Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Roasted lamb legs, braised quail, honey pickled tofu, ginger shrimp, fermented soybean sprouts, vinegar ginger, etc., a combination of meat and vegetable dishes filled the table. Shaohuanger wine was poured into the cups. Several people gathered around and chatted while eating, and the soft voices rang in their ears.

"An Daoquan didn't have anything unusual to do today. He left home at noon and stayed in his pharmacy until the lights came on before going home. He fell asleep soon after."

Shi Qian held the chicken leg in his hand and kept biting it, his mouth full of oil. "But this guy is indeed a famous doctor. More than ten patients came in today, and they all came out with thousands of thanks. He seems to be quite capable."

Yang Lin took a sip from the wine glass and nodded, "Brother Shi, what you said is true. I also heard the same thing from Li Qiaonu. But I can also confirm that most of the money An Daoquan earned was spent on this woman. He was very obsessed with her."

"Most of the problem lies with this woman."

Ma Lin ate a shrimp nearby and sucked his fingers: "This woman is used to serving others. An Daoquan's wife died of illness, and all his thoughts turned to this prostitute. This woman has her own ways to make him unable to leave Jiangning Mansion.

According to her, someone else offered to invite him out of the state for a large sum of money, but was stopped by this prostitute's coquettish and clinging behavior. "

The others chewed and listened quietly. Zhang Shun held a piece of tofu and thought for a moment: "It seems that the problem is mostly due to this woman..."

"It's a bit difficult. I tried to trick her. She thinks An Daoquan is a cash cow. I'm afraid she won't let go easily." Ma Lin and Yang Lin looked at each other and shook their heads. "We think it's difficult to start from here. Why does the woman want to kill this goose that has been laying golden eggs for a long time instead of giving it up?"

Shi Qian blinked his eyes: "Maybe it's because I didn't spend enough money?"

Yang and Ma shook their heads.

"呲呲-"

Assistant Li took a sip of wine and looked at the people who were leaving. "Has Mr. An been treating the officials of Jiangning Prefecture recently?"

Ma Lin and Yang Lin shook their heads.

Shi Qian held up the wine glass and nodded, "Yes, today when I was watching An Daoquan, I also talked to others about it. They said that many wealthy families and officials in this city like to seek treatment from him, especially the Tongpan of this prefecture. He has been in poor health since last year. In the middle of every month, he has to find An to treat him and take a few doses of medicine. This is no longer a secret in Jiangning Prefecture. They all jokingly call him a medicine barrel."

After saying this, he stopped talking and looked at Li Zhu, who seemed to be in deep thought, together with Zhang Shun, Ma Lin and Yang Lin. Li Zhu pondered for a moment, picked up the warm wine pot from the brazier, and poured the yellow wine with the spicy taste of red dates and ginger into the cup.

"I didn't want to use too many tricks to prevent him from ruining my plans, but now that things have come to this, we can't afford to waste time slowly influencing him." Li Zhu glanced at Shi Qian and said, "Watch closely for the next two days to see if the judge asks An Daoquan to go home or come to An's pharmacy himself, whether he prescribes the medicine himself, and where he boils the medicine."

He glanced at the bag on the table beside him and said, "When the time comes, you can bring some supplements and add some ingredients to the judge. Later, I will refine some medicinal residue for you, and you can mix it into the medicinal residue he boiled.

Since you are in poor health, don't suffer in this world."

Shi Qian glanced over and nodded: "As long as he drinks the medicine, I guarantee it will go into his stomach."

Li Zhu went to see Yang Lin and Ma Lin again and said, "Find a clean person to lure An Daoquan out of the city, and then find a local to inform him of the incident and let him run away. You have to do these two things."

Yang Lin thought: "What if An Daoquan is a stubborn person who would rather surrender to the authorities and be tried than prove his innocence?"

"The one who died was an official, one of the top people in Jiangning Prefecture. Besides, there are Tong Guan and other people from the capital." Li Zhu shook his head: "An Daoquan is just a doctor. How can he be so strong and calm when encountering things? If he is really such a person, he would not be tied here with a half-open door."

Jin Baozi and Tie Dixian nodded in agreement. Li Zhu looked at Zhang Shun again and said, "General Zhang, please sail out first, so that we won't be detained here if something goes wrong. Go east and wait in Dongyang Town."

"That's a relief." Zhang Shun nodded. "Then let the sailors drive the boat to the riverside and wait for us. We can leave right away."

"No need." Assistant Li shook his head: "That's not very convenient, just wait there, I will find it when the time comes."

Several people raised their eyebrows, somewhat surprised: "Why do you have to do it yourself?"

"I'll need his secret recipe to grow sick grass later." Assistant Li narrowed his eyes and smiled: "After all, it's better to have some friendship."

