Buy medicine
Mu Qing stood up, feigning anger, "Buying a straw hat is such a hassle, I'm not buying it!" and turned to leave.
The waiter standing nearby reached out and stopped her, advising, "Miss, please wait a little longer."
Just then, a large group of constables in uniforms swarmed in from outside the door.
Seeing this scene, the shoppers in the store all quieted down.
The leader was a black-robed constable. After exchanging glances with the shopkeeper at the door, he looked inside at Mu Qing, whose face was covered.
Mu Qing panicked and didn't know what to do, but the waiter next to her blocked her way.
"You!" The constable walked in, pointed at Mu Qing, and shouted, "State your name!"
Mu Qing was stunned, not understanding what was going on, when she heard the shopkeeper holding up the pearls and saying, "It must be her! Using the finest pearls to buy things means she's a prostitute kept in a brothel, used to tipping, that's why she does it."
"You're talking nonsense!" Mu Qing was furious. She leaned over the counter and snatched the pearl back.
The shopkeeper looked at the scratches on the back of his hand and realized he had been scratched. He shrieked at the constable, "Sir, look at this little vixen, she's incredibly quick! That thief must have taught her!"
The constable took a step closer, glanced at the masked woman by the counter, and, certain that she couldn't escape, sneered, "Little Peach Blossom, I guarantee that your magistrate is a thief in disguise. If you can expose his hiding place, you will be considered to have performed a meritorious service; otherwise, you will be treated as an accomplice of the thief."
"What little peach blossom? I'm not one of those!"
Mu Qing mustered her courage and pulled off the veil covering her face.
A commotion erupted in the surrounding area.
The constable was horrified. He stared at her intently, then turned to the shopkeeper and roared, "Shopkeeper Li, did you report to the authorities that this frighteningly ugly woman is the escaped Little Peach Blossom?!"
"She, she, she..." Manager Li clicked his tongue, raising his hand to cover his eyes, as if afraid of offending them.
Mu Qing knew that her appearance was not good, but she did not expect that people would dislike her to this extent. Seeing that everyone around her was looking at her as if she were a leper and backing away, she felt very frustrated. She covered her face again and wanted to leave the place.
The constables guarding the door retreated as if warding off evil spirits.
She walked dejectedly into the street, and soon someone came chasing after her—it was the same guy who had been standing guard by her side.
The waiter handed over the bamboo hat, stammering, "Our manager made a mistake and startled you, young lady. Please accept this bamboo hat as an apology."
Mu Qing was both amused and exasperated. She took the bamboo hat and was about to thank him when she saw the shopkeeper hurriedly run away, as if afraid that she would pester him.
"..."
To save time, Mu Qing walked quickly while wearing a straw hat. When he saw the soldiers searching pedestrians, he took a detour.
The alleys in the northwest corner of the city, which were usually bustling and diverse, were now deserted and quiet, with hardly anyone around. Each alley entrance was guarded by soldiers.
Mu Qing was stunned from afar before she even got close, but since she had come all this way, how could she leave empty-handed?
Recalling his previous visit, Mu Qing composed himself, climbed onto the roof, and following his memory, made several turns until he reached the depths of an alley and jumped into a courtyard.
The courtyard was lush with vegetation, and a bluestone path along the wall led to a black lacquered wooden door. Although it was somewhat mottled from years of use, it was clear that someone had cleaned it recently.
Mu Qing stood in front of the door and knocked three times long and two times short.
A moment later, a small window opened in the door, revealing a pair of tiny, beady eyes, and a hoarse voice came from inside: "What brings you here?"
Mu Qing lowered his head, showing the top of his lacquered bamboo hat, and said, "I want to ask Yama to go see someone for me."
But then someone inside scoffed, "You madman, where in the world is there a King of Hell?"
With a bang, the small window on the door slammed shut.
Mu Qing opened her eyes wide, stared at the tightly sewn-up little window, and was stunned.
Ayu once said that when buying poison, you should say you're asking the King of Hell, and when buying sleeping pills, you should say you're asking the Duke of Zhou (a figure in Chinese mythology associated with sleep). That time, she and Ayu came to buy sleeping pills, saying they wanted to ask the Duke of Zhou for help, and the people inside readily raised the price to complete the transaction.
