The feathered arrow flew diagonally across the street and pierced into the haystack, causing a cheer.
The children who recovered from their illness finally left home.
The plague was gradually fading, if it weren't for the faint smell of sulfur in the air and the spirit-calling banners that had not yet been collected on the street corners that kept reminding people of the plague.
Even those who are in it will forget at some point that this place was a hell on earth not long ago.
Black war horses were carrying food and fodder through the long street.
A feathered arrow flew past the horse, startling it and causing it to neigh.
The long street suddenly became silent.
The next moment, the man on horseback gently pulled the reins and lowered his eyes to look at the child who was standing in a daze not far away.
The woman standing nearby lost all color in an instant. She shook the child's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Why are you shooting arrows here? Come on! Apologize to the inspector!"
“Yes…yes…” The child was completely frightened.
Xie Bufeng's gaze slowly swept across the street.
Five or six children gathered on both sides of the long street, each holding a feather arrow in his hand, and there was a palm-sized target on the haystack.
They seem to be competing here.
Realizing that they had accidentally disturbed the important person, several people stood still without moving.
At this moment, Xie Bufeng jumped off the horse.
He walked down from the battlefield with a murderous aura about him.
It’s over, death is coming...
Just when he was in despair, Xie Bufeng's voice suddenly sounded beside his ears: "Give me the bow and arrow."
"Ah? Oh, okay!" The child was stunned for a moment, and handed over the thing in his hand involuntarily.
Before he could react, the wooden bow spun lightly in Xie Bufeng's hand. With a sound of breaking through the air, a silver feather arrow flew out from Xie Bufeng's hand like a meteor.
The haystack on which the target was hung was instantly blown apart by the residual force.
But in the blink of an eye, the arrow sank deeply into the target.
The target made of tough grass was actually pierced by it and split into four pieces.
"Here you go." Xie Bufeng raised his eyebrows slightly and handed the feather arrow back to the child.
The crowd on the long street was stunned for a moment, and then immediately broke into a deafening cheer.
"Your Majesty Inspector! Your Majesty Inspector!"
"Your Excellency is so heroic!!!"
So, the inspector is not angry
"Sir!" The child was stunned for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something and ran forward, raised his hand and said, "Here, here, for you..."
In his hand was a small stone bead - it must be the prize of this competition.
The stone beads are not valuable and have only been polished in the simplest way.
After he stretched out his hand, he felt a little regretful... Sir Inspector, would you dislike this bet
Unexpectedly, the next moment, Xie Bufeng took the thing very solemnly, held it in his hand, and rode away.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
The people around them instantly became excited, and the cheers became even louder than before.
The four words "Inspector" echoed throughout Lianhe in an instant.
Every word is filled with respect, gratitude and admiration for Xie Bufeng.
Not far away, Wen Qingci, who was busy in an open space, heard the cheers and turned around involuntarily to look at the long street.
The scorching sun shines from behind, and Xie Bufeng at this moment unexpectedly overlaps with the him in the north in Wen Qingci's memory...
At this moment, his heartbeat also quickened along with the deafening cheers.
Before Wen Qingci could react, the black warhorse stopped beside him.
Xie Bufeng jumped off the horse with one hand, slowly stretched out his palm, and carefully placed the stone bead in his hand.
In the Wei Dynasty, giving a lottery ticket to someone meant sharing his honor and disgrace.
Upon seeing this, the imperial physician beside Wen Qingci's eyes widened instantly.
At this moment, Wen Qingci could see the expectation and a little hidden anxiety from the pair of light amber eyes...
Xie Bufeng’s words from that year suddenly came to Wen Qingci’s ears.
"What should I do if I like a guy?"
A buzzing sound appeared in Wen Qingci's ears.
*
The plague is gradually disappearing, but if we want to solve the problem from the root, we have to transform forests and cultivate wasteland.
Xie Bufeng was busy with this matter every day, running around in the towns and forests around Lianhe.
He looks like he is wholeheartedly serving the people.
