good season

Chapter 137 A Tragedy Caused by a Rat (Two Chapters Combined)

Zhao Yunnuan had been on the battlefield and led troops, and had old injuries. So Sun Lingzhi used the pretense of helping her to recuperate to prepare tonics and chicken soups for her. That's how Zhao Yunnuan gradually drank the poison.

Originally, only Zhu Yu and Sun Lingzhi knew about this matter; even Old Madam Wei was unaware of it.

After all, she was the eldest princess of the Liang Prince's Mansion, and also a hostage sent to the capital by the Liang Prince's Mansion.

But even Zhu Yu did not expect that one day, Old Madam Wei returned from the palace and conspired with Lord Zhu in the room for two hours. After that, Old Madam Wei handed a packet of medicine to Lady Ma, the wife of the Marquis.

Madam Wei was elegant and dignified, so of course she would have Madam Ma, whom she disliked, handle such dirty work.

Unfortunately, Madam Ma was foolish and Zhao Yunnuan discovered the deception. Zhao Yunnuan poured the bowl of medicine onto Madam Ma's face, and the scalding medicine was poured into Madam Ma's eyes and nose. Although Madam Ma did not die, she went blind and was disfigured.

However, Zhao Yunnuan was already exhausted. This last gamble used up all her remaining strength, and she passed away that very night.

It wasn't until then that Zhu Yu told Old Madam Wei about poisoning Zhao Yunnuan. Old Madam Wei was heartbroken. Her eldest grandson was so smart and capable. It was a pity that such a good grandson was ruined by Zhao Yunnuan, so that whoever became the heir's wife in the future would be a second wife.

In a daze, Zhu Yu curled the corners of his mouth. He had finally gotten his wish; that proud woman had finally become a corpse.

He has long since lost count of how many women he has ruined.

Zhao Yunnuan?
Leading troops into battle?

Heroine?

Hahaha!
joke!

Zhu Yu's women are nothing more than playthings!
If you don't obey, you'll only face death.

He didn't silence Sun Lingzhi; he liked such a vicious woman!

A sharp pain made Zhu Yu tremble all over. It hurts so much, it really hurts. Yan Xia is too cruel, too cruel!

Yan Xia actually discovered that the woman he had snatched from Ding'an Prefecture was his cousin, and he even found her body!

Granny Niu, that old slut actually betrayed her master and told him everything.

Yan Xia found Sun Hongbin, who was also Sun Lingzhi's gambling father.

Sun Hongbin told Yanxia that he had helped Sun Lingzhi buy a slow-acting poison from Wang the Blind, who specialized in selling banned drugs.

Yan Xia thus became suspicious of Zhao Yunnuan's death. He petitioned the emperor, requesting that the coffin be opened for an autopsy. The emperor refused and found an excuse to make him leave the Ministry of Justice!
Even after leaving the Ministry of Justice, Yan Xia remained unconvinced. Two months later, he secretly dug up Zhao Yunnuan's grave and had the midwife, Aunt Wen, and her daughter-in-law, Sister Ping, examine Zhao Yunnuan's body.

Yan Xia wanted to inform the Liang Prince's Mansion about Zhao Yun Nuan's cause of death, but unfortunately, Zhao Ting Xuan was dead, and the Liang Prince's Mansion was in dire straits. Who would care about a married woman who had already passed away?

Yan Xia wanted to bring this matter to the emperor's attention through the imperial censors, but unfortunately, none of those censors, who were usually so dignified, were willing to take on the matter.

Even within the Ministry of Justice, no one dared to take on this case.

When this reached Zhu Yu's ears, he was very pleased with himself. First, he used a runaway horse to trample Aunt Wen and Sister Aping, who were examining Zhao Yunnuan's body, to death. Then, he killed Sun Lingzhi's family. Next, he filed a lawsuit against Yan Xia.

He accused Yanxia of robbing a grave and offending his wife.

