Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

These eunuchs were all from the East Factory. Lu Ziqing didn't dare to provoke them, so he just cooperated and retreated back to the courtyard.

All the people in the courtyard who were not on duty came out from the gatehouse to take a look, and the leading eunuch said it in public.

"Medicinal materials were stolen from the Imperial Pharmacy. We have been ordered to investigate the Imperial Hospital and the Imperial Pharmacy."

He raised his head to the side and nodded to the mute, and the eunuchs behind him dispersed quickly and went to search the various gatehouses.

Gou Dongxi, a sixth-rank court judge, not only could not afford to offend the ministers of the previous dynasty, he even dared not offend the eunuchs in the inner court.

He bowed his hands and smiled, saying, "Eunuch Huang, the people in our Imperial Hospital are all strictly trained. The theft of medicinal materials, could there be some misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding?" Eunuch Zhao said coldly, "I'm on a mission. Are you saying I'm looking for trouble?"

Even if Gou Dongxi hated these eunuchs in his heart, he had to lower his posture verbally.

"Eunuch Zhao, you're joking. How could I have thought so? I was just asking casually. If it was really someone from our Imperial Hospital who committed the theft, you don't have to come and search in person. I will send the person to the East Factory and leave it to you to decide."

Speaking of theft, there are countless rare treasures in the palace, which are often secretly resold by palace maids and eunuchs. This is not a new thing.

After all, the little money Emperor Shengzhi gave for porridge could not be used for anything, and everyone could only eat the scraps of meat from the tiger's mouth.

But the theft of medicinal materials was an isolated incident. Even though Gou Dongxi and Xu Shizhang had been in the Imperial Hospital for decades, they had never heard of anyone stealing medicinal materials in the hospital.

Although this kind of thing is not a treasure in the traditional sense, it is a relatively rare and expensive medicinal material that can be sold at a high price on the black market and is comparable to a treasure.

After searching for a while, the young eunuchs came back to report, "Eunuch Huang, we have searched everywhere and found nothing."

"Nothing?" Eunuch Huang lowered his eyes in thought, then said in a dignified voice, "Have you searched thoroughly? If you missed even one, I'll have your heads when you return."

Upon hearing this, the young eunuchs dispersed and continued searching to save their heads. Eunuch Huang looked around and spoke slowly.

"Just in case, please put down your belongings and let us check them out. We'll check each one and let them go."

The imperial doctors were in an uproar, looking at each other and whispering to each other.

"They couldn't search the Imperial Hospital, and now they're searching us. Aren't they treating us like criminals?"

"Yeah, it's not us who stole it. Even the East Factory can't be so overbearing."

"Whoever dares to embezzle the emperor's medicinal herbs will be putting his head on the guillotine."

"........."

There was a rustling sound. Eunuch Huang listened for a while and added in a high-sounding manner.

"Today was supposed to be a holiday, and everyone could relax, but something like this happened. We have no choice but to ask for your cooperation."

After a while, the eunuchs who had dispersed came back and gathered around, waving and greeting.

"Everyone line up in two rows, hurry up."

In the face of power, these imperial doctors were like ants, unable to resist and could only let it go. Everyone quickly lined up under the urging and accepted the examination.

Dozens of people lined up in a long queue in the yard because of the theft of medicinal herbs.

"Has the Imperial Pharmacy ever lost medicinal materials before?" Lu Ziqing said, looking at the team.

"No." Chi Musheng walked side by side with him and moved with the team.

"However, some medicinal herbs are indeed very precious, such as Tianshan Snow Lotus, Millennium Ganoderma Lucidum, and some ginsengs with extremely low production. These herbs are comparable to gold. They are not available in the private sector, and they are not unavailable on the black market, but they are rare."

"And you know how strict the production process and supervision are for fresh herbs from the herbal medicine storehouse to the imperial pharmacy. Even when we're decocting them, there are people watching. There's no chance of stealing. Anyone caught would be sent to prison, so no one dares to do it."

He continued to move forward and walked down the stairs, whispering beside Lu Ziqing.

"We don't dare. It's not that there aren't instances of property being stolen in this vast Forbidden City. For example, the maids and eunuchs in the inner palaces do their chores with little supervision, giving them ample opportunities to resell stolen property."

Lu Ziqing asked back, "The palace is heavily guarded. How could these people get their belongings out? If it's a small item, they could smuggle it in."

"You don't know this." Chi Musheng said.

"Don't underestimate small items. Even if you hide a needle in your sleeve, the guards will be able to find it when you leave the palace. So, it's impossible to sneak it out of the palace."

Lu Ziqing was puzzled, "Then how did they..."

Chi Musheng looked at him and chuckled, "It's not possible for palace maids, but it's possible for guards."

"You mean..."

Chi Musheng nodded silently. It was an open secret that the palace servants and guards were reselling the palace's property.

They divided the silver they sold into 40% and 60% respectively. As long as the guards turned a blind eye, they could get 40%. This was a lucrative business that everyone was willing to do.

"You can go now, hurry up and get the next one."

As they were speaking, it was Lu Ziqing and Chi Musheng's turn.

"Take off your bag." said the young eunuch.

Chi Musheng took down the bundle, and the young eunuch took it and rummaged through it clumsily, throwing the folding fan, tea leaves, and keys inside onto the ground.

"Hey, just search if you want, why did you throw it on the ground?" Chi Musheng said as he bent down to pick it up.

"These are the palace fans and tea leaves given by the emperor. If you throw them like this, you will go to jail if they are broken."

Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, the emperor would not only entertain his ministers but also bestow gifts upon them.

The eunuch was so impatient that he forgot that this was a gift from the emperor. He hurriedly bent down to pick it up, handed the package back to Chi Musheng, and urged him to leave quickly.

"What are you doing?"

As soon as Chi Musheng picked up the bag, he heard the eunuch next to him asking questions.

When he turned his head, he saw the yellow paper package in the eunuch's hand. As the paper package was opened layer by layer, he was completely dumbfounded.

The things in the paper package were exactly what he had just mentioned, thousand-year-old Ganoderma lucidum, Tianshan snow lotus, and two ginseng roots.

Not only Chi Musheng was dumbfounded, but Lu Ziqing was also the same. He stared at the thing in the eunuch's hand, his head buzzing.

How is this possible? Why are these things in his bag?

Before he could react, he heard the eunuch in front of him scolding him.

"Okay, the stolen herbs are indeed in your Imperial Hospital."

Everyone present was surprised when they heard the sound, and they all looked forward and talked in low voices.

"Ah? Did the medicinal herbs really come from someone in our courtyard?"

"I can't believe there's someone with dirty hands in our hospital. Damn it, who on earth is ruining the reputation of our Imperial Hospital?"

"Look ahead, isn't that the itinerant doctor?"

"Lu Ziqing again."

"........."

The eunuch presented the paper package to Eunuch Huang, who stood there calmly, only lowering his eyes to glance at it.

Xu Shizhang immediately stepped forward and said politely, "Eunuch Huang, is there... any misunderstanding?"