Chapter 20
The next day, the sky was gloomy, with clouds covering the ground. The air was filled with the smell of damp earth, bringing the message of wind and rain.
After getting up in the morning, Shi Yanqing went to the kitchen to knead the dough. Of course, this was done under the guidance of Liu Niang.
This was her first time making birthday noodles. In the past, her master or sister always made them for her.
study.
Zhou Hanzhang looked at the letter in his hand with a serious expression. His fingers were slender and he held the letter tightly with his fingertips. The veins on the back of his hand were faintly visible, with a hint of depression.
He had previously speculated that his father was framed by various forces, which led to the Zhou family's demotion.
Now that he saw the evidence and looked at the familiar name on the paper, he felt no anger at all, only calmness.
Qi Jin stood aside. The reason he came back late this time was because he was investigating this matter. He lowered his head, waiting for the eldest young master's instructions.
"You didn't tell Hangui about this, did you?"
After Zhou Hanzhang finished reading the contents of the letter, his gaze fell on Qi Jin.
Qi Jin still lowered his head: "No, the young master hasn't had time to ask yet."
This answer made Zhou Hanzhang feel a little relieved. He raised his hand and pinched his brow, his eyes full of thought. "I will find a chance to tell Hangui about this later. After he goes to Shaoshan, try to keep him away from these things and don't get involved."
"yes."
After Qi Jin left, Zhou Hanzhang placed the letter paper next to the candlelight. Soon, the red flames drew a gorgeous landscape on the paper. The black smoke-colored paper gradually became smaller and finally turned into a pile of ashes.
It was swept away gently and fell into the wastepaper basket beside the table. The moment it fell, it rose in the air like a white snowflake.
"Hanzhang, come out for breakfast."
Shi Yanqing's voice came into the study through the door, waking up Zhou Hanzhang, who had been staring at the wastebasket in a daze without moving his body.
He stood up, and his wide blue sleeves brushed across the table, taking away the last trace of ash from the table.
The door was opened quickly, and Shi Yanqing saw Zhou Hanzhang wearing the new clothes he bought during his vacation, and a smile appeared in the corner of his eyes.
"This green dress suits you very well. It looks great on you." It also makes you look whiter.
......
After breakfast, Shi Yanqing accompanied Zhou Hangui to exercise in the yard.
When Zhou Hangui practices martial arts, she practices Tai Chi.
The two of them, one active and one quiet, one fast and one slow, are somewhat harmonious.
After Shi Yanqing practiced Tai Chi twice, his body felt slightly warm. After the third round, sweat had already appeared on his forehead.
Dan Ye, who was waiting on the side, handed over the face towel in time.
Just as Shi Yanqing was wiping his sweat, Qingping, who was guarding the gate today, hurried over.
"Madam, the drugstore clerk is here and says something happened at the drugstore!"
Hearing this, Shi Yanqing paused to wipe her sweat, put the handkerchief around her waist, and walked towards the door.
"Something happened at the pharmacy."
At the door, the waiter was pacing back and forth anxiously. When he saw Shi Yanqing coming out, the anxiety in his eyes faded a little.
He took a step forward and wanted to say something, but before he could speak, he heard Shi Yanqing's question.
The clerk hurriedly said, "Boss, the medicine in the shop has killed people!"
"What!" Zhou Hangui, who followed closely behind, exclaimed.
Tanye and Qingping also looked surprised.
Compared to them, Shi Yanqing seemed much calmer. His brows knitted slightly, and his gaze was as sharp as a knife as he looked at the shop assistant. "I've checked all the herbs in the shop. There are no fakes, and no mistakes in handling. That person said someone died after taking the medicine, so he reported it to the police."
The clerk was still very nervous. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied, "No. He didn't report it to the police, but he's still staying in the pharmacy."
Shi Yanqing's brows relaxed, and she turned to look at Dan Ye, "Prepare the car, we're going to the pharmacy."
After she finished speaking, she turned back to the waiter and said, "You go back first. No matter what happens, ignore that person. If there's anything, we can talk about it when I get here."
After hearing these words, the guy felt inexplicably relieved.
By the time Yan Qing returned to his bedroom and changed his clothes, the carriage had already parked outside the door.
She lifted the curtain of the car and paused. There was already someone sitting inside.
"You want to go too?"
His tone was calm, without any displeasure or panic.
Zhou Hanzhang nodded: "When trouble comes, I'm naturally worried about you. And Hangui knew everything, but you didn't tell me."
Shi Yanqing sat down and the carriage moved slowly.
"He was present at the time."
"But you just didn't tell me." Zhou Hanzhang persisted.
Shi Yanqing looked at him helplessly, but met a pair of worried eyes. He stopped what he was about to say and said after a while: "I will do it later."
The voice was soft and soothing.
When the carriage arrived at the drugstore, it was very quiet outside and there were no people gathered to watch the fun.
When Shi Yanqing and a few others entered the shop, they saw a young man in mourning clothes sitting on a chair with a long sword in his hand.
The young man heard footsteps, he raised his head and showed his face.
When Shi Yanqing saw the scar between the young man's eyebrows, a picture quickly emerged in his mind and he recognized who this person was.
He is the family member of Wonton Grandma.
That morning, she went to Xinglin Hall to test many things based on their conversation.
If this person is the troublemaker mentioned by the waiter, then who would die? Could it be the wonton lady?
