bayedsolid Chapter 184: Puzzle Solution
Chapter 184: Puzzle Solution
Wu County, the imperial envoy’s office.
?Mr. Sun, the county magistrate, had cleaned up this place earlier, and had originally intended for Qiaoqiao and Lin Chuqi to live in, but the two did not want to expose their relationship with King Jing, so it had remained empty. Bai Zhi had been very curious since she heard about this - she wondered how the Imperial Envoy's residence compared to Chu Yunchuan's shabby palace.
And now she was sitting in the main hall of the Imperial Envoy's Mansion, and the coachman who had invited her was making tea.
Opposite him was Wei Fuguang, who was standing upright in a neat official uniform.
Honestly speaking, she didn't want to have a face-to-face talk with Wei Fuguang. This man was the successor of King Jing personally selected by Chu Yunchuan. Talking to her, the so-called Princess of King Jing, would either be troublesome official business or troublesome climbing up the ladder. In short, it was all troublesome.
But since she has fallen in love with Prince Jing, she has to deal with the troubles.
The driver poured the tea, and Wei Fuguang stood up and bowed deeply, then said, "I am sorry to bother you so late at night because I have something important to discuss with you. Please forgive me."
This man said he was sorry, but there was no trace of admitting fault in his tone, as if the official language was naturally embedded in his lips and he would bring it out to show it every time he opened his mouth.
Maybe most officials are like this, but Bai Zhi always feels that this person is even colder.
"Master Wei, you are too kind." Bai Zhi threw away the troublesome thoughts and gave Wei Fuguang a support. "Just call me Miss Bai. Let's get straight to the point. You can say whatever you want to say."
No matter who this person is, Chu Yunchuan chose her to take over his position, so she can't be a bad person.
"Miss Bai is such a straightforward person." Wei Fuguang didn't say anything more and took out a map from his sleeve. "I have solved all the puzzles that the prince gave me when I was appointed as an official. But now the war is urgent and the prince is too busy to attend to him, so I dare not disturb him. Miss Bai and the prince are in love, so I think it is most appropriate for me to report to Miss Bai."
Bai Zhi took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Since Lord Wei came to me at this time, I think it must not be an ordinary puzzle, but it's okay to tell it."
"Miss Bai is too modest." Wei Fuguang threw the map and unfolded it in front of Bai Zhi. "The prince appointed me as a provincial official to travel around the country and monitor local customs. I dared to guess the prince's intentions and share the prince's worries. Since I became an official, I have ordered craftsmen to build sick and injured houses in Wuxian, Yong'an, Houyang, Xiaban, and Shuangliu counties in Ningzhou. I have heard about the anecdotes of the prince and Miss Bai hiding among the people. I think the prince must have mentioned it to Miss Bai during their casual chat - there are a few rats in Ningzhou who have become officials in vain."
Bai Zhi nodded. She had indeed heard Chu Yunchuan mention the names of these counties. They were all places where people who passed the Cinnabar List were sent to. But she was sure that Chu Yunchuan had never revealed this to Wei Fuguang. Wei Fuguang was able to investigate so much on his own, which showed that he had some skills.
Wei Fuguang continued, "April is a good season, but these five counties are plagued by a severe cold. The disease came on suddenly and strangely, and I was suspicious, so I used some means to secretly investigate Yang Jinlang, the magistrate of Wu County, and finally found out that the cold broke out in Wu County. Another thing, according to my observation, there are many more barbarians in the five counties than in other counties - Miss Bai, think about it, the barbarian land is full of poisons, first there was a strange cold, and then the White Tiger Army soldiers died suddenly..."
Bai Zhi sat up straight immediately: "Master Wei, do you suspect that the barbarians poisoned the person?"
"Just as Miss Bai said."
The barbarians poisoned... the seeds... and they bloomed... Could it be that the seeds were referring to this severe cold storm?
"...This is too weird." Bai Zhi murmured, "The cold has been raging for at least one or two months. The soldiers were infected at different times. How could the barbarian control it so accurately, causing the soldiers to die of poison during the war? Moreover, most of the people were also infected with the cold. Could it be that the barbarian wanted to... Lord Wei, have you asked the doctors to examine the people who have recovered from the cold?"
"I ordered the government officials to examine dozens of people, but found nothing. The pulses of all the people were stable, without any signs of poisoning."
Bai Zhi frowned and pondered for a while, then looked up at Wei Fuguang and said with a strange look: "Master Wei, I once heard from my sister Bai Ying that you wanted her to build a clinic, but the design you gave her was not an ordinary clinic, but more like a hospital that accommodated the injured and sick people during the turmoil in the early years. At that time, the two armies had not yet started fighting, and there were no sudden deaths in the White Tiger Army. How could you be so far-sighted?"
Wei Fuguang paused for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Miss Bai's words hit the nail on the head. If I keep it a secret, I will seem petty. To be honest, I am acting entirely on my intuition. I am planning to use this sickness and injury workshop as a solution to the puzzle, and use it to ask the prince for something."
"what?"
“Real power.”
"Real power?"
"The position of provincial official is to travel around the localities and monitor local customs. It sounds glamorous, but it is actually an empty post. Even when I borrow a few craftsmen, I have to use the name of repairing the city wall. My peers think that I am lucky and are trying to collude with them openly or secretly." Wei Fuguang shook his head and sighed, "If this continues, I will be powerless to serve the prince."
"I see... I will write a letter for you tomorrow, and then you can meet the prince and tell him the truth. It will be more effective than having it go through me."
"Thank you Miss Bai."
"Maybe I'm overthinking it, but Lord Wei specially came to see me first. Maybe he's worried about..." Bai Zhi said, and she laughed, "Is he worried about the so-called romantic rumors?"
Wei Fuguang raised her eyebrows slightly, with an expression of being told the truth. She said without hiding anything, "It is indeed so. I dare not let Miss Bai be worried by rumors."
"I don't care about these rumors. Next time if there is anything important, Lord Wei can report it directly to the prince to avoid delays." Bai Zhi's eyes wandered around Wei Fuguang's face, and finally landed on the pair of eyes that were full of hidden calculations. "Lord Wei borrowed craftsmen under the name of repairing the city wall not only because he has no power, but also to avoid the eyes and ears of these rats."
Wei Fuguang narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I don't ask why Lord Wei didn't tell the truth. Lord Wei is a thoughtful person and has his own considerations. But... in front of the prince, I hope Lord Wei can be more straightforward - the prince has high hopes for Lord Wei, and the Thirteen States can't stand any more trouble."
"..." Wei Fuguang slowly raised his eyes and saw Bai Zhi talking and laughing calmly, shaking the teacup in her hand, trying to make the tea leaves stick to the wall of the cup. It was as if she was just chatting about daily life. Then, as if Bai Zhi didn't expect Wei Fuguang to reply at all, she continued: "Something happened in the city today. I heard that the barbarians used witchcraft to harm people. According to what Lord Wei said, this may be poisoning the people. Lord Wei might as well stay for a few more days so that you can investigate carefully and report to the prince."
Princess Jing took the initiative to turn around the situation that was just a soft but cunning one, and Wei Fuguang followed suit and agreed: "Yes, Miss Bai."