Chapter 142

Qian, the drug dealer, lost his face and asked: "Doctor Xu, what do you mean by this?"

Others didn't know, but he could see it clearly. The boy's eyes were full of jest when he looked at him, and those words were clearly mocking him!

But this matter is extremely secretive. How did this person know about it?

Could it be that this kid is targeting everyone and already knows who he is?

Xu Yi looked at him with a confused expression: "Mr. Qian, I don't understand what you are talking about."

"Aren't you..." Qian Pharmacist couldn't help but want to jump. He held it in for a few days. It's a little impatient.

At this critical moment, how could a boy ruin their entire plan?

The drug dealer named Jin next to him tried to grab his arm. At this moment, someone stood up.

"Why is this, Mr. Qian?" Feng Muzhang was puzzled, "What Dr. Xu said about the medicinal properties of sea octopuses is indeed true. We are not joking about it."

"What Dr. Xu and Dr. Feng said is absolutely true." Someone else said go along.

Xu Yi looked at the man and saw that he was Yuan Fei's "entourage". He was slightly surprised, but quickly returned to normal.

Since Yuan Fei left first, he would definitely leave a letter for him.

The man didn't look towards Xu Yi. After saying this, he sat back quietly.

The two of them opened their mouths to side with Xu Yi, and other businessmen who had heard it interesting also followed suit.

Suddenly, drug dealer Qian and others felt bad.

They did not continue to struggle with this aspect. Instead, they laughed out loud and let themselves go down the stairs.

Then, after this interruption, Xu Yi continued to delay time in the name of asking for medicinal materials.

After several rounds, they arrived at the warehouse where the medicinal materials were placed yesterday.

The leading merchants wanted to discuss the price again and haggled on the mixed medicinal materials.

The price of different medicinal materials is different. The price given by the other party was already 20% lower than the price at the Cooked Medicine Store. Now that it is cut again, the price is 25% cheaper.

Several other merchants were smiling from ear to ear, thinking that they could save a lot of money by following these big merchants.

Then I went to see Qian Pharmacist and others. Although they looked reluctant, their eyes were full of smiles. I think I was very satisfied with this.

Not long after, several businessmen had already set the final number.

Those who do business naturally pay with one hand and deliver the goods with the other. The owner collects the money, and the guards are nearby to help move the goods.

Xu Yi estimated the time. It should be half a day before these people distributed the goods.

If Yuan Fei hasn't brought anyone back within half a day, there will be no further delay.

"Doctor Xu." Behind him, Feng Muzhang came over.

Xu Yi looked back at him.

Feng Muzhang made a gesture of invitation and asked him to go aside and talk.

The two came out of the warehouse and saw no one around. Feng Muzhang whispered: "Doctor Xu, the situation has been decided now. We have seen the medicinal materials. Although there are bad parts, if you pick them out, the price will still be good."

After all, The price offered by the other party was indeed cheap, and even Feng Muzhang was tempted, knowing that it was a mixed bag.

Xu Yi frowned: "Doctor Feng, did Brother Wu have an explanation when you set off?"

"Doctor Xu, what do you mean?" Feng Muzhang was stunned, and then wanted to understand what Xu Yi meant by this.

He sighed and said: "Doctor Xu doesn't know something. Although Miaoshou Pavilion has a good reputation, its accounts often have profits and losses. If I can buy this batch of medicine this time, it can be regarded as a solution to an urgent need."

Xu Yi was silent. It's a very real problem.

Running a medical clinic was more difficult than he thought. It would involve a lot of expenses, including doctors' wages, apprentice's wages, shop rent, warehouses, etc. Money was needed to support everything.

Xu Yi asked, "Doctor Feng have already decided which medicinal materials to buy?"

"Yes." Feng Muzhang nodded.

He took out a rolled piece of yellow bamboo paper from his sleeve pocket, in which were written the names of dozens of medicinal materials. He had thought about the medicinal materials he wanted to buy before falling asleep last night.

Xu Yi looked at the names of the medicinal materials he wrote. They were all ordinary medicines. These dozens of kinds, compared with the prices given by the drug dealers, compared with the prices of cooked medicines, if you buy twenty dan, you can save dozens of guan.

It's indeed an exciting deal.

If Xu Yi hadn't known that it was all fake, he would have been moved.