The people in the prefecture and counties had never seen such a dedicated and conscientious official.
Seeing that Xie Bufeng was busy every day, they wanted to build a shrine for him and Wen Qingci to show their respect.
The original reason why Xie Bufeng did these things was actually very simple. He just regarded this place as Shanyu Stream.
"This fan is really beautiful," the imperial physician, who was already familiar with Wen Qingci, walked over and picked up the folding fan on the table, "The fan is actually made of silk! Is this made in Yongting Prefecture?"
A clump of green bamboo is embroidered on the fan, shining faintly under the sunlight.
Wen Qingci answered truthfully: "I don't really know either."
“…I don’t know?” The imperial physician’s expression suddenly became a little strange, and it seemed that the folding fan in his hand had become heavy.
After a moment of silence, he couldn't help but ask carefully: "This fan, isn't it... a gift from the inspector?"
Wen Qingci: “…”
It really is.
Xie Bufeng has been traveling back and forth between nearby provincial capitals lately, collecting things there every day and having them delivered to him.
He seemed to be boiling a frog in warm water.
Patiently waiting for the moment to take off the veil on his own initiative.
Seeing that Wen Qingci did not answer, the imperial physician realized that his guess was correct...
This is how to do ah!
After spending some time together, the imperial physician gradually realized that this doctor from Songxiu Mansion felt a sense of familiarity with the deceased "that person".
Now it seems that His Majesty the Emperor is the same.
He seemed to have really developed some liking for the doctor from Songxiu Prefecture.
The story of Xie Bufeng and Wen Qingci had long since spread throughout the Wei Dynasty.
As imperial physicians working in Taishu Palace, they had even witnessed Xie Bufeng staying with... that corpse.
He even crossed half of the Wei Dynasty and brought a coffin back to Yongdu.
Your Majesty is obviously obsessed with that person.
He didn't believe that Xie Bufeng would fall in love with "that person" just because they had been together for a period of time.
So, His Majesty the Emperor may have regarded this doctor as a temporary substitute for that one...
The imperial physician suddenly felt a conflict between his own conscience and his own desires.
After leaving the palace, His Majesty the Emperor seemed a little more approachable than in Yongdu, but everyone's fear of him was engraved in their bones.
The imperial physician wanted someone to remind this genius colleague not to get too involved.
But for a moment, I didn't know what to say.
After a long silence, he could only squeeze out a sentence from his teeth: "To be honest, the inspector once had a deceased, uh... deceased wife. The inspector loved her deeply. Even though she had passed away for a long time, he still lived in her old house and even..."
He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "It even seems that he used a ritual to summon the spirits."
"You and that person do look somewhat similar at first glance." He said meaningfully at last.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Song Junran, who was sitting on the side sorting out medical records, suddenly started coughing. The expression on his face became extremely strange. "What does your family affairs have to do with us?"
Then he turned to look at Wen Qingci and said meaningfully: "After we finish these things, we will go back in two days."
"Yes, yes!" Hearing this, the doctor couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and quickly packed up his things and said, "That's right, then I won't say much, you guys get busy!"
He hurriedly retreated and closed the door of the meeting room.
In a blink of an eye, only Wen Qingci and Song Junran were left here.
Song Junran, dressed in green, lowered his eyes and glanced at the medical records on hand, then slowly reminded, "The last batch of patients with more serious symptoms have gradually recovered. We will return to the valley the day after tomorrow at the latest."
"That's enough of being crazy. Don't forget that you still owe me a fortune."
After saying that, as if he was afraid that Wen Qingci would go back on his word, Song Junran immediately took the things and walked out without waiting for the other party to answer.
The room suddenly became quiet.
Wen Qingci slowly picked up the pen and did not put it down for a long while.
Are you leaving
He realized belatedly that until that moment, he had never thought of "leaving".
It seems as if he has never thought that all good things must come to an end.
The dead cannot be resurrected.
"Wen Qingci" had already become a "deceased person" just as the imperial physician had said.
