“Letter?” Ma Bing looked at the crumpled piece of paper, from which a vague blackness emerged, but it didn’t seem much like ink. “Whose letter is this?”
The old man said, “It’s from a very young fellow…”
An idea suddenly popped into Ma Bing’s mind, and she immediately lowered her voice to ask, “Is he surnamed Huang?”
The old man sighed in relief and nodded vigorously, “Yes, yes.”
As if suddenly recalling something, he asked, “Miss, may I ask your surname?”
“I’m surnamed Ma,” Ma Bing replied.
The old man immediately became excited, “Are you a doctor?”
“Just hold on a second,” Ma Bing’s heart started pounding rapidly.
She first signaled the old man to keep quiet while quickly scanning the surroundings, making absolutely sure there were no suspicious people.
“When you came into the city,” she whispered, “nobody followed you, right?”
The old man sensed something was off and slightly tightened his grip on the bamboo pole he held, whispering in response, “No.”
The road into the city had been wide open; not even the slightest sound could escape a blind man’s notice.
Instinctively, the old man turned his face toward all directions, and because he couldn’t see, he grew even more nervous. “Miss, I, I didn’t mess anything up, did I?”
Earlier, when the young Master Huang had entrusted him to deliver a letter to the yamen, he had already felt uneasy, fearing he might not be up to the task.
Now seeing the person he was meeting was taking things so seriously, the tension he had forcibly suppressed returned with a vengeance.
“No, no, everything’s fine. You’ve done a great job,” Ma Bing hurried to comfort him. “You’ve come a long way, and haven’t even had time to eat since entering the city early this morning, right? Listen, I still have a few questions I’d like to ask you in detail. If it’s convenient, would you please come with me to the yamen? We can have a meal there, rest a bit, and then you can be on your way.”
There were quite a few people around having their morning meals, and she noticed the old man had already secretly swallowed his saliva several times.
The old man hesitated slightly, “This…”
He wasn’t afraid of going to the yamen, but he worried about the possibility of having placed his trust in the wrong person.
This young lady indeed had addressed him with the correct surname and was indeed a doctor surnamed Ma.
But thinking back now, how coincidental was it that he had met her right after entering the city gates? Could it possibly be a trap?
It was better to be cautious.
He even felt a bit of regret, thinking perhaps he shouldn’t have taken out the letter so early.
Ma Bing sensed his hesitation and thought to herself that young Master Huang indeed had entrusted the right person.
“If you still don’t trust me, we can call a constable from the street…”
The old man clenched his teeth, “That works too.”
They waited a short while, and soon a group of patrolling constables passed by. Ma Bing quickly approached them.
Though they weren’t the men previously under Xie Yu and Fang Bao, they all worked at the Kaifeng Prefecture and had become familiar with each other through daily interactions.
Perhaps Ma Bing couldn’t recall their names individually, but they certainly recognized the famous Ma Bing.
“Miss Ma, what can we do for you?” the leading constable greeted with a bow.
Half-seriously and half-jokingly, Ma Bing replied, “This old gentleman here needs to go to the yamen, and I just happened to run into him. I thought I’d ask you to bear witness.”
After a moment’s thought, the constable understood and chuckled, “How convenient! Who could possibly doubt you?”
He glanced in the direction she pointed, meeting the old man’s sightless eyes, and immediately understood. “Well, it’s understandable. The old man probably doesn’t come into the city often, so it’s only natural he’d be cautious. I’ll go talk to him.”
The old man had been straining his ears to listen to their conversation and was already about seventy percent convinced.
Soon, the constable came over and directly took the old man’s hand, guiding it to feel his official robe, the sword at his waist, and the Kaifeng Prefecture badge. “Old sir, this young lady is a doctor at our Kaifeng Prefecture. She also helps solve cases and often accompanies several officials on official business. If you have any matters, you can trust her just the same. If you still have doubts, I can personally escort you there.”
The old man became somewhat flustered, repeatedly saying he dared not, and then apologized to Ma Bing.
Ma Bing thanked the constable and, after he left, said, “It’s good that you’re cautious. One should always be wary of others.”
They exchanged a few more words, and then Ma Bing slowly led him toward the Kaifeng Prefecture.
