Leaving the county yamen, Zhan Feiyu declined Constable Zhao's offer to escort her and got into the carriage with Doctor Ji. They decided to head to Yujia Village to search for clues on the mountain.
As they rode in the carriage, Doctor Ji observed Zhan Feiyu, who was frowning in thought. "If Magistrate Chen were a corrupt official, he would have brought these people back to the yamen and interrogated them under torture. Then he would know everything."
"My teacher is a scholar, and my senior brother is a scholar's son. The Wang family are wealthy merchants. The only ones who can be tortured are Old Uncle Dong and his daughter, and Granny Lu," Zhan Feiyu said, rolling her eyes speechlessly. Doctor Ji's method was truly simple and crude.
Before Doctor Ji could speak, Zhan Feiyu added, "Moreover, I heard Uncle Chongguang say that Master Chen offended his mentor, a high-ranking official of the second rank. Magistrate Chen has not been promoted in seven years. If he were to mishrate another case, Magistrate Chen's official career would be over."
This time, it was Doctor Ji's turn to be surprised. He looked at Zhan Feiyu and chuckled. No wonder Lord Qi valued her so much. If this girl were a boy, she would surely have a place in the imperial court!
The back mountain was very close to the private school. Master Lin had built his house at the foot of the mountain precisely for its tranquility, away from the hustle and bustle of Yujia Village.
"Xiao Yu, who is this?" Seeing the carriage stop at the entrance of the private school, the village chief initially thought it was Master Lin's friend coming to pay respects. He hadn't expected Zhan Feiyu to be the one getting out of the carriage.
As for Doctor Ji, although his left arm was empty, the jade ornaments hanging from his waist indicated that he was no ordinary person.
"Village Chief, this is Doctor Ji from Leshan Residence, here to pay respects to my teacher's wife," Zhan Feiyu introduced Doctor Ji's identity.
Although the village chief was surprised that Leshan Residence, a teahouse, had a doctor, he didn't ask further and led them to the mourning hall.
Amidst the mournful sounds of suona and gongs, Doctor Ji paid his respects, and Lin Xiuyuan returned the gesture. Wang Linlang, who was kneeling beside them with red, swollen eyes from crying, squinted and secretly observed Doctor Ji.
Black satin boots with a wave pattern, a round-collared, narrow-sleeved straight robe, and a lingzhi-patterned jade pendant at his waist. Wang Linlang, being from a wealthy family, had some knowledge of jewelry and ornaments. Judging by the luster of the jade pendant, she knew it was no ordinary item. It couldn't be bought for less than several hundred taels of silver.
Seeing Lin Xiuyuan's pale face and vacant eyes, Zhan Feiyu couldn't help but say, "Doctor Ji, my senior brother is weak. Can you help write a prescription for him?"
"Xiao Yu, I'm fine. I just haven't slept well these past few days," Lin Xiuyuan replied hoarsely, refusing.
"You wish to support your parents, but they are gone." Lin Xiuyuan had stayed up all night keeping vigil, forcing himself to drink a few sips of water and eat a little porridge. He was tormenting himself, hoping to lessen the pain of losing his mother.
Wang Linlang stood up, staggering slightly from kneeling for too long.
After Lin Xiuyuan supported her, Wang Linlang thanked him softly with a pale face, "Brother Xiuyuan, your medicine is still warming on the stove. I'll bring it to you later. If you don't take your medicine properly, Uncle and Sister Zhan will worry."
Rather than have Doctor Ji take his pulse and prescribe medicine, Lin Xiuyuan, who didn't want to cause trouble, naturally chose to drink the medicine readily available. "I'll go to the kitchen to drink the medicine later. Xiao Yu, don't trouble Doctor Ji."
Zhan Feiyu was genuinely worried that Lin Xiuyuan's body wouldn't hold up. He and Master Lin had caught a cold recently, and the medicine they were taking was prescribed by a barefoot doctor from Yujia Village.
Now, with the added stress of mourning, both his body and mind were strained. Having Doctor Ji examine him and prescribe medicine was also to help regulate the health of Master Lin and Lin Xiuyuan.
Wang Linlang deliberately leaned closer to Lin Xiuyuan. "Sister Zhan, don't worry, I will take good care of Brother Xiuyuan."
Doctor Ji raised an eyebrow. This young girl was quite something. Was she speaking in the capacity of Lin Xiuyuan's "wife"?
