good season

The chickens weren't all eaten. Some were left for the group of beggars, and two more were packed away: one was a thank-you gift for Old Wang, and the other was for Xiao Niu and Xiao Gou.

The group wiped the grease from their mouths, brushed off the chicken feathers that had fallen on their bodies, and then headed off to the Sheng Pharmacy.

Old Wang's herbal medicine shop has been open here for many years. Apart from Zhao Shiqing, who is from out of town, the others, even if they have never been there, have some impression of the shop.

During holidays and festivals, medical clinics and pharmacies never close; this has been a long-standing tradition.

Although it was cold, it was a sunny day, and the aroma of medicine wafted over me even before I entered the shop.

Old Wang had an icy expression, but his face softened when he saw the chicken.

“That person is behind us, he won’t die anytime soon. Let me tell you, I used the best medicine for him, and only made those two little brats work for two days. You’re really getting off easy.”

As they reached the door, they remembered something and said, "There's still a bowl of medicine in the medicine pot on the stove. Since you're here, don't just stand around; force the medicine down that man's throat."

Soon, Zhao Shiqing saw the person lying on the hospital bed. The person was pale and looked sickly, with his eyes closed. If he hadn't been breathing, he would have looked no different from a dead person.

Xiao Niuzi said, "He woke up twice, but quickly fell asleep again. Grandpa Wang said he lost too much blood and needs to be well cared for."

As soon as Xiao Niuzi finished speaking, Old Wang said, "It's not just that he needs to be well taken care of. As you can see, this man's health is failing. He needs to eat and drink well. If he doesn't make up for it while he's still young, even if he escapes this time, he won't live to be forty."

Zhao Tinggang: "You should have said so earlier. I would have stolen a ginseng root from home and brought it over."

Old Wang:
Yan Jiu touched his nose and said, "We still need to find his family and catch the murderer. As for nourishing his body, that's something his family needs to do."

Yan Shiyi: "He hasn't been home for several days, and his family is probably looking for him too."

Zhao Tinglu: "Not necessarily. He was wearing a scholar's robe. Don't forget, not all scholars in the capital are locals. There are many from other places. If he is also from out of town and came to the capital to study, his family would not know if something happened to him, so why would they look for him?"

Little Niu Zi: "Brother, you're absolutely right. We also think he's from out of town. He did speak when he woke up, but none of us could understand what he was saying, not even Grandpa Wang."

Old Wang has run his shop for so many years, welcoming and seeing many people. He's seen a lot, so when the little beggar said he couldn't understand him, he got annoyed and said irritably, "He only said a few words, and they were weak and feeble. I couldn't understand them at all, okay?"

Zhao Shiqing remained silent because she felt the person looked familiar. While everyone was discussing whether the person was from out of town, she pushed aside the Yan brothers who were blocking her way, squeezed to the bedside, and carefully examined the person on the bed.

So alike, so very alike!

Suddenly, she turned around and said something that made everyone pause. Yan Shiyi asked, puzzled, "Brother Bao, what did you say? What's wrong?"

Little Niu's eyes lit up, and he pointed at Zhao Shiqing, saying, "Yes, yes, is this the person they're talking about?"

All eyes turned to Zhao Shiqing's face, and Yan Jiu asked, "Brother Bao, how did you know this person was talking about?"

Zhao Shiqing: "Because I've been to the Wu region, and this person speaks the Wu dialect, he was asking you where this is."

Zhao Shiqing said she had been to Wu, but no one else knew. The Yan brothers and Zhao Tingluo had no doubts whatsoever.

He is the younger brother of Young Master Zhen, who is in the shipping business and has been to all sorts of places.

Old Wang slapped his thigh: "That's right, I remember now, this is the Wu dialect."

Little Niu Zi pouted: "You only spoke up after this brother told you, and you even said you knew? If you knew, why didn't you say so before?"

Old Wang snorted, picked up the chicken, and left.

Zhao Tingluo turned to Zhao Shiqing and asked, "Brother Bao, how did you guess that this person spoke Wu dialect?"

Zhao Shiqing smiled wryly: "Because I've met this person before. I know he came to the capital from Wu to study."

As she spoke, she looked at the Broken Stone Brothers: "Back when you were selling grilled fish, he and I both ate grilled fish at your stall. Take a close look, do you remember this person?"

The brothers who broke the big stone only sold grilled fish for one day before changing careers, so they remembered clearly how many customers they served that day.

