My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 51: Unarmored Wind (asking for monthly ticket)
Zhu Chong was trying hard to finish today's homework. It was not because he loved studying, but because he wanted to finish it quickly and go to the snack shop.

In the past, it was just a temporary place to stay and no one thought it was a big deal.

The opening of the shop means that it has truly become everyone's common "home", and the feeling is completely different.

Children like to have a small space of their own where they will not be disturbed by their parents.

The tea shop meets their needs in this regard.

Everyone likes to go there when they have nothing to do.

The key point is that if you go to other places and come back, you will be questioned by the parents and may even be criticized.

When going to a snack shop, all you have to do is say hello. Parents not only don’t object, they also encourage them to go more often.

After all, this is currently the most powerful second-generation communication circle in Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Chong naturally liked to go there whenever he had time, and then take a group of people to the streets to do justice.

The public security environment in Yingtian City was greatly improved as a result, and even the officers in the yamen spoke more kindly.

It was an unexpected gain.

He had heard that someone had monopolized the dock outside the city, and that they would take a commission from the people working there. If they didn't get a commission, they wouldn't work.

How could he tolerate such a thing? He made an appointment with others and planned to go to the dock outside the city today to enforce justice.

Now that Ma Yu had inexplicably dragged him away, he was naturally unhappy:
"Just go into the palace by yourself. No one is stopping you. Why are you dragging me along? I have something important to do later."

"Bah, you just entered the palace." Ma Yu cursed back, then said seriously:
"Let me ask you a question. Are your father and Chang Shuai on good terms?"

Zhu Chong looked at him as if he were a fool and said:

"Isn't this nonsense?"

"Everyone knows that my father and Chang Shuai are close friends, a life-long friendship. Otherwise, they wouldn't marry their children to each other."

Ma Yu took a deep breath, I endured...

"Let me ask you another question. How is the relationship between your brother and Miss Chang?"

Zhu Chong said affirmatively: "Of course it's good. They're flirting with each other all day long. If my mother hadn't stopped them... hey..."

His speaking style became more and more like Ma Yu, and even the members of the small organization were deeply influenced.

Things like best buddies and good brothers sharing the same quilt are always on their lips.

At this point, Zhu Chong seemed to have thought of something, and said in shock:
"You're not trying to steal my love, are you? First of all, I won't help you."

After saying that, he took a few steps back, as if to draw a clear line.

Ma Yu's face suddenly darkened, and he said unhappily:
"What's going on in your head all day? I really want to slap you to death."

Zhu Chong said unhappily, "You didn't explain clearly, how can you blame me?"

Ma Yu knew that he couldn't argue with him, so he continued to ask:

"Is Miss Chang filial?"

Although Zhu Chong didn't know why he asked such an irrelevant question, he still replied:
"Chunxiao."

Ma Yu then asked, "If your brother wants to punish someone, can Miss Chang persuade him?"

Zhu Chong said impatiently, "Of course, if she sheds just a few tears, I'll do anything for her."

"What are you trying to say with all this rambling? Can you be more direct?"

Ma Yu then said, "Then it's over..."

So he told Zhu Chong his idea, and finally said:

"If we're lucky, we can do whatever we want in the next few decades, and the Ming Dynasty will rule the world."

Zhu Chong frowned and said, "Aren't you cursing others?"

"If my father finds out, he will beat you to death."

"I also want Miss Chang to be grateful. It would be generous of her not to be angry."

Ma Yu explained: "How can it be called a curse? It's called the younger generation caring about the elders."

"If my guess comes true and Chang Shuai survives, then we can walk sideways from now on."

"Even if I guess wrong, there's no loss."

"Just tell me, is this kind of business worth doing?"

Zhu Chong said earnestly, "Old Ma, I know you want to find more backers to gain a firm foothold in the court."

"But listen to my advice. A gentleman should act uprightly and honestly. It's better not to take such crooked paths."

Ma Yu was not surprised by his thoughts. If he put himself in his shoes, he would have the same idea.

After all, Chang Yuchun was the most powerful general in the Ming Dynasty. Now he was so strong that he could kill a cow with one punch.

If you say he wants to get the nail polish removal treatment, no one would believe it.

This is also the reason why he did not act in a hurry.

There are two reasons why I chose to speak at this time.

First, he had already gained the trust of Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma and others to a certain extent, and his words carried weight.

Second, the opportunity is rare.

He and Chang Yuchun had never met, so how could he persuade the other party?
I guess as soon as I open my mouth I'll be treated as a liar and beaten half to death.

Now Zhu Yuanzhang is going to Dadu. As long as he can convince him, he can directly influence Chang Yuchun.

