Ink Burns

Chapter 57 Withered Camellia

Shan Yue lowered his eyes and raised the corners of his lips: It's not a brilliant plan. It's just that the Dongchizi warehouse is full, and the fake medicine can only be put in after the real medicine is shipped out and the empty hut is vacated.

Therefore, the transportation of genuine medicine into Beijing and the transportation of fake medicine to the Dongchizi warehouse must have happened at the same time.

After Cheng Xinghe threatened the ancestral tomb, he looked at the mountains in the distance and felt that someone would finally help him achieve his ambitions and prosper all the way to the top of the mountain. He could forget about the bitterness and hardships of the past twenty years and count the cards he had in his hand: he was related to Lord Liu by blood, the He family was running for the crimson "Blue Phoenix", and the Cheng family was firmly under his control. Then he took into account the biggest card, which was to help the capital city make medicine.

Lord Liu said that these batches of medicine went directly into the private warehouses of the wealthy families in the capital as reserve medicines for the plague.

A total of ten wealthy families have stockpiled enough medicinal materials to support the 30,000 people in Songjiang Prefecture.

He prayed secretly: It would be best if those wealthy families were infected with the plague, so that the medicine he presented to them could see the light of day, and he would have a share when rewards were given out. Otherwise, these medicines would only mold and rot in the dark warehouse.

Cheng Xinghe was very proud of himself, and he clapped his hands on his horse and shouted, "Let's go!"

Shan Yue covered her lips with her sleeves: "It seems that Lord Liu likes you very much."

Cheng Xinghe was very proud. He leaned against the wall of the carriage with his hands spread out, thinking about Master Liu's teachings like a cow chewing the cud. Facing Shan Yue, he was very interested in talking and said, "You taught me how to behave. If I become an official in the future, I want to be an official like Master Liu."

Cheng Xing stretched out his hand, and turned it over easily, with great interest: "For someone of his status, killing people is as easy as chopping vegetables, and it's easy to change the situation."

Shan Yue's eyebrows couldn't help trembling.

"Do you know? Eight years ago, there was a big forest fire in Fushou Mountain. It was Lord Liu who cleaned up the mess for me. All the family members involved were chased back home--" Cheng Xinghe wiped his neck with his hand, pretending to be angry. He didn't care whether Shanyue could understand him or not, and continued to talk: "Lord Liu also drank the tribute of pre-rain Longjing tea. Cheng Daxing only drank the whole tea when entertaining guests, and ate the tea leaves behind. Even the maid next to Lord Liu was beautiful and well-mannered at a young age. She was completely different from the maid in our family."

It was like a door to another world was opened, and Cheng Xinghe was extremely excited.

Shanyue seized on the first sentence, "and later he caught up with her home and stabbed her in the back" - no wonder, in the past eight years, she had returned to the village in disguise, but she could not find her father. Even the original thatched cottage, chicken coop, and gravel ground had all been razed to the ground and new houses built, as if the He family had never existed!

She originally thought that her father, who was weak and had only a handsome face to beg for food, had run away early in the morning, but she didn't expect that her father, who was a gigolo, was also caught and killed. She suffered an unexpected disaster!

"Is this Lord Liu's kindness?" Shan Yue's voice was trembling.

Cheng Xinghe's eyes sparkled: "Master Liu is very powerful, right?!"

Shan Yue took a deep breath from his chest, raised his head with a smile and said, "Yes, it's amazing—"

The voice was gentle, like a nightingale, as if she remembered something: "Five days later, the grandmother of Liu Mansion asked me to go to the Autumn Water Pond at 12:00 p.m. to paint the withered lotus leaves at dusk. It seems that the nobles in the capital want to see it."

Shan Yue said in an awkward manner: "I didn't agree immediately. The Cheng family has strict discipline and usually doesn't allow girls to go out. I was afraid that you would be embarrassed."

Cheng Xinghe immediately said: "What's the problem! If the Liu family asks you to go, just go. Do you think the Liu family will harm us?" - Cheng Xinghe lifted the carriage curtain and called out loudly: "Jiang Er, Jiang Er! Five days later, on your way to the Dongchizi warehouse, take Miss Yue to Qiushuichi!"

Jiang Er's eyes widened and he turned back in horror, only to see Miss He slightly raising her eyebrows at him.

There was a word of admiration in my heart, "Cena", I didn't know whether I should say it or not - this game was actually won by her!
When the carriage drove back to the mansion, Cheng Xinghe gradually came to his senses from his ecstasy. He remembered the group of people dancing and cursing in front of the store in the morning. He was about to call the manager of the pharmacy to ask questions, but he saw a light purple figure like clouds and mist passing by the door.

Cheng Xinghe paused, his eyes followed the figure, as if he was possessed by a demon, and followed the figure. Forget about the dance on the drum, Mr. Liu, and sending medicine to Kyoto for now, as they could not withstand the obsession of several years.

Shanyue got out of the car with his head hunched, patted Jiang Er on the shoulder, turned around and went back to the inner courtyard.

They felt as if sitting on pins and needles until nightfall. Shan Yue walked around the Chuihua Gate and nodded with a smile while Chen Xiaoquan and his family, who were on duty, did not explain where they were going. They went straight out of the Chuihua Gate and headed straight for the small side courtyard of the outer hall. The small side courtyard was located in the southeast corner of the Cheng family's house. It was more like a cramped thatched cottage than a small courtyard. It was usually seldom visited, but now light was coming through the small wooden window.

The small huts were cleared out and usually given to unimportant guests.

There is also a person living there now.

Shanyue leaned against the gray wall and tapped the wooden door with his left hand.

Three "dong dong dong" sounds.

The wooden door creaked open and Cheng Xingyu, who was wearing a plain long gown, pushed the door open to look. Just as he stuck his head out, he was suddenly pulled back by someone. In a flash, he was pressed against the gray wall and held hostage by someone with a thin-bladed butterfly bone knife and taken into the house.

The lamp sparkled provocatively in the wind.

A hoarse and deep female voice sounded beside Cheng Xingyu's ears: "Who are you? Before you answer, I need to tell you that this bone knife is as thin as a cicada's wing, but it can cut gold into mud. I only need to push it lightly, and your fragile throat will be like a pierced watermelon, with juice splashing out, and your death will be cruel."

Cheng Xingyu's shoulders relaxed, and his pale lips pursed slightly: "Miss He, there is no point in lying about my origins."

Yes.

On the first day, he appeared in the bushes burning paper money, and Shanyue asked Huang Zhi to verify the origin of the second son of the Cheng family from various sources: he was born to Aunt Pang of Master Cheng, five years younger than Cheng Xinghe, and had been weak since childhood. Master Cheng was too lazy to spend time on him, and was afraid that Aunt Pang would concentrate on taking care of the weak child and ignore him, so he sent him to his uncle's house in northern Anhui since he was a child, and gave him fifty taels of silver every year as a sign of fulfilling his responsibility. His uncle's family was a village doctor in the mountains, and he followed his uncle to become a doctor after suffering from illness for a long time, and often went down the mountain to treat hunters and villagers. After he was fifteen years old, he returned to Songjiang Prefecture for one month every New Year. Only then was Master Cheng willing to give him ginseng to prolong his life.

Shan Yue did not want to argue with him, so he said in a stern voice, "Let me ask you, was the girl in red dancing on the drum in front of the medicine hall the one you found?"

Cheng Xingyu was slightly startled: "Yes, that group of people are all people who have been deeply harmed by the Cheng family's sale of fake medicines, from northern Anhui to Songjiang Prefecture - I told you last time."

"Silence!"

Shan Yue's chest rose and fell violently: "What is the origin of that girl in red? What's her name? Where is she from?"

Cheng Xingyu keenly sensed that the person behind him was close to collapse. He ignored the thin blade in front of his neck and would rather be scratched and bleed. He turned to face Shan Yue with clear eyes and said, "I'm looking at you and saying this, I'm afraid you think I'm still lying."

"The girl's name is Wei Ruchun. She is fifteen years old this year. Her father is a pharmacist who has lived in Pingning Mountain in northern Anhui. The high-quality Acorus calamus, Aster odoratus, Angelica dahurica and other herbs her father collected were bought by the Cheng family. After receiving the goods, the Cheng family falsely accused her father of selling inferior products and only paid for third-rate herbs. Her father had no choice but to go up the mountain in the rain to collect herbs to raise money for her brother's studies. Unfortunately, he missed his step and is now paralyzed in bed and unable to walk."

Because of the presence of the butterfly bone knife, the two were forced to get closer.

Under the dim yellow light, Cheng Xingyu spoke softly and slowly, and as soon as he finished speaking, He Shanyue, who had just been shouting for war and stirring up trouble in the Cheng Mansion, seemed to have all his strength drained away, and the blood color on his cheeks quickly faded, like a withered camellia.

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(End of this chapter)