Chapter 178 178 Revenge
The people of Xiajing City hid in their homes for a whole day and only dared to come out near dusk.
They hid behind the windows, looked out, and whispered to their families.
"Have all the Qi thieves been captured?"
"The streets are so quiet. No more shouting or yelling, not a single person in sight. We must have won."
"Why don't you go out and take a look? The water at home is almost used up. I need to go get a few buckets of water. Otherwise, I won't be able to cook dinner tonight and will just go hungry."
As soon as these words were spoken, the two young children clutched their rumbling stomachs and groaned in frustration, "Dad, I'm hungry."
The man looked distressed, pressed against the window, and looked out through the hole in the oil paper. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll go out and take a look..."
The woman's face paled slightly, and she quickly interrupted him, "No, no! What if the Qi bandits are hiding somewhere and they jump out the moment you show your face? The Qi bandits are extremely ruthless. If all else fails, just starve them for a night and try again tomorrow morning."
The man shook his head. "It's okay for us to skip a couple of meals. Sister Yun and Brother Wen are still growing, so don't let them get hungry."
As the man spoke, he resolutely opened the gate, ignoring his wife's disapproving look.
The golden sun sets in the west, and the fiery clouds burn all over the sky, brilliant and beautiful.
The corpses of the rebels in the streets and alleys had long been removed, the blood that had gathered into streams had been washed away, and the gray cement road surface was as clean as new.
If it weren't for the faint smell of blood in the air, he would have really thought that the bloody battle in the morning was an illusion.
As soon as the man appeared, people opened their doors and came out one after another.
"Is it safe?"
"It should be."
"Hurry up and go buy some groceries, and find out what happened before."
After being silent for several hours, the city of Xiajing gradually became lively again and returned to its former prosperity.
When passing by a government office, a clerk would post a notice and read it aloud while standing by the notice wall.
When the people heard the noise, they gathered around and talked about it.
"So His Majesty didn't die, and deliberately faked his death in order to lure out the murderers of Prince Shen and Prince Ning?"
"So those people weren't Qi thieves, but the private soldiers of that old traitor Cao Yuan. Well done! These people knew that rebellion was wrong, yet they still colluded with Cao. They deserved to die!"
"What a thief Cao is! He poisoned the late emperor decades ago, and now he's poisoning His Majesty again. He's even colluding with the Great Qi. He's truly a worthless person! He deserves to be cut into pieces!"
"Prince Rui was also miserable. He was about to ascend the throne, but he died at the hands of the thief Cao."
"What's so miserable about that? I don't believe he doesn't know how Prince Shen and Prince Ning died. He ascended the throne by stepping on his brothers' lives, and he's not afraid that the two princes will come after him."
"So he's dead."
"As long as Your Majesty is alive, I feel at peace."
"I said Marquis Wen'an, no, now I should call her Duke Wen... I knew Duke Wen and the Lord of Deyang were innocent. Prince Rui is such a scoundrel, he actually framed them. They deserved to die at the hands of their own grandfather!"
"Duke Wen is truly formidable. He joined forces with Your Majesty to defeat the thief Cao's plot to usurp the throne. If this thief Cao had become Your Majesty, we would have lived in peace. He would surely drink our blood and eat our flesh, and would not stop until we had drained every last drop of our blood."
"Oh my! This is fantastic news! I'm going to buy two ounces of meat from Hu Tuzi's butcher stall. We'll have braised pork and potatoes tonight and celebrate!"
"I'll go with you. The cabbages we just dug out of the ground yesterday are so tender and delicious when stewed with meat. My daughter can eat two bowls of rice in one meal..."
The joyful conversation faded away, and King Rui lay expressionless in the cold and dry cellar, his upper body freezing to the bone, as if he were in an ice cave.
It’s not that the lower body is not cold, but that there is no sensation and no feeling of cold.
The woman's words echoed in his ears again and again. Prince Rui's mind went blank. He stared blankly at the mouse crawling by. Suddenly he chuckled, and a hoarse sound came from his throat, as if rough and sharp gravel was scraping across his throat, causing a sharp pain.
King Rui didn't know how many days he had stayed in this cellar.
Ten days?
Twenty days?
Or longer.
It was dark in the cellar, and King Rui had lost all sense of time.