Xu Yi felt deeply powerless and was already hesitating whether to use his escort to move the medicinal materials when he leaked the secret.

But he was worried that these guards were friends with Qian Yaoshang and others.

A dozen guards are more than enough to deal with helpless merchants and doctors like them.

Seeing that he was mentally ill, Feng Muzhang asked with concern: "Dr. Xu, did you not sleep well last night? Why does he look so bad?"

Xu Yi pinched his eyebrows. He had not slept at all last night.

This will make him physically and mentally exhausted, and he will feel powerless and irritated, which makes him very unhappy.

Xu Yi hadn't had such fluctuating emotions for a long time. He suppressed his impatience and put on an unattractive smile.

"Doctor Feng is interested, but I'm just uneasy." Xu Yi said.

Feng Muzhang hesitated for a moment and said, "Don't think too much. That official Qian doesn't look like a bad person. He shouldn't do such things."

Xu Yi: "..." Bad people don't even have "" written on their heads. The word "bad guy".

By the time the two of them finished speaking, one-third of the goods in the warehouse had been moved by the guards.

These goods were all requested by one of the big merchants. He spent a lot of money and took out thousands of dollars without blinking an eye, which attracted the envy of others.

Xu Yi learned from other people that the merchant's surname was Dou, a person from Zizhou Prefecture, and his family was engaged in the trading of medicinal materials.

He came hundreds of miles away just to buy this batch of goods.

However, this batch of goods was more than he thought, and there were even many people rushing to grab the goods, so Yuan Dou had no choice but to buy one-third and share the rest with others.

Even so, if he sells this batch of medicinal materials, he can still make a few hundred dollars in profit.

That's a profit of several hundred dollars, but it's enough to make a lot of people jealous.

Mr. Dou stared at the guards who were moving the goods, and murmured a few words to the boy who was traveling with him. The boy took the order and hurried down the mountain.

Unexpectedly, they were stopped by the gold and medicine dealer who was paying attention to them.

The gold medicine merchant smiled and held up his hands and said, "Mr. Dou, don't be in a hurry. I'll wait for these guards to escort you back after dividing the goods."

"Oh?" Mr. Dou was a little surprised.

The gold and medicine merchant said: "When I hired them, I gave them enough money. Zizhou Mansion is not far away, so it is enough for them to escort them back. Official Dou can also save a sum of escort fees."

Official Dou heard this , my heart suddenly moved, and I asked the boy to come back with a smile.

The gold medicine merchant was also very satisfied with this, stroking his mustache and chatting with others about the matter with a smile on his face.

The other merchants were overjoyed to hear that they could escort the medicinal materials back, and they hurriedly praised him several times.

...

In the middle of the night, Yuan Fei hurried down the mountain from the villa. By the time he returned to Xiling Town at the foot of the mountain, it was already three o'clock in the morning.

The daybreak is slow in winter, and the city gate has not yet been opened.

Yuan Fei took out the arrest sign from his arms and waved it towards the guard at the city gate above. The guard saw clearly who was coming and opened the gate for Yuan Fei not long after.

After entering the city, Yuan Fei did not dare to stop and went straight to the gate of Songjian Town.

The town supervisor is a military affairs officer who supervises regional officials below the county level. He also supervises the arrest of thieves and other matters. For a case like this involving a large number of people, it is impossible for him to have just a few detectives on hand. [Note 1]

If you let those bad guys go because you are arrogant, you will be in trouble.

In Yuan Fei's heart, the guard who died unexpectedly had long been a victim of harm. Perhaps he knew the secret of this batch of medicinal materials and was murdered.

After half an hour, he finally arrived at the gate of Jianzhen Mansion.

He stepped forward and knocked on the door hard, waking up the concierge boy inside.

The boy got up and went to open the door angrily. When he saw it was Yuan Fei, he was startled, but he shouted rudely: "Yuan Captou is so angry. Why did he come to the gate of the prison to make a noise so early? It seems that he has been appreciated by the superiors. , we don’t take our supervisory town seriously anymore.”

Hearing this, Yuan Fei frowned and said anxiously: “I have something urgent to report to the supervisory town. I hope they will be lenient.

” He found half a dime of broken silver and stuffed it into his hand.

The boy got the broken silver and squeezed it secretly. After seeing that there were more than three coins, he went inside to report with satisfaction.

