Daming: Internship also counts as work experience

Chapter 186 'The Timing is Perfect'

The reason Jia Chuan dared to gather all the Imperial Guards, seal off the Herb Garden, and go to the pharmacy was that he felt Kaifeng should be safe at this time. Moreover, the prisoners held in the Herb Gathering Bureau were not as important as the secret passage in the Herb Gathering Bureau. Even if someone managed to sneak in and kill them while they were away, they would not be able to move the secret passage.

But if we really investigate closely, how could Chen Mo command so many Imperial Guards all by himself? Especially the two hundred men who came with Hai Feng and Meng Jun. Thinking of these two commanders, Jia Chuan couldn't help but feel a headache.

But as long as there are benefits, there will naturally be motivation.

However, Lu Baihu lacked motivation.

When he returned from the pharmacy, he was responsible for escorting and settling the arrested people, including Anu's body. He didn't hear the results of the discussion in the hall immediately. It wasn't until the next day when he was assigned tasks that he learned he was responsible for leading people to search the Zhou family's property. He breathed a sigh of relief. This was Jia Chuan's suggestion, because Lu Baihu knew the Zhou family quite well, and he deduced that Zhou Cheng's silver wouldn't be hidden in his home.

Since Jia Chuan had said so, Hai Feng and Meng Jun had no reason not to agree.

The herb garden is relatively simple, involving only digging up bones. However, the herb-gathering area is not so easy; it requires careful exploration through the hidden passage beneath the hut...

Fortunately, they found a hospital for drug testing the very next day.

It was an old warehouse, located quite close to the center of the herb-collecting bureau. People still occasionally came and went from this warehouse during the day. Jia Chuan remembered that Zhou Cheng had mentioned the newly built warehouse on the day he came to the herb-collecting bureau.

Why build a new warehouse? If the old prince were still alive, he probably wouldn't have agreed, because there's a secret passage built by the old prince beneath this old warehouse.

One of the secret passages beneath the old warehouse leads to Zhou Cheng's residence, and the place where they tested the medicine was a hidden room within that passage.

Mu Lian's previous doubts about the secret room being used as a testing ground for medicine have all been resolved by this secret room.

Since the warehouse was located above, ventilation was of paramount importance. What was the original purpose of the secret passage built by the old prince? Jia Chuan could not deduce it, but the secret room also had ventilation, so perhaps there were some medicinal herbs that could not be exposed hidden here.

However, it was later chosen by Zhou Cheng as a testing ground for drugs.

Even though it was ventilated, the dark room hadn't been used for several days. When Jia Chuan came in, he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose. The sour smell seemed to have seeped into the bricks and stones, emanating from it constantly.

The dark room wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. Apart from the stench, it was very clean. There were two wooden beds, and nothing else was left except for the wooden structure.

Jia Chuan said that this place was just for drug testing, and those living people who were brought in would definitely have a place to live.

Sure enough, not far from the secret room was an exit leading to the west wing of a courtyard. At first glance, the courtyard was very well-maintained, unlike the plain courtyards of other courtyards. With carved beams and painted pillars, and bluestone paving, it was quite charming, even though it was not large. Moreover, the courtyard was not adjacent to any other buildings. Jia Chuan asked and learned that this was where the old prince used to handle official business and rest when he was in the herb-gathering bureau.

Jia Chuan immediately understood why the people in the herb-gathering bureau didn't know what had happened, or even why no one had noticed anything unusual. This place was the safest place in the entire herb-gathering bureau.

After the old prince died, the courtyard was left for the new Prince Zhou, Zhu Youdun, to rest when he came to the herb-collecting bureau. However, Zhu Youdun only came once a year, and no one came except for the daily cleaning. An old servant was left to live in the side room to guard the courtyard, and the person who cleaned it was naturally arranged by Zhou Cheng himself, so no one had any objections.

But the guard wasn't in the courtyard right now, so Jia Chuan ordered Zhao Dewen to go find him.

The courtyard also consists of a main house and east and west wing rooms. The main house is more luxurious and exquisitely furnished, while the wing rooms on both sides hold a secret. The exit is in the west wing room, which should have been there when the old prince was alive. How did Zhou Cheng know there was a secret passage here before the old prince died? Or did he first have murderous intentions and only discovered that the place was usable when he thoroughly investigated the secret passage after the old prince's death?
These things are not important. Zhu Zhanji will not agree to let Jia Chuan open the coffin for an autopsy, so this question will never be answered. However, in the west wing and the east wing, items that should not have been there were found: a small piece of hemp rope, a piece of coarse cloth, a corner of a straw mat... which should have been left behind when they were hastily evacuated. There was also a pure gold headdress wrapped in rags and hidden under the bed!
People who were tricked into coming here to test medicine once lived here. Among them was a beautiful young woman who caught Zhou Cheng's eye.

