After Imperial Physician Wang left, the main hall became quiet, with only a faint candle and wisps of the fragrance of medicinal herbs remaining.
Tick~~
The blood beads that had seeped out from the fingertip had returned to their normal bright red color, and it took a long time for one to drop.
Ye Jingtang placed his arm on the armrest and sat leaning against the chair. He felt that this scene seemed familiar – it was like being in a hospital for an infusion. The only difference was that there was no medicine bottle hanging beside the chair.
While he was lost in random thoughts, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Tap tap...
Looking over, the imposing and somewhat "silly" Fat-headed Dragon (Dongfang Liren), accompanied by her attendants, walked over. Her expression was stern even without anger, like a superior visiting a subordinate.
"Your Highness, why are you..."
"There's no need to get up."
Dongfang Liren raised her hand to dismiss her attendants and came closer:
"How is your injury?"
As she spoke, Dongfang Liren bent down and examined Ye Jingtang's left hand.
This action was nothing unusual at first, but Ye Jingtang was sitting on a big chair, and Dongfang Liren was quite tall. When she stood beside him and bent over, the imposing Fat-headed Dragon was right in front of his eyes, and it was visibly plump and within reach.
!
Ye Jingtang didn't dare to stare at the Fat-headed Dragon, so he could only turn his gaze away and motioned to the chair beside him:
"Why did you come, Your Highness? Did you meet anyone outside..."
"Your beloved?"
Ye Jingtang nodded, looking a bit worried as he mentioned it.
Dongfang Liren straightened up and said calmly, "I met her. I was afraid of disturbing your family, so I didn't meet her face to face. By the way, where did you bring back such a beautiful girl from?"
"Sigh, how could I abduct her? We met by chance and then got together. I took her out to handle a case tonight, but I didn't expect the murderer to be so cunning..."
Dongfang Liren pulled up a chair and sat upright in front of Ye Jingtang, in a posture similar to interrogating a suspect:
"Since it's a case-handling matter, why didn't you inform me but took your family member with you instead?"
Ye Jingtang replied frankly:
"Your Highness has zero practical combat experience. If something really happened, I would have to spare my attention to protect you..."
Slap——
Dongfang Liren was quite angry at this frank answer and tapped the armrest lightly:
"I have thousands of people under my command. I meant to arrange some people for you. Do you think I, as a precious princess, would go out to investigate cases with you?"
Ye Jingtang smiled and said, "I was just guessing. If I really took the chief catcher of the Black Yamen with me and nothing happened, wouldn't it be embarrassing?"
Dongfang Liren became more serious in her expression when she said this and asked curiously:
"How did you guess that there was an insider in the government?"
Ye Jingtang shook his head and said, "I just wanted to study the palm print again at night. Ning'er was also curious, so we dressed up like this and went there together. Who would have thought that we would just happen to run into the murderer destroying the corpse to eliminate the evidence. The murderer was able to come so quickly. There must be an insider in the government. It's definitely not a solo crime."
Dongfang Liren suddenly understood: "So that's how it is... But you're really amazing. At least you did notice that there was a problem with the palm print, which led the murderer to show up. Did you see the murderer's face?"
Ye Jingtang thought carefully and said, "No. Judging from the height, weapon, and body shape, it was definitely the murderer, but he wasn't present when handling the case on Zhujie Street. The murderer's martial arts skills are not as high as mine, but still should not be underestimated. He knows the Beiliang Breaking Edge Saber and the Tuzhou Dragon Qi Sword. There is a red rope in his sleeve that can penetrate the beam of the room for displacement. He also carries a lot of hidden weapons, smoke pellets, and the 'Snow Moth Scale' from Yanbei..."
Dongfang Liren listened quietly and then frowned in thought:
"Knowing so many martial arts skills, with origins covering all over the place, it's likely that some bandits from the green forest are secretly causing trouble again."
"I sent the bird to chase after him. The bird should be back soon, and then we can continue the investigation."
Seeing how meticulous Ye Jingtang's arrangements were, Dongfang Liren truly admired him. However, seeing the bowl of blood under Ye Jingtang's hand, she still said seriously:
"No matter whether this case is solved or not, you will be credited with the first merit. For the following matters, just let the chief catcher of the yamen handle them. You should have a good rest. They are paid with official rations but can't find a single clue for months; you don't receive a single penny of salary and are still risking your life at night. It's really..."
Ye Jingtang smiled and said, "Your Highness treats me so well. You even gave me the 'Jade Bone Diagram'. It's only right that I treat Your Highness's matters as my own."
Dongfang Liren blinked her eyes and felt a bit touched in her heart:
"It's good that you have this intention, but don't play with your safety. I have plenty of experts under my command. After a busy day, go back and accompany your beloved well."
Ye Jingtang隐隐 (vaguely) felt that there was a hint of jealousy that was not easily noticeable in these words, but he didn't dare to point it out. He just nodded with a smile.
The two of them only chatted for a few words when there was another commotion outside the door.
"Chirp chirp chirp..."
The bird flapped its wings and flew in through the door, landing on Ye Jingtang's shoulder. It looked very angry!
