Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing immediately dispatched half of his men, ordering them to guard the front and back of the streets and alleys, and to arrest anyone who moved about, regardless of the reason!

Fortunately, the king later sent in enough secret guards that they didn't have to worry about being short-handed when they had to split up into two groups.

Zhou Wenqing nodded to Han Fei and Yao Jia without asking any further questions, then turned and left with the child.

He was completely at ease leaving the trial and interrogation to them.

They were from the same school, and Li Si firmly held the position of "Minister of Justice" in just half a year. As his junior brother, how could Han Fei be any worse?

Besides, there's a "smiling tiger" named Yao Jia standing right next to him.

While smiling and asking questions, he immediately stepped on the person's ankle and broke it, cutting off any possibility of escape... Tsk tsk tsk!

When these two get together, even the King of Hell would have to give way.

The following scene is probably not suitable for children. It would be bad if it frightened the already frightened child again.

The two, accompanied by the revealed guards, hurried along, with Li Yi carrying the child and Zhou Wenqing following closely beside him. They quickly returned to the entrance of the post station.

As soon as they entered the room, Zhou Wenqing stopped and gestured for the guards to take the child from Li Yi's arms.

He looked down and saw that the child's face was pale, his eyebrows were still tightly clenched even in his unconscious state, and his little hands were tightly clenched, clearly still in shock.

Zhou Wenqing's heart softened, and her voice unconsciously softened, tinged with heartache:

"Children are weak and can't withstand much stress, so I took her directly to Physician Lü's private room for treatment."

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked up again, and when his gaze fell on Li Yi, the gentleness he had shown earlier vanished instantly, replaced by a stern expression:

"Ah Yi, my identity is inconvenient. You should go to the prefect's mansion immediately and meet Wang Wu. You have met before, so he will surely recognize you."

"Tell him the whole story and order him to quickly dispatch men to the streets where the incident occurred to meet Mr. Han Fei and Lord Yao Jia, and to do everything in his power to capture the remaining accomplices of the robbers."

"Be quick, be accurate, and make no mistakes!" He emphasized his words, a hint of coldness flashing in his eyes. "Tell him this is the eldest son's intention."

"Yes, sir!" Li Yi clasped his hands in acceptance and prepared to leave.

Zhou Wenqing didn't let him leave. He grabbed him, his eyes flickered, and his voice deepened:

"Furthermore, Luoyang has a strict curfew, so why are the patrolmen absent without reason? Who is behind this? As the prefect, Wang Wu must investigate thoroughly and give me... and the eldest son an explanation."

"Tonight, every single child abducted from the hands of the kidnappers must be found. If any further accidents occur—"

Zhou Wenqing slowly narrowed his eyes, revealing a cold, deep pool beneath them, his tone chilling:

"Ask him for me how many heads he has, whether there are enough to chop off!"

"Understood!"

Li Yi stiffened, not daring to hesitate for a moment, and immediately agreed in a deep voice. He turned and plunged into the night, leaving as quickly as he could.

After Li Yi left, Zhou Wenqing turned to the guards beside him and ordered in a deep voice, "Send one of you to the inner chamber of the post station immediately, wake up the eldest son, and bring him to Physician Lü's room so I can explain things to him."

"promise!"

Watching yet another person leave under his orders, Zhou Wenqing pressed his temples and sighed softly.

No one will be able to sleep that night.

Perhaps because he had been dragged out of bed so many times to save someone's life, when Zhou Wenqing knocked on the door, Physician Lü quickly got up and opened it. He was even dressed fairly neatly, except that the collar was slightly open, revealing a section of his undergarment, which was obviously hastily pulled up.

Upon seeing Zhou Wenqing standing outside the door, his brows furrowed immediately. Even before he reached the threshold, his hand instinctively reached out and grabbed Zhou Wenqing's wrist.

"Where does it hurt?" Physician Lü's eyes scanned Zhou Wenqing from head to toe, employing the four diagnostic methods simultaneously—observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation—without waiting for him to speak. "Is there any tightness in your chest? Is your breathing easy?"