Moreover, on the way to Lianhe, and even before leaving the valley that year, I had promised my senior brother that I would return to the valley after finishing worldly affairs.
I... It seems like I really should leave.
But when he thought of this, Wen Qingci's heart suddenly became empty.
After a long while, the paper was completely blank, without a single word written on it.
The banquet before the palace coup and Xie Bufeng’s dangerous words at the banquet are still vivid in my mind.
The ending of "Fu Ming Tang" is like a nightmare that always reminds him.
Wen Qingci once thought that Xie Bufeng must be resentful of him...
At least this was absolutely the case when I was still alive.
And his later nostalgia and love may have been mixed with a bit of the meaning of "the dead are the greatest."
—The dead are always easy to forgive.
After his death, every little good thing he did during his lifetime will be magnified, and people will gradually only remember these.
People can never let go of their resentment towards the living.
Only after death can we see the white moonlight and the red rose.
But Xie Bufeng's reaction was completely different from what he had imagined...
Xie Bufeng seemed to like himself more than he imagined.
This thought was like a feather arrow, flying from nowhere and piercing into the haystack in Wen Qingci's heart.
The arrow pierced the target and caused the haystack to tremble continuously.
In an instant, it seemed as if something was about to break through the thick cocoon and transform into a flying butterfly.
—
That evening, the sky over Lianhe was filled with dark clouds.
The heavy dark clouds were like a quilt pressing on my chest, making it hard to breathe.
"It's going to rain heavily." Yu Guanlin said slowly, looking at the sky above his head.
The hard work these days has made him look older.
After saying this, he suddenly turned around and said meaningfully: "Today is not a good day to travel."
Song Junran appeared from nowhere and stood in front of Wen Qingci.
He smiled at Yu Guanlin and said, "Isn't it? So I say that your inspector should stay in Yongting Prefecture for the time being and come back with the food and fodder after a few days when the weather is good."
“…That’s right.” Yu Guanlin said with a smile.
There were already signs of rain, and there were only three or five pedestrians left on the road.
Just when a few people were about to go back to the county government office, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the other end of the street not far away.
Xie Bufeng is back so early
Hearing the noise on the street, many people who had already entered their houses leaned out to observe curiously.
Song Junran was just wondering when he saw a red-lacquered carriage appearing around the corner.
Next came a group of fully armed attendants, a huge group with a grand momentum.
This is not someone you should thank.
The people in Lianhe County could not help but look at each other.
The officers and soldiers guarding outside the county government office hesitated for a moment, then immediately turned around and trotted back to inform the county magistrate.
"Old doctor, who is this?" Song Junran lowered his voice and walked over to ask Yu Guanlin.
Unexpectedly, the other party was also stunned for a moment, then shook his head in confusion: "To be honest, I don't recognize it either."
As he was speaking, the carriage had already stopped steadily in the open space.
A fat man with gray hair on the temples, supported by his followers, slowly walked out of the carriage and looked around.
He was dressed in purple and wore a three-beam crown on his head. Although I didn't know who he was, I could tell at a glance from his clothes that he was a third-rank official in the current court.
The county magistrate was stunned for a few seconds. After recognizing the person, he stumbled forward and saluted: "I, Ge Zhangtong, the county magistrate of Lianhe County, greet the county governor—"
Then, the surrounding officers and soldiers as well as the onlookers also saluted with him.
Although Xie Bufeng, an "inspector", was also a third-rank official, he did not like people bowing to him.
Therefore, this is the first time that such a large-scale event has occurred in Lianhe.
"County Magistrate? What is he doing here?" Song Junran muttered in confusion.
He was just complaining to himself, but he didn't expect that after hearing Song Junran's words, Yu Guanlin, who had been in the palace for a lifetime and had seen all kinds of scenes, actually spoke to him: "What else can you do? You can ask for credit."
Before Lianhe County, whenever people encountered plague, they had almost no choice but to wait for death.
The handling of the matter in Lianhe County this time was unprecedented.
