The news of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices being thrown out of the Kunning Palace quickly spread throughout the capital.
The ministers in the court who were subservient to Zhao Yunwan were all terrified. After much deliberation, a few ministers who had casually discussed the position of crown prince at home quickly summoned their family members and repeatedly warned them not to speak carelessly outside, especially not to discuss the second prince or the crown prince, otherwise their families would be ruined. Just look at the fate of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to know the consequences of gossip.
Yu Chengzhu still holds the official position of Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, but he feels that he has been lacking energy and spirit lately and is always yawning. His concubine at home is also in the same state.
Yu Chengzhu has two grown and married sons. In recent years, with the help of the Empress, they have entered the court as officials of the fifth rank, and their future is limitless.
However, his two sons are currently on leave at home and are in the same situation as Yu Chengzhu.
That day, the family gathered at home to discuss countermeasures when Yu Chengzhu's second son, Yu Pinyu, suddenly started trembling all over, then had a cramp and fell to the ground.
Yu Chengzhu quickly found the royal physician.
The physician examined the patient's pulse for a long time; in his more than twenty years of medical practice, he had never treated such an ailment before.
However, judging from the pulse, it seems to be a symptom of opium addiction.
At the beginning of the founding of the Nan Chen Kingdom, the symptoms of opium addiction were written into medical books. Therefore, although doctors in the Nan Chen Kingdom had never treated any cases, they could recite the symptoms by heart.
The physician remained silent for a long time. If the truth were to be told, the Second Young Master Yu's illness was caused by opium addiction. If this were to get out, then he, who had served as the physician in the Yu family for so long, would inevitably be implicated.
If he manages to deceive them, then he will have to leave the Yu family and the capital as soon as possible to seek refuge.
But then I thought of the scandal that had rocked the city before, about opium being grown in the Empress's palace. Although it was eventually quelled and the evidence pointed to the Empress's female official, it was a matter that would result in the extermination of nine generations of a family. How could a female official possibly have the power to cover up such a scandal?
"Forget it, I can't think about it too much." After thinking it over, the physician could only report to Yu Chengzhu: "Master, I have never seen this illness before. I am not knowledgeable enough. I'm afraid you will have to go to the palace to invite the imperial physician to take a look."
Upon hearing this, Yu Chengzhu disregarded the fact that the Yu family was no longer favored by the palace and immediately summoned the steward: "Quickly, quickly take my token and go to the palace to invite the imperial physician, ask Physician Lu to come and treat the young master."
The steward hurriedly left with the token. Seeing this, the guards who had been monitoring the Yu family's movements outside the residence released their carrier pigeons.
The steward was ordered to invite Lu Dacheng.
When Lu Dacheng arrived at the Yu family's residence, the family physician was meekly preparing to leave. Lu Dacheng, however, spoke up: "Stop!"
"Physician Lu, what are your instructions?" The physician had worked for the Yu family for many years and had seen many grand occasions; he had even met most of the imperial physicians. At this moment, his answer was very sincere, yet cautious.
"You wait outside. After I have treated Lord Yu, I will have some questions for you." Lu Dacheng exerted his authority, and the physician trembled with fear.
Lu Dacheng didn't even glance at Yu Chengzhu. After entering Yu Pinyu's room, he dismissed everyone else.
Lu Dacheng took out an extract of opium, lit it, and held it under Yu Pinyu's nose. In a short while, Yu Pinyu woke up.
When Yu Pinyu woke up, he felt completely comfortable, almost like he was in heaven.
Seeing Lu Dacheng in his room, he respectfully stood up and bowed, saying, "This humble official thanks the Imperial Physician!"
Lu Dacheng only said one sentence: "It's a pity that Her Majesty the Empress gave you such a good thing, but you all smeared yourselves behind your backs. You ungrateful bastards!"
After finishing speaking, Lu Dacheng walked out of the room and saw the physician standing at the gate of the courtyard. Lu Dacheng gestured for the physician to follow him.
"May I ask your surname?" Lu Dacheng asked the physician in a disdainful tone. The physician hurriedly replied, "My name is Feng Yuanxiang."
"What are your thoughts on Lord Yu's illness?" Lu Dacheng stared at Feng Yuanxiang, trying to glean something from his expression.
"Although I have been practicing medicine for twenty years, I have never seen such an illness. However, I once visited Jishantang in the capital, where a doctor named Fan said that this kind of illness should be classified as a mental illness. I am not knowledgeable enough to understand what a mental illness is!"
“Jishantang, Doctor Fan?” Lu Dacheng seemed to have thought of something.
"Keep your mouth shut. To outsiders, just say that Lord Yu fainted from overwork." After saying this, Lu Dacheng quickly left the Yu family.
The Li family returned to report after Leng Feng had been gone for nearly a month.
At this moment, only Li Ting and his wife, along with Li Xingran, were in the room.
Did Uncle Leng Feng discover the Empress's connections in the martial arts world?
[In the book, the mother is poisoned and has no energy left to deal with Zhao Yunwan, while the father has fallen out with the crown prince and they ignore each other. The crown prince goes further and further down the path of self-destruction, while the father is attending to the mother at her bedside, with no time for anything else.]
Zhao Yunwan was a shrewd woman; she had won over most of the wealthy families in Jiangnan. Only one man, Huo Shan, dared to defy imperial power, but in the end, Huo Shan sold his possessions, went into seclusion, and disappeared without a trace.
Li Xingran poured out her heart in one breath, and Li Ting and his wife listened quietly.
Huo Shan is actually Xu Ningyou's younger brother. He was kidnapped by a matchmaker in his early years and ended up in Jiangnan. Because of his excellent arithmetic skills, he became the accountant of the number one money house in Jiangnan at a young age.
Because of his exceptional memory, he could remember every single business of the First Money Shop owner, Master Shen, and how much money he could make.
After accumulating enough capital at the money exchange, he started as a peddler and within ten years became the third richest man in Jiangnan.
Huo Shan met Xu Ningyou by chance when he went to the Northwest to look for sources of goods. The two looked very similar. After many twists and turns, Huo Shan was finally recognized and returned to the Xu family.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