Not long after, he turned back and said to Yuan Fei: "Jian Zhen hasn't gotten up yet. Yuan Captou will come back later."

"No." Yuan Fei was so anxious that he was already furious. He didn't wait for Jian Zhen to wake up naturally. I have been practicing martial arts since I was a child, and my arms are very strong. When I press the handle, the boy's hand that wants to close the door is pressed so that he can't move.

When the boy was surprised, Yuan Fei said angrily: "I'm extremely anxious, but I hope you'll bear with me. I'm sorry for being rude."

He gritted his teeth and pushed the door hard, then opened the side door that was half open, and walked straight past the boy. Want to break into the back house.

The boy was angry and scolded, and he jumped on his feet and chased after her.

How could he catch up with Yuan Fei, who was practicing martial arts? When he rushed over, Yuan Fei had already entered the back house almost before him. Suddenly his vision went dark and he almost fell down.

"Yuan Captou, stop quickly! You are not allowed inside!"

Yuan Fei turned a blind eye and quickly came to the door of the prison house.

He stood still, took a deep breath, half-knelt on the ground, raised his hands, and shouted loudly: "Supervisor, my subordinate Yuan Fei has something urgent to report."

Yuan Fei shouted three times in a row.

Just when he thought Jian Zhen didn't want to pay attention to him, the door creaked open and Jian Zhen, wearing a robe, walked out with an expression on his face.

The supervisor looked down at Yuan Fei, who was half kneeling on the ground, and said, "What's the matter? You're so anxious that you barged into the house without permission."

Yuan Fei didn't dare to beat around the bush, and spoke quickly: "You asked your subordinates to investigate, the supervisor. There are clues to the case, and those people really didn't care about it. Only part of the medicinal materials in their hands were real, and the rest were all fake. "

" Really?" Jian Zhen suddenly became energetic.

As a supervisor, he has extraordinary aura. Even though he is over forty years old, standing in front of Yuan Fei, Yuan Fei's aura is half a head shorter than his.

Yuan Fei lowered his head and answered: "This case involves a wide range of things. I am afraid that some of my subordinates will not be able to arrest them. I hope that Jianzhen will send people to assist in the arrest quickly."

"Okay, okay." Jianzhen was very satisfied, and he turned around and went He took his waist card and threw it to Yuan Fei.

"Take my warrant to transfer people, and be sure to capture them all."

...

Leigong Mountain, Villa.

Here, several people were arguing over who should load the goods first, and suddenly they heard someone shouting that they had a stomachache.

Everyone looked around and saw a follower who was wearing a narrow-sleeved shirt and didn't know which family he belonged to. He was rolling on the ground holding his stomach and saying "Ouch, ouch".

Xu Yi saw who it was and hurriedly shouted: "I'm coming."

Under Doctor Wang's strange look, he quickly ran to the person.

The man's face turned pale, and he really looked like he had a stomachache. Xu Yi grabbed his wrist and whispered, "Don't be afraid, let me see what the disease is."

The "entourage" half-opened his eyes. Then he yelled hurriedly, and it looked like the situation was very bad.

Seeing this, others ignored the goods and gathered around them. Feng Muzhang squeezed to the front and asked, "Doctor Xu, do you want me to help?"

"No." Xu Yi frowned and quickly rejected his offer. With good intentions, "He has dysentery caused by external evil, and he has eaten something bad."

"Ah, wasn't everything we ate this morning sent by the farmer?" Uncle Tang took the opportunity to shout.

Before he finished speaking, the people watching couldn't help but feel scared, worried that they might also feel pain in their stomachs.

Doctor Wang stood behind Xu Yi and frowned when he heard this. He didn't eat anything for breakfast today, so he couldn't have a bad stomach.

Could it be that the Wu Yao Powder given yesterday caused other reactions?

Doctor Wang was not sure, so he hesitated and did not speak.

On the contrary, after hearing what Xu Yi said, Feng Muzhang said worriedly: "Dysentery can be serious or small, and it needs to be treated immediately."

"You need to prescribe medicine." Xu Yi said, stood up and looked at Dr. Wang.

He glanced from Dr. Wang to the drug dealer Qian next to him, raised his hand and asked, "I wonder if Mr. Qian would be willing to borrow some medicine?"

