Chapter 65: Tea Master Zeng, don't you want to defend yourself? ...
The "child" the emperor was referring to was naturally the child born to Empress Duofu.
Xie Wuhen bowed his head and replied, "I will do my utmost to find the whereabouts of Empress Duofu and her son."
The emperor's old eyes revealed a resolute expression: "Zi Yu, remember this: I want to see him alive or dead."
Xie Wuhen bowed his head again: "I obey your order."
Coming out of Weiyang Palace, the sun became increasingly scorching, making it impossible to open one's eyes.
Zhao Fu narrowed his eyes, walked him to the steps outside the hall, and said, "Goodbye, sir."
Xie Wuhen was in no hurry to leave. "Excuse me, eunuch, is the Fifth Prince doing well these days?"
Zhao Fu smiled and replied, "Don't worry, my lord. The Fifth Prince is doing well now. His food, clothing, and daily life are more secure than before. He has even begun to study privately."
"The Queen isn't suspicious, is she?"
Zhao Fu lowered his voice and said, "Kunning Palace and Changle Palace are fighting each other to the death. I'm afraid they don't have time to deal with the Fifth Prince for the time being."
Xie Wuhen clasped his fists and said, "Thank you for your hard work, father-in-law." Then he turned and left.
Wu Sheng had been waiting outside the palace for a long time. As soon as his master appeared, he rushed over to greet him. "Boss, our people have found the owner of the 'Cure All Diseases' pharmacy in Qingzhou and have brought him back to the capital."
Xie Wuhen said "very good" and then ordered: "Take him to the Dali Temple as soon as possible."
Two hours later, Yu Xian, the owner of the "Qubaibing" medicine store, was taken to the Dali Temple.
He was completely confused, not knowing what law he had broken. He started cursing as soon as he entered the house: "I'm a legitimate citizen of Daliang State. What gives you the right to arrest me?"
Wu Sheng replied: "We are not arresting you, but simply inviting you to come for questioning."
Yu Xian was even more dissatisfied: "You are preventing me from traveling and restricting my freedom. How can this be called an invitation?"
"Whether it's 'invite' or 'arrest', we hope you can cooperate with our investigation." Xie Wuhen strode into the room with a stern face and a terrifying aura, which frightened Yu Xian so much that he immediately lowered his arrogance.
But he was still unwilling: "Why should I cooperate with you?"
Xie Wuhen's voice was heavy: "If you dare not cooperate, you will not be able to stay in the capital, or even in Liang State."
This is really cruel!
Yu Xian's face paled, his stiff neck finally softened, and he murmured, "How... can I cooperate?"
"You have a medicine in your shop called 'Hide the Sky and Cross the Sea' that can conceal the human pulse, right?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Xian fell to his knees with a plop. "Please spare my life, sir. I... I just made that medicine because I had nothing better to do. I... I didn't mean to disrupt the medicine market."
Xie Wuhen's expression remained unchanged: "How long does the effect of a pill of 'Hide the Sky and Cross the Sea' last?"
Yu Xian replied tremblingly, "At least... an hour."
“How long does it take for the effect to take effect after taking it?”
“It can…it can take effect immediately!”
It actually works immediately!
In other words, if what he suspected was true, Zeng Yidao should have seen them in advance when he went to Wuyou Teahouse that day, so he had the opportunity to take "Hide the Sky and Escape" in advance.
Xie Wuhen said frankly: "We need you to provide a list of customers who have purchased 'Hidden Sky and Sea'."
Yu Xian paused after hearing this, seemingly unable to react. He had thought the Dali Temple was going to hold him accountable for refining the secret medicine. "Just want... the client list?"
Wu Sheng was impatient: "Are you deaf? Do you need me to tell you twice?"
Yu Xian heaved a sigh of relief: "I dare not. I will show you the list right now."
He pulled out a few pages of white linen paper from his chest pocket, covered with densely written small characters. "This is the list of customers who have purchased the secret medicine."
Xie Wuhen took the paper and glanced at it: "You remember it in detail."
Yu Xian answered truthfully, "I'm just a businessman, and it's inevitable that I'll run into trouble. Many of these clients are high-ranking officials. I'm thinking of writing this down, maybe it'll be a useful tool in the future."
