When Chen Ji left the Jing Prince's residence, it was already evening.
Xi Bing stood inside the gate, waving goodbye, while Chen Ji stood on Anxi Street, his heart heavy with worry.
As he walked under the fading sunlight, the aroma of food wafting from the houses along the street finally made him feel a bit relieved.
Wu Yun, the black cat, poked its head out from the eaves and leaped into his arms.
"Who beat Bai Banruo? It wasn’t me!"
Chen Ji chuckled and patted its head.
"No one beat it. It was just an excuse for Lady Yun to summon me to the residence."
He muttered to himself, "At the time, Lady Yun said that the lead-barium glass cup was a gift from her family, so I didn’t think much of it. But now, looking at Lady Jing’s relationship with the Liu family, it’s possible someone did it on purpose… Did she recently curse anyone from the Liu family?"
"Yes, she cursed her brother Liu Mingxian, and it was quite vicious."
"That makes sense," Chen Ji sighed.
"I was too focused on logical reasoning and didn’t delve deeper into human nature. Indeed, human nature can’t be judged by common sense. But I didn’t cause Old Master Liu’s death, I didn’t give the cup, and I didn’t kill Liu Shiyu. Why is she targeting me instead of the Liu family or the secret service? Hiss… Liu Shiyu was also silenced by the Liu family. The Liu family has some ruthless people!"
Chen Ji took a deep breath, reviewing all the clues.
He suddenly realized how ruthless the Liu family was, showing no mercy even to their own.
"Was Old Master Liu in the coffin also killed recently?"
Wu Yun looked impressed.
"Brutal!"
Was such ruthlessness effective? Of course.
If not for their cruelty, Yun Yang and Jiao Tu wouldn’t have been imprisoned, and the Liu family would have been guilty of deceiving the emperor.
Back at the clinic, Old Man Yao was behind the counter, flipping through the account book and fiddling with the abacus, looking both shrewd and confused.
Chen Ji teased, "Master, why don’t you just toss a coin to figure out the accounts?"
Old Man Yao glared at him.
"Stop talking nonsense. You’re asking for trouble. Divination can only give direction, not precise numbers."
"Where are the senior brothers?" Chen Ji asked curiously.
"They’re cooking in the backyard," Old Man Yao glanced at him.
"Weren’t you supposed to treat the cat? Didn’t you prescribe any medicine?"
"No…"
Old Man Yao sneered.
"I thought you were more careful. Even if it wasn’t injured, you should’ve prescribed some cheap wound medicine to send to the residence. You need to play the part, or you’ll be found out sooner or later."
Chen Ji was stunned.
"Thank you for the reminder, Master. The old ginger is indeed spicier. I’ll send some Cnidium seeds tomorrow."
He headed to the backyard.
In the kitchen, only Liu Quxing was washing rice to cook porridge.
She Dengke was nowhere to be seen.
Just as Chen Ji was about to head to the apprentices’ dorm, She Dengke pushed the door open.
She Dengke was startled to see Chen Ji.
"Weren’t you at the residence?"
Chen Ji replied, "The white cat wasn’t seriously injured, so I came back after checking. What were you doing in the room just now?"
"I was just changing clothes. Come on, let’s help with the vegetables. If we’re slow, we’ll get scolded by Master," She Dengke said, pulling Chen Ji toward the kitchen.
At that moment, the sound of orderly footsteps and the clanking of armor came from outside the clinic.
Chen Ji noticed She Dengke’s grip on his arm tighten, his palm sweaty even through the clothes.
Old Man Yao walked to the door, frowning.
"Miss Chunhua, General Wang, what’s the meaning of blocking my clinic’s entrance?"
Chen Ji broke free from She Dengke’s grip and walked out.
Liu Quxing also came out of the kitchen with a ladle.
"What’s going on?"
Outside the clinic, Chunhua looked unusually plain, wearing a light green dress with no jewelry, her hair tied up with a wooden hairpin.
Chunhua looked anxious, hesitating to speak.
