Chapter 88
The largest clinic in Yaoding City is called Zhengya Hall. It is located in a garden behind a century-old locust tree on the southeast main street. It is more spacious and grand than the mansions of many wealthy families. The doctors inside are all very skilled, but the owner is a doctor who does not practice medicine and whose name is unknown. However, the people in the city respectfully call him Mr. Ya.
At noon, the front courtyard of the garden was packed with a group of dirty refugees. Mr. Ya set up a pot in the corridor and, without asking the maids for help, cooked a bowl of plain noodles for himself. While eating, he said, "Oh dear, it's not that I'm heartless, I'm just a businessman who runs a clinic. Without the government's permission, I dare not accept you here."
A group of servants stood blocking the steps with sticks, but dared not act rashly because of the presence of Yunhua's disciples. Meng Jing bowed and said calmly, "Since you have opened a clinic, there is no reason for you to turn away patients. As for the release document, we have already sent someone to the government office to ask for instructions, and it will be delivered shortly. Please, for the sake of so many lives, do us a favor."
Mr. Ya only looked at the noodles in his bowl, not at anyone else. He kept his mouth shut and said with a smile, "Young man, there's no need to say more. I'll let them in whenever the document arrives. No one will die anytime soon, just wait."
After saying this, he carried the bowl of noodles into the inner hall, leaving everyone with only his swaying back. A group of servants stood motionless in front of the steps, their sticks showing no sign of falling.
It's truly a cold and indifferent world; all sorts of people can be found here. The disciples of Wenxin Peak have always been taught by their elders to be compassionate and to prioritize human life above all else. Yet, this Mr. Ya opened such a large clinic and completely ignored those refugees who were poisoned and vomiting blood. It's utterly absurd.
"What Mr. Ya? What kind of heartless and ruthless person would open a clinic!"
"Such behavior brings shame to the medical profession, and people are afraid of laughing at us if word gets out."
"What's so funny? Didn't you hear him say he's a businessman?"
...
In the past, Meng Jing would have disregarded documents and berated Mr. Ya without hesitation. However, times had changed. During her years on Wenxin Peak, she had learned to remain calm in the face of adversity. Listening to her disciples' indignant remarks, she said nothing.
The door behind him opened, and a blizzard rushed in. Meng Jing turned around and saw Yin Qiuxing, who had not returned for a long time, coming towards him.
Yin Qiu first went to the city gate and found that there was no one there. After asking around, he learned what had happened. Now, with the scene in the courtyard, Yin Qiu already knew what was going on without asking any more questions.
"Without permission from the government, the clinic naturally wouldn't dare to accept refugees. Has anyone been sent to request a permit?"
Meng Jing slowly walked to Yin Qiu's side and nodded: "She went to call Bai Ling." She coughed lightly, her fist pressed to her lips. "Why did it take so long?"
Yin Qiuxing went to the outer edge of the crowd and looked around for a while before saying, "Something came up on the way."
She did not mention Man Jiangxue.
With the refugees suddenly suffering from poisoning, Man Jiangxue has been traveling for several days and has finally had a good night's sleep. Even if she came, it wouldn't speed up the process of resolving the situation, so it's better not to bother her.
After waiting for a long time, Bai Ling finally came in carrying a document, followed by a group of officials.
With the documents in hand, Mr. Naya naturally ordered his servants to leave and arranged for the refugees to enter the inner sanctum. Upon hearing the news, the doctors filed out, and the entire clinic became busy.
"We are here on the orders of the Prefect to investigate the poisoned porridge case. Who is in charge of Yunhua Palace now?"
The disciples looked at each other, and finally Yin Qiu stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Greetings, esteemed masters."
"So it's you?" The officer glanced at Yin Qiu a few times, seemingly sizing up her appearance, then waved his hand dismissively. "Take her away!"
Several constables came up to arrest the man, and the disciples' expressions changed drastically. They tried to step forward to stop them, but Yin Qiu waved his hand, signaling them not to panic.
"May I ask where you intend to take me, sir?"
The officer said, "Such a big case has occurred, so the government office will naturally investigate it thoroughly. Since you are in charge, come with us to the government office for questioning. Don't worry, we won't make things difficult for you. Just cooperate."
Yin Qiu thought for a moment and then said happily, "That's fine too, I'll leave it to you to arrange, sir."
