Jiang Qing

The night was dark, it was time for people, the street was empty and silent, only the occasional sound of watches coming from a distance, before they drifted closer, they dispersed again.

The noisy market during the day was submerged in the thick ink of the night, soaked muffled, with only one light flickering and making intermittent sounds.

It came from Jishengtang.

The flickering candlelight blurred the numbers on the account book, and the person reading the account was not thinking about the account book, and did not turn to the next page for a long time.

Kong Pei, the treasurer of Jishengtang, wiped the sweat from his brow, and stood aside in fear. He had checked the accounts on that page several times in his mind, and after confirming that there were no mistakes, he tentatively said, "Master Shaogu, Is there something wrong with this ledger?"

He asked about the account book, but someone like Kong Pei could tell that Ji Pu was not thinking about it.

Tongbeigu has opened many medical clinics in various parts of Li country. Jipu of Jishengtang in Pingdu has to be inspected every year as a rule. Need to look over one by one.Therefore, every time Ji Pu came here, he would stay there for more than two months, and only returned after a thorough inspection.

According to the usual practice this year, Kong Pei prepared a guest room for him early, waiting for him to clean up the books and warehouse.Unexpectedly, within a few days of his arrival in Pingping, Ji Pu was called by the White Mansion to treat the persistent disease of the Bai family master. In order to facilitate the consultation, he also lived in the White Mansion.

However, in recent days, Ji Pu moved out of Baifu abnormally, and stayed in Jishengtang except for his daily consultations.

Kong Pei knew about the relationship between Bai Bingchen and his young master, and he thought it was just a conflict between the two, so he didn't ask any more questions.

Ji Pu was suffering in his heart. He was taught by Wu Chufu, so he naturally had some selfishness to protect Bai Bingchen. When Bai Bingchen drank poisonous wine and lingered in the gate of life and death, Ji Pu was very annoyed. Now To push the patient he personally rescued to death again, Ji Pu really couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart.

Knowing that he could not persuade Bai Bingchen, Ji Pu had no choice but to avoid him as much as possible, and moved out of the Baifu on the pretext of checking the accounts in Jishengtang.

Obviously he was restless, looking at the account books, he was lost in thought, and Kong Pei was getting older, and he had to stay up with him in the middle of the night, Ji Pu felt a little guilty, and tried his best to put his mind on the account books in his hand.

"There are quite a lot of this medicinal material sent to the south this year." Ji Pu asked, pointing to "Ling Xiao" on the ledger.

The medicinal material "Lingxiao" only grows in the north, so only farmers in Pingdu and the north can grow it.It has little effect on daily diseases, so drug farmers will only grow a little by the way, with a small output and not much flow in the market.Looking at the records on the books, most of this year's "Lingxiao" were shipped to the south.

Kong Pei squinted his eyes to see the record on the account, and said: "It's a medicine dealer in the south. He is our big customer for buying 'Lingxiao' in recent years, and he asked for more this year."

Scratching the page, Ji Pu searched his mind for the use of this medicine. "This medicine has little daily effect and is highly substitutable. Knowledgeable drug dealers rarely stock up on this medicine."

"This customer's surname is Chu. It seems that he got online with our medicine hall when he came to Pingdu to do business three years ago. When he was picking medicinal materials in our warehouse, he saw 'Ling Xiao' in the corner and liked this medicinal material very much." Curious, we gave him a little. In the next two years, he will come to us every six months to buy a batch of medicinal materials, and the medicinal material 'Lingxiao' is on the list." Although Kong Pei is old, he mentioned these medicinal materials. There are so many treasures about the origin and origin, as long as you pass his eyes, you can remember everything.

Those who do the business of medicinal materials need to be knowledgeable. When the medicine merchants in the south encounter some medicinal materials that are hard to find in their own place, they will inevitably search for them, which is understandable.Ji Pu took the purchase list of the Chu drug dealer in the past two years and studied it carefully, and there was nothing wrong with it, but intuitively, he always felt that something was wrong.

After pondering for a moment, Ji Pu asked Kong Pei to open the warehouse overnight and show him some "Lingxiao".Seeing that he was in a hurry, Kong Pei weighed some with a small scale and brought it to Ji Pu.