But seeing that Ye Jingtang seemed to be injured, it rubbed its head against Ye Jingtang's neck. It was probably trying to comfort him.
When Ye Jingtang saw that no more blood was seeping out from his finger, he pulled out the golden needle and placed it on the table:
"Did you find the person?"
"Chirp."
The bird opened its beak, asking for a reward.
After interacting with the bird a few times, Dongfang Liren could roughly understand its language. She took the bird:
"Take me to find the person. If we catch the murderer, I'll reward you with a big golden birdcage."
"Chirp?!"
When the bird heard about the birdcage, it jumped back onto Ye Jingtang's shoulder, looking like "The bird doesn't know you at all".
Ye Jingtang and Dongfang Liren walked out of the main hall together. They didn't find the trace of Lady Luo. Instead, they saw San Niang, wearing a light yellow summer dress, standing at the corner of the corridor, peeking over and holding a small medicine box in her hand.
"I pay my respects to Your Highness."
"Miss Pei is also here. Hmm... Where is Miss Ning'er?"
Dongfang Liren looked around.
"Miss Ning'er is shy. When she saw Your Highness coming, she felt embarrassed and left first."
Pei Xiangjun examined Ye Jingtang's complexion and, seeing that he was okay, said again:
"Since Jingtang is fine, I'll go back first..."
Dongfang Liren quickly raised her hand: "No need. Ye Jingtang, you send Miss Pei back to her residence. I still have some errands to run, so I'll take my leave first."
As she spoke, she took the bird on Ye Jingtang's shoulder and left with her attendants.
———
With the departure of the princess and Lady Luo, the Wang Family's medical hall became quiet.
After Ye Jingtang bid farewell to the manager of the medical hall, he walked out of the medical hall door with San Niang.
As soon as the princess left, Pei Xiangjun's virtuous and dignified temperament changed. She folded her hands around her waist and assumed the posture of a jealous elder, turning her back to Ye Jingtang:
"Hmph~ You're really amazing. You weren't satisfied with knocking down two people in the morning, and then you came here to fight someone to the death at night..."
Ye Jingtang walked beside her and sighed, "There's no other way. In the morning, I was helping San Niang from Tianshui Bridge solve a problem, and at night, I was handling a case for the Black Yamen. I have to take care of both. I'm doing this to gain the favor of the princess so that she can protect Honghua Building in the future."
Pei Xiangjun slowed down her steps a bit and they walked side by side. "There should be a priority in handling things, right? When I ask you for help, I have to arrange several experts to follow you in case something goes wrong. When you help the yamen handle the case, just showing your intention is enough. Why risk your life? Are you sure you're not trying to please the princess?"
"How can you say it's intentional flattery? The princess cares about me so much. I even feel that I don't deserve what I've received just by doing these things. Sigh... The most difficult debt to repay in the martial arts world is the debt of gratitude. This saying really makes sense."
Pei Xiangjun complained sourly for a few words. Seeing the helpless expression on Ye Jingtang's face, she stopped. Instead, she said:
"I sent someone to keep an eye on it today. Second Master Cheng sent people to Tiefo Ridge. I'm afraid that the Fierce-eyed Vajra will come to attack in a few days. You should be careful."
"I naturally know about this..."
As they were talking, the two of them arrived at the street.
The carriage of Jingwang's Mansion had already left, and there was only a government horse left, parked in the stable beside the medical hall.
Pei Xiangjun had come in a hurry and didn't take a carriage. They could ride the horse together, but it was obviously not very convenient for Pei Xiangjun to ride in a dress.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang wanted to go and ask Madam Zhang to send a carriage, but Pei Xiangjun went up and led the horse over:
"It's okay as long as we can get back. Don't bother others."
Ye Jingtang agreed and came forward to let San Niang get on the horse. Then, like the Monkey King, he led the horse and walked towards Tianshui Bridge.
Clip-clop, clip-clop...
The long white stone street was empty, with only the lights and green trees along both sides of the street.
Pei Xiangjun sat sideways on the horse. Seeing how properly Ye Jingtang was leading the horse, she felt a bit embarrassed:
"Why don't you get on the horse too? There's no one around to see."
"There's no one here, but there will definitely be people on the street ahead. It would be bad if people misunderstand you, San Niang."
"Sigh..."
Pei Xiangjun folded her hands around her waist and looked at Ye Jingtang's tall and straight back. She couldn't help but think of her sister-in-law's words and the internal and external troubles of Honghua Building. While she was secretly thinking, she suddenly remembered the medicine box in her hand.
She opened the medicine box and saw that there was a piece of red soft cloth inside. There were four depressions, and in each of them was a pill exuding the fragrance of medicine. She could smell precious medicinal herbs like ginseng. It should be something for regulating the body. So she raised her finger and picked out one:
"Jingtang, this is the medicine that Madam Wang just prescribed for you. Take it."
Ye Jingtang turned around and raised his hand to take it. As a result, San Niang directly threw it to him. He had to open his mouth and catch it like eating a peanut. He felt... Hmm...
It wasn't bitter. It was gentle when it entered the mouth and smooth down the throat...