Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

The main hall of the Shenjing official office.

The eunuch Yuan Jing entered the Magistrate's Office for the second time to convey the second imperial edict of Emperor Jiazhao. When Zhou Junxing heard the content clearly, he was filled with surprise and his thoughts were churning.

He didn't expect that the news of Huang Hongcang's accident would reach the palace. Less than two hours later, Emperor Jiazhao had re-appointed a substitute chief examiner.

The palace reacted swiftly, but today was already the sixteenth, which was the day when the chief examiner and co-examiners were supposed to go into seclusion, so it was understandable that they tried to make up for their losses so quickly.

However, the re-selected examiner was beyond Zhou Junxing's expectations. He quickly recalled the information he knew in his mind, hoping to find some useful highlights.

Yuan Jing said: "Before Lord Huang from the Ministry of Rites entered the retreat, something unexpected happened. The emperor is worried that there are evil people who intend to disrupt the Spring Examination.

His Majesty has issued an edict to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to deploy personnel to strengthen the protection of the chief examiner of the Spring Examination.

Now that Lord Huang has a strange and acute illness, there is no final diagnosis yet. The Emperor has issued a clear order that the identity of the new examiner must not be made public before he enters the examination room to avoid further accidents.

His Majesty took into consideration that Mr. Huang was an important official of the court, with great talent and virtue, and respected by both the government and the people, so he originally appointed him as the chief examiner of the spring examination to select talents for the country.

However, the emperor was deeply saddened by this bizarre misfortune, and specially dispatched the new chief examiner, together with Li Mingcheng, the director of the Imperial Hospital, to visit Mr. Huang at his residence and treat him, to show his majesty's concern and forgiveness.

There were Jinyiwei escorting them in plain clothes, but His Majesty, for the sake of caution, ordered Lord Zhou to accompany them throughout the trip. After the new examiner left the Huang Mansion, Lord Zhou escorted him to the Imperial Examination Hall to work on the questions in seclusion. "

When Zhou Junxing heard this, he was slightly cheered up. His mind was as clear as a mirror and he quickly understood the emperor's thoughts.

On the eve of the Spring Examination, the chief examiner suddenly encountered an accident at home, which made the prudent king extremely suspicious.

However, in such a hurry, it is impossible to uncover the truth of the matter, so after the alternate examiner is determined, his identity will be kept secret to prevent him from being taken advantage of and causing further incidents.

The Jinyiwei has intervened to protect this matter, and the Magistrates' Court has been asked to accompany the entire process.

It was just the time when the imperial examination was approaching, and in order to take precautions, the emperor would not trust anyone completely. The Jinyiwei and the judges participated together to restrain and supervise each other.

After Yuan Jing left, Zhou Junxing asked his subordinates to prepare carriages and horses, and prepare to go to Huang's mansion to wait for the Jinyiwei to escort the new chief examiner to arrive.

He hurried back to the official residence because Yuan Jing had announced the oral instructions of Emperor Jiazhao, letting him know who the new chief examiner would be. He was immediately motivated and excited, and he needed to confirm it urgently.

The long corridor in the government office suddenly seemed to become long and cumbersome. Zhou Junxing almost trotted into the government office and took out a thick stack of documents from the wooden shelf behind the desk.

Ever since the blue booklet appeared on the market some time ago, there has been a trend of paying homage to the officials who have passed the imperial examinations.

Zhou Junxing sensed something unusual, so he asked the chief judge of the Court of Inquiries to arrange spies to collect all kinds of information about the candidates' visits to officials.

Among these documents, there are also fifty-seven private topics written by officials collected by Zheng Yingquan, and the name and official position of the person who wrote the topic are marked on each topic.

The information on these documents all came from spies of the Magistrate's Court, who either wandered around the market and heard rumors, or bribed others to collect secret information. Their sources were different.

Therefore, many of the items recorded in these documents are incomplete and appear to be very complicated and fragmentary. It takes quite a bit of effort to sort out the complete clues from them.

Although Zhou Junxing is a man of sinister character, only cares about results and always uses any means necessary, he is also a person who is extremely meticulous and patient in his work.

He carefully studied and pondered every piece of these documents, which came from complex sources and were numerous in number, and made detailed annotations on them.

So, it didn't take him much time to find two of the documents, which were exactly what he wanted.

He carefully looked through his gains, with a strange and crazy light in his eyes. All the frustration he had felt after Huang Hongcang's accident was swept away in an instant!

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, revealing a gloomy smile, and he murmured proudly: "The net of heaven is vast and wide, and nothing can escape it!"