After all, whenever they were at home, their family would stay far away whenever they mentioned wanting grilled fish, afraid of being dragged over to eat it. What hurt them the most was their own mother, who finally took a bite after much persuasion, and then vomited up her dinner from the previous night.

If their family hadn't supported them, they wouldn't be selling grilled fish on the street.

Fortunately, there are still many good people in this world. Although they only sold grilled fish for one day, they gained several customers.

The two men immediately remembered that there had indeed been a young scholar who ate grilled fish at their stall that day.

“I remember now, there was a scholar, and although he spoke Mandarin, he was obviously from out of town.”

“Brother Bao, I remember now, you and he were sitting together, and you both had accents from other places.”

Zhao Shiqing: "I speak Mandarin, Mandarin. I speak Mandarin the best in our village!"

Everyone laughed together.

The brothers who broke the big stones almost touched the man's face, stared at him for a long time, and then raised their heads and said to Zhao Shiqing, "There was indeed a scholar that day, but I don't know if it was him."

Well, these two are talking so enthusiastically, but they don't actually remember what the scholar looked like at all. They only remember that there was a scholar who didn't speak Mandarin well.

Zhao Shiqing said with certainty, "It's him. I can guarantee it's him. I talked with him for a long time that day. I not only know that he is from Wu, but I also know that his name is Lin Xian. His cousin is studying at Huiwen Academy, and he is auditing classes there. We can send someone to Huiwen Academy to inquire. His cousin may be looking for him."

Finding people was something Zhao Shiqing didn't need to handle at all; the Yan brothers were experts at it.

They turned and walked out, ready to go immediately. Yan Jiu said, "I know Huiwen Academy, I know the way, let's go now."

Zhao Shiqing recalled her conversation with Lin Xian that day, and a vague thought arose in her mind. She quickly called out to the Yan brothers, "Wait a minute. Although I have only met Lin Xian once, I can tell that he is a very kind and upright person. Moreover, his family is not wealthy or noble, but just an ordinary family. What kind of madness would a petty thief in the capital have to commit murder for a little bit of money?"

Yan Jiu: "If it's not murder for money, then it's a revenge killing?"

Zhao Shiqing thought of Yang Shengqiu: "It could also be to silence him."

Yan Jiu: "We must tell Big Brother!"

Zhao Shiqing cautioned, "If it really was murder to cover it up, and the killer knows Lin Xian is still alive, won't they continue to try and kill him?"

Everyone nodded in unison. Was there even a need to ask? Of course! The Yan brothers immediately understood Zhao Shiqing's meaning: "Brother Bao, don't worry, we'll be careful and definitely won't alert them."

Zhao Shiqing then looked at the brothers who broke the big stone, and the two immediately understood: "Don't worry, we will tell those younger brothers to shut their mouths and never tell anyone about this."

Children from ordinary families might not understand, but they all share the surname Zhao. If people with the surname Zhao can still live a prosperous life, then they are not fools. Moreover, these three people with the surname Zhao, one from the Prince of Fu's mansion and two from the Prince of Lu's mansion, have learned to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune since they were born.

Zhao Shiqing trusted them completely, and her gaze returned to Lin Xian. If it was really as she suspected, then Lin Xian must have ignored her advice and gone to find Yang Shengqiu after all.

Indeed, in Lin Xian's eyes, Yang Shengqiu was his good friend.

The group didn't leave; they chatted in Old Wang's shop. Lin Xian woke up again, but this time he didn't say anything. Xiao Niu Zi fed him medicine, and he fell into a deep sleep again.

As evening fell, the Yan brothers returned, but Zhao Shiqing did not expect that Yan Xia would also be returning with them.

Yan Xia was taken aback when he saw Zhao Shiqing. Why was his sister-in-law here?

Yan Shiyi pointed to Zhao Shiqing and introduced her to Yan Xia: "Brother, this is the Brother Bao I told you about. He's the one who recognized Lin Xian."

Zhao Shiqing scratched her head awkwardly, a little embarrassed: "Yan, Hero Yan, it's me, hehe."

Yan Xia nodded: "Okay."

While Yan Xia was visiting Lin Xian, Yan Jiu told Zhao Shiqing, "Brother Bao, you were right about everything. There is indeed an auditor named Lin Xian at Huiwen Academy. His cousin is Chen Mingsheng, who is a formal student at Huiwen Academy."

Chen Mingsheng originally lived in the academy, but Lin Xian was an auditor and there was no place for him to live in the academy, so the brothers rented a small courtyard near the academy.

