Chapter 176 The Dry Well in the Xu Family Villa, Laden with Corpses
Last night, Xu Shian was injured and also sought treatment from "Dr. Hua".
When I woke up the next day, the wound on my scalp was very itchy and I wanted to scratch it. I couldn't help but scratch it a few times, which made the wound bleed.
Governor Xu sent men out to search for Physician Hua, but they had not returned after two hours, so he sent men out again.
Xu Shi'an rolled around on the bed in agony, crying, "Divine Doctor, hurry and find the Divine Doctor! My wound is getting itchier and itchier, so itchy! Ah, I'm going to die..."
Madam Xu said, "An'er, please bear with it a little longer. We have already sent someone to find the divine physician."
"My head is so itchy, please scratch it for me, I'm dying of itchiness, I can't stand it anymore..."
When Madam Xu saw the blood seeping through the gauze on his head, she rushed over and grabbed his hand tightly. "Don't scratch it, the wound is bleeding again. Quick, get a rope and tie the young master's hand up."
"Yes, madam."
The steward brought over a rope and had a servant hold down Xu Shi'an's hands.
His hands were tied, and he tried to rub his head against the pillow and bang it against the headboard, "Bang bang bang!!!"
Seeing him go mad... "An'er, I beg you, please don't move..."
"Dr. Hua said these are all normal symptoms, and you just need to get through them."
Xu Shi'an wailed, "I can't take it anymore! My wound is so itchy, I'm going to die from the itching! He's not a miracle doctor, he's here to harm me! Go after him and bring him back! I'm going to kill him! Kill him!"
"The imperial physician personally confirmed that he is indeed the divine physician Hua, how could it be false?"
"My lord, we rode at full speed southwards but couldn't find the divine physician. When we returned to the city gate, the soldiers guarding the city said that the carriage had gone towards the capital. We also found the coachman who had been knocked unconscious in the bushes, and eight constables who were seriously injured and unconscious."
Governor Xu narrowed his eyes slightly. "Could it be that the divine physician is a fake? Is that why they made an excuse to leave in a hurry, but they don't want any money? What are they after?"
The constable said, "I don't know either."
Governor Xu analyzed the reasons, but they still knew nothing when asked. He was so angry that he cursed, "Useless! You know nothing, what use are you to me?"
Master Xu, standing to the side, waved his feather fan and said, "Sir, please don't be angry. Right now, we should quickly wake the man up and ask the yamen runners who he is."
The constable then said, "Sir, they are still unconscious and cannot be woken up no matter what we do. It seems they have been poisoned."
"Find them a doctor, and do whatever it takes to wake them up."
"Yes, sir, I'll go right away."
Hua Murong gave them a modified rosemary incense, and they wouldn't wake up until they slept for three days and three nights. If they were forcibly awakened, their lives would be in danger.
Three days is enough time for Lin Tiande to go to Weishi County to file a complaint against the imperial envoy and ask him to investigate the prefect of Xuzhou.
Governor Xu has confirmed that Physician Hua is an imposter.
Thinking back to how it was the prefectural physician who initially said that Doctor Hua had come to Xuzhou, it must be that he colluded with those people to deceive him, a traitor who betrayed his own side!
Governor Xu's angry gaze fell on the prefectural physician who was examining Xu Shi'an's wounds. "Damn bastard!"
He rushed over and kicked the person to the ground with a "bang!"
The physician was kicked to the ground, clutching his injured waist, "Ouch, that hurts so much..."
Seeing the murderous rage in Governor Xu's eyes, he braced himself with one hand on the ground and shrank into a corner. "Sir, why did you kick me? What did I do wrong?"
"Speak! Who ordered you to plot against me?"
The physician was startled. Could it be that he really wasn't a miracle doctor? He couldn't take the blame, so he had to insist that he had also been deceived.
He quickly scrambled to his feet and kowtowed to Governor Xu, pleading, "Your Honor, I'm innocent! No one instructed me! You have shown me great kindness by giving me a monthly salary. How could I possibly betray you? Please, Your Honor, investigate thoroughly!"