They are all ordinary Ling Xiao, with a middle height, not the best.Ji Pu held a piece of it to the tip of his nose and sniffed it. It didn't resemble the bitterness of other traditional Chinese medicines, but had a hint of woody fragrance, which was very fresh. He seemed to have smelled such a wisp or two before.

This sense of familiarity made Ji Pu feel a little panicked. Before he could think about it, a person rushed in from the door, and the candlelight he brought shook violently.

"Master Shaogu, it's not good! The Bai Mansion is surrounded by officers and soldiers, and they are asking for people inside!"

The person who came was Ji Pu who stayed in the White Mansion to look after the little apprentice who made medicine. He ran in a hurry, his hat was askew, and even one of his shoes ran away. gruff.

At the foot of the Son of Heaven, the siege of the mansion by officers and soldiers is not a trivial matter. Ji Pu only felt a "buzz" in his head. What happened in the Cangshan Mountain before and the arrest of the mansion by the officers and soldiers kept rushing into his mind. He didn't even know it. Why did he follow that little apprentice step by step to the gate of the White Mansion in such a daze.

There were many officers and soldiers at the gate of the Baifu, all of them were lighting torches, illuminating the stone lions at the entrance brightly, forming a neat circle around the Baifu. Although there were many people, there was no extra noise, only the "crackling" of the burning torches. The sound grows in the silent night.

When the night wind blew, Ji Pu was shocked, and then he came back to his senses.He suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his heart and hid in the corner of the street shop to peek.

There were a lot of people dispatched this time, and the White House was densely surrounded.Ji Pu couldn't see what was going on in front of him, so he could only stare at the armor of the soldiers in the back row. Unfortunately, he seldom walked in Pingdu City, so he couldn't identify which military uniform it was, so he had to worry in the corner.

Just as he was in a hurry, he heard the sound of the door, as if someone had come out.

Then I heard Uncle Ji's voice: "General Wang came here in the starry night, and he was far away to welcome him. It's just a late night visit, so mobilizing teachers and mobilizing people, what's the meaning?"

Obviously, Wang Zhen had been waiting outside for a long time before he knocked on the door of the White Mansion. He was a little angry and was about to put on a face.Seeing that the person who came was the old housekeeper of the White Mansion, he had no choice but to hold back his anger, bowed to him, and said: "The patrol battalion patrolled at night and found a small thief entering the White Mansion, so I came here to check."

The housekeepers of the officials and eunuchs in Pingdu City are not to be underestimated. From the housework in the inner courtyard, to the visitors and friends outside, most of them are arranged by the housekeepers. They can be said to be the confidantes of the officials.

Seeing Uncle Ji hunched over, with his hands behind his back, and a pair of sharp eyes staring at him, Wang Zhen knew that the old man was not easy to fool, so he leaned forward slightly and whispered, "That little thief stole the concubine's waist card a few days ago. , Brothers have traced this far, it is inevitable to go to the government for inspection, this is also for the sake of Bai Xiang's innocence."

The slackness of the patrol battalion over the years was known to all officials with a little face in Pingdu, but it was not related to their own interests, so everyone turned a blind eye.

Tonight Wang Zhen worked so hard until midnight to catch the thieves, and he happened to gather so many people.The half of the patrol battalion went out to catch the thief, but there was no sound of the people being disturbed on the road, so they chased the thief to the White Mansion quietly. I am afraid that the only one the patrol battalion wants to disturb tonight is the White Mansion, right?

What's more, for the sake of the Patriarch's innocence, it is enough to entrust a few people to come to the back door quietly to take a look. Is it necessary to mobilize so many people?

Although Uncle Ji didn't care about the intrigues in the court these years, he has seen a lot of ups and downs from Jingzhou to Pingdu in these years, and he can know most of the twists and turns when he thinks about it.

Catching a thief is fake, I'm afraid someone wants to use the name of catching a thief to search the White House.

Thinking of this, Uncle Ji's face became more and more ugly, and even his voice showed impatience: "The Patriarch has just recovered from a serious illness. His Majesty just sent someone to visit him today, and he is already asleep. If General Wang insists on entering the mansion, I'm afraid I'll disturb you." Homeowner."

Although I don't know who the person behind Wang Zhen's mission is, it's always right to use His Majesty's name to pressure him, not to mention that Bai Bingchen has only taken care of his health in the past few days, and now he finally fell asleep. , and you can't bother him for an endless matter.