Yan Xia announced in court that Zhao Yunnuan had died of poisoning and presented the body sample prepared by Aunt Wen.

Ultimately, the case was closed due to infighting among the wives and concubines in the household, with the concubine plotting to murder the mistress. A concubine who had long fallen out of favor took the blame for everything.

As for Yanxia's cousin who had died many years ago, Granny Niu took the blame for her.

Yan Xia was punished for digging up a corpse and performing an unauthorized autopsy on a member of the royal family.

Yan Xia was beaten with forty strokes of the cane, leaving him with torn skin and blood. On the way back to the Duke's mansion, Zhu Yu stopped his carriage.

Lifting the carriage curtain, Zhu Yu burst into laughter upon seeing Yan Xia, who was beaten to a bloody pulp.

"Yan Xia, you've finally met your match! Haha, how many lives do you have, daring to challenge this young master?"

Intense pain struck again, and Zhu Yu no longer had the strength to scream. It was Yan Xia, the man who was only half alive, who actually pulled out a knife and stabbed it into Zhu Yu's chest!
Zhu Yu suddenly opened her eyes. Where was she?
He was standing outside the car, lifting the curtain and spouting nonsense at Yanxia when Yanxia stabbed him hard. He was in a lot of pain and thought he was going to die.

He's not dead, he's still alive, but where is this place? Why does my body hurt so much? Where is Yan Xia? Where is Yan Xia?

Zhu Yuqiang tried to sit up, but found that he couldn't.

The pain was coming from between his legs. He instinctively touched it and found it was sticky.

Zhu Yu let out a scream, and this time, his scream finally received a response. The guard sitting outside the door pushed open the door at that moment.
Zhu Yu did not die; he was rescued in time and his life was saved, but he lost his manhood.

The incident occurred at the Ministry of Justice. In order to save Zhu Yu's life, the Ministry of Justice sent people to invite the imperial physicians from their homes in the middle of the night. When the first batch of imperial physicians said they were helpless with the rotten flesh, several large pharmacies in the capital had their doors knocked on in the middle of the night.

Hearing that the Ministry of Justice had sent someone to invite a doctor to sit in the clinic, these large pharmacies believed it to be true. As a result, more than twenty doctors with some reputation gathered at the Ministry of Justice, only to be driven out by people from the Marquis of Baoqing's mansion who had rushed over after hearing the news.

These doctors were summoned in the middle of the night, and before they could even have a sip of hot water, they were kicked out again. They were resentful.

A minor constable named Liu Qi expressed his sympathy for them, and they asked Liu Qi what had happened.

With a sorrowful expression, Liu Qi recounted the tragic fate of Zhu Yu, the heir of the Marquis of Baoqing, his words dripping with grief and tears.

"The heavens are jealous of talent! Prince Zhu's martial arts have been crippled by a rat!"

What martial arts? That's your lifeline!

The doctors were dumbfounded. The infamous Prince Zhu had been gnawed by rats and turned into a eunuch.

The doctors turned and left immediately; they needed to get back right away and tell their dear fellow villagers what had happened!
Early in the morning, Zhao Shiqing, exhausted from a night's sleep, walked out of the Ministry of Justice and got into Si Xiaopang's mule cart.

She changed out of the coarse cloth clothes she had worn on the mule cart and became that ordinary-looking boy again.

"Where in the capital are the most people eating breakfast?" she asked from inside the mule cart.

Si Xiaopang thought for a moment and said, "Baicaikou, half of the street there is lined with breakfast stalls, and it's very close to the academy, so many students eat breakfast there too."

"Okay, let's go to Baicaikou." Zhao Shiqing yawned. She was at the age where she loved to sleep, and now she was tired and sleepy.

But she couldn't bear to waste this golden opportunity; she wanted to make Zhu Yu the talk of the town in the shortest amount of time.

"By the way, where can I hire a little beggar?" Zhao Shiqing asked again.

