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

The South Medicine Shop is located two streets behind the South Congee Shop.

During the day, banners proclaiming "Free Medical Clinic for the People" are hung up, and the smell of medicine wafts through the air, making it look like a place for saving lives from afar.

At night, it doesn't look so similar anymore.

The lights outside the tent were dim, and several family members of the disaster victims were kept outside, their cries hushed down, as if afraid of disturbing something they shouldn't.

The physician, Song, squatted at the entrance of the shed, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his forehead covered in sweat.

Angelica dahurica is also present.

She was clutching a medicine ledger in her hand, her face even more pale than usual.

She usually curses when she sees fake accounts.

She doesn't curse now.

This means things are even worse than the falsified accounts.

As soon as I got out of the car, she threw the medicine brochure into my arms.

Thirteen.

I took the tent, and my heart sank.

"Thirteen people transferred from Ci'en Temple?"

Bai Zhi nodded.

"Not one less."

Ah Liu followed behind, and after catching his breath, his face turned pale again upon hearing these words.

"Young master, you really came all the way from the temple here?"

I didn't say anything, but lifted the curtain and went into the shed.

Thirteen disaster victims were lying in the shed.

There were men and women, elderly people and children.

They were both still asleep.

His breathing was very light, his face was bluish, his lips were pale, and he was covered with a thin blanket. He didn't look like a patient, but more like a row of corpses laid out.

I've seen this scene before.

That child from the South Soup Dishes Shed.

The calming tea served in the side hall of Changning.

The white foam at the corner of Han Shangfu's mouth.

The fake illness file contained the phrase "palpitations and fear".

A thread finally reached the living person.

The physician, Song, stood up, his voice hoarse.

"Lord Shen, the medicine was too strong. If it had been half an hour later, at least three people would have died."

Ah Liu gasped.

"Aren't they disaster victims? Aren't medicine sheds for disaster victims?"

Bai Zhi gave a cold laugh.

"The money in the account has been saved."

Ah Liu looked at her.

She pointed to the thirteen people.

"The person is lying here; the rescue in the tent has been completed."

I opened the medicine account book.

The first page reads:

Thirteen disaster victims from Jiangbei are resting quietly. They are experiencing palpitations and fear, and have caught a cold. They should avoid wind and keep quiet, and take a calming soup.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the words "heart palpitations and fear".

This disease name is really busy.

It was on me this morning.

They were on the disaster victims at night.

It makes two trips a day, even more diligently than the clerks of the Ministry of Revenue.

Zheng Huaien stood outside the shed door, not coming in immediately.

He seemed to smell the aroma inside.

It doesn't smell like medicine.

It smells like it's about to be fried in a pan.

I turned to look at him: "Minister Zheng, aren't you going to come in and take a look?"

Zheng Huaien then walked in.

His gaze swept over the unconscious disaster victims, his brows furrowed, and his tone was appropriately somber.

"Such a thing has happened."

Ah Liu whispered behind me, "He talks like he just found out."

I didn't stop him.

Because I also want to say that.

Zheng Huaien looked at Physician Song: "Can you determine what medicine caused this?"

Physician Song glanced at me before saying, "There is an overdose of Albizia julibrissin and a small amount of Datura powder."

Datura powder.

This stuff is even more yin than Albizia julibrissin and Benzoin.

A small amount can be used as medicine to relieve pain, but an excessive amount can cause unconsciousness, delirium, or even difficulty breathing.

Zheng Huaien's expression changed slightly.

"The free clinic's pharmacy was using this kind of medicine?"

I asked, "Does Vice Minister Zheng also think it shouldn't be used?"

"Of course not."

"That's good."

I handed him the medicine bill.

"This prescription is from the Ministry of Revenue's medical supplies for the people's livelihood."

Zheng Huaien glanced down.

The medicine account was stamped with the seal of the Ministry of Revenue's Disaster Relief Office.

There is also a sign next to it indicating that Qinghe Yicang donated medicinal materials.

Further down are the medicine collection slips from the traditional Chinese medicine peddler in the southern medicine shed.

"The fact that the medicine shed receives funding from the Ministry of Revenue doesn't mean that every single medicine is personally inspected by the Ministry," Zheng Huaien said. "Lord Shen wouldn't even try to pin this on the Ministry of Revenue, would he?"

