Wu Xiuhe said, "I heard that Qujiang is famous for its tiny whitefish, so I specially came to fish here." Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on noᴠelfire.net
Sun Zhen nodded and didn’t pursue the matter further, instead he asked, "Could Divine Doctor Wu please describe in detail what happened here?"
Thinking of the meal he could have after recounting the tale, Wu Xiuhe was quite cooperative, "Originally, I was fishing about a li to the north of here. Surprisingly, I only caught a small grass carp weighing about one or two after a whole morning. I felt that the feng shui of that place was no good, so I decided to come to the restaurant here to have lunch and then change my location. Little did I know, while passing by, I suddenly heard screams, so I immediately hid in the bushes there to watch."
Wu Xiuhe pointed to a dense grove of trees near the pavilion.
"Hmm," Sun Zhen just responded with a hum, not immediately sending anyone to check.
Wu Xiuhe continued, "I saw a group, about thirteen or fourteen masked men with high martial arts..."
Sun Zhen interrupted him, "How did Divine Doctor know that their martial arts were strong?"
"You silly boy," Wu Xiuhe sized him up, "Two of them swooshed from the ground right up to the second floor. Could they do that so easily if they weren’t highly skilled in martial arts?"
Sun Zhen, at a loss for words, simply said, "Please continue."
"When I saw them, two of the four servants inside were already dead, and the other two were protecting their master. I was deeply moved and decided to help them," Wu Xiuhe said, as he took out a small bottle from seemingly nowhere and slapped it onto the table. "I was going to use my sect’s unique sedatives against them, but just as I was about to act, I was discovered by those alert people. Those people were too unscrupulous, shooting two arrows at me without asking any questions. Luckily, I have quick reflexes and avoided disaster!"
"Was Doctor Zhang injured at that time?" Sun Zhen asked.
Wu Xiuhe frowned, "I was in no position to make sure, as I was barely saving myself! After those people sent two arrows my way, another came at me with a knife."
Wu Xiuhe stroked his beard, quite pleased with himself, "But I remained very calm. Before that, I had already divined using my sect’s secret techniques that I would encounter a perilous situation. Although fraught with danger, I knew it would not be life-threatening. And just as predicted, when I fled south from here, I ran into a group of scholars. Upon hearing of my misfortune, they immediately went to the government. With numbers on their side, I reckoned they wouldn’t dare do much, so they charged over, and those villains indeed fled upon hearing the commotion. However, by that time, the two individuals drinking in the pavilion had already sustained serious injuries, with their lives hanging by a thread. I, following fate, casually picked one who caught my eye to treat."
Sun Zhen knew that most of what Wu Xiuhe mentioned was indeed the truth, because the report to the officials had been made by two students of the Imperial College, and when the government arrived, everyone present at the scene had yet to leave, having all witnessed Wu Xiuhe saving the victim. Since he couldn’t tend to both, others sent for another doctor. Unfortunately, by the time the doctor arrived, the injured person had already passed away.
But there was one seemingly unimportant point in Wu Xiuhe’s story that puzzled Sun Zhen – could Hua Tuo have also performed divination?
"Please check the record to see if it matches, and if it does, kindly sign and seal it," Sun Zhen pushed the clerk’s record towards Wu Xiuhe.
Wu Xiuhe took it, glanced over it, and nodded, "Not a word is different." Then he picked up the brush, signed his name, and pressed his fingerprint on it.
"Thank you, Divine Doctor," Sun Zhen bowed respectfully.
"May I leave now?" Wu Xiuhe asked.
"Divine Doctor, please feel free," Sun Zhen replied.
Wu Xiuhe cheerfully got up and said to Ran Yan, who was standing aside, "Apprentice, I am going to discuss medical knowledge with a few Imperial Physicians. You go ahead with your work."
Ran Yan took a purse from his sleeve and stuffed it into Wu Xiuhe’s hand, "Take this to have the servants at the restaurant buy you some fresh clothes to change into."
"Alright," Wu Xiuhe unceremoniously pocketed the purse and happily went off to find Zhang Songhe and the others.
Ran Yan sighed, deciding to take things one step at a time. Wu Xiuhe’s memory was indeed not very good in some aspects, and coupled with his whimsical nature, it was useless to remind him.
Sun Zhen stood up and said, "Congratulations to Lady Xiang Liang on the birth of your child."
Ran Yan smiled slightly and replied, "Thank you, Junior Minister Sun."
Sun Zhen’s business was nearly settled; he was just waiting for the convergence of leads from both the Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Censorate. The main trial this time was under the Ministry of Justice, with He Sizheng in charge of the court trial, and the Assistant Minister of Ministry of Criminal Justice, Junior Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and the Grand Censor acting as co-judges.
Normally, during a joint hearing by the three departments, as co-judges, the three officials need not assist in the investigation; their main duty is to supervise the entire process to ensure the accuracy of the outcome. However, this time, as it involved the Crown Prince and the Emperor had summoned them personally, the three departments had to be more cautious in handling the matter.