My father ordered me to kill the emperor, but His Majesty bestowed a princess upon me instead.

The moment the medicine warehouse caught fire, the patients in front of the free clinic tent were thrown into chaos.

Someone shouted that the fire had started.

Some people were running outside with their children in their arms.

Some people lay on the straw mats, unable to get up, and could only cough and cry.

The Qinghe Free Clinic's move was quite ruthless.

It's not simply burning down warehouses.

It involved placing the fire next to the pile of patients.

If you only focus on grabbing the tents, someone will be burned to death.

If you only focus on saving people, the debt will be gone.

Looking at the smoking medicine warehouse, I suddenly felt like cursing.

But I'm not available.

I shouted to Captain Luo, "First, divide the men! Half of them evacuate the sick, and the other half seal off the backyard!"

Lieutenant Luo reacted quickly.

"Listen to Lord Shen! Evacuate everyone from the front shed, and seal off the back gate!"

The soldiers from the Military Command immediately sprang into action.

The Song physician also led his apprentice to move the seriously ill.

Ah Liu paused for a moment, holding the evidence box and standing there, unsure whether to save the tent or the person.

I look at him.

"Go help Physician Song!"

"That evidence box..."

"Give me."

He shoved the box into my hand and then ran off to help carry the people.

After running a couple of steps, he turned back and shouted, "Young master, I didn't run away this time!"

I said, "I'll praise you later!"

Only then did he feel relieved and ran away.

This kid is genuinely afraid of dying.

It's true that they didn't run away at crucial moments.

Yan Xiaoyi had already kicked open the side door of the medicinal herb warehouse.

A plume of smoke billowed out.

He frowned and took half a step back.

"There are people inside."

"Jiang Wen?"

"have no idea."

"Are there any more boxes?"

Five.

After he finished speaking, he pulled down his sleeve, wet it, covered his mouth and nose, and rushed in.

I followed him to the door.

The smoke was too strong.

Going in would be suicide.

I am very afraid of dying.

So I didn't force my way in.

I picked up the long pole next to me and used it to pull the medicine box near the door outwards.

The first box was labeled "Feng Han San" (a traditional Chinese medicine for colds).

turn on.

It contains medicine.

Genuine medicine.

The second one says "An Shen Wan" (安神丸).

turn on.

It's still medicine.

But there was a hard object underneath the medicine packet.

I opened the medicine packet.

The ledger pages are pressed down below.

A stack.

Not many, just over ten pages.

It says:

The silver entered into Qinghe and was transferred through the three counters of Yongfeng.

Distribute silver in cash.

Nanpeng medicinal silver.

Xipeng rice and silver.

The Ministry of Revenue is temporarily suspended.

My heart skipped a beat.

The contents of the black leather box had indeed been removed and placed into the medicine box.

I immediately shouted, "Find the five-category boxes: calming pills, cold and flu powder, heat-clearing drink, supplies for the free clinic, and old wound ointment!"

The young apprentice had just presented five boxes, but hadn't finished speaking.

But they have a habit of hiding things when cleaning up accounts.

In the medicine chest, the tents are kept with the most commonly used names.

Because they are frequently used boxes, they are not conspicuous.

Commander Luo immediately ordered his soldiers to search for it.

I handed the first stack of ledger pages to Qin Er for safekeeping.

Qin's hands were trembling.

This is not just half a page.

This is the entry page.

The thing that can smash people has finally come out.

Yan Xiaoyi's voice suddenly came from the medicine warehouse.

"Pick them up!"

Two soldiers rushed over.

The next moment, a person was pushed out.

He was covered in cigarette ash, his face was blackened by soot, his mouth and nose were stuffed with cloth, and his hands were tied.

It's not Yan Xiaoyi.

It was Jiang Wen.

He is still alive.

It just doesn't seem like it's alive.

Physician Song immediately rushed over to provide first aid.

I glanced at Jiang Wen and felt a little relieved.

The survivors are more important than the accounts.

The tent will burn, and the living will die.

But as long as you can grab a little bit of both, you won't lose out today.

Yan Xiaoyi came out soon after.

He was holding a medicine box in his arms.

The box was labeled "For use during free medical consultations".

He put the box on the ground and coughed twice.

"There are two more boxes inside, but we couldn't get them out before the fire was suppressed."

I asked, "Where are they?"

"That's all."

"Arsonist?"

"They ran away. Through the dog hole in the back wall."

I looked at Mo Qingshan.

Mo Qingshan was being held captive by the military commander, his face ashen.

"Dr. Mo, is there a dog hole in the free clinic tent?"

He remained silent.

Captain Luo slammed his hand on the table.

"explain!"

Mo Qingshan finally said, "The dregs of the medicine."

"Where does it lead?"

"Old Willow Gully".

Jiuliugou was a wastewater ditch that led to several dilapidated courtyards in the south of the city.

well.

These people really always leave themselves a way out.

When Ah Liu returned from the front shed, his face was covered in dust, and there was a scratch on his arm from a patient.

His eyes lit up when he saw Jiang Wen being rescued.

"Young master, is he alive?"

"temporary."

"Where's the bill?"

I pointed to the medicine box on the ground.

"And for now, they're still alive."

Ah Liu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Today's free clinic is truly both treating patients and managing the accounts."

I said, "Wrong."

"what?"

"It kills people, and it also kills those in charge of the household."

Ah Liu shut up.

Jiang Wen was given medicine by Physician Song, and after a while, he finally woke up a little.

When he opened his eyes, his gaze was terribly unfocused.

I squatted down.

"Jiang Wen".

His eyes moved.

"who……"

"Shen An of the Censorate."

Hearing my name, his body trembled violently.