Jia Chuan thought that perhaps his arrival made Zhou Cheng sense that something bad might happen, and he was even more anxious to have an heir. He had just notified his accomplices to find someone to assassinate him in Kaifeng, and the next day he couldn't wait to please his new lover. Logically speaking, given Zhou Cheng's status, he would have forced himself on her... or he might have already forced himself on her before. This girl might be fierce, and she has parents or relatives by her side. Zhou Cheng just happens to like this girl, so he thought of using this face to exchange for a smile from the girl.
Was this headdress delivered by Zhou Cheng this afternoon, or was the girl in Zhou Cheng's room that very night?
Jia Chuan thought of that fake Shunzi.

The fact that Zhou Cheng went home to retrieve the jewelry on the day he was murdered was definitely part of the plan by Jia Shunzi to poison Zhou Cheng that night. With this jewelry, whoever was investigating the case should have targeted the woman in the herbal medicine shop who knew about poisons.

This is getting interesting.

贾川捋了捋，周成死的时候，他们刚揍完汝南王朱有爋，而朱有爋那晚可是说了他哥哥想要杀他灭口，因他掌握了周王朱有燉的秘密，一封写给赵王朱高燧的信，赵王又与汉王关系好，而周成在采药局中死于毒杀，死前曾回家拿过头面，家中一院子女人，可没人得了这副头面，那周成自然是有了新欢。

If this woman were a commoner's daughter, he could have simply gone to her house to ask for her hand in marriage. If he was worried about Zou Shi causing trouble, he could have simply bought a new house outside and kept her as a mistress. But instead, he took the headdress and returned to the herb-gathering bureau... If the fake Shunzi hadn't been killed by Mu Lian, how would he explain Zhou Cheng's behavior?

Fake Shunzi wasn't in a hurry to run away; he still needed to "point the way" for the investigators.

Standing on the bluestone path that the old prince used to pass by every day, Jia Chuan suddenly said, "Go and arrest Zhao Dewen."

……

While the Imperial Guards were still busy, Jia Chuan returned to the courtyard.

He summoned Mu Lian to the hall and asked seriously, "How can you be so confident that no one in the Herb Gathering Bureau knows your identity?"

Mu Lian was taken aback at first, then said, "No one has asked me, and no one has gone to my family to verify..."

"Do you think Zhao Dewen is very tight-lipped?"

“His family is in the hands of the Duke of Qian’s mansion, what could he do? Besides, we only sought him out because among those deputy envoys, he was the least timid, the most distant from Zhou Cheng, and not very greedy. Every year, the Duke of Qian’s mansion would give him some benefits, so he lived a decent life. The Duke of Qian’s mansion didn’t ask him to do anything difficult; it was just that they were taking care of me.”

"Over the years, his care for her has never aroused any suspicion from others?"

Mu Lian frowned and asked, "You suspect him? I already told you, he's timid and very cautious, and he's never aroused anyone's suspicion. Besides, don't I have a 'cousin' and 'uncle' at the herb-gathering bureau? Taking care of them is taking care of me."

"Do many people in your family know that you work at the herb-gathering bureau?"

“Originally there weren’t many, but after so many years, there must be more people who know than at the beginning. I haven’t asked you what you want to know.” Jia Chuan snorted and said, “Do you think that just by saying the name of the poison, Fake Shunzi will know where you come from?”

"Yes, I asked him where the beauty died, and he asked me if I was from the Mu family."

"You thought you smelled something that made Fake Shunzi suspicious and tried to run away, but your cousin held you down?"

Mu Lian found Jia Chuan's words incomprehensible and asked impatiently, "What do you mean by 'I thought'? I..."

"He already knew who you were!"

Mu Lian stared blankly for a moment before saying, "How...how did he know?"

“This is also my fault,” Jia Chuan sighed. “When the case first happened, all sorts of clues were mixed together. You suddenly said something very important, and I accepted my own deduction without thinking it through. Now that I think about it, in his eyes you were just a pharmacist. It’s reasonable that you went to the scene and even if you smelled something, why would he pay attention to you? At that time, he only needed to act like he was so scared that he was about to go crazy. He didn’t have time to care what you smelled. He shouldn’t have even noticed you wrinkling your nose a few times.”

Mu Lian still had her mouth open.

"There were quite a few people who went to see the scene, but you caught his attention after you entered the room. You cleverly approached him to ask him some questions. He couldn't hide his panic because he already knew who you were. He had planned everything, but he didn't expect you to come to the scene. The key was that he didn't expect you to want to ask him questions. In fact, it was only a matter of a few changes in expression, but you saw it all. So your cousin immediately subdued him and took him to the side room. In his panic, he had no choice but to reveal your identity and pull you into the game to save his own life."

