Chapter 90
Duan Ning rode her horse for a while at the horse farm on her own estate, sweating profusely. Sitting on her horse, she passed over a group of pavilions and towers and saw a group of figures entering the Duan family's gate and hurrying towards the inner hall. She turned her head and asked, "Who are these people?"
A young maidservant stood by the fence. Hearing this, she craned her neck to look, then shook her head and said, "I don't know. It looks like there are quite a lot of people. They're probably guests invited by the master."
"At this hour, what guests are we inviting?" Duan Ning glanced at the darkening sky and tightened the reins in his hand.
"Hasn't the master been discussing grain business with Wei Cheng lately?" the maid said. "There are so many people coming and going in the estate, Miss, why don't you run around a bit more?"
Duan Ning gave an "Oh," showing no interest in joining the fun. She whipped her horse and started galloping again. A moment later, a subordinate came running up and shouted, "Miss! Master wants you to stop riding and leave with the men to hide in the villa on the outskirts of the city!"
The horse's hooves kicked up a thick cloud of dust. Duan Ning was completely confused. She spurred her horse forward with annoyance and said condescendingly, "What are you hiding for? You're perfectly fine at home, why are you going to the other courtyard!"
"Those poisoned refugees all died in Zhengya Hall!" Feng Da shouted, his subordinate yelling, "Now the people from Yunhua Palace are blocking the inner hall, demanding that Miss come out for a confrontation!"
Duan Ning raised an eyebrow: "What kind of confrontation!"
"Oh dear, those refugees all died of poisoning. The murderer hasn't been caught yet, and the prefect has detained the manager of Yunhua Palace and imprisoned him. How can Yunhua Palace swallow this insult? Naturally, they will try every means to get him out of prison!"
"Go rescue them then!" Duan Ning glared. "Then they should go to the government office, what are they doing at our Duan family's house? You idiot, can't you just finish what you said at once! What are you doing here to confront me!"
The subordinate said urgently, "A few days ago at the city gate in front of so many people, you said you would put laxatives in the congee at Yunhua Palace! Now all the refugees are dead, things have blown up, you've given them a handle to use against you, and you've already gotten yourself into trouble!"
Upon hearing this, Duan Ning instantly understood. Her expression changed slightly, and she immediately jumped off her horse, saying coldly, "Damn it, I was just saying it casually! Yunhua Palace wants to save people, so they're using me as a pawn!"
"Isn't that the situation? You'd better come with us quickly, the master is dealing with things in the inner hall, if we wait any longer we won't be able to leave!"
"Running away is cowardly!" Duan Ning shouted. "I have nothing to hide, running away will only confirm my guilt! Let's go and meet them!"
The subordinate was frantic and rushed forward to stop her, but Duan Ning lashed him with her whip, saying as she walked away, "Get out of my way! Let's see who can smear me today!"
Duan Ning left the horse farm in a huff and went to the inner hall with a cold face. She lifted the beaded curtain and immediately saw the blue-robed youth sitting below.
Meng Jing's pain had eased somewhat, but her face was still terribly pale. All the disciples stood in the open space beside her, but only Meng Jing sat down.
She held a teacup, her forehead damp with sweat, and her lowered eyes held a hint of coolness.
At this tense moment, Duan Ning's anger inexplicably subsided. She listened to the tinkling of the beaded curtain beside her ear, glanced at Meng Jing for a moment, and soon saw Meng Jing also looking at her as if he had sensed something.
Those eyes gleamed with a chilling light, like knives under the sunlight, blatantly displaying an intimidating aura.
"Oh," Duan Ning tossed the beaded curtain behind her head and swaggered out under the astonished gaze of Master Duan. "Is today some kind of auspicious day that so many young men have come to propose marriage to me?"
Master Duan spat out all the tea in his mouth with a "pfft".
"You unfilial child! The front hall is where men talk; what are you doing out here, young lady who is not yet married!"
“You didn’t stop me when I was galloping through the streets,” Duan Ning sneered, meeting Meng Jing’s gaze as he walked up to her, stepped onto a low table, and gripped his riding whip, saying, “I heard you’re here to cause me trouble. How so?”
Meng Jing put down his teacup, stared calmly at Duan Ning, and said, "Whether or not you're looking for trouble depends on whether your Duan family is willing to cooperate."
