Chapter 180 Meeting Qin Qiong Again
Chapter 180 Meeting Qin Qiong Again
Qin Qiong was indeed ill. It was just a cold and he didn't take it seriously. Unexpectedly, the disease came like a mountain and he fell down all of a sudden. He was sick for more than ten days. Although the fever had subsided, the disease was like a thread being pulled out. Qin Qiong was seriously injured and lay in bed unable to move.
"Brother, do you know this young man?" the constable stepped forward and whispered.
Qin Qiong's face was sallow, his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes were dull. He struggled to sit up and took a deep breath, saying, "Forgive Qin Qiong for my poor eyesight. I forgot where I had seen you, young master?"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Last December, in Jiyin County, Brother Qin sent a letter to Shan Xiongxin for me. Do you remember?"
Qin Qiong suddenly remembered, and he smiled with difficulty, "It turned out to be Master Xia. He has changed so much that I really didn't recognize him."
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "To be honest with you, Brother Qin, my last name is Xiao. I am a descendant of the Xiao family in Jiangdu and I am currently studying at the Imperial College."
"It turns out to be Master Xiao, I am so sorry!"
The constable next to him brought a bench and asked Xiao Xia to sit down. Xiao Xia sat down and asked, "Has Brother Qin called a doctor?"
Qin Qiong nodded, "It's just that I'm not used to the local climate. The disease has been cured, but my vitality has been damaged. I need to recover slowly. I will be fine in another half a month."
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "To replenish vitality, internal energy medicine is the most effective. Has Brother Qin ever taken internal energy medicine?"
"Of course I took it. It was the Heavenly King Pill that my father left behind. After I successfully established my foundation at the age of seventeen, I had just finished taking the internal energy medicine. Internal energy medicine is really good for replenishing vitality, and it is also very difficult to get it now."
Xiao Xia took out a small bottle from his bosom and handed it to him, "These are five internal energy pills, also made with Tianwang Pill as the base, which is better than Tianwang Pill. Brother Qin, take one pill a day, and I estimate that your body will recover in four or five days."
Qin Qiong was startled and quickly declined, "Thank you for your kindness, brother. I will be fine in ten days. It would be a waste to give me such a precious internal medicine. Please keep it!"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Thanks to Brother Qin for helping me deliver the letter last time, this is a little gift from me. Whether Brother Qin is treating his illness or participating in the martial arts exam, it will definitely be of use to him. Please be sure to accept it!"
Qin Qiong could not refuse again and again, so he had to accept it and thanked Xiao Xia repeatedly for his generosity. In Qi County, Tianwang Dan could be bought on the black market at 50 strings of cash per pill. These five pills were 250 strings of cash, which was a lot of money. Qin Qiong's salary was 7 strings of cash per month, plus various subsidies and land rent, his monthly income was about 10 strings of cash. He would have to go without food or drink for two years to be able to afford these five pills. Qin Qiong certainly knew the depth of this favor.
At this time, Xiao Xia asked with a smile: "What did Shan Xiongxin come to threaten just now?"
Zhang Huan, the constable under his command, was worried that Qin Qiong was not in good health, so he quickly said, "Let me tell you about this matter!"
Xiao Xia asked Qin Qiong to take a Spring Rain Pill, and Qin Qiong closed his eyes to rest.
Xiao Xia then said to Zhang Huan: "Brother Zhang, please speak!"
Zhang Huan said slowly: "The court posted a notice to hold a military examination in early October. Our county lord is a very nice person, so he sent me and Brother Qin to Chang'an on official business. In fact, he wanted us to participate in the military examination. Because it was an official business, the travel and accommodation expenses were borne by the county government. We passed by Jiyin County and visited Shan Xiongxin to thank him for returning the treasures to us last time. But Shan Xiongxin was not there. His nephew happened to have a batch of goods to be escorted to Chang'an. The reward was thirty strings of cash. Anyway, we were on the way, so we took the goods, which was just a very small box.
But an accident happened in Tongguan. The box was stolen by a thief while we were staying in the hotel. We found out in time and chased him into a forest, where we found two thieves fighting bloody for the box. In the end, both were injured. One thief died and the other was seriously injured. Before he died, the seriously injured thief said that the things in the box would make our entire family beheaded.
