Chapter 40
Prefect Xu successfully apprehended Xunzhou's most talented scholar, but the man in black from Fengshuyuan disappeared.
The coroner confirmed that Mr. Qian had died of poisoning the night they accidentally eavesdropped. Mr. Feng, a gifted scholar, shirked responsibility, claiming complete ignorance and placing the blame entirely on the man in black. However, no traces of poisoning were found in Fengshuyuan, despite testimony from several gifted scholars. After leaving the back chamber, Mr. Qian and Mr. Feng went to a street restaurant.
Due to incomplete witnesses and physical evidence, the case is still under investigation. Soon, the Xunzhou Temple Fair arrived. The streets are bustling at night. Every shop along the street is decorated with colorful lanterns. Standing at the street corner, the lights are bright, and the streets are more crowded than during the day.
Yu Xi kept the two within sight, allowing Ling Huanchen to go wherever he pleased. Yun He and the guards stayed close to them, surrounding them from front, back, left, and right, ensuring the crowded crowds of people couldn't bump into them.
In front of the City God Temple stood a towering ancient tree, festooned with signboards. Each pair bore two names, tied together with red string. As they reached the temple gate, young men and women were still desperately throwing signboards into the tree. Those who succeeded were overjoyed, while those who failed remained steadfast.
Yu Xi asked the guards to stop a young man and found out that the ancient tree in front of them was the Yue Lao tree. The fortune cards were used by young men and women to pray for marriage. As long as they hung the fortune cards with their names on the tree, the Yue Lao tree would bless them to stay together forever. The higher they hung the cards, the more effective it would be.
Yu Xi himself didn't care much about praying for marriage, but after Ling Huanchen came along, things changed. He dragged Ling Huanchen to the place the young man had mentioned, and they were extremely pious from burning incense to paying respects.
Ling Huanchen couldn't help but say, "Is this the first time the king has burned incense and worshipped Buddha so seriously?"
Yu Xi ignored his joke and said seriously, "Be more pious."
Ling Huanchen smiled and hurried to burn incense and worship with him.
After burning incense, the monks in the temple will take out a wooden box containing fortune cards. Each person will draw one, and they will form a verified fortune interpretation.
"Twins born in two worlds, twin flowers blossoming together." The monk's face lit up with joy. "This is a very good fortune, meaning that the love between the two donors will eventually have a happy ending."
Yu Xi was very satisfied after hearing this, so he picked up the brush and wrote the two people's names on it.
The monk looked around and finally nodded in understanding. He took the red string and tied the cards together. "Wouldn't you two like to have a pair of marriage beads? For lovers, wearing them symbolizes long-lasting love."
Then, he took out a pair of sandalwood beads from his sleeve, which were wrapped with a red string, and said, "All the good men and women who come to us to seek marriage must take a pair."
Ling Huanchen saw that the sandalwood beads were ordinary and not rare. "How much is a pair?"
The monk replied with a smile, "Twenty taels of silver for a pair."
Ling Huanchen took another look at the sandalwood beads. Although he didn't know much about the price outside, he dared to say that these two beads should be worth less than one or two taels of silver.
Although the monk took advantage of the temple fair to ask for a high price, since people were willing to spend money to please him, no one bothered with him.
Yu Xi tied the sandalwood bead around his neck, and became more and more satisfied the more she looked at it. Then she put another sandalwood bead in his hand and motioned Ling Huanchen to tie it on her as well.
When tying the rope, Ling Huanchen was even more pious than when he burned incense and prayed to Buddha just now, simply because he was touched by the words "double worlds" mentioned in the fortune stick.
Throwing the signboard was not a problem for Yu Xi at all. He raised his hand easily and the signboard was hung at the highest position, causing the people around him to applaud and cheer.
Those who hadn't been able to get their cards up seemed encouraged by this and continued to throw even harder. The two smiled at each other and quietly withdrew from the crowd.
Besides the City God Temple, the riverside was also packed with people. Men, women, young and old gathered at the riverside to release lanterns. This was a customary practice. When releasing lanterns, one made a wish, which the gods would hear and help fulfill.
Although we know that it is just people's wishful thinking, no one is unwilling to do things that can bring good luck, just like making dumplings and staying up late during the Chinese New Year, all for the sake of good luck.
Ling Huanchen and Yu Xi released a river lantern together, watching the lantern float up and down, going farther and farther, merging into the sea of lights.
"What wish did Huanchen make?" When making the wish just now, Yu Xi opened her eyes first and glanced at Ling Huanchen. Seeing that the man closed his eyes obediently, her heart couldn't help but soften.
Ling Huanchen kept it a secret, "If you tell me, it won't work."
Yu Xi raised an eyebrow. There was indeed such a saying among the people. He wondered what his little mermaid's wish was. He had granted her all his wishes. May Huanchen live a peaceful and happy life.
Seeing that he stopped asking questions, Ling Huanchen couldn't help but look up, accidentally bumping into a pair of eyes as bright as the stars. He didn't know what Yu Xi's wish was, but he gave all his wishes to his king, wishing the king a peaceful and happy life.
A sudden noise behind them made them both turn around. They saw a group of children throwing stones in one direction.
"Bad guy, go away."
