Wei Si vomits blood

Wu Qi's words resonated with Zhou Liuhu, plunging her into a long silence. She had memorized countless books for the Dragon Gate exam, and almost unconsciously, she uttered phrases like "the Emperor is Heaven," forgetting the most important thing: "the people."

Zhou Liuhu said, "If every official could understand this principle, the country would never perish for thousands of years."

Upon hearing this, Wu Qi took a bite of the pastry and said casually, "Not necessarily."

Even people are born, grow old, get sick, and die. How can a country last for thousands of years? No one can sit on the throne forever, and no country can exist forever. We can only hope that the people can live in peace and prosperity for generations to come.

After listening, Zhou Liuhu felt that Wu Qi's words made sense. Today's events had greatly shocked Zhou Liuhu, whether it was the near-death experience or the audience with the emperor.

She couldn't help but say, "Speaking of which, this Director Wei doesn't seem like a powerful minister at all, much less like the Minister of War. He's more like a scholar! And a sickly one at that! However, this man is frivolous. He actually put his arm around my waist from behind. I couldn't dodge in time, so I nudged him twice with my elbow."

When Zhou Liuhu realized a stranger had put his arm around her waist, she was startled. Before she could even process what was happening, her arm was already pressed against his. Only after he released her did she realize something was wrong. Even the city's thugs wouldn't be so brazen in broad daylight, unless this person was a powerful and lecherous scoundrel. Seeing his face, she muttered to herself—"Even in her frail health, she doesn't forget to do such despicable things. She deserves to die!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as the man released the weapon, two rows of armored soldiers with red collars appeared in the building.

Zhou Liuhu sensed something was wrong. She hadn't seen if the man had given any orders, but several soldiers stepped forward and subdued her, stuffing a white cloth into her mouth. She thought to herself, "Are you trying to rebel? You put your arm around my waist, and it's my fault?"

It was only later that I learned it was because she was wearing a dress in a variegated color.

Zhou Liuhu grew increasingly angry as he spoke, slamming his fist on the table in righteous indignation: "Who exactly is Wei Si?! How did he develop such a personality, putting his arm around people's waists so casually? Even if he really is the Emperor's nephew, he shouldn't do this!!"

Li Xi asked in confusion, "You mean Wei Si put his arm around your waist in public?"

Zhou Liuhu said, "Yeah, thugs and hooligans!!"

Wu Qi chewed on the pastry and took the honey water that Yi Shen handed her and drank it. She felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

It's a complete mess, I can't make sense of it.

“That’s not right,” Li Xi said. “Wei Si is not interested in women, so he wouldn’t put his arm around your waist in public.”

Zhou Liuhu said urgently, "But he did hug her, and many people saw it!"

Song Yinxing said seriously, "Miss Zhou, don't be hasty. He is always accompanied by guards. How could you have elbowed him?"

"When he put his arm around my waist, there were no guards around. The guards came in after he let go of me. Then, he had two people force me to kneel down and stuffed some kind of rag into my mouth."

Wu Qi leaned against Yi Shen's shoulder and listened quietly. Yi Shen then put his arm around her waist and asked, "Does something feel off?"

Wu Qi replied, "That's not quite right."

What exactly is wrong?

Wei Si first grabbed Zhou Liuhu's waist, and Zhou Liuhu then elbowed him. After that, the guards arrived and forced Zhou Liuhu to kneel down... In other words, everyone saw both Wei Si grabbing Zhou Liuhu's waist and Zhou Liuhu elbowing him.

Then, Wu Yin informed them to come, and Li Xi led them to see the Emperor. They learned that Wei Si was the son of Princess Pingyi.

Wei Si, who clearly doesn't get close to women, publicly put his arm around Zhou Liuhu's waist. He could have avoided mentioning Princess Pingyi, but he insisted on letting them know that he was Princess Pingyi's son.

Wu Qi could only conclude that he did it on purpose.

He deliberately put his arm around Zhou Liuhu's waist, and also deliberately let them know that he was Princess Pingyi's son.

Wu Qi suddenly realized something and said, "Oh dear, it seems we've fallen into a trap."

Zhou Liu asked, puzzled, "What plan?"

"It's... a scheme that might get you killed by him." Wu Qi sat up straight and asked Li Xi, "Lord Li, may I ask, has Wei Luanhua been in poor health since childhood?"

Li Xi nodded and said, "That's not good. I was bedridden for three months when I was a child."

“That’s it,” Wu Qi said.

At midnight, Wei Si suddenly vomited blood in his residence, causing panic among the staff. The imperial physician diagnosed that he was already in poor health, and his busy official duties had further aggravated his condition. He must have bumped into something to cause the blood to come out.

The Emperor frowned and asked, "What did he bump into?"

The imperial physician shook his head.

The Emperor waved his hand impatiently and said, "Treat him first. Remember, if he lives, you live; if he dies, you die." After the imperial physician left, he summoned the golden-armored soldiers and ordered, "Go and find out what he bumped into."

"yes."

Wei Si must not be allowed to get into trouble.

That was the only child his sister left behind.

He hadn't heard anyone mention his sister for a long time, and now, the person mentioning her again was her son, who, in fact, was the one who gave her the name "Luan Hua".

His sister was never one to follow the rules. Right after giving birth to their son, she ordered her husband and brother to name him. He and Wei Mao racked their brains for a long time, coming up with several names, but were dissatisfied with none. Finally, his sister said, "Let's name him 'Wei Si' (魏司), after 'Wei Tui Zhuang Zhu, Zhou Zeng Si Kong' (魏推幢主，周赠司空)."

