Chapter 48
"She has only learned a little bit, how can she take your pulse?"
Lin Xing turned her gaze towards Old Monster Li and said with a smile, "Since she only knows the basics, why don't I ask Doctor Li to take a look at the illness."
"You know medical skills?"
"No, I can tell fortunes."
Xiaomei kept shaking Lin Xing's hand, hoping that she would say less, but Lin Xing didn't want to end it like this.
"The man in the painting is Li Dongyi, and the woman is your apprentice, Li Dongyi's sister."
"That's true, then what?"
Although their tone was very calm, the others could feel the sparks and crackling in the air.
"Ten years ago, a female corpse was found in the backyard of the clinic. If I'm not mistaken, it should be this girl. But the matter was left unresolved in the end, and you also confined yourself to the clinic. I want to ask who the murderer is?"
Li Laoguai suddenly laughed, "Miss Lin can tell fortunes, right? Why don't you take a guess?"
"That's really embarrassing."
Lin Xing slammed the painting directly on the table, exposing it to everyone. The other three people's expressions became complicated after seeing it.
"I guess your disciple didn't die at all. The corpse was just a random substitute, so that she could die as Li Dongyi's sister."
Old Monster Li didn't respond, so Lin Xing continued, "Zhao County Magistrate and Li Dongyi forced you to keep this a secret, using threats and inducements to force you to comply. Doctor Li is highly respected and it's hard to get rid of him directly, so Zhao County Magistrate sent people to monitor your every move. In order not to drag others down, you stopped treating ordinary people for ten years."
"But doctors are kind-hearted. In order to ease the guilt in your heart, you choose to go to West Street for free medical consultations from time to time. I also heard that you never talk much during free medical consultations."
An expression of relief appeared on Li Laoguai's face. It was a relief for him to have the secret of so many years made public.
"Xiao Xing, why do they do this?"
"It's very simple. Many years ago, Li Dongyi and his family stayed at Hongci Posthouse. At night, thieves sneaked in, killed everyone, and took away their money. The brother and sister were lucky enough to survive and came to Quyang to report to the police."
"It should have been County Magistrate Zhao who handled the matter. He saw the benefits that this matter could bring, and he took the initiative to abandon the Hongci Posthouse, but he didn't make it public. Except for some elderly people, everyone else was kept in the dark."
“Xiao Xing, I’m even more confused. What is the relationship between this Li family brother and sister?”
Lin Xing held up the painting. "The person in this painting is Li Xiaxi, Boss Li. She is also Li Dongyi's sister."
"This matter was discovered by Li Dongyi. He was only fifteen at the time but was ruthless. He took the initiative to propose to County Magistrate Zhao that his sister be the boss, otherwise he would expose the matter."
"The county magistrate was also frightened by him and agreed to it, but this matter could not be made public, so she planned Li Xiaxi's death. Boss Li was younger at the time and had no ability to resist. She didn't know what the inn was doing. Now she really didn't want to make any more mistakes, so she decided to let us go and told us about this, hoping that we could save her from the disaster."
Perhaps he really felt sorry for his apprentice. Just hearing her name made his eyes red. "That's right. Miss Lin is really smart. Xiaoxi didn't trust the wrong person."
Chen Ling had already guessed one or two of them. Yu Hang stood aside holding the sword, very calm. Xiao Mei was slow to come back to her senses. This was her first time to officially face the cruelty of human nature.
"Doctor Li, I know you are not as you appear. If you were really cold-blooded, you wouldn't have secretly followed Xiaomei to protect her safety after seeing the medicine package we handed over."
Lin Xing bowed deeply to him and said, "I hope you can tell the city about the crimes of County Magistrate Zhao tomorrow. You have been practicing medicine in Quyang for many years. Although everyone is afraid of you now, they all respect you in their hearts."
"When you stir up public indignation, it will be easier for us to convict the county magistrate."
Doctor Li tapped Lin Xing's head gently. "You, you are waiting for me here."
Looking up, Lin Xing smiled shyly, "This is just my last resort, Doctor Li, please don't be offended."
"Xiao Xing..."
Xiaomei's eyes were still red, and Lin Xing guessed what she meant, "Xiaomei, you will stay in the city with Doctor Li tomorrow, and we will be enough at Hongci Station."
"Just listen to Xiao Xing. Under what pretext will you go to Hongciyi tomorrow?"
"Funeral, set out at 3 p.m. tomorrow and arrive at Hongci Posthouse before daybreak, catching them off guard."
"Funeral? This reason is rare."
The painting was gently placed back on the table, and the curve of Lin Xing's mouth disappeared before she could tell the whole truth. Xiaomei has been working in the money house for many years, so she naturally knows how to read people's expressions. When she saw Lin Xing's expression, she knew that things were not simple.
The wind blew into the clinic, and the corners of the painting lifted up. Yu Hang reached out and held it down, "That's not a reason. Miss Zhao Qi is gone."
"I haven't seen her yet, but why is there no news about her?" Xiaomei and Li Laoguai bowed from a distance in the direction of Li's mansion.
"I ordered people to block the news to avoid alerting the enemy. Tomorrow I will use Li Dongyi's name to invite County Magistrate Zhao to Hongciyi."
"That's fine. How did Miss Zhao leave?"
Yu Hang and Shen Ling avoided looking at each other, and Lin Xing was also extremely hesitant, "This, that..."
"Miss Zhao was killed by Li Dongyi. The incident happened suddenly and the specific circumstances are unclear."
The expressions of the few people made Xiao Mei suspicious, but she believed in Lin Xing. Lin Xing would never do anything bad to her. If she was hiding something, it must be to protect her.
"Where else are you going this afternoon?"