He thought for a moment, then wrote a letter, put it in an envelope and sealed it with wax, saying to himself: "There is still a day and a half left, everything is still in time..."

He called his trusted subordinates and said, "You can take this letter to my house and give it to my wife or my son. Go and return quickly without any mistakes.

Also, select two capable and reliable men, and have them come to me immediately to serve me and go to the west of the city to do something..."

……

Shenjing, Qingliufang, Huang’s House.

Zhou Junxing's carriage arrived at Huang's house, and not long after, two other carriages also arrived at Huang's house.

One of the carriages was quite large, and was attended by four sturdy servants.

The Huang family had received the news in advance and opened the door that had been closed for most of the day, waiting for the successor chief examiner to come and express his condolences.

However, what Mrs. Huang and Miss Huang were most concerned about was not the new examiner, but the accompanying Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Li Mingcheng.

Since Huang Hongcang fainted unexpectedly last night, the Huang family invited two famous doctors in Shenjing to help him, but neither of them could determine the cause of Huang Hongcang's illness.

But since he was known as a famous doctor, even if his reputation was not worthy of it, he still had some medical skills. At least he managed to save Huang Hongcang's heart pulse. Although he was unconscious, his life was temporarily safe.

When the two carriages entered the Huang Mansion, one of the carriages carried the imperial physician Li Mingcheng as well as several other doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau, which looked quite impressive.

Although the Huang family is not a hereditary noble family like the Jia family, according to family etiquette, unmarried girls are usually not allowed to show their faces in public.

But Huang Hongcang had no sons, only one beloved daughter, and the Huang family had no relatives in the capital to support them. Mrs. Huang was over 40 years old and was already in a state of panic because she was unsure about her husband's life or death.

Now the emperor has personally sent officials to visit and treat the patient. This is also a great favor from the emperor. Naturally, someone from the Huang family has to come forward. Miss Huang can only put aside her shyness and go to the reception on behalf of her father.

A middle-aged man in his forties got off another carriage. He was wearing a long green robe, had a handsome appearance, a short beard under his forehead, and a noble bearing.

But the expression on his face was a little solemn and strange, as if mixed with excitement and nervousness, showing a bit of strangeness...

When the man saw Zhou Junxing, his face suddenly became expressionless, but he still considered the etiquette of the officialdom, clasped his fists and said, "Master Zhou is polite."

Zhou Junxing knew that these noble civil servants in the court all had deep grudges against him and were always in a bad mood towards him, so he didn't take it to heart at all.

He replied with a fake smile: "You are too polite, I will go in and visit Mr. Huang now."

Emperor Jiazhao had Yuan Jing pass down an oral order that in order to prevent accidents from happening again, the new chief examiner must not disclose his identity to the public before entering the Imperial Academy for seclusion.

Therefore, Zhou Junxing did not call out Huang Hongcang's name or official title when talking to his family.

……

The two entered Huang Hongcang's bedroom and saw that his face was pale and his body was stiff lying on the bed, as if he was dead. Only the faint rise and fall of his chest showed that he was not dead yet.

At this time, Li Mingcheng, the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, was diagnosing his condition, and several imperial doctors were assisting him.

The middle-aged man saw that the imperial physician's treatment was ineffective, so he said to Miss Huang beside him: "Mr. Huang is well-educated, upright in his official duties, and has a good reputation in the court and the country.

Originally, he was appointed as the chief examiner of the Spring Examination, and he would be able to select excellent talents for the country with his outstanding talents and knowledge. However, he did not expect to encounter such a disaster. It is really heartbreaking.

This official has been issued an imperial decree to visit Lord Huang and take over the honor of taking the imperial examination in spring. I heard that Lord Huang has been resting at home these days. I guess he has been studying hard and compiling the questions for the imperial examination in spring.

This official would like to take a look at the manuscript of the topic left by Mr. Huang, observe the main idea of ​​the text, and use it to consult on re-writing the topic for the Spring Examination, and also to fulfill Mr. Huang’s ambition of ethics and talent. "

This middle-aged man took over Huang Hongcang as the chief examiner of the Spring Examination under extremely unexpected circumstances. He had to compile new test questions for the Spring Examination within one day, and the time was very tight.

But he was also a proud student in the imperial examinations in his time, with great talent and learning, not inferior to Huang Hongcang. Things that others were struggling to handle, he could still barely cope with.

The reason why he said these words to Miss Huang was that he was visiting her on the emperor's orders and it was just a formality in official circles.

Moreover, it was not a decent thing for him to take on the position of examiner in such a situation, and the time for preparing the questions was too tight.

