Chapter 268 Heading South
When the news of the people's petition reached the Imperial Study, Emperor Jin breathed a sigh of relief. On the grounds of fearing a civil unrest, he temporarily summoned all the ministers to discuss the people's petition for the God of Medicine. Under pressure from the people, Prince Yan's followers had to agree with His Majesty's decree to revoke the Empress Dowager's decree and send the case back to the Ministry of Justice for retrial, with Minister of Justice Wei Tingshan presiding over the trial. Prime Minister Jia Guangzhong and Prince Yan were ordered to supervise the trial together.
The imperial edict was issued at the Meridian Gate, and the people's grievances were finally quelled. The people gradually dispersed, making way for the prisoner, and escorted the prisoner's cart back to the prison cell...
Since the second wife of the Xiao family had been divorced on August 12 and had not returned to the Li family, her whereabouts were unknown. Even though the prince and everyone in Yichun Hall knew the God of Medicine, they were unable to tell whether Cuiping's words were true or false. The head manager of Yichun Hall and Xiao Yun were also missing. Only Cuiping and Xiao Jun confronted each other in the court. Xiao Jun insisted that he had never said that Mengxi was the God of Medicine, and that the reason he divorced his wife was because Mengxi's illegitimate daughter was against the ancestral precepts of the Xiao family.
Due to insufficient evidence, the presiding judge Wei Shangshu was very distressed. He dared not offend either side, and the case came to a stalemate. Just when there was no clue, on August 21, an urgent report from the south of 600 miles arrived in Pingyang, saying that the God of Medicine appeared in a small village called Taixing in the south of Huizhou on August 13, and cured the plague in Taixing Village with his miraculous hands. The people rushed to tell each other that the God of Medicine was a savior sent by heaven, and every family worshipped the God of Medicine. Zheng Qiang, the prefect of Huizhou, petitioned the emperor to issue an order to confer an official title on the God of Medicine and make him the master of plague...
Xiao Jun had confessed before that the second wife of the Xiao family was divorced and left the Xiao family on August 12. No one could reach the south overnight. Cuiping's confession was self-defeating, and the case of Yao Shen deceiving the emperor was completely overturned.
On August 22, His Majesty issued an edict to appoint Li Mengtan, the owner of Yichun Hall, as the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, a sixth-rank official, in charge of treating the plague in the south. He also instructed the crown prince to go south in person as the imperial envoy to announce the edict and supervise matters such as floods and plagues in the south and the transportation of grain to help the victims. After receiving the edict, the crown prince went south on August 23.
On the same day, Shangguan Jun, the owner of the Fulishan Copper Mine, a new upstart in the south that was strong enough to compete with the four great families, took the lead and jointly signed a petition with the people of Yangzhou to protect the Yangzhou prefect Xiao Zhanzhi, stating that the twenty crimes listed by Censor Zhang, including embezzlement, bribery, and wrongful acceptance of money, were all false accusations. The petition asking the emperor to investigate clearly was sent to Pingyang by express horses.
In order to stabilize the situation in the south and win over the hearts of the people, Emperor Jin issued an edict on the same day to temporarily imprison the Yangzhou prefect Xiao Zhanzhi and bring him back to Pingyang for trial.
On August 24, Emperor Jin issued an edict to announce to the world that the case of Yao Shen deceiving the emperor was actually the result of the wives and concubines in the backyard of the Xiao family fighting for favor and falsely accusing each other. The entire Xiao family was acquitted and their property was returned, but their title of aristocratic family was not restored. Because Master Xiao did not manage the family strictly, Xiao Qiang was the cause of the disaster and it almost caused a catastrophe. He was fined 100,000 taels of silver, and all the people in Yichun Hall were acquitted and the seals were removed.
Because of her jealousy, discord, slander and false accusation, Cuiping was sentenced to have her tongue pulled out and paraded through the streets for three days as a warning to others. The Prince of Yan failed to distinguish right from wrong and misled the Queen Mother based on the words of a maidservant in the Xiao residence, and he brought an unjust case, for which he was reprimanded and punished with one year's imprisonment.