Duan Ning scoffed: "Who did the yamen detain?"
Meng Jing said, "Yin Qiu."
"Yin Qiu?" Duan Ning frowned and turned to look at Master Duan. "Why was she detained? Did I tell you that there was a savior from Yunhua Palace?"
"Take care of yourselves first!" Master Duan said with an unfriendly expression, looking down at everyone in the hall. "Your Yunhua Palace failed to take proper care of those refugees, causing them to die from poisoning. This has nothing to do with our Duan family. If you want to save people, go and beat the drum in front of the government office yourselves. What kind of business is it of you to come to our Duan family!"
Meng Jing said, "People need to be saved, and cases need to be investigated. I am here not to save people, but to investigate cases."
Master Duan disliked this young man and said coldly, "If you're going to investigate a case, go to the government office! Can't you understand human language?"
Meng Jing coughed lightly twice while holding a handkerchief and said, "Your daughter said in public not long ago that she would give the refugees laxatives, and two days later those refugees got into trouble. With the disciples of Yunhua and a group of people as witnesses, it is only right and proper that Miss Duan should go to the government office to cooperate with the investigation."
"What sense of compassion, and what sense of reason?" Master Duan said, "I heard that you sent the refugees to the clinic but did not give them any antidote, which is why they all died there. If we really have to talk about compassion and reason, then it is your Yunhua Palace that has failed in its duty!"
“Well said,” Meng Jing straightened up and looked up at Master Duan in the hall. “Our Yunhua Palace has had a post station in Yaoding City for a long time, and our disciples are very familiar with the situation in the city. I asked around on the way here. That Mr. Ya is ignorant of medicine, yet he can run such a large clinic. It is precisely because he has the financial support of the Duan family behind him. Our Yunhua Palace is indeed to blame for the deaths of the refugees. But the doctor in Zhengya Hall prescribed medicine indiscriminately and did not treat the refugees. Who did he listen to? And who is Mr. Ya’s subordinate? After analyzing this layer by layer, Master Duan, I have made my point clear. You should have a better understanding.”
Master Duan's face was ashen, and the ring on his thumb made a cracking sound as he gripped it.
“Mr. Ya is someone my family invited to oversee Zhengya Hall, and the real owner of that clinic is indeed our Duan family,” Duan Ning said, brandishing his riding whip and pulling his leg back from the low table. “But whether he treats patients or not, what does it have to do with our Duan family? If he kills someone, why don’t you just arrest him directly? What’s the point of keeping bothering our Duan family?”
Meng Jing glanced at her, a smile finally appearing on his face, and said, "As I just said, besides investigating the case, it's also for saving people, right?"
Duan Ning couldn't understand what she meant.
Seeing that she actually admitted the relationship between Zhengyatang and the Duan family in public, Master Duan was furious and cursed loudly: "You wretched child...you wretched child! Get out of here!"
Duan Ning said, "Why are you cursing me? People are already using my words as leverage to cause me trouble. It was Mr. Na Ya who caused the death. Let them arrest him and take him to the authorities! Why are you playing coy here?"
"You wretched creature—!" Master Duan grabbed a teacup and threw it at Duan Ning. "How could I have raised such a thing! Shut up now!"
Duan Ning dodged, his face falling: "Fine! You're abandoning me for an outsider? Then I'll go to jail!"
Master Duan pointed at her with trembling hands: "You..."
"Enough with the small talk, let's make a decision," Meng Jing said expressionlessly, having no patience for the father and daughter's argument. "Do you want to protect Mr. Naya, or your daughter?"
Master Duan stared intently at Meng Jing for a long time before finally letting out a cold laugh: "What a formidable lad!" He twirled the ring on his finger, his gaze unwavering, and said, "Come on, go to the government office and tell them to release that guy in jail!"
Seeing this, Duan Ning couldn't help but mutter, "You should have said so earlier... what a waste of time!"
"Get back to your room and face the wall in repentance!" Master Duan roared in fury. "You disgraceful wretch!"
Having achieved her goal, Meng Jing remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the cold sweat from her neck and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "In that case, we did not hear Miss Duan say anything that day. Mr. Duan, please forgive us for any offense we may have caused today."
After she finished speaking, she bowed and immediately led her disciples out of the hall.
