Prime Minister

Chapter 209, Section 208: [Past Events Like Blood]

"Jimintang is actually a den of iniquity?"

In the back hall of the government office, when Tan Mingguang learned that Xu Zhiwei's attempt to poison him had failed, a look of shock and anger immediately appeared on his face.

He felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about it. Everyone knew about Jimintang's charitable deeds, and even he, the prefect of Yangzhou, had publicly praised it several times. Although Xu Zhiwei had been in Yangzhou for less than half a year, he had already earned the reputation of a divine doctor with his superb medical skills.

At the grand banquet at the film studio the other day, Tan Mingguang was also amazed by Xu Zhiwei's appearance. He never expected that such a young woman, who was both beautiful and skilled in medicine, would want to poison Xue Huai.

Fortunately, Xue Huai was shrewd enough; if he had been the one who obtained that Heart-Nourishing Pill back then, he would probably have died long ago.

"The situation at Jimintang is somewhat complicated."

Xue Huai raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, then slowly said, "Most of the people in this pharmacy are fine. Xu Zhiwei was forced to poison me this time. If we make a big fuss about this, firstly, it will harm many innocent people, and secondly, it will easily cause public criticism."

Tan Mingguang nodded and said, "That makes sense."

In fact, he and Xue Huai had discussed this topic before. Jimintang was not well-known in Jiangbei, but it had been providing free medical services and doing good deeds in places like Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou in Jiangnan for many years. It not only held a significant position in the hearts of the people, but also had a certain network of connections in local government.

However, Xu Zhiwei, as one of the hallmarks of Jimintang, dared to poison and murder a prefectural magistrate, who was also a trusted and relied-upon right-hand man of Tan Mingguang. Tan Mingguang could not turn a blind eye to this.

If Xue Huai were to suffer any mishap, Tan Mingguang dared not imagine how he would cope with the wrath of the emperor and the officials in the court.

Although Xu Zhiwei was forced to do it and had regrets during the process, she had to pay the corresponding price after she took out the Heart Nourishing Pill.

Upon realizing this, Tan Mingguang solemnly said, "Jingche, this matter absolutely cannot be let off lightly. You bear the heavy responsibility of overseeing the new policies in Yangzhou. Your safety is more important than that of your brother, the prefect. Jimintang must be investigated, and Xu Zhiwei cannot be tolerated either!"

"Your Excellency, please calm your anger."

Xue Huai's expression was solemn, but he maintained an extraordinary calmness. He continued, "According to my understanding, Jimintang has been rooted in Jiangnan for more than ten years, benefiting countless poor and sick people. The people regard it as a life-saving bodhisattva, and local governments have repeatedly commended it, with many even endorsing it. If Jimintang is publicly investigated because of Xu Zhiwei, it will not only be an official matter for my Yangzhou government, but will also involve the officialdom of Jiangsu and Zhejiang."

Tan Mingguang frowned and pondered, "Indeed, if we handle this matter rashly, people may mistakenly think that we are framing good people and suppressing such a charitable organization that enjoys the support of the people."

"I just spoke with Commander Ye of the Jing'an Division. His subordinates have been secretly investigating the financial transactions of the Yangzhou Jimintang in the past two days. Most of the money comes from the Hangzhou main branch, and a small portion comes from donations from local philanthropists and medical fees paid by patients. Basically, no obvious flaws can be found."

A cold glint flashed in Xue Huai's eyes as he slowly said, "This humble official suspects that Jimintang has two sets of personnel. One is the doctors and managers who are openly responsible for practicing medicine and saving lives in various places, and the other is the aunt Xu Zhiwei mentioned, as well as those hidden in the shadows. We can only find out about those doctors and managers now, which not only fails to uncover their true secrets, but also will only lead us into a quagmire."

Tan Mingguang nodded in agreement and asked, "So what do you plan to do?"

Xue Huai took a sip of tea and then calmly said, "I intend to confine Xu Zhiwei to a side courtyard of the official residence, and then use the excuse that Doctor Xu is unwell and needs to rest to cover it up. If the people from Jimintang dare to expose this, the Jing'an Division and the government officials will be able to trace the clues back to the source."

"good."

Tan Mingguang thought for a moment and said, "Although Xu Zhiwei is young, her position within Jimintang must be quite high, and she must possess some core secrets."

"That's exactly what I think."

Xue Huai calmly said, "Xu Zhiwei is extremely grateful to her aunt, and is even willing to repay her kindness in raising her with her life. Now, I can only use Jimintang to threaten her, so as not to make her think of suicide. As long as she can stay by my side and recuperate peacefully, her aunt will worry that I will use Xu Zhiwei to dig out more secrets. At that time, she will only have two choices."

Tan Mingguang's eyes lit up, and he praised, "She either has to painfully sever and destroy all the secrets related to Xu Zhiwei, or she has to silence Xu Zhiwei. And no matter which method she chooses, as soon as she makes a move, her true colors will be revealed."

"Exactly that."

Xue Huai smiled and said, "I am very curious about the source of funds for Jimintang, but I have not been able to find any clues by only investigating the team they have put on the surface. This shows that their internal structure is extremely tight and meticulous. Now I am stabilizing Jimintang in Yangzhou and allowing it to continue to operate normally. At the same time, I am sending clerks to be stationed in the name of the government to help Jimintang better treat the poor. In this way, Xu Zhiwei is an invisible thorn in this shell, enough to make her aunt and the people hiding in the shadows restless."

"Wonderful."

Tan Mingguang said meaningfully, "Brother, if we can get Xu Zhiwei to confess, it will be twice as effective for us."