Xie Wuhen chuckled: "It looks like a purchase record, but it's actually a handle, right?"
Yu Xian hung his head in shame: "I can't hide it from you, sir."
Xie Wuhen ignored him and carefully searched for the name among several pages of white linen paper.
But after a moment, he saw the three words "Zeng Yidao" in the corner of the second page.
He pulled out the page and returned the rest to Yu Xian: "Okay, you can go now."
Yu Xian wiped the sweat from his forehead, took the paper, and said, "Thank you, sir." Then he left the Dali Temple in a dejected manner.
Wu Sheng asked, "Boss, should we go to the Worry-Free Teahouse now?"
Xie Wuhen stared at the three words "Zeng Yidao" on the paper and replied calmly: "Since we have the evidence, we won't go over there. Let's ask him to come over."
Then he ordered, "Please invite the imperial physician Qi Huai over as well."
Wu Sheng answered "Yes" loudly and turned to leave.
When Wu Sheng led the servants to Wuyou Teahouse, Zeng Yidao was tending to the flowers and plants on the terrace.
The heat was so severe that the leaves of many flowers and plants were wilted. He carried a kettle and watered them one by one.
Wu Sheng stated his purpose without any hesitation.
Zeng Yidao put down the kettle, clasped his fists and bowed, his face still as dignified as jade. "Your Excellency, would you allow me to change my clothes and shoes?"
He was wearing a blue shirt, and there were water stains and dirt on the cuffs.
Wu Sheng replied coldly, "I'll give you a quarter of an hour, change quickly."
Zeng Yidao bowed again to express his gratitude, then went into the house and changed into simple clothes and neat shoes.
An Zi, who was helping him change his clothes, was worried: "Sir, do you know what the Dali Temple is doing?"
Although Anzi was a servant, he had followed Zeng Yidao for many years. Although he did not know much about Zeng Yidao's past, he knew that he was a generous and kind person, so he couldn't help but feel worried.
Zeng Yidao's tone was as calm as a lake, without ripples or waves: "Don't panic, respond to things as they come and calm down after they pass."
An Zi asked again, "Sir, are there any obstacles in your way?"
Zeng Yidao answered the question irrelevantly: "Just manage the teahouse well." After saying that, he raised his hand to smooth the wrinkles on his clothes and walked out of the house.
Anzi looked at his back and felt more and more uneasy.
In just a few cups of tea, Zeng Yidao arrived at the Dali Temple and was taken to the interrogation room.
The room was filled with torture instruments and bloodstains. In the middle of the room was a large stove with a red-hot iron stuck in it.
It was the height of summer and the house was scorching hot, but Xie Wuhen was already waiting inside.
Even in the hottest weather, his expression was still stern, making people feel cold just by looking at him.
Seeing Zeng Yidao, he greeted him, "Mr. Zeng, we meet again."
Zeng Yidao nodded and saluted: "It seems that Zeng and Master Shaoqing have a deep connection."
Xie Wuhen chuckled: "It seems that Mr. Zeng is very self-aware."
Wu Sheng couldn't stand Zeng Yidao's pretentiousness and said, "Boss, do you want to tie him to the cangue?"
The standing cangue, also known as the standing cage, is a method of torturing prisoners by tying them up in a standing position.
Xie Wuhen waved his hand: "Since you have invited the gentleman here, we should still treat him with courtesy. Let the gentleman sit and be tried."
Mr. Wu answered loudly, "Yes."
In just a moment, he brought a tiger bench and quickly tied Zeng Yidao to it.
Zeng Yidao always remained calm and composed, and remained composed in the face of any emergency.
He seemed to have expected it and was fearless; he also seemed to be caught off guard and was ignorant and fearless.
Finally, he spoke slowly and calmly: "Master Shaoqing, if you have anything to say, please feel free to ask."
Xie Wuhen still had a smile on his face: "No rush, we have plenty of time."
Then he ordered in a deep voice: "Send the imperial physician's order to check the master's pulse."
The imperial physician Qi Huai came into the room carrying a medicine box and was surprised to see Zeng Yidao tied to a tiger bench. The last time he took Zeng Yidao's pulse was in the busy Wuyou Teahouse, but this time it was in an interrogation room filled with the smell of blood. Things were really different now.
