Chapter 29: No Good Banquet 8: Baicao Bee
In the evening, Fang Yan, who had been away from Zhao's house for a whole day, returned with a full load of "prey" and went straight to Xun Shu and He Xuan's yard.
The courtyard was deserted, not a soul in sight. The doors to the houses were tightly shut, and the air was unusually quiet. Fang Yan called out a few times, and the doors to the left and right opened one after another. Xun Shu and He Xuan emerged from the rooms leisurely, one after the other, and approached Fang Yan.
Both of them had normal expressions, but Fang Yan could sense something strange in the air.
Something must have happened during the day he was away.
He raised his eyebrows, looking rather gloating. "What happened? Did you have a fight? Ah Shu, you know now, this He guy is very secretive and not a good person. Ah Shu, stay away from him from now on!"
This remark accidentally hit He Xuan's sore spot, forcing him to sneer and retort, "You're clearly a caring official, yet you're narrow-minded and ungrateful, falsely accusing innocent citizens and wanting to bring them misfortune. This morning you said you'd remember my kindness, but in just half a day, you've forgotten it all."
He Xuan's words were like poison, insulting Fang Yan to the point of shame. He stood there, stunned and at a loss, looking quite pitiful. Xun Shu couldn't bear it and came to Fang Yan's rescue: "Fang Yan is our friend, how can you say that about him?"
He Xuan had no way to argue—even if he could, he didn't dare. He could only touch his nose, move closer to Xun Shu, and give a slightly flattering smile: "Ashu is right. I shouldn't bother with him. Ashu, are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired?"
Xun Shu was quite puzzled. "I just woke up, how could I be tired?" She paused and looked He Xuan up and down. "Why do you look like this? Is there anything you want from me?"
He Xuan looked at her cautiously and saw that her expression was normal. Her eyes were watery and bright, like a clear spring in a mountain stream, and she could see the round rocks at the bottom of the water at a glance. She had no secrets, as if nothing had happened.
She said she believed it again, completely and without reservation.
He Xuan felt ashamed and uneasy. He had prided himself on being an honest man for twenty years, but now he felt like a rat in a gutter, unable to see the light of day. His chest felt like cotton wool soaked in rain, heavy and damp. He could only look away, escaping, and turned to look at Fang Yan: "Did you find anything today?"
This was such an abrupt change of subject that Fang Yan was startled. He glanced at Xun Shu, and seeing her curiosity, he told them his daily experiences, picking out the key points: "I've been to every clinic and pharmacy in the city today, and they all said that the perfume powder is made of common spices, and there's no such thing as incompatibility. As for the red bee, I showed it to them one by one, but no one recognized it."
He Xuan narrowed his eyes: "You mean, you ran around all day and didn't get any information?"
"Brother He, don't worry." Fang Yan soothed him, his cheeks flushed. He was extremely excited and wanted to pour out all his findings. "It's also that the murderer was unlucky. Although he used a unique trick, he didn't expect that among the people coming and going in Chaozhou, there would actually be someone who recognized this red bee. As the saying goes, the net of heaven is vast and wide, and nothing can escape it——"
Seeing Fang Yan's topic going off topic, He Xuan couldn't help but interrupt: "Get to the point."
Fang Yan patted his forehead. "In the afternoon, I arrived at the last pharmacy in the city. I had already given up hope, but by chance, there was a herbal medicine merchant from the southwest border in the store, bringing medicinal herbs from his hometown to Chaozhou City to sell. When I showed the red bee to the doctor, the herbal medicine merchant caught a glimpse of it and said he knew it! He said that this red bee is called the Herb Bee, which loves the fragrance of herbs and lives on the dry and warm mountaintops. It is very common there and is known to herbalists. The Herb Bee feeds on the sap of herbs and has a gentle temperament and will not attack people. If you are unfortunate enough to be stung, the sap they spit out is very poisonous and can be fatal, but there is no incurable medicine. As long as you can determine the source of the herbal sap remaining in the herb bee's stomach within half an hour after being injured, and then find these herbs and take them as soon as possible, you can detoxify and gain a chance of survival."
What herb did the sap in the bee's belly come from? Xun Shu's eyes widened in shock. "How can we be sure? What if we find the wrong one?"
"It's okay to find the wrong one, but if you find too few, you'll just have to wait for death." Fang Yan sighed. "Fortunately, the herb bees don't like to migrate, so the herb collectors can try all the herbs growing nearby, and most of the time they can save their lives. As for whether the swallowed herbs are poisonous or whether they complement or counteract each other, once the immediate problem of the bee venom is resolved, there's always time to slowly recuperate and treat them. If the poison isn't resolved within half an hour, the person stung will suffer more and more pain, and the bite will swell and become numb, gradually spreading throughout the body until the throat swells, making it impossible to speak or breathe, and eventually suffocate to death. After death, the lips will be purple and the face will be hideous, just like the way County Magistrate Zhao died yesterday."
"So that's how it is." Xun Shu pondered for a moment, still puzzled. "But if County Magistrate Zhao died from the sting of this herb bee, how did the bee get to County Magistrate Zhao? Was it an accident?"
Fang Yan immediately rejected her idea: "It must not be an accident. There are no Hundred Grass Bees in Chaozhou. The culprit must have caught them from somewhere else."
He Xuan was listening to the conversation between the two and suddenly asked, "Does this bee have anything it particularly likes or hates? Or does it see or smell something that would make it suddenly go crazy and attack the people around it?"
"Yes! The herbal medicine merchant said that the herb bee particularly likes a certain herb called milo. If they smell milo, they will rush over to inhale it." Fang Yan paused, suddenly understanding what He Xuan meant. "You're saying that someone is taking advantage of this characteristic of the herb bee and using milo to lure pre-prepared poisonous bees to attack County Magistrate Zhao?"