Could it be that the code has changed over the years?
In places like these, changing codes and setting traps are common practices for maintaining secrecy. If you try to cause trouble or pester someone without a guide, you won't get away with it.
Mu Qing kicked at the grass by the door, hesitating whether to give up, when she heard the small window on the door open again.
The hoarse voice asked, "Which King of Hell do you wish to invite?"
Which hall?
Mu Qing was so excited that she immediately replied, but then she realized that asking such a question would expose her lack of knowledge.
But the people inside didn't care at all. They said that there were ten Yama Kings in the underworld, each representing different punishments. They went on and on like telling a story, and then asked, "How hateful is the person you want to see?"
Mu Qing vaguely understood that the various Yama Kings mentioned here probably referred to the potency of the poisons.
She wanted Zhong Linlan to disappear from the world, but she didn't hate him yet, so she didn't need a very potent poison.
"The first hall will do."
The person inside sighed and said, "Even the King of Hell from the First Hall has been invited away."
Mu Qing recalled the situation in the general store. Now that the city was under lockdown and supplies were cut off, it was normal that some poisons were unavailable.
"Then the second hall."
The person inside sighed again: "Even the King of Hell from the Second Court has been asked to leave."
"What about the Third Hall?"
This time, the people inside didn't sigh, but they also didn't make a sound.
Mu Qing waited for a while, then impatiently looked up and saw that the small window on the door was open, and the inside was dark and eerie, as if something was spying on her. She was frightened and wanted to retreat, but then she heard a hoarse voice coming from inside.
How much money can you offer?
Mu Qing untied the purse and showed the pearls inside to the window.
A black lacquered square plate with raised edges was pushed out of the window, and a small, exquisite white porcelain bottle was placed on the plate.
The hoarse voice said, "This medicine is a slow-acting poison. After taking it, one will gradually become weak and exhausted, appearing as if ill. One will die within ten days, and almost no poison can be detected on the body after death."
Mu Qing was not very satisfied, but after looking at the window, she felt depressed. She did not want to stay any longer. She scattered the pearls she had brought on the black lacquered wooden plate, took the small porcelain bottle, and quickly climbed up the eaves to leave.
As soon as her figure disappeared from the house, voices came from behind the black lacquered wooden door again.
"Is it really her?" the hoarse voice asked.
"I recognized her just by hearing her voice, and I was even more certain when I saw her eyes."
Then, the black lacquered wooden door opened from the inside, and a thin figure slipped out, leaping up the house Mu Qing had left like a monkey and chasing after her.
After walking several streets, Mu Qing realized that someone was following him.
Fearing being searched and questioned, she avoided the streets where soldiers were searching, which inadvertently benefited the other party, who followed her at a distance, no matter how fast or slow she walked.
When she arrived at the bustling East Street, she walked slowly.
If we walk a little further, we'll reach the grand mansions in the city. Even if we shake off the other party, it will mean that we're hiding nearby. If we can't shake them off, it will be an even bigger problem.
Who would be following her? Mu Qing wondered as she walked.
Suddenly bumping into someone, Mu Qing's straw hat was knocked askew, and half of her face covering fell off. Mu Qing quickly straightened the hat and tied the face covering back on.
The person she bumped into was a young man, unusually tall, who said loudly, "Miss, watch where you're going."
Mu Qing looked up and saw that the man was wearing a yellowish-brown cloth robe, with straight shoulders and a spine as straight as a pine tree.
When she was a child and cried, her father would walk around with his shoulders straight and his head held high, trying to coax her by saying that all the officers and soldiers in the military camp had this posture.
To catch thieves, city gates can be sealed off, passersby can be questioned, and soldiers can be disguised as civilians as spies.
After thinking for a moment, Mu Qing said, "I'm sorry. I just saw someone acting suspiciously, and I was a little scared."
The man in plain clothes tensed up as expected. "Where did you see it?"
Mu Qing turned around and pointed to the gray-white wall pillars that were neither too close nor too far away.
The man in plain clothes gave a very loud whistle, raised his hand and waved, and several men in plain clothes rushed over from the crowd with lightning speed, causing chaos in the street.
