“Has the man sent to investigate Qin Qian returned yet?”
Gu Yi’s voice was low, he hadn’t returned from the study for the past few days and didn’t know the news from this side.
Elder Gu bowed slightly, “They have returned, they didn’t find out anything special, Qin Qian’s parents are indeed well known in the area, and he is the only son that the Qin family has high hopes for.”
“Check again, find out why he came to Qingping County to go to school? Check the Qin family’s relatives, especially if there is any connection with the Wei Yuan Dart Board.”
“Yes.”
“Doctor Yao stays, the rest of you go back, and this mansion is sold.”
“Aye.”
A quarter of an hour later, Gu Yi and Doctor Yao came out from inside and got into a carriage to go to the tavern, Master Gu then came out as well and got into the carriage, a boy stayed behind to lock the door, and after locking it, he took the key and went to the dental office.
Inside the mansion there, the scholar who had come with Grand Master Sun packed up his things and came over to him.
“Uncle, I want to beg you for one thing.”
The scholar’s father had been a friend of Grand Master Sun for many years, and used to run a business, but then he couldn’t run it anymore, before he gave Grand Master Sun the job as the grand master.
“What is there to beg or not to beg with uncle, you can just say it.”
“I want to take a great tonic pill on credit from uncle, and when I win my exams and have a salary one day, I will pay you back the silver.”
A great tonic pill was not cheap, and the scholar could only pay it back later when he could afford it.
“What do you need the pill for?”
“I want to give them to the old man.”
Grand Master Sun laughed. The pills themselves were made by Song Wangyue, and he could give as many as he wanted to the old gentleman, but he couldn’t say this to the scholar.
He had agreed with Song Wangyue at the beginning that he could not reveal about the pills Song Wangyue had made, “How did you think of giving the old gentleman the pills?”
“I listened to the old gentleman’s lecture a few days ago and benefited greatly from it, so I wanted to express a little of my feelings.”
Grand Master Sun seemed to understand what he had in mind, the old gentleman was a great Confucian, having him give some guidance would be like enlightenment, better than reading ten years of books, “Good, you wait.”
Grand Master Sun personally went to get a pill and gave it to him.
The scholar took out a handkerchief, wrapped it carefully, and came out of the mansion, but instead of going to the academy, he inquired and went to the magistrate’s office, saying to the magistrate watching the door.
“I am Du Zefeng, a scholar from Qingping Prefecture, and I have come to offer a pill, please also report this to the Third Prince.”
“What kind of pills?”
“A great tonic pill, it’s for the old man. The academy couldn’t get in, so I sent it this way.”
The pills were precious and the price was not low, and they were not yet sold in the county, so the magistrate let him take them out and look at them before he went in to report.
Before he could reach the door, he was stopped by the guard, “My lord and the Duke of China are resting, wait until they wake up.”
“It was a scholar who came from outside, saying that he was offering a great tonic pill to the old man, and he couldn’t get in over at the school, so he came over here.”
The guard had heard of the pills, which were highly sought after in the capital, but he didn’t expect a small scholar to have them in his hands, so he hesitated slightly and went in to report.
“A great tonic pill?”
“That’s what it says.”
“Let him in!”
The scholar was called in, and when he saw the Third Prince, he knelt down and bowed, holding the handkerchief with the pills wrapped in it up high, “This is a token of the student’s appreciation, and I ask you to give it to the old man.”
The Third Prince took it and smelled it, it was the same as the ones he had bought in the capital, he looked at him with interest, “These pills are not cheap, you don’t look like you are from a rich family, how can you afford them?”
“I didn’t buy this pill, I bought it on credit.”
“On credit?”
“Yes, the student’s father works as a big shopkeeper in a pharmacy, and it so happened that the proprietor of the pharmacy came over to buy pills, so the student took one on credit.”
The Third Prince unconsciously sat up straighter, “Coming to Qingping County to buy pills?”
The scholar hadn’t realised what was going on, “Yes.”
The blood around the Third Prince boiled for a moment, he did not expect to have such an unexpected pleasure in coming to Qingping County.
“Quickly, go and call Grandfather to come over.”
The Duke of Qi quickly came over and saw the scholars kneeling on the ground and looked at the Second Prince in disbelief.
The Third Prince didn’t bother to explain to him and showed him the pills, “This was surprisingly made by someone from Qingping County.”
The Duke of Qi looked at him haughtily.
The Third Prince could not suppress his excitement and nodded his head.
The Duke of Qi immediately looked at the scholar, “Did your family make this?”
“No. ……”
The Third Prince couldn’t wait impatiently to answer instead of the Scholar, “It was his father’s proprietor who came to Qingping County to enter the pills.”
“Then do you know who made the pills?”
The scholar had often heard his own father mention how the pills earned money, and seeing the Third Prince and the Duke of Qi asking so urgently, his heart thumped, regretting that he had come to see the Third Prince.
“No, I don’t know.”
“Where is that proprietor you spoke of? Go back and bring him to us.”
“This ……”
The scholar hesitated.
The Third Prince majestically raised his voice, “What, you don’t want to?”
Feeling the heavy oppression, sweat broke out on the scholar’s forehead, “Scholar, student ……”
“Forget it, don’t make it difficult for him.”
The scholar thought that the Duke of Qi was relieving him and was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard the Duke of Qi say again, “Let’s go with him.”
A quarter of an hour later, the Third Prince and the Duke of Qi changed into their ordinary clothes, came out of the side gate of the palace, got into the ordinary carriage waiting there, and followed the scholar to this side of the mansion.
Grand Master Sun and Master Sun were talking in the hall, when they heard the door open, they knew it was the Scholar who had returned and called out to him with a smile, “Zefeng, come here, I have something to say to ……”
Before he finished his words, he saw two strangers following him and was startled, “What’s wrong?”
“How dare you!”
The guard following behind him held his hand on his waist sword and scolded, “Why don’t you kneel down when you see the Third Prince and the State Prince?”
The Third Prince and the State Prince?
Grand Master Sun and Master Sun looked at each other, scrambling to stand up and come out, kneeling down, “The grassroots pay respects to the Third Prince and the State Prince.”
“Get up.”
The two men stood up in fear and trepidation, bowing their backs and not daring to raise their heads.
The Third Prince and the Duke of Qi walked into the room and sat down where the two men had just sat.
Grand Master Sun had just inclined his head to question the scholar with his eyes when the Third Prince placed the pills in his hand on the table, “I heard that you came to enter the pills?”
Grand Master Sun was confused for a moment and looked at Du Zefeng incredulously.
Du Zefeng knew he was in big trouble and did not dare to meet his eyes.
“Hmm?”
Grand Master Sun tried to calm himself down, his mind racing with countermeasures, “In reply to the Third Prince’s words, I didn’t enter this pill, my second brother did.”
Master Sun immediately understood what he meant and swept over, “It was indeed the grass people who entered it.”
The scholar could not help but look at them.
The Third Prince saw the difference in the scholars and narrowed his eyes, “You two, how dare you, to deceive this prince.”
The two were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt down, “The grassroots don’t dare!”
“I think you dare not, are you impatient to live?”