People in the Qin Dynasty sought good fortune and avoided misfortune.

Chapter 243, The True Value of Doctor Xu
Han Fei remained silent, his gaze sweeping across the scene, every detail surfacing in his mind.

The location of the body and the things that were destroyed easily surfaced in my mind, generating images of the time of death. Even traces of struggle began to appear in my brain, recreating the scene.

Unfortunately, there were very few usable clues.

“Ninth Young Master, these people should have died from poisoning. Judging from the traces of poisoning, it should have come from the Baiyue region.”

After examining the corpse, the people from the Sikou Mansion reported to Han Fei, their expressions somewhat grim.

Although they were used to seeing all kinds of corpses, they rarely saw one with such a horrific and tragic death.

Han Fei sighed upon hearing this, knowing that his troubles this time were far greater than he had imagined.

"The poison of Baiyue? If that's the case, things are even more complicated. The Baiyue people died from the poison of Baiyue. Could the murderer really be a Baiyue person? If so, then there may be even bigger trouble ahead!"

Han Fei said with a solemn expression.

“Brother Han Fei, why don’t we send someone to invite the Imperial Physician? He is well-versed in medicine and pharmacology, and he might be able to identify the specific poison. That could be a clue,” Zhang Liang suggested.

"Brother Xu? Let's check the surroundings for any other clues first. Unless absolutely necessary, don't involve Brother Xu in this," Han Fei said, patting Zhang Liang on the shoulder.

Baiyue has always been a forbidden zone for his father, and even his own son would not fare well if he touched it, let alone Xu Qing, who had just gone through the audit.
Zhang Liang could only sigh helplessly; he had already guessed what kind of expression King Han An would have upon hearing the news.

Han Fei looked around at the scene and mentally prepared himself to be scolded again.

Being reprimanded is not important; what is important is that if the murderers are not caught in time and they cause trouble again, more innocent people in Xinzheng will be implicated, and that will be the real danger he will face.

However, there were still too few clues at the scene. Apart from the poison of Baiyue and the remaining snake carcasses, there were no other clues, and many remaining clues had been cut off.

After confirming that there were no other clues at the scene, Han Fei called out to Zhang Liang and said...

"Zifang, let's go find Brother Xu first. We'll probably need his help this time, as we have very few clues right now."

"it is good."

Zhang Liang nodded slightly, picked up a snake carcass from the pool of blood, and followed Han Fei toward the outskirts of Xinzheng City.

After returning to the city, the two went to Xu Qing's house to look for him. After finding no one at home, they turned around and went to Zilan Pavilion.

In the backyard of Zilan Pavilion, Xu Qing leaned back in his seat, letting Zi Nu manipulate his injured arm.

"Did the person who came to see you this morning bring any news?" Zi Nu asked after helping Xu Qing wrap his bandages.

"It's nothing serious, just some trivial matters from the court. Don't worry. However, Han Fei's confinement has ended, and he has been sent to investigate the tragic deaths of the Baiyue refugees outside the city."

As Xu Qing was speaking, he reached for the wine glass on the table, but Zi Nu snatched it away first.

"Your injury hasn't healed yet~ You shouldn't drink alcohol, have some juice instead."

Zi Nu glared at Xu Qing, then poured him a glass of juice.

"Okay, okay~ whatever you say." Xu Qing shrugged and said.

He explained to Zi Nu that the injury on his arm was nothing serious, but Zi Nu wouldn't listen and insisted that he take good care of it.

"You just said that Han Fei went out of the city to investigate the Baiyue refugees. Weren't these refugees just settled? How come something happened again?" Zi Nu asked in surprise.

These Baiyue refugees were personally resettled by King Han An. Who in Han would dare to lay a hand on these refugees at this time?

Before Xu Qing could answer, footsteps sounded outside the door, and Han Fei and Zhang Liang hurriedly entered the room.

"Yes, they've arrived. They know the details best," Xu Qing said, gesturing with his chin towards Han Fei and Zhang Liang.

Looking at the two people who seemed to be in a hurry, Zi Nu knew that this matter was probably quite serious.

"It seems Brother Xu knew we were coming to find you all along; your information network is quite impressive."

Han Fei led Zhang Liang to sit opposite Xu Qing and said with great helplessness.

"The Junior Minister of Justice visited me this morning and told me about what happened outside the city. How's the investigation going?" Xu Qing asked with a smile.

Han Fei and Zhang Liang looked troubled, placed the snake carcass they had brought on the table, and began to speak.

"It's a long story. Hundreds of Baiyue refugees outside the city were all killed without exception. Their deaths were gruesome and bizarre. After examination by the Ministry of Justice, it was discovered that they had been poisoned by the Baiyue poison."

Han Fei recounted the events outside the city in detail, and Zi Nu couldn't help but become serious.

"The poison from Baiyue killed Baiyue refugees. If the King finds out about this, you, as the Minister of Justice, will probably be reprimanded. Could it be that Ji Wuye ordered Nightfall to do this?" Zi Nu said in a deep voice.

“No, Ji Wuye isn’t foolish enough to let Nightfall’s men kill these Baiyue refugees,” Xu Qing said, shaking his head slightly.

“Brother Xu is right. Ji Wuye wouldn’t be so stupid as to do such a thing. These Baiyue refugees are of no value to him. Killing them would only make him look bad.”

"Besides, I was already under house arrest at the time. If he killed these people, it would give me, the Minister of Justice, the opportunity to lift the house arrest. He wouldn't do such a thing," Han Fei said, shaking his head.

