My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 89 Taking Medicine

Thinking that he might not live much longer due to poisoning, Lin Ziping seemed to lose interest in everything. He used to think the same way before he collapsed at his desk, but now he just wanted to sit around and do nothing, hoping that if he was lucky, he could go back after he died.

"Ziping, what's wrong with you these past few days? You look so listless," Zhuzi asked Lin Ziping with concern. "Are you sick? A lot of people are getting sick lately, you need to be careful."

Lin Ziping ignored Zhu Zi's words and carefully recalled the details of the past few years since she came to this body. When she first arrived, Granny Liao would hang a sachet on her, and later she had to take medicine every month. Her first period came after she stopped taking the medicine in Fuchun. Moreover, she had been experiencing breast tenderness recently, which she assumed was also due to not taking the medicine. She had originally thought that the ancient food was healthy and didn't contain many strange hormones, which caused her slow physical development. Now, upon closer reflection, she felt terrified.

Did Granny Liao make me drink that medicine to help me conceal my identity? Did she know it was poisonous?

Lin Ziping's mind raced. If he knew the ingredients of the medicine Liao Mama had given him, wouldn't he know how to treat him? Thinking this, he grabbed Zhu Zi's hand excitedly and asked, "Zhu Zi, do you still have the medicine Liao Mama gave me?"

Zhu Zi was stunned for a moment, then quickly struggled free from Lin Ziping's hand and shook his head, saying, "I don't have a prescription here. The medicine is delivered by someone from the Lin family every month."

Lin Ziping was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this. He had originally thought that a woman disguising herself as a man was a sword hanging over his head, but now that he was poisoned, another sword had been added to his head.

"This month's should be due soon," Zhu Zi said after thinking for a moment, then looked at Lin Ziping, "Ziping, why are you asking this?"

Lin Ziping's eyes lit up. He didn't tell Zhu Zi about the possible poisoning, and casually made up an excuse: "I saw that you've been working hard lately, so I wanted to brew some medicine for you. If you don't have any, that's fine. Just let me know when the medicine arrives, and I'll brew it myself."

"How could I let you do that?" Zhu Zi hurriedly waved his hand. "Besides, there have been more people coming to the clinic lately, and I often brew medicine. I can just brew it all together and bring it back."

"We'll talk about it later," Lin Ziping replied vaguely without arguing. Thinking that he would see the medicine in a few days and know exactly what had happened to him, the frustration in his heart dissipated considerably. Remembering that he hadn't seen Zhu Zi for several days, he asked, "Have there been many patients at the clinic lately? Why are you brewing medicine so often?"

Zhu Zi nodded: "Yes, recently there has been a sudden increase in the number of people seeking medical treatment. They all start out feeling listless and not very noticeable, but then they start to feel weak all over, have a persistent high fever, nausea and vomiting, and their condition gets worse and worse. Many people have come to our clinic with the same symptoms recently. Zi Ping, you are often out and about now, so you must be careful."

"Is it summer heat?" Lin Ziping thought about it and realized that the symptoms seemed somewhat similar to heatstroke.

"I don't know, the doctor at the clinic won't let me take your pulse," Zhu Zi said, somewhat embarrassed.

"It's alright, take your time. We've only been in Fuchun for less than half a year, and you've only been an apprentice for a few months," Lin Ziping comforted him.

“I know.” Zhu Zi nodded. “Ziping, I’ll bring back some medicine to relieve the heat from the clinic tomorrow and brew it for you to drink.”

“I don’t think the weather will cool down in a day or two. I’ll get some money later, so you can buy more things, including rice and oil. If you don’t have time to buy them, I’ll go and buy some in a couple of days,” Lin Ziping said. “You should also be careful with the patients you’re in contact with, so you don’t catch any diseases.”

"Okay," Zhu Zi nodded in agreement.

Although he wanted to give up and lie down, Lin Ziping still clocked in for work on time the next day. Friends who often go to work know that this is how hard-working people are—stubborn on the outside but soft on the inside.

Upon arriving at the county government office, the bronze mirror and red cloth placed at the entrance and exit had been removed for some unknown reason.

Lin Ziping stood in front of the bronze mirror and examined it closely. The bronze mirror was of excellent quality, much better than the one Lin Ziping had that could reflect his face.

The reflection showed a familiar yet unfamiliar face. Lin Ziping examined it closely, trying to find his former self, but the image of Mu Shaoying in his memory became increasingly blurry, and he couldn't find any resemblance at all. The person in the mirror was about 1.7 meters tall, dressed in black and red ancient costume, and moved in sync with Lin Ziping's movements.