He only knew that not long ago, there were sounds of fighting and killing coming from the top of the cellar, accompanied by screams one after another, as if they had experienced a fierce battle.
At that time, King Rui had no idea what was happening outside.
Now he knows.
He knew he was dead.
——At least that’s what the world thinks.
He also knew that his grandfather had the intention of stealing the country, but ultimately failed.
To sum up, it was just a trap set by Emperor Qingyuan and Du Qingtang from beginning to end.
Everyone became a turtle in the jar, being fooled around by them.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Prince Rui laughed loudly, pounding the ground with laughter, laughing hysterically, like a clockwork plastic toy, tireless and unstoppable.
Laugh at Cao Yuan.
Laugh at yourself too.
He thought he could ascend to the throne and have all the beauties in the world at his disposal.
But he didn't know that it was all a game from beginning to end.
He is an insider and Du Qingtang is an outsider.
He pressed on step by step, blaming and slandering Du Qingtang, confident that Du Qingtang would surrender, kneel at his feet, and cry and beg for mercy.
Little did he know that Du Qingtang was standing outside the situation, watching his every move coldly.
In her eyes, he was like a clown who wanted to embrace the moon in the sky and make it his own.
The ending is predictable.
On the eve of ascending to the throne and ruling the country, he fell from a great height to the bottom of the valley, trapped in a cellar and with nothing.
Prince Rui couldn't stop laughing, his entire chest was filled with resentment and anger, almost exploding with a "bang", with blood and flesh flying everywhere and no bones left.
God let him dream about his past life and let him know the relationship between him and Du Qingtang in the past life. Isn't it to let them renew their past relationship?
But why?
Why did Du Qingtang keep him at a distance?
Why was it that what he wanted - the throne and Du Qingtang - was clearly within his grasp, but in the end he missed them and could only watch them slip through his fingers?
Someone else walked past the cellar, and the sound of conversation could be vaguely heard.
"The deposed queen was also ruthless and cruel. She actually dismembered the Sixth Prince."
"Evil bamboo produces evil bamboo shoots. Cao Cao has evil ambitions. How can a deposed queen be a good thing?"
Prince Rui paused in laughter.
Lao Liu is dead too?
Doesn’t that mean that there is no one to succeed the throne?
A surprising light burst out from Prince Rui's dark eyes.
He supported himself on the ground with his hands, turned over with difficulty, and crawled towards the mud wall.
His bloody hands were embedded in the holes in the mud wall, and he climbed up, dragging his legs that felt as heavy as Mount Tai.
There were no holes in the mud wall originally. He climbed up again and again and dug them out with his ten fingers.
When his fingers pressed into the hole, the wound that had not yet healed was torn again. The pain was so severe that King Rui's face twitched and he gasped for breath.
The smell of rust mixed with the smell of corruption in the cellar lingered in his nose, making King Rui even more excited.
He wants to go out!
As long as he escapes from here, he can regain his status as a prince.
Cao Yuan and the deposed queen were dead, and the Cao family had scattered like monkeys when the tree fell. The emperor's father did not have to worry about the change of ownership of the country and the loss of royal power, and could safely pass the throne to him.
He wants to be the emperor!
Once he became emperor, he could take Du Qingtang into his harem...
“Squeak—”
The old and dilapidated door suddenly opened, making a harsh sound like a dying old man.
The dim moonlight poured into the cellar, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the cramped space.
King Rui had been in darkness for a long time, and the sudden light made him squint uncomfortably. He felt dizzy and could only see a blurry figure standing at the entrance of the cellar.
Are you here to deliver food again?
Since being locked up in the cellar, someone would bring me two steamed buns every once in a while, and occasionally some water.
The water was in a ceramic bowl. Every time, the masked man in black would grab King Rui's hair and force the water into his stomach, then take the bowl and leave, leaving him no chance to save himself.
Prince Rui swallowed his dry throat. He hadn't had water for a long time and was almost smoking with thirst.
As his thoughts were flowing, the figure landed lightly in the cellar.
Prince Rui's eyes adjusted to the light and he could see who was coming.
The next moment, King Rui's eyes were bloodshot: "It's you!"
Du Qingtang adjusted his sleeves lightly, brushed off the dust on his shoulders, and said calmly, "If it's not me, who else could it be?"