"What's in the box?" Xiao Xia asked.
Zhang Huan sighed, "The box that was originally sealed was smashed during the fight. We simply looked at what was inside and found a jade seal. It turned out to be the imperial seal of Gao Huan, the first emperor of the Northern Qi Dynasty."
Xiao Xia frowned, "When Gao Huan died, Northern Qi had not yet been established. How could he have the imperial seal?"
Qin Qiong beside him opened his eyes. The Spring Rain Pill really worked. Qin Qiong's face began to turn red. Qin Qiong cheered up and said, "We also asked the dying man. He said that it was the jade seal made when Gao Huan conferred the title of emperor on his father. It was enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. After the fall of Northern Qi, the whereabouts of the jade seal were unknown."
Xiao Xia asked again: "How did the jade seal fall into Shan Xiongxin's hands? Also, how did the thieves know that you had the jade seal?"
Qin Qiong shook his head. "Before we asked, the man died. We came to Chang'an in confusion. Later, Shan Xiongxin found us and we knew that the consignee was Shan Xiongxin. But we didn't plan to give him the jade seal, so we lied that it was stolen. Shan Xiongxin went to investigate, but he came back yesterday and forced us to hand over the jade seal. He came again today and forced us to hand over the jade seal as well."
Xiao Xia's mind moved, and he suddenly thought that it was very likely that the seal was related to the remnants of the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Baoguo Association. Wouldn't that be the clue?"
Xiao Xia asked quickly: "Is the jade seal in your hands now?"
Qin Qiong shook his head. "We have hidden the jade seal. We plan to hand it over to the government. Otherwise, if the government investigates in the future, we will not be able to escape responsibility."
"But I'm afraid Shan Xiongxin won't let my brother go!"
Qin Qiong smiled faintly, "He is actually afraid that we will tell the government. Even though the government usually turns a blind eye to him and doesn't care about him, that's because he hasn't encountered any major problems. If the government knew that he was buying and selling Gao Huan's jade seal, they would definitely not let him go."
Xiao Xia thought for a moment and asked again: "Does Shan Xiongxin believe what Brother Qin said? The jade seal was stolen."
Qin Qiong nodded. "He probably believed it. I told him that there were two groups of people snatching it. His face suddenly changed and he left in a hurry. Later, he probably couldn't find it either, so he came to trouble me and forced me to find the jade seal back."
“If Brother Qin leaves here, what will happen to Shan Xiongxin?”
Qin Qiong smiled bitterly and said, "Then we will have a grudge against each other! My dear brother, you should have seen that he was so angry that he forced me to take out the jade seal tomorrow. I am sick, so where can I find it? That's why he said that in anger and is ready to quarrel with me."
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, find a way to calm Shan Xiongxin down, tell him we found a clue, and give him a few days' grace."
Qin Qiong asked in confusion: "What do you mean, my dear brother?"
Xiao Xia said calmly, "My third uncle Xiao Yu is the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. They are currently investigating the remnants of the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Baoguo Association. I estimate that this jade seal is related to the Baoguo Association, so we need to buy some time, not to stabilize Shan Xiongxin, but to stabilize the Baoguo Association."
Qin Qiong and Zhang Huan went aside to discuss for a while, and Zhang Huan came back and said, "Master Xiao, I know where Shan Xiongxin lives. I will go and tell him, but how can I convince him to believe it?"
Xiao Xia said slowly: "Tell him that the jade seal may be in Gao Zhu's hands. He is currently in Chang'an. You will find a way to find him and take back the jade seal!"
Xiao Xia gave Zhang Huan an address and said, "This is my address. I'll take Brother Qin there first. You can come here to find me later!"
Zhang Huan looked at the address and smiled, "I'll remember it. I'll go find Shan Xiongxin right away!"
Xiao Xia immediately took Qin Qiong out of the inn and headed for Chang'an City. Qin Qiong only brought weapons with him but did not pay the bill, in order to reassure Shan Xiongxin.
Sorry, I got the time wrong. I thought today was the 26th.
(End of this chapter)