Chapter 6 The Amazing Lychee Garden (Part 6) He really looks like he's in his early twenties...
Logically, upon hearing Xu Bai's words, the head constable hesitated for a moment. The Lin family had a long-standing relationship with the county magistrate, and the death of their young master would inevitably cause a scene before the magistrate. If the suspect was left unapprehended, the magistrate might hold him accountable. However, if he went rashly, he might offend Vice Minister Zhao.
While he was still muttering to himself, Xu Bai continued, "What those doctors and assistants said just now shouldn't be taken entirely at face value. The old doctors were just jealous of Mr. Yu's exceptional medical skills despite his young age, which made him highly valued by the government and respected by the people in this lychee garden. So, they embellished his words, which is understandable."
“But those people all witnessed the Yu family’s servants delivering medicine to Lin Mo. After that, no one saw the deceased again. The coroner also confirmed that Lin Mo had indeed drugged someone. Their suspicion is quite high. If we don’t arrest them first, it will be hard to justify our actions. My lord, putting aside everything else, as you know, our magistrate has a long-standing relationship with the Lin family. I’m afraid we won’t be able to explain ourselves to the magistrate.”
The magistrate was indeed difficult to deal with. Xu Bai looked at him without saying a word, quietly making plans in his mind.
The constable looked anxious. "But as you said, that Mr. Yu is indeed a friend of Vice Minister Zhao, and we can't afford to offend him. This is truly perplexing—please give us your instructions, sir."
Xu Bai met with Yu Qi yesterday. He was truly an oddball. Not yet thirty, he not only possessed superb medical skills but was also aloof and arrogant. Upon hearing that Xu Bai was the magistrate of Jiangning County, he treated him with the same indifference, answering only five out of ten questions. If pressed further, he made no attempt to hide his annoyance. Yet, he didn't mention Zhao Shilang at all, and didn't seem like the kind of person who relied on his power and status. It seemed that this was simply his nature.
Such people are rare these days, especially in Nanjing, a city obsessed with fame and fortune. Fortunately, the more people like this are, the more reasonable they tend to be. As long as you are polite first, they are unlikely to hold a grudge.
Thinking of this, Xu Bai turned his head and said, "How about this, I'll go myself, you don't need to go. Whether it's done well or not, I'll take responsibility, and offending people is also my problem."
The constable thanked him repeatedly, but turned back to guard the scene of their first encounter, and then went alone to Yu Qi's room.
At this moment, everyone in the garden was busy discussing the case, but the master and apprentice were indifferent. Taking advantage of this moment, Yu Qi was explaining the differences in the use of medicine to Du Zhong inside the house.
He was currently saying, "Although these people have recovered, they are deficient in both qi and yin, and their lungs are atrophied and weakened. Therefore, the prescription should focus on replenishing qi and nourishing yin. However, each person's symptoms are different; some experience chest pain, others fatigue and weakness—"
As he walked to the door, he saw someone coming in. It was a familiar face, but he ignored him and turned back into the house. “When prescribing medicine, the worst thing is to be lazy and avoid taking time off. People are all different. Even if the disease is the same, the symptoms will be different for each person. Therefore, you must take the pulse and ask about the symptoms for each person and prescribe the right medicine. You must not speak the same way just because the disease is the same.”
Hearing this from outside, Xu Bai dared not enter rashly. He first bowed with a smile in the corridor, saying, "Mr. Yu is truly meticulous and conscientious. No wonder Vice Minister Zhao trusts you so much."
Yu Qi, dressed in a two-layered gauze robe of light blue and white, turned his back and slowly collected the prescriptions on the table without turning his head. His tone was lazy as he said, "The house is simple and there are no seats available. Please come in and stand while we talk, sir."
Xu Bai had experienced such coldness and disdain yesterday, and instead of being angry, he felt a strange sense of awe, especially towards Xu Bai's eyes. He couldn't quite put his finger on it; it was as if those eyes held a hidden blade, posing a constant threat of death.
He adopted an increasingly humble posture, entering with a smile, "Mr. Lun Gong is a divine physician invited by Vice Minister Zhao to save the lives of the people. Mr. Lun Si is much older than me, and I am the junior, so I dare not trouble you with your politeness. I have come to bother you today because of the murder case that occurred in the east of the garden. I wonder if you have heard about it?"
Yu Qi nodded wearily. "Such a commotion, even a deaf person could hear it. There's no need for you to go on and on. Just ask me anything you need to ask."
He then glanced at Du Zhong, who stepped forward and bowed, "Does Your Excellency want to ask me about delivering medicine to Lin Mo yesterday afternoon?"
