The audit lasted until dark, yet in the end, no substantive problems were found. Zheng Xiuyuan closed the ledger and looked at Lin Taichu. "Physician Lin, you can rest assured now, can't you? The Imperial Hospital's accounts are spotless and can withstand any inspection."
"I was overthinking it." Lin Taichu cupped his hands. "You manage the hospital well, and I admire you."
After leaving the warehouse, Wu Qian hurriedly pulled Lin Taichu to a secluded spot. "Senior Brother, these accounts are too clean. They were obviously prepared in advance. The records for that shipment of aconite may all have been forged."
"They were certainly forged, but we have no evidence." Lin Taichu shook his head. "The people in the towns who signed for them are either Zheng Xiuyuan's confidants or people who were deceived. Even if we investigate, we won't find anything."
"Then what do we do? We finally got the chance to examine the accounts. Are we just letting this go?" Wu Qian grew anxious.
"We're not letting it go." Lin Taichu's gaze darkened. "There's nothing wrong with the ledgers, but there's something wrong with that cellar."
"What could be wrong with an empty cellar?" Wu Qian asked in confusion. "There wasn't even anything inside. It was just an abandoned pit."
"That's precisely why it's suspicious." Lin Taichu explained, "The discarded medicinal herbs from the warehouse are all piled in that little room outside. Why keep a cellar specifically for storage?"
"Besides, the cellar is built with blue bricks and is sturdier than the room outside. If it were useless, they would have filled it in long ago. They wouldn't have kept it all this time."
"You mean the cellar isn't empty. We just didn't find where they hid the things?"
"Exactly." Lin Taichu nodded. "I looked carefully just