Chapter 843 There are quite a few people who don't want me to live.
Thus, four months later, Liu Tong died of smallpox.
He died of illness. In the eyes of people in this world, this was simply a matter of life's impermanence and bad luck.
The funeral can be held directly at the Duke of Yu's mansion. It's another case of an elderly person burying their young, and according to custom, the body should only be kept at home for three days before being sent to the mortuary outside the city to be burned to prevent the spread of disease.
If that's the case, then Li San Niang won't have anything to do with it.
However, even though Liu Tong's biological mother died early, the Duke of Yu's mansion still had several loyal servants.
These loyal servants, whether they came up with the idea themselves or got it from someone else, actually went and struck the Dengwen Drum outside the Yingtian Gate of the Imperial City!
The Dengwen Drum existed during the reign of Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi). After Emperor Wu ascended the throne, this measure was not only not abolished, but Emperor Wu even issued a special edict on this matter: "The Dengwen Drum and the Lung Stone placed in the court do not need to be guarded. If anyone beats the drum or erects the stone, the Imperial Censor shall receive the report and submit it to the Emperor."
(Lung Stone: A red stone placed outside the gates of the imperial court in ancient times. People with grievances could strike the stone to voice their grievances. The stone was shaped like a lung, hence the name. Later, it evolved into the grievance drum, or the grievance-calling drum.)
When the drum of petition sounded, the censor took over the case and found that it was a family matter of the Duke of Yu. He then transferred the case to the Court of Judicial Review.
According to the loyal servant, their heir Liu Tong was strong and healthy. He had been away for three years, even venturing deep into the Western Regions, and had returned to Chang'an unharmed. How could he have died after being vaccinated against smallpox?
"This must have been poisoned by those wicked and despicable people!"
Our Crown Prince died unjustly! He died unjustly!
We implore you gentlemen to clear our Crown Prince's name!
Our crown prince was assassinated!
Upon hearing what the loyal servant said, Liu Qi's face turned ashen. He had already been busy with Liu Tong's funeral arrangements for several days without proper rest, and his face was already pale and unsightly. Now, his face turned completely black, and his eyes looked terrifying.
Even though three years have passed, everyone in Chang'an who needs to know about the feud between Liu Tong and Liu Chao of the Duke of Yu's mansion is aware of it.
Liu Qi rubbed his forehead, thinking to himself, "Is this implying that Da Lang (Liu Tong) was killed by Wu Lang (Liu Chao)?"
"That good-for-nothing Goro could possibly possess such skills?"
Liu Qi could not say what he was thinking. He stood up with a stern face and cupped his hands to Di Renjie, who was sitting at the head of the table, saying, "Since you have said so, I trust that the Dali Temple will investigate this matter thoroughly."
"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Vice Minister Di. Please feel free to speak your mind regarding any needs you may have."
When the Dali Temple took over the case, the coroner had already examined Liu Tong's body. The coroner from the Dali Temple, Lao Bai, said to Di Renjie, who came to inquire, "Young Master, Liu Tong's cheeks, arms, and abdomen all have skin lesions of varying degrees, but judging from the situation, they have already shrunk and are almost healed."
However, when I dissected his body, I saw that there was bleeding in his internal organs, as if he was suffering from a high fever. I'll have to ask a doctor about this in detail. This is the first time I've ever seen the body of a smallpox patient, and I'm really not sure about this.
Di Renjie covered his mouth and nose with a white cloth, looking at Lao Bai, who was wearing a white coroner's robe with a white cloth covering his head and ears, and special fish-skin gloves on both hands, as he was examining Liu Tong's body. He said to Lao Bai, "Besides this, are there any other discoveries?"
"Young Master, please take a look. I have examined this body very carefully. I found a faint hematoma on the lower back of Liu Tong's head. I am not sure whether it was caused by a heavy object or by an accident."
"If you, Shaoqing, allow me to perform brain surgery, then we can determine the exact cause."
Afterwards, Di Renjie signed the documents for Lao Bai, authorizing Lao Bai to have a craniotomy and autopsy. Then he asked Su Qi to inquire with the doctors he knew at the Dali Temple about the physical symptoms of smallpox patients.