By now they had made up their minds, ate and drank, talked for a while, soaked their feet in hot soup, and then went to rest.

In the next three to five days, Shi Qian, Ma Lin and Yang Lin went out early and came back late, staring at An Daoquan and asking for news about the Tongpan.

The other two people, one was looking for someone useful in the city, but no one was suitable; the other was looking for a family that could be considered wealthy outside the city, but after searching for a long time he couldn't find anything, but he became a little familiar with the inns outside the city where people rested.

Zhang Shun, the captain of the ship, sped up his purchases so that the clerks in charge of the riverside wharf could not notice anything wrong.

On the streets, the army in Jiangning Prefecture kept reporting victories. After Liu Zhen defeated Fang Hou and Gao Yu, he successively conquered Xiuning, Wuyuan, Qimen and other cities to the west. When there was no threat to his own western route, he turned his troops to Muzhou.

Wang Bing on the east route also received frequent reports of victory. Fuyang, Xincheng and other places were conquered. He kept killing his way to the northern end of Muzhou. The two armies, one from the north and one from the west, clamped Muzhou in the middle. Li Zhu and others who knew the situation were very helpless, but things had come to this point, and they could only let it go. They couldn't lead the navy of two ships to fill the void.

It was during these few days that the people who were acting separately reaped rewards one after another. First, Zhang Shun set out eastward with a boat full of food and cloth.

Ma Lin searched the city for a long time but felt that nowhere seemed appropriate. He looked hesitantly at the beggars in the city, wondering whether he should spend some money to hire someone.

And outside the city.

Two figures flew out of the hotel, "Ouch!" "Ah!" They fell to the ground screaming, and the whole body slid back a foot due to the force.

"Get lost! I'm having a drink and I have to watch you filthy bastards come here to bring bad luck. Get away from me. If you show up here again, I'll break your legs."

Yang Lin came out with a wine jug in his hand and glared at the idle man groaning on the ground. Upon hearing that, the two men quickly got up and said, "Don't be angry, good man. Let's go now, let's go now!"

He ran away in a panic.

"Pfft! What the hell!"

Yang Lin spat, turned around and was about to go in, but stopped when he saw the young man behind him covering his face.

The young man dressed as a waiter looked no more than 17 or 18 years old. He quickly put on a smile and said, "Thank you for your help, or I would have been beaten badly."

Yang Lin looked him up and down, seeing that he was covered with footprints, and shook his head: "I have seen your martial arts, and you have learned some skills, but you just don't know the key points. In the end, you are just a show-off, and you will suffer a lot in a fight with others."

"You are right, benefactor." The young man smiled bitterly. "I have been fond of martial arts since I was young. Although I have studied under many masters, I have never learned the true teachings. Now I am neither good nor bad. It's really..."

Yang Lin walked in with the wine jug, sat down, and asked the young man to come over and sit with him: "If you really like to learn martial arts, don't think too much, find a master and practice with him for three to five years."

The young man said helplessly, "My old father is weak and needs someone to take care of him. I can't just leave him here to make a living on his own."

Yang Lin looked him up and down and nodded: "He is a filial son."

"Filial piety is bullshit." A vigorous voice came out, and a ruddy-faced middle-aged man walked out of the kitchen, holding a plate of cut cooked meat in his hand. He first glared at his son angrily and said, "I'm in good health, you little bastard!"

The young man looked at Yang Lin, a trace of embarrassment flashed across his face, and he quickly stood up: "Dad, why did you come out?"

"If you don't come out, I'm afraid you'll scold me to death." He walked to the side of Yang Lin and put the meat down: "Thank you for teaching those idlers a lesson, otherwise my father and I would have been beaten today."

She bent her waist slightly, reached out to pick up the apron to wipe her hands: "It's just a small token of my appreciation, please don't despise it."

"They are just two hooligans, what's their value?" Yang Lin said. Seeing the middle-aged man's anxious and expectant look, he didn't say no. He picked up a piece with chopsticks and put it in his mouth: "Hmm... Is this venison? It's really expensive for the store."

Then he quickly asked the father and son to sit down.

"It's not a big deal." The middle-aged man smiled bitterly, looked up at the small shop, and said reluctantly, "I just wanted to cook the best meat for you before closing the shop."

Yang Lin was pouring wine and drinking. He looked up at him, then at the young man beside him who also looked reluctant. He put down the wine pot in his hand and said, "So... you and your son are going to leave here?"

"To be honest with you, this shop can no longer be run." The father sighed, "There are more and more idlers coming to take advantage of us recently. I know a little bit about farming, and even if I have three heads and six arms, I can't stop so many people from making trouble today and tomorrow. It's not a big deal for us to get beaten, but without you, they will starve to death."

The young man lowered his head in shame: "It's all because I'm not good enough in learning."

