Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

"Sir, all our men have failed, and one of our strongholds has been exposed."

A neatly dressed subordinate stood behind the pearl curtain in the private room of the restaurant, reporting to a man with only his back exposed.

Through the gaps in the beaded curtain, one could see the man wearing a navy blue robe, a silver-inlaid jade crown, his hair tied high in a bun, and a straight back that showed his nobility.

Even if he doesn't show up, you can tell he's a handsome young man from a wealthy family.

He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the cruise ships on the lake below, folded his folding fan with a "swish" sound, and tapped it against his palm.

"Ugh! With so many people, we can't even catch one person. Where's the booklet?"

The subordinate trembled a little, "It has already fallen into the hands of the surnamed Xiao."

"What?" The man turned around angrily, his face obscured by the beaded curtain. "Why did it end up in his hands?"

The subordinate said, "The Jinyiwei found Chu Yi's body in Xianglan Courtyard. Before he died, someone had already taken his belongings away. Perhaps it was their insider."

The man held the folding fan and pondered.

"Once in his hands, it's like being in the hands of the Crown Prince or the Emperor. What are these people doing? Who is the contact person?"

"We don't know exactly who it is," the subordinate said, "but people on the street say he's wearing official uniform and is a young man from the Imperial Hospital."

"Young people from the Imperial Hospital?" The man thought for a moment. "There are only two people named Lin and Chi. When did they get in touch with Chu Yi?"

"That was before." The subordinate said, "I heard that a new person came to the Imperial Hospital recently. It seems that he came when Xiao Yan returned to the capital."

The man fiddled with the jade ring on his thumb and thought.

"Find out about this person."

"Yes!" The subordinate raised his eyelids and looked behind the beaded curtain, then said, "There's one more thing."

"explain."

"The Imperial Guards captured two people alive."

The man immediately raised his arm and swept it across the table.

"Clang-"

The cups, plates, and bowls were smashed to pieces, shocking the subordinate so much that he shook involuntarily.

Inside the Prince's Mansion.

Xiao Yan handed the report and the account book to the man sitting right above the hall.

This person is none other than the current crown prince, Chen Jing.

He looked at the memorial carefully, then flipped through the account book, and suddenly slammed the table.

"These bastards dared to deceive their superiors and subordinates, killing so many people. Hundreds of thousands of taels of disaster relief silver went into their pockets. My Great Ning Dynasty is almost becoming a money bag for these treacherous people."

He stood up, hands behind his back, and walked slowly into the hall. "Xue Lanqi ordered his men to risk their lives to escort him, but I'm afraid he's in great danger."

Xiao Yan said bluntly: "Most of the people in the account book belong to King Zhao."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jing raised his eyes and looked at Xiao Yan.

"You reminded me that he framed my people, and now I have caught him with this handle, it's enough to make him drink a pot."

With trembling hands, he picked up the teacup and took a sip. "By the way, where did you get this... ahem...?"

Xiao Yan said, "I recommended a military doctor when I returned to Beijing. He risked his life to protect this accusation."

"You recommend me?" Chen Jing was stunned for a moment, then nodded gently, "Okay! Give me a generous reward."

He put the teacup back, but his hands were shaking so much that he didn't hold it steady, and the cup fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

Chen Jing impatiently pressed his hands and shook them a few times, but they were still shaking uncontrollably.

Xiao Yan was confused and asked, "What's going on?"

Chen Jing tried his best to suppress the irritation in his heart.

"I... don't know. I caught a cold a month ago and it hasn't healed. It's gradually become like this. The imperial physician came to see me twice, but it didn't seem to be very effective."

"I'll go get the doctor."

"Wait." Chen Jing immediately called Xiao Yan.

"Don't tell the imperial physician yet. If everyone knew that my illness hadn't healed and was only getting worse, wouldn't that give those with ulterior motives an opportunity? The King of Zhao is looking forward to this day."

He closed his eyes and calmed himself, "I will hand this report to my father first."

After leaving the Prince's Mansion, Xiao Yan went straight to the Northern Pacification Office. He planned to conduct the interrogation personally this time and would definitely not allow the previous situation of prisoners being silenced to happen.

People were coming in and out of the yamen. When Xiao Yan walked into the lobby, the Jinyiwei were very polite when they saw him and took the initiative to come forward to greet him.

"My Lord, you are here to see Lord Lang, right? He has been summoned by the Commander. Please wait here for a moment. I will make you a cup of tea."

Xiao Yan nodded and sat down casually, his arms resting on the armrests, tapping his fingertips occasionally.

After waiting for a quarter of an hour and seeing no one come out, I couldn't help but think, "Is he being scolded again?"

He couldn't remember how many times he had come to see Lang Si for something, and most of the time, Lang Si was either being scolded or on his way to being scolded.