Now that Lianhe was no longer in danger, the governor of Heliang County finally rushed over to see the inspector in person.
The purpose of his trip was to establish a good relationship with the inspector so that he would include himself in the list when he went to Beijing to speak well of him.
as expected.
Just as Yu Guanlin said, the governor of Heliang asked the county magistrate as soon as he arrived here: "Where is the inspector?"
"Um, this..." The county magistrate thought for a moment and quickly replied, "The inspector went to the vicinity of Yongting Prefecture to deal with the grain and grass issue."
"Yeah." A hint of regret suddenly appeared on the face of the Heliang County Magistrate, as if he was regretting why he came so early.
As they were talking, another car stopped here.
A plump young man in dark green official uniform stepped on the servant's back and stepped down from the carriage.
"What the hell is this place?" He looked around with disdain. "Dad, you said we should arrive early. What happened? The inspector didn't even stay here. What's the point of us coming so early? We should have listened to me yesterday and stayed in Yongting Mansion. Maybe we could have met him earlier."
"Just say less." The Magistrate of Heliang turned around and glared at his son impatiently.
Then he turned around, cleared his throat and said, "Forget it, just take us two around for a look."
"Yes, yes!" The county magistrate responded quickly, bent down and led the two men to the county government office.
The servants they brought with them then stood guard outside the county government office, and it was obvious that they had no intention of letting anyone else in for the time being.
"Bad luck." Song Junran spat inwardly.
The governor of Heliang County was a third-rank official and he would certainly be able to recognize Xie Bufeng.
At that time, Xie Bufeng, who could no longer pretend, would tear off his disguise in front of Wen Qingci? Or even use some tough measures.
Song Junran couldn't help but think of the crazy scene he accidentally saw that day...
If my junior brother fell into Xie Bufeng's hands, I'm afraid he would be eaten up without leaving anything!
Song Junran suddenly became nervous.
No, I must leave early...
Wen Qingci and Song Junran only brought a few sets of clothes on this trip, and the most important luggage was the medicine box.
At this time, the two were taking the patient's pulse in the open space, and the medicine box happened to be at hand.
If they want to leave, they can leave now.
Thinking of this, Song Junran made up his mind almost immediately.
He walked over slowly and patted Wen Qingci's shoulder. He took him to a secluded corner and lowered his voice and said, "Yu Guanlin is right. It looks like it's going to rain heavily. Let's leave here before it rains and don't delay any longer."
Although Song Junran's tone was calm, it was extremely firm.
He was not discussing with Wen Qingci, but simply informing his junior fellow student of his decision.
Wen Qingci was instantly confused.
He subconsciously clenched his palms...
In the chaos, the gate of the county government office not far away creaked, suddenly drawing Wen Qingci's attention.
He subconsciously turned around and looked in that direction as if avoiding it.
The area of Lianhe County Government Office is not even as large as that of the Imperial Medical Office.
It didn't take long for the county magistrate and the Heliang county governor to complete the tour and walk out.
When Wen Qingci turned around, the county magistrate also saw him.
"Mr. County Magistrate, the man in the distance is the doctor who wrote the prescription this time! Not only that, he also guards the seriously ill patients here in the open space every day, diagnoses their pulses and treats them, and is very busy!" The county magistrate's words were full of gratitude and admiration.
"Oh, by the way... Not only that, the method of sulfur fumigation outside the city was also proposed by this gentleman. It can be said that without him, Lianhe would never have been able to control the plague this time."
After saying that, the county magistrate waved to Wen Qingci and Song Junran and said, "Gentlemen, please come over."
The Heliang County Magistrate's gaze fell on Wen Qingci as the county magistrate spoke.
He couldn't help but frown and looked up and down at this strange doctor.
At this time, the Heliang County Magistrate and his son had already spoken first: "You said that he was the only one who wrote this prescription? Was he also the one who suggested sulfur fumigation?"
"Yes, sir."
"Is he so capable?" The man in green asked with some doubt, "Why does all the credit go to him?"