The middle-aged man glanced at him and put his big hand on his head: "It's not your fault. Those martial artists are also greedy for money. Dad doesn't have money to honor them."

The young man looked more guilty: "I just don't know how I will survive in the future without this hotel..."

"There is always a way..."

Yang Lin listened to his father and son talking, with a thoughtful look on his face. As he glanced back and forth, he suddenly raised his eyebrows and cursed himself inwardly.

But I'm not stupid. The candidate I've been looking for for a long time is right here, right?
Besides, there is no news from Ma Lin...

Here, there are two people, a father and a son, and judging by their accents, they are also from the local area...

Sitting up straight, Yang Lin smiled at the father and son opposite him: "Don't be sad, I have an important matter to discuss with you, or I need your help."

The father and son opposite them sat up straight immediately: "Speak, benefactor."

The young man patted his chest and said, "I will help you through any difficulties."

"That's not necessary."

Yang Lin smiled, moved closer, and the sound of whispering was heard.

……

Mid-spring, Wuxu.

The suppression of bandits in the southeast was still in full swing. The Western Army was advancing on both the east and west routes, preparing to achieve success in one battle. At the same time, an official named Deng Xunwu in the capital was promoted to the position of Shao Bao, and he immediately recommended a man named Chen Xizhen, who looked a bit feminine, to be the chief military officer of the Japanese army.

On this day, An Daoquan was invited to the home of the Tongpan of Jiangning Prefecture.

"Cough cough cough..."

The sound of coughing was heard from the inner room. Two people, one standing and one sitting, looked inside, and then the sitting figure began to write furiously.

"The magistrate's illness is still the same, and he needs to be nursed back to health. There hasn't been much change." An Daoquan said as he wrote, "Although the weather is still cold, it is spring after all. The changes in yin and yang require slightly different medicinal materials."

After drawing the last stroke with the brush, he picked up the paper with both hands, blew it dry, and handed it to the person standing beside him: "You can just follow this prescription or go to An's Pharmacy. I will prepare the herbs for you. But remember, now you need six bowls of water to boil one bowl of medicine."

"Thank you, Doctor An." The housekeeper took it and looked at the prescription: "I will help my husband go to bed first, and I will go to An's to get the medicine later."

"Then I won't bother you any more. Goodbye—"

As An Daoquan spoke, he stood up and clasped his hands together.

The housekeeper quickly placed the paper on the table, weighed it down with a paperweight, and held out his hand: "I'll send you the divine doctor. This way please."

Two figures walked out of the house, but they didn't notice that there was a pair of eyes on the roof peeking down. It was Shi Qian, the flea on the drum. He heard clearly what the two said, and watched them walk away. Then he nimbly came down from the height, found a place to hide, and waited for the housekeeper's action.

Things were just as the housekeeper said. After sending An Daoquan off, the man waited on the judge in the room until he fell asleep. Then he hurried out, took the medicine bag and ran to the kitchen, asking the servants to boil it.

This period of time was enough for the flea on the drum to get to know the Tongpan's family. Perhaps because the man had been ill for many years, there were not many people in the family, only the housekeeper, two servants and a cook. These people were busy with their own affairs and didn't notice that there was an extra person in the house.

When it was getting dark, the medicine was almost ready. The maid in the kitchen wiped her hands and was about to take it when she heard a loud bang outside. She said to herself, "What's that noise?" and turned around to go out, only to see the firewood stacked in the corner scattered all over the floor.

"I told them to put the firewood in order, but they didn't listen."

She walked over muttering to herself, but the old woman didn't make a move to visit her. She kicked the firewood to the side so that it wouldn't block her path, and didn't notice a dark shadow floating into the kitchen from behind.

The old woman cleared a passage and turned back to take a look at the steaming medicine. She hurriedly stepped forward to pick it up and put it on the tray, then turned around and walked out of here, heading towards the main house.

Shi Qian stuck his head out from behind, looked around, came out lightly, flipped over and climbed onto the roof in two steps, and disappeared from the mansion in the dim light.

……

Time goes back to before dusk.

bang bang bang-

bang bang bang-

"Doctor An, Doctor An, open the door!"

"I'm coming." A voice replied from inside the room, followed by hurried footsteps. The door creaked open to the left and right. An Daoquan propped the door open and looked out: "You...you are..."

The young man outside looked anxious: "My name is Wang Dingliu, I own a shop by the river. My father is seriously ill and he has been to two doctors but couldn't get better. So I have no choice but to come to you for help."

Then he knelt down and said, "Please help me, the miracle doctor."

"Is that so? Get up quickly." An Daoquan quickly squatted down and pulled the man up, saying, "Let me get the medicine box, and we'll leave right away."

Wang Dingliu nodded outside and watched An Daoquan go in. Not long after, he came out with a medicine box on his back: "Come on, take me there quickly."

"Come with me." (End of this chapter)