Duan Ning rolled his eyes a few times, glanced at his father who was furious, and then ran out as fast as he could.
"What are you doing!" Master Duan roared. "Get back here right now!"
Duan Ning ignored him and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
·
Several lamps were lit in the hall, making it as bright as day. Man Jiangxue sat on a wooden chair, using a dagger to pick at the wick of the lamp, his indifferent eyes reflecting the flickering flame.
The bodies of the refugees outside have been mostly collected and buried. It's cold in winter, so they won't decompose in a short time. They are all covered with white cloths and placed in the snow.
The disciples came and went, making quite a commotion, but the doctors and apprentices inside the hall remained silent, their heads bowed low, not daring to utter a sound.
In the very center of the lobby stood two figures, one old and one young.
"Speak," Man Jiangxue said, not looking at anyone. She was unusually focused as she held the lamp wick. She revealed the dagger in its entirety, its cold silver light flashing incessantly in the eyes of everyone in the room.
Outside the hall, rain and snow were falling in a strange, erratic weather. Mr. Ya looked out and wondered whether what was falling was snow or rain. He pondered endlessly, "If it's snowing, where did the rain come from? And what is that thing that's dripping like water?"
Suddenly, two constables flew down from the eaves, dragging a blood-soaked corpse in their hands. It was already dark. By the light of the candle inside the house, Mr. Ya rubbed his dim old eyes and saw that the corpse was none other than a doctor he had just ordered to serve during the day.
"This fellow couldn't take the beating and slit his own throat," the officer said to Man Jiangxue, standing outside the door. "You haven't finished the interrogation here yet?"
Without turning her head, Man Jiangxue said, "We're interrogating them."
The officer grinned as he looked at Mr. Ya, whose face had suddenly changed. “You people from Yunhua Palace are all very kind. You’re so busy, yet you’re still willing to help with the interrogation. I’d like to thank you in advance. But it’s been so long and no one has spoken. In my opinion, given how our government operates, dragging him away and beating him up is much more convenient. I can pry open even the toughest mouth. What do you say?”
Man Jiangxue then said, "Then you may choose, sir. Do you want this official to interrogate you, or do you want me to interrogate you?"
Mr. Ya immediately bent his knees and knelt down with a thud, but Man Jiangxue turned to look at the person next to him and said, "You speak first."
"I'll talk, I'll talk..." The boy named Liu Ba was so frightened that his face turned ashen. He knelt down as well and hurriedly said, "I poisoned the post station. Mr. Ya gave me the poison. He promised me that after I succeeded, I could get a good, easy job at Zheng Ya Hall for a month. I pretended to be drunk and tripped up, and I put the poison in the bucket at the last minute. I've confessed everything. As long as you gentlemen can let me go, I'm willing to come forward and testify at any time!"
Man Jiangxue poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to Lu Huaiwei, who was coughing incessantly beside her, and said calmly, "You said he asked you to poison her, but do you have any evidence?"
Liu Ba wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve and hurriedly said, "Yes! Yes!" He trembled as he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and said fearfully, "After all, this is a matter that could cost someone's life, so I naturally couldn't make a verbal promise. That day, I specifically asked Mr. Ya to draft a receipt for me. He gave me two hundred taels of silver and stamped it with the red seal of Zheng Ya Tang under the pretext of buying rice. The silver is still in my house, and I haven't spent a single tael. If you adults don't believe me, you can check the account books in the kitchen of Zheng Ya Tang. There is no record of this rice purchase at all!"
Man Jiangxue leaned back in her chair, glanced at the contents of the receipt, and immediately said to the officials, "Alright, the murderer has been found. Gentlemen, take him in and hand him over."
Several constables immediately entered the hall to arrest the man. Mr. Ya was taken aback and, while backing away, shouted, "What a joke! You believed this kid after just a few words? I didn't issue that receipt, and I didn't stamp it. I don't even know him! How could I have asked him to poison me?!"
Man Jiangxue remained silent, seemingly unwilling to waste any more words with him. The official from before said, "First, your Zhengya Hall's doctor committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and now this kid is making accusations to your face. How long can you keep quiet? Go to the government jail and see if you still dare to argue!"