This time Lin Xing answered very straightforwardly, "I went to see Magistrate Wu. I haven't visited him in the past few days since I came here. This is really rude."
Li Laoguai, who had been silent on the side, suddenly spoke up: "How can it be considered rude if you have no official position or job?"
"Doctor Li is the one who understands. I am really confused." Lin Xing looked at Shen Ling and raised her chin, "I am being rude on behalf of this young master."
All eyes turned to Shen Ling at once. He smiled awkwardly and said, "This is really too rude. I will go visit Magistrate Wu now. Goodbye, everyone."
He slipped out with his feet greased. Others in the room laughed secretly, "Goodbye, Xiaomei, Doctor Li."
Yu Hang didn't say goodbye, he just clasped his fists and followed Lin Xing away. The two of them didn't chase after Chen Ling, they followed him slowly, always keeping a few steps away.
"Can you two speed up a bit?"
The voice came, but Shen Ling did not turn around. Lin Xing said nothing, and signaled Yu Hang not to speak, smiling as she looked at Shen Ling's back.
Thinking that the two hadn't heard him, Shen Ling raised his voice and asked, "Can you two speed up?"
Still no one responded, but this time Shen Ling confirmed that they had heard it, because Lin Xing's laughter reached his ears, and he could imagine the expressions of the two people behind him.
Seeing that he had reached a fork in the road, Shen Ling suddenly stopped and turned around. He saw Lin Xing's fingers playing with the hem of her clothes, and Yu Hang walking towards him with a sword in his arms as usual, with the same smile on his face.
"I invite you two to walk with me. What do you think?"
Lin Xing teased, "It's okay, Master Shen, please choose a direction quickly, don't just stand there stupidly."
"I'm waiting for you to join me."
“Mr. Shen is really kind, you must not be at a loss as to where to go.”
The two men stood opposite Shen Ling and no longer moved forward.
"There are too many people here. We are in the way. We should leave as soon as possible."
Lin Xing raised her eyebrows and said nothing, but she didn't let him go and gestured for him to go first. Shen Ling did not move, and the three of them were in a stalemate. But it only took a moment, because Yu Hang took the first step.
"You don't know how to go, either?"
"Isn't this normal? I have never been to the county magistrate's address."
Shen Ling was reminded by her, yes, I have not been here either, why didn’t I think of it just now, I must have been misled by Lin Xing.
The few of them walked further and further away, and even the trees on the roadside became sparser and sparser. Lin Xing sneezed from the cold.
"Is it very cold? This place is further north than Nanru. Did you pack too little clothes when you left?"
"I'm not wearing my own clothes. This one was prepared by Miss Zhao." Lin Xing carefully dusted off the dust on her clothes. "It's not that cold, but Magistrate Wu lives in a very remote place."
"He doesn't like crowds, and living here will allow him to handle his official duties better. I heard that he took the initiative to ask for it."
Chen Ling shook his head and sighed, "How can an official who is the father and mother of the people live in such a remote place? If someone needs help in the middle of the night, when can he get there?"
"This is one of the reasons why Magistrate Wu is not as popular as County Magistrate Zhao." Lin Xing changed the subject, "Yu Hang, what kind of person is Magistrate Wu? I heard from others that he was sent here by the emperor himself."
"He is a close confidant of the emperor. I have met him several times. Although he is a little cold, he is definitely a good county magistrate."
Lin Xing touched Chen Ling and continued, "No one is perfect. It's okay to like staying in a quiet place. As long as you are worthy of your position and the people, it's fine."
Even a fool like Shen Ling could tell that these words were directed at him. It was telling him that Magistrate Wu was definitely a good official and that his words were biased.
"I was just talking nonsense."
In order to liven up the atmosphere, Lin Xing took the initiative to steer the topic to a relaxed tone, and while chatting and laughing they arrived at Magistrate Wu's residence. Someone was already waiting outside the door, and when he saw the three people, he brought them into the mansion.
The Wu Mansion didn't look big from the outside, but unexpectedly it was very spacious inside. Lin Xing couldn't help but sigh: "This County Magistrate Wu must be an honest man with clean hands."
Shen Ling agreed, “Indeed, he is obviously a county magistrate, but his mansion is so simple, not even as good as the county government office.”
Yu Hang also interjected: "This is not even one-tenth of the Shen Mansion."
Shen Ling ignored him and just snorted.
Lin Xing suddenly thought of a question. In all these days, she had never asked herself where she would live in the capital. Obviously, now was not the time to discuss, because they were already standing outside Magistrate Wu's study.
The servant who led the group came forward and knocked on the door. "Wu County Magistrate, the three distinguished guests have been brought here."
"Okay, you go down first."
The door opened in response, and a middle-aged man in official attire walked down the steps and came in front of them. It’s a bit wrong to say that he is middle-aged. In fact, Lin Xing feels that he is both old and young.
"Greetings to Lord Lin, Inspector Yu, and Deputy Envoy Shen." The voice was very young. He was only a few years older than Yu Hang, but he looked old, probably because he was too tired.
"Magistrate Wu, you are too polite." Yu Hang helped Magistrate Wu up.
"You are my benefactors, Qu Yang. If it weren't for you, I would probably still be deceived by the villains."
Lin Xing returned the greeting and said, "If it weren't for Magistrate Wu's help, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to move forward. We should thank the Magistrate."
County Magistrate Wu waved his hand quickly, "Please come in, everyone, take a seat and slowly discuss the relevant matters for tomorrow."
After sitting down, Lin Xing went straight to the point, "I would like to ask Magistrate Wu for a favor."
"Speaking."
"I want Miss Zhao Qi to carry the coffin back to her hometown."
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