Lady He cried until she broke down, her suppressed sobs making Zhu Changle's eyes turn red. She looked helplessly at Qiuli, wondering what to do!
"Is there anything else?"
Everyone looked at Qiuli as he asked again, "Are there any other abnormalities?"
Elder He avoided looking at his daughter, lowering his head and pressing his trembling hands down more firmly. "Although I didn't dare speak up, I secretly paid attention. Based on Ning Bo's information about trips to Xinshui every half month, I discovered that indeed a batch of goods was being sent to Xinshui every fortnight. I don't know exactly what they were, but this was years ago. I haven't paid attention to how things are now for many years."
Zhu Changle, already aware that someone in Xinshui must be involved in this matter, wasn't surprised. Thinking it wasn't appropriate to let them dwell on such painful matters any longer, she was about to stand up and take her leave when she heard the old doctor speak again.
"In my younger days, I traveled extensively and considered myself somewhat experienced. But only in Gu'an have I seen a place where local gentry unite in business ventures, sharing both wealth and risks together."
Elder He certainly wasn't suddenly talking about irrelevant matters. Zhu Changle thought deeply and asked, "Has Gu'an always been like this?"
"No, when I first arrived here, it wasn't like this. Roughly calculating, it's been about forty years. Can you imagine local prominent families being bound together for so many years, and still remaining stable until now?"
It seemed utterly far-fetched, yet it happened in Gu'an.
Zhu Changle pressed her lips together. "If I hadn't known about the Yunbei situation and heard about such a place from others, I would definitely have come to observe it myself."
Elder He seemed to smile slightly, though the smile was so faint it was barely visible.
"Who would believe it if told? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it either."
Zhu Changle stood up and gave Elder He a respectful bow. "I don't know how much effort you spent investigating these matters, but I'm very grateful you told me about them. This will help me avoid many detours."
Elder He stood up, supporting himself on the armrest of his chair, hiding his constantly trembling hands behind his back. "Ning Bo might not have been the smartest or most capable, but he was a good son-in-law, truly letting me experience what it meant to have a son-in-law who was like half a son."
Lady He almost fainted from crying.
"I will make good use of this information," Zhu Changle said in an extremely soft and mild tone. "Bad people may not always receive heaven's punishment, which is why we need people to uphold justice. Now that we have the right timing, location, and people, please wait just a little longer."
Elder He's beard quivered as he forced out a "hmm" from his throat.
"What Doctor Tang feared most was that the Zhou Family would harm you all. His concerns weren't unnecessary. If they discovered Doctor Tang wasn't being honest, they might do something. You need to be vigilant and not fall into their traps."
"I will remember that."
Zhu Changle nodded, "Then I'll take my leave now."
"I can only see you off from here, Miss Zhu."
Lady He forced herself to stand and gave a graceful curtsy, tears falling like beads on a broken string.
Zhu Changle felt distressed seeing this and just wanted to leave quickly.
Outside the medical hall, Dingding was squatting in his usual spot waiting. The three of them went to their previous location.
Seeing his friend so dejected, Dingding glanced at Qiuli, who raised the package in his hand.
Obviously, he knew it had something to do with the medical hall!
Rolling his eyes at him, Dingding pulled out a wine gourd from his waist and handed it over. "I brought you some wine, it's Qingzhu."
Qiuli knew immediately that Tong Ziming was in trouble. She hadn't touched the wine he brought back last time, clearly developing an aversion to it, and probably wouldn't drink it again in the future.
"Dingding, let me tell you, if you dare drink Qingzhu again, I'll teach you a lesson!"
"Huh? Isn't that your favorite?" Dingding was confused. "Your master loves it too, will you teach her a lesson as well?"
"Stop joking with me, I'm not in the mood."
Flopping down on the table, Zhu Changle felt stifled. She really wanted to drink some wine now, but this was exactly when she shouldn't. Her master had said drinking should be for pleasure, not for drowning sorrows.
Dingding now truly realized his friend was in a bad mood. He rummaged through his treasure bag, and his eyes lit up when he saw a pouch of green items. He immediately took it out to present it like a treasure. "Look, tea ears, I picked them along the way. They're really thick pieces, and sweet."
Zhu Changle took a piece and chewed it slowly. After finishing the whole pouch, she finally seemed to have sorted out her thoughts and explained the key points to Dingding.
"This matches what I found," Dingding said thoughtfully, stroking his smooth chin. "No matter where you are, the rise and fall of families is common. But in Gu'an, when I traced the timeline of Yunbei's decline, I discovered that for over forty years, there have been no new families rising to prominence, nor old families falling from grace. I knew something was off before but couldn't pinpoint what. Now I know where the problem lies – they've tied their fortunes together. Either they all enjoy prosperity together, or they all go down together. Everyone knows which choice to make. The person who set up this game was remarkable."
"They don't deserve to be called remarkable." Zhu Changle threw the empty pouch at Dingding for his wrong choice of words, snorted, and stood up to jump around, as if this could lift her spirits as well.
"Can we trust the local branch here?"
"Of course!" Dingding threw the empty pouch back at her. "The Beggars' Alliance isn't like the local wealthy families, we wouldn't collude with them!"
Qiuli pointed out the core issue, "You're too poor for them to consider."
"..." Dingding wanted to throw the empty pouch at Qiuli – he just had to state the plain truth!
"Hehe." Seeing him at a loss made Zhu Changle feel a bit better, her mood seeming to improve. She stopped jumping and sat cross-legged on the table, looking like a mountain bandit chief.
"Find two trustworthy brothers to keep an eye on Heart Ease Medical Hall, don't let anything happen to them. If anything occurs, have them help hide everyone. After this is over, I'll treat the brothers to a feast with plenty of meat and wine."
As an unofficial member of the Beggars' Alliance, Zhu Changle always treated the disciples as brothers, and naturally, those who knew her treated her the same way.
"Alright, looking forward to your feast." Dingding pulled up a four-legged stool, balanced it on two legs, and jumped up to sit on it, making himself the same height as his friend.
Seeing through his little trick, Zhu Changle couldn't be bothered to expose him. She propped her chin up, thought for a moment, and said, "I can't leave Yunbei. You should investigate when their next shipment to Xinshui is scheduled. Follow them to see what goods they're carrying, whether they're selling, giving, or how they're handling them, who's receiving them, and while you're there, get a feel for the situation. Father says the timing isn't right yet, so don't alert them."
"Are we not dealing with Gu'an anymore?"
"I have a general understanding of the situation here, and it's close by, I can come anytime."
That was true – the two counties were adjacent, very close for them.
Zhu Changle lay back, half-suspended in the air, "Do you know what I want to do most?"
"What, tie them all up and hang them on the city walls for public display?" Dingding tried to copy her pose, but the stool wasn't as stable as the table, and before he could lean back, the stool toppled, making him grimace in pain.
But Zhu Changle didn't laugh at him as she usually would. Her voice sounded different due to her position, "I want to find a way to block their diverted river, make them scramble to reconnect with Yunbei on their own."
This was purely wishful thinking, but Dingding knew it might not be impossible for his friend – she always had some wild solutions.
His response was direct: "How do we do it?"
Zhu Changle didn't speak or move.
"You won't," Qiuli stepped forward to support her from behind. "You're afraid too many people would drown."