Mu Lian let out a long breath and said:

“Zhao Dewen is definitely not a problem. If he were in cahoots with the fake Shunzi, he would definitely find a way to stop me. He knows my personality better than anyone else. I can’t possibly not go and see what’s going on. I would definitely worry about being implicated with the Duke of Qian’s mansion. So when he asked someone to clean up the vomit, he deliberately asked my people to do it. He also told the person to tell me not to follow and to wait for news. He wanted to put my mind at ease. I originally wanted to obey, but I killed the fake Shunzi. If I hadn’t, I definitely wouldn’t have gone. He doesn’t know that I killed the fake Shunzi… At that time, my mind was in a mess. I thought I had come up with a solution, so I went along.”

Jia Chuan nodded slightly. At this moment, Zhao Dewen was brought over by the Imperial Guards, who had tied him up.

"Untie me." Jia Chuan waved his hand helplessly.

Zhao Dewen was still in a state of shock. He personally led people to search for the old man who guarded the courtyard in each courtyard. Logically speaking, the old man had no reason to leave the courtyard, and no one had cleaned the old prince's courtyard. Why would the old man leave on his own initiative?

But before they could find the old man, they themselves were tied up.

Jia Chuan stepped forward and personally helped Zhao Dewen, who had been untied, sit down in a chair. He explained why he had been tied up. Zhao Dewen's expression changed from fear to surprise; he truly hadn't expected that Mu Lian's identity could be leaked.

Jia Chuan explained that the person behind the scenes was a businessman with many people traveling all over the country. If they wanted to know something, it would be easier for them than for ordinary people. Then, considering that he had just given Zhao Dewen a "blow to the head," Jia Chuan gave him a sweet treat, promising that if the emperor asked who was suitable to be the next ambassador of the Herb Gathering Bureau, he would definitely recommend Zhao Dewen. He only hoped that Zhao Dewen could learn from Zhou Cheng's mistake and not do the same thing again.

Zhao Dewen's surprise turned into delight.

Seeing that Zhao Dewen had calmed down a bit, Jia Chuan signaled Mu Lian to take Zhao Dewen away, as he needed to sort out the case.

……

Mu Lian pulled Zhao Dewen away first, and Dong Yuanyuan helped Gao Yunduo into the house.

Dong Yuanyuan watched Gao Yunduo slowly sit down before asking, "Mu Lian angrily dragged Zhao Dewen out of the courtyard, what happened to her?"

Jia Chuan rubbed his face and looked at Gao Yunduo, saying, "Right now, just focus on recovering from your injuries and don't think about anything else. The case is gradually becoming clearer."

Gao Yunduo frowned and asked, "Now that things are becoming clearer, can you finally get a good night's sleep?"

"I've been resting for the past few days..."

"Your brain is never idle."

"Brother, is that guy named Tang Hu trustworthy? I killed him before, will he hold a grudge? I see he's still here. Tell him that if he wants revenge, he should come to me, and it's none of anyone else's business."

Just then, Old Zheng and Shunzi pushed the door open and came in. Old Zheng asked in bewilderment, "Didn't you go to investigate the secret passage? I thought you couldn't come back before dark."

“They’re still investigating. I’ve thought of some possibilities and want to come back and figure them out.”

Shunzi sat down on the embroidered stool and asked, "Have you found a place to test the medicine?"

Jia Chuan nodded and said, "But I still can't figure out whether they were testing poison or antidote. However, I have a bold guess: they probably found out by chance that the Duke of Qian's mansion had arranged for people to collect herbs at the herb-gathering bureau. This might have been the trigger, and the subsequent arrangements were all killing several birds with one stone, which is in line with the profit-driven nature of merchants. So, this herb-testing may not just be the kind of herb-testing I understand, but should be related to the relocation of the capital."

Dong Yuanyuan muttered softly, "I don't understand."

Shunzi quickly said, "We don't need to understand, just listen to him."

Jia Chuan, as if he hadn't heard them, continued:

“Zhou Cheng desperately wanted a child, which was his weakness. His death was preordained, perhaps even from the moment they began their cooperation. However, they didn’t expect Zhou Cheng’s life to be so useful. Initially, they could only scheme against the Prince of Zhou and the Duke of Qian’s mansion. Because the Prince of Runan returned to visit his family, they barely managed to include the Prince of Zhao. Trying to involve the Prince of Han was somewhat difficult, but it was all up to the Emperor’s whim. But when I suddenly arrived, we really had the opportunity to include the Prince of Han. This is what they mean by ‘the timing is perfect.’”

Old Zheng nodded, and Shunzi frowned and asked, "Did you understand?"

"Whether you understand or not, you still have to cooperate," Old Zheng replied earnestly.

(End of this chapter)