Wei Mao nodded slightly, then tossed his own son to him and went to be with his wife. The poor uncle timidly held the newborn boy. At that time, it was not yet clear how much the baby boy resembled his sister, but for some reason, looking at the baby in his arms always reminded him of his sister in her elegant dress.

Therefore, he suggested to his sister, "Could this child be given the courtesy name 'Luan Hua'?"

The older sister readily agreed, "Of course."

His sister loved Luanhua color and could wear it beautifully. When he learned that Wei Si forbade anyone in the capital from wearing Luanhua clothes, and even killed people for it, he thought—it's for the best.

Who can make Luan Hua look even prettier than her sister?

Suddenly, an image of a lake appeared in his mind. A woman dressed in Luan Hua's dress stood by the lake, smiling at He Qian. The red mole on her neck was particularly striking. She could make Luan Hua look beautiful.

However, because of Wei Si's outburst, he never saw her wear Luan Hua's dress again.

Speaking of Wei Si, he was also very annoyed. When he heard that "Zhou Liuhu elbowed him five times," he became even more irritated. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "Throw Zhou Liuhu into prison and punish her for harming a member of the royal family."

There will always be a steady stream of third-place finishers in the Longmen Exam, but his sister only has this one child.

As for whether he vomited blood or how much blood he vomited, he no longer cared. Propping his head, he asked the imperial physician, "Whom do you take orders from?"

The imperial physician was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat, knelt on the ground, and begged for mercy repeatedly.

"You obeyed Wei Si's orders but took my salary; you obeyed me but failed to cure Wei Si. You vomited blood after being elbowed a few times by a young girl. How have you been treating Wei Si these past few years?"

The Emperor spoke calmly and peacefully, but no matter how the imperial physicians answered, it was all the same: death.

Seeing that the imperial physician hesitated and did not answer, the emperor waved his hand, and the golden-armored soldier stabbed the physician in the throat with a sword. He frowned and stared at the bloodstains on the ground, and instructed, "Inform the Minister of War, Wei Si, of the news of his death, and then tell him that since he is not feeling well, he should rest and leave all official business to the Vice Minister."

He was tired and wanted to find the woman who dressed so beautifully in rouge and kiss the red mole on her neck.

Before dawn, Zhou Liuhu was taken away. She had just learned from Wu Qi's explanation that she had elbowed the emperor's own nephew. Even if Wei Si didn't vomit blood tonight, she wouldn't survive. But Wei Si, that damned bastard, did vomit blood, so he was definitely going to die.

When the soldiers arrived, Zhou Liu struggled and said, "I'll walk myself! I don't want you to tie me up! I'm fed up! They clearly took advantage of me, put their arms around my waist, and now I'm going to jail!! Why isn't it snowing in June?!"

Wu Qi stood behind her, comforting her, "Don't pray for snow in June. Eat and drink as usual. What's wrong with prison? Isn't it just a place to rest? Who knows, there might even be other people keeping you company in prison!"

Zhou Liuhu angrily retorted, "Who needs them to accompany me?! I have never been to prison!!"

Wu Qi thought to herself, "I've never been to the Dragon Gate either." But she dared not say that at this moment, and could only continue to comfort Zhou Liuhu, saying, "Don't worry, don't worry, I won't let you pass the Dragon Gate exam for nothing."

Zhou Liuhu's anger intensified at the mere mention of the Longmen Examination.

Well, I studied day and night to pass the imperial examination, and before I could even enjoy my newfound peace, I've elbowed the Emperor's own nephew and am about to die!

Unfortunately, no matter how indignant she was or how much she cursed the injustice of the world, her hands and feet were shackled, and she could only wait to be beheaded and displayed to the public. However, Wu Qi kept interrupting and making jokes, which relieved some of her fear.

Li Shuying passed the exam, but died tragically in a mass grave after being stabbed thirty-two times.

Zhou Liuhu passed the exam, but was imprisoned for no reason and awaited execution.

Originally, it was thought that ordinary people could enter officialdom through the Dragon Gate Examination, but none of them ended well. Lin Kuo shook his head and said, "This Dragon Gate Examination is not an auspicious omen..."

These words were extremely disrespectful. If someone with ulterior motives overheard them and reported them to the authorities, Lin Kuo would be punished again. However, Lin Kuo didn't care at all because Li Xi, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, was still with them.

Li Xi said, "Wei Siying recognized Miss Zhou a long time ago."

Otherwise, with so many people at Langyue Tower, why would he specifically put his arm around Zhou Liuhu's waist?

Wu Qi said, "I think so. If you ask me, it would be understandable if Wei Si were to be elbowed a few times, or even slapped twice. Who told him to put his arm around someone else's waist? Doesn't he have a waist himself?"

Zhou Liuhu didn't know much about the forgery of Liuge in Pingwu City. Her actions in Pingwu City were mainly aimed at investigating the cause of Li Shuying's death and seeking revenge. However, although she didn't know much, she knew quite a lot compared to ordinary people.

If Wei Si harms her because of this, then it would be justifiable.

However, what Wu Qi couldn't understand was why Wei Si dared to kill the old man in public, so why was he dragging his feet this time, taking it all the way to the Emperor, and then killing Zhou Liu in such a roundabout way?

Does he need to go through all this trouble to kill someone?

Of course, it's not necessary.

Therefore, Wei Si didn't actually want Zhou Liuhu to die; he simply wanted to use Zhou Liuhu's death to achieve a certain goal. As for what that goal was...

Wu Qi said, "I think I still have a get-out-of-jail-free card..."