"Senior brother, you don't know how bad your complexion is!" Zhan Feiyu said sternly, her face set. "Besides, the village chief said that teacher hasn't slept for two days and two nights. Are you going to let teacher's wife pass away without peace?"
"I..." Lin Xiuyuan was speechless. He could disregard himself, but he couldn't disregard Master Lin's health.
"If you and teacher don't take good care of yourselves, I'll move into the private school starting tomorrow!" Zhan Feiyu didn't stay. Firstly, she was young and couldn't help much with the funeral.
Secondly, Zhan Feiyu was already eight years old, and staying overnight outside would harm her reputation.
Glancing sideways, she saw Wang Linlang's unusual expression and felt a flicker of doubt. Her senior brother had a gentle disposition. If Wang Linlang were a bit more assertive, her senior brother would still take the medicine.
Was she doing this intentionally, so that when her senior brother and teacher both fell ill, Wang Linlang could seize the opportunity to show her concern? Moreover, with the teacher's wife deceased, if Wang Linlang played her cards right, the marriage might actually happen.
Zhan Feiyu dismissed her thoughts. "Senior brother, where is teacher?"
"Father is in the backyard. Doctor Ji, please excuse us," Lin Xiuyuan cupped his hands in thanks again and led Doctor Ji and Zhan Feiyu to the backyard.
A flicker of panic flashed in Wang Linlang's eyes, followed by resentment. She was annoyed by Zhan Feiyu's meddling.
However, after a moment's thought, Wang Linlang relaxed and followed them. It had been three or four days. How much could a doctor with one arm, no matter how skilled, find out?
Master Lin was in the backyard discussing the burial site with the village chief and the clan elder of Yujia Village.
Master Lin's paternal grandparents had fled here during a time of turmoil and settled down. The Lin family had only one son for three generations. His parents had passed away early. Therefore, in Yujia Village, Master Lin had no clan or elders. Mrs. Lin's coffin could only be buried on the burial mound behind the village.
"We'll take our leave now. Elder knows what Teacher said," the clan elder, seeing Doctor Ji arrive, assumed he was Master Lin's friend and left with the village chief.
Knowing Doctor Ji's identity, Master Lin also did not want to trouble him. However, Zhan Feiyu pointed to Lin Xiuyuan, who was pale-faced beside them.
Before Master Lin could speak, Doctor Ji looked coldly at the father and son, whose expressions were grief-stricken and faces gaunt. "It's fine. If they fall ill, I can come again."
Um... Master Lin and Lin Xiuyuan were momentarily at a loss for words. In the end, Master Lin could only extend his hand for Doctor Ji to take his pulse.
A moment later, Doctor Ji said, "There's no major issue. I'll write two prescriptions to replenish vital energy."
Lin Xiuyuan had similar symptoms, but he was weaker, so the prescription was slightly different. Doctor Ji picked up his brush and began to write.
Zhan Feiyu watched Wang Linlang, whose expression had relaxed, and her doubts grew even stronger.
"Doctor Ji, please trouble Uncle Hai to return to the county to fetch the medicine. I'll take you for a walk in the back mountain. When Uncle Hai returns, he can pick you up," Zhan Feiyu said casually, making it seem as if she and Doctor Ji were very close, otherwise, how could she order his attendant around?
Doctor Ji put down his brush and looked askance at Zhan Feiyu. "You don't treat me like an outsider, do you?"
Zhan Feiyu shamelessly met Doctor Ji's scrutinizing gaze. As long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassment will be on others.
"We can't trouble Doctor Ji any further. I'll have someone from the village go to the county to fetch the medicine," Master Lin quickly said, thinking Xiao Yu's words were out of line.
"Teacher, if I were polite with Doctor Ji, it would be treating him as an outsider," Zhan Feiyu said, deliberately emphasizing the words "back mountain." As expected, she saw a fleeting panic in Wang Linlang's eyes. Even with her schemes, she was just a twelve-year-old girl.
"I heard there are many medicinal herbs in the back mountain. Xiao Yu and I will go take a look. It won't take long," Doctor Ji chimed in, clearly not caring about such formalities.
After a while, Master Lin saw Zhan Feiyu and Doctor Ji out, while Uncle Hai took the prescription and rushed back to the county town to fetch the medicine.
The back mountain was not far from the private school, and a small path led there.
Doctor Ji pushed aside the overgrown branches and looked at Zhan Feiyu, who was walking behind him. "You suspect the girl named Wang?"