It is said that after Cuiping was sentenced, there were huge crowds of people watching the parade on the day, accusing and cursing her. Cuiping was even knocked unconscious in the prison van by the people's eggs, stones, rotten vegetables, etc., and died in prison that night. The jailer notified the Xiao family, but no one from the Xiao family went to collect the body. Cuiping was wrapped in a mat by the jailer and thrown into a mass grave, where her body was left exposed in the wilderness.
After being released from prison, the eldest master wrote to the emperor, saying that the Xiao family would voluntarily join forces with the Fulishan Copper Mine to open a charity granary to provide relief to the victims, and to assist the court in resettling the victims and quelling the riots of refugees, in order to atone for the sins of the prefect of Yangzhou. The emperor granted the order on August 25, and Xiao Jun went south on August 26 to preside over the Xiao family's opening of a charity granary to provide relief.
Sitting in the carriage, Mengxi heaved a sigh of relief as he sorted out the messages from Pingyang one by one. He was finally released from prison. He wondered how he was doing now. Was he okay?
The prince submitted plague treatment measures based on her plan, and the emperor approved them one by one. He had already sent express horses to the south to put them into practice. Every day, the prince and she only received information from the north and south on the road, gave feedback, and then passed it on by express horses. They were not in a hurry to travel, and they stopped and walked along the way. After nine days of traveling south, Mengxi and others had just arrived in Jiaozhou.
Putting down the pen in his hand, Mengxi stretched lazily, and said while folding the newly improved prescription:
"Your Majesty has pardoned the Xiao family, and the Second Master has also left for the south. Tell Zhiqiu and Master Ouyang to keep an eye on his whereabouts so that we can take care of each other along the way."
Zhiqiu responded, lifted the curtain, stretched out his hand to call a guard over, gave a few instructions, and then lowered the curtain. Seeing that the young lady was still staring at the secret letters, he casually said:
"It's good that the case has been overturned. Although I hate the Xiao family, their crime is not worthy of extermination. Fortunately, Miss came up with the idea of posting flyers, otherwise how could so many people be gathered in one day? I heard that the old loyal servant of the Xiao family went to the Meridian Gate to beat the drum for reporting, but was beaten to death by the King of Yan's men. It was a tragic death."
"Although I was acquitted, the Xiao family was ruined after this robbery. Especially the fact that my concubine's daughter married in place of me has become a laughing stock in the streets of Pingyang, making the Xiao family lose face and feel ashamed. I wonder if the old lady and the eldest master will hate me to the core because of this."
"Miss, please don't blame yourself. This is not your intention. I wonder who spread it?"
"After all, I am to blame. I didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died for me."
"Miss, who is Boren?"
Oh no, I forgot again!
Mengxi's expression froze. He had been making mistakes frequently these days. It seemed that he was too nervous. He ignored Zhiqiu's question and reached out to take the fire stick and lit the secret letter sent by Li Du. When Zhiqiu saw it, he hurriedly took the copper bowl on the side and put the secret letter into the copper bowl. Mengxi looked around and sighed:
"As expected of a prince, a carriage is decorated so exquisitely, especially with this small table, it is so convenient to write on."
"Miss, you're right. I thought the Xiao Mansion was luxurious enough, but I didn't expect it to be inferior to the Crown Prince's. Especially this carriage. It's a rare idea of the Crown Prince. From the outside, it looks like an ordinary large carriage for transporting goods. It's not eye-catching at all. But the items inside are more complete than the bedroom..."
As he was talking, there was a commotion and the carriage stopped. Zhiqiu lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see the guards running forward. Just as he was about to ask, Ouyang Di rode up to the front of the carriage and replied:
"There is an assassin ahead, and the target is the prince. Master, don't worry, there are many experts around the prince, and he will be fine."
As he was talking, several figures flew out from the nearby woods. When Ouyang Di saw them, he drew out his sword with a clang and shouted:
"who!"
The guards beside the carriage also drew their swords with clangs, and the two sides were on the verge of a fight. The man clasped his fists and said:
"Miss Li, Master Ouyang, I am Shangguan Yuan, and I am here to protect Miss Li on the way under the orders of my master Shangguan Jun. I showed up because I saw someone trying to assassinate me."
After hearing this, Ouyang Di glanced at his master, and seeing Meng Xi shaking his head, he asked:
"Sir, I think you have mistaken me for someone else. My daughter said she doesn't know Mr. Shangguan."
"Mr. Ouyang, I will never admit my mistake. Miss Li was originally the second wife of the Xiao family. I heard that she is the legendary medicine god. She once did a favor to my master, so my master specially ordered me to protect her all the way."
"My young lady is not the God of Medicine. His Majesty has issued an edict to clarify the matter. I think Master Shangguan has misunderstood."
"I really don't know. I'm just following orders."
Shangguan Heng said no more and waved to the people behind him. They lined up in a row, with their backs to Ouyang Di and the others, and protected the carriage.
Although Ouyang Di was puzzled, he saw that the other party gave her back to him without any guard, so he thought that she was here to protect her master sincerely. Although the young lady said that she did not know Shangguan Jun, her master had saved many people in the past two years. The rumor that the second wife of the Xiao family was the God of Medicine had long been spread. It was possible that the other party believed the rumor and came to repay her gratitude.
They looked at their master and nodded.
He lowered the curtains and sat in the car with Zhiqiu and Zhixia, listening nervously to the sounds of fighting in front. He looked up and saw the newly written prescription. Mengxi's heart moved, and he quickly took it and put it in his arms. He also picked a few bottles of medicine from the medicine box, poured them out, wrapped them in cloth, and said to Zhiqiu and Zhixia while putting them in his arms:
"You should also bring some healing medicine and poison and hide them close to your body. If the assassin sneaks up behind us and we are scattered, you can also use them to defend yourself."
After hearing this, Zhiqiu's face turned pale instantly, and he said subconsciously:
"Miss, don't scare me. Their target is the prince. The prince's guards are all masters of the palace. There are also Master Ouyang and Master Shangguan. We will be fine."
Oh, this is not a game of house, a fake fight. Last time, I designed a plan to kidnap someone at my doorstep, but it failed and four guards died. This is a life-and-death struggle. If they succeed and the prince is stabbed, it is hard to say whether those people will not kill them all. This is how it was played in TV shows in my previous life. I remember watching the Yongzheng Dynasty, when Nian Gengyao went to capture Yang Ba Nu and Ren Bo'an, he turned Jiangxia Town into ashes overnight for money.
Mengxi was not as optimistic as Zhiqiu. She ignored her words and took the medicine from the medicine box and handed it to them while introducing them...
After the death of the eldest wife, Xiao Jun should have observed a three-year mourning period. However, in such an extraordinary period, the old lady did not say that. As soon as she was released from prison, she urged Xiao Jun to go south overnight to catch up with Mengxi. The Xiao family was completely defeated. Whether it could be revived depended entirely on the Fulishan Copper Mine and Mengxi. Mengxi cured the plague, which was an unprecedented achievement. As long as she was willing to plead for the Xiao family, the title of the Xiao family as a noble family might be restored.
Xiao Jun made an exception and did not ride a horse when he went south this time. Although he was weak, he still gritted his teeth and insisted on walking in the morning and sleeping at night in order to chase Mengxi. Fortunately, the prince and Mengxi walked slowly, and after five days of chasing, he finally caught up with them. He did not go forward to meet them, but just followed them from a distance. He did not want her to see his miserable appearance, and he just wanted to know that she was safe from a distance.
There was another violent coughing fit. Xiao Jun stared at the blood on the handkerchief in a daze. Was there any future for him and her in this life?
Just as he was distracted, the carriage stopped. Xiao Jun was about to ask a question when Xiao Xia opened the door from the outside. He saw Xiao Yuan standing beside the carriage covered in blood. Seeing this, Xiao Jun dropped the handkerchief in his hand to the ground and stared at Xiao Heng in a daze.
It's even later today and we have guests coming to our house.
