TGCFNM -Chapter 12 Madam Cheng

After leaving the county office, Chu Ling had just opened her mouth to speak when she saw Ghost Scholar shake his head at her. She immediately closed her mouth. Only after they had walked some distance did Ghost Scholar cast a cold glance behind them.

“It’s that merchant’s son again.”

Chu Ling gritted her teeth. “He really is like a lingering ghost.”

“My lord was right,” Ghost Scholar said. “Since we don’t yet know his purpose, it’s better to keep him where we can see him.”

Chu Ling hummed in agreement. “Looks like we won’t be able to get the Adam’s apple today. If we do, he’ll surely keep following us.”

Ghost Scholar fell silent.

“Forget it. Let’s sell the medicine first. After that, we’ll head to the morgue and see whether Wu Lianzhi has remembered anything…” Chu Ling suddenly paused mid-sentence, frowning as she strode quickly toward the pharmacy. “Why is it so crowded over there? Is someone causing trouble?”

“Madam Cheng, it’s not that this old man refuses to save her—it’s that the injury has damaged the blood vessels. The bleeding won’t stop. I truly am powerless!”

Chu Ling forcefully pushed through the crowd. The first person she saw was the physician—and she let out a small exclamation. Wasn’t this the very same doctor who had reluctantly come to treat a patient that night? And now he was sitting here consulting patients?

Following the doctor’s gaze downward, she saw a young girl with a deep gash across her neck. Blood kept pouring out. The girl’s mother pressed both hands tightly over the wound, but blood still seeped through her fingers. The woman wept as if her heart were being torn apart, desperately begging for help, yet she could only watch helplessly as the breath in her daughter’s body grew fainter and fainter—beyond saving.

Chu Ling hurried forward. Someone nearby recognized her and immediately cried out, “County Magistrate!”

“It’s the County Magistrate!”

“Move aside!” Chu Ling forcibly pulled the woman’s hands away, tore open a packet of medicinal powder, and sprinkled it over the wound. Then she quickly dragged the doctor over. “Check her. Has the bleeding stopped?”

From the moment Chu Ling appeared, Physician Wang had been stunned. When she scattered the powder, he instinctively tried to stop her. But once he was pulled before the wound and examined it carefully, he exclaimed in shock, “The bleeding has stopped!”

His eyes burned with curiosity. “My lord, what medicine is this?”

“Forget the medicine for now. Treat her injury first,” Chu Ling said with a frown, stuffing another packet of powder into his hands.

Physician Wang took it and immediately called out, “Quick! Carefully carry Miss Cheng onto the bed. Prepare silver needles, a candle stand, gauze—hurry!”

Chu Ling’s legs had not fully recovered from their earlier soreness. The motion of crouching and standing almost made her fall, but someone beside her steadied her in time. She thanked them before looking toward Madam Cheng.

Madam Cheng had already been helped to her feet by her maidservant. She kept her head lowered, sobbing softly.

Chu Ling glanced at her briefly before looking down at the bloodstains on her own robe, feeling a pang of heartache for her already limited wardrobe.

“My lord,” someone behind her called softly.

“Hm?” Chu Ling turned around.

“My lord, do you know what happened?”

Chu Ling shook her head.

The person raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice. “This Madam Cheng brought her daughter back home in glory, planning to find a husband for the young lady here in this small place. But for some reason the two argued. In a fit of anger, the young lady held a knife to her own neck to threaten her mother. Madam Cheng panicked and rushed over to pull her away—and the blade cut her. The blood wouldn’t stop.”

Chu Ling was startled. The wound was far too deep. It looked as if she had truly intended to die—yet it was only meant as a threat against her own mother?

“Fortunately, the pharmacy was nearby. And fortunately, we ran into you, my lord. Otherwise…”

Chu Ling agreed wholeheartedly, then took the opportunity to promote her hemostatic powder.

“This is a hemostatic powder developed from my family’s ancestral secret recipe. I originally planned to keep it here at the medicine hall so that in case of emergencies, it could save lives. You’ve all just witnessed its effectiveness.”

“Sir, how much will you sell it for?” someone asked eagerly.

Chu Ling gave a light cough. “My intention is only to save more people, so I’ve set the price at twenty taels per packet…”

“Sir, sell me a packet! My old mother fell last night—her leg’s broken and the bleeding won’t stop.”

“Sir, sell me one! My husband ran into a wall last night—his head’s split open and bleeding. We’ve got elderly parents above and children below; the whole family depends on him!”

Chu Ling put on a conflicted expression, but still sold the packets one by one.

“Sir! Sir! My master—the whole Zhang household—they all fell!”

Chu Ling paused. Wasn’t this the steward from Master Zhang’s household? She promptly sold him ten packets.

By the time Physician Wang finished administering acupuncture and came out, Chu Ling had only three packets left. She donated them to the medicine hall as a gesture of goodwill.

“Earlier, I misjudged you, sir.” Physician Wang clasped his hands seriously and bowed in apology.

Chu Ling helped him up. “It’s nothing. How is that young lady?”

“The wound has stopped bleeding, but she lost too much blood. She’ll need careful recuperation.” As he spoke, Physician Wang walked toward Madam Cheng to give her detailed instructions.

Seeing she was no longer needed, Chu Ling prepared to leave. As she was about to go, she happened to see Madam Cheng lift her head slightly. The sight stirred a strange sense of familiarity.

“Master, I’m afraid there’s something wrong with my memory.” Chu Ling hesitated. She couldn’t remember how she had traveled from the capital to Sishui County. She couldn’t recall the people and events of the capital, and even her parents in this body were vague in her mind.

But she clearly remembered taking official silver from a hidden chamber in the General’s Manor and burying it somewhere no one would ever find.

That memory did not belong to any novel she had read—it belonged solely to “Chu Ling,” and it was the most vivid memory she had.

“Your Excellency suffered a heavy blow to the back of your head. It’s normal to forget some things,” Ghost Scholar consoled her.

Chu Ling halted mid-step. “Master, someone tried to kill Chu Ling.”

She had not hanged herself. She had been struck hard on the back of the head—killed in a single blow. And that person had then suspended her from a beam to create the illusion of suicide!

Ghost Scholar stiffened. “If what Your Excellency says is true, then if that person failed once, they may come again.”

Chu Ling took a deep breath, just about to speak when she saw Su He striding toward her. As he passed, the crowd parted—not to make way, but to avoid him, as if he were something frightening and repulsive.

“The autopsy report.” Su He handed it over.

Chu Ling accepted it, glanced around, then said, “I want to personally examine the remains.” She would also bring Wu Lianzhi back for a thorough questioning. The root of this case still lay with Wu Lianzhi.

Su He gave a soft “Mm,” then silently stood one meter behind Chu Ling, head lowered.

Chu Ling grabbed him and pulled him forward. “There are issues in this report I need to ask you about. If you stand that far away, how am I supposed to ask?”

“Your Excellency, did you see the looks in their eyes when they avoided me?” Su He’s eyes were cold. “Aren’t you afraid that if you walk too close to me, these commoners will…”

Chu Ling raised a hand to interrupt him, looking at him with mild confusion. “I am the magistrate of Sishui County. Who would dare provoke me?”

Su He: “……”