"If someone from the private school poisoned her, Wang Linlang is the most suspicious. But I still can't figure out her motive for murder," Zhan Feiyu didn't hide anything. "She wants to marry senior brother, and teacher's wife would definitely not agree. But killing someone for that seems a bit far-fetched."
"Don't say a twelve-year-old girl; even a five or six-year-old can kill," Doctor Ji sneered, seemingly disdainful of Zhan Feiyu seeing people as too kind. "The Lin father and son have gentle dispositions. If your teacher's wife was difficult to deal with, and she died, it would be much easier for the girl named Wang to marry Lin Xiuyuan."
Many men underestimate women in the inner quarters, never realizing that when women become ruthless, they are no less so than men. Otherwise, why do they say that the most venomous heart belongs to a woman!
Seeing Zhan Feiyu frowning and still contemplating, Doctor Ji continued to walk into the mountain. "They say men have three great fortunes..."
"Promotion, wealth, and dead wives," Zhan Feiyu's answer blurted out.
Doctor Ji's expression stiffened slightly. This little girl with chubby cheeks was only eight years old, yet she knew far too much.
Zhan Feiyu awkwardly touched her nose. "Doctor Ji, are you saying that Wang Linlang poisoned my teacher's wife? Firstly, senior brother has to observe mourning for three years, giving Wang Linlang time to plan for the future. Secondly, if she were to marry into the Lin family, she wouldn't have a mother-in-law to suppress her."
Wang Linlang's biggest obstacle to marrying Lin Xiuyuan was indeed Mrs. Lin. Not to mention that she had decided on Zhan Feiyu, even if she were to choose a daughter-in-law, it would never be Wang Linlang, who was the daughter of an outer chamber.
With Mrs. Lin's death, after three years, when Lin Xiuyuan finished his mourning, Wang Linlang would be fifteen. If she played her cards right, she could indeed arrange the marriage.
After marrying in, without a mother-in-law, and with a gentle husband and father-in-law, Wang Linlang could be considered to have fallen into a nest of fortune.
However, Zhan Feiyu always felt something was not quite right. This was a reasonable motive for murder, but Wang Linlang was only twelve years old. Could she really achieve this level?
If so, Wang Linlang would not have had any change in expression when Zhan Feiyu mentioned the back mountain twice. Moreover, although her previous provocations towards her had a "white lotus" facade, her skills were not yet sophisticated enough.
"Your teacher and senior brother did not catch a cold. They also ate mushrooms, but the dosage was very small," Doctor Ji revealed the conclusive evidence.
He had noticed it when taking their pulses earlier. It was just that the village barefoot doctor's skills were average, mistaking mild headaches and dizziness for a cold and prescribing medicine.
Zhan Feiyu's eyes widened suddenly. She sat down on a rock. "No wonder Wang Linlang's expression was off when I mentioned taking teacher's and senior brother's pulses. I just thought she didn't want senior brother to recover, so she could take care of him and try to win his favor."
"If the Lin father and son had not taken the cold medicine, the toxins in their bodies should have dissipated," Doctor Ji looked around. Beyond this point was the deep mountain, and Wang Linlang, a young girl, probably wouldn't dare to take the risk.
The cold medicine prescribed by the barefoot doctor in Yujia Village affected the patients' appetite. Master Lin and Lin Xiuyuan, who drank three large bowls of bitter medicinal soup three times a day, had no appetite at all.
With less food intake and poor excretion, the medicinal properties of the mushrooms remained in their bodies.
Afterward, Mrs. Lin passed away, and the father and son were overcome with grief. They barely drank any water, let alone ate anything. Otherwise, even with Doctor Ji's superb medical skills, after three or four days, it would be impossible to know through pulse diagnosis that the father and son had also consumed poisonous mushrooms.
"Look over there," Doctor Ji pointed to a dead tree struck by lightning in a shaded area not far away. Beneath the tree were some decaying branches and leaves.
Zhan Feiyu quickly walked over and crouched down to examine it carefully. "These are broken mushroom stems... Doctor Ji, is it this mushroom?"
Pushing aside the dead leaves, Zhan Feiyu pointed to a small, bright red mushroom. It was estimated to have grown in the last two days.
Doctor Ji carefully broke off the mushroom, sniffed it carefully, dipped his fingertip in the liquid seeping from the mushroom, and licked it. "It's this kind."
About fifteen minutes later, Zhan Feiyu found more than twenty broken mushroom stems in the vicinity. "Wang Linlang comes out every day to pick wildflowers to put in vases. She even came to the mountains to look for orchids a few days ago."
