Chapter 59 Don't you want to give me a reward?
Ah Chan swore that next time she was watching a spectacle, she would never run up close; she was just an innocent bystander!
Two guards from the Mingjing Division stepped forward. Instead of taking her away as they had done to the Lin family, they stood on either side of her and gestured for her to enter, showing great politeness.
"Miss Ji, please."
Achan was shocked. They even knew that her surname was Ji. Had she already become a well-known figure in the Mingjing Division?
Achan was extremely conflicted, feeling that this was not a good thing.
Chen Hui, who was separated from the group, saw that they were about to take A Chan away, so she stepped forward to follow them, but was stopped by the guards of the Mingjing Division.
Chen Hui turned to Bai Xiuming: "Lord Bai, I..."
Before Bai Xiuming could speak, Achan turned her head and said, "Huiniang, don't worry, I'll be back soon. Wait for me at home."
Chen Hui glanced at Bai Xiuming again, and seeing that he didn't object, she felt a little relieved: "Okay, go and come back soon."
Achan walked towards the Mingjing Division's office with the Mingjing Division's procession. The Yao family members and Lin family members being escorted ahead were either dejected or dazed, but Achan's little mouth never closed the whole way.
Achan was already panting a bit, but she still persevered in trying to catch up with Bai Xiuming.
"Lord Bai, I just felt that the Lin family's attitude towards Lin Sui and Lin Ting was too strange, and I reminded Lin Sui that something was wrong."
"I didn't do anything else. At most, I secretly prepared the antidote for Zhan Cao and asked Lin Sui for two hundred taels of silver, but the cost of that incense powder was so high. Why are the female corpse's bones so expensive? Don't you gentlemen do anything about the hunting shops' exorbitant fees?" Ah Chan began to strongly condemn the hunting shops as she spoke.
Bai Xiuming's lips curled up slightly, without A Chan noticing.
"Lord Bai, I should consider this a good deed, right? Since you are so wise and powerful, why don't you let me go back?"
The man on horseback glanced at her sideways, but remained silent.
It's alright, Ah Chan didn't care about his coldness and continued to chatter: "Look, it's already dark. Taking me to the Mingjing Division to ask a few questions and then taking me home is too much trouble. Otherwise, you can ask me any questions now, and I promise to cooperate."
"Who said I was going to send you home?" Bai Xiuming finally spoke.
Um?
Achan immediately became alert. He wouldn't even let her go home. What did he want to do?
"Lord Bai, you can't bend the law for personal gain. I've always lived an honest and upright life and have never done anything wrong."
Ah Chan's words finally earned her a positive look from Bai Xiuming, who deliberately looked her up and down: "Really? You don't seem like it."
Achan was immediately displeased; she felt that her upright character had been insulted.
“Of course!” she exclaimed.
“Your voice was too loud and startled my horse,” Bai Xiuming said gently. “Therefore, I have the right to take you back to the Mingjing Division for a thorough interrogation… all night long.”
Achan's eyes widened, and the word "corrupt official" rolled around in her mouth before she swallowed it back.
When they finally arrived at the Mingjing Division's office, all those who had been arrested were sent to the town prison, and Lin Sui and Lin Yi were also taken away separately for questioning.
Achan thought she might be questioned as well, and was waiting for someone to come when she saw a young scholar dressed as a Confucian scholar rushing over.
After the man stopped, he said hurriedly, "Lord Bai, I have not yet found a way to remove the effects of Zhan Cao in the ancient books. I may need some more time."
"No need to look anymore, let her teach you."
Achan was taken aback, then turned to Bai Xiuming and asked, "You brought me back to the Mingjing Division so that I could be the antidote?"
"Otherwise what?" Bai Xiuming retorted. "Isn't the point to live an honest and upright life? Since you haven't done anything wrong, what are you afraid of?"
Ah Chan was dumbfounded. Had all her words along the way been wasted?
"If you want to know how to get rid of the herb, you can just tell me. Why are you scaring me? I'm not going to ask you for money."
Bai Xiuming nodded: "Then I won't give you any money."
Achan: ...
She'll be so angry she won't be able to sleep tonight!
Bai Xiuming probably realized he had gone too far, so he added, "I saw that you were explaining very earnestly along the way, so I couldn't bear to interrupt you."
Achan gritted her teeth, wanting to fight this "corrupt official" to the death.
However, she quickly remembered something: "Didn't you say that everything about Zhan Cao was erased? Why is it still in the books he consulted?"
The young official chuckled, "The order to erase Zhan Cao from the book came from our Mingjing Division, so of course we have the relevant records here."
"Have you encountered many cases related to Zhan Cao?" A Chan asked curiously.
The official glanced at Bai Xiuming, and seeing that he didn't intend to stop him, said, "Actually, it's not much. After all, the disadvantages of using this thing outweigh the advantages. Who would trade their lifespan for temporary glory?"
"There must be a reason why it's listed as taboo, right?"
"Well..." the young official chuckled dryly, "Miss, you should ask the magistrate."
"Master Bai?"
"Go prepare the antidote first. After you've finished, I'll tell you the story." Bai Xiuming was unusually agreeable for once.