"I am a member of the Duan family!" Mr. Ya said hastily. "The name of Master Duan is also on the register of Zhengya Hall in the government office. I have no right to stamp it! I will not admit to any scoundrel who stole the seal and made shady deals with this kid! Don't you dare to make baseless accusations!"
The officer sneered, "So you're saying I have to go and question that Master Duan? Did he order you to do this?"
Mr. Ya spat out, "Anyway, it's none of my business!"
"So it was your idea to prevent the doctors from treating the refugees!" the officer shouted sternly. "Whether you ordered them to administer the poison is another matter, but how do you explain deliberately letting them die and causing so many deaths?"
Mr. Ya immediately pointed to the corpse outside the door and said, "Go ask him! I've never studied medicine, and my medicine is always prepared by others. How was I supposed to know they prescribed tranquilizers for the refugees? I'm innocent!"
"Still trying to argue!" The officer drew his sword. "You're asking for trouble! Come on! Drag him out and beat him severely!"
Several officers then stepped forward and dragged Mr. Ya into the courtyard, where they beat and kicked him right next to the corpses of the refugees.
"You...you're abusing your power! I'm just a servant of the Duan family, and my master funded the construction of your yamen! You dare to hit me...ouch! You...I won't let you get away with this!"
The officer kicked him in the head, his smile chilling: "Beat him to death!"
The commotion outside was so great that it terrified the doctors and apprentices inside. Man Jiangxue propped her head up with her elbow, her gaze wandering in the night, her expression calm.
Lu Huaiwei drank the cold medicine handed to her by the medical disciple, and rinsed her mouth with tea. Her voice was very hoarse, and she had some difficulty speaking, but she still tried her best to speak clearly: "You all saw it. The adults are ruthless when they get into a fight. We in Yunhua Palace do not beat people, nor do we have the right to beat people. But if you are not willing to tell the truth in front of us, then we can only hand you over to the adults to deal with. So if any of you know anything, it is not too late to speak up now."
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw several doctors exchange glances and quickly step forward.
“We said! It was Mr. Ya who told us to prescribe sedatives!”
"That's right! He's the boss, how dare we disobey him?"
"Young heroes, we are only following orders and have no intention of harming anyone. If we don't do as he says, how can we stay in Yaoding City in the future? We have no other choice!"
Lu Huaiwei sighed and shook her head, saying, "They say doctors have the heart of parents. Those refugees are already so pitiful, yet you are so heartless as to want to kill them. Which one of you here isn't a renowned doctor in Yao Dingcheng? This act goes against the natural order and is also detrimental to one's virtue." She sighed again and instructed her disciple, "Go and distribute the pen and ink. Write down the confessions and submit them to the officials."
Man Jiangxue stood up from her desk, took out a handkerchief to wipe the dagger, walked slowly to the door, and said in a low voice, "You are a clinic owner, you have no grudge against these refugees, and you have no motive to harm them. Who told you to do this?"
The snow was stained with blood. Mr. Ya had been beaten black and blue, his face covered in blood. He was dragged down the steps by the officials, his prostrate body trembling in the wind.
Seeing that he remained silent, Man Jiangxue continued, "The fact that you could instigate that boy to poison my Yunhua Post Station shows that you are targeting our Yunhua Palace." She wiped the dagger clean, twirled it in her hand, and asked, "What is your relationship with the Ziwei Sect?"
Mr. Ya lay prostrate on the steps, blood still dripping from his mouth and nose. He looked up at the woman dressed in white on the steps, his eyes showing no fear, but rather a ridiculous hatred. He said, "My master... is the head of the Duan family..."
Man Jiangxue's eyes were indifferent. She looked down at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled for no reason and said, "Since you don't want to live anymore, then don't blame me for not saving you."
A breeze swept through the corridor, ruffling the brocade robe on Manjiangxue's shoulders. She stepped down the stairs and, as she passed Mr. Ya, casually remarked, "No matter who you are loyally protecting, he is truly foolish and laughable. He has neither shaken Yunhua Palace nor gained any benefit. Your life is actually more worthless than anyone else's."
He instigated the Liu family youth to poison the people, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of refugees. Now that there is both witness testimony and physical evidence, it goes without saying what awaits Mr. Ya. Everyone knows the answer.
But there's a question behind this: why did he do this? And whose orders did he take? You should know that he wouldn't gain anything from this poisoning plot. When it's exposed, it will be the end of his reputation. According to current laws, he would be beheaded to atone for his sins.