Si Xiaopang laughed: "Go have breakfast. Leave the job of hiring the little beggars to me. I know them well."

Two hours later, Zhao Shiqing finally returned home. Without washing up, she collapsed onto the bed fully clothed and fell into a deep sleep, her disguise still on. Meanwhile, as she had wished, the streets and alleys, teahouses and taverns of the capital were all talking about the tragic transformation of Prince Zhu into a eunuch.

Madam Wei got her wish; her eldest grandson finally returned home, though he was carried back.

Since regaining consciousness, Zhu Yu has not fainted again. His mind is clear, and he clearly remembers what happened.

A huge rat bit him!
At first, everyone thought he was delirious from the pain, because when he gestured with his hand to indicate the size of the mouse, it was as big as a rabbit.

Where in the world can you find a rat that big?

However, the imperial physician quickly confirmed that Zhu Yu had indeed been bitten, and the teeth marks resembled those of a rat.

Zhu Yu: "A rat spirit! That's a rat that has become a spirit, a monster! Go quickly and ask the Taoist priest to come and catch it! Go now!"

After Zhu Yu left, everyone in the Ministry of Justice got busy. Zhang Siyu was unable to go home after his shift. Such a big thing happened while he was on duty, and even if the culprit was a rat, he could not escape responsibility.

For the Ministry of Justice, the most urgent task was to catch that rat.

Lord Xu, a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Justice, and two vice ministers personally led a search party to catch the rats.

To this end, everyone in the Ministry of Justice used their ingenuity: those with cats sent out cats, those without cats sent out dogs, and those with neither cats nor dogs sent out people!

When Emperor Yongjia summoned Minister Xu to the Imperial Study for questioning, Minister Xu was in a disheveled state, with spider webs on his head.

"Minister Xu, what exactly happened? I want to hear the truth from you."

Lord Xu's smile was more like a grimace: "Your Majesty, the truth of this matter is..."

Lord Xu recounted what happened that night. Master Zhu was ordered to exchange two maids for Zhu Yu. Since the case was not yet solved, Zhu Yu could not be released immediately. Therefore, Master Zhu dared not return to his residence and voluntarily requested to stay and serve his sentence.

Originally, the uncle and nephew were imprisoned in the same cell, but Zhu Yu publicly humiliated Master Zhu the Second, and Zhang, the prison warden, couldn't stand it, so he moved Master Zhu the Second to another cell.

Zhu Yu complained that no one was warming his bed, so he asked the guard to go to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion to call for a girl. The guard refused and was chased out of the cell by Zhu Yu.

Therefore, when Zhu Yu was being gnawed by rats, the guard standing outside the door could not be considered negligent, because he was guarding the door, and there were witnesses who could prove that the guard was not slacking off and had been diligently guarding the door. He was also the one who discovered Zhu Yu's injury. Without him, Zhu Yu would have lost too much blood and there would have been no way to save her.

As for the murderous rat, Emperor Yongjia was clearly more interested in it.

"It is said that this rat resembles a wild rabbit, is extremely ferocious, and is a demon that has become a spirit. Minister Xu, is this true?"

Lord Xu smiled bitterly again: "Your Majesty, the place where Prince Zhu had the accident was the Ministry of Justice prison. There is a prison god guarding the prison. What kind of monster would dare to oppose the prison god? Alas, in my opinion, Prince Zhu must have been dizzy from the pain and mistook a group of rats for one."

Emperor Yongjia thought about it and agreed. Zhu Yu was an uneducated and ignorant man who talked nonsense. His words were not credible.

Emperor Yongjia was actually somewhat relieved about Zhu Yu becoming a eunuch.

This Zhu Yu has caused so much trouble. When Madam Wei came to see Consort Li, Consort Li wanted the Emperor to clean up the mess. The Emperor was just looking forward to making Zhu Yu suffer.

This time, however, the hardship was quite severe, and Emperor Yongjia felt somewhat regretful.

