Chapter 344: A Well-thought-out Plan
Before Xiao Yunshuo could respond, Lord Xie said, "I told him to eat first. You don't need to worry about this."
Xiao Yunshuo smiled and said, "Look, Master Xie has agreed!"
As he said this, he deliberately picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork with chopsticks and ate it.
The jailer's face was ashen and he looked very nervous. He stared at Xiao Yunshuo without blinking until Xiao Yunshuo picked up the pot of water. His hand twitched slightly.
Xiao Yunshuo poured himself half a glass of water without changing his expression, then tilted his head back and drank it.
After eating several dishes, Xiao Yunshuo stood up, just like he did a few days ago, and took the food box to Lord Xie and put it down.
Mr. Xie also poured a glass of water and was about to drink it——
Suddenly, Xiao Yunshuo fell to the ground with convulsions all over his body, and a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth!
"Sir, don't drink! This water is... poisonous..."
Before he could finish his words, he had already lost consciousness.
At the same time, the adults in other cells who had already drunk water suddenly covered their stomachs with their hands and felt unbearable abdominal pain, and then vomited blood!
Master Xie was horrified and almost stumbled towards Xiao Yunshuo: "Tai... Little brother! Wake up! What's wrong with you!"
As he spoke, he shouted loudly outside the cell: "Someone come! Call a doctor quickly! Someone has poisoned us!"
The jailer who came to deliver the food was shocked when he saw this and could not help but step back.
how so
The poison that the master sent over said that it would only take a few hours to take effect.
By then, he had already escaped and no trace of him could be found!
How could it be... I just drank it and it immediately started happening?!
Could it be that... Lord Shen deliberately framed him and treated him as a discarded pawn?!
Thinking of this possibility, the jailer lost his composure and suddenly turned around and fled towards the prison door!
Seeing this, Lord Xie, who had been in the court for so many years, how could he not see the clues? He immediately shouted, "The jailer must have been the one who poisoned me! Hurry and catch him!"
The other jailers who were already stunned by what they saw finally reacted and immediately rushed over desperately to catch the man.
You have to try your best.
All the people imprisoned in this prison are high-ranking officials in the court. They came to jail voluntarily. The emperor wanted to release them and let them return home. The eunuchs in the palace had come here three or four times, but these adults didn't give them any face and didn't move at all!
If someone poisoned him while they were guarding the prison, they didn't know how the senior officials in the Dali Temple would be punished, but they, the small minions guarding the prison, would kill him without fail, and no one would escape the net if they were wrongly killed!
Therefore, now I can only hope to catch the person who poisoned me, get the antidote, make amends and save my life!
However, when the fight really started, several guards and jailers were killed in an instant by the jailer who delivered the food.
The other party has been lurking in the Dali Temple for many years, but he is a master with extraordinary skills. How could these jailers be his match?
Fortunately, Chu Ming, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, arrived in time and blocked the door of the cell.
"Get out of the way!" the jailer roared in frustration, and attacked Chu Ming's face with his fingers like claws!
As long as he can capture the Dali Temple Shaoqing as a hostage, perhaps he still has a chance of survival!
However, before his hand touched Chu Ming, Chu Ming suddenly attacked, and with a grappling hand, he grabbed his wrist. Within three moves, he dislocated his wrist and arm cleanly.
The jailer fell to the ground in pain and was immediately caught and tied up by other guards.
Chu Ming's expression was stern. He asked in a cold voice, "With so many officials from the Dali Temple visiting us, didn't I ask you to go to the palace to invite the imperial physician a few days ago just in case? Where is Imperial Physician Zhang?"
A jailer came running over, sweating profusely, and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. I've sent someone to fetch them. They'll be right here!"
Chu Ming couldn't help but show an anxious look on his face. He said in a cold voice, "Why don't you send someone to urge them? If anything goes wrong with the masters in the prison, you will all be in trouble!"
Fortunately, as soon as he finished speaking, Doctor Zhang rushed over in a hurry.
Chu Ming immediately took Doctor Zhang into the prison.
Seeing this, Lord Xie immediately said, "Lord Chu, this little brother was poisoned because he suffered on my behalf. He is the most seriously injured. Treat him first!"
Chu Ming nodded and asked Doctor Zhang to take the patient's pulse and make a diagnosis immediately.
Doctor Zhang was an expert in medicine, especially in treating various poisoning symptoms. Therefore, he took the patient's pulse and quickly determined the type of poison based on the symptoms, and immediately prescribed the right medicine.