Xu Bai glanced at Yu Qi's back and said with a smile, "Since you know, please tell me the truth and don't hide anything."
Then, as Xu Bai and his group listened to Du Zhong's detailed explanation, they slowly paced back and forth. They tried to glean an expression from Yu Qi, but Yu Qi remained standing with his back to the table. Although they couldn't see his expression, they could tell from his slightly crooked posture that he seemed relaxed and unperturbed.
"Since this Brother Du Zhong admits to giving Lin Mo diarrhea medicine, and Miss has some conflict with Lin Mo, then Mr. Yu, I'm truly sorry, but at this moment, the suspicion against your disciple and daughter cannot be cleared. According to the law, the yamen should detain them both—"
At this point, Yu Qifang turned around, his eyes smiling, but his gaze was cold and unyielding, causing him to shiver inexplicably.
He had no choice but to say, "However, in my opinion, your daughter and son are young and may not be able to endure the hardships of imprisonment. It would be better to detain them here, where they are already being guarded and under your care. Everyone can feel at ease. What do you think, sir?"
Yu Qi was initially unwilling, but fearing that a dispute would lead to more officials being drawn in and unnecessary complications, he could only nod slightly. "It is feasible, but I have other conditions. There is an empty room outside. Please clean it up, furnish it, and let them live right under my nose."
Xu Bai agreed, but then asked, "Shall I go to the manor to fetch Miss now?"
Yu Qi sized him up for a moment, then suddenly smiled and changed the subject, “Lord Qi, I remember that although you are young, you are already the magistrate of Jiangning County. Why does the magistrate need to come in person for such a trivial matter as questioning and arresting people?”
Xu Bai's heart skipped a beat, and he laughed, "To be honest, although I am a county magistrate, I am also subject to the performance evaluation and supervision of the Ministry of Personnel. You are a friend of Vice Minister Zhao, and I am afraid that the yamen runners under me are reckless and do not know how to speak, and offend you."
Yu Qi stared at him for a moment with a half-smile, but didn't ask any more questions. He just glanced at the sky outside the door and said, "It's getting late now, and Yu'er should be resting soon. Since you're so kind to us, why not be a little more understanding and go again tomorrow? Don't worry, even if Yu'er and Zhong'er commit a crime, they will never 'flee in fear of punishment'."
Xu Bai agreed and came out, pondering along the way. It seemed that today's events involved his Yu family relatives. Yu Qi's attitude was more stern than yesterday. Although he was a countryman and a refined person, he had a sinister air about him.
Perhaps doctors see so many life-and-death situations that their eyes have a bloodshot look on them?
Since they knew there were tigers in the mountains, they had no choice but to go back and tell the head constable to send two people to guard the Yu family's house as a precaution.
The next day, Jiuli woke up and, because the injury from falling from the sedan chair the day before had not yet healed, went to the front yard, went around the screen wall, and went into the shop at the front to get medicine.
The shop had three rooms connected together, with only the left side fitted with a gauze-covered cabinet, creating an inner room for Yu Qi to diagnose and treat patients in the future. The newly made medicine cabinets arrived, taking up the entire wall. Jiu Li especially liked those small compartments, which were purplish-black and shiny, with tiny brass ruyi handles.
There was a similar pharmacy in the family home in the countryside, with the same medicine cabinets arranged in the same way. When I was little, I thought those medicine cabinets were incredibly tall, but Yu Qi could always easily pull out a drawer and grab a few red dates for her to eat. When she tried to steal some for herself, she could never find them. There were no labels on the outside of the drawers, so how could Yu Qi remember which one was which?
The shop hadn't opened yet, but one door was open, and the steward, Fengqiao, was sitting with his back to the door, chuckling.
It was early morning, before dawn, and she wondered what he was laughing about. Jiuli, holding her skirt, tiptoed behind him and followed him to look across the street. It turned out that the tavern across the street had opened, and the proprietress was bending over wiping a huge wine vat.
Jiuli straightened up and suddenly stretched her neck to shout behind her, "Aunt Qing, Aunt Qing! Uncle Fengqiao is looking at women here again!"
Fengqiao was startled and quickly got up to cover her mouth, "Little Miss, don't shout!" Luckily, it was a three-courtyard house, and the kitchen was far away, so she probably didn't hear it.
Jiuli giggled and bent over, "You're afraid, yet you still want to see it. It's really distasteful!"
Fengqiao, thirty-five years old, with a single mustache, chuckled and his mustache twitched. "I wasn't looking at any woman. I was looking at those two constables in the alley across the street."
