At the table, Lan Yamei told Grandpa Ouyang about the decision to hire Zhao Zhicheng as a Western doctor at the clinic.
Old Master Ouyang was worried about being short-staffed, as Aunt Guan had been invited away by the Murong family and wouldn't be back for a while. With so many patients still in the clinic, it was truly a headache. Upon hearing that Zhao Zhicheng was a Western doctor, his eyes immediately lit up, and he began chatting with Zhao Zhicheng.
Upon hearing that there was a Western doctor, Qiu Kongkong hurriedly said, "Western doctors can perform surgery, are you going to perform surgery too?"
In this era, missionaries had already arrived in major cities, so a small number of people had some understanding of Western medicine, but many people did not think highly of it and only believed in traditional Chinese medicine.
Zhao Zhicheng smiled and said, "I know everything Western medicine has to offer; I've studied it for eight years."
Hearing this, everyone looked on with admiration. Grandpa Ouyang felt he had struck gold. He didn't care if it was a black cat or a white cat, as long as it caught mice! With no one else available, Western medicine might be a viable option.
Qiu Kongkong was initially delighted, but then asked in confusion, "How did you end up studying Western medicine? And for eight years at that?"
Lan Yamei quickly explained, "Back then, my cousin's family suffered a misfortune, leaving him as the only child. Fortunately, he was adopted by a Western missionary. He wandered around with the missionary for several years. Later, the missionary died and wrote a letter entrusting my cousin to his younger brother abroad. After receiving the letter and handling the missionary's funeral arrangements, his younger brother took my cousin abroad. That's how he ended up studying Western medicine for eight years by chance."
Under Lan Yamei's arrangement, Zhao Zhicheng's background was not just pitiful, which aroused everyone's sympathy. They could only nod and add, "Because I missed home, I came back later. After contacting my cousin, I came to stay with her."
"Oh, so you can speak Western languages too?" Qiu Kongkong suddenly asked.
Zhao Zhicheng didn't understand why he was asking this, so he just nodded blankly to indicate his agreement.
Lan Ya Mei was afraid that if she asked any more questions, she would give herself away, so she quickly interrupted and said, "Everyone hurry up and eat. The last person to finish eating will wash the dishes."
In those days, it was considered shameful for men to wash dishes, so no one wanted to do it and instead wolfed down their food. Only Wang Fengyang ate slowly and leisurely, accepting the fact that he had to wash the dishes.
He instructed Wang Fengyang to stay at home and take Zhao Zhicheng to the clinic before heading to the village outside the city with the Qiu brothers.
The village head was still managing things, and the villagers all sympathized with the family and spared no effort to help.
Ever since the shock, Er Gou's mother had been in a daze, neither happy nor sad, sitting blankly in the yard with her dog. Lan Ya Mei hoped things would stay this way for now, to avoid excessive grief. They could treat her aunt after everything was settled.
When the village head saw the three people approaching, he quickly ushered them aside and said, "Manager Lan, everything is arranged here. The burial will be in two days. However, Er Gou and his wife died unjustly. Is there any progress on the matter with the government?"
Lan Yamei first took out 200 taels of silver notes from her bosom and placed them in the village head's hand before saying, "I was in too much of a hurry the day before yesterday and didn't bring any silver with me."
The village head panicked, thinking it was a bribe, and hurriedly pushed it to Lan Yamei, refusing to accept it.
Lan Yamei explained, "This money is for Er Gou and his wife's funeral. The village head should keep it. I've been busy with various matters lately, and I don't know anything about funeral rites. I'm afraid people will laugh at me if I do anything wrong. I should bear the expenses myself. I also need to trouble the village head to take care of things. I will thank you again after this is over." As she spoke, she stuffed the silver note back into her hand.
So that's how it is. The village headman then stopped refusing and accepted the money, saying, "I have written down all the expenses. I will return the remaining money to you after the matter is settled."
Lan Yamei thanked them repeatedly, then looked troubled and said, "Village head, there's still no news from the government. We don't know when we'll be able to get any information from them. So we've found some clues, but we just need to confirm the fatal wound before we can be sure."
"This!" The village headman's expression was very strange upon hearing this, because reopening the coffin after it had been closed was against morality, and he was in a very difficult position.
"Village head, Er Gou and his wife cannot have died in vain. The perpetrators must pay the price. The common people also need a safe living environment. Otherwise, who knows who will be next if something happens again. So it is really important."
The village head thought about it and agreed that it made sense. He then helped the three of them get rid of the others in front of the coffin, turned around, closed the door, and stood guard outside.
The three men bowed to the coffin, saying, "Forgive us, forgive us!" They then lit incense before prying open the coffin lid.
After a quick check, and without saying a word, everything returned to normal. The three thanked the village head and went to a secluded spot outside the village to discuss their matter.
Lan Yamei gestured for the two to share their opinions, and surprisingly, they were in agreement, just as they had predicted.
So the question is, who is the murderer?
Qiu Zeyu and Lan Yamei both looked at Qiu Kongkong at the same time!
Qiu Kongkong exclaimed in surprise, "You don't suspect me, do you?"
The two remained silent, hoping it wasn't him, but who else could it be!
Seeing that the two clearly didn't believe him, Qiu Kongkong said, "It really wasn't me! Really! I swear! If I killed someone, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
Even after swearing a solemn oath, seeing the doubt in their eyes, he angrily said, "Tell me, how can you expect me to believe you?"
At this moment, Lan Yamei brought up the question her brother had asked her last night: "You went out last night, what did you do?"
Qiu Kongkong could only tell the truth now: "I went to see the envoy sent by the Emperor. He is still in Longyang Town. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to ask."
"An envoy sent by the Emperor?" Qiu Zeyu was surprised.
Qiu Ming Manor has never been involved in court politics, so how could the younger brother be related to the Emperor?
Seeing that her brother didn't believe her, Qiu Kongkong said truthfully, "I know Father doesn't want to get involved in this mess and just wants to live a carefree life. But now the Murong family holds immense power in the court, and the Emperor is too powerful to control. If there really is a change of dynasty, it will be the common people who suffer. Can you bear to see families torn apart and war raging?"
“How can small fry like you and me control matters of the nation? You’re so foolish, brother. We’re at their mercy. How do you know you’re not just a pawn? Things in this world aren’t always black and white. From your perspective, you think you’re right. From his perspective, he thinks he’s right. So, who’s right and who’s wrong? Brother, the world is dangerous. If we’re not careful, our Qiu Ming Manor could be in deep trouble.” Qiu Zeyu earnestly advised him.
“Brother, the current emperor has only been on the throne for less than two years, and he is a benevolent ruler who cares about the world. I believe in him! I want to help him! That Murong Qingyun has already stolen the dragon robe, and his intentions are despicable! If the Murong family is not eliminated, it is only a matter of time before the world descends into chaos.” Qiu Kongkong argued forcefully.
"Alright, let's not talk about that for now. What was the purpose of your meeting with him last night?" Qiu Zeyu asked, genuinely worried that he was assigning his brother some kind of assassination mission.
"A few days ago, a case of counterfeit silver occurred in Lin'an. His Majesty personally supervised the investigation and has detained all those involved. However, the key figure has not yet been found! Reliable sources say that it seems to have some connection with Mount Shura. His Majesty has also investigated Mount Shura, but unfortunately, he has not yet found the Taoist Master Xuyu. The Shura Taoist Temple caught fire for no reason, and all the clues have been lost."
"What does this have to do with Longyang Town?" Qiu Zeyu asked. The two men felt uneasy; they might have become accomplices to the bad guys.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