The palace originally had a special antidote for this poison.
Chu Ming ordered the first-class patrolman of Dali Temple with light skills to take the token of Dali Temple Shaoqing, and go to the Imperial Hospital to get the medicine with the prescription and the seal of Doctor Zhang as quickly as possible.
After about half an incense stick of time, both the poisoned Xiao Yunshuo and the other adults began to breathe weakly.
Lord Xia sat aside, staring blankly at Xiao Yunshuo, whose eyes were closed and face was pale. His whole body was shaking uncontrollably. However, he still pursed his lips tightly, with a grim expression, trying to suppress the stormy emotions in his heart.
Chu Ming was not in a much better condition. His fingernails, hidden in the sleeves of his official robe, were almost deeply embedded in the flesh of his palms.
He shouldn't have agreed to cooperate with His Highness's plan from the beginning...
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside: "The medicine is here!"
Chu Ming's heart was lifted up, and he turned around and looked over: "Hurry up and feed this prisoner!"
The police officer who was fetching the medicine was stunned for a moment when he heard this and asked, "Sir, shouldn't we give the others the medicine first? This prisoner is just a petty thief..."
Chu Ming also realized his own loss of composure, but he had already thought of an excuse. He said, "Although we have Doctor Zhang's diagnosis, the type of poison and the antidote are correct, but it's better to be safe than sorry. If something goes wrong, wouldn't it endanger the life of one of the masters?"
The police officer finally realized what was happening and complimented him, "Your Excellency is wise! Do you mean to test the medicine on this prisoner first, and only give it to the other officials after making sure it's safe? I'm a fool!"
As he said this, he hurried to give Xiao Yunshuo the medicine.
Chu Ming breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xiao Yunshuo take the antidote.
Caught up!
Xiao Yunshuo would be safe from the poison if he took the antidote within an incense stick of time.
The type of poison, whether Imperial Physician Zhang could correctly diagnose it, whether the Imperial Hospital in the palace had a ready-made antidote, and whether the round trip time from the Dali Temple prison to the Imperial Hospital to get the medicine was sufficient... These were all things they had calculated repeatedly when making the plan in advance.
Moreover, Chu Ming had already prepared a spare antidote. If anything went wrong in the process of obtaining the medicine, he could try to feed the antidote to His Highness at the last minute.
Everything is considered.
However, even though he knew it was foolproof, when he actually put it into practice, Chu Ming still couldn't help but feel extremely frightened.
After about a cup of tea, Xiao Yunshuo finally woke up with a painful cough, and his breathing resumed.
"The antidote is right! Give it to the other adults immediately!" the policeman shouted.
After hearing this, the jailers did not dare to delay and hurriedly gave the pills to the poisoned adults!
Lord Xie looked at Xiao Yunshuo who had regained consciousness. His body, which had just been holding on, collapsed in an instant. Then his eyes went black and he fell headfirst.
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, Mr. Xie!" Chu Ming rushed over, supported him in time, and called out anxiously.
Lord Xie held Chu Ming's arm tightly, his lips trembling as he mumbled something.
Chu Ming didn't hear clearly, so he leaned over and asked, "Master Xie, what did you say?"
Lord Xie opened his mouth but did not repeat himself, and then he lost consciousness.
No one heard his murmurs filled with grief, shock, emotion, guilt and other emotions. Those were words he said only to himself.
"So... he was testing poison for me..."
No wonder he wants to try every dish.
And he was so stupid that he thought it was his turn to eat first after knowing his true identity.
However, he never considered that this was a prison, there were no eunuchs to test poison, and he was the target of public criticism. Once someone poisoned him, the first person to be poisoned would be His Highness, not him, an old man who could give up an insignificant life at any time!
How could I be so confused!
When things were getting chaotic in the Dali Temple prison, a report suddenly came from outside.
"The emperor's oral order has arrived!"
Everyone in the dungeon knelt down.
The eunuch announcing the decree entered, flanked by a group of junior eunuchs. He announced in a resounding, imposing voice, "The Emperor has issued a decree. Thank you, Sir, and all the others for your integrity and loyalty. I understand your intentions and will address them promptly. It would be wise for you all to leave the Dali Temple prison and return to your respective residences to recuperate."
After the oral order was read, the eunuch who announced the decree, Eunuch Xu, immediately changed his attitude to a smiling and servile one, and said to the young eunuchs on his left and right: "What are you still standing there for? Why don't you help the gentlemen up quickly?"
