Chapter 56 Arson at the Clinic??

Chapter 56: A Fire at the Clinic??

Most of the men under Yu Yuan's employ were in their twenties, but there was one exception. This boy was only fifteen this year. He had been sold to Yongning City by a trafficker at the age of four. Yu Yuan, taking pity on him, bought him back. Originally intending to send him back to his parents, the boy had been abducted too young and remembered nothing of his parents, hometown, or even his own name. Yu Yuan kept him by his side, not expecting him to do heavy work, but having him serve as a little page boy, called Qian'er. Yu Yuan usually treated him without much strictness, and Qian'er developed a naive and free-spirited nature. Having lain on the ground for less than a quarter of an hour, he quietly propped himself up and whispered, "Young Master, is it over yet?"

Qian'er obediently closed his eyes, but his mouth didn't stop: "Young Master, is this plan of yours really gonna work? How much longer do we have to keep pretending to be asleep?"

Yu Yuan thought for a moment: "Wait another quarter of an hour. If he returns, let him wake us. If he doesn't, we can go back."

Lei Ding chimed in from beside him: "Wu Peng probably won't let him come back. Still, waiting a bit longer guards against any unexpected turns. It's fortunate you noticed Zhang Yi's background was suspicious from the start, investigated his details, and swapped out his medicine early on. Otherwise, we'd have fallen right into their hands."

They waited another quarter of an hour, and still Zhang Yi did not return. Only then did everyone get up. Yu Yuan asked the shopkeeper to bring a fresh pot of tea, poured some for everyone, and then asked Lei Ding: "So, now there's discord between Wu Peng and Xue Hu. This gives us an opening to exploit in whatever they do next. Shall we proceed as we discussed before and spread the word?"

Lei Ding nodded: "Yes. I've already prepared everything needed. I'll go back and arrange things with the family."

When Lei Ding returned to the clinic, Wu Qiu was already waiting for him in the front study. He had been gone so long that the whole family was worried, Wu Qiu especially fearful. Holding Ai Ge'er, he sat in the study until even Ai Ge'er had fallen asleep before hearing Lei Ding's voice outside.

As soon as Lei Ding entered, Lei Tan came running over. Seeing the mud stains on his clothes, Lei Tan gasped in alarm, "Oh dear!" and hurriedly asked what happened and if he was hurt. Wu Qiu vaguely heard this, his heart leaping into his throat. But hearing Lei Ding's voice steady, seemingly unharmed, he wanted to rush out immediately, yet feared waking Ai Ge'er and dared not leave the child alone in the room. Torn between choices, Lei Ding had already walked in. Treading lightly, he approached and sat down next to Wu Qiu, lowering his voice to ask: "How long have you been waiting? Although you're past the postpartum month, you still need proper rest."

Seeing Lei Ding truly unharmed, Wu Qiu finally relaxed: "I saw you were gone for so long, so I said I'd take Ai Ge'er out for a walk and wait a bit. Unexpectedly, he fell asleep, so I didn't move him and stayed here. Brother, why were you gone half the day? Did something happen?"

Lei Ding wanted to take the child from him but remembered his dirty clothes weren't changed yet, so he refrained. Hearing Wu Qiu ask about today's events, he gave a brief account. Seeing Wu Qiu's brow furrow again, he quickly soothed him: "It's nothing serious, I wasn't hurt. I inquired later; that horse was stopped by the Patrol Officer after it charged out and didn't harm any innocent people."

Wu Qiu bit his lower lip and stared at him. Lei Ding reached out again to stop him from biting his lip, but for the first time, Wu Qiu turned his head away, holding Ai Ge'er and walking straight to the door before turning back to say to Lei Ding: "Lift the curtain for me."

