Jin Shanyao around in her eyes, instantly changing her expression to one of disdain as she looked at Zhu Huaizhang.
"I look down on you... Zhou Yan clearly doesn't respect you. He comes to your turf and arrests people without warning... Where's your official authority? Where's your guts?"
Answer me loudly... Answer me.
Zhu Huaizhang was speechless. "You're so cunning, you don't even try to be tactful!" he thought, pushing his Jin Shanyao he walked towards the door.
"Alright... now that you know the truth... let's go back now?"
Jin Shanyao her lips and stared at him, then suddenly spoke, "My lord... perhaps you should keep the accounts."
Bang... The door slammed shut.
Jin Shanyao was locked out again. Staring at the closed door, she clicked her tongue and said, "Look at you... you lock the door whenever you're unhappy. Look at me... when have I ever locked you out?"
"Officials and the people are one family, but I'm the only one who's affectionate with you... When are you going to give me a kiss?"
" Jin Shanyao, what nonsense are you spouting outside?"
"When are you going to kiss me?"
" The Jin Shanyao..." Zhu Huaizhang was so angry that he lost his composure and suddenly opened the door, only to see a figure running away from the government office.
Zhu Huaizhang clutched her pounding heart... her lips trembling with anger. This was outrageous! How could anyone be so infuriating... She'd lived this long and hadn't been beaten to death.
Jin Shanyao walked down the street with her hands behind her back, gazing sadly at the sky... It was another day of missing her nephew.
Evening, Anzhi Hall.
Meng Anzhi, Meng Anci, Jin Shanyao... the three of them sat around the kang table.
Jin Shanyao her head as she wrote " The Record of Admonishing Evil." When someone said, "Listen to me..." they were actually depriving her of her right to speak.
The second half of the sentence mostly means you should abandon your principles and do what others want. Note: Zhu Huaizhang was particularly skilled at this.
On either side of the table, Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci were going over the events that had happened in the past six months.
Meng Anci took the Jin Shanyao, washed away the ink stains with water, and said calmly, "In other words, apart from the Bai Yunjin from Cloud Brocade Workshop, Auntie has not had contact with anyone from Jing'an Prefecture."
Meng Anzhi shook her head, "No... a lot of medicinal herbs were transported to Jing'an Prefecture this year, could it be related to the medicinal herbs?"
Upon hearing this, the siblings became serious. The idea of someone dying from consuming medicinal herbs was a serious matter. Meng Anzhi stood up. "I'll go find the Jing'an Prefecture's account books."
Meng Anci couldn't help but feel nervous. One person poisoned meant a whole group of people would be poisoned. If it really was something wrong with the Anzhi Hall's medicinal herbs... Thinking of this, he only regretted that he wasn't strong enough.
Damn it... I can't take the provincial examination until August next year.
Meng Anzhi quickly found the account books, gave one to Meng Anci, and then began to search.
The shops were packed together so tightly that it was hard to tell which one had a problem or which medicinal herb was causing the issue.
Jin Shanyao watched the two children busy themselves for her, a warm feeling welled up inside her.
She pressed her hands on the ledger and laughed, "The person who came only said one thing: a murder. Who died, how they died—we have no idea... Instead of doubting ourselves, we might as well go to sleep."
"Sleeping..." Meng Anzhi was shocked. The government had come knocking on their door, and her aunt could still sleep. "Aunt... I'll send Fan Er to Jing'an Prefecture tomorrow to inquire. We need to prepare in advance."
Jin Shanyao, "Alright... A poor family should be frugal on the road, so give him plenty of money."
"Understood..." Meng Anzhi gave Meng Anci a look, and the two of them went to the study together with the account book.
Inside the study, Meng Anzhi spread out the account book, her brows furrowed. " Jing'an Prefecture has thirty-seven shops that source their goods from us, with over a hundred kinds of medicinal herbs alone. If any of these herbs are not stored properly, they can cause poisoning."
