Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 90 Pulling the Azure Dragon Horn from the Eastern Sea

Dai An'er is indeed efficient in handling matters.

After leaving Zheng Tu, he went straight to the stables of Ximen Mansion, picked out a fast horse that he usually used for errands, and asked an experienced and experienced servant in the mansion who was used to traveling by the roadside to carefully explain Zheng Tu's letter to him.

The servant obeyed the order, mounted his horse, and whipped it, not daring to delay along the way.

Within an hour or two, the letter had been delivered to the Yanggu County government office.

Wu Song was conducting official business with his colleagues in the county government when the letter arrived. He opened it, read it, and his expression immediately changed drastically!

Although the letter did not go into details, Zheng Tu's words were full of urgency, and he also mentioned that "his elder brother is seriously ill" and "there may be evil people causing trouble."

Wu Song was anxious and could no longer sit still.

He immediately sought out the county magistrate, saying only that his elder brother was critically ill and that he had requested urgent leave. He didn't even have time to pack his luggage; he simply slung his iron sword over his shoulder, mounted his fast horse, and galloped towards Qinghe County.

...............

Meanwhile, on Ximen Qing's side...

Zheng Tu's blatant search for doctors, using his name, naturally reached Ximen Qing's ears.

Ximen Qing had just finished drinking and having fun at his mistress's place and had just been helped by her to get dressed.

He was sitting in the outer hall having a sobering tea when a servant who had been gathering information outside found him and paid his respects to Ximen Qing.

The servant recounted in detail how Zheng Tu had invited more than a dozen famous doctors to consult with Wu Da, and how the doctors had cursed the initial prescription.

Upon hearing this, Ximen Qing showed no dissatisfaction with Zheng Tu using his name to carry out his plans.

This is how it should be between brothers. Isn't the prestigious reputation I've earned meant for my brothers to rely on?

On the contrary, he felt that this newly acquainted brother was thoughtful, loyal, and trustworthy, and he became more and more satisfied.

He had been leaning back quietly, listening intently, but when the servant relayed the old doctor's scathing critique of the prescription as "superficial and utterly nonsensical," he suddenly looked up and asked:

"Who prescribed that infamous medicine for Wu Dalang? Have you inquired about it?"

The servant nodded repeatedly and hurriedly said, "Reporting to Master, we have found out everything. The person who prescribed the medicine is Jiang Zhushan from the West Street intersection. He claims to be from the Imperial Medical Academy and is known as Physician Jiang."

"Jiang Zhushan?"

Ximen Qing pondered for a moment, seemingly thinking about the man's background.

He frowned, then cursed, "Who is it? It's that short bastard surnamed Jiang! He's just a quack doctor who's learned a little bit and dares to call himself a royal physician? His medical skills are so rudimentary that he can't even diagnose the illness. It's one thing for him to prescribe random remedies to swindle some money, but he actually dared to swindle my brother?!"

The servant boy remained silent, too terrified to utter a word.

Ximen Qing waved his hand: "I know, you can go out and wait there."

The servant kowtowed and respectfully withdrew.

After spending some more time with the girl, Ximen Qing, still smelling of wine and perfume, rode back to his mansion.

He walked halfway, but instead of taking the usual route, he turned and went through Nanwazi Alley.

Nanwazi Alley is a notorious gathering place for hooligans in Qinghe County.

Ximen Qing usually frequented the streets and alleys of the brothels. Which ruffian or idle man in Qinghe County didn't recognize the famous Master Ximen?

During the Song Dynasty, such people were called "Daozi," and nowadays they are commonly known as "Guanggun'er" or "Poluohu."

In Nanwazi Alley, two gamblers were squatting against the wall, gambling and having fun.

One was tall and thin with a sinister appearance, nicknamed "Snake in the Grass" Lu Hua; the other was thin and rat-like, called "Street Rat" Zhang Sheng.

These two men had received a lot of financial assistance from Ximen Qing and were petty thieves.

When Ximen Qing saw the two men in the alley, he reined in his horse and waved to them.

The grass snake and the street rat were gambling with great enthusiasm, but when they looked up and saw that it was Ximen Qing calling them, they no longer cared about gambling.

He hurriedly threw down the dice, jogged forward, and respectfully knelt on one knee: "Greetings, sir! What brings you here today?"

Ximen Qing did not dismount, but looked down at the two men and said calmly, "I have a troublesome matter that I would like to trouble you with. I wonder if you two will agree?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sheng and Lu Hua both said in unison:

"Why do you say such things, sir? I have received many favors from you in the past, and I have been worried about how to repay you. If there is any need for your service, I would gladly go through fire and water, and even die a thousand deaths!"

Ximen Qing thought for a moment and decided that there was no rush. He said, "Since you say so, come to my residence tomorrow and I will explain everything in detail."

As Grass Snake and Street Rat lowered their heads, they exchanged glances.

How well-integrated they were usually! They immediately understood each other's thoughts; they were thinking the same thing:

This is a rare opportunity for Master Ximen to be used! It's a golden chance, how can we wait until tomorrow?

These two men had been mingling in the marketplace for a long time and knew the principle of "seizing the opportunity to strike while the iron is hot." If they let them go today, perhaps Master Ximen would change his mind after a few steps and abandon the idea, or perhaps he would hand it over to someone else.

They were quite self-aware and didn't think they had any abilities that others couldn't match; they were just ordinary hooligans.

I am deeply grateful to Master Ximen for his high regard. Such an opportunity to win wealth and fortune may only come once in a lifetime!

The two men immediately looked up and said in unison, "How can we wait until tomorrow! Tell us, sir, what is it that needs our attention? We'll take care of it tonight, so that you, sir, can have peace of mind!"

Seeing the attitude of the two men, Ximen Qing was satisfied.

He hesitated for a moment, then beckoned the two men closer, saying, "In that case, you two come closer..."

He then leaned down and whispered, roughly recounting how Jiang Zhushan's haphazard prescriptions had nearly harmed his own brothers and relatives.

"My brother is too soft-hearted. He suffered such a loss without saying a word to me, but I can't stand it. I just want you two to vent my anger for me."

After saying this, he reached into his waist pouch on horseback and found four or five taels of loose silver inside, which he then poured out to the two men.

"Take this money and use it to buy some wine. If you do a good job for me, I'll thank you both."

Lu Hua, the snake in the grass, was unwilling to accept the offer and waved his hands repeatedly, saying:

"I have received far too little kindness from you, sir! I thought you were asking us to pull the dragon's horn from the Eastern Ocean or retrieve the tiger's teeth from Mount Hua. Such great things are beyond our capabilities. But what difficulty is there in such a small matter? I dare not accept this money."

Seeing that he refused, Ximen Qing looked displeased and said, "Since you won't accept it, I won't ask you for it anymore."

Having said that, he instructed his servant to take the silver, and then rode away.

Seeing this, Zhang Sheng, the rat crossing the street, quickly stopped the horse and scolded the snake in the grass, "Lu Hua, don't you know his temperament? If you don't accept it, it will seem as if we are unwilling to do things for the master."

As he accepted the silver, he prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed before looking up and saying, "You old man, just sit high and mighty at home. In less than two days, I guarantee I'll make you laugh out loud."

Seeing this, Zhang Sheng also hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed.