Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 148 Pretending to be dead
Jia Chuan didn't go in, but stood outside and asked, "I heard that His Highness the Prince of Han also has a pharmacy in Le'an. Does it use medicinal herbs from your area?"

Zhou Cheng, inside the door, was taken aback. He wondered who this young man was. He kept mentioning the Emperor and the Prince of Han, but everyone knew that the Prince of Han had already angered the Emperor. What was his intention in linking the Herb Gathering Bureau with the Prince of Han at this time?
Zhou Cheng turned and left the room, his smile gone, and replied seriously, "How dare I presume to comment on His Highness the Prince of Han's affairs? However, it is true that princes from various regions have come to Kaifeng to purchase medicinal herbs, and they all have the Ministry of War's verification documents as proof. The Herb Procurement Bureau has never had any private dealings with the princes."

"Ambassador Zhou, please don't take offense. I was just asking casually. I won't look at these medicinal herbs for now, as I wouldn't understand them anyway. Would you like some hot tea?"

If it were anyone else who said such things, Zhou Cheng would not only be angry but also give them a cold shoulder. However, he had received news this morning that this lowly deputy envoy of the herbal medicine storehouse was living with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In other words, the previous news that this young man who had caused such a commotion in Le'an was not simple was true.

That's why he waited at the gate; official rank was just a reference, who was by his side was what mattered.

Zhou Cheng quickly put on a smiling face and said, "Look at me, I was so busy showing off the medicinal herbs in the herb collection bureau to Vice Envoy Jia. Come on, I have some good tea, let's have some tea and rest for a while."

Zhou Cheng led Jia Chuan back the way they came.

From the main gate to entering a warm room, Zhou Cheng didn't glance at Gao Yuntian and Lu Baihu even once. But when he and Jia Chuan sat down, he noticed that a servant had also sat down. This made Zhou Cheng lose his composure, and his displeasure almost overflowed from his face.

“Oh, this is Commander Lu of the Embroidered Uniform Guard,” Jia Chuan first pointed to Commander Lu, who was standing to the side unsure whether to sit or stand, and then pointed to Gao Yuntian, who was sitting comfortably: “This is Commander Gao. I offended the Prince of Han in Le’an. The Prince of Han has been trying to kill me, and has tried to do so many times but failed. It is thanks to the Embroidered Uniform Guard that I am protected. So they follow me wherever I go.”

Zhou Cheng was completely at a loss. He considered himself to have seen too many grand occasions and had traveled extensively throughout the country. Calmness was his main trait, and Prince Zhou Ding had often praised him for it when he was alive. But while he had seen officials and imperial relatives, he had never seen the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

But this young man in front of me, whom I've only known for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, has made a series of astonishing remarks. Is he inexperienced in officialdom or is he deliberately showing off?

Zhou Cheng was momentarily distracted, but the servants serving him tea brought him back to his senses. He quickly stood up and bowed to Gao Yuntian and Commander Lu, who returned the bow and sat down.

Jia Chuan deliberately gave Zhou Cheng some time to process this. Before coming here, Jia Chuan had already decided that the so-called secret investigation was just empty talk. It would be better for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to just arrest this guy and torture him to extract a confession. They could get whatever he wanted, or even if he didn't have it, they could still get it. Obviously, Zhu Zhanji didn't want to solve the problem this way, so he came.

But if we really talk about covert investigations, it would probably take three to five years to reach a conclusion.

Putting aside the fact that Jia Chuan doesn't recognize those Chinese herbs, if he wants to find clues by secretly investigating the whereabouts of special medicinal materials, Jia Chuan needs to start as an apprentice and get along well with the people in the herb-collecting bureau. Perhaps after three or five years, he can make some progress. Just consider what kind of evidence could the herb-collecting bureau's ledgers leave behind for someone to accidentally discover?
Therefore, Jia Chuan felt there was no need to be so subtle; he should just give it directly! If there was a problem with the herb-gathering bureau, they would definitely panic, and then things would be much easier.

This kind of case really doesn't motivate Jia Chuan, because the conclusion won't change because of what he finds out. It was already decided when Zhu Zhanji wanted him to make this trip. Regardless of whether the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhou had any dealings before, once the Prince of Han is dealt with, the new Prince of Zhou will have to stand at attention obediently and set an example for the other princes. This is what Zhu Zhanji really wants. He is laying the groundwork for what will happen after dealing with Zhu Gaoxu.

This can be considered a lesson learned by Zhu Yunwen at the cost of countless lives: one should not be too hasty in dealing with vassal kings, but should be tactful, roundabout, and willing.

……

Gao Yuntian merely nodded slightly to Zhou Cheng without getting up.

Jia Chuan quickly spoke up to avoid making Zhou Cheng too embarrassed.

"I heard that King Ding of Zhou wrote a book called 'Herbal Remedies for Famine Relief' during his lifetime. I wonder if I would have the honor of reading it?"

Zhou Zheng intended to invite Gao Yuntian and Lu Baihu to take the seats of honor, but was interrupted by Jia Chuan's words. He replied, "I do have some chapters here, but they are not complete. They are all copied. The complete version is in the Prince's Mansion, Vice Envoy Jia..."