As he spoke, he personally walked up to Lord Xie and said with a smile, "Lord Xie, the news that Lord Xie and the other lords were poisoned in the Dali Temple prison has reached His Majesty. His Majesty is furious and has ordered a thorough investigation of the mastermind behind this. He has also immediately ordered this servant to deliver a verbal order to the other lords. Lords, please obey His Majesty's order this time and return to your own residences. Otherwise, if any of you lords really do make a mistake, will you insist on accusing His Majesty of being incompetent and forcing the death of a virtuous minister?"
Although he said this with a smile, everyone present had been in the officialdom for many years and naturally heard that this was Emperor Yucheng's ultimatum.
If you still don't know what's good for you, you're deliberately doing the emperor an injustice. How can you expect to have a good outcome?
Unless you really want to risk your life to gain a reputation for giving advice.
Chu Ming also took the opportunity to persuade: "Thank you, sir. Since the emperor has verbally promised to properly handle your request, you should return home and wait. I believe that with the emperor's verbal order, the truth will be revealed soon. Eunuch Xu, don't you agree?"
Eunuch Xu smiled and said, "Master Chu is absolutely right."
Since Lord Xie knew that the prince was still alive, and considering that the prince had been secretly persuading him in the past few days, he had already given up the desire to die, so he took the opportunity to back off and agreed with other ministers to return home.
The jailer who poisoned the child was handed over to the Dali Temple Minister Zhou for personal trial. Under severe torture, the jailer quickly confessed that it was Shen Shi'an who ordered him to poison the child.
During this period, the prisoner who was imprisoned with Lord Xie and was the first to be poisoned was summoned as a witness.
Of course, the prisoner at this time had been replaced by another pre-arranged substitute, not Xiao Yunshuo.
Although Xiao Yunshuo took the antidote in time and his life was safe, it would take another seven days to completely eliminate the poison in his body.
He rested in a room on the second floor of the gambling house.
Yuan Xu boiled some medicine and brought it up, saying, "Your Highness, it's time to take the medicine."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunshuo half sat up from the soft couch by the window, coughed twice, took the bowl of medicine and took a sip.
The bitterness in his mouth made his handsome face twisted.
Seeing this, Yuan Xu couldn't help but sigh and complained, "Your Highness was too reckless this time. Next time, let me or someone else take action. Originally, we only needed to let Master Xie know that Your Highness is still alive, and secretly protect Master Xie's safety and find out the mastermind behind the scenes. These are all things that my subordinates could have done. Even if they were poisoned, it should have been me..."
Xiao Yunshuo waved his hand, interrupting him, "I know my limits on this matter. When did you become so fussy?"
Yuan Xu frowned and said, "Before we left for the capital, the Crown Princess repeatedly told me to protect His Highness. Now, not only have I failed to protect His Highness, but I've also let him be poisoned with such a dangerous poison. If Her Highness finds out, how will I explain myself?"
When Xiao Yunshuo heard him mention Chen Fenghe, his eyes couldn't help but soften.
"Don't tell the Crown Princess about this." Xiao Yunshuo said.
After hearing this, Yuan Xu blinked and smiled, "Your Highness, are you afraid that the Queen will worry?"
Xiao Yunshuo scolded calmly, "You're talking too much."
After saying this, he looked towards Youzhou in the north with some melancholy.
If she knew, with her intelligence, she would definitely be able to guess his intention.
Whether it is Yuan Xu or Chu Ming, their doubts are not unreasonable.
With his status as the crown prince, especially at this special moment when his life would be in danger if his true identity was discovered, there was no need for him to take the risk. He just wanted to go to the prison to see his teacher, Grand Tutor Xie, and let him know that he was still alive.
Chu Ming or Yuan Xu can do these things.
But he still went there in person, and he knew in advance that the fifth prince and Prime Minister Shen were going to poison his teacher and other adults in prison, so he played along instead of directly warning those adults.
The purpose of doing this, on the one hand, is to catch the thief and seize the stolen goods. If you want to truly bring down the fifth prince and Prime Minister Shen, you must have solid evidence.
Giving a warning in advance would only give the fifth prince and Shen Shi'an an excuse to escape punishment in the future.
Therefore, the poisoning incident in the prison must be made a big deal, causing an uproar in the whole city and reaching the ears of the emperor.
On the other hand, it is his selfishness.
As the crown prince, he did not hesitate to test the poison himself and take the risk.
The purpose is nothing more than to win over people's hearts.
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