"Wang Xiaohu, go to the capital yourself and deliver this letter to Li Dequan, the Chief Eunuch by the King's side. He owes me a favor and will personally hand the letter to the King."
Lin Taichu sealed the letter and handed it to Wang Xiaohu. Wang Xiaohu accepted it. "Don't worry, Physician Lin. I'll travel through the night and make sure it gets there within three days."
After Wang Xiaohu left, Lin Taichu had the signboard of the Healing Immortal Medical Hall hung back up. He also had his disciples make dozens of copies of the autopsy report and the testimonies of Li San and Liu Ren, then post them at every road junction in Qinghe Town.
Only after seeing the testimonies did the townspeople learn that Su Mingyuan had poisoned the City Lord to death and framed Lin Taichu for it. They cursed Su Mingyuan for his ruthlessness, while the patients who had previously canceled their appointments returned one after another. The medical hall's business quickly returned to normal.
Lin Taichu did not rest. He had Su Mingyuan's portrait distributed to every town and village around Qinghe Town, ordered his scouts to widen their search, and contacted Jianghu friends he had known before to help track down Su Mingyuan.
He knew Su Mingyuan intended to go to the capital and become an imperial physician, so he would certainly take the official roads. Lin Taichu therefore stationed people at several key checkpoints leading to the capital.
Three days later, Wang Xiaohu returned from the capital with the King's verbal decree. The King ordered Lin Taichu to continue pursuing Su Mingyuan's whereabouts and commanded the Imperial Guards and the capital's palace guards to cooperate. The moment Su Mingyuan was found, he was to be arrested.
In addition, the King issued