No, it wasn't me.

Zhou Wenqing hurriedly shook his head, and with some effort, managed to free his wrist from Lü Yiling's grip, taking a step to the side.

Physician Lü thought that Zhou's habit of avoiding medical treatment had resurfaced, so his brows furrowed even more, a thin layer of anger covering his eyebrows. He was about to put on a stern face and reprimand him: "Zhou Neishi, what are you doing—"

But then Zhou Neishi turned to the side, revealing the child in the arms of the guard behind him.

His gaze sharpened, and the words he was about to say abruptly changed direction, his tone rising several notches:

"...Why did you bring a child along?!"

Why does that sound so awkward?

Zhou Wenqing's eyelids twitched, but he didn't have time to argue, and simply said:

"I ran into him on the road; he's fainted. Physician Lü, please take a look quickly, is he alright?!"

Physician Lü's gaze swept over the child's face, he frowned, and stepped aside to clear the doorway: "Come in, put it by the bed."

The guards carefully placed the child down. Physician Lü washed her hands, turned around and sat down, placing three fingers on the child's slender wrist, closing her eyes and concentrating.

After a short while, he loosened his fingers, gently lifted the child's eyelids to check, then reached out and stroked the child's neck to check the pulse again before slowly withdrawing his hand.

"Doctor Lü, how is the child...?" Zhou Wenqing was anxious and couldn't help but take half a step forward to ask urgently.

Doctor Lü pointed to the faint pinch marks on the girl's neck:

"It's nothing serious. I was just frightened and then someone choked and pressed my neck, causing me to choke and faint. In addition, I hadn't eaten or drunk anything for a long time, so I was exhausted and had been unconscious."

"Let her sleep peacefully, then feed her some warm, soft soup, and make her a calming soup. Once she has recovered her strength, she will naturally wake up."

"That's good." Zhou Wenqing's heart finally settled down, and he let out a long sigh of relief. "It's good that you're alright."

He was extremely anxious the whole way, fearing that the human traffickers were so heartless that they might drug such a young child or something, and if it damaged his mind, that would be a real problem.

I guess they couldn't bear to lose "a single piece of cargo." These beasts, scum, utterly depraved—they deserve this...

Just as Zhou Wenqing was bitterly thinking about the fate of human traffickers in Qinlu, Fusu strode in, his robes still carrying the chill of the night wind. He leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily, his face full of anxiety.

"Sir, how are you? What happened? Did your heart condition flare up? Is there anything else that's bothering you? Are you feeling better?"

A barrage of questions came crashing down on him, fast and urgent, like a machine gun. Zhou Wenqing's lips twitched, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Why is it that these people, with their every word, act as if I'm already lying there?

"I'm fine, it wasn't me. Slow down, what's the rush? Catch your breath before you speak."

How could he not be anxious? The moment Fusu opened the door and saw the guards, his heart skipped a beat. When he heard that his master was with Physician Lü, his heart tightened even more.

He jogged over, his mind racing with only one thought—please, sir, nothing bad must happen to you!

At this moment, Fusu's gaze swept over his master again and again, fearing that he was putting on a brave face and pretending to be fine. Zhou Wenqing had no choice but to stand quietly and let him examine him.

Only after confirming that the person was unharmed and in stable condition did Fusu relax his tense nerves and let his shoulders relax.

Only then did he have the energy to notice the small figure sleeping peacefully on the couch inside the room.

"Sir, what... what exactly happened? Whose child is this?" Fusu asked hesitantly.

Just as Zhou Wenqing was about to explain, he heard Lü Yiling's unhurried voice from behind him, saying in a low voice:

"Yes, Zhou Neishi, what exactly happened to 'you' in the middle of the night? I'm very curious—"

He emphasized the word "you" with extra force, and Zhou Wenqing felt a chill on the back of his neck, instinctively shrinking his neck.