"It will be used by Doctor Xu." Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Qian Pharmacist agreed.

When Xu Yi heard what he said, he had to go even further, asking for a room, pottery pots for decoction, etc. All of these needed to be able to cure diseases.

Pharmacist Qian secretly gritted his molar teeth, responded one by one, and asked the guard who had stopped to find the pottery pot for decoction in the luggage he was carrying.

This tossing back and forth bought Xu Yi time to burn a stick of incense.

But it's far from enough.

Xu Yi helped his "entourage" to the room next to the warehouse to rest.

Seeing that no one else was there, the "entourage" immediately returned to normal: "Doctor Xu, thank you for your cooperation."

Xu Yi shook his head and asked him: "Do you know when Yuan Fei will arrive?"

The "entourage" was stunned and said : "If Yuan Tou comes here with only the arresters, he may be able to arrive before the deadline. If he wants to transfer people to Jianzhen, we don't know."

As the arresters of Xiling Town, they have everything they need to handle. Most of them were petty cases involving theft. This was the first time that a case involving the sale of counterfeit medicines involved a murder.

At the end of the day...

Xu Yi looked at the sky outside, his expression changed slightly, it was still an hour and a half before the end of the day.

In the meantime, we can still delay for a while by eating lunch, but if we continue to delay, it will be even more difficult.

They have used many methods at their disposal, and if they continue to act recklessly, they may arouse the other party's suspicion.

The "entourage" was also worried. He rubbed his swollen waist, and his face turned white with pain just now was not a fake show.

"This matter has nothing to do with Doctor Xu. Since Yuan Tou involved you and left me here to deal with it, he just wants to protect you." He didn't know the details of Xu Yi, but as a doctor, he didn't He has the ability to protect himself.

"If the situation becomes urgent later, Doctor Xu, please take care of yourself. I will come to the rear."

"If that happens, brother, you must also take care of yourself." Xu Yi responded to his kindness without blinking an eye, and said Didn't choose to back down.

Nowadays, it is really rare to be able to show kindness to someone.

The "entourage" shook his head, very puzzled by his reaction. Could it be that Doctor Xu was not afraid of his life?

But soon, footsteps outside interrupted their conversation, and the "entourage" lay back on the bed again, shouting "Ouch".

The person who came over to check was Doctor Wang. Doctor Wang looked worried: "What's going on? Why don't you let me watch next?"

Xu Yi raised his eyebrows and glanced at him: "Doctor Wang, you don't believe me?"

Doctor Wang smiled dryly and replied: " How could it be that Dr. Xu's medical skills are so famous in Yanting, so he is better than me?"

Xu Yi said with satisfaction: "You will be cured within half an hour after the medicine is ready and taken." He asked him a question, "Doctor Wang, if you are so idle, if you don't care more about other people, some people may have stomachaches." Doctor

Wang had ulterior motives, so Xu Yi gave him trouble and asked him to be a good doctor. If you don't do it, you will do something disgusting.

At this time, A Xu and A Jin stepped on the threshold and entered the house: "Lang Jun, the medicine is ready."

"Hey, why are you here?" A Jin looked at Doctor Wang and said, "Guan Qian is looking for you. It's said that the number of medicinal materials is wrong, and I want to ask you about the situation."

With A Jin's words, Doctor Wang can't stay any longer.

As soon as he left, Xu Yi took the decoction, opened the window at the back, and poured it down the mountain.

"Hey, Lang Jun, why did you fall down?" A Xu opened his mouth in shock when he saw this.

"This medicine doesn't taste good."

"Will it be okay if I drink it?"

The latter got up from the bed, jumped on the spot, twisted his neck to relax, looked at the two little guys who were stunned there, and said Knowing that Xu Yi was hiding it from them.

He lay back down without saying anything more and said, "You hold off for half an hour, I'll come back later."

"Get more rest." Xu Yi nodded and left with the others.

A Xu and A Jin followed Xu Yi closely. They didn't ask anything, their faces tightened, and they remained vigilant.

Something hasn't been right with Lang Jun since morning. There must be something hidden from them, but Lang Jun must have his reasons for hiding it.

And they have been practicing martial arts since they were with Lang Jun. If there is any accident, they cannot hold him back.

Thinking of this, A Xu and A Jin bit their lower lips and said in unison: "Mr. Lang, if anything happens, you can call us."