Du Qingtang admired Prince Rui's embarrassed look and said slowly, "For you, I fought against the tiger and even got stabbed by Cao Yuan."
Prince Rui did not feel happy at all. Instead, he was filled with anger at being betrayed and a panic that he himself was not even aware of.
He was so angry that his whole body was shaking. His hands were unable to support the weight of his body and he fell from the mud wall, landing on his back. His internal organs trembled violently, a fishy and sweet taste came out of his throat, and he coughed continuously.
Prince Rui didn't care about anything else. He turned over with difficulty and stared at Du Qingtang with a hoarse voice: "It was you who asked that bitch Cao Qingzi to drug me, cripple my legs, and lock me up here?"
"What do you want to do? Do you want to kill me?"
"A day of marriage is a hundred days of marriage...ah!"
Du Qingtang gave a flying kick, and King Rui rolled twice and stopped only after hitting the mud wall.
This is not enough to relieve the hatred.
Du Qingtang stepped forward and used all his strength to kick at King Rui's foul-mouthed mouth that was spewing shit.
Prince Rui was so dazed by the kick he received earlier that he saw stars. He hadn't recovered yet, his vision was still black, and he felt a sharp pain in his mouth.
Two front teeth popped out of his mouth, drew a graceful arc, and fell to the ground smoothly. The black and white were clear and very conspicuous.
"ah!"
Prince Rui screamed, his mouth full of blood and two gaping wounds.
Du Qingtang stepped on his mouth, suppressing the noisy howl in his throat: "You are old and can't even speak. I don't mind removing your teeth for you."
Prince Rui stared at Du Qingtang, his eyes no longer filled with the obsession and stickiness of the past.
Du Qingtang looked down at him condescendingly, his voice cold and clear: "I only asked Cao Yuan to hand you over to me for disposal. It was your kind mother who took it upon herself to cripple your legs."
"For Cao Yuan's great cause, she chose to sacrifice you."
"Tsk, how pitiful."
"Xia Qixuan, you are just a pitiful creature, a stray dog."
Prince Rui struggled and tried to pull off Du Qingtang's boots.
Du Qingtang turned his ankle to avoid King Rui's grab, stepped on his left hand, pulled out the dagger at his waist, and stabbed it down with all his might.
The dagger instantly pierced through the back of King Rui's hand, nailing his palm to the ground.
Blood splattered and landed on the white jade-like face, like a bouquet of crimson flowers blooming on the snowy field.
Du Qingtang's expression was cold, like ice that had not melted for thousands of years, but the tiny drops of blood added a touch of almost enchanting beauty to her, emitting a dangerous aura from within.
“Ahhhhhh!”
The tip of the knife pierced the flesh, penetrated the texture, and cut through the bones, as if it was going to tear the palm in half.
Before the severe pain reached his brain, King Rui's body reacted first, shrinking his body and wailing loudly.
"Do you remember?"
Du Qingtang's voice was soft and gentle, like clouds and mist that would dissipate with the wind.
"To make me submit, to make me crawl at your feet and obey your orders, you burned all my books and even broke my fingers one by one with your own hands, the fingers I used to hold a pen and write."
"You say." Du Qingtang stared at Prince Rui with his eyes as dark as stars. "If you find me reading or practicing calligraphy behind your back again, you can break my hand again."
"Discover it once, break it once."
"Discover it once, break it once."
"I remember it very clearly, three times in total." Du Qingtang slowly curled his lips, but the smile did not reach his eyes. He took out another dagger from his waist, "Take your time. There is still plenty of time, enough for you to savor the pain I felt back then."
The little remaining rationality of King Rui allowed him to see clearly what was in Du Qingtang's hand. The approaching danger made alarm bells ring in his mind, and his body subconsciously shrank back.
However, his left hand was nailed, and his disabled legs were also a burden, making him unable to move, like a horse with its hooves tied together.
"What do you want to do?"
"I am the prince of the reigning dynasty. If you dare to offend me again and again, be careful that I will punish you for the crime of disrespect!"
Du Qingtang paused and looked at Prince Rui with an inquiring gaze.
Seeing that he was smelly all over, his hair was greasy and tangled, his eyes were a mixture of anger and fear, but deep in his eyes there was a turbid madness hidden, he raised his eyebrows slightly.
