Jiao Niang’s Medical Record Chapter 265

Inside a courtyard residence, the crackling sounds of something breaking came from within the house.

“Stop hitting! Please, stop hitting!”

A man’s low voice pleaded.

The maids in the courtyard, long used to such scenes, carried on with their tasks without so much as a glance.

“Speak! Was it you who did it?”

Lady Dong pointed at Xiang Qi with one hand, while raising a porcelain bottle in the other, shouting sharply. Her eyes were red and swollen.

The room was in complete disarray—flower stands had been knocked over, and shattered porcelain was scattered across the floor.

“How could it have been me? If I did it, would I have rushed back so anxiously to tell you? Let them go to hell for all I care!” Xiang Qi shouted, his face full of grievance and indignation. “Besides, they’re my brothers too—why would I ever do such a thing?”

Lady Dong let out a cold laugh.

“You? Why wouldn’t you do such a thing? You’ve probably been dying to do it all along,” she said. “With Brother Xu dead, now you can sleep easy, right? You’re not afraid of my family kicking you out anymore, huh? Let me tell you, Xiang Qi—even without Brother Xu, I can still damn well throw you out whenever I want!”

Those were not words a man could tolerate.

“Well, let me tell you this too—even if your family kicks me out, Brother Xu would never have wanted you anyway!” Xiang Qi shouted, his face dark with fury.

With a swish, the porcelain bottle in Lady Dong’s hand came flying through the air.

Xiang Qi dodged nimbly, and the bottle smashed outside the door, shattering into pieces on the ground.

“You’re coming with me to the magistrate! You’re coming with me to the officials! I want to find out whether it was really you! If it was—you can be sure I won’t let you off!” Lady Dong cried, reaching out to grab Xiang Qi.

Naturally, Xiang Qi had no intention of going.

“What nonsense is this! How can you treat someone like this?” he shouted angrily, indignant.

The two of them tussled and yelled in the main hall, crying and arguing.

“This is completely unjust! They came to the capital and didn’t come to see us—that’s my fault? They came to the capital and got arrested—that’s my fault too? Everything is my fault? Is this how a person should be treated?”

“What’s all this commotion?!”

An old man’s voice rang out from outside. The quarrelling couple immediately looked toward the door and saw an elderly man in a brown robe standing there, his face stern.

“Father,” Lady Dong cried, pushing Xiang Qi away and running over to grab the old man’s arm, sobbing. “Father, Brother Xu and the others have been arrested!”

Xiang Qi also walked over.

“Father,” he said, looking a bit embarrassed. “I just heard the news—Brother Jianglin and the others have been taken away. They’re being accused of desertion.”

“Who even knows if they’re deserters? Does the magistrate really have the right to arrest them? Who even knows who they are? Those officials must have nothing better to do than go after them! They’re not even worth as much as a few bandits!” Lady Dong cried, pointing at Xiang Qi. “It was you! It had to be you who secretly tipped off the authorities! Who else would even know who Brother Xu and the others are besides you?”

“You think I have that kind of power? That I can just tell the authorities who to arrest and they’ll do it? And what good would it do me to report them anyway?” Xiang Qi said angrily.

“What good?” Lady Dong threw herself at him again. “As long as Brother Xu was around, I was going to divorce you! As long as he was around, there was no place for you!”

“I don’t need Brother Xu to be around—I’ll leave right now!” Xiang Qi shouted, shaking her off.

“Silence!” Master Dong roared, pointing a finger at Lady Dong, his face livid. “You wretch! Do you even hear what nonsense you’re saying?!”

Lady Dong turned away, covering her face as she wept. A flicker of satisfaction flashed through Xiang Qi’s eyes, though his expression remained grim.

“Is that any way to speak to Qi-lang? He’s your husband—the father of your two sons!” Master Dong barked. “He was properly married into the Dong family, fair and square! Without any proof, what are you making a scene for?!”

Lady Dong just kept crying into her hands, while Xiang Qi lowered his head in silence.

“Of course,” the old man suddenly turned to Xiang Qi, his tone shifting sharply, “if there is proof—don’t think I’ll let you off either!”

Xiang Qi’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up at the old man.

“Father… you also think it was me?” he asked, his voice tinged with bitterness.

“This matter came far too suddenly,” the old man said. “They were in the capital for so long without trouble—why is it that they were arrested only after meeting with us?”

As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Xiang Qi.

“Qi-lang, those old grudges… it’s not so easy to let them go, is it?” he said.

Xiang Qi gave a bitter smile.

“If even you say that, Father, then I have nothing more to say,” he replied.

The old man’s gaze flickered with thought.

“If anything happens to Brother Xu, I won’t live either!” Lady Dong cried.

“Enough!” the old man snapped at her. “You think anyone can just stand by and watch them die?”

With that, he turned to leave.

“We’ll go to the magistrate and get to the bottom of this!”

Lady Dong quickly answered, “Yes!” and hurried after him.

To the magistrate…

A flicker of anxiety crossed Xiang Qi’s face, but at this point, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and deny everything. After all, it was an anonymous report—no matter how suspicious, there was no proof.

He too stepped forward to follow.

“Liu Kui!”

At that moment, a loud shout echoed through the patrol courtyard of the magistrate, drawing the attention of everyone present. They saw the Prefectural Court Officer—his face dark with anger—stride into the courtyard.

“What brings the esteemed Court Officer here in person?” Liu Kui, the commanding officer, lazily moved his feet off the desk, slowly got up, and gave a casual salute.

The Court Officer completely ignored his gesture, stepping in close with a grim expression.