These Baiyue refugees were personally resettled by King Han An. With so many people, even Ji Wuye couldn't openly kill them all. Besides, the soldiers responsible for surveillance and patrols would also die. Why would Ji Wuye do something that would easily give them leverage and offer no benefit?

“If it weren’t for Ji Wuye, the murderer would probably be even harder to find,” Zi Nu said.

“No matter how difficult it is to find them, we have to go. I was already reprimanded by my father for the Baiyue refugees and was even confined to my quarters. If I can’t give my father a result in time this time, I’m afraid I will not only be confined to my quarters, but also suffer other punishments.”

Han Fei said with a bitter expression.

"It seems even our resourceful Ninth Young Master has encountered a difficult situation. This is probably the first time he's shown such an expression."

Looking at Han Fei's expression, Xu Qing couldn't help but tease him.

"Stop making sarcastic remarks; it's like rubbing salt into his wounds."

Zi Nu covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her charming and mature purple eyes rolling her eyes at Xu Qing, but she joined Xu Qing in teasing Han Fei.

It wasn't that they were gloating, but Han Fei's expression was so unsettling that they couldn't help but tease him.

Looking at Xu Qing and Zi Nu, who were a perfect couple, Han Fei's face was filled with helplessness and bitterness. He could say that he had made a bad choice in his friends.

He was about to face a terrible disaster, and Xu Qing and Zi Nu were still teasing him.

It's one thing to tease him, but to go and then stuff him with dog food (a Chinese slang term for public displays of affection) is another. They really don't treat him like a human being, they treat him like a dog.

"Hey, Brother Xu and Miss Zi Nu, please stop teasing me. As the Minister of Justice, I have no choice but to deal with the affairs of the Baiyue refugees. It is my duty as the Minister of Justice."

"Moreover, if we really let these Baiyue slaves run rampant, it could very well cause chaos in Xinzheng, and that would be a real problem."

"I had hoped to deal with these matters ahead of time. Although my father was furious, at least the problem was solved, and he also gained prestige. So the outcome was good."

"But who would have thought that someone would kill hundreds of people in one night, leaving not a single survivor?"

Han Fei shook his head slightly and said slowly.

His intentions were good, but things didn't go as planned, and he caused even bigger trouble.

"The murderer is secondary. Your biggest problem is internal, especially your fourth brother. He probably won't let this opportunity to strike at you slip by," Xu Qing said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Han Fei's expression turned even more unpleasant. He naturally thought of the problem Xu Qing had mentioned.

"Actually, I know about the Baiyue refugees. It was a trap that Fourth Brother set for me, but there are some things I have to do," Han Fei said in a deep voice.

While under house arrest, Han Fei had figured out the inside story of the sudden arrival of Baiyue refugees in Xinzheng and guessed that it was a trap set by Han Yu for him.

Even if he knew everything, and was given another chance, he would still do the same thing.

“Sometimes I really don’t know what you’re thinking. Since you’ve chosen to step into this vortex of power, you should be prepared for everything,” Xu Qing said, looking at Han Fei.

The struggle for power has always been bloody, ruthless, and cold-blooded, because there can only be one crown prince; if you don't fight for it, someone else will.

There is no such thing as kinship or friendship in the struggle for royal power. For that supreme power, even brothers and fathers and sons will eventually turn against each other with swords.

In this regard, the Fourth Prince Han Yu clearly understood it better and was more decisive than Han Fei, focusing only on interests and disregarding right and wrong.

If Han Fei had such temperament and decisiveness, he wouldn't have needed to resort to such underhanded tactics.

According to the original story, after the death of Crown Prince Han, Han Fei could have sold his sister and joined forces with Ji Wuye to eliminate the other enemies and secure his position as Crown Prince.

Once he becomes the crown prince and the sole heir to the throne, the power he holds will be far beyond what a mere minister can match. At that point, dealing with Ji Wuye will be a piece of cake.

However, it is precisely because Han Fei is not a ruthless political creature that Xu Qing chose to befriend him, and it is also because of this that Han Fei was able to gather good friends such as Wei Zhuang and Zhang Liang around him.

"Alright, alright, I'll help you one more time. This snake was brought back from the scene, right?" Xu Qing said, looking at the snake carcass on the table.

Upon hearing that Xu Qing was willing to help them, Han Fei and Zhang Liang immediately perked up.

"I knew Brother Xu wouldn't stand idly by. I owe you a favor this time. I'll treat you to a good drink when I have some free time," Han Fei said with a smile.

You owe me a ton of favors.

After making a comment, Xu Qing took the handkerchief handed to him by Zi Nu and began to examine the snake corpse.

"This is a venomous snake unique to the Baiyue people, and it was only used in blood sacrifices. There are also traces of other poisons on its body, the composition of which is..." Xu Qing began to analyze as he examined the venomous snake.

When he went to Mingzhu Palace, it wasn't just to have a friendly match with the Tide Demoness; he also read through various Baiyue books, especially those on poisons, Gu poisons, and medicine, so he could easily distinguish these things.

"If I'm not mistaken, the poison used by the murderer was the Baiyue's unique Hundred Poisons Curse, representing revenge and punishment."

Seeing how easily Xu Qing discerned the murderer's methods, Han Fei's eyes gleamed, and he quickly asked...

"Brother Xu, do you have a way to detoxify?"

(End of this chapter)