He is indeed a descendant of a noble family who was raised in luxury. How could he become mentally unstable after being locked up for only a few days?
But Du Qingtang didn't care about these.
What she wanted was simple, which was to inject ten or a hundred times of what she had endured over the years into Prince Rui.
As long as he is still breathing, he will never be able to escape.
Du Qingtang stepped on King Rui's right hand and stabbed him without hesitation.
"ah!"
With his fingers connected to his heart and his hands nailed to the ground, one can imagine the pain he must be in.
King Rui stretched out his huddled upper body, raised his head as if offering a sacrifice, and revealed his neck with exposed veins.
Sharp screams echoed in the cellar. The heavy door blocked out all the sounds. No one noticed that a person was imprisoned there, and no one knew what kind of inhumane torture this person was enduring.
Du Qingtang's ears hurt from Prince Rui's noise, so he took off his boots and stuffed them into his mouth.
The sole of the shoe pressed against the root of the tongue, and the ears suddenly felt quiet.
Du Qingtang took out another small hammer.
This was specially made by a craftsman in order to manufacture a tungsten powder extraction device.
This piece of shit is cheap.
Du Qingtang thought with regret, raised the hammer and aimed at King Rui's finger.
Prince Rui realized what Du Qingtang was about to do, and his eyes bulged out. He wanted to shout to stop him, but all his attempts turned into sobs filled with fear.
"I wanted to do this seven years ago."
Du Qingtang muttered, and smashed the hammer down hard.
Human bones are extremely hard, yet very fragile.
It can support the weight of a person, but it cannot withstand a full force blow from a hammer.
“Crack—”
The sound of bones cracking could be heard clearly. Prince Rui suddenly tensed his fingers, veins popped out on the back of his hands, and he growled while trembling.
Du Qingtang turned a deaf ear and continued knocking.
Ten fingers tapped ten times, making a tinkling sound, like heavenly music, which made Du Qingtang feel more relaxed and happy than ever before.
It’s a pity that King Rui couldn’t hold on to the end. After his sixth finger was broken, he rolled his eyes and fainted, and never woke up until the end.
Du Qingtang pulled out the dagger, shook off the blood on it, glanced at King Rui's bloody hands, and using his height advantage, knocked on the door with a small hammer.
Du Yi, who was guarding outside, moved the door open, and the smell of blood rushed out, as if there was a murder and dismemberment scene in the cellar.
Du Yi's expression didn't change at all. He caught the dagger and hammer thrown by his master, and then stepped aside.
Du Qingtang went out of the cellar along the ladder, and Du Yi put away the ladder and closed the door.
"Tell me when you're dead."
"yes."
Du Qingtang took out a handkerchief, wiped the blood off his face and hands, folded it up and held it in his palm, then walked back to the main courtyard in the night.
Although it was almost the hour of Xu, servants were still busy outside.
The two maids spotted Du Qingtang in the moonlight and hurriedly stopped to greet him: "Master."
Du Qingtang walked past them and strode forward.
As they passed by, the maid vaguely smelled a pungent odor and couldn't help but sniff it twice.
After Du Qingtang left, she asked the person next to her, "Do you smell anything?"
"Really? I didn't notice."
"It's a little familiar, but I can't put my finger on it."
"Don't worry about it, go back quickly, you are exhausted after a busy day."
“…Yeah, okay!”
When Du Qingtang was halfway there, it suddenly started to drizzle.
The raindrops fell on my skin, bringing a cool feeling.
The coolness poured down from above her head, extinguishing the raging fire that had been burning in her body for decades.
Du Qingtang's eyelashes trembled, he exhaled, looked at the dark night, and slowly smiled.
-
The drizzle continued all night.
The next day, Du Qingtang got up in the morning and opened the window. The rain was still falling densely, blurring the distant mountains and nearby scenery.
Meng Fang came forward to report: "Master, that door has been sealed. When do you plan to move back?"
Du Qingtang looked at the rain curtain, his tone a little vague: "Replace everything in the main house."
Meng Fang: “…Yes.”
The master clearly dislikes that person.
However, Meng Fang felt that this was also reasonable.
The master was a woman, and the man was a man. They lived in the main house for quite some time. Although he did not sleep in the master's bedroom, it was still not very good.
