Rong Zhi quickly put the case files back in place. Xia Yunting put an arm around Rong Zhi, and they rolled on the ground, hiding in the gap between the bookshelf and the wall.
The newcomers brought with them a wave of alcohol as they entered. Faint, unsteady footsteps echoed in the room, indicating the person was not sober.
"Huh? Why is no one here? Where did everyone go? Keep drinking!"
The man was extremely thin, his back hunched.
He scanned the surroundings with eyes that looked as if they had been cut with a small knife. He seemed to realize this was not a place for drinking. He opened his mouth wide, revealing two rabbit-like teeth, and turned to shout outside.
"Where is this? Who brought this old man here?"
The constables outside glanced at him and then continued their patrol as if nothing had happened, as if this was a common occurrence.
"Damn it! You don't take me seriously? I'll chop every one of you later!"
"No one's talking to me, right? I'll burn this whole place down! Burn it all!"
He fumbled around on his person and found a tinderbox. He blew on it a few times, but it didn't light. He brought it close to his eyes to examine it and realized he was holding it the wrong way. He flipped it over, and the tinderbox finally ignited.
He squinted and pressed it against a set of case files on the nearest bookshelf. The flame touched it, and the files immediately burst into flames with a whoosh.
The case files, having been dry for years, were extremely flammable. The fire spread from one to another, and within moments, the entire bookshelf was engulfed.
Seeing the flames, the constables outside finally realized something was wrong. Two of them rushed in and grabbed the hunched man from either side.
"Strategist, you're drunk again? You're acting crazy again! Let's go outside!"
"Don't you dare tell me what to do!"
Tang Yuanjiang shook his body, tossing the two constables off like shaking off fleas.
"Where is the master? Tell him to come out and drink with me."
"Heh heh, live for today, drink for today."
He pointed outside, speaking incoherently, completely oblivious to the rapidly growing fire behind him.
The two constables knew they couldn't defeat him. They scrambled to crawl out of the room to find help.
They had barely stepped over the threshold before they were pulled back.
"Where do you think you're going? You're all staying to drink with me!"
Tang Yuanjiang, with his small and withered frame, lifted two constables, each over eight feet tall, with one hand holding each. He did so effortlessly, as if he were carrying two little chicks.
The two men were completely unable to fight back. If they stretched out their arms to strike, they would get kicked in the legs. If they extended their legs to kick, they would be punched in the head.
Although the drunken Tang Yuanjiang appeared to fight without any discernible pattern, every move he made exploited the constables' weaknesses, making it impossible to tell if he was truly drunk or feigning it.
Xia Yunting and Rong Zhi, hiding in the corner, witnessed all of this. Both of them had the same thought.
This person's martial arts are not weak.
The fire grew larger and larger, thick smoke billowed from the room, and a flicker of flame landed on Tang Yuanjiang's back, setting him ablaze.
"Hiss! That hurts!"
He cried out in pain and let go. The two constables, now free, scrambled out and went to call for help.
The fire managed to sober Tang Yuanjiang up a bit. He turned his head and looked at the fire that had already reached the roof, murmuring, "It's on fire..."
He swayed for a moment and then vigorously shook his head.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, two dark figures slipped out silently.
The fire had not yet reached the innermost part of the room, but the smoke was thick. Rong Zhi and Xia Yunting ran to the outermost part, unable to suppress their coughs.
Rong Zhi took off her mask and fanned herself rapidly with her hand.
"This was too dangerous. We didn't find any evidence and almost burned to death inside."
Xia Yunting, however, was considering a different question.
"That person seemed skilled. Why is he a strategist?"
Rong Zhi patted her chest, saying casually,
"What's so strange about that? There are capable people everywhere."
"No, someone with such talent should be a constable."
"Perhaps he's more talented as a strategist."
Xia Yunting felt both amused and exasperated, realizing that Rong Zhi was still quite naive in some respects.
The two did not leave but observed the situation from a distance.
The two constables called for more people. They fetched water in buckets and extinguished the fire, finally managing to bring the flames under control. The group was busy until late at night, still needing to sort through the case files inside to assess the damage.
After being dragged out by several people, the strategist caused another commotion and finally slumped against the wall and fell asleep.
The incident even alarmed the county magistrate. Without even getting dressed, he rushed to the scene. Seeing the situation, he exclaimed "Oh my mother!" and "Heaven help us!" but made no mention of punishing the strategist. Upon seeing him asleep against the wall, he even instructed two constables to escort him back.
Rong Zhi clearly heard what he said.
"Quickly escort the strategist back to his room to sleep. Don't let him catch a cold."
Rong Zhi: "..."
Is he a strategist or her own father?
"There's definitely something wrong with this yamen."
Xia Yunting spoke suddenly.
"Are you so sure?"
"The missing case files, isn't that enough proof?"
Indeed.
It seemed the yamen also needed to be investigated.
"We can start with Zhang Yajing. I've already promised her I'd treat Chu Qingze. Given Zhang Yajing's personality, it won't be difficult to get her to help with the investigation."
It seemed this matter would still fall to Rong Zhi.
"Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Mo."
"It's not hard work. You just stay home and help me gather herbs!"