"Of course not."

I turned to the second page.

"I only deduct what is due."

The second page explains it more clearly.

The seventh batch of medicines for the peace and well-being of the people in Jiangbei in the seventeenth year of Chengxi.

Twenty catties of Albizia julibrissin.

Two catties of Datura powder.

A quantity of Ziziphus jujuba seed, Polygala tenuifolia root, and Poria cocos.

Uses: For disaster victims experiencing fear, crying at night, and insomnia after an epidemic.

Approved: Disaster relief housing by the Ministry of Revenue.

Reviewed by: Vice Minister's Office.

Zheng Huaien's gaze lingered on the words "Minister's Room" for a moment.

very short.

But that's enough.

I said, "Minister Zheng, whose room is the Minister's room?"

Zheng Huaien said calmly, "I am not the only Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

Who is in charge of the Jiangbei disaster relief fund case?

He looked at me.

"My officer."

"So, Minister Zheng didn't know about this batch of medicinal materials?"

"The review by the Vice Minister's Office does not represent the personal approval of this official."

"You don't know about the Qinghe Granary rice coupons. You don't know about the Ci'en Temple donation ledger. You don't know about the Anmin medicine fund at the Southern Medicine Shop."

I smiled.

"Minister Zheng is a truly carefree minister."

The shed was eerily quiet for a moment.

The cries of the disaster victims' families outside drifted in through the curtain, intermittent and like a dull knife being sharpened.

Zheng Huaien was not angry.

He simply looked at me and slowly said, "Lord Shen, you investigated the granaries, Buddhist temples, and pharmacies today with great fanfare. But the imperial court doesn't rely on fanfare when investigating cases."

"Yes, based on evidence."

I looked at Bai Zhi.

Bai Zhi threw another stack of papers onto the table.

"Medicine material receiving and issuing ledgers, medicine requisition slips, and shed doctor's diary."

Zheng Huaien didn't even glance at it.

"These can all be forged by the pharmacy itself."

Bai Zhi sneered: "Even counterfeiting requires money to buy medicine."

She pulled out the bottom stub of a banknote.

"Twenty catties of Albizia julibrissin and two catties of Datura powder, the price isn't low. The Southern Medicine Shop's free clinic can't afford it."

I took the bottom copy.

Yongfeng Bank.

A thought struck me.

Yongfeng Bank.

The Yongfeng Three Containers of Silver Notes in the Qian Rong case were key to silver laundering.

Silver flowed through Yongfeng Bank.

Anmin medicine also passed through Yongfeng Bank.

Clearing accounts can be quite nostalgic.

They couldn't even bear to change their silver-laundering ways.

I showed the bottom part of the couplet to Zheng Huaien.

"Minister Zheng, Yongfeng Bank is quite busy."

Zheng Huaien's eyes darkened.

"Yongfeng Bank was a major bank in the capital, dealing with the Ministry of Revenue, merchants, and temples, so it's not surprising."

"That's really not surprising."

I nodded.

"Then let's look at something more unusual."

The physician placed a small porcelain bottle on the table.

The bottle opening was sealed with wax.

The bottle has a medicine label attached:

Tranquilizing powder.

There is a small red seal in the lower right corner of the medicine label.

Zheng Fangyan.

Zheng Huaien finally fell silent.

I picked up the porcelain bottle and asked Physician Song, "Where did this come from?"

"Each of the thirteen victims had a packet next to them, and another twenty-seven unused packets were found in the medicine cabinet," said Physician Song. "Thirteen of these packets had been opened, and the powder inside matched the lingering taste in their mouths."

Twenty-seven packs.

The general register of Ci'en Temple records that 27 people dressed in quiet clothes moved to the south shed.

Fourteen people were rescued from the woodshed.

Thirteen people from the South Pharmacy.

Exactly twenty-seven.

The numbers match.

It's even more convincing than the Ministry of Revenue's fake accounts.

Ah Liu muttered to himself, "They even counted out the medicine."

Bai Zhi said coldly, "The accountants are counting heads, the pharmacy is calculating dosages, the temple is calculating merits, and the Ministry of Revenue is calculating silver. Nobody is idle."

I looked at that small porcelain bottle.

"Minister Zheng, you don't even know about this vermilion seal?"

