Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

Cui Bianxu grinned in disgust at his back, squatted down and lifted some of the hair off the man's face, then grabbed his right hand and looked at it over and over again.

Just as he was about to tear off the tattered clothes, the medical officer arrived.

"Shaoqing." The medical officer hesitated. This...

"Well, take a look at him and find a way to make him sober up first. I will examine him for a few words." Cui Bianxu stepped aside and waited for the medical officer to work.

"Yes." The medical officers of the Dali Temple are much more stable than other official positions here. They are basically lifelong employees. Their main job is to keep the criminals alive so that they can speak for interrogation.

Therefore, the procedure was handled with ease: inserting a pill, then taking the pulse, then bandaging the area, and finally inserting another pill.

As for caring for the patients, there was not the slightest bit of concern. The painful powder was simply sprinkled on the wounds, without considering whether scars would be left or not.

The medical officer worked like a tiger, and when he saw the man regain consciousness, he put away his work box with satisfaction, stood up and saluted Cui Bianxu, "Sir, I will take my leave first."

"kindness."

The medical officer was very knowledgeable about the ways of the world. When he went out, he closed the door. When he turned around, he ran into Cong Jinghai.

"From Sizhi."

"kindness."

Cong Jinghai nodded, brushed past him, and knocked on the door: "Mr. Cui, Cong Jinghai requests to see you."

"Enter."

Looking at the person who came in, Cui Bianxu frowned slightly, and the wrinkles on his double eyelids narrowed a little: "What's the matter?"

Ever since that incident, he and Cong Jinghai were no longer the same. Even if they met, they were just acquaintances. Due to their relationship as colleagues, they tried not to make things too awkward in public.

"Master Cui, I heard that some criminals attacked our Dali Temple officials on the road and killed the exiled prisoners."

Cong Jinghai didn't care about his attitude at all and smiled faintly: "As the Sizhi, I am in charge of the envoys' affairs. I have some doubts about this matter and would like to follow the Shaoqing to investigate. Is that possible?"

Asking for information? Cui Bianxu looked at him for a moment before looking back at the man on the ground. This man didn't look like an assassin. A qualified assassin wouldn't stand a chance of being captured alive.

There are only two outcomes for them: mission success or death.

When he checked just now, Cui Bianxu did not see any poisonous fangs hidden in his mouth. His teeth were intact, but they were yellow and had a lot of tartar. There were two rotten teeth, but they were not repaired with silver paste. Instead, they were filled with elm bark, white angelica, and cinnamon. The material of his clothes was just what ordinary people wore when they worked in their daily lives.

(According to the "Fifty-two Prescriptions for Treating Diseases" unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb, people at the time used elm bark, angelica dahurica, and cinnamon bark to fill cavities, which had a certain therapeutic effect. Starting in the Tang Dynasty, silver-mercury alloys, known as "silver paste," were used as filling materials. This is also recorded in Tang Shenwei's "Daguan Jingshi Zhenglei Beiji Bencao" (Compendium of Materia Medica) from the Song Dynasty. Babies with cavities don't need to worry if they travel back in time. Even if you can't afford to treat your teeth, you can still use the old-fashioned method: tie a rope to a tooth and the other end to the door. Slam the door hard and the cavities will be removed for free!)

Although there are calluses on the palms of his hands, these calluses are probably not left by martial arts practice - he himself has been practicing martial arts since he was a child.

There was a faint fishy smell on his body mixed with the stench from not washing for many days. Could he be a fishmonger?

Cong Jinghai chuckled, took a step forward, leaned over, and grabbed the back of the head of the person on the ground. He spoke with a hint of hypocrisy in his heart: "This person is filthy and dirty. I will do it if I don't dirty your hands."

The man was conscious, but his strength had not yet fully recovered. With such force from Jinghai, he was pulled up on his back.

"I'm asking you, who ordered you to do this?"

He didn't do well last time, so today is a good opportunity.

This posture made the man feel a little suffocated, and a hoarse sound of "ho ho ho" came from his throat, but he still used all his strength to spit a mouthful of thick phlegm in the center of Jinghai's face.

My goodness, this guy’s mouth stinks so badly. The smell was so disgusting that I almost vomited from Jinghai.

If he can tolerate his leader, can he tolerate such a suspect?

Of course, Zong Jinghai couldn't do that, so he raised his fist and was about to hit the man in the face.

Cui Bianxu opened his mouth, closed it again, and kicked Cong Jinghai away.

Crisp, neat, decisive and quick!

"Shaoqing Cui..." The man who was kicked and lying on the ground looked up from Jinghai in disbelief, his eyes wide as if he was a pug, and he didn't come to his senses for a long time. He had been scolded and had his salary fined for so many years in the Dali Temple.

But no one has ever used their hands so directly, no, their feet.

He clenched his fists and stared at Cui Bianxu with humiliation and hatred in his eyes.

Cui Bianxu was in no mood to beat around the bush: "If you want to listen, shut up and stay still. If you dare to put your hand on me again, get out."

These words were so merciless that Jing Hai's face turned red instantly. The man's constant coughing sounded like he was looking down on him.

Cui Bianxu is actually just like this. He usually pretends to be nice in public, but since he has only fallen out with Cong Jinghai and a death row officer, he is too lazy to pretend.

"Tell me, what's your name? Where are you from? Why did you kill someone? Explain clearly."

The man was a little confused about the situation. He was the one being interrogated, so why did these two people fall out first?

But at least for a moment, he came to his senses. The man's name was Zhou Fu. He was a smart man and could see that there was a discord between Cui Bianxu and him.

Judging from Jinghai's reaction just now, it was obviously disadvantageous to him. In comparison, Cui Bianxu seemed more like a good person to him.

He struggled to get up, dragging his knees to move, and knelt down to kowtow to Cui Bianxu: "Cui Shaoqing, can you let me go? Just once, just a few more..."

"Do you recognize me?" Cui Bianxu was very sure that he had never seen Zhou Fu, otherwise he would definitely have an impression of him.

Zhou Fu nodded, prostrating himself on the ground, his hands piously resting on his forehead. "Mr. Cui, my mother Hui was murdered by a villain a few days ago, and it was you who brought her back. Please be a good person and let me go. Once I'm done with my business, I'll definitely surrender myself to the authorities."

His voice was hoarse, probably because no one had given him water for the past two days. When it came to prisoners destined to die, the only kindness the yamen runners showed was the last meal before the execution.

Cui Bianxu opened his mouth slightly. He didn't know how to tell Zhou Fu that he had attacked the escort team and killed the prisoners without authorization, so there was no way he could get out of the Dali Temple again.

Unless it is the day of execution, which will have to wait until winter.

"Are you Zhou Huiniang's father?" He had a good memory and remembered the names and faces of the nine young ladies who had died.

Zhou Hui Niang was not considered pretty. She had a round face with a dimple on each cheek. She was also small in stature. He remembered that she seemed to have just turned fourteen.

The one who came to collect her body was her brother, a sixteen-year-old boy, a little thin but very handsome.

He remembered the young man, who was a little silly. While everyone else was crying, he was the only one who laughed from time to time, and then he walked away holding his sister.

"Yes!"