Chapter 654
Taking Out the Heart
"Junior brother, seeing this letter is like seeing you in person."
"After wandering for twenty years without hearing my master's voice, I am overjoyed to suddenly hear that my master has passed on his mantle again. I think my junior brother must have the appearance of a celestial being, far surpassing his foolish elder brother."
"We are fellow disciples and should not quarrel among ourselves. However, I was born into danger and suffered misfortune from a young age. I was abandoned at birth and despised as I grew up. I could only eat withered bones and snatch scraps to survive in this world, and I did not choose any means to live."
“My foolish brother, it is not a tiger, but a leopard.”
"Your foolish brother bows deeply."
"The twelfth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-second year of Jia Ning."
My senior brother's handwriting was written in blood, with strong, vigorous strokes and sharp, hook-like lines.
The blood-stained brush lay to the side, and Chen Ji could imagine his senior brother carefully choosing his words as he dipped the brush in human blood.
He stared at the blood-written letter for a long time without speaking. "Biao... A tiger has three cubs, one of which is Biao. Biao is the most ferocious and can eat tiger cubs."
My senior brother's meaning couldn't be clearer: he had him cornered.
Chen Ji folded the letter and tucked it into his sleeve, then turned his gaze to the octagonal table. On the table were two cups, still containing unfinished tea, indicating that the academy envoy had served tea to an old friend.
He looked down at the corpse of the Imperial Academy Minister. This Minister was just an ordinary person in the capital. He had visited the Minister's home to offer New Year's greetings and gifts just two days ago, but today he had met a tragic end.
Chen Ji squatted down and examined the wounds on the academy envoy's body again. He turned the academy envoy over so that he was lying on his back, and saw a hole in the other's chest, which was extremely bloody and cruel.
He cut open the abbot's clothes and was shocked to find that the abbot's heart had been removed, leaving only a huge bloody hole, which was the only wound on the abbot's body.
For a moment, the hairs on Chen Ji's back stood on end.
What grudge does this senior brother have against the academy ambassador that he would try to steal the academy ambassador's heart?
At this moment, the judge, having not heard any movement from inside the courtyard for a long time, cautiously crept over. As soon as he reached the courtyard gate, he saw the magistrate lying in a pool of blood. He immediately rushed over and wept bitterly.
Chen Ji was not familiar with the academy envoy, nor was he particularly saddened. However, the fact that someone shed tears for a person after their death indicated that this person was generally a decent person in life.
He stroked the hilt of the whale-shaped knife with his thumb and said softly, "Please accept my condolences, Your Honor."
The judge suddenly looked up: "Your Honor, who did this?"
Chen Ji did not answer, but asked in return: "What is the name of my master's other disciple? What did he do? Where did he go? Did he have a grudge against the Imperial Physician? Otherwise, why would he have ripped out the Imperial Physician's heart? This person has been in the Imperial Medical Academy for many years. He must have left no story behind. Tell me everything you know."
The chief physician knelt beside the chief physician's body, wiping away tears with his sleeve: "I only heard the chief physician mention a few times when he was drunk that this person's name was Yao An, and that he was picked up by Physician Yao on a snowy day. When Physician Yao picked up this child, the chief physician was puzzled as to why Physician Yao, with his cold-hearted nature, would adopt an abandoned child. But Physician Yao raised Yao An for more than ten years. When he was seeing patients at the Imperial Hospital, he would take little Yao An with him, teaching him to read and write, to distinguish herbs, and to take pulses."
"Young Yao An was intelligent from a young age. He could read the general outline of medicine by the age of five, and he could take the pulse and ask questions of patients by the age of seven. When he was twelve, the prescriptions he wrote were more steady and experienced than those of the old imperial physician. He was not only exceptionally talented, but also extremely good at dealing with people. The hospital staff liked him very much. Everyone always said that they never expected that someone like Imperial Physician Yao could raise such a clever and intelligent child."