Even though he keeps targeting the Duan family, anyone with eyes can see that the Duan family is a prominent and well-known family in Yaoding City. They wouldn't be foolish enough to commit such a stupid act just to kill a group of worthless refugees. That would only destroy the prestige that the Duan family has built up over the years. At this moment, the Duan family would definitely be eager to sever ties with Zhengyatang and wouldn't be foolish enough to get involved in this case.
"The Duan family won't save you. You're nothing but a stray dog that nobody cares about!" A constable stepped on Mr. Ya's back, his tone cold. "Speak! Who ordered you to do this!"
That kick almost broke his spine. Mr. Ya coughed up blood, his face contorted in a grimace as he endured the officer's stomping.
It wasn't until the blade was against his neck and cut through the skin that he seemed to suddenly realize what was happening, and his previous arrogance and persistence crumbled instantly.
He raised his arm slightly, his fingers trembling violently, and his index finger vaguely pointed in a certain direction inside the door.
Man Jiangxue turned slightly to the side and looked inside following his fingertip, where she saw Bai Ling, whose face was deathly pale.
"Uncle-Master..." Bai Ling looked terrified and hurriedly took a step to the side. "Yao Dingcheng, who came with Xiao Qiu, didn't know this person at all before!"
Man Jiangxue's eyes turned cold.
A moment later, the hand changed direction again, and this time, Man Jiangxue saw Lu Huaiwei standing by the counter.
Lu Huaiwei's face was also pale, but she was ill. The handkerchief she used to cover her mouth was already stained with blood, and she was coughing very hard. Lu Huaiwei met the gazes of the people waiting outside, and a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes. Then, she turned her head and saw a Guanyin statue on the shelf behind the counter next to her.
Lu Huaiwei coughed so hard she couldn't speak. After thinking for a moment, she uttered a hoarse "Offense" and then slashed at the Guanyin statue with her sword, shattering it to pieces.
A land deed fell to the floor in complete silence.
“The Purple... Purple Star Sect…” Mr. Ya stared intently at the land deed, his voice weak and feeble, “As long as the refugees die, the Duan family’s estate will be mine…”
Lu Huaiwei picked up the land deed, her gaze towards Mr. Ya filled with pity. She said, "How pitiful."
"Put me in jail!" Mr. Ya suddenly shouted. "The Ziwei Church, get me out... The Ziwei Church, get me out! I'm not afraid of jail! I'm not afraid!"
But as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood.
The officers' pupils constricted, and they quickly shouted, "Where's the doctor? Come out and examine him! This man can't die yet!"
The doctors immediately filed out.
Bai Ling let out a long breath, almost suffocating from his words. She followed Lu Huaiwei to the door and heard Lu Huaiwei say, "The Ziwei Sect will not only not save you, but will also kill you." She glanced at the bloodstains, "They have already poisoned you, but unfortunately you don't know anything about medicine and have been unaware of it for a long time."
Mr. Ya flailed his arms wildly, his eyes beginning to glaze over, and he murmured desperately, "Save me...save me..."
Beside her stood a young apprentice, his face streaked with tears. Lu Huaiwei covered his eyes, watched as the doctors lowered their hands, sighed deeply, and said, "Please, everyone, proceed with the burial."
"You greedy bastards!" Several officers spat in turn. "They deserve to die!"
"I'll trouble you all again," Lu Huaiwei said, swaying and closing her eyes, "to prescribe some medicine for me..."
After she finished speaking, she tilted her head back and fell backward. Bai Ling was startled and quickly caught her, saying, "Senior Sister Lu?!"
The courtyard was instantly bustling with activity. Some people were collecting the bodies, others were treating patients, and many young apprentices were sobbing. The hall was noisy and chaotic.
Man Jiangxue stood in the night, quietly watching everyone. She was like a traveler passing through the place, keeping a distance from everyone.
"Where are you going at this hour, Uncle-Master?" Bai Ling noticed the white figure walking away and, disregarding Lu Huaiwei, hurriedly stood up and called out.
"You stay here to clean up the mess." Manjiang Xuesong casually carried the dagger, his clean cloud boots avoiding the filthy blood.
She said, "I'm going to pick someone up."
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