The magistrate of Lianhe County raised his head cautiously and looked at the nobleman with some confusion. For a moment, he didn't know what the other party meant: "Uh..." He opened his mouth, but didn't know how to answer.
At this time, the governor of Heliang County stroked his beard with a smile, thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "This prescription was naturally written by him. His contribution must be reported."
"But I think this sulfur fumigation method doesn't need to be done by him."
This is different from Ge Zhangtong, who has been a county magistrate in Lianhe for his entire life and is very slow in this regard.
Yu Guanlin, who was also in the open space, had an expression as if he was enjoying the show.
He walked forward, bowed to the governor of Heliang County, and then said meaningfully: "Governor, do you want your son to take on this achievement?"
The governor of Heliang County recognized Yu Guanlin.
In his impression, Yu Guanlin should be an imperial physician who is very aware of the current affairs.
Why did he speak today with such obvious sarcasm
He even broke the rules and told the real purpose of his trip.
When the governor of Heliang came to Lianhe County, his main purpose was not only to seek credit and reward for himself, but more importantly to find some achievements to attribute to his son.
His son didn't know anything about medicine, and if he said that the prescription was written by him, no one would believe it. But the method of sulfur fumigation was different...
Unlike his father who had already slightly sensed something was wrong, the son of the Heliang County Magistrate said to Yu Guanlin as if it was a matter of course: "Isn't this young master worthy of this achievement?"
"Hahaha, whether she is worthy or not is not for me to decide," Yu Guanlin looked the young man up and down with his cloudy dark brown eyes, and finally said, "When the inspector comes back, the county magistrate can go directly to him and say no. As long as the inspector is willing to nod, won't this matter be easy?"
The other young imperial physicians had long noticed how favorably Xie Bufeng treated Wen Qingci.
Not to mention that they were originally on Wen Qingci's side.
Seeing this scene, everyone couldn't help but look forward to a good show.
Yu Guanlin still has some control over his facial expressions, but these young doctors are different.
The looks they gave the Heliang County Magistrate and his son were more mocking than the other.
The other party got angry immediately.
The fat man in green quickly walked to the side of Wen Qingci and Song Junran, looking at them with a mocking expression: "Why, don't you, a quack doctor, know how to be polite?"
Then, he frowned and looked at the veil on Wen Qingci's head: "Wearing such a veil to meet the county governor, how can it be in accordance with etiquette? Take off your hat quickly!"
It was obvious that he took out all his anger from the words spoken by the group of imperial doctors on Wen Qingci.
The clouds over Lianhe County are growing thicker.
The air was thick and oppressive, making it difficult to breathe.
Wen Qingci glanced at the other person indifferently, as if he didn't see him beside him, turned around, picked up the medicine box beside him and was about to leave.
Little did he know that it was this kind of disregard that completely angered the other party.
"I'm talking to you!" The man in green official uniform said, then took a step forward and raised his hand to pull off Wen Qingci's hat.
Wen Qingci also turned sideways, trying to block his hand aside.
Just at this time-
A feather arrow came flying through the air.
Like a drop of rain, piercing the dull air.
Before anyone could react, he stabbed the green-clad man hard in the shoulder blade.
"-ah!!!"
The son of the Heliang County Magistrate immediately covered his wound, staggered a few steps, and turned around screaming: "Who shot the arrow! Go and capture him for me-"
Blood gushed out, instantly dyeing half of the body red.
The arrow was broken and had a blunt tip, the kind that street kids used to play with.
It relies entirely on force to pierce into the bones of people on the ground.
The blinding red color frightened the Magistrate of Heliang County so much that he staggered a few steps.
If the county magistrate had not been there to support him, he would have probably fallen to the ground.
The officers and soldiers guarding outside the county government office raised their weapons at the command of the county magistrate's son and looked towards the other side of the long street.
The people from Lianhe County, who had already entered the house, came out at some point to watch the excitement.
At this moment, they also looked in that direction along with the officers and soldiers.