He Xuan remained noncommittal: "We can't rule out this possibility."
"Brother He is right. Before the truth comes to light, no clues can be overlooked! Brother He is truly gifted in the art of criminal justice!"
Fang Yan's praise was sincere, but He Xuan felt a tingling sensation on his back and gave a rather awkward smile. He glanced at Xun Shu beside him, and only felt relieved when he saw that her expression had not changed.
The three chatted for a few more minutes, and as the last rays of sunset began to fade, Fang Yan excused himself and left to find the government officials to inform them of their discovery. After he left, He Xuan suddenly conjured up a steamed bun with flower-shaped rice cakes and offered them to Xun Shu, seemingly to show his appreciation. "I saw you liked them yesterday, so I went to the kitchen this afternoon and asked the cook to make some more. Try it. Does it taste the same as last night?"
Xun Shu took it without saying a word, and had no intention of opening it to eat. Just as He Xuan was racking his brains to guess what Xun Shu was thinking at the moment, Xun Shu looked at He Xuan and suddenly said, "I felt something was strange last night, and I finally figured out what it was."
He Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as you are not angry with him, you can think whatever you want.
"What's strange about it?" His tone was full of relief.
"Seal off the Zhao residence." Xun Shu looked around and saw that no one was in the courtyard. The gate had been closed by Fang Yan. He lowered his voice and said, "After the incident yesterday, County Magistrate Feng immediately sealed off the entire residence. Although the murderer who killed County Magistrate Zhao must be in the mansion, sealing off the Zhao residence is the fastest way to prevent the murderer from escaping during the chaos, but why do we need to lock up all the officials in the house as well?"
"Someone in the county government is also suspected. Perhaps County Magistrate Feng wants to show that he treats everyone equally and doesn't shield his colleagues?"
"You're right, but if that's the case, then why did he allow the two lieutenants to leave the Zhao residence alone? Although it was to investigate the case, there was no one to supervise them. Wasn't he afraid that the two would escape? Or had he already determined that they had nothing to do with the case?" Xun Shu's expression was extremely serious. "If you look at each of these two things separately, there's nothing wrong with either one, but when you put them together, it's just awkward. It's as if he sealed off the house not to prevent the murderer from escaping, but for some other purpose."
He Xuan was somewhat surprised by Xun Shu's sharpness in this matter, and couldn't help but ask, "What do you think is the purpose?"
Xun Shu bit his lip lightly, his tone slightly uncertain. "It's like he wanted to find a reason to stay in this house, and the death of County Magistrate Zhao provided him with the most reasonable reason."
The evening glow faded, and the full moon climbed to the top. The lights in the courtyard were still unlit, and Xun Shu's figure was hidden in the vast night, but only his eyes were clearer than the moonlight.
He Xuan looked at the girl in front of him and was about to say something when he heard footsteps in the distance.
There was no one walking around in the house, it was almost silent, but the sound was so obvious that it could not be ignored.
He Xuan extended his index finger and lightly touched his lips, signaling Xun Shu not to say anything more. Xun Shu understood what he meant and temporarily suppressed the matter in his heart.
The footsteps were those of the servants lighting the lamps. They entered the courtyard without knocking and were startled to see the two ghostly figures standing in the darkness. They nearly screamed. After calming down, they shakily lit the lamps and hurried away.
The courtyard became bright and lively again in the night. A moment later, another servant brought dinner. Xun Shu and He Xuan simply ate in the courtyard and chatted about some interesting things in the city, without mentioning a word about the case.
Perhaps because she'd eaten too much at dinner, and Fang Yanxun's tanghua glutinous rice cakes were too delicious, Xun Shu tossed and turned in bed in the dead of night, feeling bloated and unable to fall asleep. She tossed and turned in bed until midnight, when she sat up and decided to walk around the yard to help digest the food.
There was no one in the courtyard. He Xuan's room was pitch black, and he must have been asleep long ago. The lanterns under the eaves had gone out, leaving only moonlight to illuminate the entire courtyard.
The night wind blew, swaying the branches and scattering the shadows on the ground. The sound of the swaying branches startled the sleeping birds, and for a moment, the sounds of flapping wings and chirping mixed together, creating an inexplicably eerie atmosphere.
Xun Shu grew up in the mountains, so he was not afraid of these things. Instead, he felt familiar and nostalgic, and just wanted to walk more and experience more.
Just think of it as returning to a place you can never go back to.
She stepped softly, afraid to disturb everything and shatter this illusion. Reaching the courtyard gate, just as she was about to push it open, she saw that the tightly closed door had been opened, leaving a gap only a finger's width. Xun Shu froze in shock. Before she could move, a shadow flashed through the crack, and then there was a creaking sound, and the gate opposite seemed to be pushed open, as if someone had entered the courtyard.
Xun Shu opened his eyes wide with curiosity, moved closer to the door, and looked out through the gap.
Another figure flashed by.
Perhaps because they were too close and there was no warning, Xun Shu was startled and hurriedly hid behind the door. In her panic, she seemed to kick a small stone, which rolled on the ground several times before stopping. The sound was almost inaudible even in the quiet night.
Xun Shu's heart beat faster and she felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. She held her breath and begged in her heart that the man didn't hear the sound.
But the man at the door heard it.
Not only did he hear it, he also keenly noticed Xun Shu's fleeting glance. He stopped and glanced around, finally landing on the crack in the door that wasn't closed tightly. He narrowed his eyes, stretched out his hand, and just as his fingertips touched the door panel—
"Brother Qiu, why are you visiting so late at night?"
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The author has something to say: The next update will be on Thursday~
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