Seeing that Uncle Ji finished speaking and was about to close the door, Wang Zhen became anxious, and blocked the door with his hand, with a fierce look in his eyes.

Seeing this, Uncle Ji smiled and said, "General Wang, is he going to fight this old man?" After saying that, he went to push Wang Zhen's hand on the door frame.

"Uncle Ji, General Wang is a warrior, so he speaks a bit aggressively. You have high morals and respect, so you won't argue with him." A lazy voice came from the crowd of soldiers, which seemed out of place in such a tense situation.

The officers and soldiers of the patrol battalion on both sides separated automatically when they heard the sound, revealing a young man waving a fan. He walked up to Uncle Ji in three or two steps, and said with a smile: "Uncle Ji might as well go and make a report, and try to catch the little man who stole the waist card of Ling's concubine. Thieves are also the responsibility of the patrol battalion, I think Bai Xiang has been an official for many years, so he knows the truth not to make things difficult for the subordinates."

"King Xie En." Seeing him coming, Wang Zhen let go of the hand that had been holding the door, and saluted him respectfully.

Li An patted Wang Zhen's shoulder with a fan to express comfort, then turned to Uncle Ji and continued: "Uncle Ji, think about it, if it weren't for the Holy Spirit's signal, how could he, a small patrol battalion commander, dare to lead troops to break into the place late at night? What about the residence of the Prime Minister? Everyone is doing things according to the Holy Majesty's wishes, why bother to make things difficult for each other?"

Li An is very cute, and he speaks without leaking. He didn't move a word, and first accompanied him with a three-point smile, which made Uncle Ji's cold face unbearable. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, and then ordered the boy at the side to go inside to report .

The boy didn't take a few steps when he saw Jiang Yan pushing Bai Bingchen to the door.

Seeing him coming so fast, Uncle Ji was also a little surprised. Thinking of the commotion outside and the patriarch's sleepiness, he must have woken him up because of the argument with Wang Zhen just now. He felt a little guilty, so he stepped forward to take Bai Bingchen , Pushing him to King Xie En.

Even though he was sitting, Bai Bingchen didn't have the slightest intention to look up. His eyes were gentle, but his words were merciless: "When did King Xie En start working for His Majesty? King Xie En got the official title and commanded the patrol battalion, but he didn't give anything in return."

The night breeze wasn't too cold, but Bai Bingchen still gathered his clothes, and there was a slight smile on the corner of his mouth, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Li An looked at the prime minister who had always been famous, his face was pale, he looked like a sick child, but there was tenacity in his bones.He remembered the word that was mentioned the most when talking about Bai Bingchen's temper outside: Still water runs deep.

He always had a calm and calm look, and he didn't change his face when Mount Tai collapsed in front of him, as if everything was in his hands.The officialdom has been ups and downs for a long time, and many officials are lost in it. Bai Bingchen is in the center of the vortex, but he still looks like an outsider, watching all this soberly, as if his goal has never been the fame and power in the officialdom.

Just like now, it is Bai Bingchen who is obviously at a disadvantage, but his face does not change, and he points out Li An's dilemma lightly.

Li An is an idle prince with no official position, if there is no clear edict issued by His Majesty, just relying on this word of mouth to mobilize this patrol battalion to forcibly break into the residence of the important officials of the court, it is exceeding the authority and exceeding the rules.

Bai Bingchen glanced at Li An's face, and felt more and more that he came here to find trouble for no purpose. He didn't want to have too much conflict with him in his heart. After mocking him, he stopped talking and said softly: "I'm really not feeling well these days. In the middle of the night, I have to invite the doctor to take a look, so I won't chat with the prince much."

Then he turned his head and looked at the boy who was reprimanded aside: "I can't see Master Ji Shaogu coming, so it's hard to welcome him in."

That young man is also smart, knowing that the plight of the Bai Mansion is solved, even after being scolded, he still happily goes to Ji Pu's hiding place, and welcomes him into the mansion politely.

Seeing this, Uncle Ji also put on the armrest of Bai Bingchen's wheelchair, and was about to push him back to end the farce tonight, when he heard another voice.

"Bai Xiang looks down on King Xie En, who has no position and title, and doesn't know whether to take this king seriously."

The deep voice was majestic, but it was much colder than the spring evening wind, and Bai Bingchen couldn't help tightening his hands holding the skirt of his clothes.