This reaction made my heart sink.

Is he afraid of me?

Did someone scare him with my name?

I asked, "What's in the black leather suitcase?"

Jiang Wen's lips turned purple.

"Enter...enter the tent..."

"Who gave you permission to take it from the old treasury of the Ministry of Revenue?"

He was breathing heavily.

"Liu... Liu Tian relayed a message..."

Who is behind Liu Tian?

"Zheng..."

He had barely uttered the word when Mo Qingshan suddenly shouted, "Deputy Chief Jiang! Your family is still in the south of the city!"

Jiang Wen was struck dumb, and his voice cut off instantly.

Captain Luo roared, "Gag him!"

The soldiers immediately pinned Mo Qingshan down.

I looked at Jiang Wen.

"Zheng what?"

Jiang Wen burst into tears.

A deputy treasury official in his forties cried like a child.

"Lord Shen, please stop asking. If you do, my whole family will be wiped out."

"You didn't tell me, and your whole family already had it?"

He did not answer.

I lowered my voice.

"Jiang Wen, the black suitcase has already entered the medical clinic tent. They were going to burn the accounts, and you too. Do you think they'll let your family off the hook if you don't speak up?"

Jiang Wen trembled all over.

"I...I was just looking at the library."

It's that same sentence again.

I am exhausted.

All the important people in the capital city seem to be doing trivial things.

Look at the library.

Lift the box.

Delivering medicine.

Alterate the sleeves.

Sealing clothes.

Pass the card.

Everyone says they are just a small link in the chain.

But these small loops, when strangled together, become a rope that can strangle disaster victims, witnesses, and even me.

I asked, "Is all the medicine in these five medicine chests?"

Jiang Wen nodded, then shook his head.

"Not all..."

"besides?"

"There is a page...quote..."

"Where?"

Jiang Wen closed his eyes, as if he dared not speak.

I didn't force you.

I rephrased the question.

"To whom does the total gravitational pull point?"

His lips moved for a long time before he finally uttered a few words.

"It's not Minister Zheng."

The room fell silent.

Not Zheng Huaien?

Ah Liu's eyes widened.

Captain Luo also looked over.

I didn't feel relieved; instead, I felt even heavier.

If the general reference is not directed at Zheng Huaien, then it means that Zheng Huaien is indeed not the highest-ranking person.

He is the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and is the main antagonist on the surface of this volume.

But he has someone behind him.

I asked, "Who is it?"

Jiang Wen opened his eyes, his gaze filled with fear.

"The sick...the sick person."

My heart skipped a beat.

A sick person.

Fan Yong, Minister of Revenue?

Or is it another person faking illness?

I wanted to ask something more, but Physician Song held me down.

"No, he can't hold on any longer."

Jiang Wen fainted again.

At this moment, the fire in the medicine warehouse was finally brought under control.

The soldiers dragged out the remaining two boxes.

One of them was burned halfway, and the pages were charred black.

One is intact.

All five boxes are complete.

Wind-cold powder.

An Shen Wan (a traditional Chinese medicine).

A drink to clear heat.

For use during free clinics.

Old wound ointment.

At the bottom of each box, there was an entry page.

I had Qin Er, He Qi, and Commandant Luo's men seal the items separately, with Physician Song as witness and Mo Qingshan signing the document.

Mo Qingshan refused to sign.

Commander Luo slammed the knife onto the table.

He signed it.

The signing was worse than what Ma, the manager, had done.

I flipped through a few pages to enter the account.

The more I looked, the heavier my heart became.

Yongfeng Three Containers.

Qinghe enters the silver.

Distribute silver in cash.

The medicine was returned.

Old clothes are damaged.

The wooden sign was repaired.

The internal warehouse is temporarily suspended.

There is one more line:

Sick tent, Fan, old incense.

Fan.

Old fragrance.

Fan Yong?

Albizia julibrissin?

Or did someone deliberately put the character "范" in front of me?

As I looked at that line of text, I suddenly felt as if Jiang Wen's phrase "a person in illness" had been driven into my brain like a nail.

Fan Yong on his sickbed.

Albizia julibrissin.

The black leather suitcase arrived at their door, but they refused to accept it.

Qinghe entered the tent and wrote the model.

Was this ailing minister used as a shield, or was he originally the hilt of the sword?

Just then, the little beggar sent by Luo Wanqian arrived again.

He was out of breath from running.

"Lord Shen, Master Luo said that a sedan chair just left through the side gate of the Fan residence."

I frowned.

"Where to?"

"In the direction of Ci'en Temple."

Ci'en Temple.

I immediately thought of Lan Bugui.

I think of Huiming.

Reminds me of the old fragrance of the late Queen.

The little beggar handed me a piece of paper.

The above is Luo Wanqian's calligraphy:

A small sedan chair from the Fan family, with a heavy cough coming from behind the curtain, followed by a female pilgrim.

The female pilgrim's sleeve has three orchid holes.

Three-hole orchid.

The one who doesn't return to Lan?

Or is someone impersonating Lan Bugui?

After reading it, Ah Liu's face turned pale again.

"Young Master, did Minister Fan go to Ci'en Temple? To find Lan Bugui?"

I put the note away.

"It may not be Minister Fan."

"Who is that?"

I looked towards the north of the city.

"A person who is sick."

The fire in the free clinic tent hadn't died down yet; the smell of medicine mixed with the smell of smoke made people's throats hurt.

The contents of the black leather case have finally been obtained.

But it didn't close the case.

Instead, the clues lead back to the Fan family mansion, the old incense shop, Ci'en Temple, and Lan Bugui.

This means that we didn't manage to grab the end.

It's the key to the next black box.