Beside her, the prince’s guards held long halberds, clad in heavy armor.
The leader, General Wang, had sharp, piercing eyes.
Chen Ji smiled.
"Miss Chunhua, what’s this about?"
Chunhua turned to General Wang.
"General, a few days ago, my lady lost the South Sea pearl that the prince gave her. We first checked the maids in Wanxing Garden but found nothing. Then we thought about it, and only this medical apprentice named Chen Ji had been in Wanxing Garden and rummaged through my lady’s things!"
Chen Ji frowned.
Lady Jing! After losing her son and nephew, her revenge was swift and relentless, not even waiting a night!
General Wang coldly stared at Chen Ji.
"Do you have anything to say? Can you prove your innocence?"
Chen Ji remained silent for a moment, then calmly said, "When someone accuses you of stealing, it’s hard to prove your innocence."
On Anxi Street, shopkeepers and clerks peeked out from their doors.
They were about to close for the day but ended up witnessing a big scandal.
Someone whispered, "Did the young doctor from the clinic steal something from the prince’s residence?"
"I heard it was a South Sea pearl the prince gave to the princess. I’ve heard of it—a pearl as big as a longan, worth hundreds of taels of silver!"
……
……
Chen Ji listened to the surrounding gossip, his expression unchanged.
General Wang stared at him for a long time, then finally said grimly, "Take this apprentice into custody and search the place!"
With that, two guards grabbed Chen Ji’s arms, their grip like iron rings, tightly restraining him and causing pain.
Chunhua followed the guards into the clinic.
"General Wang, I’ll help search. I’ve seen the pearl before, so I can recognize it."
Chen Ji watched as she entered the clinic, opening drawers and scattering the medicinal herbs.
Old Man Yao watched coldly.
"General Wang, if there’s really a thief in my clinic, I’ll resign and never set foot in Luo City again. But if there’s no thief, what will you say?"
General Wang cupped his hands toward Old Man Yao.
"Doctor Yao, I’m just following orders. Miss Chunhua brought Lady Jing’s token, so I must apprehend the thief. Besides, you can’t be sure if your apprentice is a thief or not."
Old Man Yao suddenly snorted angrily.
"I’m certain he’s not!"
Chen Ji looked at Old Man Yao in surprise, not expecting him to stand up for him at this moment.
Meanwhile, Chunhua had entered the backyard.
She first searched the kitchen, then went into the apprentices’ dorm.
She rummaged through the beds, then focused on the wardrobe.
Chen Ji realized that her earlier searches were just for show.
The wardrobe was her real target.
Chunhua had known from the start that the pearl was here!
Chen Ji looked at She Dengke, who was tall and burly but now looked nervous, his hands clenched and his lips pale.
When She Dengke saw Chen Ji looking at him, he quickly averted his gaze.
This was a premeditated frame-up by She Dengke and Chunhua!
Chen Ji frowned.
But She Dengke hadn’t left the clinic, and Chunhua hadn’t come today.
How did they exchange information and the pearl?
Chen Ji looked around.
The clinic’s backyard was only a wall away from the prince’s residence.
Voices from the other side could be heard in the backyard.
The wall wasn’t high, so throwing a pearl over wasn’t difficult.
Chen Ji suddenly asked, "Senior Brother She, do you like Chunhua?"
She Dengke was startled and instinctively took a step back.
"Huh? What are you talking about? I don’t understand."
Chen Ji shook his head.
"Never mind…"
Liu Quxing looked at Chen Ji, worried.
"You didn’t really steal anything, did you?"
Chen Ji denied it.
"No, I would never do something like that."
Liu Quxing believed him, but he could tell Chunhua was very confident.
He turned to Old Man Yao.
"Master, say something."
But Old Man Yao remained silent.
If evidence was found, no one could help Chen Ji.
At that moment, the guards came out of Old Man Yao’s room and shook their heads at General Wang.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Chunhua in the apprentices’ dorm.
She was frantically searching the wardrobe, then suddenly stood still, her back trembling as she started to cry.
(End of Chapter)