Meng Anci, however, was staring at the ledger. "Start investigating from the cause of death. As long as it wasn't drug poisoning, it has nothing to do with us."
Meng Anzhi, "You're right, let's investigate the cause of death first... If it's related to medication, then have Fan Er find out which pharmacy sold it, what kind of medication it was, and try to get the prescription."
"When our medicinal herbs leave the warehouse, we always have the seller sign and confirm before they are transported away. No one can falsely accuse us."
The siblings hid in the study to discuss countermeasures, while Jin Shanyao bed) and fell fast asleep.
In Jing'an Prefecture, Zhou Yan waited for seven or eight days without receiving a single letter, and the messengers he sent to gather information disappeared without a trace.
This case absolutely requires Anzhi Hall to be the scapegoat... Just as he was becoming increasingly anxious, the gatekeeper rushed in to report, "Sir... Constable Li is back."
"Quick, let him in..." Zhou Yan raised his hand and hung the birdcage under the eaves. He turned around and saw a gray-clad man walking in, looking travel-worn.
Before Constable Li could catch his breath, Zhou Yan asked urgently, "How's it going...? Have you found out where Fang Rui and the others are?"
"I found out. They were imprisoned by Lord Zhu as soon as they arrived in Qingzhou Prefecture on charges of human trafficking, and they haven't been released yet."
Zhou Yan's expression changed upon hearing this. "You can hand my cooperation request to Zhu Huaizhang."
Constable Li's throat was practically parched; he kept swallowing. "Sir, don't even mention it. If I hadn't run fast, I almost would have been thrown in jail too."
Zhou Yan was so angry that he grabbed the teapot and smashed it heavily on the ground, splashing tea everywhere. This made Constable Li even thirstier, and he licked his dry lips.
" Lord Zhu said that there are too many people impersonating constables from Jing'an Prefecture lately, and he won't believe anyone unless you come in person to claim them."
Zhou Yan's face was ashen. "What kind of person is he? Trying to manipulate me like Su Wenqian did. A clueless brat with no family background, he really thinks he's something."
Constable Li, parched and anxious, blurted out in a moment of carelessness, "Then, sir, are you going?"
"Get out..." Zhou Yan shouted sternly, "Useless things... With a bunch of trash like you, I can't get anything done."
Unaware of the undercurrents swirling between the two prefectures, Jin Shanyao was currently sitting in her shop, telling fortunes for people.
Across from her sat a young woman with slightly dark skin, holding a Hongdou bracelet in her hand, her eyes filled with a lifeless desolation. " Hongdou for longing, true love unrecognized."
I loved him so much, why did he marry someone else...? I just can't understand it.
Jin Shanyao took out the divination stick container and placed it opposite her with a thud. "Out with the old, in with the new. Shake it... maybe the next one will be better."
The girl's eyes held a hint of sadness, "Master, you don't understand..."
"How could I not understand? Hongdou go with longing, mung beans go with turtle... Mung beans are more expensive than Hongdou at the grain store, do you know why?"
The girl shook her head instinctively.
With a knowing look on her face, Jin Shanyao, "That's because lovesickness is worthless, and turtle is a great tonic..."
"You..." The girl stood up abruptly, furious. "I paid to hear nice things, not for you to mock me."
The girl turned to leave in anger, but bumped into Fan Er, who was rushing in, at the door.
The Hongdou bracelet on her wrist fell to the ground with a "thud," and the Hongdou rolled all over Fan Er's shoes.
Fan Er apologized repeatedly, bent down to help pick up the trash, and when he looked up again, he saw that the girl was already in tears. He hurriedly apologized to her.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to, I was in such a hurry I didn't see you come out."
The more he talked, the harder the girl cried. Fan Er scratched his head and stammered, "Don't cry, I'll go buy you a new one right now, okay?"
Smack! The girl slapped Fan Er hard, and Hongdou spilled all over the ground again.
"I don't want it anymore... I don't want anything worthless, nor do I want this worthless longing," she said, turning away and running off while wiping her tears.