In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

The patient eventually "passed away" six months later.

Qin Shaolang's heart sank little by little.

Ten years ago, someone used the same method to kill a VIP.

And his master had participated in the diagnosis and treatment back then!

Just as he turned to the last page of the medical record, two sharp gusts of wind attacked from behind!

Qin Shaolang instinctively rolled to the side, dodging the fatal blow.

Two men in black appeared behind him without him noticing.

Their goal was clear: the medical record in Qin Shaolang's hands!

The man in black, having missed his first attack, immediately changed tactics, blocking all of Qin Shaolang's escape routes from the left and right.

Their moves were ruthless and their teamwork was excellent, but they seemed only interested in stealing things and had no intention of harming anyone.

Qin Shaolang dodged while quickly observing the surroundings.

In a fleeting moment of collision, he clearly saw that the waist tag worn by one of the men in black, though wrapped in black cloth, had an outline and style that were extremely similar to Xue Yi's!

He's one of Xue Yi's men!

Why did he want to snatch this medical record?

Qin Shaolang's mind raced. He feinted an attack and, taking advantage of the moment when his opponent turned to the side, kicked the medicine cabinet next to him.

"Splash!"

The dusty medicine cabinet collapsed with a crash, and countless bottles and jars smashed down, instantly filling the air with dust.

The two men in black were momentarily stopped.

In that instant, Qin Shaolang had already broken through the window and disappeared into the crisscrossing alleyways in a few leaps.

Back at the villa, he immediately locked himself in his study and carefully reviewed the medical record again.

When he saw the last page, the final diagnosis written by his master, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"It is not a disease, but a poison, originating from the Qinghe River, and its name is Zhou Mu."

The master left a line of extremely small words on the last line.

He wiped away the dust, and the two words became clearly visible.

Zhou Mu!

It turned out to be the prefect of Qinghe County who colluded with the Northern Wolves!

A secret case from Beijing ten years ago has somehow become connected to Qinghe County, a thousand miles away!

"Zhou Mu?"

Wei Qing frowned as he looked at the familiar name in the medical record.

"How could a lowly official on the frontier possibly be involved in a case in the capital ten years ago?"

"He wasn't the mastermind; he was just... a pawn, or rather, a supplier." Qin Shaolang's voice was deep.

He pointed to a special medicinal herb recorded in the medical record—"Qinghe Aconitum".

"This type of aconite only grows in the mountains near Qinghe County, and its toxicity is more than ten times that of ordinary aconite. My master deduced from his medical records that the core ingredient of the slow-acting poison that nobleman was poisoned with was this specially processed Qinghe aconite."

Wei Qing understood instantly.

Zhou Mu, as the governor of Qinghe County, secretly supplied this highly poisonous medicinal herb to someone in the capital.

This person used this poison to kill a nobleman ten years ago, and ten years later, he used the same method to harm the emperor.

"Could this person be Wei Zhongxian?" Su Jin asked quietly from the side.

"It doesn't seem like it." Qin Shaolang shook his head. "If it really were Wei Zhongxian, Master wouldn't have just left the name 'Zhou Mu.' He would have pointed directly to Wei Zhongxian. He left this name to tell me that the clues are on Zhou Mu, and only by following this line can we find the mastermind behind it all."

"But Zhou Mu is already dead." The monkey scratched his head. "There's no way to prove it when he's dead."

"Although the person is dead, what he left behind remains."

Qin Shaolang's gaze returned to the medical record book.

This medical record book is not just a record of medical cases, but also the key to breaking the deadlock left to him by his master.

He turned the pages of the book very slowly, one by one, his fingertips carefully feeling the thickness and texture of each sheet of paper.

When he turned to the page that recorded the "anonymous benefactor's" eventual "death from illness," his finger stopped.

This paper is slightly thicker than the other pages in the book.

He held the book up to the light and could vaguely see something sandwiched between the pages.

Qin Shaolang took out an extremely thin knife from his needle case and carefully cut the pages of the book from the edge.

It really is hollow!

Hidden between the two layers of paper was a tiny folded piece of silk.

He used tweezers to take out the silk and slowly unfolded it.

The silk was already somewhat yellowed, and there were no words on it, only an extremely complex emblem embroidered with gold thread.

It was a blooming nine-petaled lotus flower, with a crescent moon resting on its lotus platform.

"This is..." Wei Qing's expression changed drastically upon seeing the emblem, and he exclaimed in disbelief, "This is the 'Golden Lotus Under the Moon' emblem of the Crown Prince's Palace!"

"The Eastern Palace?" Qin Shaolang looked at her.

"It's...it's the personal insignia used by the current Crown Prince when he was still a prince!" Wei Qing's voice trembled. "Sixteen years ago, the Qin family was raided and exterminated. Besides the presiding judge, there was also a military supervisor in charge of the execution...that was the Crown Prince, who was deeply favored by the late Emperor at the time!"

Qin Shaolang felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight up to the top of his head.

My father's case is actually related to the current emperor!

Could the "anonymous nobleman" who was poisoned ten years ago have been the Crown Prince's political enemy?

Now, the crown prince has ascended the throne and become emperor, but he himself has been poisoned by the same strange poison as his political enemies back then.

Who is behind all this?

Is it Wei Zhongxian?

Is it Xue Yi?

Or... someone who's even more deeply hidden?

Qin Shaolang looked at the "Golden Lotus Under the Moon" emblem and recalled the blade of grass that the Emperor had secretly given him.

An idea so audacious that even he found it absurd came to mind.

Perhaps the poison that the emperor was given was not administered by anyone else.

"Sir, what's wrong? You look so pale?" the monkey asked him worriedly.

Qin Shaolang didn't speak. He carefully put away the medical record and the silk, stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the dark night outside.

The waters of the capital were a hundred times more murky than he had imagined.

Wei Zhongxian, Xue Yi, the mysterious "spy," the now imprisoned master, and the aloof and unpredictable emperor...

Everyone seems to be wearing a mask.

"Wei Qing," Qin Shaolang suddenly spoke.

"exist."

"Besides the Xuanwu Token, did your father's Zhenbei Army possess any other tokens or means of communication?"

Wei Qing paused for a moment, then seemed to remember something and took out half of the broken tiger tally from his inner clothing.

"This is the military tally of my Wei family. After my father's defeat, only this half remained. The other half, it is said... is in the hands of the Minister of War."

Qin Shao-Lang looked at the half of the tiger tally. The patterns and carvings on it were of the same origin as the character "卫" on the pillar of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

He took a deep breath and made a decision.

"Monkey, prepare a generous gift."

"Huh? Who is it for?"

"The Ministry of War's residence." Qin Shaolang turned around, his eyes flashing with a terrifying light. "Say that Qin Shaolang, a country doctor from Qinghe County, requests an audience."