Before entering the gate, she specially guided him to touch the stone-carved lion at the entrance and the two drums for appeals.
The old man carefully felt them with his hands and kept praising them, saying things like how virtuous Governor Tu must be.
“Is there also a senior official surnamed Xie in our yamen?”
“Yes,” Ma Bing nodded.
On her way back to the medicine garden, Ma Bing stopped a constable to ask whether Xie Yu had returned and where Governor Tu Ya and Magistrate Song were currently.
She also asked someone to inform the kitchen to prepare a guest meal to be sent to the medicine garden later.
However, Xie Yu had not yet returned, Governor Tu Ya was still at court, and Magistrate Song was leading an interrogation of the people from the Prince Su household, reportedly having gone three nights without sleep.
Even Fang Bao had been called away half an hour ago due to a street vendor dispute that had escalated from verbal arguments to a brawl, reportedly involving bloodshed.
None of the officials involved in the Prince Su case seemed to have any free time.
Ma Bing clenched her teeth and decided to take matters into her own hands.
She would first understand the situation, organize everything according to priority and urgency, and then report to the others when they were available.
When she returned to the medicine garden, Wang Heng was applying medicinal ointments with two apprentices, in front of a large pot of thick, black, smelly ointment.
Seeing her return with a stranger, Wang Heng instinctively looked twice and immediately noticed something was off. He signaled with his eyes:
“Did you pick up a patient on the road?”
Ma Bing mouthed the word “Huang.”
Wang Heng immediately grew serious and went to close the courtyard gate himself.
Lately, Xie Yu and others had often held meetings at the medicine garden. Even without deliberately eavesdropping, Wang Heng had come to understand a little, knowing that one of the key figures, young Master Huang, had been missing for quite some time.
It was cold, and seeing the old man’s hands red with cold, Ma Bing quickly prepared a thick bowl of roasted flour porridge with hot water.
“Old sir, if you’d like something to eat to warm yourself up, we’ll have a proper meal soon.”
Roasted flour was definitely one of the most trusted foods for people who often traveled.
Previously, on the carriage escape with Zhang Baoyue and Pucao, Ma Bing had also packed a large jar of it, and this was what remained.
Made from freshly harvested grains roasted and ground into powder, with similarly roasted soybeans, sesame, and dried yam pieces, plus sugar, it was easy to prepare by scooping out a few spoons and mixing with boiling water.
It was incredibly fragrant.
Because of its high-quality ingredients, it was filling and easy to digest, and unexpectedly gained popularity among night workers, experiencing a revival.
Among them, Governor Tu Ya was especially fond of it.
Since Governor Tu had tasted a bowl during a previous meeting at the medicine garden, he had become addicted and had sent people to request it twice more.
According to Xie Yu, several times late at night, one could smell the strong aroma of roasted flour coming from Governor Tu’s study.
When the old man smelled the fragrance, he felt somewhat uneasy. After declining several times and realizing how hungry he was, he finally took the bowl with trembling hands, blew on it briefly, and took a big bite.
It was fragrant, smooth, and slightly sweet—something that would cost three or four copper coins outside!
While the old man ate the roasted flour porridge, Ma Bing unfolded the letter he had handed her earlier to examine.
It was a very rough piece of paper, likely hastily obtained by young Master Huang from somewhere. On it, charcoal lines roughly sketched some figures, some circled and others crossed out.
To be fair, young Master Huang’s drawing skills were somewhat crude. Ma Bing adjusted the paper’s orientation several times before finally determining, when the old man started licking the bottom of the bowl, that it was a rough map of the area southeast outside Kaifeng city.
Initially, she had mistaken the wiggly lines for earthworms, but they were actually the Bian River flowing out of the southeast water gate of Kaifeng.
The figures with circles or crosses likely represented villages, taverns, and similar places near the river.
In one corner of the letter, several stick-figure-like people were drawn.
Next to the people was something else?
Ma Bing frowned and stared at it for a long time before barely recognizing it as a cart.
People and a cart?
What did that mean?
Could it be that he had also noticed the gray-covered carriage from Prince Su’s mansion?
But as Ma Bing examined the cart on the paper more carefully, it seemed more like a small folk cart used for selling goods, without even a canopy, apparently piled high with cargo…
After carefully reviewing everything, Ma Bing first reached a critical conclusion:
Young Master Huang very likely couldn’t write!