We found the courtyard, but the gate was locked. However, we met a scholar who was also looking for them. The scholar told us that the landlord had informed Chen Mingsheng and Lin Xian that the rent would be raised after the New Year. Chen Mingsheng had inquired about potential roommates, and the scholar was interested. They had arranged to view the apartment today, but no one was home.

Zhao Shiqing narrowed her eyes: "Don't the other people in the academy, or the neighbors, know where they went?"

Yan Jiu shook his head: "The academy is on holiday. All the local students and those who live nearby have gone home. Chen Mingsheng and Lin Xian are from Wu, which is far away. Going home would cost a lot of money, so they stayed in the capital for the New Year. We went to the academy. There are only a few odd jobs there now. The teachers are also on holiday."

As for their neighbors, since the dormitory space in the academy was limited, many students from other places had to rent rooms outside. Therefore, their place of residence was very close to the academy, and their neighbors were also out-of-town scholars who came to the capital to study. At this time, they were either back in their hometowns or visiting relatives and friends, so no one paid attention to them.

However, there was a wonton stall near where they lived, and the stall owner knew them.

The stall owner said that usually the two brothers would come to eat wontons together, but the day before yesterday only the older brother came. The stall owner casually asked, "Didn't your younger brother come?"

My cousin said that his younger cousin went to see a friend and didn't come back all night. He was worried that his younger cousin might get lost in Beijing, so he went out to look for him after finishing his wontons.

For the next two days, the stall owner didn't set up shop, so it was unclear whether Chen Mingsheng had found his cousin.

Zhao Shiqing's heart sank. It wasn't just Lin Xian who was missing; his cousin Chen Mingsheng was also missing.

Lin Xian was seriously injured, but fortunately he survived and his life is not in danger. However, Chen Mingsheng's whereabouts are unknown.

At this moment, Yan Xia walked over and said to Zhao Shiqing, "Auntie, Brother A Bao, come here for a moment, I have something to ask you."

As Zhao Shiqing walked towards him, Yan Xia wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, almost blurting out "sister-in-law".

He's already calling her "sister-in-law" before they're even officially married. Won't Miss Zhao go to her sister and complain that he's being disrespectful?

Sigh, he actually has a lot of good qualities, especially his uprightness, the most upright of all.

Zhao Shiqing had already walked up to him. Yan Xia pointed outside, and the two of them walked out one after the other.

Once outside, Zhao Shiqing smiled and extended her hand: "Brother-in-law, Happy New Year."

Yan Xia didn't react for a moment until Zhao Shiqing repeated it again, and then he realized that she was asking him for New Year's money.

He wasn't prepared either.

If he had known he would run into his sister-in-law here, he would have prepared a big red envelope long ago.

He subconsciously touched it and breathed a sigh of relief. Today, when he entered the palace, the Empress gave him a red envelope.

The Empress and his mother were very close friends, and she looked at him like she was her own nephew.

He accepted the red envelope while in the palace but didn't open it; it just felt heavy in his hand. After leaving the palace, his younger brother stopped him on the way and brought him here. So, even now, he doesn't know what's inside the red envelope.

He handed the red envelope to Zhao Shiqing, and Zhao Shiqing's eyes lit up immediately when she saw it.

The bright red and golden pouch, upon closer inspection, turns out to be made of Shu brocade!
My brother-in-law is so generous!

In front of Yan's brother-in-law, Zhao Shiqing opened the large red envelope that clearly belonged to someone of high status or wealth.

Inside were several gold ingots, even more exquisite than the gold ingots used as New Year's gifts at the Liang Prince's residence; they were clearly from the palace.

Zhao Shiqing happily accepted the gift: "Thank you, brother-in-law. I will definitely write to tell my sister later."

Yan Xia secretly vowed that he would write it down in a notebook when he got back, and that he would never forget to prepare a gift for his sister-in-law during holidays.

He had long since realized that his sister-in-law was not only clever and quick-witted, but also eloquent. She could say good things, but she could also say bad things. A few words from her to Zhao Yunnuan would be enough to keep him running around like crazy.

After accepting the large red envelope, Zhao Shiqing got down to business: "Brother-in-law, are you wondering why I know this Lin Xian?"

Yan Xia nodded: "Yes."

Zhao Shiqing: "It's a long story, it all starts with my background. But brother-in-law, are you brave enough?"

Yan Xia nodded again: "My mother always said I was a foolishly bold person."

Zhao Shiqing pointed to a few bricks on the ground: "Why don't you sit down first? I'm worried that if I tell you, you'll be too scared to stand up."

Yan Xia: (End of Chapter)