"Where?" Jiu Li asked curiously, craning her neck to look outside.
"Look, isn't that them? They were pacing around as soon as I opened the door, it wasn't even dawn yet. Oh dear, maybe they're lying in wait for thieves."
"A thief?" Jiu Li became even more interested and carefully examined the shops across the street one by one. "Whose shop could have been robbed? Was it the grain shop?"
Fengqiao shook his head. "I think it's probably that cloth shop. They usually open long ago, but I haven't seen anyone there yet. They've probably gone to the yamen to close the case."
"You're talking nonsense. If you've already gone to the yamen to close the case, that means you've caught the thief. Why would the yamen runners still be here guarding the place?"
As they were talking, another person came out of the alley. He exchanged a few words with the two constables, then looked in this direction and walked towards them.
Jiuli straightened up involuntarily, "It seems like they're coming for our family."
Fengqiao said, "The Liyuan came to pick up medicine? There was no one in the car, and I didn't see that kid Du Zhong either."
Jiuli recalled the hurried-looking constables she had encountered when leaving the Lychee Garden yesterday, and thought to herself, "This is bad. It seems something really did happen at the Lychee Garden." But why were the officials coming to her home?
As the three approached, Jiu Li gradually became stunned. The one in the lead, wearing a white silk robe and a cloak, had a figure that resembled Yu Qi.
When he walked to the door and saw it, what a coincidence! He also had a small mole under his right eyebrow, but it was closer to the middle. His skin was also white, but not as pale as Yu Qi's. His whiteness was the result of being dressed in fine clothes and eating delicacies. He was younger than Yu Qi, about twenty years old, so his cheeks were not as sharp and steep as Yu Qi's. He looked a little plump and a bit young.
"May I ask if this is Mr. Yu's residence?" Xu Bai glanced at Jiu Li and bowed to Feng Qiao.
Toyohashi nodded suspiciously. "Yes, what brings you here?"
The two accompanying constables, however, were staring at Jiu Li in a daze. Seeing that they were only focused on Jiu Li, Feng Qiao stepped forward, pulled Jiu Li behind him, and said hastily, "If you have something to say, just say it. What are you staring at? How dare you look at a young lady like that? Especially since she's a daughter of the Yu family—"
Xu Bai turned his head and glanced at the yamen runner, then asked with a smile, "Uncle, may we go inside to talk?"
"Hey, you're quite polite, come in." Fengqiao pulled Jiuli aside and led them towards the Second Hospital.
Along the way, Jiu Li was still a little dazed, only turning her head to look at Xu Bai. She wondered if it was because of the mole under his eyebrow, but the more she looked at him, the more she felt that he looked like Yu Qi in his early twenties, so she couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Xu Bai followed closely behind the two of them, never expecting her to be so beautiful. She lacked the ostentatious air of the young ladies of Nanjing, instead possessing a more carefree and refreshing charm reminiscent of the mountains and fields. Although he tried to control his gaze, constantly glancing around, his eyes always lingered on her.
Two constables huddled together and whispered, "I never imagined that Miss Yu would be so beautiful. No wonder Lin Mo still took a liking to her at first sight when she was dressed as a man and her face was covered."
Unfortunately, Jiuli overheard this and, laughing, broke free from Fengqiao's grasp, walking backwards under the eaves to ask, "You also know that Master Lin? How is he? Has his diarrhea made his legs weak?"
Xu Bai suddenly felt a pang of reluctance to tell her, but still answered truthfully, "He's dead."
"Dead?!" Jiu Li exclaimed in shock. Could it be that she had given him too much medicine?
That shouldn't be the case. The medicine works quickly, but the dosage is small; it shouldn't kill anyone. Oh no! Mr. Lin's illness had just improved; could it be that his constitution was too weak, and he died from exhaustion due to diarrhea?
She raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that he died from diarrhea?"
Xu Bai saw a hundred changes on her face in an instant, and couldn't help but want to laugh, but he held it back. He coughed with his fist to his lips to make his voice serious, "No, she was killed by having her throat slit."
Jiuli let out a long sigh of relief. "Who did this?"
Xu Bai said softly, "I was just about to ask you, Miss."
Hearing this from the front, Fengqiao turned around and pulled Jiuli behind him, a contemptuous look on his face. "Why are you asking us? What do you mean? Do you suspect that our girl killed someone? Who are you anyway? It's not your place to ask that."
Two bailiffs jumped out and shouted, "How dare you be so rude! This is the Magistrate of Jiangning County, our Second Master!"
A note from the author:
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