No matter they are poor people or beggars, they are all citizens of Dashun. The capital is not a place where every inch of it is inlaid with gold, nor is it a place where everyone is rich. There are dignitaries as well as poor and homeless people. The north of the city is a concentration camp for the poor. Although this place is the least welcomed, they are also part of the capital.
A large number of people died overnight, which was definitely a major event that shocked the capital. As soon as the bad news came out, someone immediately reported it to the morning court. The number of deaths was so high that Tianwu was shocked.
Those officials who had always let their wives follow Zhu Kongshan in the north of the city were now grateful that they had evacuated long ago, otherwise if something like this happened, they would have been the ones to suffer.
The Eighth Prince Xuan Tianmo was extremely puzzled. When he went there yesterday, everything was fine. How come so many people died overnight? Or did they freeze to death? This is impossible?
As everyone was surprised, Emperor Tianwu asked a question from the dragon throne: "Old Eight, I heard that you went to the north of the city yesterday?"
Xuan Tianmo quickly stepped forward to reply, and told everything that happened yesterday. He then said, "I left before dark, and nothing unusual happened at that time. As for why so many people froze to death this morning... This matter still needs to be investigated."
The seventh prince Xuan Tianhua spoke up and recounted a fact he knew: "It is said that all the people who froze to death were wearing the new winter clothes sent by His Royal Highness Prince Sheng yesterday."
"What?" The Eighth Prince was shocked and said subconsciously: "This is impossible! You are lying!"
"Hmm?" Xuan Tianhua looked at him in confusion, "Am I lying?"
All the court officials were fed up and said one after another: "How could His Highness the Seventh Prince lie? No one in this world could lie except His Highness the Seventh Prince!" To everyone, Xuan Tianhua was a special person, so much so that no matter which party or camp the court officials were from, when faced with accusations against Xuan Tianhua, they would not be able to help but stand on Xuan Tianhua's side to defend him.
At the same time, the Ninth Prince Xuan Tianming also spoke up, adding, "Not only did people freeze to death, but many people also fell ill. Oh no, to be precise, they were poisoned." After he finished speaking, he looked at Emperor Tianwu and said, "At the moment, pursuing responsibility is not the main issue. The evildoers can't escape. The most urgent task is to deal with the bodies and treat the wounded. Baicao Hall has dispatched all the doctors to the north of the city. I ask you to send the imperial physicians to relieve the pressure on the doctors in the north of the city, and also to serve as a witness to see why those people died and why they were poisoned."
This statement was agreed by everyone, even the Eighth Prince couldn't say no. He also wanted to know what was going on, but vaguely, he felt that this matter was probably related to Concubine Yuan.
So, after the court was dismissed, he did not rush out of the palace to the north of the city like everyone else, but hurried to Cunshan Palace to meet Concubine Yuan.
The news in the court spread quickly. Before Xuan Tianmo arrived, Yuan Guiren already knew about it. When Xuan Tianmo entered the side hall, she took the initiative to ask without waiting for him to salute: "What happened? Why did so many people die suddenly? Did you do something?"
Xuan Tianmo was stunned, "Me?" Then he shook his head vigorously, "What did mother say? I can't even get those lowly people to fight for my reputation, how can I kill them. On the contrary, I want to ask mother, what's the matter with those new winter clothes? It is said that those who died wore new winter clothes overnight and froze to death!"
Yuan Guiren was stunned for a moment, and didn't react for a moment, "What does that have to do with me?"
Xuan Tianmo asked directly, "Is there anything wrong with those clothes? What kind of cotton did you use when making the clothes? How much cotton did you use? Did you cut corners?"
Yuan Guiren then realized that her son suspected that she had tampered with the materials of the clothes, which led to the freezing of those untouchables, but she didn't! Yuan Guiren felt very aggrieved: "I can be vague about other things, but this concerns your reputation, how could I do such a thing? Not only did I not cut corners, I also used the best cotton, double the amount, which is thick and warm, and is better than what I wear. Not only is the cotton good, but even the outer cover is made of forged material. How can you freeze to death wearing such a coat? Even if you sleep on the street, you can't just die!"
Hearing what Concubine Yuan said, Xuan Tianmo knew that the problem was definitely not with his mother. He was upset and did not stay here for long. He only comforted Concubine Yuan a few words, saying that he would investigate the matter immediately, and then hurried out of the palace.
At this time, Zhu Kongshan was already at the north end of the city, crying and bowing to the people who died of freezing. Xiaoyu was no longer by her side. Last night, she secretly pushed Xiaoyu into a well in the Sheng Palace. No one knew what she was thinking and doing except herself.
At this moment, she was ready to break off relations with the Eighth Prince. She had made up her mind to fight to the death and had already started to implement her plan. She bowed and said, "It's all my fault. I didn't think of checking those cotton-padded clothes. I believed that the Eighth Prince really wanted to do good for the people, which hurt you." As she spoke, she tore open the cotton-padded clothes in her hand, and the black and tattered cotton inside was exposed. There were still a lot of paper scraps mixed in with the cotton. Zhu Kongshan said, "I really didn't expect that Concubine Yuan and the Eighth Prince would tamper with the cotton-padded clothes! How can these clothes mixed with waste paper scraps be called cotton-padded clothes? How can they keep warm? But I believed them and let you wear them as good things! I didn't expect so many people to freeze to death overnight. It's all my fault!"
