Chapter 771 A Dream of Youth 303
"Please sit down."
"Please forgive me, Lord Xie." Luo Yueqian knew that Xie Ning would not hold his crime of inquiring without permission against him.
However, he did not sit down. Instead, he took out a ledger of embezzlement and a complaint about the magistrate of Yangqu County abducting a man's wife from his sleeve.
"...There were quite a few prepared and processed medicines allocated from the Central Pharmacy, but most of them were not sold. Instead, they were embezzled by the magistrate of Yangqu County and then resold to other pharmacies in the city."
The county pharmacy once hired a doctor, but he was executed for theft.
According to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, anyone who steals more than five strings of cash or a hundred taels of silver shall be executed.
“But your humble servant has found evidence that is sufficient to prove that the doctor was framed. At that time, the governor was investigating the case, and the magistrate of Yangqu County pushed the doctor out as a scapegoat.”
The local pharmacy that Luo Yueqian mentioned is just the tip of the iceberg. Don't think that Bingzhou is remote and not valued by the emperor, so there is no profit to be made. It is precisely because of this that local officials can start from small gains and accumulate more and more.
Xie Ning put down the account book he had finished looking through, and then looked at the complaint. "Why did you choose me? After all, I am just a physician, aren't I?"
Even though he was higher in rank than the county magistrate, he was unable to adjudicate cases.
Luo Yueqian bent his back a little more. "I have selfish motives. I was originally prepared to risk my life to deliver the complaint to the Xu family. But today I have the opportunity, so I want to save my life to see my elderly mother off in her final days and raise my young daughter to adulthood."
He couldn't get into the Xu family's house. Even if he managed to find an opportunity to deliver a complaint to Master Xu or Lord Xu outside, he wouldn't survive, because the county magistrate wouldn't let him go.
Judging from what just happened today, Xie Ning is intelligent and quick-witted. We can use her to deal with the county magistrate and thus protect ourselves.
But it has to be fast, so fast that the magistrate of Yangqu County can't react in time.
Xie Ning handed the items to Aqi Lan and then stood up, looking at the young man who was clearly tall but whose back was bent so hunched over. "If what you say is true, I will definitely seek justice for you and... save your life. But you should also know that everything comes at a price."
Luo Yueqian stood still for a long time. Outside the window, the setting sun painted the sky with a faint red hue, which seemed to fall on his eyebrows as well. Luo Yueqian seemed to want to laugh, but he could only force a smile and bow deeply to Xie Ning's back.
As dusk settled, Luo Yueqian returned home. Seeing her mother picking beans in the yard, Luo Yueqian stepped forward and said, "Mother, the evening breeze is about to pick up. Please go inside so you don't catch a cold."
A little girl poked her head out of the house and said, "Daddy, I made stewed cabbage today."
“You’re still young, only a little taller than the stove. We’ll wait for your father to come back and cook next time.” He helped his mother into the house. “I bought some snacks; they’ll be good to eat if you get hungry tonight.”
Luo's mother, who was limping, helped Luo Yueqian step by step into the house, but her eyes were glancing to the other side. "Eldest son, more people from the Northern Jin have moved into the neighboring courtyard. They have always had bad tempers. Be careful when you go out and don't get into any arguments with them."
Luo Yueqian paused, "Mother, are all those Northern Jin people in cahoots?"
The little girl stared longingly at the pastries, her mouth watering. Hearing Luo Yueqian's words, she spoke up before Luo's mother could, "No, Father, I saw them fighting."
Luo Yueqian frowned and could only tell the two of them to stay home as much as possible, and that he would bring back their daily necessities after he finished his shift.
"Clang—" The sound of the porcelain bowl hitting the ground rang out, but the sound did not reach this side.
In the neighboring courtyard, the rather robust old man listened to his subordinate's report. He hadn't expected that the young nobleman was actually a female imperial physician from the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Considering the situation yesterday morning, this imperial physician had probably been to the military camp.
The old man couldn't guess Xie Ning's purpose, but that didn't matter.
Some time ago, a scout reported that Xu Linyang had fallen seriously ill and was likely to die, which is why they rushed to Bingzhou with their men. Xie Ning's appearance confirmed this conclusion, but that was some time ago. Now, Xu Linyang is probably safe and sound.
A golden opportunity was missed.
A hint of regret flashed in the old man's eyes, then he turned and went into the cellar in the courtyard, where seven or eight people were tied up. He walked up to one of them and kicked him hard.
"Xiao Chu! If you want to kill me, just give me a quick death. Why humiliate me like this!"
Xiao Chu didn't take it seriously. He reached out and took the whip from his subordinate and lashed him again, saying coldly, "Hu Xin, I won't kill you. I'll leave your life to A Yan. You will pay for the persecution you've caused my Xiao family, bit by bit."
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