By the time they returned, it was almost dawn. Rong Zhi didn't sleep. After a simple breakfast, she selected a few medicinal herbs and set off.
Liu Hong came to find Xia Yunting as usual. They went up the mountain together without any unusual incidents.
For the past few days, Rong Zhi had been staying at the Jishetang clinic. She thought that after the incident with Zhu Dahong, Jishetang would at least see more business, if not booming. However, that was not the case at all.
No one came until the afternoon. An Ping propped his head on his hand, nodding off and drooling. Zhao Qiancai hadn't shown his face at all.
Rong Zhi sighed and took out a rice-sized object from her pouch. She crushed it and blew it towards An Ping.
An Ping opened his mouth and sneezed, tears streaming down his face.
"Achoo! Achoo! What is this stuff? It's so spicy!"
"Heh heh, pepper powder." Rong Zhi gave a mischievous smile.
"I saw you were too sleepy, so I wanted to perk you up."
An Ping's mouth hung open. He tried to sneeze several times but couldn't, which was extremely uncomfortable.
Now he was wide awake.
"Divine Doctor Lin, why are you tormenting me? There are no customers here anyway. Even if I watch diligently, what difference can it make?"
Rong Zhi leaned in, asking curiously, "An Ping, did your shopkeeper steal someone's wife before?"
"Ah, no!"
An Ping was confused.
"Then I'm puzzled. Your shopkeeper didn't kill or set anything on fire, so why is business so bad? Even a beggar on the street gets money from ten or eight people a day. We're worse off than beggars!"
An Ping rubbed his nose. He didn't want to gossip, but Rong Zhi's gaze was fixed on him as if she already knew he knew something.
He reluctantly began to speak.
"Our shopkeeper didn't steal anyone's wife, but he almost caused someone to die from the medicine he sold before. After that, no one came to buy medicine from us anymore."
"Almost caused someone to die?"
Rong Zhi seized on the key point.
"What happened?"
"It was two years ago," An Ping lowered his voice.
"Two years ago, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Chen family in the west of the city caught a cold. She bought medicine from us, but after taking it, she had a persistent high fever and eventually passed away. It was Divine Doctor Chu who happened to pass by and saved her. However, her son held onto this matter and spread it all over town. Over time, no one came to buy medicine from us anymore. If our shopkeeper weren't wealthy, this place would have gone bankrupt long ago."
"What bankrupt?"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Qiancai came out from behind, glaring at An Ping.
Rong Zhi said, "Shopkeeper, I need to go see Zhu Dahong's husband. Please give me a dose of the medicine he usually takes."
Saying this, she placed a small piece of silver on the counter.
Unexpectedly, the first customer of the day was Rong Zhi buying medicine.
An Ping quickly packed the medicine and handed the paper packet to Rong Zhi.
"I'm leaving."
Rong Zhi ignored Zhao Qiancai's murderous expression and left with the herbs. As soon as she stepped out, An Ping was hit on the head.
"What are you babbling about with her?"
"N-nothing!"
Zhao Qiancai gave An Ping a disdainful look.
When Rong Zhi arrived at Zhu Dahong's house, Zhu Dahong was busy preparing some pork offal.
Her sleeves were rolled up to her elbows, revealing her sturdy forearms. She held a small intestine in her hand, rinsing it back and forth with water. As the water in the intestine became clearer, Zhu Dahong flipped the offal over and washed it in the water with quick and efficient movements.
She noticed Rong Zhi first and her face lit up.
"Divine Doctor, why are you here?"
"I came to see the patient."
As Rong Zhi spoke, she gestured with the medicine in her hand.
Zhu Dahong became even more embarrassed. She wiped her hands on her apron and reached out to take the packet of herbs, but ultimately did not.
"Oh my, this is too much trouble for you. Xiao Yuan, come out quickly and greet the Divine Doctor!"
Xiao Yuan ran out from inside. She looked much happier than last time, and there was a smile on her face.
"Xiao Yuan, how is your father?"
"Thank you, Divine Doctor. He's much better."
Xiao Yuan nodded, showing a sweet smile.
"Here, don't make the mistake of brewing it this time."
Rong Zhi handed the medicine to her. Xiao Yuan took it, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.
Knowing the patient was alright, Rong Zhi was relieved, but she still wanted to see for herself.
Just as she was about to ask if it was convenient to see the patient, someone came out from the inner room.
He was a thin man, not very tall. His clothes looked loose on him. His features were gentle, and although not particularly handsome, he was pleasant to look at.
"Divine Doctor, you're here?"
He seemed a little shy.
Even though Rong Zhi had treated him before, seeing her in this situation made him appear somewhat flustered.
Rong Zhi understood who Xiao Yuan took after.
She didn't think it was a bad thing.
"It looks like you've gotten much better. I can rest assured."
"Thanks to the Divine Doctor, Da Zhuang is much better now. He's eating more than before. Last night, he ate two big bowls of rice."
Zhu Dahong quickly chimed in, clearly genuinely happy.
"Hong, what are you talking about?"
Da Zhuang was thin-skinned and glanced at Zhu Dahong with a hint of chiding.
Rong Zhi nodded.
"That's a good sign. It's good that you're recovering. Let me take your pulse."