The people in the north of the city gathered around Zhu Kongshan, listening to her words and looking at the cotton-padded jacket she was holding. It was clearly made of brand new forged fabric, but it was filled with garbage and there wasn't much real cotton. How could one not freeze to death if they spent the night wearing such clothes?
For a moment, the crowd was indignant. The survivors pointed to the sky and cursed the Eighth Prince as a scum of the Dashun Dynasty. Like his biological mother, Concubine Yuan, they were both man-eating tigers and leopards. Some people pointed at Zhu Kongshan and asked loudly, "Why didn't you remind us earlier that the Eighth Prince was such a person? Why did you still help him speak?"
Zhu Kongshan broke down and cried, kneeling on the ground and wailing. She complained again and again, "It's not that I don't want to say it, it's that I don't dare to say it! The Eighth Prince beats me every day, and he...he also...he also took my body! You tell me to hate the Bodhisattva every day, but I am the only one who knows that I am not worthy of the title of Bodhisattva, I am an unclean person. He forced me to do things for him, forced me to gain a good reputation for him, and if I didn't obey him in any way, he would beat me or scold me. I am a weak woman, a broken flower and a withered willow, and I really have no ability to resist!"
Zhu Kongshan's words caused another uproar in the crowd. The beggars who had survived stood up and spoke for Zhu Kongshan. "Didn't Miss Zhu say that all this had nothing to do with the Eighth Prince? We knew it a long time ago and told you secretly. But the Eighth Prince would beat Miss Zhu, so we didn't dare to say it out loud. Everyone, don't blame Miss Zhu anymore. She was hurt so badly by the Eighth Prince. We should avenge her!"
"Yes! Revenge for Miss Zhu!" people shouted loudly.
But Zhu Kongshan waved his hands again and again, "No, no, I don't need anyone to avenge me, I just can't stand watching the Eighth Prince do this anymore. I just want to tell everyone the truth so that no one will be fooled again. As for me, I am already a broken body. I have never thought about continuing to live, and I don't deserve to live in this world anymore."
She was crying as she spoke, and her pitiful appearance made the people cry too. Some even said, "Miss Zhu, you are such a good person, but you were harmed by the Eighth Prince. You have to live well, and don't let this make you depressed!"
Here, Zhu Kongshan brought a bunch of people to cry and make a scene, saying all kinds of things about the Eighth Prince and Concubine Yuan. The maid from Prince Sheng's mansion stood aside and watched all this in a daze, totally unable to understand what evil had befallen Zhu Kongshan and why he suddenly did this?
On the other side, due to the large number of deaths and serious illnesses in the north of the city, Baicaotang sent all the doctors here to provide emergency treatment. At this time, it was found that the seriously injured had signs of poisoning in addition to frostbite. They even examined the bodies and found that not all of them died of simple freezing, but some died of poisoning.
People didn't understand why they were poisoned. At this time, Zhu Kongshan suddenly said, "Oh no! It must be the new food that was delivered yesterday! The food that the eighth prince brought!" After saying that, he got up from the ground and ran to the porridge shed like crazy.
A large number of people followed him until Zhu Kongshan came to the porridge shed of Prince Sheng's Mansion, scooped out the leftover porridge from yesterday, and brought it to the doctor of Baicaotang. When the doctor of Baicaotang confirmed that the porridge was poisonous, Zhu Kongshan suddenly knelt on the ground, looked up to the sky and shouted: "Eighth Prince! Why are you doing this! It's enough for you to kill me! It's enough for you to kill my mother! Why do you still want to kill these poor people! Why?"
She cried and accused, and the people were also aroused. People shouted loudly: "The Eighth Prince is killing the people! The prince is guilty of the same crime as the common people! The Eighth Prince deserves to die! The Eighth Prince deserves to die!"
The shouts of the people in the north of the city spread to every corner of the capital. A large number of people poured into the streets. The cries of these poor people could be heard from all directions, and they all shouted for the Eighth Prince to pay with his life and for justice to be done to them.
Feng Yuheng was sitting in the Prince Yu's Mansion, hearing the sounds outside. Huang Quan was a little anxious: "Why don't we go out and take a look! Miss, do you think the emperor will believe it? These things should be done by Zhu Kongshan, right? The Eighth Prince can always clear himself of any involvement in what he did, not to mention that he was really framed this time? Will he be cleared of any involvement in the end and blamed on Zhu Kongshan alone?"
Feng Yuheng shrugged, "It's Zhu Kongshan's own fault. She actually harmed the people in this way. Even if she doesn't die, I will send her off. It's their faction's business anyway. No matter what the result is, it will be disadvantageous to Lao Ba. What's more, Zhu Kongshan is not stupid. She knows how to harm Lao Ba to the point where he has difficulty turning over. We just have to wait and see. It's just a pity for the victims. It's also my fault for being negligent. If I had known she would be so cruel, I would not have watched those people die." She sighed helplessly, and then said to Huang Quan, "You also go to the north of the city and tell the people in Baicaotang to do their best to treat him. No matter how much it costs or how much money it costs, as long as there is hope of saving him, you can't give up!"
At this time, the servants in the mansion hurriedly reported: "Princess, a large number of people are kneeling at the gate of the mansion, begging you to help!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