Governor Xu waved his hand and ordered the prefectural physician to be taken to the dungeon for interrogation. He also ordered other doctors to be summoned, and if one was not enough, five more would be needed.
In addition, people were ordered to guard the city gates to prevent unauthorized personnel from entering, and to send men to the capital to search for the person in the portrait, to kill him without exception.
It was evening, before the city gates closed.
A horse-drawn carriage hurried along and finally arrived at the gate of Xuzhou City.
The guards stopped the man and questioned him carefully.
"This gentleman looks unfamiliar. What do you do for a living, and where are you headed?"
Having shed his official robes and donned the clothes of an ordinary wealthy merchant, Lord He lifted the carriage curtain and replied, "I'm doing some small business and plan to go to Jiangnan to import a batch of fabric and tea."
A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the soldiers guarding the city. This was a big, fat fish; those who dealt in fabric and tea were all wealthy merchants.
Since the notoriety of the bandits of Qingfeng Village spread, wealthy merchants no longer dared to take the risk of traveling this route, preferring to spend more time and money to take a longer detour.
The officials inspected the travel permit handed over by Lord He, and it matched everything he had said. They couldn't find any problems, so they returned the travel permit and stood in the middle of the road, blocking the way, as if they were implying something.
Lord He asked, puzzled, "Officer, we've checked your travel permits, why aren't you letting us through?"
Is this your first time going out to do business?
"Yes, I rarely went out myself before because of my poor health. I used to leave the long trips to my managers. But now that business is bad, I'm going to do it myself to save money."
The officer twirled his thumb and forefinger, winking at him, "Do you understand the toll and service fee? Two carriages, ten taels of silver."
"They charge tolls at the city gate? I don't remember that the Great Zhou law has this provision. Only bandits do that."
"Don't want to give it?"
“We stand at the city gate every day eating dust. After a month of hard work, we only get one or two taels of silver as a monthly salary, which is not even enough to cover a single meal of wine. If you don’t pay, don’t even think about entering the city. The price will be different tomorrow.”
Lord He asked, "What is tomorrow?"
"Twenty taels."
Lord He was speechless. He pretended to think for a moment, but finally gave in and had his steward give him ten taels of silver.
Having just been allowed to enter the city, Lord He had an even worse impression of Prefect Xu.
Following the example set by those above, even a humble coffin keeper was so arrogant, demanding ten taels of silver from passersby.
In the cities he visited, they usually only demanded a few hundred coins or a tael of silver; this was the first time he had ever seen a city demand ten taels of silver.
Lord He and his entourage entered the city and found an inn to stay at. They went out to investigate at night.
I overheard some passersby saying:
"Have you heard? The spoiled young master of the Xu family was shot in the head and was treated by the divine physician Hua. But the wound became more and more itchy. It turns out that the divine physician was a fake. He was there to punish the imposter. The Xu family summoned most of the doctors in the city to the governor's mansion, but they still couldn't cure him."
“It’s good that he’s dead. Over the years, he has harmed at least dozens, if not hundreds, of girls. The divine doctor must have heard about it and deliberately punished her by killing Xu Shi’an. How can that not be considered indirectly saving someone? I suspect that the divine doctor is real.”
"That makes a lot of sense. That's a true miracle doctor. It must be a divine intervention from heaven, sending a miracle doctor to punish the bad guys and restore political order to Xuzhou."
...
Lord He was a cautious man. He inquired about everyone from officials and wealthy merchants to ordinary merchants, common people, and even beggars on the roadside.
According to the latter, Governor Xu had a bad reputation, being corrupt, involved in collusion between officials and merchants, and allowing his son to commit murder...
Back at the inn, an arrow struck the window with a loud bang!
The guard sensed danger and instinctively raised his hand to protect Lord He behind him. After a while, when there was no more movement, he went out to check and saw an arrow stuck in the window with a note tied to it.
After the guard opened the note and checked it and found nothing amiss, he handed it to Lord He with a sense of relief, saying, "Please take a look, sir."
The note read: "[The dry well in the Xu family villa, littered with corpses]"
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