A hint of heaviness flashed across Shi Yanqing's eyes. She walked up to the young man and said, "I recognize you. You are a family member of the old lady who sells wontons."
When Qingfeng heard this, sadness flashed in his eyes. He nodded, stood up and bowed to Shi Yanqing.
"I didn't expect that Madam knew me and even remembered my grandma."
This statement means admitting one's identity.
Shi Yanqing took the old lady's pulse while she was eating wontons, and did not find any life-threatening disease at that time. She believed that she would not misdiagnose, so the young man was the one who lied.
"Did grandma really die after taking the medicine from the pharmacy?"
Qing Feng pursed his lips and said, "I'm sorry, I really have no other choice, so I resorted to this desperate measure."
Shi Yanqing didn't say anything.
Qing Feng continued, "I once met Madam when I was traveling in Beiling County. You were offering free medical treatment at the entrance of the medical hall, and the people around you all said that you were a skilled doctor, having learned from a medical immortal."
"I wanted to ask you to treat my grandma, but I had something important to do so I left. When I came back after finishing my business, you had already left. That day, I accompanied my grandma to Xinglin Hall to buy medicine, and I saw you on the street."
"After asking around, I found out you were the county magistrate's wife."
"Since you found out my identity, why didn't you come to me again and let me treat your grandma?" Shi Yanqing asked.
Qing Feng's eyes dimmed when he heard this. "Grandma wouldn't let me come. She said you treated her illness but couldn't cure it."
Shi Yanqing did say this, but she didn't know what to say for a moment and just looked at Qingfeng quietly.
"It's my fault. If I had held on a little longer, grandma wouldn't have gotten hurt." Qingfeng's voice was a little hoarse. He took out a porcelain-white medicine bottle from his sleeve, and his fingertips turned white.
"Grandma had been seeing Doctor Xu. Although the medicine she took didn't cure her illness, she was fine. But that day, Doctor Xu wasn't at Xinglin Hall, so Grandma went to see another doctor. That doctor prescribed this medicine. Grandma only took it for three days before she couldn't stop coughing up blood."
"At first I didn't suspect there was anything wrong with the medicine, but later I unexpectedly learned that many people in the county had died after receiving treatment at Xinglintang."
Qing Feng said this, knelt on his knees, and begged: "Madam, please help me see if there is any problem with this medicine. Did grandma die after taking this medicine?"
"You get up first." Qingfeng knelt down too quickly, and Shi Yanqing didn't react at first. When she reacted and wanted to help Qingfeng up, she was stopped by his words.
"I agree to your request, get up quickly!" Shi Yanqing said again when he saw Qingfeng looked like he would not get up unless he agreed.
She reached out her hand, trying to help the man up.
Zhou Hanzhang was one step faster than her and helped Qingfeng up.
Shi Yanqing had no choice but to take the medicine bottle. Under everyone's burning gaze, she opened the bottle, took out a handkerchief, spread it on her palm, and poured out a pill.
The blood-red pill appeared on the white handkerchief, looking a bit strange.
Shi Yanqing glanced at Qingfeng and asked, "Are you sure this is the medicine that grandma took?"
Qingfeng was very sure that he had fed the medicine to Grandma with his own hands, so there would be no mistake.
Seeing this, Shi Yanqing sighed inwardly. She didn't recognize this blood-red pill, but it was related to Xinglintang. She inexplicably suspected that there was witchcraft involved.
You still need to go back and confirm.
"The pills are made from a variety of medicinal herbs, and you can't tell what's wrong with them with the naked eye. I don't have the relevant tools here, so I have to go back home to confirm whether there is any problem."
Qingfeng only wanted Shi Yanqing's help. Now that his goal had been achieved, he didn't care how long it took. "I just want the answer. Just let Qingfeng know after you've checked."
"Of course. I'll send someone to tell you whatever we find out."
Sitting back in the carriage, Shi Yanqing stared at the medicine bottle in a daze.
"Do you think there might be witchcraft here again?" she suddenly asked.
Zhou Hanzhang: "I don't know. But I hope not."
Shi Yanqing also hoped that there was no such thing, but her intuition told her that there was.
This feeling came suddenly and strongly, as if this was the answer.
She didn't know how to tell Zhou Hanzhang, so she just kept silent.
......
Water reduction cottage.
A man in strange clothes was sitting cross-legged on an empty wooden platform. There were braziers at the five corners of the platform.
There was a raging flame inside, jumping and dancing with the wind from time to time.
The man had strange lines painted on his face in bright colors, between his eyebrows and under his eyes.
Looking back, it looked like a phoenix rising from the ashes.
"Sir, the ghost doctor has disappeared again."
A pretty woman wearing a white cloak stood at the foot of the wooden platform.
The man opened his tightly closed eyes upon hearing this and looked towards the distant mountains and forests. "The Ghost Doctor's whereabouts are uncertain, but as long as his apprentice is here, he will not truly disappear."
"You continue to watch over Duojin and don't give him a chance to leave Yunshui County."
The woman lowered her eyebrows: "Yes."
After she finished speaking, she was about to turn around and leave, but was stopped by the man.
"Yan Rong, the Lin family's affairs are over. If you continue to stay, your identity will only be exposed."
Yan Rong paused, and she turned her head slightly: "I will leave as soon as possible."
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