The only institution that was actually familiar with the Dali Temple was the Imperial Medical Bureau. However, the Ning Physician, who was in charge of the liaison, deliberately or intentionally pushed the matter to Li San Niang.
"There's never been much that can be done about this pecan. If you're lucky, you'll get through it; if you're unlucky, then it's just fate."
Now that Dr. Li is able to bring up this smallpox issue together with the unscrupulous people, she must be quite knowledgeable about it.
Why doesn't Director Su go and ask Physician Li?
"Li, the Imperial Physician, is also a female official in my Imperial Medical Bureau. She has a duty to answer questions and resolve doubts for her colleagues, isn't that perfect?"
Therefore, Li San Niang became involved in the murder case of the Liu family of the Duke of Yu.
Afterwards, Li San Niang and Lao Bai, the coroner from Dali Temple, jointly examined the body. They also spent half a month finding three pigs to conduct experiments. The final conclusion was: "After Liu Tong returned to Chang'an from the Western Regions, he followed the notice issued by the Imperial Medical Bureau and went to the smallpox vaccination point in Chang'an two months later to get vaccinated against smallpox."
The weakly virulent cowpox vaccine only caused Liu Tong, who was healthy, to have a slight fever and develop a few rashes.
But it was precisely when he was at his weakest that someone deliberately infected him with smallpox!
This was tantamount to pouring a spoonful of oil on a dying flame, directly bringing the already fragile Liu Tong to the brink of death.
After Li San Niang finished speaking, Lao Bai continued, "Just as Dr. Li said, we used three pigs to imitate the different situations of Liu Tong's smallpox vaccination."
One of them was vaccinated with smallpox;
One animal was vaccinated with cowpox and then immediately vaccinated with human smallpox.
One end is for inoculating with smallpox.
Based on the pig's condition and after dissecting its abdomen to examine its internal organs, it was almost certain that Liu Tong had been poisoned. Someone had taken advantage of his weakened state to deliberately infect him with the highly toxic smallpox virus, intending to kill him.
"Old Bai, what about the hematoma on the back of Liu Tong's head?"
"Shaoqing, after dissection, we found that this hematoma was caused by a hard but small object applying force at a specific point, so it should be man-made."
After confirming that Liu Tong had indeed died from human hands rather than simply succumbing to smallpox, Liu Chao was naturally questioned by the Dali Temple.
Even if Liu Chao pretended to be calm enough, how could Di Renjie, who had interrogated many cases, not see that Liu Chao was intentionally hiding something?
Li San Niang was busy with the case at the Dali Temple and didn't take it to heart. After all, it was the Dali Temple, the highest court of the Tang Dynasty. Even if you were a prince or nobleman and broke the law, the Dali Temple could still judge you.
Therefore, Li San Niang only asked Song Fuling to remind her that she would be going to court to testify with Lao Bai when the time came, and then went to busy herself with the maternity clinic and the promotion of common medicines.
Little did she know that with the year drawing to a close and New Year's Eve just days away, she would be attacked by assassins right there on the street!
Li San Niang of the Dali Temple recounted the entire incident in detail to Wang Lingshi of the Ministry of Justice, the Imperial Guard, Di Renjie, and other officials of the Dali Temple.
"...That's how it is."
Di Shaoqing, this is a case that involves me.
If there is anyone else I have a grudge against, the only one I can name is Wei Hua, the second son of the Wei family, who once said that if I accepted the job of treating the young general of the Xiao family, he would make it impossible for me to live in Chang'an.
Also, I'm currently collaborating with the Chang'an Pharmaceutical Alliance on developing affordable over-the-counter drugs, which will inevitably harm the interests of those large pharmaceutical companies. Some of them might not want me to continue living.
"...Li Sanniang, who had lowered her head, raised it again to look at Di Renjie at the head of the table and said, "That should be all. I can't think of anything else. We'll have to ask the Court of Judicial Review to investigate further."
After bowing to Di Renjie, Li Sanniang said nothing more.
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