Chapter 129
The people of Tianqi were destined to live an uneasy year. On New Year's Eve, the entire capital was under martial law, making people panic and unable to celebrate the New Year. Since the town where Shen Jin lived was close to the capital, it was also affected. The originally bustling streets became quiet in an instant, vendors dared not do business, and even places like restaurants and teahouses were closed.
Doctor Qian and Aunt Qian have moved into their courtyard. Their children have both started families. Because of Doctor Qian's status, their daughters have all married and moved out of town. Even their sons, after they grew up, were arranged by Doctor Qian to make their own living outside the city. There are only a few apprentices in the clinic who were accepted by Doctor Qian, and they are all given holidays during the Chinese New Year.
After Shen Jin learned that the capital was under martial law, he quickly asked Aunt Qian and Anyi to prepare a lot of meat dishes, and they sat together to eat. Doctor Qian also understood in his heart that it was fine for them to eat meat dishes before the death knell sounded, but when the death knell sounded, they would secretly cook for Shen Jin, and they would not be able to eat anymore. Thinking of this, even Doctor Qian, who did not care much about food, ordered a lot more and also picked up a lot of dishes for Aunt Qian.
Shen Jin actually didn't feel anything about the fact that Emperor Cheng might be gone. Although Emperor Cheng was her uncle, there was no affection between her and Emperor Cheng. In addition, it was too difficult for Shen Jin to be sad and upset with what Emperor Cheng had done. So all she could think of was to prepare more meat dishes at home to satisfy everyone before the news was announced.
Once the death knell rings, there will be no chance to eat meat in peace.
An Yi had a vague guess but was not sure. An Ning did not have so many thoughts and started eating. She also had to take care of Shen Jin. A chicken was stewed at home. Shen Jin did not like chicken recently and could only eat chicken wings. So An Ning gave both chicken wings to Shen Jin, and then gave one chicken leg to Aunt Qian and Yue Qingyun respectively. A large piece of chicken breast was given to An Yi first, and the rest was given to Yue Wen, Jia Si and Doctor Qian. There was not much left, so An Ning did not care and started to eat the chicken head, chicken neck, chicken feet and the like.
Yue Wen looked distressed and gave his piece of chicken to An Ning. Aunt Qian was amused and said, "An Ning, have this chicken leg." As she said that, she was about to give the chicken from her bowl to An Ning.
An Ning said, "Aunt Qian, you can eat it. I don't need these. I just like to eat something without meat."
An Yi also smiled and said, "Aunt Qian, it's enough for An Ning and I to share it." As she said that, she picked up a lot of meat and gave it to An Ning.
Seeing Yue Qingyun sitting next to him, Shen Jin said, "Eat quickly, there are other things to eat after you finish."
Yue Qingyun nodded vigorously. He had never lived so comfortably since he could remember. Not only did he have white flour buns and rice to eat every day, but he also had meat. Moreover, he was not even allowed to do any housework at home, and someone even taught him to read. It was like a dream.
Shen Jin looked at Yue Qingyun. After this period of care, he had gained a lot of weight, and his face had become much whiter. He was wearing a new cotton-padded jacket made for him by Aunt Qian. He looked energetic and handsome. Shen Jin found him particularly pleasing to the eye and liked him very much. He picked up a piece of braised pork for him with chopsticks.
When Yue Qingyun first came, he was very cautious in everything he did. Even when eating, he didn't dare to take too much food. He would only eat as much as others served him. He didn't dare to complain even if he was not full, which made Aunt Qian very distressed. Now he has become much better.
Shen Jin was gnawing on a chicken wing. At first, Yue Wen and Jia Si had to prepare meals for Shen Jin separately. It was only after Shen Jin gave the order that they sat together to eat. From the initial discomfort, they have now gotten used to it and become more casual. "Aunt Qian, you don't have to worry about An Ning. She won't starve."
An Ning chuckled and divided the smoked duck among them. In addition to these, there were also fish and other things. Everyone ate happily.
When the first bell rang, they had finished their meal. Because it was New Year's Day, the family had prepared a lot of meat and other things. Now that the weather was cold, these things would not spoil easily and could be stored. In addition, there were a lot of smoked meats. A delivery room was specially prepared in the yard. This kind of place required people to enter the warm room in advance. Only An Ning was the most suitable person, and An Ning was willing to do it. After asking someone to help calculate the horoscope and found that it was suitable, An Ning took the initiative to move into the delivery room. This was the first time that An Ning did not listen to Shen Jin.
Everyone stood in the yard, looking in the direction of the imperial palace. After Shen Jin heard the nine knocks, he held his waist with one hand and walked into the house with An Ning's help. When the emperor passed away, the bell would be rung 81 times. An Yi went to bring hot water with mugwort in it. It was Doctor Qian who asked Shen Jin to soak his feet in mugwort more often, as it was good for the body.
Even if Shen Jin sometimes forgot, An Yi and An Ning would not forget. The family bought a lot of brown sugar and gave Shen Jin red dates and brown sugar water to drink every day to replenish Shen Jin's blood. They also watched Shen Jin finish drinking the medicine prescribed by Doctor Qian. In fact, even if they didn't watch her, Shen Jin would drink everything, after all, she also cared about the baby in her belly.