"Hey, Lin Ziping, what are you doing?" A voice came from behind. Lin Ziping turned around and saw Xiao Jiazheng.

"Brother Jiazheng." Lin Ziping clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

Xiao Jiazheng put his arm around Lin Ziping's shoulder and said, "Lin Ziping, stop with the nonsense. I saw you posing in front of the mirror."

Lin Ziping stepped back two paces to avoid Xiao Jiazheng's hand, rolled his eyes twice, and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I saw this covered yesterday. When was this red cloth removed?"

“Yesterday afternoon, the murderer you arrested was brought to justice. The ‘husband-killing’ case is closed, and it’s time to unveil this bronze mirror.” Xiao Jiazheng replied, “It was arranged by Magistrate Feng.”

"Dai Qin is dead?" Lin Ziping asked in surprise.

Xiao Jiazheng thought for a moment and nodded: "Dai Qin is the murderer in the 'husband-killing' case, right? She died a couple of days ago. I heard that no family members came to collect her body, and it was sent to the mortuary early this morning."

Calculating the time, Lin Ziping realized that the day before yesterday was the day Dai Qin was to be hanged. He hadn't paid attention to this matter these past few days because he was preoccupied with his own poisoning. Remembering that Dai Qin had asked him to help deal with her house, Lin Ziping asked, "Xiao Jiazheng, has the county government ever helped deal with houses left behind by suspects?"

"You've got your eye on Hu Xinhua's house?" Xiao Jiazhuang looked at Lin Ziping knowingly. "You're thinking that even though someone died in that house now, no one in the neighborhood will want it, so you can drive down the price and resell it to someone who doesn't know anything about it in a few years and make a profit? Not bad, Lin Ziping, I didn't expect you to know about this kind of business."

Hearing Xiao Jiazheng say this, it seemed that his handling of Dai Qin's house wasn't anything unusual. Lin Ziping didn't say anything more, and simply said, "You know what to do?"

“In the past, we would first go to the local village headman to discuss the matter, and then go to the county government to find the registered property deed and process it together. If you are interested, you can go and find Bai Xin; he should know how to do it,” Xiao Jiazheng explained.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ziping said, "I understand, thank you!"

Xiao Jiazheng whispered a reminder: "Buying a house is risky, you have to be careful, especially this kind of house, you might end up with a bad deal."

Lin Ziping nodded, clasped his hands in a respectful greeting, and left.

Lin Ziping found Lao Huang and Shi Yong to tell them about his private meeting with Dai Qin. Although he had "bribed" the two constables to make them believe that the other party hadn't done anything wrong and wouldn't say anything if he wanted to embezzle money, he still needed to inform Lao Huang and Shi Yong.

"...Uncle Huang, Brother Shi, this is the first case I've ever handled, so that day I secretly used your names to interrogate Dai Qin. She wanted me to help her collect her body in exchange for a house. I don't know why I agreed at the time. Uncle Huang, Brother Shi, what should I do?" Lin Ziping cried to Old Huang.

After listening to Lin Ziping's words, Lao Huang puffed on his cigarette without saying a word. Lin Ziping didn't urge him either, and with tears in his eyes, he turned his gaze to Shi Yong.

Shi Yong glanced at Lao Huang and said to Lin Ziping, "Ziping, besides those two constables, no one else knows about this, right?"

Lin Ziping shook his head, and Shi Yong sighed softly: "In the future, consult with us more often when you encounter problems."

"Brother Shi, I know, I just... I saw Dai Qin acting crazy that day, and I wanted to get some more information out of her. But instead, she asked me to help her collect her body and deal with her house. I've been having nightmares every night. Brother Shi, what should I do?" Lin Ziping said in a panic.

"Alright, Xiao Lin, don't talk about this anymore. The body has been sent to the mortuary. Go to the household office and ask about the house later. I'll go find Constable Qi." Old Huang tapped his pipe twice and said.

"Okay, thank you very much, Uncle Huang," Lin Ziping replied hastily.

After Lao Huang left, Shi Yong said to Lin Ziping, "Don't worry, it's nothing serious. If you go to the prison, just tell me and I'll go with you. You go ahead and do your work. I'm going to check on Inspector Chai."

Watching Shi Yong leave, Lin Ziping withdrew his worried expression. Why bother looking for the Ministry of Revenue? He should go to the mortuary first.