"There are monsters, ugly ones."
As soon as the person lying on the ground moved, the surrounding children were frightened and ran away. Someone shouted, "He has a disease that can be transmitted to others! Get away from him!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the bustling riverside suddenly became quiet. Soon, not only the children, but also the adults, began to throw things at the people on the ground.
"I'm not a monster, I'm not..." The man raised his hands to block it, but it was in vain. After a while, his clothes became more tattered, revealing the red scars on his arms.
"Disgusting thing, get him out of here!"
More and more people gathered, and the things thrown changed from small stones to large rocks. The man climbed up using his hands and feet, "I didn't mean to be here."
The man muttered something to himself as he stumbled away. After a while, the riverside returned to its former bustling scene.
Ling Huanchen felt that the man looked familiar when he saw him just now. Even though he didn't see his face clearly, he became suspicious when he saw the black clothes.
A moment later, all the guards returned, bringing back the man who had been stoned. To avoid the crowd, Ling Huanchen and Yu Xi chose to wait in a small grove by the river.
The man was thrown to the ground, already dying. He raised his head with great effort, and when he looked at the two people, he suddenly smiled. His scarred face looked extremely hideous.
"What do you two gentlemen want from me?"
Despite this state of mind, Ling Huanchen immediately recognized him. "Are you Zhu Xuan?"
Zhu Xuan paused when he heard the voice, and his smile suddenly faded. "Who are you?"
Yu Xi did not answer him, but asked, "Is Mr. Qian's death related to you?"
Zhu Xuan sneered, "So it was the prefect who was investigating the case. Yes, Feng Gao ordered me to do it. The two of us worked together to kill Mr. Qian. The reason was that Mr. Qian wanted to support another talented person, and he held a grudge against him, so he had evil intentions."
Ling Huanchen didn't expect that before he could ask any questions, this person had already confessed. It seemed a little too simple.
The confessions of Zhu Xuan and Feng Gao are completely inconsistent, and the case cannot be concluded based on their respective confessions.
Just as Ling Huanchen was about to ask, Zhu Xuan suddenly fell to the ground, convulsing all over, grabbing his neck with both hands, leaving several bloody marks.
Yun He immediately knocked him out, and at Yu Xi's signal, brought him back to Xu's house.
Since the patient could not wake up, there was no way to continue the trial. A doctor was temporarily invited in. Seeing the situation, the doctor shook his head and refused to treat the patient even after being offered a large fee.
"It's not that I don't want to treat him, it's just that I'm powerless. This man won't wake up. The adults should prepare a coffin for him and send him away early."
Several doctors followed suit, and they avoided him as much as possible. Finally, Yu Xi issued an order to post a notice and search for famous doctors. They would first save the man and then determine who was guilty.
After waiting for three days, no one took down the reward list. I thought that the only way to make a breakthrough was through Feng Gao. Unexpectedly, on the morning of the fourth day, the guards suddenly came to report that someone had taken down the reward list.
The person brought in was a young-looking man, dressed in a simple cloth shirt and carrying only a small bag. From the moment he entered the room, Ling Huanchen could vaguely smell the fragrance of herbs.
Even Xunzhou's most renowned physician was helpless. The young man, seemingly a complete novice, lacked the composure to handle any emergency. He glanced at Zhu Xuan and immediately wrote a prescription without hesitation.
"Follow this prescription, take three doses a day, and drink it for just one day."
Yu Xi winked at the guards below, and they immediately rushed to the pharmacy to get the medicine.
"So, what disease does he have?" Ling Huanchen asked at the right time.
Other doctors just said they couldn't cure it, and didn't even explain what the disease was.
The man said calmly, "It's just mildew, a common disease among people in red-light districts. There's usually no medicine to cure it, but I can treat it."
To others, the young doctor was just making a casual boast, but when the three prescriptions were actually given to the patient, the effect appeared that very night.
Everyone couldn't help but marvel at it, even Ling Huanchen and the other one were no exception.
After Zhu Xuan regained consciousness, he couldn't believe he had recovered. Just as he was about to thank the man, he heard him say, "Your illness is cured, but there are irreversible sequelae. You will never be able to move. However, they only asked me to come here to wake you up. They don't ask for anything else."
Zhu Xuan smiled indifferently, "Thank you, sir. Being alive is already a luxury. As for the rest, I don't care about him."
As the saying goes, one who eats someone's food will be soft-hearted, and one who receives someone's money will be obliged to return it. Now that Zhu Xuan owes them a life, it will be much easier to interrogate him.
"I always avenge my enemies and repay my kindness." Zhu Xuan knelt on the ground and looked at the two of them. "I can tell you everything you want to know."
Before this, Ling Huanchen had guessed several versions in his mind, but none of them were as tortuous and bizarre as what Zhu Xuan said.
According to what he said, as early as ten years ago, Zhu Xuan's father was the most talented scholar in Xunzhou. At that time, Feng Gao was just an ordinary scholar who followed Zhu Xuan's father all day long.
Until one day, Feng Gao met Mr. Qian, and the tragedy of the Zhu family began to unfold.
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Thank you for the nutrient solution encouragement from "Da Wu Jian Huang Hun"!
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