—At the end of the long street, a few hundred meters away, Xie Bufeng, dressed in black with his long hair tied up, was holding a wooden bow and looking here coldly.
His eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Amber eyes scanned the crowd.
The soldiers who had just picked up their weapons to capture him suddenly stood there in a daze.
Xie Bufeng laughed slowly.
Not only did he not stop, he even raised the bow and arrow again at this time.
His eyes were distracted.
Xie Bufeng deliberately slowed down his movements. At this moment, he was like a cat that was focused on playing with its prey.
"What are you still standing there for!" In the distance, the governor of Heliang County, who was only concerned about his son's injury, saw that the soldiers were motionless. He shouted sternly, "Catch him for me!"
The hearts of the people in Lianhe County also rose to their throats in an instant.
I wonder who has a higher rank between the inspector and the person in front of me
But as the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.
Even if the inspector holds a high position, it would be difficult for him to gain any benefits here.
The governor of Heliang turned around and ordered, "What are you all doing standing here?"
But this time, before he could finish his words, another feather arrow flew through the air.
"ah!"
The arrow pierced the same wound from the side again.
Everyone near the county government office heard a creaking sound.
This feather arrow completely crushed the man's shoulder bone.
"Dad, Dad...save me, save me..."
The Heliang County Magistrate's eyes instantly turned red with anger.
"Go and take him down!"
"Who—" He forced himself to stand up and looked to the other side of the long street with wide eyes.
It was at this moment that the young man on the black horse raised the bow and arrow in his hand again.
The purple-robed county magistrate outside the county government office turned pale in an instant.
"This, this... How is it possible..."
Xie Bufeng was wearing the most ordinary black suit, and behind him were only four guards who were also in casual clothes.
The officers and soldiers brought by the Heliang County Magistrate hesitated for a moment, then tightened their weapons in their hands again and slowly moved forward.
However, before they could get close, they saw that the Heliang County Magistrate, who had a face full of anger and wanted to skin someone alive just now, was trembling and fell to his knees on the ground with a thump.
There was an instant of silence outside the county government office.
The purple-robed Heliang County Magistrate slowly knelt on the ground and said in a trembling voice distorted by fear: "My, my emperor... Long live my emperor, long live my emperor, long live my emperor..."
After he finished speaking, he kowtowed three times on the ground.
When he looked up, his face was covered in blood.
In the silence, a rumbling sound suddenly occurred in the sky not far away.
A loud thunder woke up everyone at the edge of the clearing.
Long live the emperor
The governor of Heliang County mistook the inspector for the emperor
The people in Lianhe County have not yet reacted.
The imperial doctors who were also in the open space actually knelt on the ground together with the other party: "Long live the emperor—"
The shouts of "Long live" were like thunder, waking up the entire Lianhe.
The people around him knelt on the ground as if they had just woken up from a dream, and along with the imperial doctors, they saluted to the young man on the horse.
Wen Qingci was stunned for a moment, and then realized that he should not continue to stand here. He quickly followed everyone else's example and saluted Xie Bufeng.
But in the next second, Xie Bufeng on the other side of the long street suddenly rode forward.
Like a black mist, it dissipated in an instant.
Another burst of thunder flashed across the sky.
In the mountains not far away, heavy rain was pouring down.
At this moment, Xie Bufeng jumped off his horse, threw away the bow and arrow in his hand and walked over.
He slowly leaned over and helped Wen Qingci up with great tenderness.
At this time, thousands of people on the open space were kneeling on the ground and unable to get up.
Only Wen Qingci and Xie Bufeng were standing here alone.
Xie Bufeng whispered in Wen Qingci's ear in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "My dear, please don't be polite."
At this moment, the faint bitter fragrance broke through the shackles of sandalwood and rushed into Xie Bufeng's nose.
The auras of the two people were entangled in an instant.
A quack doctor cannot be called "Dear Sir".
The only person who deserves this word is... Imperial Physician Wen Qingci.
Not far away, Song Junran bit his lips at this moment.
(End of this chapter)