Meng Fang calmed himself down, thinking that this matter did not need to be recorded and that the other person did not need to know. Seeing his master gazing at the rain in a trance, he smiled and said, "Spring rain is as precious as oil. This year will definitely be a good year."
Du Qingtang groaned softly, and closed the window with a click, locking Meng Fang outside.
Meng Fang: “…”
Meng Fang stood under the eaves, looking at the yard that was washed clean by the rain, wiped his face, and sighed.
It's really a fight between gods, and the little devils suffer.
The man walked away, leaving him alone to bear the wrath of his master.
What else can I do? Just bear with it!
The master is a sensible man, everything will be fine after this period of time.
......
The court was on holiday for the past two days, so Du Qingtang had breakfast in the side room after his morning exercises.
Meng Fang came forward to report: "Master, the main house has been cleaned up."
Du Qingtang then brought the few books he had been reading recently back to the main room and instructed calmly, "Send the books and paintings back as soon as they are repaired."
Meng Fang replied, "The doctor started repairing it yesterday, and it will be returned in a day or two."
Du Qingtang waved his hand and Meng Fang retreated quickly.
Du Qingtang walked around the main room and saw that everything was arranged according to her habits, so she went to the study to practice calligraphy.
After two large characters were completed, a knock on the door sounded: "Present Jade! Present Jade!"
Du Qingtang said without raising his eyes: "Come in."
Du Qingzhu pushed the door open and walked in, holding a thin book in her arms: "Xianyu, Seventh Sister, I have a favor to ask of you."
Du Qingtang raised his head while writing: "What's the matter?"
Du Qingzhu walked over to Du Qingtang, stood next to her, and placed the booklet on the table. "The business of Shixiang Pavilion is on the right track, even better than before. It has a very good reputation among the people of Xiajing City. I think it's time to continue to explore franchise opportunities."
"In addition to snacks, I plan to add another hot pot." Du Qingzhu folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. "Last year, many people imitated Shixiang Pavilion and sold spicy hot pot. I tried them one by one, and none of them tasted as good as ours. The main reason is that the soup base is different."
"I thought that, just like the powder and sauce of snacks, the hot pot base could also become a special feature of Shixiang Pavilion."
"I've been re-drafting the detailed rules and regulations for joining the Shixiang Pavilion franchise these past few days. I'd like to trouble Xianyu to take a look for me to see if there are any loopholes."
Du Qingzhu counted on his fingers and said excitedly, "Franchise is still divided into two ways: buyout and profit sharing. Now if I add a pot, I can make more money!"
"I also want to open food courts in other places. Once trains become popular throughout the country, it will be convenient to check the accounts. A round trip will only take two or three days at most, and I won't have to worry about being cheated by the manager."
"I'm planning to bring Xiao Ba into the partnership. The monthly salary at the Imperial Hospital is only three taels, which is not enough to cover the daily expenses of buying various medicinal herbs and medical books."
Du Qingtang listened to her mumbling, then calmed down and flipped through the book. Hearing this, he said, "Just use the official account directly."
"Xiao Ba consumes a lot of medicinal herbs every month, some of which are quite expensive. He spends money like water, so he probably feels embarrassed to use the public funds."
Du Qingzhu hummed softly and waved her hand: "Let her be. Xiao Ba gets a certain amount of money from Shixiang Pavilion every month anyway, which is enough for her to spend."
Du Qingju was a very rational girl, with her own standards. Du Qingtang stopped pushing her and tapped the table lightly, pointing to a certain paragraph in the draft contract: "Such a huge loophole, and you didn't even notice it..."
Du Qingzhu opened his eyes wide, listened attentively, and occasionally made a few notes on the paper.
Du Qingtang looked through it all, found a few loopholes, and casually asked, "How is the business of the elder sister?"
Du Qingzhu closed the thin book and held it in his arms: "It's quite good. With the protection of Duke Wen's Mansion, ordinary scoundrels dare not cause trouble, and the patrolling yamen runners also take good care of it."
"Xianyu, you know, the elder sisters and the others are honest people. They would never do anything like selling inferior goods as good ones. The shop has integrity and a good reputation. Over time, it has become famous."
"Many people were curious about what Duke Wen's sister looked like, and came to buy things. Afterwards, they all exclaimed that she was indeed Duke Wen's sister. The things she sold were more exquisite than those of her competitors, and they were truly good value for money."
