets, as if gazing into the distant past. "Ever since Ling An left, I've thought a lot. I used to live too comfortably and selfishly, always wanting to hold on to everything, but in the end, I couldn't hold on to anything..."

A bitter smile crossed Lin Xiangli's lips. She gently pressed her palms to her chest, her white sleeves fluttering in the wind. "Now I have nothing to lose, except this warmth in my heart. Whenever I think of the days of luxury I used to live, all of which were earned by my father from the poor people, my heart aches. Now, helping these poor and helpless people is the only way I can atone for my sins..."

"Miss, I understand your painstaking efforts." Yan'er was silent for a moment, then turned to practical considerations. "However, if there is no income, relying solely on the savings, the orphanage will probably not be able to survive for long."

These words hit the nail on the head for Lin Xiangli. She frowned slightly. Indeed, living off one's savings wasn't a good idea.

Yan'er said tentatively, "Perhaps...we could try to raise funds? Ask the wealthy people in the city for some charity?"

As soon as she said this, she shook her head. Ever since the Master's accident, those old acquaintances had been avoiding him as much as possible. Going to raise funds would not only be unsuccessful, but she would also probably be met with indifference.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up: "Miss! Perhaps we can ask our new neighbor for help?"

"New neighbor?" Lin Xiangli didn't react for a moment.

"Yes! Didn't the Magistrate's family move next door to us a few months ago? His mother often comes to visit us and seems quite kind. If we can get Lord Zhou's support, perhaps that would be a solution?"

Lin Xiangli's heart moved. Yes, comforting refugees and helping the poor and orphans is the government's responsibility. Asking Zhou Jin for help might actually be a breakthrough.

*

"No, the drug trial is making some progress."

Guo Yan pushed the door open and walked straight towards Fang Buyu, who was hunched over his desk, flipping through files. "These past few days, I've sent people to secretly visit all the well-known medical clinics in Jiusu and Banli counties. As you expected, almost all the doctors are keeping their mouths shut about this matter, as if they had an agreement."

He walked to the desk and traced a fingertip across the dusty file. "The only exception is a pharmacy called 'Ren Xin Zhai'—although it closed down ten years ago."

"Ten years ago?" Fang Buyu raised his head from the file.

"Exactly." Guo Yan sat down across from Fang Buyu, fingering the files. "According to your instructions, after finding no clues in the existing pharmacies, we then searched for those that had closed down in the past thirteen years. Almost all of them remained tight-lipped. Only Doctor Wen Wenxin of Renxinzhai...had a different reaction."

"Renxinzhai?" Fang Buyu read the name and felt that it seemed inexplicably familiar.

"Yes, Renxinzhai," Guo Yan reminded him, "It's just two blocks away from Zuiyuelou. Do you still remember when we were kids and we got beaten up, we went to ask Doctor Wen for medicine?"

Doctor Wen... Fang Buyu remembered that when he was a child, he was pushed down the stairs in Zuiyue Tower by a drunkard and broke his hand. When he was alone in the woodshed in unbearable pain, Guo Yan dragged him to Renxinzhai.

Doctor Wen not only helped him set his bones carefully, but also, seeing that he was dressed in rags, silently gave him a few bottles of boiled medicine without asking for a penny.

Fang Buyu stood up suddenly and asked, "Where is Doctor Wen now? Take me to see him."

However, Guo Yan raised his hand to stop him and said, "No need to look for him, I have already invited him here." After saying that, he turned and walked out the door.

A moment later, Guo Yan led an old man slowly in. The man had white hair, a hunched back, and a withered hand holding onto the door frame as he staggered forward.

A hint of surprise flashed in Fang Buyu's eyes. In his memory, Doctor Wen was in his prime, elegant and upright. Even after more than ten years, he shouldn't have looked so old.

The old man bowed tremblingly as he entered the door: "I am Wen Wenxin, and I pay my respects to you, Your Excellency..."

Fang Buyu stepped forward quickly and held his arm firmly: "Doctor Wen, please don't be so polite." He helped Wen Wenxin sit firmly in the sandalwood chair, then sat down across from him at the square table, poured a cup of hot tea and pushed it over: "Doctor Wen, long time no see."

Wen Wenxin raised his cloudy eyes and looked at him blankly: "Sir... do you know me?"

"I know you. More than ten years ago, I was a small servant at Zuiyue Tower. I once broke my hand and you healed it for me."

Wen Wenxin blinked and was silent for a moment, only saying "oh, oh" a few times. His skinny fingers stroked the warm teacup, but he didn't respond. I don't know whether he was recalling the past or his mind had already been occupied by other burdens.

Seeing this, Fang Buyu stopped chatting and asked with a serious expression, "Doctor Wen, do you know why I asked you to come here today?"

"I...know."

Fang Buyu nodded slightly, his voice gentle but with an undeniable seriousness: "Then please tell me in detail what you know, Doctor Wen."