A thin figure emerged from behind the pillar, dressed in rags, with disheveled hair, resembling a beggar. As the man in plain clothes approached, the figure became alert, its eyes gleaming as it scanned its surroundings.
Mu Qing met his gaze, her heart pounding with fear, and hurriedly fled.
After successfully escaping back to the Lu residence, Mu Qing changed her clothes in the inner chamber and hid the things she had bought on the beam. Still feeling lingering fear, she paced back and forth in the room.
The man's name is Monkey. He's known for his agility in the village, so he shouldn't be easy to catch. If he is caught, will people report him? Will the wanted posters from years ago be reposted on the streets? Will she be among those arrested in tomorrow's city lockdown?
Inside the Weizhou Prefectural Government Office, beneath the plaque bearing the inscription "A Clear Mirror Hangs High," Prefect Liu is presiding over a case.
Due to the city's lockdown and widespread searches, the atmosphere in the city was oppressive, and all sorts of trivial matters escalated into violent cases, with people openly pulling and shoving each other in court.
Seeing the people below arguing heatedly, claiming that the other party might be secretly in contact with the thief who was impersonating the magistrate, it was discovered during the interrogation that both parties had only met the magistrate once or twice. The real conflict was over a pigeon, a fish, or even a few words of quarrel.
As Prefect Liu continued the trial, he felt increasingly powerless, but with crowds of onlookers outside the courtroom, he had no choice but to pull himself together and continue.
"My lord, we've caught the magistrate! No, we've caught the fake Wang Qi!"
A constable squeezed through the crowd of onlookers, rushed into the hall, and delivered the good news that had been awaited for several days.
Prefect Liu halted the trial, looked behind him, and demanded, "Where is he? Bring him here immediately!"
"Uh." The constable bowed and lowered his head. "He was in the back room. It was Captain Qian who led his men to arrest him."
Prefect Liu was about to reprimand him, but upon hearing Captain Qian's words, he straightened his face, turned and went to the back hall.
A stretcher lay on the floor in the hall, with a man clinging to it like a hedgehog, several long arrows stuck in his back and legs. Surrounding him were several soldiers sent by the Grand Commander's Chief Secretary; though dressed in plain clothes, they exuded an imposing aura and shouted at the man on the stretcher.
"Speak! Stop playing dead!"
Upon hearing this, Prefect Liu trembled and stood still. Only after the yamen runners relayed the message and the soldiers dispersed to salute did he walk over.
"Sir, we just caught this thief on the street." Captain Qian Lei pointed to the person on the stretcher. "According to the constables' identification, he is the thief who impersonated the magistrate."
The man on the stretcher had disheveled hair and wore tattered clothes. At first, Prefect Liu didn't recognize him. But when he went around to the front and saw the man's pale face, he gestured slightly and guessed that he had grown a beard on his chin and a mole on the side of his face. He thought it was probably him. Then he nodded and said, "That's right, it's him."
Qian Lei said, "Since that's the case, please interrogate him quickly, sir. He has been able to impersonate a magistrate for so many years, he must have accomplices."
Prefect Liu was displeased that this young captain was instructing him on his duties. However, considering that the captain had captured a thief and had the Grand Commandant's Chief Secretary behind him, he held back. "This thief is seriously injured and needs to be treated first. As for his accomplices, his men have already been detained, so there's no need to rush."
Seeing his resistance, Qian Lei softened his tone slightly: "When we arrested him, we were afraid he would escape, so we lost our composure. An arrow has already entered his lungs, and there's probably no hope of saving him. While he still has a breath left, let's interrogate him a bit, and at least we can get a confession."
On the stretcher, two long arrows were deeply embedded in the back of the thief. If they had already wounded his lungs and internal organs, wouldn't he die immediately after being interrogated?
Prefect Liu stroked his beard. “You’re right. However, he is also a major criminal who murdered Imperial Censor Qin. His Majesty is very concerned about the case of Imperial Censor Qin and has specially sent Imperial Censor Zhong to investigate in detail. Imperial Censor Zhong must be present when interrogating him.”
Subsequently, he sent someone to quickly invite Imperial Censor Zhong and Dr. Hua, a renowned physician in the city.
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