Just recently, Consort Li had brought up the matter of Zhu Yu's marriage to him.

Coincidentally, before this, Consort Qiao had also mentioned Zhu Yu's marriage to him. Moreover, Consort Qiao had taken a liking to someone, namely the eldest princess of the Liang Prince's Mansion.

Emperor Yongjia had long heard of this princess. It was said that the Prince of Liang's personal guard had always been under her command. She was a woman of courage and resourcefulness, a woman who was no less capable than any man.

More importantly, she was Zhao Tinghan's right-hand woman.

Emperor Yongjia waited and waited, but even after the first month of the lunar calendar had passed and spring had arrived, news of Zhao Tinghan's death still had not come from Liang.

Not only that, Zhao Tinghan also got married. He married the granddaughter of a retired Hanlin scholar. Emperor Yongjia specially ordered someone to investigate this old Hanlin scholar. It turned out that his granddaughter had grown up in the countryside since childhood and only returned to her ancestral home in her twenties.

Although Zhao Tinghan is still alive, he is sickly and it is uncertain whether he can have offspring. Marrying him would only give him a nominal title. However, given his status as the Prince of Liang, it would not be difficult for him to marry a young and beautiful lady from a prestigious family.

However, it is said that Zhao Yunnuan was the one who arranged this marriage. It is conceivable that Zhao Tinghan was in poor health and Zhao Yunnuan was the real person in charge of Liang. If Zhao Tinghan married a princess with a powerful family background and was shrewd and capable, it would undoubtedly take away the power in Zhao Yunnuan's hands. Therefore, Zhao Yunnuan found herself a sister-in-law who had nothing.

Princess Liang, who grew up in the countryside and had neither family background nor connections, could only be a figurehead.

Whether it's the Liang Prince's Mansion, the personal guards, or even the entire Liang region, they are still under Zhao Yunnuan's control.

Therefore, when Consort Qiao wanted Zhu Yu to serve as a concubine to Zhao Yunnuan, Emperor Yongjia did not immediately object.

The Marquis of Baoqing's family was marrying into the Prince of Liang's family; although it was a marriage of convenience, it was one they could afford.

The biggest problem still lies with Zhu Yu. This kid is too disappointing, and Emperor Yongjia is worried that the old ministers in the court who like to meddle in other people's business will have something to say.

Originally, Emperor Yongjia wanted to arrange a job for Zhu Yu so that he could gain experience in the army. Since Zhao Yunnuan was still in mourning, Zhu Yu could return with one or two minor merits and then get married.

But before Emperor Yongjia could tell Lord Zhu about this, Yan Xia had Zhu Yu arrested and imprisoned. And now, Zhu Yu has lost even his manhood.

This matter can't be covered up; it will spread sooner or later. Emperor Yongjia sighed. A good move, ruined before it was even made.

However, the idea of ​​having Zhao Yunnuan marry into the capital city has not changed.

If there is no Zhu Yu, there are Wang Yu and Li Yu. There are also noble sons in the capital who are about the same age and have similar family backgrounds as Zhao Yunnuan.

If I choose someone who is loyal to me, I won't be afraid that Zhao Yunnuan will dare to cause trouble after marrying me.

Commander of the Imperial Guard?
absurd!

What qualifications does a woman have to lead troops?

Does she think she's Mulan?
The legendary Mulan was also a woman who disguised herself as a man and led troops into battle.

Consort Qiao truly understands my heart best. She said that one Zhao Yunnuan is worth several Zhao Tingxuans, and holding Zhao Yunnuan in one's hands is equivalent to controlling most of Liang.

Moreover, Princess Nie, the wife of the late Prince Liang, also had this idea.

Zhao Yunnuan is more suitable to go to the capital as a hostage than Zhao Tingxuan.

However, there was no precedent in the Dayong Dynasty for using a woman from the imperial family as a hostage.

Emperor Yongjia was not in a hurry; he still had time and wanted to prepare properly.

(End of this chapter)