"When Yao An was fifteen, he entered the Imperial Medical Academy as expected. At first, there was nothing suspicious, but from the eleventh to the twelfth year of the Jianing era, officials and nobles in the capital died frequently from incurable diseases. They were not suffering from any terminal illnesses, but they could not be cured no matter what they did. The head of the academy became suspicious and went to the officials and nobles to ask for prescriptions and dregs of medicine. Finally, he discovered that something was wrong."
Chen Ji asked in a deep voice, "What did you discover?"
"Minister Zhang of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices suffered from a cold, and Yao An prescribed him Ma Huang Fu Zi Xi Xin Tang (Ephedra, Aconite, and Asarum Decoction), with ephedra (without nodes), one prepared aconite root, and two qian of asarum. Minister Zhang had always suffered from kidney yang deficiency, and his hands and feet were always cold in winter, so this prescription was appropriate. However, the Imperial Censor discovered that the aconite in Minister Zhang's medicine had not been processed. Raw aconite is highly poisonous, and when decocted with asarum, its toxicity is even stronger. Minister Zhang took seven doses and died vomiting blood."
Chen Ji seemed to be deep in thought, realizing that it was the head of the academy who had first noticed the clue: "And then?"
The chief physician recalled, "The head physician said he didn't make a fuss, assuming it was just a careless mistake by the child who forgot to prepare the medicinal herbs properly. He secretly told Physician Yao about it, hoping Physician Yao would correct him carefully. For the next year, Yao An behaved himself and didn't make any more mistakes, but Physician Yao's health gradually deteriorated. The head physician noticed something was wrong and secretly investigated. He discovered that some medicines were always missing from the pharmacy. Since the missing amount was only a small amount, no one noticed anything amiss. However, when these missing medicines were taken together, they turned out to be incompatible poisons. The head physician, remembering Physician Yao's weakened state, finally understood where the missing medicines had gone."
"He told Physician Yao about this, and then Physician Yao disappeared for more than half a year. When he returned to the Imperial Medical Academy, he was extremely weak and his vitality was greatly damaged. Yao An never returned to the academy."
Chen Ji recalled what his master had once told him.
When the man found the beggar in the heavy snow, he hesitated for a long time and consulted the oracle ten times. Every divination result was bad, but he still led the little beggar into the house.
Chen Ji calmly asked, "Do you know where Yao An went afterward?"
The chief physician shook his head: "The chief physician said that he had also asked Physician Yao, but Physician Yao only said that Yao An was already dead. Seeing that Physician Yao's face was not good, the chief physician did not dare to ask any more questions. He only regretted that the child he had watched grow up could have brought glory to the family, but he went astray... The chief physician seemed to know something else, but no matter how much he asked, he was unwilling to say anything."
Chen Ji pondered that his senior brother Yao An had found the academy envoy first, partly to silence him, and partly because he resented the academy envoy for exposing his tricks, which led to a falling out between him and Yao An.
Yao An came seeking revenge.
Chen Ji was walking out when the judge grabbed his sleeve: "Sir, was the abbot killed by Yao An?"
Chen Ji sighed, "It should be. I know the judge wants to avenge the envoy, but this is not something you can interfere with. Let the Secret Service handle it." The judge slumped down beside the corpse, staring blankly at the envoy.
When Chen Ji reached the courtyard gate, he suddenly stopped.
and many more!
This senior brother's actions are not so simple. He likes to use tricks to divert everyone's attention before achieving his real goal.
Yesterday, Xuan She underestimated the enemy, to the point that Qi Zhen carried his coffin to his death in remonstrance, forcing the inner court to agree to the matter of the Imperial Censorate supervising the secret intelligence bureau.
Why did my senior brother kill the academy magistrate today of all times? Why not earlier or later?
Chen Ji turned around to go inside and search the house to see if the academy had left any clues.
The room was small, with a low table beside the bed. The window paper had a hole, which was covered with an old New Year's picture. Several medicine chests were stacked in the corner, their brass clasps worn white.