If Huang Hongcang left behind a manuscript for the title, it would be a good thing. If not, it doesn't matter. You can just use your brain to think about it.

However, Zhou Junxing, who was standing by, was overjoyed when he heard this. If the test questions were to follow Huang Hongcang's ideas, it would be a lot easier for him...

Miss Huang was slightly startled when she heard this, and said, "Yesterday I sent ginseng tea to the study. Father has been studying the classics for many days and finally got some ideas. He has already drafted the topic for the Spring Examination."

Zhou Junxing was overjoyed when he heard this. The middle-aged man's eyes also lit up when he heard this.

Miss Huang continued, "However, my father said at the time that the Spring Examination was an event that attracted worldwide attention, and that people would always do many shady and sinister things in order to gain fame and fortune.

He said that he already had the final draft of the topic in mind, and after entering the Imperial Examination Hall for seclusion today, he would write it out from memory and send it to the emperor for review. However, there was no need to leave the draft at home to avoid any unexpected events.

So, in front of me, he burned the final draft, all the drafts and notes in the brazier.

The middle-aged man sighed and said, "Mr. Huang is strict and flawless, and thoughtful. He is so serious about Chunwei Luncai, which is really admirable."

Zhou Junxing's face darkened after hearing what Miss Huang said. He was disappointed and asked in a cold tone, "Miss Huang is telling the truth. Master Huang really burned all the manuscripts of the questions!"

……

Zhou Junxing's cold tone seemed to scare Miss Huang a little, and she said, "What do you mean, sir? I saw it with my own eyes, and my father has always been cautious in his actions."

Zhou Junxing said in a serious tone: "Miss Huang, I am the director of the Magistrates' Court. Mr. Huang has suddenly encountered a disaster. There must be something strange about it. It is very likely related to Mr. Huang's spring examination questions.

Therefore, I have no choice but to investigate this matter. Please ask Miss Huang to come to our study room and I can look around to see if I can find any clues that Master Huang was robbed."

The middle-aged man heard Zhou Junxing's arrogant and gloomy words, and his cruel behavior, and a look of dissatisfaction appeared on his face.

But as soon as he came out of the palace, he learned that the emperor had issued an oral order to let the Magistrates' Court investigate the murder of Huang Hongcang. Zhou Junxing used this as an excuse to control Miss Huang, and he couldn't stop him too much.

Miss Huang looked somewhat reluctant, but seemed to be under pressure from Zhou Junxing, so she had to be accompanied by Mrs. Huang and took them to Huang Hongcang's study.

As soon as Zhou Junxing and the middle-aged man entered the study, they saw a copper basin next to the desk with a pile of black ashes in it.

Miss Huang said: "Yesterday, my father burned the final version of the topic and related drafts in this copper basin."

Zhou Junxing squatted down in front of the copper basin and used his hands to pick up the ashes. He could see the papers that Huang Hongcang had burned, and they were burned very thoroughly. He stood up again and walked around the study, even carefully checking the books and documents on the bookshelf, and occasionally took out a few to read.

Seeing Zhou Junxing behaving like this, Miss Huang was so angry that her face turned pale.

She knew very well who Zhou Junxing was, a notorious cruel official in the Court of Magistrates. Her father was completely different from such a person, and such a person could never be a guest of the Huang family.

Now my father had only encountered a sudden disaster and was not a criminal. After all, he was a high-ranking official of the third rank. However, Zhou Junxing searched his study room at will, which was extremely rude.

Although Miss Huang bit her lips lightly and her face darkened, she held back her words because she was not afraid of him finding out anything...

The middle-aged man and Huang Hongcang were both orthodox civil servants in the court, so they naturally shared the same hatred for the enemy. Seeing Zhou Junxing's rude behavior, he could no longer hold back and snorted coldly, then left the study alone.

Zhou Junxing looked around the study and found nothing unexpected. He said gloomily, "Mr. Huang is very thoughtful in his work. I admire him."

It was not known whether he said this from his own feelings or for Miss Huang who was present. Then he calmly left Huang Hongcang's study.

As for Miss Huang's anger towards him and the middle-aged man's disgust and contempt for him, he didn't seem to care at all...

When Zhou Junxing left the study, Mrs. Huang next to him had a strange expression on her face.

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

She asked worriedly, "Xiu'e, you clearly burned your father's manuscripts privately this morning. Why do you say it was your father who burned them?"

Miss Huang looked calm, and the fear and timidity she had just shown in front of Zhou Junxing seemed to have disappeared.