So, did she really poison teacher's wife to marry senior brother?
Seeing Zhan Feiyu with a stern face, Doctor Ji comforted her, "These are not evidence. She cannot be convicted in court. However, she will never marry Lin Xiuyuan, and once this gets out, she can forget about marrying into a good family for the rest of her life."
This was the greatest punishment for Wang Linlang. She had schemed meticulously, but it had ruined her own marriage prospects.
After a long silence, Zhan Feiyu spoke, "After teacher's wife's funeral, I will tell teacher."
But these were all Zhan Feiyu's speculations. Whether Master Lin would report it to the authorities or seek revenge in other ways, Zhan Feiyu would not interfere.
...
Seven days of lying in state marked the day of the funeral. A drizzling rain began to fall. Zhan Feiyu, dressed in mourning clothes, followed behind Lin Xiuyuan. A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. Mrs. Lin was considered her close elder. Wearing sackcloth and mourning filial piety was only right.
Doctor Ji held a roadside memorial ceremony. After Zhan Feiyu came down from the burial mound, he said in a low voice, "There is a rumor in Shangsi County that Mrs. Lin was poisoned by Master Lin."
"What?" a hoarse voice sounded. Zhan Feiyu's eyes were red and swollen from crying. She thought her feelings for her teacher's wife were not deep enough, but seeing the grief-stricken appearances of Master Lin and Lin Xiuyuan, Zhan Feiyu's tears flowed uncontrollably.
"I'll have someone send over some ointment later. Are you going to cry your eyes blind?" Doctor Ji frowned, looking at her eyes, which were now mere slits. The little girl's skin was fair, making her eyes appear even redder and more swollen.
"No, Doctor Ji, you're saying that there's a rumor outside that teacher is the murderer?" Zhan Feiyu quickly asked.
Although Mrs. Lin was poisoned, the yamen had concealed the news. Outsiders only thought that Mrs. Lin had died of a sudden illness. Those who came to pay their respects only lamented Mrs. Lin's ill fate. How did the rumor of poisoning spread, and more importantly, why was the murderer rumored to be Master Lin?
Before Doctor Ji could speak, Zhan Feiyu quickly began to think. "When Constable Fei came to the village to inform me of teacher's wife's death, only the village chief and my mother knew. The village chief kept it from even Granny Wu. Later, when Constable Fei and his men came to the private school, Old Uncle Dong couldn't have told outsiders. Wang Linlang and Granny Lu couldn't have said anything either."
As for Jishi Hall, Doctor Xu had cooperated with the authorities more than once and naturally would not leak any information.
Then how did outsiders know that teacher's wife was poisoned? Could it be that the yamen's constables leaked the news? But why was it rumored that teacher was the murderer!
Doctor Ji patted Zhan Feiyu's head. "After all, more than ten people know that Mrs. Lin was poisoned, so it's not strange for the news to get out. Scholar Zhang is an old enemy of you and your teacher. It's very likely that he is causing trouble."
Half an hour later, in the study of the private school.
Zhan Feiyu did not reveal that Wang Linlang was the murderer who poisoned Mrs. Lin. Instead, she informed the exhausted Master Lin about the rumors.
"The clear will remain clear, and the turbid will remain turbid," Master Lin said, not showing anger. Perhaps he was still immersed in the pain of his wife's death. "Xiao Yu, I have to observe mourning for your teacher's wife. In a few days, you will go to the county school to study. Teacher cannot teach you anymore."
Zhan Feiyu looked up at Master Lin, whose eyes were bloodshot and his expression grief-stricken. Tears welled up again. "Teacher, a teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. You don't want me to become your disciple; don't you look down on me as a female disciple?"
Master Lin looked at the fawning Zhan Feiyu and reached out to wipe away her tears. "Don't mess with your future. Even if you don't become my disciple, I am still your first teacher. Will you not recognize me as your mentor after you pass the imperial examinations?"
Zhan Feiyu knew that Master Lin was determined not to let her become his disciple. She pouted and suppressed her sobs. "I understand, Teacher. I will study hard when I go to the county school."
After calming her emotions, Zhan Feiyu tentatively asked, "Teacher, when will Miss Wang leave?"
With Master Lin observing mourning and the private school closed, the Lin family, except for Dong Xiaoya, were all men. Although Wang Linlang had not yet reached her coming-of-age ceremony, it was improper for her to stay at the private school.