"Thirteen years ago," Wen Wenxin closed his eyes, as if lost in a past he didn't want to look back on, "a man claiming to be an official from the Prime Minister's Office came to me, brought out a few boxes of medicine, and ordered me to secretly set up a testing station in the pharmacy to test the efficacy of this medicine on specific patients."

When he opened his eyes, the pain in them was clearly visible. "I've been practicing medicine for half my life, and I've never heard such a ridiculous request! Doctors are like parents, and even when prescribing the right medicine for the right condition, there's always the risk of making a mistake. How can you risk a living person's life to test an unknown medicine? Even if it's an order from the Prime Minister's Office, this is absolutely unreasonable!"

He took a breath, as if the resentment from that year was still clogging his chest. "But the man immediately changed his words, saying that this wasn't the Prime Minister's Office's intention, but... it was a secret order from the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace."

Wen Wenxin's voice dropped. "Then, he produced a token from the Prime Minister's Mansion and a roll of bright yellow silk. He unfolded it before my eyes. On it... it seemed to truly bear the seal of the Eastern Palace."

"Did he leave behind that secret order?" Fang Buyu asked.

"No," Wen Wenxin shook his head. "I just glanced at it and then took it back. But I still feel uneasy. This matter involves human life. How can I rely on his one-sided statement?"

"So I privately inquired with several doctors at familiar pharmacies... and the answer I got was that they had received the same instructions." He sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping. "After all, it's the order of the future emperor. What can I do? I... ultimately had no choice but to comply."

Fang Buyu tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, then leaned forward slightly and asked, "With your many years of medical experience, have you ever researched what this medicine is?"

"That medicine is made into pills. I've studied it, and it does contain some rare and precious herbs," Wen Wenxin said, frowning. "But I once secretly scraped off a small amount and ground it carefully, and found that it was mixed with a lot of unknown powder. One time, I crushed half a pill and held it up to the sun, and I saw tiny dots of colorful light reflecting from the powder!"

He looked up at Fang Buyu, his eyes filled with guilt and helplessness. "I know very well that this medicine is not a good thing, but the crown prince's life is as heavy as Mount Tai..."

"What happened next? What were the results of the drug trial?"

"Of course it failed!" Wen Wenxin became emotional, slamming his skinny hands on the table. "Over the past three years, I've used this medicine on a total of twenty-three people. Aside from seven or eight refugees who later disappeared, the remaining dozen or so…" His voice trembled slightly. "The conditions of all of them worsened rapidly. The seriously ill ones died within two days of taking the medicine…"

The veins on his neck bulged with emotion. "Even though no one suspects me, I'm a doctor! I'm supposed to be saving lives, but I've become an accomplice to murder..."

"Then didn't you convey the test results back to them?" Fang Buyu asked calmly.

"Of course not. I told them many times, but it was no use! Then one night, they came to deliver the medicine again, but I refused to try it again. But they scolded me for testing on too few people, so it wasn't reliable, and ordered me to continue." Wen Wenxin's breathing became rapid. "I was arguing with him, and suddenly I heard the sound of dead branches breaking outside the window, followed by footsteps that sounded like someone fleeing on the snow..."

He paused and lowered his head in pain.

"What happened next?" Fang Buyu's voice was still steady, but if you listened carefully, you would find a slight tremor in it.

"The person who came chased after them first. When I caught up, I saw... a little girl, about ten years old, with her mouth and nose tightly covered by the tall figure. She slowly collapsed before my eyes."

Wen Wenxin clutched his knees tightly with both hands and choked out sobs, saying, "I rushed over to check, but the little girl was no longer breathing... There was only a safety lock on her chest, glowing faintly in the moonlight..."

Guo Yan suddenly thought of something and looked at Fang Buyu abruptly.

Fang Buyu's face was eerily calm, except for the white knuckles on his fingers that were gripping the teacup from excessive force.

Wen Wenxin was still sobbing: "After that, I had nightmares every night, always seeing that girl lying in the snow. A year later, I closed the clinic, and over the years, I have been burning incense and repenting every day..."

"That night," Fang Buyu suddenly asked, "was it the light snow season?"

Wen Wenxin looked up at Fang Buyu, his chaotic eyes flashing with extreme astonishment and disbelief: "Yes... yes, it was a light snow that day, and it was also the first heavy snowfall of that winter..."

Guo Yan held his breath and looked at Fang Buyu worriedly. Then, he heard a question in a voice as hoarse as if soaked in snow water:

"That girl...is her name Zhou Tiao?"

"No!" Guo Yan exclaimed in surprise.

Wen Wenxin shuddered at Guo Yan's words. He froze for a moment, trying to recall: "Zhou Tiao... I don't remember her name, but I know she was a miserable child. Not long ago, her parents took her younger brother to seek medical treatment in the capital, leaving her alone in the village."

He paused, and in a moment of dead silence, he added, "To be honest, I owe her a lot. Later, I found out that among those who died from drug trials, one was her grandmother..."