Chapter 120 Searching for the Trace
The elder brother has the ambition to serve the country, but the younger brother has no ambition to protect the country
Forget the beauty of mountains and rivers, and roam freely in the rivers and lakes
The prince played with the pill of divine restoration given to him by Mengxi while softly chanting the poem written by Mengxi. He slowly walked to the window and whispered:
"Brother, if you didn't have a heart that cares about the world, how could you write such a majestic song that sounds like a king ruling the world? If you have a heart that cares about the world, how could you not think about serving your country and just enjoy the mountains and rivers?"
He casually handed the song in his hand to Li Zan, the counselor beside him:
"In your opinion, Brother Zan, what is the mindset of the person who composed this song?"
Li Zan took it and looked at it for a long time before asking:
"This man is the owner of Yichun Hall that Your Highness was looking for a few days ago, and Your Highness's sworn brother."
"That's the man. What do you think of him, Brother Zan?"
"Your Highness, I am not speaking nonsense. Just by listening to this song, you can tell that this man has a heart that embraces the world and a determination to serve his country with loyalty. Then, seeing the good medicines he prepared for the people in Yichun Hall, you can know that this man is compassionate and cares about the people. He is a man who has never been matched by anyone in history."
After Li Zan finished speaking, he saw that the prince was silent for a long time, so he said:
"Your Highness, I have analyzed this with you before. This person has the ambition to take over the world. He holds a rare secret recipe for making medicine. He can help stabilize the country and relieve the suffering of the people. This secret recipe is also the source of wealth. If you can get this person to help your Highness, it will be like adding wings to a tiger."
"Brother Li is right, but my second brother is elusive and I have been searching for him for over a month but to no avail."
After hearing this, Li Zan also shook his head. How could this person disappear out of thin air? The prince was supposed to have spies all over Da Qi. If he was just traveling around, there should be traces of him. So where did he hide?
Seeing that Li Zan remained silent, the prince turned to Xiao Zongzi standing aside and asked:
"How is Yichun Hall these days?"
"Young Master Li has been traveling around. A few days ago, a disciple of Censor Zhang wanted to cooperate with Yichuntang and asked for the secret recipe of Lengxiang Pills. After being rejected by Manager Li, he sent people to cause trouble. He was taught a lesson twice by the guards Sun Cheng and Li Bo. Now they all know that Yichuntang has the support of His Highness, so they dare not cause trouble again. However, Prince Yan is also very concerned about Yichuntang and often sends people to buy some medicines and build a relationship with Manager Li. Sun Cheng said that he often saw people from Prince Yan near Yichuntang. I suspect that Censor Zhang is looking for cooperation with Yichuntang for Prince Yan's sake."
"Send more people to protect Yichuntang, notify the secret agents in various places, and intensify the search. If there is any news about my second brother, notify me immediately."
Xiao Zongzi responded and turned to leave, but suddenly he remembered something and turned back to the prince and said, "Prince, these days, in addition to the life story of Manager Li that I told you about last time, I have also found out something else."
"What's up?"
"I heard that this shopkeeper Li has a younger sister named Li Cui. Before she opened Yichuntang, she was sold to the Xiao Mansion and became the personal maid of the second wife of the Xiao Mansion?"
"When did this happen? Shopkeeper Li is not short of money, why didn't he redeem it?"
"It happened before the opening of Yichun Hall. At that time, Manager Li was very poor. In order to pay for his father's medical treatment, he had to sell his sister. I once asked the guard Sun Cheng to ask Li Du indirectly, but Manager Li kept his mouth shut and never admitted that he had a sister. I think he was afraid that others would use it to threaten him. These are what I occasionally heard from other people."
"Li Du went from being a poor businessman to opening Yichuntang all of a sudden. What kind of adventure did he have during this period? Who paid for it? Oh, and did Mr. Xiao take in Li Du's sister?"
"I originally guessed that it was Master Xiao who took in Shopkeeper Li's sister Li Cui and funded Shopkeeper Li to open a pharmacy . Later, I inquired and found out that after Li Cui was sold to the Xiao family, she changed her name to Zhiqiu and has been with the second wife of the Xiao family. The second wife was not favored, so she was not taken in as a concubine. Later, I thought, even if the Xiao family funded Li Du to open a pharmacy, where did the secret recipe come from? If the Xiao family really had a secret recipe, with the Xiao family's wealth, how could they only open an inconspicuous small shop to earn a little money? I'm afraid they would have opened a shop all over Da Qi long ago. I think the Xiao family has nothing to do with Yichuntang. Maybe Shopkeeper Li met Master Li by chance like you and opened Yichuntang by chance."
After hearing this, the prince nodded and said nothing. Li Zan asked:
"Could it be that the second wife of the Xiao family has some background? Xiao Zongzi, have you checked this person?"
"Master Li, I have checked and found that the second wife of the Xiao family is the daughter of Li Qing, a cloth merchant. Because Li Qing's ancestors saved the life of the late Old Master Xiao, the two families had an engagement when they were young. Because it was rumored that this girl was unfaithful and spoiled, the Xiao family never married her until the second master Xiao was critically ill a few months ago, and then they brought her back to bring good luck."
Xiao Zongzi paused at this point, glanced at the Crown Prince and Li Zan, and continued:
"I heard that the Second Mistress had affairs with several young masters before her marriage, so I guessed that one of these young masters happened to be the owner of Yichun Hall. Because of the old friendship, even though the Second Mistress was married, he still gave her the secret recipe and funded her to open a shop. It happened that Li Cui followed the Second Mistress, so the Second Mistress used Li Cui's brother to open a shop outside the mansion. This made sense, and the timing was also consistent. But when I asked around, I heard about a big event."
"What's the big deal?" the prince and Li Zan asked at the same time.
"At first, Old Master Xiao betrothed the legitimate daughter of the Li family, but because the Xiao family wanted to use the legitimate wife to bring good luck, Madam Li was dissatisfied. She was afraid that her biological daughter would become a widow after getting married, so she asked the seventh daughter of the Li family to marry in her place to bring good luck."
"Such a big thing, didn't the Xiao family notice it?"
"I don't know. I think it was urgent during the wedding, so I didn't notice it. I found out later, but I was afraid of losing face for the family, so I didn't dare to say it."
The Crown Prince and Li Zan looked at each other and laughed. After they stopped laughing, Xiao Zongzi continued :
"I have also checked the background of the seventh daughter of the Li family. This girl was born to Li Qing's fifth concubine Aunt Zhao. She has been weak and incompetent since childhood. Because she was prettier than her elder sister, she was envied by her elder sister and often bullied. In the Li family, she is almost like a servant, but she never leaves the house and has a clean background. This time, she married on behalf of her elder sister, which can be regarded as a change of luck. She married into a rich family. I think this second wife has nothing to do with Yichuntang."
After hearing this, the prince nodded, sighed, and said:
"Don't tell Yi Yang about the fact that the second wife of the Xiao family was married off by a concubine. Let's keep it in our hands. We may be able to use it someday."
As he spoke, he and Li Zan looked at each other and laughed. Li Zan suddenly remembered something and said to the prince:
"Your Highness, I suddenly remembered something. No matter what the reason, Shopkeeper Li did not redeem his own sister. The Crown Prince must cut off the clue that Shopkeeper Li has a sister in the Xiao Mansion as soon as possible."
