They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 394 Questioning
Dou Zhongli also heard many people discussing why Liang Mingxuan hadn't arrived yet. He even saw the teachers from the county school secretly getting anxious.

He felt both smug and jealous.

He was naturally pleased that his little trick had succeeded, but he was also jealous that so many people cared about Liang Mingxuan.

So what if he didn't come to the exam? What's there to talk about? Are these people so idle? They keep chattering away.

And what's the rush for the teachers at the county school?

They actually wanted to find out where Liang Mingxuan lived? They were going to send someone to his door to look for him.

Heh, go for it! I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Dou Zhongli felt a mix of pride, jealousy, and exhilaration. He regretted not being able to enter the examination hall before it closed; if only he could have witnessed that moment.

Unfortunately, that would be too conspicuous; he couldn't do that.
The moment Dou Zhongli stepped into the examination room, he was full of energy and confidence, feeling as if the world had suddenly become vast.

He was intelligent from a young age, and could recite the Three Character Classic fluently when he was three years old. Everyone who saw him praised him, and he was very confident that he would pass the imperial examination.

Then he will be the youngest scholar to pass the imperial examination.

How can taking the imperial examination for the lowest level of education be the same as taking the county-level examination for the highest level of education? And how can the youngest candidate for the lowest level of education be compared to the youngest candidate for the highest level of education?
In the end, he was still a cut above Liang Mingxuan.
After leaving the house, Liang Minglang went to find Constable Yu and told him everything.

Leave professional matters to professionals. He may not be able to investigate, but Officer Yu can.

Even if they can't use the government officials, which of the local shamans would dare disobey Constable Yu's orders?

Upon hearing this, Constable Yu burst into curses: "Dou Zhongli? Why does that name sound so familiar? Ah, I remember now, he's the one related to the Qi family? A cousin of the Qi family? Sure enough, anyone associated with this family is no good."

Liang Minglang: "Don't rush to scold me. It's not too late to scold me slowly when you have time. In your opinion, how should this matter be investigated?"

Although they themselves identified Dou Zhongli as the prime suspect, there was no evidence pointing to it.

After thinking for a moment, Officer Yu sneered, "That's not difficult, but it's not appropriate for me to show up myself. I'll send two people to find Doctor Liu's family and ask them where he is."

Who made him leave the city? Where did he go? When will he return?

Perhaps Dr. Liu's family knows.

Even if we don't know too much, it doesn't matter. Doctor Liu will surely tell his family where he is, right? Go and bring him back for questioning.

Once we can confirm that Dou Zhongli contacted him through someone, we can follow the trail, arrest the person responsible for making the contact, and interrogate them under threat and intimidation.

Officer Yu, who is fearless in protecting others even at the cost of his own life, is truly one of the few he has ever met.

Liang Minglang nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you!"

Officer Yu waved his hand with a smile: "What's the trouble? I consider Brother Liang one of my own."

Officer Yu quickly found two notorious thugs and gave them a brief explanation.

The two thugs were rubbing their hands together, excited and ready to fight, and made a solemn pledge.

You see, if this matter is successfully handled, it will mean that Officer Yu owes them a favor, and such opportunities are rare.

If they were available, the brothers would fight tooth and nail to get them, and even then, they might not be able to snatch them.

Unexpectedly, Officer Yu personally came to see them today; it's like their ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke.

"Don't worry, Officer Yu, I—cough cough—I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

"Officer Yu's matter is my matter, I'll definitely handle it for you." "Yes, yes, yes! Don't worry!"

Officer Yu snapped, "Watch your mouth! I don't have underlings like you. Get out of here and get back to your jobs!"

"Hehe, don't worry!"

The two thugs came forward, naturally without mentioning Officer Yu, and said they wanted to see Doctor Liu for treatment, asking where he was.
The Liu family members smiled and said they weren't home, that they had gone out, and that the two thugs had come on a mission, so of course they wouldn't hesitate to ask them anything.

At first, the Liu family members hesitated and were reluctant to talk, but after being threatened and intimidated, they dared not hide anything anymore and told everything in fear.

Dr. Liu went out of town to stay at a relative's house in the suburbs. His relative needed him for something, so he went.
Upon receiving the news, Constable Yu and Liang Minglang immediately left the city to find Doctor Liu.

Even though Constable Yu didn't show up, Liang Minglang didn't hold back and lured him to a secluded spot in the woods. What kind of threats and intimidation wouldn't he use?

Doctor Liu did nothing heinous; he was simply given a benefit by someone who allowed him to stay outside the city for two or three days. That was all.

Although the other party used both soft and hard tactics to persuade him not to tell anyone, he agreed, but only on the condition that he stays safe and sound.

He's an old man, why should he act tough when he's being threatened?

If I really get injured, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
Anyway, even if he tells me, it won't pose any threat to him.

Upon learning that what Constable Yu had predicted was true—that Doctor Liu had indeed taken the money before leaving the city—it was almost certain that Liang Mingxuan had been tricked.

Ten taels of silver, that's quite a generous sum.

They took Doctor Liu into the city by carriage, tricked Dou Zhongli's entourage into leaving the inn, and had Doctor Liu point out the location from inside the carriage.

Without hesitation, Dr. Liu identified Dou Jin.

Perhaps never expecting the matter to be exposed so quickly, Dou Zhongli made no attempt to conceal it, and Dou Jinye didn't take it seriously, going directly to see Doctor Liu.

Anyway, he's only here to serve us for a few days, and he'll leave in a few days. Who knows what he'll do?

Everything was connected, and Liang Minglang took Doctor Liu to report to the authorities.

Magistrate Lu was very concerned about the children's examination. For the past three days, he had been unable to concentrate on his work and was eagerly awaiting the results.

He was initially reluctant to deal with the matter when he heard that someone had come to file a complaint with the authorities. He intended to have his advisor, Shao, deal with it and tell him to come back in three days unless it was an extremely urgent matter.

Upon hearing that this matter was related to the imperial examinations, he was greatly frightened and immediately ordered his successors to take charge.

When Magistrate Lu heard that the person who filed the complaint was Liang Mingxuan's elder brother, he paid even more attention to him and kindly invited him to come closer and explain in detail.

Upon hearing that Liang Mingxuan had been suffering from severe abdominal pain and diarrhea yesterday, Magistrate Lu's expression immediately changed, and he hurriedly asked Mingxuan how he was.

I was relieved to hear that the medication didn't affect my exam.

After hearing the reason, Magistrate Lu immediately ordered Constable Yu to take control of the inn, bring Dou Zhongli's two servants in for questioning, and control the innkeeper, waiters, and other students who had brought servants to serve them, in case they needed to be questioned.

This display of force startled even the teachers at the county school.

Fortunately, Magistrate Lu was a refined and talented man. He had built the county school himself and had great respect for the teachers there. Therefore, he specially sent Master Shao to appease them and put their minds at ease.

The innkeeper and staff, unaware of what had happened, were terrified. Dou Jin and Dou Quan, who was responsible for administering the drug, were filled with unease.

Just one picture today, mwah mwah!