Seeing that she was about to be taken away, Meng Jing hesitated for a moment, but still reached out and grabbed Yin Qiu's wrist, saying, "I've only been here for half a day and I'm not familiar with the situation here yet. You stay here, I'll go."
“There’s no use for me staying here,” Yin Qiu looked back at her. “You know medicine, so you’re better off staying here than me. Don’t worry, it’s just a questioning, nothing will happen.”
Hearing her say that, Meng Jing let go of her hand, his eyes filled with concern: "Alright, then go and come back soon."
Yin Qiu responded and bowed to the officials again. The group then left the clinic and headed towards the government office.
The refugees in the inner hall had been settled, and the medicine boy had started brewing the medicine. Meng Jingli stood in the front yard and watched for a while. For some reason, she had a bad feeling. She pondered for a moment, then called a few disciples to go back to the post station. But she saw the remaining officials blocking the door.
"Until we find out who poisoned you, all of you Yunhua disciples must stay here. Not one of you can leave."
Meng Jing said, "The water and food all come from Yunhua Post Station. Instead of watching us, gentlemen, why don't we go to the post station together and check it out?"
One of the officials said, "Of course we need to investigate, but we can't let too many people go. Just have someone to guide us."
Meng Jing paused, then turned his head to look behind him: "Go ahead, and inform Senior Sister Lu as soon as possible so that she can be prepared and not be caught off guard."
Bai Ling nodded and agreed, then led two officers out. Before long, another group of armed guards arrived and guarded the clinic's entrance tightly.
Seeing that Yin Qiu's figure had disappeared at the end of the long street, Meng Jing frowned and sighed softly.
·
A slightly noisy commotion came from downstairs. Man Jiangxue lifted her eyelashes and woke up from her deep sleep.
Noon had passed, the sky outside was overcast, and snow was still falling. Manjiangxue got up, put on her coat, and stood in the house listening quietly for a while. She couldn't quite hear what the people downstairs were saying, so she pushed open the door, went out, and went downstairs around the corner of the corridor.
Two officials stood in the hall, questioning the disciples. No one noticed that Man Jiangxue had arrived. Lu Huaiwei also seemed to have just gotten up, looking listless and coughing incessantly. She leaned against the door, unsteady on her feet, as if a gust of wind could blow her over.
"What happened?"
Upon hearing the sound, the disciples all turned around. When Lu Huaiwei saw Man Jiangxue, she was half surprised and half delighted, and said, "Uncle-Master?" She covered her handkerchief and coughed violently again. She hurriedly went to greet Man Jiangxue, "When did you arrive? Why didn't anyone inform you?"
Man Jiangxue casually poured herself a cup of cold tea from the table, took a sip, and said, "I just arrived." She held the teacup, looked at the two officers, and asked them with a questioning expression.
Lu Huaiwei had just learned about the refugees' poisoning, so she quickly told Man Jiangxue about it in detail. Man Jiangxue remained very calm after listening. She looked up and saw that the entrance to the post station was guarded by government soldiers, and she had a general idea of what was going on.
“It’s my fault, really. I’ve been seriously ill these past few days and haven’t been able to take good care of myself, which is why this happened,” Lu Huaiwei said, her face pale and her voice thick with a nasal tone. “It seems that the refugees were driven here by the Ziwei Sect, and then they were suddenly poisoned. It’s clear that someone wants to target our Yunhua Palace. Martial Aunt, it’s highly likely that the Ziwei Sect is behind this.”
Since the Ziwei Sect's headquarters was burned down by Gongzi Fan that year, the Ziwei Sect has been relatively quiet for a long time. Most people in the martial arts world know that the Ziwei Sect rarely shows its face in the martial arts world. They are usually nowhere to be seen. But if you hear about the Ziwei Sect's movements again, it means that they are about to start causing trouble again.
Last time it was because they found Yin Qiu's whereabouts, so what is it this time?
A faint light shone through the hazy window paper, illuminating Man Jiangxue's slightly thin clothes, making her appear somewhat unapproachable.
She remained silent, and the disciples were all filled with fear, not daring to ask any questions rashly. The two officials, who had not been very friendly before, were immediately amazed by Man Jiangxue's beauty. At this moment, they were only concerned with secretly admiring the beauty's appearance and forgot to urge her on.
After a short while, Man Jiangxue turned to look at Lu Huaiwei and said, "If the porridge is poisoned, then the water and food may also be unclean. Go and check."