At this point, Du Qingzhu scratched his face and said, "They say there is no business without dishonesty, but I think whether you are an official or doing business, you must be honest with others. Only in this way can you gain the recognition of the people."
Du Qingtang remained silent, feeling very pleased that Du Qingzhu had such awareness. He jokingly said, "If you were to become an official in the court, you would definitely be an honest official."
Du Qingzhu chuckled: "Of course, I won't do anything bad that will get me stabbed in the back."
"But I'm not interested in that, and the imperial court doesn't allow women to take the imperial examinations." Du Qingzhu curled her lips. "Those officials are all very cunning, and I can't outsmart them."
She wrinkled her nose again and muttered somewhat discontentedly, "I have to say, being a man is so good. They're born with all kinds of privileges. And look at us, as soon as we achieve something, those people's mouths are like they're growing on us, accusing us of being unfaithful to our wives. They wish we could stay in that cage-like room all day, doing nothing but serving them wholeheartedly."
Du Qingtang said nothing, just patted Du Qingzhu's arm to comfort him silently.
Du Qingzhu was easy to coax. After being patted by her, her anger subsided. She snorted and said, "But since you, Xianyu, and Zizhan have been officials in the court, many women have taken you as their role models and are willing to muster up the courage to rebel against their families and fight for the opportunity to study at the Qiongying English Society."
"Reading can increase your wisdom and understanding. As long as you thoroughly understand what you learn, even if you can't pass the imperial examination and become an official like a man, you can at least become a female teacher and earn a few dollars a month."
When a woman holds money in her hand, she will stand firm and will not be bullied.
If she is still a soft persimmon after studying and can be squeezed and bullied by others, then she is really hopeless and deserves to suffer.
Du Qingtang's eyes were filled with smiles. She was very pleased that a woman had awakened because of her, and was going to resist and fight for what she wanted.
"Daxia needs more Qiongying English societies." Du Qingtang said.
Du Qingzhu didn't comment, and suddenly patted Du Qingtang's left shoulder: "Xianyu, when do you think Zizhan will be back?"
"Including the year she spent in Hangzhou, we haven't seen each other for over five years." Du Qingzhu sighed. "A while ago, you were all alone in the city, and I was worried. I couldn't sleep well at night and kept having dreams. One time, I dreamed of Zizhan. She told me everything was fine overseas and brought me gifts."
Fu Ci's face appeared in Du Qingtang's mind.
I haven't seen him for nearly six years, but Fu Ci's face is still so clear and has never faded.
Fu Ci is Du Qingtang's first true close friend.
It was also her who helped Du Qingtang walk out of the shadow of his past life, look forward, and walk all the way to where he is today.
Even though Du Qingtang later made good friends, such as Cao Xingcan and Princess Zhaoyang, none of them could replace the importance of Fu Ci in her heart.
Du Qingtang lowered his eyes and turned the wolf-hair brush: "I don't know, but it will probably be soon."
Although Daxia did not close its doors to the outside world, no one had ever gone out to sea.
There are many unknowns on the other side of the sea, and those need to be explored one by one by the fleet, so there is no rush.
Du Qingzhu uttered a disappointed "oh!", glanced at the calligraphy on the desk, and stood up straight: "You practice calligraphy, I'm going to get busy too."
Du Qingtang waved his hand, watched Du Qingzhu leave, put aside all distractions, and continued to write big characters.
......
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study.
Commander Yang of the Tiger Guards Camp knelt below and reported respectfully, "The last remaining rebel group has been killed by the firearms troops. All 50,000 rebels have been annihilated."
"I understand." Emperor Qingyuan scanned the rambling memorial without even looking up. "Investigate the Tiger Guards thoroughly. Expel all suspicious individuals. Arrange for close surveillance for two months. Ensure there are no problems before withdrawing them."
After all, the three camps have been under Cao Yuan's control, so there is no guarantee that he will not take the opportunity to place his own people in them.
When chopping a snake, cut it at its seven inches; when chopping grass, remove it at its roots. Emperor Qingyuan would never allow any hidden dangers to exist in the three major camps.
As for the Three Thousand Camp and the Five Army Camp, they are now in the hands of Princess Zhaoyang. She will arrange people to conduct a thorough investigation and eliminate suspicious people.