Zhou Cheng looked at Gao Yuntian.

"Why are you looking at me like that, you surnamed Jia?" Gao Yuntian asked irritably.

Gao Yuntian didn't have a good impression of Zhou Cheng from the first moment he saw him, but Zhou Cheng thought he was an attendant and didn't look at him properly the whole way. But when he found out who Gao Yuntian was, his attitude changed immediately. If it had been a gradual change, Gao Yuntian might not have disliked him so much.

"Ambassador Zhou means it would be more convenient for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to go to the Prince's Mansion to get that book. You can make a trip there later. I've heard that the book introduces a lot of herbs, and I'm really curious about it."

After hearing this, Zhou Cheng subconsciously looked at Gao Yuntian again. The words were clearly in a commanding tone, and he wanted to see how the Embroidered Uniform Guard would react.

"Should I go ask for it now?" Gao Yuntian asked, getting up.

“It’s not like we’re visiting relatives. This is the Prince’s mansion. You can’t just go whenever you want. You can’t just ask for it as soon as you arrive.” Jia Chuan gestured for Gao Yuntian to sit down and said, “Let’s wait for Chen Mo. He has a preliminary understanding of the situation today and will have to go to the Prince’s mansion again. You can come with him and find an opportunity to ask me to take a look.”

"Aren't you going?" Gao Yuntian asked as he sat down.

Jia Chuan thought for a moment and said, "My official rank this time is not high enough to see the prince, unless... you can go."

In the short time it took, Zhou Cheng had gone through a thousand thoughts in his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more alarmed he became. So when he looked at Jia Chuan again, he couldn't help but become respectful.

Having achieved his goal, Jia Chuan felt it was time to get down to business and began to speak:

"Ambassador Zhou, you've been drinking tea and talking for so long without getting to the point. The herbal medicine bureau should keep accounts of the purchase and sale of medicinal materials, but as you know, these accounts are just for show. The actual situation is naturally another account. I wonder if it would be convenient for me to see this real account?"

Gao Yuntian frowned and looked at Jia Chuan, wanting to ask him if he was speaking like a human being. But with outsiders present, Gao Yuntian felt he should give Jia Chuan some face, so he only gave him a subtle reminder with his eyes.

Zhou Cheng's face also showed great confusion. Is this what they call "getting straight to the point"?
Seeing Zhou Cheng's fake smile frozen on his face, Jia Chuan quickly waved his hand and said, "I was just asking. If it's inconvenient for Ambassador Zhou, just pretend I didn't ask. However, I can leave other things aside for now, but Ambassador Zhou must explain the dealings with the Prince of Han's residence over the past two years to me."

Zhou Cheng blurted out, "Isn't Vice Envoy Jia here for the spring medicinal herbs from the Imperial Medical Academy?"

Jia Chuan chuckled and said, "I'll just ask about something else. Ambassador Zhou, don't panic. I'm just asking."

"Now?" Zhou Cheng repeated subconsciously, then picked up his teacup, took a sip to hide his panic, and put the teacup down before saying, "To be honest, Vice Envoy Jia, the Herb Gathering Bureau has been very disciplined since its inception, and we dare not make any mistakes in our records. However, some things... cannot be considered transactions, so they are not recorded in the ledger. As for the dealings with the Prince of Han's Mansion in the past two years, Vice Envoy Jia, there have indeed been such dealings. As far as I know, they have all been verified... and they are all common medicinal herbs. The Prince of Han did send people to privately request some medicinal herbs, which were not on the verified list. Not to mention me, even the old prince would not dare to sell them privately. This matter is easy to understand. The old prince experienced a lot when he was alive. He only wanted a peaceful old age, so why would he cause trouble for himself?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Chuan realized that although the man seemed somewhat slick and cunning, he was actually quite astute. Zhang Zheng had told him about Prince Zhou's life; while not every step of his life was fraught with hardship, he certainly suffered misfortune with each change of leadership. If one were to ask who most wanted to stay away from politics, Prince Zhou would probably be in the top three. Even before the emperor's ascension, Jia Chuan hadn't dared to interfere, let alone secretly engage in any activities with Zhu Gaochi. It was just that this Prince Zhou was the easiest to manipulate, Jia Chuan thought to himself.

Jia Chuan stood up and said, "That's enough for today. After I've read the book, I'll come and bother Ambassador Zhou again. Ambassador Zhou can also think about anything you haven't thought of. If you remember anything, you can come and talk to me. There's still time."

Zhou Cheng was completely stunned. The grease was supposed to be a lubricant, making his mind work more clearly, but Jia Chuan's actions were haphazard and disjointed, without any preparation. He stopped abruptly, which caught Zhou Cheng off guard. It took him a while to come to his senses after Jia Chuan left, and he started to wonder what "there is still time" meant.
Meanwhile, Jia Chuan was almost back at the inn.

……

Jia Chuan felt that he had done a very efficient and successful job today, at least making Zhou Cheng unable to sleep well when he got back.