So, what did the loaded cart and the stick-figure people actually mean?
“Old sir, may I ask how I should address you?” she asked the old man.
The old man wiped his mouth, still savoring the taste. “My name is Zheng. You can just call me Old Zheng the blind man.”
Since confirming Ma Bing’s identity, he had developed a sense of reverence and no longer dared to casually call her “Miss.”
Ma Bing addressed him as Old Zheng and asked when young Master Huang had contacted him and how they had established contact.
“Master Huang had helped my business before. He’s truly a good person…”
According to Old Zheng, many years ago, he and his late wife had run a tea stall by the roadside southeast of Kaifeng, occasionally selling some food.
After his wife passed away, he didn’t move from the spot and just continued day by day.
About five or six years ago, young Master Huang had passed by while running errands for Gao Lao Liu. Feeling compassion, he had given Old Zheng some extra coins.
After that, he occasionally came by to visit.
Since business was slow, Old Zheng remembered him well.
“About half a month ago, one evening, Master Huang suddenly knocked on my door,” Old Zheng recalled. “He seemed very hungry, and his voice was hoarse. I quickly heated up some wild vegetable buns for him to eat.”
“Was the letter given to you at that time? Did he say anything else?” Ma Bing asked.
“No,” Old Zheng shook his head. “After finishing his meal, Master Huang took a few more buns with him, filled a leather pouch with water, and before leaving, he said, ‘If anyone comes asking, be sure not to mention that I’ve been here.'”
“Someone was looking for him?” Ma Bing grew tense.
Old Zheng shook his head. “Not exactly, but I was genuinely worried for several days, fearing he might have encountered some trouble.”
Ma Bing exhaled in relief. “That’s good then.”
It was estimated that young Master Huang had already shaken off most of his pursuers, and the remaining two had been captured that day.
So why hadn’t he shown up yet?
Had he indeed discovered something?
Old Zheng continued, “Three days later, he appeared again, sounding even more exhausted than before. I insisted he stay the night…”
During those days, young Master Huang would appear late at night almost every one or two days. Old Zheng could hear the sound of him rubbing charcoal on paper.
Each time before leaving, young Master Huang would hand “this letter” to Old Zheng, saying that if he didn’t return within a few days, he should immediately take it to the Kaifeng Prefecture, preferably looking for a senior official surnamed Xie.
If Xie wasn’t available, there was also a female doctor surnamed Ma.
Ma Bing looked down at the map again and noticed that young Master Huang had started drawing from the southeast city gate, marking large-scale manors and taverns along the way.
The “crosses” gradually spread southeastward from the city exit.
Finally, they abruptly stopped.
It had already been six days since young Master Huang’s last visit to Old Zheng. Once the agreed time had passed, the old man had rushed to deliver the message.
Six days…
That was more than enough time for someone to run around the city on foot.
But young Master Huang still hadn’t returned.
Ma Bing slowly exhaled and organized the new clues she had just obtained.
In other words, initially, young Master Huang had been targeted by Prince Su’s men because he was helping them with something…
No.
Before that, they had assumed it was because young Master Huang had secretly investigated Tian family’s assets and accidentally uncovered Prince Su’s involvement, leading to being targeted and even an attempted cover-up.
But now it seemed, perhaps it wasn’t just that.
At that time, young Master Huang had likely discovered something even more critical. Perhaps he hadn’t noticed it back then, otherwise he would have passed on the information when he met Zhang Baoyue earlier.
However, Prince Su wanted to prevent potential problems and had attempted to silence him.
Yet young Master Huang hadn’t given up and had finally realized that the clues he had discovered earlier might conceal an even deeper secret.
Therefore, he had followed that trail out of the city.
But the clues weren’t sufficient, and for some reason, he couldn’t immediately return to report. So he resorted to a painstaking method of checking each one…
At that point, he had clearly realized the danger, so he risked finding Old Zheng and left this map.
The charcoal marks on the map varied in depth, perhaps indicating that each time, young Master Huang had prepared for the possibility of not returning.
Ma Bing silently sighed and looked down at the crumpled paper once more.
What could be in the southeast outside the city?
Could it be related to that mysterious gray-covered carriage?
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