"Alright then." Achan waved goodbye to Bai Xiuming reluctantly. "Remember to come find me when you're done, my lord."
The young official led Achan to the medicine dispensing room and said to her, "My name is Liu Zhong, a physician from the Mingjing Bureau. I hope you will be kind enough to teach me."
"My name is Ji Chan, Lord Liu, you can just call me by my name." After introducing herself to Liu Zhong, A Chan didn't waste any more time and directly told him about the so-called antidote.
"Only bone powder from a female corpse?" Liu Zhong repeated incredulously after hearing this. "That simple?"
"The only active ingredient is jade bone powder, but jade bone powder is not easy to burn and has a fishy smell, so I mixed it with some strong-smelling and easily flammable incense powder to make incense."
"Your insight is indeed remarkable, young lady. Please enlighten me." With that, she bowed deeply to Achan.
"Lord Liu, there's no need for that." Achan avoided his greeting, but thought to herself, this is the proper attitude when asking someone for a favor.
She told Liu Zhong about the formula she used, and then said, "It can't be considered a real antidote. This incense needs to be used twice to effectively suppress the effects of the Zhan grass, but it can't completely eliminate them. If you want to suppress them continuously, you can only continue to use bone powder."
"That's alright. Once the user of the herb dies, its effects will completely disappear. We prepared the antidote so that the victim would be conscious during the investigation."
Liu Zhongchao explained to Achan that there were other reasons, but it was not appropriate for him to say too much. If this Miss Ji could get Lord Bai to speak, perhaps she would know the truth.
How long will this case take to investigate?
"It's hard to say. It could take ten days to half a month. After all, it involves a second-rank general of the current dynasty. We still need to investigate Zhan Cao's background and whether someone is behind it." Liu Zhong said a few words and then stopped going into details.
Ah Chan's focus, however, shifted entirely to the other side: "Wouldn't that require a lot of jade bone powder?"
One bone is only enough for one person for one day, and one bone costs ninety taels of silver. With so many people in the Lin family, how much silver would that cost for half a month?
“Miss Ji, there’s no need to worry. We have plenty of bones in our Mingjing Division’s warehouse, enough for our needs.”
Achan immediately showed an envious look.
Liu Zhong summoned someone to retrieve the female corpse's bones and other materials from the Mingjing Division's main storeroom using his waist token, while he and A Chan stayed in the medicine preparation room to chat.
Before long, two guards from the Mingjing Division carried in a box. When the box was opened, it was filled with neatly arranged jade bones.
These jade bones are of superior quality, each one is crystal clear and lustrous, and they look priceless.
Achan suddenly wanted to abandon her upright character and steal a few bones to take home.
After obtaining the jade bone, Liu Zhong, under A Chan's guidance, began to process the bone, grinding it into powder and mixing it with other spice powders.
After the incense powder was made, Liu Zhong took a little and lit it. After smelling the aroma, A Chan nodded and said, "It smells just like the one I made."
Just then, there was a knock on the door outside the medicine dispensing room. Ah Chan, who had only been responsible for speaking, went to open the door. Jiang Kai, who had been waiting impatiently outside, immediately smiled when he saw Ah Chan: "Miss Ji, you're here too."
"Lord Jiang," Ah Chan said, her eyes crinkling, "are you here to see Lord Liu?"
"right."
Jiang Kai entered the medicine preparation room, where Liu Zhong was packing ten portions of incense powder. He looked up and asked Jiang Kai, "Does the master have any instructions?"
Jiang Kai said, "General Lin has gone mad in the prison. The magistrate has asked you to administer the prepared antidote to him first."
"That serious?" Liu Zhong was somewhat surprised, then said, "I'll go to the town prison myself and take a look at his condition."
Jiang Kai nodded; that was exactly what he meant.
Liu Zhongyao and Jiang Kai were leaving together, and Achan couldn't stay any longer, so she consciously followed behind them.
Liu Zhong probably thought she was the maker of the perfume powder, so he took her with him to the town prison.
Because the Lin family were victims, they were imprisoned on the first floor of the town prison. Achan was also imprisoned there for a period of time and adapted well to the environment.
Soon, Jiang Kai led them to the prison cell where Lin Cheng was being held.
Before they even got close, Achan heard a crashing sound, as if someone was using their body to break the prison bars.
As she approached, she realized that the one who had made the sound was Lin Cheng. It was the first time she had ever seen Lin Cheng so out of control; even if he was being controlled by the user of Zhan Cao, he shouldn't have reacted so violently.
She turned to look at Liu Zhong, who seemed to have expected this, showing no surprise whatsoever.
"Do you know what happened to General Lin?" As she watched Jiang Kai open the prison door and go in, subduing Lin Cheng who was in shackles, A Chan asked Liu Zhong in a low voice.
Liu Zhong nodded: "When users of Zhan Cao realize that they are on the verge of death, the more severely affected they are, the more intense their reaction will be. This may be a special protective mechanism."
Have you encountered this before?
"No, the case files in the yamen have records of similar situations, but the other party was affected for a shorter period of time, and the situation was far less serious than that of General Lin."