Seeing that he wanted to take Zeng Yidao's pulse, Wu Sheng released Zeng Yidao's wrist.
Then Qi Huai took out the pulse pillow and placed it under his wrist.
After a moment, Qi Huai stood up and replied, "Thank you, sir. Judging from the pulse, Boss Zeng's health... is indeed fine."
Zeng Yidao also calmly agreed: "This is the second time, right? I wonder how many times the Shaoqing will take Zeng's pulse?"
Xie Wuhen answered the question irrelevantly: "It seems that Mr. Zeng took 'Hide the Sky and Cross the Sea' again before leaving. Mr. Zeng's actions are really hard to guard against."
Zeng Yidao's eyelashes fluttered, "I don't understand what the Shaoqing is saying."
Xie Wuhen said calmly, "As long as I understand."
He ordered in a deep voice: "Please, Master Qi, come back in an hour to check Mr. Zeng's pulse."
Although Qi Huai didn't get to the bottom of the matter, he guessed that Mr. Zeng might have taken a secret medicine to conceal his pulse condition. He lowered his head and replied, "As you command." After that, he carried the medicine box and left the room.
Zeng Yidao's expression remained calm.
But Xie Wuhen noticed that the corners of his lips had been secretly pursed, and his hands on the tiger bench had been quietly clenched.
Xie Wuhen said jokingly, "I didn't expect that Mr. Zeng, who is usually calm, would panic sometimes."
Zeng Yidao breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed again. "Your Excellency, your words are too serious. I have always known the seriousness of the matter. Now that I am in the Dali Temple's interrogation room, I am like a piece of fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of Your Excellency."
"Mr. Zeng didn't ask why?"
"I believe that Master Shaoqing has his own reasons."
"Mr. Zeng, don't you want to defend yourself?"
"It's useless to argue in front of the Shaoqing, right?"
An old man and a young man looked at each other and smiled, both of their smiles were meaningful.
Then Xie Wuhen said, "Take good care of Mr. Zeng," and turned and left the room.
Leaving one room hot and the other silent.
An hour later, Xie Wuhen arrived as scheduled, followed by the imperial physician Qi Huai.
As before, Wu Sheng loosened Zeng Yidao's wrist again, and then Qi Huai put a pulse pillow on it and took his pulse.
This time the pulse diagnosis took longer than the last time.
After a while, Qi Huai glanced at Zeng Yidao hesitantly, then stood up and said, "Thank you, sir. Mr. Zeng's pulse has...changed."
Xie Wuhen had anticipated this: "Master Qi, please elaborate on the changes."
Qi Huai replied, "Based on the results of my pulse diagnosis this time, Mr. Zeng must have been suffering from a migraine for many years, with no cure, and he is suffering terribly."
"Did Master Qi really make the right diagnosis?"
"I guarantee with my life that the diagnosis and treatment will be correct."
Xie Wuhen sighed and said, "Thank you for your help, Master Qi. Mr. Wu, please send Master Qi back."
Wu Sheng lowered his head and replied "yes", then led Qi Huai out of the interrogation room.
Only Xie Wuhen and Zeng Yidao were left in the room.
The two looked at each other silently, with undercurrents in their hearts.
After a moment, Xie Wuhen said, "I wonder why Mr. Zeng doesn't dare to admit that he has a headache?"
Zeng Yidao replied calmly, "Zeng is not afraid to admit it."
"Then why do you need to take 'Ocean's Journey'?"
"Zeng doesn't understand what 'covering up the truth' means."
"If Mr. Zeng hadn't taken this medicine, how could his pulse be so different?"
"It's just that the imperial physician made some mistakes in diagnosis and treatment."
Xie Wuhen snorted coldly: "Mr. Zeng is much older than me, but I didn't expect him to be so stubborn and not cry until he sees the coffin."
He approached, looking at him with disdain. "How about I tell Mr. Zeng a story about the famous tea master Zeng Wusheng who was murdered by his own nephew?"
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The author has something to say: My dears, please remember to collect the pre-collected articles. Thank you~
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