To their surprise, when they returned to the inn, Chen Mo and his group had already returned before them.

"Natural death?" Jia Chuan asked this question before he could even express his surprise when he saw Old Zheng in the yard.

In Jia Chuan's view, this was the only reason he could meet Old Zheng at this time.

"He's not dead at all!" Shunzi answered first, carrying a pot of steaming water.

Old Zheng carried a copper basin, head down, and went to the side room without stopping to say a word to Jia Chuan.

The main room door opened, and Chen Mo stood at the doorway and said, "The Prince of Runan said that someone wanted to kill him, so he pretended to be dead, hoping that we would arrive and judge the matter for him."

"Who wants to kill whom? Who are we supposed to judge for?" Jia Chuan strode into the house.

"Who else could it be? The Prince of Runan said that the Prince of Zhou wanted to kill him. He's been staying at the Prince of Zhou's residence since he returned, with only a few people with him. He doesn't even dare to eat properly. Hearing that we were coming, he figured the Prince of Zhou would kill him before we arrived, so he's pretending to be dead, just waiting..."

"Is this something he can fake? Are all of Zhou Wang's men stupid?" Jia Chuan asked, wrinkling his nose.

Chen Mo shrugged and shook his head, saying, "It's hard to say whether the people in the Prince's Mansion are really stupid or just pretending to be stupid. Anyway, when we arrived, the Prince of Runan was already dressed and lying in the coffin, just waiting for the lid to be closed. When we got there... we really scared Old Zheng."

"Did it come back to life during the autopsy?" Jia Chuan asked, his eyes wide.

"Just imagine you're rummaging through a corpse, and suddenly the corpse opens its eyes and sits up..."

"Did Old Zheng wet himself in fear?" Jia Chuan said, walking out of the room and into the side room.

Old Zheng's reaction was a bit unusual, but Jia Chuan didn't pay attention to it until now, when he remembered that Old Zheng's face had turned pale.

……

Old Zheng was so frightened he fell ill.

After he entered the house from outside, he began to tremble uncontrollably. When Jia Chuan ran over, his body had already started to heat up. After a short while, he began to talk nonsense, then stopped talking and fell into a complete coma.

Before the bewildered Jia Chuan could say anything, Commander Lu quickly summoned a physician...

Shunzi was filled with self-reproach. He felt most useless among the people who had gone to the Prince's mansion, and he was inevitably a little depressed. He didn't even go to Dong Yuanyuan, and just stayed in his room in a daze. He didn't expect Old Zheng to come back so early. At that time, Old Zheng was still relatively normal. He grumbled and told Shunzi about what had happened. Shunzi was shocked to hear this. Seeing that Old Zheng's face was pale and the lower half of his cotton robe was wet, Shunzi said that he would go and get some hot water so that Old Zheng could wash up and change into dry clothes. Old Zheng said that he would do it himself. Shunzi didn't think much of it at the time and didn't stop him. He took Old Zheng with him to fetch water.

"If I hadn't let him go out back then, perhaps, perhaps..." Shunzi said, choking back tears.

Gao Yuntian said with a stern face, "He's already scared. Whether he goes with you or not... it's all the same."

"Should we call Dr. Deng over?" Chen Mo asked Jia Chuan.

The doctor that Lu Baihu just invited said that tonight's situation is very dangerous, but if the fever can be brought down, there might still be hope.

Jia Chuan understood that Old Zheng's life was hanging by a thread today.

The doctor said a lot of things that Jia Chuan couldn't quite understand, but he summarized it as follows: Old Zheng was so frightened that he broke out in a sweat. The fright had already made Old Zheng lose his composure, and then the cold wind took advantage of his weakness and entered him very firmly. Typhoid fever was difficult to treat in those days, and people basically had to rely on their own bodies to tough it out. But Old Zheng was so frightened that he didn't have time to resist.
The doctor said that if it were just a seizure, it would be easy to treat; calming the mind and stabilizing the spirit would suffice. However, the fact that it also has typhoid fever and a persistent high fever is the real problem.

Seeing the expressions on Jia Chuan and the others' faces, Lu Baihu guessed that the old man held considerable importance in their hearts, and suggested that they see another doctor.

Jia Chuan hurriedly said, "Find a few more, find the most famous ones in Kaifeng, no matter how much money you have, bring them all here for a consultation."

……

As darkness fell, the group barely ate any lunch and didn't touch dinner, as Old Zheng's fever persisted and he didn't wake up.

Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan only learned about Old Zheng's accident during lunch. The two of them often bickered with Old Zheng to pass the time and loved listening to his scary ghost stories. Apart from Jia Chuan taking Old Zheng to avoid trouble in Xian County, Jia Chuan was inseparable from Gao Yuntian and Chen Mo every day, while Gao Yunduo and Dong Yuanyuan were inseparable from Shunzi and Old Zheng every day, so their feelings for each other were naturally different.

When they arrived at the courtyard and saw the unconscious Old Zheng, Gao Yunduo, after learning the reason, first looked at Jia Chuan and said:
"Since that person is faking death, then he wants to die. I can grant his wish!"

(End of this chapter)