He whispered, "Mother, father was supposed to go into seclusion in the Imperial Academy tonight, but something happened at this time. Don't you find it strange?

At this point, my father can no longer be the chief examiner for the Spring Examination. Keeping these manuscripts would be a source of trouble. It would be better to burn them all.

In fact, before the accident, my father was already on guard and had burned the original manuscript of the title. I just helped to clean it up..."

……

As soon as Zhou Junxing walked out of the study, Zheng Yingquan came up to him and said, "Sir, I have checked inside and outside the Huang family, and have also asked everyone in the mansion, but I have not found any problems.

Yesterday, Huang Hongcang was as usual, with no visitors, and his three meals were normal. After dinner, he stayed in the study for nearly two hours, and then suddenly had a seizure and fell into a coma after falling asleep. "

Zhou Junxing frowned and said, "According to what you said, it doesn't look like he was poisoned. If there are no outsiders visiting, there are no suspects. It seems like he really has a hidden disease?
Humph, if this is the reason, the outbreak of this hidden disease is too timely!"

Zheng Yingquan said: "Huang Hongcang is not dead, but just unconscious. We cannot let the coroner examine him. However, Li Chengming, the director of the Imperial Hospital, is a national expert. Maybe he can find the cause of the disease."

Zhou Junxing nodded slightly. If Huang Hongcang died accidentally this time, he could use the method of solving a case to let the coroner perform an autopsy on the body, and it would be much easier to find the cause.

But now Huang Hongcang is just unconscious. If Zhou Junxing is arrogant enough to ask the coroner to examine him, it would be a public humiliation for a third-rank official and he would instantly become the mortal enemy of the court officials.

By then, the public will be in an uproar, and even Emperor Jiazhao may not be able to protect him...

……

When Zhou Junxing and Zheng Yingquan returned to Huang Hongcang's bedroom, the room was still lifeless.

Soon, Miss Huang accompanied Madam Huang into the bedroom. Huang Hongcang was now in a state of uncertainty over his life or death. As family members, they were naturally very concerned about the results of the imperial physician's diagnosis.

Li Chengming was unbuttoning Huang Hongcang's clothes, pressing on his chest and abdomen, and taking his pulse and listening to his pulse several times.

Finally, he seemed to have thought of something, and used his hand to open Huang Hongcang's lips, not knowing what he was checking.

Zhou Junxing felt strange and asked, "Master Li, can you find out the cause of Master Huang's illness?"

Li Mingcheng closed Huang Hongcang's double layer again. His face looked a little strange, and there was even a hint of fear in his eyes.

He said: "I can probably conclude that the reason why Mr. Huang was unconscious like this was probably because he was poisoned!"

When Li Mingcheng said this, the Huang family mother and daughter and the middle-aged man in the room all turned pale with fear.

Zhou Junxing's eyes lit up strangely, and he asked, "Sir Li, what poison did Minister Huang take, and how did he get poisoned?"

Li Mingcheng said: "Master Huang's pulse is weak and sluggish, and the severity of the disease is unclear. There is no sign of poisoning in his limbs, hands and feet, or his complexion.

Just now, when I undressed Mr. Huang and examined him, I saw that the skin on his chest and ribs was slightly red, which made me suspicious.

Later, I noticed that Mr. Huang's lips were slightly cracked. Upon closer inspection, I found that his gums were blue-black, which concluded that Mr. Huang had been poisoned by the rat grass.

This kind of rat grass is very rare. It only grows in remote areas of the southern mountains and forests. It has never been seen in the north, and few doctors understand its shape.

Once a person is poisoned by this poison, there will be no abnormalities on the surface of the body, but the gums will turn black, the poison will enter the five internal organs, and the skin on the chest and ribs will turn slightly red.

It is difficult to find abnormalities through ordinary inspection methods.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the two famous doctors in Shenjing could not find the cause of Mr. Huang's illness.

I am also from the north. The reason why I recognize the poison of rat grass is that more than 20 years ago, a prince in the palace was born with gout and could not be cured no matter how many prescriptions were used.

Later, a famous doctor from Jiangnan traveled to the capital and presented a miraculous prescription, which used the poison of the rat-reed grass as the medicine and combined it with other medicinal herbs. Finally, the prince's strange illness was cured.

"I was a student at the Imperial Hospital back then, and I served my master every day. I was fortunate enough to witness this incident, so I recognize this object."

……

Miss Huang was very excited and asked, "Since Imperial Doctor Li knows this thing, he must have a way to detoxify it. I would like to ask the Imperial Doctor to use his magic to save my father's life. The Huang family will be forever grateful."