On the bed was a coarse cloth sheet covered with patches, and the quilt was thin, folded neatly, with cotton lint worn into the corners.
This should not be the residence of the head of the Imperial Medical Academy.
Although the Imperial Physician was only a fifth-rank official, being an imperial physician was always one of the most prestigious and respectable jobs in the capital. When officials and nobles invited an imperial physician to their homes for a consultation, they would always pay a consultation fee. Some officials and nobles, fearing that the imperial physician might not be attentive enough, would even slip him extra money.
While they weren't extremely wealthy, they were certainly not worried about food or clothing.
But this abbot lived a life even more austere than ordinary people... Where did the money go?
Chen Ji recalled how Si Cao Gui had saved money to supply the Military Intelligence Bureau. Could it be that the Chief of the Imperial Secretariat was also a member of the Military Intelligence Bureau and was also working hard to save money for the Bureau?
As he searched, he asked, "Your Excellency, does the Imperial Physician have any relatives at home?"
The judge wiped away his tears: "The magistrate had a wife in his early years, who gave birth to a daughter. However, his daughter died in childbirth less than two years after her marriage, and his wife, heartbroken, also passed away. Since then, the magistrate has lived alone and has never remarried."
Chen Ji was silent for a moment, then asked, "Does he have any hobbies?"
The chief physician thought for a long time and shook his head: "The chief physician has no hobbies. He doesn't drink, gamble, or go to the Eight Great Hutongs. His only pastime is reading medical books. The medical books in his room are stacked higher than a person, but those books all belong to the Imperial Medical Academy, not to him."
Chen Ji crouched down and found a wooden box under the bed.
He pulled out the trunk and opened it; inside were several old clothes, covered in patches. He took the clothes out one by one, and underneath them were four yellowed booklets.
Chen Ji was taken aback. Could this be the reason why his senior brother wanted to kill the academy envoy?
He quickly flipped through them to take a look, but these yellowed books were not clues; they were four account books.
“Chongnanfang, Zhang Xianwen, medicine payment of seventy-two cash.”
“Chongjiaofang, Li Qi, medicine payment of 110 wen.”
“Chongnanfang, Liu Yun, two sons with smallpox, consultation fee waived, medicine fee paid in advance 230 cash.”
The ledger was filled with entries, densely packed with notes. At first, there were names crossed out, followed by two small characters that read "repaid".
But gradually, the names that followed were no longer marked; all that was remembered were the outstanding debts. It wasn't that they weren't repaid, but rather that the academy director stopped trying to collect them.
Chen Ji remained stunned for a long time.
He walked back to the chief physician with the four account books in his hand: "The Imperial Medical Academy can dispose of these four account books themselves. Remember to publish an obituary in the morning newspaper; quite a few people should come to pay their respects..."
Chen Ji stopped halfway through his sentence. What's the use of mourning someone who's already gone?
Just then, he saw a yellowed copy of the "Datong Calendar" hanging on the door, so he opened it to take a look.
The Datong Calendar is the Chinese calendar, compiled and printed annually by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and uniformly promulgated throughout the country by the imperial court. The cover is printed with the words "Forgers will be beheaded, and those who report and arrest them will be rewarded with fifty taels of silver. Without the seal of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, it is regarded as a private calendar." The words are also stamped with the vermilion seal of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau.
As Chen Ji flipped through the pages, he suddenly noticed that there were markings for the 12th of every month starting in October. He immediately asked, "What day is the 12th of every month? What does the Dean do on the 12th of every month?"
The court judge was taken aback, and after a long pause, he remembered: "The twelfth of every month? That's the day the chief physician goes to the Qi family to visit and take pulses..."
Chen Ji suddenly awoke with a start, immediately grabbing his whale-shaped sword and running outside: "Judge, I'll go to the Eagle House immediately and tell Bai Long everything that has happened, and I hope he will go to the Qi family right away." (End of Chapter)