Xu Yi lowered his eyes and looked at them with relief: "I don't want you to do anything. If anything happens, Take care of yourselves."

However, neither of them spoke and kept their mouths tightly shut.

No matter how good-tempered Xu Yi was, when he saw that they didn't listen, his face showed displeasure: "Listen to me."

A Jin raised his face and asked seriously: "What do you want to do?"

"What am I doing?" I don’t know how to do it.” Xu Yi looked directly at her.

A Xu on the side couldn't help but peek at Xu Yi, and then stood by his sister: "If Lang Jun really doesn't intend to do anything, why do you have to explain this?"

Xu Yi: "..." At the critical moment, what happened to A Xu? His mouth became sharper.

Xu Yi thought for a while: "I just thought of the worst plan, not really what to do. This is called preparing for a rainy day."

It is easy to scare a young man with these words. Sure enough, when Xu Yi said this, these two people People were not so resistant and nodded obediently.

After sneaking around for a while, I found that several people at the warehouse had gone to the pavilion outside to rest.

The pavilion here is the same as the Sifang Pavilion, with curtains to block the cold wind, and charcoal pots for heating are placed around it. Fine incense is lit on the low table. The female servant next to her is half-kneeling on a soft cushion, massaging his shoulders.

Xu Yi glanced at those people indifferently, and his eyes fell not far away.

Pharmacist Qian and the others did not enjoy it so much. Instead, they sincerely directed the guards to pack the medicinal materials.

Because of this, several businessmen who were waiting and watching were very satisfied with it and felt that Qian Pharmacist and others were really good at doing business.

"There will be such a good thing next time. Brother Qian

, please remember so-and-so." "And me, Brother Qian, don't want the noble man to forget things too much and forget about me."

"Easy to say, easy to say." Drug dealer Qian thought about what he had got. There is nothing wrong with having a lot of money and a hearty laugh.

Anyway, after today, they won’t be able to see each other anymore.

They put on a complete show, and when it was almost midnight, the cooks in the villa prepared delicious meals and sent the maids to serve them.

Xu Yi took a few bites casually. Neither he nor Uncle Tang drank.

Drinking made things worse, and the "entourage" refused the drink brought by the envoy on the pretext that his stomach was healthy.

This episode did not arouse the vigilance of Qian Yaoshang and others, but they did not relax before the last moment.

When they were almost done accompanying him, they yawned and said they wanted to go back to their rooms to rest, leaving the other distinguished guests to do as they pleased.

Xu Yi was worried, could these people take the opportunity to escape?

He looked at the "entourage" from a distance, with worry in his eyes. No, he couldn't let them leave his sight.

The two of them had a clear understanding of each other. Just when they were about to retreat, the "entourage" suddenly pulled out a knife from his waist and shouted: "Stop!"

Qian Yaoshang and others turned around in horror. Seeing the knife in his hand, not only did they not stop, , instead pushed away the annoying female maid next to him and ran towards the outside of the villa.

Exclaims and panic broke out.

The "entourage" stared at Pharmacist Qian with his eyes fixed on him. As soon as he moved, he followed him, holding a knife in his hand, and slashed towards the left side of his waist.

Someone from behind called out "Brother". The drug dealer Qian shook his head and rolled twice to the right to get up, avoiding the "entourage"'s knife.

Hearing this, Xu Yi looked at the gold and medicine merchant who was running out, and shouted: "Everyone get down!"

Before he finished speaking, the others were no longer where they were, joining the chaos with bare fists and bare hands.

Several guards who didn't know what they were doing were stunned on the spot. Xu Yi knew that these people didn't know anything about it, but there was no guarantee that these people would be deceived into dealing with them. He shouted loudly: "The government is handling the case, and others can't touch it!"

Xu Yi said this. When he came out, the guards who wanted to run to help were immediately stunned and did not dare to step forward.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xu Yi ran to capture the gold medicine merchant.

The gold medicine merchant was not a vegetarian either. Hearing Xu Yi's voice, he immediately turned around and took out a two-foot-long dagger from his arms.

He stabbed him with a knife. Xu Yi's figure suddenly changed. After easily dodging, he punched him in the Fengfu point under his ribs. The other party screamed in pain and took a few steps back. He didn't dare to fight Xu Yi and ran away quickly.