After Jiang Kai knocked Lin Cheng to the ground, he sat on his back and said to the two whispering people, "Stop talking and hurry up and give me the antidote."
Liu Zhong entered the cell, took out the incense powder, and then took out an incense burner and other utensils from his pocket, as well as a bag of incense ash. He then made an incense stick on the spot.
Seeing this, Jiang Kai almost rolled his eyes and couldn't help but say, "Liu Zhong, could you please prepare a proper antidote next time?"
Liu Zhong immediately objected: "This antidote was developed by Miss Ji, how is it improper?"
Upon hearing that it was Ah Chan who made it, Jiang Kai immediately shut his mouth.
A rich aroma filled the cell, and Lin Cheng, who had been struggling, gradually stopped moving.
After the incense powder had burned out, Lin Cheng finally spoke: "What... happened to me?"
Jiang Kai looked down at Lin Cheng and saw that his eyes seemed to have cleared up a bit. He then got up from him, chuckled, and helped him up from the ground. He even patted the dust off Lin Cheng's clothes: "General Lin was just controlled and lost consciousness. I had to use all my strength to barely subdue the general and prevent you from hurting yourself."
Achan curled her lip outside, thinking, "No wonder he's Bai Xiuming's subordinate, lying through his teeth."
When you almost sat on General Lin to death just now, you didn't have this attitude.
"Thank you for your trouble," Lin Cheng said sincerely.
He then looked around and asked, "Is this the prison of the Mingjing Division?"
“Yes, General Lin, please forgive me. You must stay here until the investigation is over, to prevent things from getting out of control,” Jiang Kai said.
"It's alright. I wonder when I'll be able to see Lord Bai?"
"General Lin." Bai Xiuming appeared out of nowhere and suddenly spoke, startling the unprepared Achan, who took two steps back.
Bai Xiuming gently supported her back, and only let go of her hand after she had regained her balance before walking forward.
"Thank you very much, Lord Bai." After regaining his senses, Lin Cheng naturally remembered what had happened.
He never expected that he would be controlled without his knowledge, and even lose control at one point.
"General Lin, you're too kind. It was Miss Lin who reminded me in time."
Thinking of Lin Sui, Lin Cheng's expression softened. If it weren't for Lin Sui's vigilance, his whole family would probably have been under someone else's control.
After exchanging a few more words with Lin Cheng, Bai Xiuming left with his men. Lin Cheng had not yet fully recovered and would need to be questioned again after another round of incense burning the next day.
After leaving the town prison, Liu Zhong, who wanted to discuss things with A Chan, was casually dragged away by Jiang Kai.
Achan then moved closer to Bai Xiuming: "Lord Bai, I've already prepared the antidote for you, what about your story?"
“A prince of the previous dynasty once used the herb to gain favor, but he was soon discovered.”
Achan was not happy with the steps that were skipped: "Tell me in detail how you found out."
Bai Xiuming glanced at her: "This is a royal secret."
Fine, if you don't want to listen, then don't listen. Why try to scare me?
"Then continue."
"Later, the emperor ordered the prince to be executed, but on the eve of the execution, the emperor suddenly lost control and repeatedly ordered the prince to be released."
Ah Chan finally realized where the case file Liu Zhong mentioned came from—it turned out to be a case involving the royal family.
"And then what happened? Did the emperor release him?" Achan pressed.
"The Ming king of that generation executed the prince in advance. When the emperor woke up, he was furious and executed the prince's family and officials. All those involved in the case were exterminated along with their entire families."
The former emperor was known for his good temper, and this was the biggest case during his reign.
Achan pouted. Human emperors are timid, but they have a really big temper.
However, it seems quite normal. The process of this thing controlling people is subtle and gradual, but the final backlash is indeed terrifying. However, this situation seems to only apply to humans.
She knew about Zhancao because some demons also ate it. Some demons were born ugly, and even when they transformed into human form, they were still ugly, so they ate Zhancao to deceive their wives.
However, the effect of the Zhancao on the demon race is very small, and it is very easy to get rid of it, so the couple will fight each other and blood will be spilled on the spot.
Achan had met a member of his clan with a square face on Qingyu Mountain. He always liked to eat this kind of food. Unfortunately, even after Achan left Qingyu Mountain, he never managed to trick a member of his clan into marrying a woman. It was a tragedy.
It seems that the emperor initially did not think the matter was very serious, which is why he only severely punished the prince. Later, however, he realized that the situation was out of control, and he had also lost control, which is why he was furious.
After hearing the utterly uninteresting royal secrets, Achan felt a bit cheated. She glanced at Bai Xiuming and tentatively asked, "Lord Bai, I've done you such a big favor, don't you want to give me a reward?"
Do you think I want to?
I think you do!
"Then what should I reward you with?" Bai Xiuming asked readily.
"Lord Liu, you said that the Mingjing Bureau has many forbidden books that cannot be found on the market. May I take a look?" Achan asked, blinking her eyes.
"cannot."
"I want the Black Tiger Demon's skin," Achan quickly stated her goal.
"Then let's read banned books instead."
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