Lang Si was promoted to the position of Jinyiwei assistant at a young age. He did so by passing the military examination based on his real ability and adding on his years of ability, not by relying on connections or backdoors.

The commander of the Northern Pacification Division was different. He was the queen's cousin and somewhat of a royal relative. He lacked ability and loved to show off his status.

If an outsider like Xiao Yan were to make the evaluation, if the commander had not been related to the emperor, Lang Si would have replaced him long ago.

Just as he was thinking about it, that unlucky guy came out, walked up to Xiao Yan and greeted him casually.

"You came."

Xiao Yan didn't stand up, but teased with an expression of watching the fun and not minding the trouble.

"Getting scolded again? What's the reason this time?"

Lang Si sighed softly, "Come to my office and talk."

Xiao Yan stood up and walked out the door. "I'll listen to your story later. Let's go interrogate yesterday's prisoners first."

"No need for trial."

Xiao Yan turned around and looked at Lang Si with a questioning look on his face, "What do you mean? It's not..."

Before he finished speaking, a result that he least wanted to know immediately popped into his mind.

"Could it be..."

Lang Si nodded silently, "So, come in and talk."

Xiao Yan felt like he was electrocuted. He didn't react for a long time and found it incredible.

A perfectly healthy person was in prison, and after only one night, it was only noon and the prisoner died?

We finally caught two people alive and thought we could find out something this time, but we were still a step too late.

Who is it?

He secretly suppressed his anger and followed Lang Si into his office.

"What's going on? Aren't you in solitary confinement? Why would someone die in prison?"

Lang Si also looked depressed about this matter.

"I personally watched over them for a while last night and everything was normal. I also went to check on them this morning and they were fine. But who would have thought that half an hour ago, the guards came to report that the two men were dead."

"Look, Meng is using this matter to pressure me and try to demote me."

Seeing his unfortunate appearance, Xiao Yan felt a little sympathy, but at the moment he was more concerned about the prisoners.

"How did you die?"

"Poisoned." Lang Si immediately added, "The food is not poisonous, I checked it."

This is strange. The food is not poisonous, so why would people get poisoned?

Xiao Yan pondered, "Could it be that someone secretly gave them something to eat while you weren't paying attention?"

"That's impossible." Lang Si leaned on the edge of the table. "Guards were always there, so there was no chance to attack. This happened suddenly, and everything needs further investigation. It's just..."

He sighed, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you this time. I'll tell you when I find out the reason."

Even if you find out the reason afterwards, it's useless because everything is in vain once the person dies.

Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment with a complicated expression, then adjusted his expression, patted Lang Si lightly on the shoulder and walked out.

The sky outside was bright, but in Xiao Yan's eyes, it was covered with a layer of gray. He didn't know when he could find out the truth.

There was another person covered in dust with him today, and that was Lu Ziqing.

He stood in the office of Judge Gou and listened to the man scolding him.

"Leaving one's post during working hours is a crime of one"

"Walking through the streets in official uniform, fighting, and knocking down people and vendors is the second crime."

"This official uniform is in tatters, destroying royal property. This is the third crime."

"Lu Ziqing, you're new here, and everything you've done is forbidden. Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you have a high-ranking official protecting you?"

"It's not feasible to recognize the matter but not the person in the Imperial Hospital."

Lu Ziqing just listened and let him scold without daring to say a word. Judge Gou continued with a dark face.

"I told you when you came here that an intern doctor only has three chances to make mistakes in three months, and now you've made all of them. In that case, you can't stay in the Imperial Hospital any longer. Pack up and leave!"

"What?" A bolt of lightning struck Lu Ziqing's heart, and he looked at Judge Gou in astonishment.

"I lost a piece of my uniform while bandaging someone's wound in a hurry. Also, I left my post because I was rushing to save someone..."

"There's no need to quibble if you've committed a crime." Judge Gou interrupted him and sat back in his chair.

"The Imperial Hospital has its own rules. As the judge, I must handle this impartially. Okay, get out."

"But I do have..."

"go out!"

When Lu Ziqing saw the cold face, he felt as if the sky had fallen, and his back felt cold even in the hot weather.

It’s been less than half a month since I entered the palace, and it’s already over?

He was so confused that his mind could no longer keep up with his steps. When he walked out the door, he heard quiet discussions in the corridors on both sides.

"Heh... after all, you're just a country bumpkin who hasn't seen the world. You think you can change your status just by relying on Marquis Dingbei's recommendation, and you're trying to squeeze into the upper class?"

"What right does a charlatan have? He was just dreaming, but now he's awakened."

"Humph, that man is just relying on his military achievements to bring all these questionable people into the palace. This time, he must be too embarrassed."

"........."

Lu Ziqing walked out of the Imperial Hospital with contempt and walked out to the street. He felt a little dizzy due to the sun.

People around him came and went, but he seemed to be forgotten by time, with only helplessness and confusion in his eyes.

And there were countless days and nights of anxiety.