An Ning and Aunt Qian learned how to massage Shen Jin's feet, so they sat on the small round stool and massaged Shen Jin slowly, saying, "Second sister, don't be sad." Although she felt that it was good for Emperor Cheng to die, she thought that Emperor Cheng was also a relative of Shen Jin, so she whispered to comfort him.
Shen Jin smiled when he heard that. "I'm not thinking about that person, but that person left so suddenly. I don't know if my husband and the others have made preparations in advance. I don't know what the Prince of England will do."
Now Shen Jin still doesn't know that the Prince of England is dead, so it's inevitable that she is worried that the Prince of England will take the opportunity to cause trouble. However, Shen Jin only thought about it for a while and didn't take it to heart. With Chu Xiuming around, she doesn't need to worry about these things.
But Shen Jin didn't know that Chu Xiuming and Jia Si were in a village not far from the town. They were staying in a farmer's house. They narrowed their eyes at the sound of the death knell. Jia Si asked in a low voice, "General, do you want to go to the town to rest tomorrow?"
"No need." If he hadn't heard the death knell, Chu Xiuming might have chosen to go to the town to buy some things, wash up and recuperate before going up the mountain to find Shen Jin. But now he had to hurry. If he went to the town and wasted time, he would not be able to stay with Shen Jin for a while longer.
Jiayi stopped trying to persuade him and just said, "The local chickens in this village look good to me. Let's buy some and bring them up the mountain tomorrow."
It was said that after Emperor Cheng's death, one should be a vegetarian for at least three months. However, in Jiayi's mind, it was better if Emperor Cheng died, so why would he be a vegetarian for him, not to mention that the general's wife was pregnant.
Chu Xiuming nodded and said, "Well, there are also these sausages and bacon. I think they won't dare to eat them. Just buy some more when the time comes."
Jia Yi agreed. These things had to be done secretly. Seeing that Chu Xiuming had no other instructions, he went down to work.
In the palace, the queen cried extremely sadly. Duke Cheng'en suppressed his excitement and fell to his knees beside Emperor Cheng's bed, crying, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, why did you die like this... Your Majesty, please open your eyes and look again..."
The prince born by the queen also cried non-stop and called for his father. Although he was very young, he knew in his heart that if Princess Ruyang had not been beside him, he would have been exposed long ago. Princess Ruyang wiped her brother's eyes with a handkerchief dipped in ginger juice, and her brother cried even more sadly.
Princess Ruyang also cried non-stop, and while crying she whispered to comfort her brother. Duke Cheng'en cried for a while, then wiped his tears and said, "The country cannot be without a ruler for a day. Queen, I wonder if His Majesty can leave a will?"
The queen wiped her tears, took out a box from the bedside, and said, "When your majesty was dying, he asked eunuch Li to bring me this will."
Li Fu was standing in a corner. When he saw everyone looking at him, he came out and said, "Your Majesty has been feeling unwell these past two days, so he made a will in advance."
Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister asked, "Why is it that none of us know about this at this time?"
Cheng En said openly, "Your Majesty summoned me to the palace two days ago to write this will just in case."
The Prime Minister narrowed his eyes and asked, "May I let this humble official have a look?"
The Queen looked at Duke Cheng'en, who said sternly, "Shi Yu, are you trying to disobey the Emperor's order? His Majesty's body is still warm."
Shi Yu is the current prime minister. Neither the queen nor Duke Cheng'en expected that the first to attack would be this famous good guy. Shi Yu said, "I dare not, but this is related to the country. I dare to ask for the emperor's edict."
Duke Cheng'en looked at the Queen, who lowered her eyes slightly and said, "Father, just show it to Prime Minister Shi." This will was written by Duke Cheng'en, but the Queen colluded with Li Fu and sealed it with the imperial seal, so she was naturally not afraid of being checked. Besides, they still had subsequent preparations. If these people were not sensible...
After Shi Yu took the imperial edict and read it carefully, his eyes flashed, and he returned it to Li Fu respectfully, saying, "I'm sorry." Then he stood aside and didn't say anything. The rest of the people were also silent when they saw this, but they were uneasy in their hearts. If the incident in the 37th year of Yongjia happened again, it would be bad. However... they were more worried about Prince Rui, who had no news so far, rather than the little prince in front of them.
At dawn, Chu Xiuming and Jiayi took the things they bought and rushed to the village where Shen Jin was. The horses were temporarily kept in the village and someone was looking after them. Jiayi knew the way. Both of them had martial arts skills, so even though they were carrying a lot of things, they walked very fast and hardly took a rest along the way. In the evening, they arrived at the yard where Shen Jin had temporarily lived. However, looking at the weeds outside the yard and the broken door, the door lock seemed to have been broken and thrown on the ground by someone. Chu Xiuming didn't care about anything else and pushed the door open directly.
The yard was in a mess, with even broken bowls and jars. Chu Xiuming walked around the entire yard, and found that there were no neatly arranged tables, chairs, or benches. Chu Xiuming's expression changed again and again, and even his hands were shaking. Jia Yi, who was standing by, was terrified, but he was also confused in his heart. What had happened to his madam and the others? Why did the yard become like this?
Chu Xiuming took a few deep breaths, but he couldn't help himself and kicked the tree trunk in the yard. The tree shook and made a crackling sound. The tree, which was as thick as a person, was kicked by Chu Xiuming and the tree crushed the wall. "Go and capture the village chief for me."
The voice was filled with a strong chill. The last time Jia Yi heard such a tone was when the border town was besieged, and that time... blood flowed like a river.
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