"There really are baby swallows! Such cute little swallows, swallows that build their nests under the eaves!" Xingxing was overjoyed, jumping up and down on the spot, giggling and shouting.
"Be careful, even the cutest swallows need to poop." Zhu Lin pulled her a little away from the swallow's nest, as standing under the nest would make her vulnerable to being hit by poop.
Just as Xingxing was pulled away a little, a small clump of white poop fell from the eaves with a 'plop,' startling Xingxing, who quickly retreated a great distance.
"That was close, I almost got hit by the arrow." Xingxing looked still shaken.
She lost interest in watching Little Swallow and decided to leave and go somewhere else.
The boy followed her and asked in a low voice, "What were you thinking about just now?"
"Oh right, Brother Phosphorus, don't you think Aunt Bai looks a lot like someone?"
Who does he look like?
Xingxing pouted, "I just can't remember, that's why I asked you. Okay, I bet you didn't even notice what she looks like, so it's no wonder you don't know who she looks like."
"It was my fault," the boy apologized good-naturedly.
"Why apologize? You didn't do anything wrong. Forget it, let's not talk about it," Xingxing waved her hand and asked about something else, "Is Fourth Senior Brother's pill ready?"
Zhu Lin: "Soon."
How fast is "soon"?
Zhu Chumo didn't come out of his room until the next morning. He had entered the room at the end of the afternoon yesterday and hadn't eaten dinner. His fourth senior brother wasn't allowed to be disturbed when he was making medicine, so they could only wait for him to come out on his own.
Zhu Lin and several other senior brothers and sisters were already waiting outside the door. They knew Zhu Chumo's capabilities and how long it would take to make a batch of pills. They had calculated that he would be out this morning, so they came to wait.
"All the pills are here. Take them and head to those villages and towns immediately. Controlling the epidemic is of utmost urgency." Zhu Chumo handed the thirty small bottles in his hand to Zhu Qiuyu.
Each small bottle contains three hundred pills, each brown and only the size of a soybean. This is the first batch; we'll use them for now, and based on current estimates, it should be enough.
If that's not enough, we'll have to make a second batch, but then we'll have to ask our junior brother to contribute herbs again.
Except for Zhu Lin and Xingxing, who did not leave, the other six senior brothers and sisters all set off to distribute the antidote to various places. This antidote to control the epidemic is unique to this family, and no one in the world can make it. It must not be handed over to outsiders; it can only be distributed by our own people.
"When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test their mind and body, and toughen their sinews and bones..." I can't remember the rest of the poem. Xingxing has been working very hard lately. Even though she hasn't been running errands, she has to read and practice calligraphy every day.
The teachers are Brother Lin and several senior brothers and sisters. Whoever has time teaches her will teach her. She has many teachers and hardly any time to rest. She is very busy.
"You memorized it well. You can remember so much of what you learned yesterday. You're really smart." Zhu Lin praised him without any principles.
Xingxing felt a little embarrassed after hearing this. Actually, she wasn't that smart. She would slack off every day, but no one would blame her or praise her. However, she knew very well how much knowledge she had actually acquired.
"Thank you for the compliment, but this princess is a bit poor right now and doesn't have any money to reward you. I'll reward you when I become rich." Xingxing stuck out her tongue at the boy, teasing him playfully.
At this moment, a guard rushed in from the front yard and immediately stepped forward to report to Zhu Lin and Xingxing, "Young Master Zhu, a group of old people, women and children have come to the princess's house. They are kneeling in front of the yamen gate and crying, saying that they are the family members of the Jin family and begging you gentlemen to release their master."
"The Jin family's men, humph. The government has been busy with other matters these past few days and hasn't been able to spare any troops to arrest the Jin family members. They've delivered themselves to our doorstep, so let's grant their wish and imprison them all." Zhu Lin's tone was calm, but his words were laced with icy malice.
The guard was somewhat troubled. He said, "The Jin family has a large number of members. There are hundreds of women and children kneeling outside the yamen. All of our men have gone out to run errands. There are only ten people left guarding the yamen now. I'm afraid we can't stop them."
The main problem is that we can't use force directly; the elderly, weak, women, and children are the most difficult to deal with.
“Just say you’re taking them to see Jin Chang, and once they’re in the cell, lock them all up,” Zhu Lin suggested.
"I'm afraid it's not that easy to fool. I think those family members are deliberately kneeling outside the yamen, trying to force the government to release Master Jin. If we ask them to visit him in prison, they definitely won't go," the guard hesitated.
If this won't work and that won't work, what's the point of having these secret guards?
"If that doesn't work, then use force. What's with all this fuss?" Xingxing was annoyed. She shouted and ordered her guards to arrest the entire Jin family. Treason is a crime that punishes nine generations of a family. There was no need for her father to issue an edict. She could just order them to be arrested and beheaded.
The guards were ruthless; none of the Jin family members who came to cause trouble escaped, and they were all imprisoned.
After learning about this, Zhao Mingyue went to the prison every day and tortured several old guys, led by Jin Chang, who had participated in the persecution of the Fang and Zhao families.
Thirty years have passed, and the culprits from back then are all old and frail, but they still have to pay the debts they owe. Zhao Mingyue was relatively merciful and did not target the other members of the Jin family, only dealing with those old guys.
The jailer was relieved; all he had to do each day was watch Zhao Mingyue bring Da Zhuangzhuang Ze and Zhang Xiantao to the jail and torture the old guys.
The methods were quite brutal; today they would sever this old man's tendons, tomorrow they would sever that person's Achilles tendons, or cut off someone's finger. The prison cells were filled with howling and wailing all day long, which was quite eerie.
Zhang Xiantao once said, "Killing them directly would be too easy for them. If death is too quick, they won't feel any pain. Right now, the Jin family has committed a serious crime. Watching them fall from grace and into the mire, starving every day, living in constant fear and anxiety, isn't that more satisfying than killing them directly?"
Zhao Mingyue thought it made sense. He hadn't intended to kill anyone in the first place; if he was going to kill someone, he would have to wait for Jin Chang to reveal his grandfather's burial location.
However, Jin Chang has refused to reveal where Zhao Sisheng is buried, which has prevented Zhao Mingyue from sending Zhao Sisheng back to be buried with Fang Yuniang.
“I’ll ask him for you tomorrow. If he still doesn’t talk, we’ll cut off his nose,” Zhang Xiantao said, pointing to the only bodyguard she had brought from the Zhang family, “just imagine how bloody that scene would be.”
The bodyguards were already numb; whatever.
The next day, they threatened to cut off Jin Chang's nose, but the old man still refused to talk and was even more unyielding than to yield. He even said that he would do whatever they wanted to him.
Is he sure they won't dare to take his life?
Just as Zhang Xiantao was pondering what underhanded tricks would work, a dramatic scene unfolded: Jin Chang's cousin, an old man in his early sixties, actually offered to confess in order to curry favor with them.
“I know where Zhao Sisheng is, but you have to grant me one request,” the man said.
"What are your requirements?" Zhang Xiantao raised an eyebrow.
"Don't torture me anymore."
Zhao Mingyue lifted her eyelids and replied, "Okay."
"Jin Chao, you old bastard, how dare you betray me!" Before Jin Chang could finish speaking, Zhang Xiantao kicked him in the chest.
In his self-preservation instincts, Jin Chao disregarded everything else and stated directly, "Thirty years ago, Zhao Sisheng was thrown into the wilderness by Jin Chang and fed to wild dogs. We tried to persuade him, but to no avail."
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