Throughout their marriage, Wu Qiu had never been angry with Lei Ding before. Lei Ding knew he was just too worried. After all, he had repeatedly promised not to put himself in danger this time, yet in practice, he took great risks, embodying "nothing ventured, nothing gained." For instance, with that horse today, had he been half a step slower, the outcome might have been different. No wonder Wu Qiu blamed him. But he knew Wu Qiu wasn't truly angry. Smiling, he came over to lift the curtain and accompanied him back to the east courtyard. Wu Qiu handed the child to Yang Shu and, after coming out, ignored everyone, heading straight into the bedroom.

Lei Ding followed him in. Seeing Wu Qiu sitting on the bed ignoring him, he smiled, took off his outer robe, and was about to speak to coax him when Wu Qiu clearly saw his condition and rushed over, pulling him to look left and right: "How did you get like this! You said you were fine, you, you..."

Lei Ding quickly took the chance to pull him into his arms: "Really, I'm fine, just got my clothes dirty. Making Qiu Er worry is my fault, don't be angry. I truly made ample preparations. Although today's incident was unexpected, it was still within control. Qiu Er, don't be afraid."

Held by him, Wu Qiu's earlier anger mostly dissipated. He also thought: Lei Ding braved danger for the sake of the family, facing such peril, and yet I got angry with him. Wouldn't that make him sad? So he actively reached out to hug Lei Ding back, and the two held each other tightly. Wu Qiu didn't cry, but his eyes grew moist as he said tremulously: "I was just afraid you'd be too hasty, afraid you'd hurt yourself. I apologize to Brother. I know you did it all for us. I didn't really mean to blame you."

Lei Ding stroked his cheek, a smile in his eyes: "I know. Your thoughts, I naturally understand them all. Qiu Er's heart aches for me, and you were anxious in the moment, right?"

Wu Qiu's ears turned red with embarrassment. Too shy to answer, he let out a very soft "Mm," then lowered his head to bury his face against Lei Ding's chest, not letting him see. After a long moment, he said muffledly: "In the future... in the future, you mustn't take such risks again. The wound on your back just healed, and today you were knocked about again."

Thinking of this, he struggled out of Lei Ding's embrace: "Sit down, let me look."

Lei Ding knew if he didn't let him see, he'd only worry more, so he obediently sat on the edge of the bed, unbuttoned his clothes, and bared his upper body for Wu Qiu to examine. Wu Qiu climbed onto the bed, kneeling behind him to inspect carefully. The scar from Lei Ding's back wound was still visible. Wu Qiu's heart ached at the sight, his fingers gently tracing along Lei Ding's spine. For a while, neither spoke. At the touch of his fingertips, Lei Ding couldn't help but tense up slightly, turning his face to look at him. Wu Qiu, as he touched, eventually leaned forward, resting his face lightly against Lei Ding's shoulder.

They sat in silent companionship like this for a long time before Wu Qiu said very softly: "Can we... can we leave this place, flee far away? I'll take you back to Xue Family Village. We have a house and land there. The people there may not all be perfectly good, but at least there won't be dangers like this."

Lei Ding feigned surprise: "How did Qiu Er know what I was thinking? This is exactly what we plan to do next."

Three days later, at dawn, the Lei Family Clinic suddenly saw many people coming and going—some carrying chests, others bundles—causing quite a commotion that disturbed many neighbors. Someone came in to ask what was happening. The Lei family members only said they had received a batch of medicinal herbs. Asked further, they offered no additional explanation.

Xue Hu also reported this to Wu Peng. Wu Peng asked him how the Lei family explained it, and Xue Hu truthfully relayed that they said it was just purchasing herbs, nothing more.

Wu Peng sneered: "Right. You've already shown intent to side with him, so naturally you wouldn't tell me the truth. It's not the first time the clinic has bought medicine; when has there ever been such a spectacle? There's clearly more to this, yet you refuse to tell me."

Xue Hu was also annoyed: "I only heard him say that to the neighbors. I can't compare to you; you pride yourself on wisdom, so naturally you can see any hidden meaning. If you don't believe me, go ask yourself in the future, save me the trouble of running errands."