Xue Huai was well aware of this simple truth.
However, recalling the goddess doctor's withered appearance, he didn't have high hopes for her, unless her aunt made the wrong decision.

……

South of Yangzhou lies Zhenjiang Prefecture, separated by a river.

Inside a seemingly ordinary but elegantly furnished mansion in the prefectural city, a composed woman in her forties stood by the window, clutching a secret letter in her hand.

The letter, written by Li Cong himself, detailed everything that had happened in Yangzhou in the past few days. The annihilation of Liu Yi and his cronies did not cause Xue Huai much trouble, which was actually within Liu Ying's expectations. She never expected him to succeed. The reason she arranged for her subordinates to secretly help him, enabling him to successfully gather his followers and attack Yangzhou, was simply to create an opportunity for Xu Zhiwei through Liu Yi's scheme.

However, despite the opportunity presented itself, Xu Zhiwei failed to poison Xue Huai and instead fell into his hands. If Li Cong and the others hadn't seen the situation was dire and retreated in time, they would probably have been imprisoned as well.

Even more strangely, Xue Huai did not take the opportunity to investigate the Yangzhou Jimintang, but only sent a few clerks to move in under the guise of assistance, while Xu Zhiwei took a break under the pretext of being unwell.

"Knowing the subtle..."

Liu Ying murmured the name, a look of unprecedented solemnity and struggle appearing in her eyes.

“Sister Liu, I told you long ago that Xu girl is just like her grandfather who died unjustly because of his pedantry. She seems unapproachable and cold to strangers, but she always has a compassionate heart.”

A slightly flirtatious voice rang out, and behind Liu Ying appeared a woman in her thirties with a voluptuous figure.

She sat down by the couch and continued, "Sending Xu to assassinate Xue Huai was a mistake. You and I both know what kind of person Xue Huai is. If he weren't truly an anomaly in officialdom and had the Emperor and Shen Wang's favor, the Ancestor wouldn't have decided to get rid of him so early. Xu Zhiwei isn't stupid. If she stays in Yangzhou for a while and sees with her own eyes how Xue Huai benefits the people, she naturally won't believe your story."

"Is that enough?"

Liu Ying looked at her with an unfriendly expression.

The woman giggled and said, "Sister, don't be angry. I'm just helping you analyze the pros and cons."

Liu Ying snorted coldly.

This woman was named Hu Jiaoniang. Because she was greatly favored by the patriarch, she had considerable influence in the sect, and they had been fighting each other for years.

Faced with Liu Ying's indifferent attitude, Hu Jiaoniang didn't care and said leisurely, "Sister, the ancestor is quite dissatisfied with your arrangements this time. I have to use a lot of words to help you. Now Xu Zhiwei is a dead pawn. Xue Huai pretends to be calm and has not made a move against Jimintang. He has also placed Xu Zhiwei under house arrest under the pretext of recuperation. It is obvious that he has set a trap - waiting for you to lend a hand so that he can catch you all in one fell swoop."

Liu Ying's knuckles turned white from clenching her fists, the secret letter crumpled into a ball in her palm.

How could she not see through Xue Huai's intentions?

However, Xu Zhiwei was not just a pawn to her, but also the heir she had raised herself and regarded as her own daughter, hoping that she would succeed to the position of Holy Maiden in the future.

Hu Jiaoniang saw through her struggle and said with a hint of smugness, "So that you may know, elder sister, the ancestor has ordered me to cut off all overt connections and eliminate all secret contacts that Xu Zhiwei has ever had. We absolutely cannot allow the government, especially Xue Huai, to follow the trail. Also, please give up your plan to rescue Xu Zhiwei. Although Xue Huai is young, he is extremely cunning. He probably has dozens or even hundreds of archers hiding outside the official residence, just waiting for our people to come to us."

Liu Ying closed her eyes slightly.

Although she didn't care about Hu Jiaoniang's swagger, the other party had the ancestor's decree, so she had no room for questioning or resisting.

Hu Jiaoniang then smiled and said, "By the way, to ensure everything goes smoothly, the Ancestor hopes that you, sister, can make up your mind as soon as possible and let Xu Zhiwei end her own life. I believe you will definitely have a way to pass this message on to her."

"no!"

Liu Ying denied it without hesitation. Perhaps not wanting Hu Jiaoniang to make up stories in front of the ancestor, she softened her tone and explained, "We have devoted countless efforts and money to cultivating Zhiwei. Her reputation as a miracle doctor who saves people from suffering has already spread. She will surely make great contributions to our sect's cause in the future. Moreover, I believe she would never betray me."

"Tsk, tsk."

Hu Jiaoniang shook her head and said sarcastically, "Sister Liu, you don't actually think of yourself as that girl's mother, do you? Don't forget, you were the one who killed her birth mother with your own hands!"

"Shut up!"

Suddenly, Liu Ying took a step forward and, with lightning speed, grabbed Hu Jiaoniang's throat, clearly demonstrating her martial arts skills.

Hu Jiaoniang didn't struggle at all, and looked at her with a half-smile.

"Go back and tell the old patriarch that Liu Ying will handle this matter properly and won't trouble him. As for you—"

Liu Ying took a deep breath, slowly released her right hand, which was bulging with veins, and said coldly, "If you dare to interfere in my affairs, don't blame me for turning against you!"

Hu Jiaoniang raised her hand to rub her throat, a hint of fierceness flashing in her eyes, but she smiled sweetly and said, "Alright. Sister, don't drag this out too long, or the Ancestor will be angry."

Liu Ying turned around, gazing at the deep night outside the window, and after a long while said indifferently, "I will not be soft-hearted."

(End of this chapter)