If we miss this opportunity, we will just have to wait for history to repeat itself.

As for why Zhu Chong was brought along, it was simply because more people would mean more strength.

Seeing that he was hesitant and unwilling to go, Ma Yu did not explain and said with a stern face:

"Just tell me whether you will go with me or not. If not, I will go by myself. From now on, you go your way and I'll go mine."

Then he turned and walked out the door.

Zhu Chong's expression changed, and he finally said angrily:
"You really are my brother. The thing I regret most in my life is going to Yingtian Prefecture Prison."

"No, what I regret most is eating a free meal with Chang Mao. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been thrown into jail and I wouldn't have met you."

Although he said this, his steps didn't slow down at all and he caught up in a few steps.

Ma Yu couldn't help but be moved, but he didn't show it on his face. He just walked towards the palace with a sullen face.

Zhu Chong said angrily: "I told you that's enough, I followed you here."

"First, tell me how you plan to tell my father and how I should cooperate with you."

Ma Yu then said, "Go find my aunt first, and then you just need to cooperate with me."

Seeing that he had a plan, Zhu Chong didn't ask any more questions.

The two of them entered the palace and met Empress Ma in Kunning Palace. Concubine Chang and Xu Miaoyun were also there.

Queen Ma seemed to be in a good mood and even joked with them when she saw them:

"Hey, isn't this our second son? He just remembered that he has a mother in the palace."

Zhu Chong smiled awkwardly and said, "Look at what you said. I miss you every day."

"Isn't this because I want to accomplish something great before coming to see you again?"

Empress Ma said with amusement, "Well, you are now well-known as a chivalrous hero. Many people have told me that the royal family is going to have a chivalrous king."

Zhu Chong's eyes lit up and he asked excitedly, "Really?"

Then he realized that Queen Ma was teasing him, and immediately said unhappily:
"I knew I shouldn't have come today."

Then he complained to Ma Yu: "It's all your fault. You had to drag me here."

Queen Ma laughed and shook her head, then said to Ma Yu:
"From what you said, you have something to talk to me about today?"

Ma Yu gave Zhu Chong a thumbs up in his heart. This was a very clever way to change the topic, and it was completely unnoticeable.

The way of pretending to be difficult:

"There's something I want to say but I'm afraid it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings."

Empress Ma became even more interested and said, "I am your aunt, so why should I be so shy about it?"

Ma Yu looked at Concubine Chang and said, "Mainly...this matter is related to Marshal Chang."

Concubine Chang, who was waiting to eat the melon, was very surprised when she suddenly heard that the melon was being eaten on her.

Empress Ma became even more curious and said, "I want to know more now. Tell me what happened to General Chang."

Ma Yu hesitated for a long time before saying:

"In the past, there was an elder in my family who also liked to practice martial arts. He dreamed of one day charging into battle and diligently practiced martial arts every day." Seeing that she was actually meeting an elder of his family, Empress Ma couldn't help but become even more curious and urged:

"and after."

Ma Yu suddenly said in a depressed tone, "Then he contracted the rash and died within a few days."

Queen Ma and others: ???

Zhu Chong couldn't help but almost laughed out loud, but he still said at the right time:

"Why are you talking about this?"

Ma Yu continued, "Because of this, an elder in my family who studied medicine specifically studied nail removal and summarized several behaviors that are prone to this disease."

Queen Ma had vaguely guessed what he was going to say, and her expression became somewhat solemn.

Seeing that she had no intention of interrupting, Ma Yu could only bite the bullet and continue speaking:

"Chang Sheng and I are like brothers, and I learned some things about Chang Shuai from him."

"Then I discovered that some of Chang Shuai's behaviors were very similar to the experiences summarized by my elders."

At this point, Concubine Chang, Xu Miaoyun and others knew what he was going to say.

As expected, Concubine Chang looked very unhappy.

My father is fine, aren't you cursing him?

Ma Yu was very helpless and explained:

"I know that General Chang is extremely brave and unparalleled. Saying this is like cursing him."

"I didn't want to say more originally, I told myself I was overthinking it."

"But every time I see Chang Sheng, I feel guilty."

"I knew my elders' actions were dangerous, but I refused to tell them. How can I still have the nerve to call Chang Sheng my brother?"

Zhu Chong continued, "I've been feeling like he's been acting weird these past few days."

"I caught him and questioned him for a long time this morning before he told me."

"I criticized him at the time. Since you treat Chang Sheng as a brother, then do what a brother should do."

"Even if everyone blames you, at least you have a clear conscience."

