Chapter 17
God of Fire
“How dare you! You poisoned the Eldest Prince with poison and still dare to claim innocence!” Magistrate He looked down at Doctor Cheng from the back of his horse and reprimanded him righteously.
“…” Doctor Cheng’s hair was messy, and his eyes were slightly sinister. His heart fell into greater chaos.
“Lord He!” The sound of hurried footsteps could be heard as the head of the guards walked quickly from the back hall with two guards. “I just found this under Doctor Cheng’s bed…”
One of the guards held a dark red wooden box in both hands and respectfully handed it to Magistrate He.
The lid of the box was opened, revealing a stack of letters and a longevity stone seal. The envelope was impressively inscribed with several words in an odd script.
“This is the State of Yue’s language…” Magistrate He muttered. His expression suddenly changed. When he looked at Doctor Cheng again, his eyes were filled with vigilance and his forehead throbbed.
Today’s troubles came one after another.
Early in the morning, after the Eldest Prince took the medicine prescribed by Doctor Cheng, his condition suddenly worsened. He was on the verge of death, and Magistrate He was almost scared out of his wits.
If the Eldest Prince died in Danyang City, regardless of whether it was an illness or an accident, Magistrate He would not be able to answer to the Emperor and would even be stripped of his position by the furious emperor.
Magistrate He naturally would not sit back and do nothing. After thinking about it, he decided to find a scapegoat, so he brought people to seal the Cheng Medical Hall.
Unexpectedly—
“Doctor Cheng is a spy from the State of Yue!”
Someone shouted from behind, their voice sharp and loud.
The commoners who were watching outside the medical center heard it. It was as if a drop of water had fallen into hot oil and instantly exploded.
These voices were clearly transmitted to the VIP seats on the second floor of the Breeze Pavilion. Juan Bi said indignantly, “So it’s the State of Yue!”
“These people are really despicable. First, they detained the Eldest Prince and refused to let him return to the dynasty. Now, they even poisoned him!”
Gu Yanfei pushed away the kitten that wanted to steal food again. She used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of half-moon goose oil pastry and put it into her mouth. She gently bit it with her teeth, and the sweet taste filled her mouth. It was oily but not greasy, crispy but not dissipating.
In her memory, the eldest prince, Chu Yi, should have appeared in March of the following year. It was said that his face was severely burned, and he wore a half-moon silver mask that covered the left side of his face all year round. His temperament was also said to be sinister and deep.
He was the only prince today, so naturally, he wanted to be the Crown Prince. However, he was stopped by the ministers, who said that a deformed person was not suitable to be the ruler of a country.
Every now and then in the royal court, there would be endless disputes over the establishment of the Crown Prince.
“Lord He, I’m not from the State of Yue!” Doctor Cheng cried out in agitation, his expression extremely ugly. “This doesn’t belong to me. Someone framed me!”
Doctor Cheng was telling the truth. The things in the box were not his at all.
He was not so stupid as to keep such a letter that clearly had the State of Yue’s words.
Who put this in his house?!
Si Hai! Si Hai’s ordinary face immediately appeared in Doctor Cheng’s mind.
In an instant, Doctor Cheng seemed to have been struck by lightning as he understood the situation.
His heart was as cold as ice. Shock, anger, suspicion, and other emotions seemed to weave into a huge net that trapped him.
“The evidence is conclusive, yet you still want to quibble!” Of course, Magistrate He would not believe Doctor Cheng’s words. He ordered coldly, “Hurry up and capture him!”
The guards received the order in a rough voice. They roughly grabbed Doctor Cheng’s arms and escorted him onto the prison cart.
As they pushed him, Doctor Cheng’s hair bun fell apart. He grabbed the wooden railing of the prison cart with both hands and shouted hysterically, “I’m innocent, Lord He. I was framed!”
Magistrate He ignored Doctor Cheng and turned to ask the head of the class, “Is there anyone else inside?”
“Magistrate He, I’ve searched carefully. There’s no one else except for two assistants,” the captain replied with cupped fists.
Doctor Cheng’s heart raced. Sure enough, they were here for the Sixth Master!
Fortunately, the Sixth Master had already left safely through the secret passage.
The Sixth Master was resourceful and would definitely be able to resolve this crisis!
“Let’s go!” Magistrate He led the way with a cold expression.
The guards rushed behind with the prison cart. The group drove along Chongxian Street in a mighty manner, leaving behind three or four guards to continue searching the Cheng Medical Hall.
Juan Bi, who was leaning against the window with her upper body, retracted her gaze. Still feeling a little worried, she turned around and said, “I wonder how the Eldest Prince is…”
“The Eldest Prince is blessed by the heavens. He will definitely be safe,” Gu Yanfei said casually as she looked at the departing team. Gu Yunzhen nodded in agreement.
Gu Yanfei’s expression was firm. Even if she didn’t read fortunes, she could answer this question.
In her previous life, before she passed away, the Eldest Prince, Chu Yi, was still alive and well.
Gu Yanfei was about to retract her gaze when she suddenly froze and looked straight at the horizon.
On the eastern horizon floated a crimson haze of blood, like clouds and mist. It rolled and flowed, changing into all kinds of strange shapes. Gradually, the bloody haze thickened…
Gu Yanfei muttered to herself, “Is it… the God of fire’s calamity?”
Her voice was as low as a mosquito’s buzz. Only the kitten with the sharp ears heard her clearly. Its fluffy cat ears twitched.
The little kitten excitedly jumped onto the window sill and looked in the same direction with its eyes wide open. It let out an excited cry. “Meow~” It had the mentality of watching a show.
“Second Sister, what did you say?” Gu Yunzhen did not hear her clearly.
Gu Yanfei was still staring at the dense blood energy. Her right hand, which was hidden in her sleeve, quickly calculated and said, “The wind is about to blow…”
A faint wind blew through the dull air and drifted past the window. The branches outside swayed slightly and rustled.
The wind blew and then disappeared. The air was still dry and dull, as if the wind just now was just an illusion.
On the streets below, many people were still lingering, condemning the State of Yue people with righteous indignation. Some people dispersed with the departure of the officials. A few busybodies simply followed the prison cart to the Danyang Manor to see how this matter would develop.
When half of the crowd on the street had dispersed, a tall figure in a straight green robe walked out of the alley beside the Cheng Medical Hall. He wore a large bamboo hat that covered most of his face.
The Sixth Master looked around warily. He lowered the brim of his bamboo hat and tensed.
He was certain that they had been set up.
...
Chu Yi and Kang Wang had joined forces to plot against them.
The Sixth Master hurried in the other direction. As he passed a medium-sized man in gray, he gestured to him.
The man in gray immediately understood and chased after Magistrate He’s group in the direction of the Danyang Manor.
Unfortunately, he was too late. He only saw Doctor Cheng’s prison cart being escorted into the manor from afar. Then, the door closed mercilessly, blocking all probing gazes.