Zheng Huaien was silent for a moment, then said, "The Zheng Fang seal may not be my personal seal. In the Ministry of Revenue's disaster relief department, all materials that have been verified by the Vice Minister's office can use this seal."

I nodded.

"In other words, it at least proves that this batch of medicine passed through your office."

"It only proves that it passed through the Vice Minister's office."

That's enough.

"Does Lord Shen think that's enough?"

"That's enough for tonight."

I put the porcelain vase back on the table.

"Tomorrow's Golden Palace is not enough."

Zheng Huaien looked at me.

This time, there was a coldness in his eyes.

"Lord Shen knows very well."

"After being chased and killed for a long time, you'll eventually understand something."

I walked over to the group of unconscious disaster victims.

The female doctor is feeding medicine to a little girl.

The little girl was only seven or eight years old, with a face so thin it was the size of a palm, and her fingertips were cold.

She had a wooden plaque tied around her wrist.

I picked it up and looked at it.

The sign reads:

Tian Xiaoya, from Guangping County, Jiangbei.

According to the roster at the South Soup Dishes She should have already received three days' worth of soup.

According to the records of Qinghe Yicang, she should have already received one dou of rice.

According to the merit book of Ci'en Temple, she should have already been placed in a place of water and land offerings.

According to the records at the South Pharmacy, she is currently experiencing palpitations and fear, and needs to rest.

One child was written about four times.

Each time, someone else gets a sum of money.

She herself didn't even get a full meal.

I put the wooden plaque back on her wrist.

Just then, her eyelids twitched.

Physician Song immediately bent down: "Awake?"

The little girl struggled to open her eyes.

Her eyes were unfocused. She looked at Physician Song, then at me, and suddenly shrank back in fear.

"Please...please stop writing about me..."

My heart sank.

I lowered my voice: "Who wrote about you?"

Her lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face.

"They said... if you write your name down, you'll get porridge..."

"If I write my name, I can sleep..."

"Once I'm awake, I'm not hungry anymore..."

Ah Liu's eyes were very red.

I continued, "Who said that?"

The little girl looked out of the shed.

Zheng Huaien stood there.

She acted as if she didn't recognize him, yet also as if she was terrified of his official robes.

She shook her head, crying.

"The person wearing the blue cloth... also has an older sister... with a blue mark on her hand..."

Blue seal.

It's a blue seal again.

Not Qinghe?

Or is it the person next to Qinghe?

I asked, "Where is that woman now?"

The little girl sobbed, "She said...she went to the well to wash her hands..."

Beside the well.

I turned my head abruptly.

"Is there a well in the backyard of the South Herb shed?"

Bai Zhi immediately replied, "Yes."

Yan Xiaoyi rushed out without my permission.

I followed.

The backyard was narrow and piled with dregs of medicine, firewood, and empty medicine jars.

A well is in the corner.

The area around the well was wet.

There was half a blue handprint on the ground.

It looked as if someone with medicinal mud on their hands was helping them across the well.

Yan Xiaoyi looked down at the well.

"There's someone there."

Ah Liu's voice changed from behind: "In the well again?"

The wells of the capital are incredibly busy tonight.

Yan Xiaoyi jumped down and quickly pulled someone up.

It's not a dead person.

She was a woman dressed as a palace maid.

She was still breathing, but unconscious, and had a bluish birthmark on the back of her right hand.

Ah Liu exclaimed in surprise, "Qing He?"

Bai Zhi took a closer look and shook her head.

"wrong."

I looked at the woman's face.

Her eyebrows had been shaved and powdered, and she was dressed in the attire of a palace maid from the Imperial Wardrobe.

But the back of her hands was rough, and there were thin calluses on the base of her thumb.

Unlike palace maids.

It's like I've handled a knife and heavy objects.

Physician Song rushed over and took her pulse.

"Those who have passed out from the drug can still be saved."

I crouched down and pulled a soaking wet piece of paper from her sleeve.

There was only half a line of text on the paper.

At midnight, Zheng Fang prepared the medicine, and witnesses entered the well.

I looked up at Zheng Huaien.

He was standing at the backyard gate.

The night wind blew his official robes, and all the gentleness on his face was finally gone.

I held the wet tissue and smiled.

"Minister Zheng."

"Looks like tonight's not just about cleaning up dust."

"Pay back the debt."