Chapter 163 - 162: Why Not Investigate?

Xia Tingfeng did not leave immediately.

Instead, he waited until Zhang Baiji had finished bandaging his wound and left the medical hall.

No sooner had Zhang Baiji stepped out than Xia Tingfeng rushed to ask the doctor of the medical hall.

"You say *he* is a Medical Authority? How do you know it’s him?"

The doctor was extremely shocked.

"Anyone who has studied medicine naturally knows!"

"Zhang Baiji, the common folk call him a Medical Authority, and he also has a nickname, ’Medicine Maniac’!"

"He was born into the Zhang Family, the foremost medical family of the Great Chu Dynasty. His ancestral home was moved from Jiangnan to the Capital City starting from his grandfather’s generation..."

"From a young age, he was a medical prodigy with an extremely high understanding and unique judgment of medicine and herbs!"

The doctor rattled off one fact after another.

Even his eyes shone, as if he were telling someone, ’Look! See how amazing my idol is!’

Towards the end, the doctor even proudly pulled out several incredibly thick books from the cupboard.

"Look, these are the pharmacopoeias he completed in his twenties!!"

"Nowadays, which medical hall or pharmacy doesn’t read them repeatedly before daring to prescribe medicine to patients? If a doctor hasn’t read them, then he’s definitely not a good doctor!"

After speaking, his gaze was exceedingly proud.

As if to say, ’I’ve read them, so I am a good doctor!’

Xia Tingfeng’s eyes lit up for a moment, and then he expressed his thanks.

"Thank you, old sir!"

Having said that, he gave a quick fist-and-palm salute and ran off.

"Hey, hey, hey... don’t forget to apply the ointment to your wound, you... haven’t even taken the ointment yet..."

By the time he finished shouting, Xia Tingfeng was already out of sight.

The doctor could only shake his head and let it be for now.

「...」

Zhao Junyao took Xia Ruqing to the Yamen. Yes, to the Yamen.

In Zhuoshui County, it was impossible to hide his identity, nor was there any need to. After all, this was to settle the score for Qingqing. Therefore, seeing County Magistrate Xia was definitely on the agenda.

「At this moment, in the Yamen.」

County Magistrate Xia was napping in the inner yamen when he was suddenly awakened by a noise.

"Master, the... the Eldest Miss has returned..."

County Magistrate Xia was enjoying his nap when he was rudely awakened, much to his displeasure. Hearing the servant boy spouting such nonsense, he slapped him without a second thought, scolding,

"’The Eldest Miss? Eldest Miss your head!’"

The Eldest Miss is in the Capital City; she’s never coming back.

After speaking, he sat down angrily in his chair and started fanning himself vigorously.

He gave instructions impatiently, "Go fetch me a cup of tea!"

The Yamen office was hot as a steamer, and dealing with the common folk’s endless trivial matters was driving him mad.

The servant boy didn’t dare to leave, and just as he was about to explain, he was interrupted by a voice.

"What... Father, you don’t welcome me home for a visit?"

As she spoke, Xia Ruqing and Zhao Junyao stood in the inner yamen, right before County Magistrate Xia.

County Magistrate Xia felt like a stranger to this daughter he hadn’t seen for nearly three years.

To be precise, even when his eldest daughter had been at home, he hadn’t paid her much attention.

Now that his eldest daughter had been in the palace for almost three years, he could barely recall her appearance.

And this person before him...?

County Magistrate Xia was rather surprised. He stood up to take a closer look, his expression growing increasingly astonished.

"You..."

"You..."

"How did you come back?"

He’d never heard of a woman who entered the palace being able to return, let alone journeying thousands of miles back home!

What on earth was going on? Could she have been repudiated or demoted?

A sense of shame welled up at the thought.

He was about to scold her when suddenly, Xia Ruqing smiled gracefully and introduced,

"Father, this is my husband!"

Zhao Junyao shot County Magistrate Xia a cold glance. The icy look sent a violent shiver through the magistrate’s body.

"What? Husband?" As he spoke, he slowly sized up the man.

A single glance was enough; he didn’t dare to look directly at him again.

The man’s attire was simple, yet the overwhelming, noble aura he exuded made it impossible to meet his gaze.

His mind had been slow to catch on, but now, a thought suddenly struck him.

His eyes widened and his legs grew weak, until finally, he collapsed to the ground.

"Im... Impe..."

"That’s right, he is Third Master Huang. This must be your first time meeting him, Father," Xia Ruqing added with a smile.

Seeing his master so terrified, the nearby servant boy made the connection, rolled his eyes, and fainted dead away.

"Th-Third... Third Prince! After such a long journey... this official—no, this humble servant... this humble servant has failed to welcome you properly! Please forgive me, Your Majesty—oh, no... Third Master Huang!"

County Magistrate Xia’s brain completely short-circuited. He lay prostrate on the ground, unsure of what he was even saying.

In any case, kowtowing to this man is the right thing to do.

Zhao Junyao was somewhat amused by his behavior, but the thought that this was yet another incompetent official quickly wiped the smile from his face. He cleared his throat, his expression turning stern.

"Rise."

County Magistrate Xia hurriedly kowtowed.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Junyao, his expression solemn, flicked his robes and sat down in the seat of honor.

「...」

With limited time, he had no interest in idle chatter. He got straight to the point.

"Regarding the child trafficking in the city, We have encountered several such cases on Our journey here. Is County Magistrate Xia aware of this?"

In fact, before he had even entered the city, he had noticed several sickly children begging along the streets, and women kneeling on the ground, offering to sell themselves to pay for their fathers’ funerals.

At first, he hadn’t suspected anything, thinking they were simply destitute.

Only after the recent incident did he realize.

Someone was orchestrating this!

Upon hearing the question, a complex, conflicted expression flickered across County Magistrate Xia’s face. A moment later, he knelt down to reply.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I... this humble servant is aware!"

Zhao Junyao slammed his hand on the table and bellowed, "Aware? Then why haven’t you investigated!"

What kind of people was his Imperial Court employing, to stand by and watch the common folk suffer without lifting a finger! Utterly detestable!

The Emperor’s fury filled the air. County Magistrate Xia was so terrified he nearly wet his pants.

It’s all over! Am I going to lose my head? No! I must explain this to the Emperor!

With that thought, he desperately mustered his courage and began to explain the whole story.

It turned out these child traffickers disguised themselves as impoverished people, exploiting the public’s sympathy and manipulating public opinion to achieve their ends.

’You dare say I’m faking? Fine, next time I’ll steal your child!’

’Boys are crippled and sent out to beg. If they’re good-looking, they’re sold as catamites for a good price.’

’Girls are drugged until they’re witless and sold into prostitution! It’s all money anyway!’

Although County Magistrate Xia was a mediocre and inactive official, he was, after all, a man of scholarly background. His morals hadn’t eroded to the point where he would turn a blind eye to children in such dire straits.

Upon learning of this, he had immediately dispatched Yamen runners to investigate.

Unexpectedly, his own second daughter met with disaster as a result.

Even he, the County Magistrate, was verbally abused by the misinformed and enraged populace!

"The things they said were vile. Some called me utterly depraved, others accused me of... forcing decent women into prostitution! In short... they hurled the foulest accusations imaginable!"