“Why are you meddling in things that aren’t your concern?” he said in a low, harsh voice. “Just stick to patrolling the city—what are you doing arresting deserters?”

Liu Kui let out a loud laugh, his eyes full of mockery.

Look at that—so much for following the rules. Didn’t take long for someone to come ‘talk rules,’ did it?

“These so-called deserters were involved in a murder case—no different from bandits. Naturally, it’s my duty to apprehend them,” he said.

The Court Officer gave him a mocking smile in return.

“Sure, it’s your duty to arrest them. But it’s my duty to decide their fate,” he said. “Upon investigation, the charges against these seven men are unsubstantiated. Therefore, they are to be released immediately.”

General Liu’s face twisted in fury.

“Court Officer! The charges are clearly written in black and white on this document! How dare you twist the truth like that?” he shouted, snatching the document from the desk and shaking it.

The Court Officer looked at him and smiled.

“So, are you saying you reject my ruling?” he asked. “You—a mere patrol commander—are questioning me, a fifth-rank prefectural court officer?”

The disparity between civil and military ranks was vast—especially with Liu’s current low standing. Arguing with a civil official of much higher rank was a battle he was bound to lose.

So much for following the rules!

General Liu’s eyes widened in rage, but he clenched his teeth and said nothing.

Just then, a voice called from outside the door.

“General, General! A document from the Ministry of War has arrived!” a junior officer shouted as he rushed in, clutching a scroll in his hands.

At those words, General Liu was overjoyed, while the Court Officer’s expression faltered slightly.

A Ministry document? At this time?

Could it be…

As a certain possibility crossed his mind, the Court Officer’s face darkened.

Meanwhile, General Liu had already unrolled the document—and burst out laughing.

“Court Officer,” he said, turning around and giving the scroll a shake, “I, a mere patrol commander, wouldn’t dare argue with you. But this—this is an official conviction order from the Ministry of War. If you have a problem with it, take it up with them!”

For a mere low-ranking deserter, even a Vice Minister-level official from the Ministry of War had stepped in!

Something so out of the ordinary—there had to be more to it.

Indeed, indeed—there must be powerful figures maneuvering behind the scenes.

At this point, since the matter clearly couldn’t be suppressed, there was no choice but to let it go.

He recalled how, not long ago, due to the war in the Northwest, Wang Butang had been dismissed and Liu Jun executed. Even now, the court was still embroiled in fierce debate over military affairs in the Northwest—things had nearly come to blows during court sessions.

He, a mere Court Officer of the magistrate, was in no position to compare with those high-ranking officials who could submit memorials directly to the Emperor.

Following the principle that “less trouble is better than more,” he had been willing to step in and try to halt the matter—but he would never throw himself fully into the fray or get involved in a real political battle.

“In that case, since this falls under the Ministry of War’s jurisdiction, I will not interfere,” the Court Officer said crisply. He didn’t even bother to read the document before turning on his heel and leaving.

General Liu spat in contempt.

“These scholars sure know how to run fast,” he muttered. Then he looked again at the document, a hint of doubt crossing his face. “They actually approved it?”

He had merely sent the request up as a test. By all logic, a small matter like this—some soldier deserting from a fortress in the Northwest—shouldn’t have attracted the Ministry’s attention. They had better things to do.

So why had they responded? And so quickly?

General Liu scratched his head.

Just as he’d always said—none of them played by the rules.

Meanwhile, in an office within the Ministry of War, a clerk handed a bowl of tea to an official dressed in red robes.

“…My lord, are you really going to get involved over a few deserters?” the clerk asked in a low voice.

The red-robed official drank the tea in one swift motion.

The beauty of this kind of brewed tea lay in finishing it in a single gulp—spicy, invigorating, and jolting straight to the soles of one’s feet.

“…It’s not really about them,” he said slowly as he set the bowl down. He had a broad square face, stern and upright, carrying the natural authority of someone in a high position. “…I just find it outrageous how bold these deserters have become… daring to flee all the way to the capital. That alone shows what a mess military affairs in the Northwest have become! This needs to be thoroughly investigated!”

Ah, so that was the real reason—the clerk understood now.

“Wang Butang may have been dismissed, but his foundations haven’t collapsed,” the red-robed official continued with a cold laugh. “The Gao family is still going all out trying to get him reinstated. A lost battle, a failed command—if we don’t investigate this properly, how will we ever justify it?”

The clerk nodded. In this world, no official could withstand a proper investigation—the key was simply getting the chance to launch one.

Still, he hesitated for a moment and glanced down at the document.

The report had been written in haste. Though dictated by a military officer and transcribed by a scribe, the officer’s muddled thoughts had led to a somewhat disorganized account. In particular, there was one detail—three characters mentioned in passing—that the clerk wasn’t sure the official had noticed…

“My lord… these deserters were being hidden… at Tai Ping Residence,” he finally said.

The red-robed official had already closed his eyes, resting.

“Where they were hiding doesn’t matter… Tai Ping Residence…” he said dismissively, but halfway through his words, his eyes suddenly snapped open. “Tai Ping Residence?”

The clerk nodded and handed him the report.

“Oh no…” the official muttered as he took it and read carefully, his expression shifting subtly.

Indeed, he hadn’t noticed it before—he had been focused only on the deserters and the broader political play around the case.

The clerk looked worried.

“I believe Tai Ping Residence might have some… connection with Minister Chen…” he said quietly.

“That Liu Kui! How could he be so reckless?!” the red-robed official slammed the report down on the table, his expression cycling through emotions. He stood up—then sat back down again.

“…Forget it. What’s done is done. We’ll deal with it later.”