Li Chengming said: "I will do my best to treat Mr. Huang, so Miss Huang can rest assured.

The nature of the rat grass is very strong. In order to prepare medicine for the prince, the Imperial Hospital and the palace stored some rat grass.

A palace eunuch accidentally ate poisonous grass and died in less than two quarters of an hour. It can be seen that its toxicity is extremely strong.

However, after Lord Huang was poisoned, the symptoms did not show up until several hours later, and he did not die and was still alive.

This means that the poisoning was not serious. Other hallucinogenic drugs must have been mixed into the rattail grass, which caused Lord Huang to be poisoned and unconscious.

After I return to the Imperial Hospital, I will work hard to deduce the pharmacology and prepare an antidote as soon as possible."

……

After listening to Li Mingcheng's words, Mrs. Huang and Miss Huang almost turned a deaf ear to the story of the prince's strange illness. They were overjoyed to know that there was hope for Huang Hongcang's cure.

Zhou Junxing didn't care whether Huang Hongcang was dead or alive, and asked, "Master Li, how can this poison be administered?"

Li Mingcheng said confidently: "Of course it was food poisoning."

Mrs. Huang, who was standing by, looked confused and asked, "The master eats the same food as us. If the food was poisoned, why is everyone else in the family fine?"

Miss Huang, who was standing by, suddenly came to her senses and said, "Mom, although father always eats at the same table with us, there is one thing that only he eats and no one else does."

Zhou Junxing asked sharply: "What is that?"

Miss Huang said: "My father has had a long-standing throat disease. Because he needs to stay in seclusion for ten days before taking the imperial examination, he is worried that his old disease will flare up and affect the imperial examination.

During this period, we have been eating alligator meat stew to treat pharyngitis. Last night, two hours before my father fell ill, he had eaten a bowl of alligator meat stew. "

Zhou Junxing's eyes sparkled as he asked, "Is this the store from which I purchased the alligator meat? Is there any left?"

Madam Huang said, "The alligator meat that the master uses was ordered from the Hongxing Southern Goods Store on Yongzhen Street. The store delivered two pounds of alligator meat yesterday, and now most of it is left in the kitchen.

It’s just that the cook in our house is a distant relative of ours. She has been with us for more than ten years and will definitely not poison the master. Lord Zhou must not wrongly accuse her.”

Zhou Junxing seemed to ignore Madam Huang's words and said coldly, "Master Zheng!"

Zheng Yingquan understood and left the room immediately. After only a moment, he returned quickly with something wrapped in thick cloth in his hand.

He said, "Sir, the front and back gates are already guarded, and everyone is here!"

Zhou Junxing said in a deep voice: "Send someone to Hongxing Southern Goods Store immediately and bring the relevant people to the Magistrate's Court for questioning!"

As soon as these words came out, a chilly atmosphere suddenly appeared in the room, making people shudder...

The reputation of the Magistrate's Court is well known in the market. Anyone who is taken to the Magistrate's Court for questioning will not die, but will inevitably suffer a lot.

Li Chengming took the thick cloth package from Zheng Yingquan and opened it carefully. Inside was a piece of gray-black pickled meat with scales.

He put the pickled meat to his nose and sniffed it gently, frowning slightly, and said, "The ratgrass can only be used as medicine after being dried in the sun, and it has a strong spicy aroma.

If you use rat grass on meat, it will add more flavor to the food, which is somewhat similar to Sichuan peppercorns, but this alligator meat has no such smell and does not seem to be poisonous. "

Zhou Junxing's face was filled with anger, and he said, "This is the only thing in the Huang Mansion that can poison Huang Shilang. How could it be non-toxic?"

Li Chengming seemed to be unconcerned about Zhou Junxing's questioning. He was the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, a well-known medical expert in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and was highly regarded by Emperor Jiazhao.

Even if Zhou Junxing was a mad dog, he would never dare to bite him easily. Everyone has a headache or a fever. When it comes to life-threatening situations, a famous doctor like Li Chengming is equivalent to a life.

Li Chengming said calmly: "It is not difficult to know whether this piece of alligator meat is poisonous or not. It won't take long to find out.

Lord Zhou asked someone to find a wild dog and then roast the alligator meat over fire to extract the oil. If the alligator meat had been poisoned by the rat grass, the toxicity would evaporate more severely.

If you feed it to wild dogs, they will be poisoned in less than half an hour. If the wild dogs are fine, it means that the alligator meat is not poisonous. " (End of this chapter)