Wu Peng's inner fury flared hotter. After arguing with him a few more sentences, he told him to get out of the room. Yet anxiety rose within him, and he began to calculate secretly. Currently, he had few usable people. Besides Xue Hu, who shared a grudge against the Lei family, most of the Liu family servants were unwilling to truly make enemies with the city's clinics and medicine shops, fearing they might fall ill later and not receive treatment. Wu Peng wasn't their proper master; even Liu Yu was constrained by his family and couldn't act lawlessly. Counting Zhang Yi, that made only three people. Zhang Yi only cared about money; his true loyalty was unknowable, and he might not be reliable in crucial moments. So, thinking it over, in the end, it was still just him and Xue Hu. Xue Hu was cowardly and fearful of death, and the biggest "fence-sitter." One glare from Lei Ding, and he'd be scared witless. It seemed he'd have to take matters into his own hands to settle this grudge.

The recent unusual activity at the Lei Family Clinic made Wu Peng speculate it was likely related to that day's incident. Although Xue Hu had botched the job and failed to take Lei Ding's life, it was enough to intimidate them. They were physicians; they had to keep the clinic open, appear before the public, and treat patients. They couldn't be entangled in this matter every moment. That day's horse and drugged wine had inadvertently reminded them: he was someone who wouldn't give up until he saw the coffin, couldn't be killed or shaken off, and might stab them in the back at any time.

He now only regretted that when he first sent Zhang Yi to Yu Yuan, he only gave him a packet of knockout drug as preparation. Had he known this day would come, he should have given him a dose of poison to finish off all these people at once.

However, the Lei family was clearly already worn down by the harassment. They were in the open, while he was in the dark. No matter how careful Lei Ding was, there would always be moments he couldn't guard against. He originally thought slowly driving him mad would be fine too, but today Xue Hu reported the Lei family's actions. Wu Peng thought it over and had a guess—they truly couldn't live such a fearful, anxious life and were probably planning to move away from this place!

Wu Peng thought to himself: Lei Ding naturally knew he was merely staying at the Liu residence, not a local, and wouldn't live here permanently. They only needed to hide outside for a year or two. They still had people in the city. Once he left one day, they would immediately return to this place, continue peacefully practicing as physicians, enjoying the people's support. The money lost on this trip could be earned back by selling a few expensive prescriptions. The thought of Lei Ding soon living as gloriously as before, while looking at his own ruined hand, made hatred surge within him anew. If they were just going out to avoid trouble, presumably the Lei family wouldn't need to take all their belongings, just pack some valuables. That wouldn't take much time. Calculating this way, they could run off at any moment!

He pondered back and forth, then summoned Xue Hu again and explained his plan. Xue Hu's eyes widened, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "I won't do it. I'm still an honest commoner. Usually harming him is one thing, but really asking me to take his life? If the authorities catch me later, wouldn't I lose my life too? I won't do it. If you want to, do it yourself."

Wu Peng grabbed his collar and growled in a low voice: "Do you think Lei Ding will really leave you a way out? How you treated his husband in the past—now he treasures that Wu Qiu like the apple of his eye. How could he possibly let you off? If you don't go, later when he returns, by then I'll have left this place. With no restraints, he'll make sure you die without a burial place."

Xue Hu's eyes shifted: "If you want me to go, then you have to come too. Anyway, we're in the same boat. Don't try to keep your own hands clean, making me do the dirty work while you stay idle. If you don't go, then I won't do it either."

Wu Peng stamped his foot in anger but had no choice. Swallowing his temper, he said: "That's easy enough. I'll agree. Now go to the clinic immediately. Find an opportunity, get someone to help, see how they're handling their belongings. Then go prepare candles and lamp oil."

Xue Hu was startled: "What are you going to do?"

A hint of gleeful smile appeared on Wu Peng's face: "They're a medical family, naturally having many medicinal herbs and medical books. These things likely need to be sorted—either given to the medicine shop or taken along. The weather has been dry lately. We'll give their herb chests a fire, to wish them a prosperous journey."

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