On the other side, drug dealer Qian did not confront his "entourage" head-on. The official sword was very powerful, and he could end up dead if he was not careful.

Unable to attack from the front, he turned around and returned to the pavilion. He had a knife in his hand. Seeing this, the weak businessmen were so frightened that their whole bodies trembled, and their legs trembled and they paralyzed on the ground unable to move.

Let alone stopping others, you can't even protect yourself.

Pharmacist Qian did not look at them, but ran through the pavilion to the backyard. Unexpectedly, someone bumped into him.

He was suddenly frightened and slashed at the man with the knife in his hand.

"Uncle Tang!"

Two childish voices sounded. A Xu and A Jin ran over and helped Uncle Tang, who had been slashed on the arm.

Drug dealer Qian showed a ferocious look on his face: "Seeking death!"

After saying this, he didn't add another blow and walked away.

Upon seeing this, A Xu gritted his teeth and jumped out to block his way.

"You hurt someone, don't leave!" A Xu was not a big man, but his voice was loud.

Xu Yi turned around suddenly and saw that his newborn calf was not afraid of tigers and was about to face an adult with bare hands, and the corners of his eyes twitched.

In an instant, he no longer hesitated, grabbed the gold medicine merchant's arm and pulled it forward. He pushed hard on the opponent's shoulder blade with his palm.

There was a "click".

Accompanied by a rapid cry of pain, Jin Yaoshang's arm was dislocated. Xu Yi, without saying a word, kicked him in the popliteal fossa with a little force.

The pain hit him, and the gold medicine merchant fell to his knees.

Xu Yi released his restraint and quickly ran to catch other fleeing people.

As he turned around, he saw A Xu ducking away from the dagger and hitting Qian Pharmacist in the back, while A Jin slapped him from behind. The two of them attacked back and forth, hitting each other.

Xu Yi's heart did not drop, but when he saw the "entourage" rushing over to help, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly.

He quickly caught up with the fugitive who was about to run out of the manor door.

At this time, several soldiers wearing armor poured in from outside. They were holding long knives. When they saw someone trying to escape, they directly blocked the door. Two others captured the frightened fugitive.

Yuan Fei then came in and saw Xu Yi and asked hurriedly: "Where are they?"

Xu Yi gasped and shouted: "They are still running away, please bring someone in quickly."

"Okay." Yuan Fei agreed, turned around and ordered four people here. Guard, the others followed him inside.

Xu Yi was thinking about A Xu and A Jin, ignored Yuan Fei's shouts, and hurried back to the pavilion.

After seeing that Qian Pharmacist was taken down and A Xu and A Jin were safe and sound, before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Uncle Tang's face turned pale, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and immediately his fingers couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Next to him, Feng Muzhang was hurriedly trying to stop Uncle Tang's bleeding.

Xu Yi walked over quickly, pushed the others aside, knelt down and shouted, "Uncle Tang."

As he shouted, he took something out of his arms, his hands shaking because of fear.

It was Ah Jin who cried and called "Lang Jun". Xu Yi's lips hurt. When he came to his senses, he realized that he had bitten his lip.

He took a deep breath, calmly took out the small clay pot from his arms, opened the lid, and shook the powder inside into the wound.

"Doctor Xu, this official's wound is very deep. I'm afraid he needs stitches." Feng Muzhang saw his terrifying face and spoke boldly.

Xu Yi said: "I know."

He cut open the hem of his outer robe with a knife, tore it into several strips of cloth, and wrapped the injured area tightly.

At that time, Uncle Tang didn't think much at all. In order to stop the other party, he used 100% of his strength.

The same was true for the other party. This knife was extremely deep, the wound was more than four inches long and one inch deep, which caused the blood to flow endlessly.

If the bleeding cannot be stopped within half an hour, the person may faint from excessive blood loss.

Xu Yi was afraid that if he thought about it carefully, this incident was all caused by him. If they had not stopped him in public, Uncle Tang would not have been injured.

He raised his eyes and looked at everyone. They were all cowards, especially the female envoys, who had never seen such a bloody scene.

They were all so scared that they huddled in corners, trembling with fear and terrified.

Xu Yi shouted to the familiar female envoy among them: "Do you have any needle and thread?"

The female envoy opened her eyes wide in fear: "Yes, yes!"