Lu Huaiwei coughed loudly. Upon hearing this, she immediately led the way. One group of disciples was instructed by Man Jiangxue to go to the granary to check the rice, while the rest of the group went to the kitchen to check the water source.
"The rice was delivered last night, and the water was also filled last night." Bai Ling stood by the water vat, where the water was almost empty and looked very clear.
Man Jiangxue said, "Bring me the silver needles."
Bai Ling was prepared. She immediately took a silver needle from the needle bag she had brought and put it in the water. When she took it out, the silver needle was clean and had not changed color.
“The water is fine,” Lu Huaiwei said. “Then the rice is the problem?”
When the disciples cooked porridge, they always used the water from the vat first. Since that was the case, there was no need to try the well in the courtyard. The group then left the kitchen and went to the granary. The disciples happened to have brought out all the rice bags and piled them up in the courtyard like a small mountain.
Bai Ling changed to a new pair of silver chopsticks and tried them on all the rice in the bags several times. After a lot of effort, the silver chopsticks remained unchanged, as bright and clean as new.
“The food and water in the post station haven’t been poisoned yet, which means the poison was planted at the city gate,” Lu Huaiwei analyzed. “But whether it’s cooking porridge or brewing medicine, it was all done by the disciples in the palace. No one else would have come into contact with it, unless…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Bai Ling continued, "Unless the poisoner is one of our Yunhua disciples?"
Lu Huaiwei's expression changed several times. Not daring to make a hasty judgment, she could only look at Man Jiangxue and ask, "What does Martial Aunt think?"
Man Jiangxue habitually fiddled with her dagger. She didn't reply when she heard this, but after a moment she said, "Go back to the kitchen and take another look."
The group returned to the kitchen. It was a dark winter day, so Lu Huaiwei had instructed someone to light several candles, which brightened the room and made visibility much clearer. The disciples each took a silver needle and tested all the pots and pans, but they couldn't find anything unusual.
The refugees had been eating only congee for the past few days, and the dishes were all provided by the Duan family. Therefore, there were not many fruits and vegetables in the kitchen, and they were arranged very neatly by the disciples. At this time, the stove was cold and the place was practically empty. The only relatively crowded place was the corner under the window, where many wooden buckets filled with water were piled up, and they were all very clean.
Her gaze swept over all the furnishings in the room, but Man Jiangxue did not notice anything unusual. She took a few steps subconsciously, and when she passed a small wooden table, her eyes suddenly lit up and she stopped in her tracks.
Seeing her movements, Lu Huaiwei quickly asked, "Uncle-Master?"
Man Jiangxue glanced sideways at the small wooden table and noticed a wine jar leaning to one side under it. She frowned slightly and asked, "Are there disciples drinking at the post station?"
Lu Huaiwei was taken aback. She glanced at the wine jar and was about to speak when a disciple interjected, "Reporting to Martial Aunt, this wine is not for us disciples to drink. It was brought last night to entertain the rice shop assistants."
Man Jiangxue turned slightly to the side.
The disciple continued, "Here's what happened. Because these refugees arrived so suddenly, the post station didn't have enough food. If we hadn't bought some new rice last night, we wouldn't have anything to eat today. So last night, I contacted the rice shop and asked them to deliver it overnight. I was the one who received them. Thinking that it was so kind of the staff to make the trip in the middle of the night, in this freezing weather, I prepared some wine and food to reward them."
"In other words, outsiders have visited the post station," Man Jiangxue said.
“This…” the disciple paused, “is indeed so.”
"If it was the rice shop assistants who did it, where would they have put the poison?" Lu Huaiwei pondered. "They didn't appear at the city gate this morning. If they were going to put poison in, it could only have been done last night. But we just tested all the water, food, and utensils, and we didn't find anything poisonous."
Man Jiangxue looked at the buckets under the window and asked, "What did you use to transport water to the city gate?"
Lu Huaiwei followed her gaze and her eyes lit up. Bai Ling, who was beside her, also understood and quickly took the silver needles and stepped forward. The disciples also reacted quickly, took water ladles and poured water into each bucket. Bai Ling tested the silver needles and saw that the needle tips had changed color!
Lu Huaiwei's eyes lit up with joy: "So that's how it is! They smeared the poison powder on the bucket, but my martial uncle is very perceptive!"
Man Jiangxue loosely gripped the dagger, its sharp blade reflecting the slightly coolness of her face. She said, "This alone is not enough to prove that the rice shop assistant did it. I would appreciate it if you two officers could find the person and question him." After she finished speaking, she turned to look at the disciple from before and asked, "Do you remember who came last night?"