"He then made up his mind and came to the palace to discuss the matter."

Concubine Chang's expression suddenly improved, and she even felt a little guilty.

My cousin is so loyal, but I actually thought he was cursing my father. It was really wrong of me.

Empress Ma also showed a look of relief and said:

"It's very rare that you have such a heart. No one will blame you for it."

Concubine Chang said, "My cousin is a loyal and righteous man. I am grateful to him, so how can I blame him?"

"It's a blessing for Changsheng to have a friend like you."

Ma Yu looked relieved and said, "I hope my sister-in-law doesn't blame me for meddling."

Concubine Chang blushed again, but this time she did not refute.

Empress Ma coughed dryly and said, "Tell me first, what have your elders discovered, and what inappropriate behavior has Boren committed."

Ma Yu thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to explain in a few words. Let me give you an experiment, and you'll understand."

Queen Ma naturally would not object.

So Ma Yu asked someone to find a pot of charcoal fire, two fist-sized stones, and a basin of cold water.

Under the curious gaze of the crowd, he first picked up stones and hit each other twice:
"Everyone has seen that these two stones are very solid."

Everyone nodded, aren't pebbles very strong?

Then Ma Yu threw one of the pieces into the charcoal brazier. After burning it for a while, he took it out with tongs and threw it into cold water.

There was a hissing sound and a puff of water mist rose.

When the sizzling sound died down, Ma Yu picked up another stone and threw it into the charcoal brazier.

After a while, pick it up and throw it into cold water.

Repeat this five times.

Everyone was confused. What did it mean?
It was not until the sixth time, when Ma Yu threw the burned stone into the cold water again, that the stone silently cracked into two pieces.

Everyone was very surprised, and Xu Miaoyun blurted out:

"Why did the stone crack?"

Ma Yu still didn't say anything, but instead took out the cracked stone and placed it on the ground, then gently hit it with another intact stone.

"Bang." The stone that was hard just now was easily smashed into pieces.

Everyone was surprised again.

Empress Ma couldn't help but ask, "Why is this happening?"

Ma Yu put down the stone and said:
"Every time the stone is heated and cooled dramatically, it creates damage inside that is invisible to the naked eye."

"Once or twice is okay, but if you do it too often, the stone will become brittle."

"If stones are like this, what about people?"

Zhu Chong suddenly understood and said, "General Chang is a brave warrior who always leads the charge in every battle."

"After a battle, his whole body was as clean as if it had been washed by water, just as if the stone had been heated."

"After a battle he would remove his armor and pour cold water over himself to cool down, and he would drink large amounts of cold water to quench his thirst."

"It's like this hot stone being thrown into cold water."

"If this continues over and over again, his body will be damaged and he will become ill over time."

"Is this the cause of nail polish removal?"

Ma Yu nodded and said, "This is the reason my elders came up with after research. I can't say it's completely accurate, but I think it makes sense."

In fact, this was told to them by a physical education teacher in their previous life.

After strenuous exercise, you cannot sit down and rest immediately, nor can you drink water.

It will leave subtle injuries on the body.

It's okay if it happens once or twice, but if it happens too often, there may be problems.

Of course, it is only a possibility, not a necessity.

After all, the human body is very mysterious and far beyond the reach of stone.

When Ma Yu decided to try to save Chang Yuchun, he consulted the doctors, but they could not explain the cause of the disease.

But nail polish removal is also a type of stroke. If we think about it from this perspective, we can always get some inspiration.

Ma Yu thought of what his physical education teacher in his previous life said and felt that it might be related to this.

As to whether his guess is correct, no one knows.

After sharing his findings, Ma Yu felt a sudden sense of relief.

I have done everything I can, and the rest depends on Chang Yuchun's fate.

After hearing his words, Concubine Chang was terrified. Since it concerned her father, she couldn't make up her mind for a while.

He could only look to Queen Ma for help.

The relaxed look on Queen Ma's face was gone.

Firstly, Ma Yu had already gained initial trust, and no one dared to doubt his family's knowledge easily.

Secondly, the experiment just now was too intuitive and had a strong visual impact.

They can't help but be cautious.

However, she still did not make a decision easily, but said:
"Ask Zheng Liangqi to come see me."

Zheng Liangqi was the director of the Imperial Hospital and a national medical expert. It was normal for Empress Ma to ask him to make a diagnosis.

The eunuch also knew that the matter was serious. Upon hearing the order, he did not dare to delay and ran to the Imperial Hospital to call for help.

The main hall fell silent for a moment.

Just when Empress Ma was about to say something, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice suddenly came:

"Why is it so quiet?"

(End of this chapter)