Commander Yang took the order and withdrew, while Emperor Qingyuan continued to read the memorial.
Although Emperor Qingyuan specially allowed all officials to rest at home for two days, the number of memorials submitted to the palace yesterday was just as many.
Many officials submitted memorials to impeach the Cao Party headed by Cao Yuan and Lu Shicheng, with countless charges that were too numerous to list.
Before yesterday, they would never dare to openly impeach Cao's party.
A lean camel is still bigger than a horse. Although Cao Yuan could no longer compete with Emperor Qingyuan, it was still easy for him to kill them.
Now that the Cheng'en Mansion has been confiscated, the Cao family, which has been glorious for three dynasties, has fallen apart overnight. The officials who have suffered from the oppression and persecution of Cao's party in the past have stood up and are eager to deal a fatal blow to Cao's party.
Emperor Qingyuan handed all these memorials over to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple, and assigned special personnel to investigate and verify them.
Cao's party will die anyway, the only difference is how they die.
There were also some officials who submitted memorials requesting the selection of candidates.
The princes died one after another, and now Emperor Qingyuan has only five princesses and no princes.
All the officials were shocked, and after returning home, they immediately drafted memorials, asking Emperor Qingyuan to fill his harem with more concubines and have more children.
What's more, some people proposed to bring back the third prince who was adopted by Prince Cheng, enthrone him as the crown prince, and arrange for someone to teach him how to govern the country and manage government.
Emperor Qingyuan rejected them one by one.
He was old and had been drugged by the deposed queen, making him unable to have children. He would not harm girls from good families.
As for the third brother, he already had a candidate for the crown prince, so why bother creating trouble?
Emperor Qingyuan picked up his brush and dipped it in ink when he suddenly thought of Du Qingtang: "Is there any movement at Duke Wen's mansion?"
Fu Rui held the whisk and spoke in a sharp but not harsh voice, "Your Majesty, I just received the news half an hour ago. Seeing that you were busy with government affairs, I did not interrupt."
"Lord Du spent an hour in the cellar beneath the West Corner Gate last night. He saw blood, but we don't know if he's dead or alive."
Emperor Qingyuan held a red brush in his hand and wrote a huge word "read" on the memorial.
In fact, most of the rhetoric he used to deal with the princes and officials yesterday was false.
He did not follow the clues to Cao Yuan, but knew Cao Yuan and Prince Rui's plan from the beginning.
All the princes were killed, leaving only Prince Rui.
Emperor Qingyuan was pleased to see this happen, so he allowed the two of them to act, thus clearing the obstacles for Princess Zhaoyang.
However, Emperor Qingyuan had no prior knowledge of Cao Yuan's intention to steal the country.
It can only be said that Cao Yuan concealed it too well and kept it secret too tightly, so that even Emperor Qingyuan did not see his evil ambitions.
In Du Qingtang and Princess Zhaoyang's original plan, there was no inclusion of Cao Yuan collaborating with the enemy and committing treason.
Who made Prince Rui commit suicide? He caused Princess Rui to give birth prematurely and put the blame on the Lord of Deyang.
Du Qingtang has always been protective of his people, so how could he tolerate this?
He immediately asked for leave from the cabinet and returned home to negotiate with Emperor Qingyuan.
Du Qingtang promised Emperor Qingyuan that he would try to accuse Cao Yuan of treason.
In exchange, she wanted King Rui.
Emperor Qingyuan agreed without hesitation.
The Cao family must be punished for treason and betrayal, and all nine generations of the Cao family will be implicated. Only in this way can the roots of the Cao family be eradicated.
Emperor Qingyuan didn't know why Prince Rui had such a deep obsession with Du Qingtang. He not only framed and falsely accused Du Qingtang, but also wanted to make Du Qingtang submit to him.
And there is Du Qingtang. Two years ago, she ordered the secret guards of Cheng'en Mansion to assassinate the fourth and fifth brothers. Why did she divert the blame to others and make the fourth brother mistakenly believe that it was all done by the fifth brother?
Emperor Qingyuan read the booklet containing the events of the previous life over and over again, but could not find any connection between Du Qingtang and Prince Rui.
Emperor Qingyuan was still baffled. He subconsciously touched his jade ring, his eyes dimming as he thought of something. "Tell me, when will Lord Du come and confess everything to me?"
