Chapter 269 Moldy Tea
The hustle and bustle of the capital has subsided and peace has returned.
Most people stay at home and rarely go out unless it is necessary.
In the pharmacy, the medicine furnace was running day and night, boiling medicine to be given to patients who still had symptoms.
If the condition improves slightly, you can rest assured and recuperate at home. Unless the cough recurs, there is no need to take any more medicine.
Jin Zhi led a group of soldiers and came to Daxing Street quietly.
He was ordered by the Emperor to search the homes of the ministers.
The goal is to find the person who fits the profile portrait.
His first stop was the Zhou family, which was also arranged by the emperor.
Start by investigating the family that is most likely to be in collusion with the harem.
Jin Zhi dismounted from his horse and went forward to knock on the door.
The doorman stuck his head out, and when he saw Jin Zhi, he quickly bowed and asked respectfully, "Master Jin, why did you suddenly come? Is there anything urgent?"
"I'm here on the orders of the emperor to investigate and look for someone." Jin Zhi stared at the doorman's face with eagle-like eyes, but did not find anything unusual.
I think a servant like the doorman would not know about this.
"Master Jin, can you allow me to go in and make a report?"
Jin Zhi showed the imperial edict in his hand, "The emperor has personally ordered that no one is allowed to stop us. Get out of the way!"
The doorman didn't dare to say anything more and quickly stepped aside.
Jin Zhi is a kind-hearted person. If it were someone else, he would have probably just barged in holding the imperial edict.
The group quickly entered the Zhou family's home.
Zhou Changqing heard the noise and went out to check. Suddenly, he saw so many soldiers and his face turned pale instantly.
“This…what’s going on?”
Jin Zhi waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to start investigating separately.
"I am here on the orders of the Emperor to find a man with a mole on the left side of his face."
Zhou Changqing's pupils suddenly shrank and he thought to himself that something was wrong.
He had long expected that the man in the imperial prison would do something bad sooner or later!
Even though he had instructed to get rid of that man, everyone thought that he would die of the plague. Who would have thought that he would live to this day!
Zhou Changqing pretended to be calm on the surface, but in fact his hands behind his back had already been clenched into fists, his nails digging deeply into the flesh, and the pain made him more sober.
"General Jin, since this is the emperor's order, you can investigate as you please. Do you need me to call everyone out? This will save you some trouble."
"No need, I can check it myself. Sir Zhou, how about we have some tea together?"
Zhou Changqing smiled and nodded, "Okay, Master Jin, please."
The two of them came to the main hall together.
Zhou Changqing ordered the servants to bring hot tea, "This is the best tea in my Zhou family. Lord Jin, please don't dislike it."
Jin Zhi naturally wouldn't dislike it, but after he took a sip, he frowned.
This tea actually exudes a faint musty smell.
The Zhou family was able to support their eldest daughter to become the queen, so their strength should not be underestimated.
Although the emperor weakened the Zhou family to a certain extent after ascending the throne, making it less powerful than before, it is not the case that they are drinking moldy tea.
No matter how poor the Zhou family was, it shouldn't have come to this.
"Lord Zhou is indeed a man of incorruptible integrity. I don't know how many years this tea has been kept." Jin Zhi put down the teacup and said with a smile.
Zhou Changqing frowned, took a sip, and his expression changed. "How could these people do things? They actually brought out moldy tea! Why don't you change the tea quickly!"
He apologized with a smile, "Master Jin, I'm really sorry. I didn't expect that a servant would make such a big mistake. I'll ask someone to replace him right away."
The servant came forward tremblingly and said, "Master, this is really the best tea in our house!"
Zhou Changqing was so angry that he slammed the table. "This tea is moldy, and he still dares to quibble here! Come, drag him away! What's the point of keeping a servant who harms the master like this!"
The servant was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, trembling all over, "Master, this is unjust!"
Zhou Changqing suppressed his anger and stared at the servant, "I want to hear your excuse! Tell me, how exactly have you been wronged? Lord Jin came in person, and I asked you to serve the best tea, but you used moldy tea leaves instead. What crime should you be punished for?"
The servant's face turned pale, and he kept kowtowing, his forehead pounding on the ground. "Master, our family...our tea has been given away! You ordered us to do that when the epidemic first started. At that time, this tea could be used as medicine, so we only kept a little bit. Later, the people rioted, and the remaining tea was also snatched away. This little bit of tea today was just a small amount I dug out from where I had it."
Zhou Changqing was stunned at first, then he suddenly realized and slapped his head, "You are right, I remember now, I did instruct that all the tea leaves should be sent to the pharmacy to be used as medicine to alleviate the epidemic."
He turned to look at Jin Zhi, an apologetic look on his face, "Master Jin, look at my memory, it's getting worse and worse. I can't help it, I'm old, and now I have to worry about all the big and small affairs of the family. During the last riot, my house was looted, and nothing was left. I'm really sorry for making you drink moldy tea."
After saying that, he directed his servants, "Go out and buy some tea leaves. It must be the freshest and best. Got it?"
The servant nodded hurriedly, turned around and ran out in a panic.
Jin Zhi looked at his back, his mouth corners slightly raised, "Mr. Zhou is really dedicated to the country and the people, working hard, it is really admirable."
"That's nothing. I didn't contribute much. I just took out some tea leaves and herbs. On the contrary, it's Master Jin who has been running around outside. He's the one who's really working hard. I think when the epidemic is over, Master Jin will definitely be credited with the first merit!"
Zhou Changqing sighed, his eyes slightly red, his expression sad, "Seeing so many people die in the capital, including our colleagues, I feel really bad! But I can't do anything, I can only stay at home. Otherwise, if I go out casually and get infected with the disease, wouldn't it cause trouble for the emperor?"
Jin Zhi leaned back in his chair and said, "We came here today, and I'm afraid we might bring the disease with us. You should drink some medicine to prevent yourself from being infected."
"This is the emperor's order. You have no choice."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