The disciple replied decisively, "I remember, our post station has maintained long-term relations with that rice shop, we're all acquaintances, we wouldn't mistake them."
Now that things had come to this point, with the source of the poison identified and a suspect identified, the two officers hadn't exerted any effort at all. They had already made progress and were able to report back to the prefect. They couldn't help but show a relaxed expression. After bowing to Man Jiangxue, they led their disciple out of the post station and immediately headed to the rice shop to arrest the suspect.
Deep in the courtyard, a few red camellia blossoms swayed among the snow. Manjiangxue stood under the eaves, looking at the camellias, when suddenly, as if remembering something, she turned her head and asked, "Where's Xiaoqiu?"
·
Yin Qiu followed the officials into the government office and waited quietly in the main hall for a while, but the prefect did not appear.
There was no snow in the office courtyard, and the floor was washed clean. The government office looked very simple and elegant. There was not a single valuable item in sight. Even the long table in the hall was old and broken, with a lot of paint peeling off. The wood at the four corners looked like it had been eaten by insects and was rotten beyond recognition.
Yin Qiu quietly surveyed the scene in the hall, and when she saw the long table, a smile of ambiguity appeared on her face.
She had been to the yamen before and had seen many honest and frugal officials, but she had never seen a table so dilapidated that it was not replaced. Even the most renowned county magistrates or prefects knew to keep their offices tidy, at least to maintain the solemnity and dignity of the yamen. Even if they were poor, they would not tarnish the yamen's reputation.
Therefore, Yin Qiu had only two guesses about this: one was that the prefect of Yaodingcheng was indeed so poor that he couldn't even afford a table, and the other was that he could afford it but deliberately didn't replace it in order to create the appearance of his integrity and frugality.
"It seems the Prefect won't see me in person," Yin Qiu said calmly, glancing at the plaque above the hall that read "A Clear Mirror Hangs High." "We've been waiting all this time. What do the officials intend to ask?"
Two officers standing behind her turned their gazes to her upon hearing Yin Qiu's words.
“You are quite perceptive, young lady. The prefect just sent someone to tell you that he is busy and has no time to see you. Why don’t you come with us to another place?”
Yin Qiu lowered her brows and calmly responded. The two officers then led her away from the main office compound and to a small courtyard behind the government office. The three of them entered through a gate, where there was a stone staircase leading to the underground. Upon going down, they found themselves in a damp and cold prison.
Yin Qiu smiled slightly and said without turning her head, "We haven't even questioned you yet, and you two are already going to lock me up?"
Seeing her outstanding appearance and gentle demeanor, the officer couldn't help but look at Yin Qiusheng with a different eye.
"To tell you the truth, our prefect has no intention of seeing you at all." The officer opened the prison door and gestured for you to enter.
Yin Qiu looked him over twice, but did not resist. She calmly entered the cell.
The officer then closed and locked the door, grinning as he said, "Just stay put. We won't make things difficult for you. Just let us know if you need anything."
Yin Qiu stood by the door, her demeanor completely composed. She said, "If you're going to put me in jail, there must be a crime. Although I came in obediently, I still ask you, sir, to give me an explanation as to why you're locking me up?"
The officer looked at her and said, "Let me put it this way: someone has poisoned the porridge in your Yunhua Palace. This is a major case. It's easy to handle as long as no one has died. As long as the murderer is caught, you won't be involved. But if the murderer isn't caught, or if more refugees die later, and this matter reaches the higher-ups, our prefect will have a hard time explaining himself. Do you understand?"
“I understand,” Yin Qiu smiled. “If we find out who the murderer is, I can leave safely. If we don’t find out, I won’t be able to leave.”
They're keeping her here as a potential scapegoat.
"If we can't find out who the murderer is, then Yunhua Palace will have to take responsibility," the official said, waving the key in his hand. "Who told you to be in charge? Little girl, just consider yourself unlucky. But don't worry, the brothers won't mistreat you. Just stay put."
"Then thank you very much, brother," Yin Qiu took off the money pouch from his waist and handed over a silver ingot. "I feel bad for troubling you gentlemen to make this trip. This is just a small token of my respect. Please have a drink to warm yourselves up."
The two officers exchanged knowing smiles, took the silver, and immediately ordered the jailer behind them, "Come on, clean this cell and bring two clean, thick mattresses."
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