Fu Rui tightened his grip on the whisk, pondered for a moment, and said, "Lord Du has always been honest with His Majesty. I believe there are still some things that he hasn't dealt with properly. Once that's done, he will naturally confess everything to His Majesty."
Emperor Qingyuan said no more and bent over his desk to review memorials.
-
The drizzle lasted for a whole day and two nights.
On the second day of the holiday, Du Qingtang got up early in the morning to practice boxing, and the rainy sky finally cleared up.
Du Qingju passed by the main courtyard and saw Du Qingju jogging in the yard. She leaned in half and asked, "Xianyu, aren't you on duty today?"
Du Qingtang nodded, breathing steadily: "Let's go eat?"
Du Qingju responded.
Du Qingtang stopped and took the towel to wipe his sweat: "Wait for me, I will go with you."
Du Qingju smiled and waved: "Go, I'll wait for you."
Du Qingtang went back to his room to wash his face, then followed Du Qingju to the dining room. "Did everything go smoothly on your return to the Female Medical Bureau?"
Du Qingju couldn't help but hear the hidden meaning. She took the youngest's arm and shook it gently twice: "The government has posted a notice, and the people of the whole city will know that I am innocent. My colleagues in the Imperial Hospital will only welcome me and comfort me."
Du Qingtang was relieved. The two chatted casually and soon came to the dining room.
In the dining room, besides my sister and brother-in-law, there were also several girls and boys.
Du Qingtang called Zhou Cheng, Qian Quan, and Wu Rui to his side and said straight to the point, "Brother Cheng, the provincial examination is coming soon. I plan to send you to Qingyuan Academy to study for a while."
"And Brother Quan and Brother Rui, you two should go back together." Du Qingtang said seriously, "I will explain the situation to Master. Go to the academy and study hard. Don't embarrass me."
The three young men held their heads high and said in a resounding voice, "We will follow my aunt's instructions."
Du Qingqi, Du Qingshu and Du Qinghua were all happy to see this happen. Qingyuan Academy was a famous academy in Daxia, and their sons would definitely benefit a lot from studying there.
Du Qingtang called a few more girls over and told them, "Mr. Qu will continue teaching you after they return to Qingyuan County. I have to go to the research institute later, so I won't test you. We can talk next time when we have time."
The girls agreed promptly.
Du Qingtang waved his hand, and the girls and boys returned to the table on the right, and the family officially started eating.
After dinner, Du Qingtang returned to the main courtyard, where Du Yi had been waiting for a long time.
The master and servant went to the study, and Du Yi reported: "Rainwater leaked into the cellar last night. He probably thought drowning was unseemly and tried to bang his head against the wall. He bled a lot, but he didn't die."
"He ultimately drowned. I went to the cellar to check and found the body was a bit swollen. I guess he died last night."
Du Qingtang looked at the bright sunlight coming in through the window, and suddenly felt relaxed all over, as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Throw it into a mass grave."
"yes."
Du Yi took the order and left. Du Qingtang picked up his pen and wrote a letter to Yao Xuan, explaining the situation and saying that there was no need to take special care of him and he could just treat him as an ordinary student.
I had just finished writing when Meng Fangfang arrived.
The doctor had repaired the books and calligraphy and sent someone to deliver them to Duke Wen's mansion, and Meng Fang personally delivered them to the main courtyard.
Du Qingtang asked the servant to bring in the wooden box containing books and calligraphy and placed it in front of the bookshelf. He handed the letter to Meng Fang and said, "Give it to Cheng'er and ask him to pass it to Master for me when the time comes."
Meng Fang stepped back. Du Qingtang put the books and paintings in order and headed towards the research institute in the morning light.
......
At the same time, sixty ships sailed towards Hangzhou Prefecture like a long dragon.
On the deck, many people were leaning on the railing and looking into the distance.
There are Xia people with black hair and yellow skin, as well as foreigners with various skin colors and hair colors.
They speak different languages, but get along well with each other.
A blond, blue-eyed young man pointed at the houses looming in the distance and asked in rather broken Daxia Mandarin, "Master Fu, is this your country ahead?"
Next to the man, a woman with a tanned complexion and bright eyes smiled slightly: "Yes, that's my country, Daxia."
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