Chapter 358 The Imperial Court Wants to Destroy Us
Suddenly, the sound of a suona, a type of horn played only during funerals, drifted from afar.
A funeral procession emerged from around the corner, and the mournful strains of the suona horns suddenly rose, "Beep beep beep!!!"
The sound of gongs, "Clang! Clang! Boom boom boom!!!..."
A man carrying a memorial tablet and dressed in mourning clothes walked in front, followed by a group of family members, then servants carrying a coffin, and then a large group of people.
Suppressed sobs came from within the ranks, "Waaah..."
White joss paper fluttered in the air, like a heavy snowfall.
The crowd lined both sides of the procession, heads bowed, wiping away tears with their sleeves, sobbing...
"Lord Pu was a good official, but he died unjustly. Under his administration, Lingnan became more and more prosperous. The people were well-fed and clothed, and people from all over the surrounding areas came to our place to do business."
"It was thanks to Lord Pu that I went from running a roadside stall to earning money to open a shop, and my business grew bigger and bigger until everyone respectfully called me Boss Hu. Without Lord Pu, there would be no Old Hu today. Today, I, Old Hu, once again respectfully bid farewell to Boss Hu on his final journey!"
As he spoke, he put on mourning clothes and mingled into the funeral procession. The servant behind him followed, carrying a large bag of money, which he grabbed and scattered into the air.
A large group of merchants followed him.
"Lord Pu, I, Li, have also come to see you off on your final journey."
"Mr. Ding has also come to see you off."
"Qi has also come to see you off."
...
Seeing that most of the people had arrived, Boss Hu choked up and said, "When the ruler commands death, the subject has no choice but to die. Lord Pu, we are of lowly rank and have no power to do anything. Please, rest in peace! Waaah~"
His voice was choked with sobs, filled with grief, and his limbs were so weak that he needed a servant's support to walk. Anyone who didn't know better would think that his parents had died.
The surrounding merchants, upon hearing this, hurriedly pressed for an answer, "What? You mean the one on the dragon throne wants Lord Pu dead?"
"I heard it from someone else, so please don't spread it, or we'll all be..." Old Hu made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Wasn't the Emperor kidnapped by the barbarians? He's back? Lingnan is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from the capital. How did Lord Pu offend the higher-ups?"
It's understandable that they're close by, but as long as taxes are paid on time, the imperial court doesn't really interfere in Lingnan. It's practically a no-man's-land, very free. Some people even build their own ships and secretly go overseas to do business.
Many of them made their fortunes this way, and Lord Pu turned a blind eye to it. In private, he even encouraged them to do business overseas. It is said that some of them went overseas and never came back.
They guessed that he must be having a great time outside and had forgotten all about home.
"Prince Xuan is about to ascend the throne, so what emperor is there? That Prince Xuan you're talking about, isn't the future emperor also an emperor?"
"Then why did he want to kill Lord Pu?"
"I heard that he resented Lord Pu for not treating him well and for exiling him. He suffered in the city defense camp and blamed it on Lord Pu. Before leaving Panyu, he ordered him to be killed."
...
Local residents queuing for porridge and those seeking medical treatment also covered their faces and wept.
May Lord Pu rest in peace!
"To rest in peace? How can someone who died unjustly rest in peace if they cannot rest in peace?"
"Which damned bastard killed Lord Pu? I curse her to have children born without an anus, to have sores on her head, to have pus oozing from her feet, and to die a horrible death..."
"It was Lord Pu who put pressure on the county government to deter those unscrupulous merchants and helped us get back some of our land. How could such a good official leave us? Everyone, kneel down and send Lord Pu off on his final journey."
...
When Yun Zhaoxue heard the people praising Lord Pu and cursing his killer, she knew that the man surnamed Pu was very popular in Panyu.
More accurately, they are good at putting on a show and taking all the credit for themselves.
Even the most timid and cowardly common people dare to smear the imperial court and the future emperor.
A person of foreign descent deliberately incited the people to hate the imperial court.
Their intentions are despicable!
They deserved to die!
Yun Zhaoxue calmly treated the patient.
At this moment, Zhuiying, who was in charge of investigating the whereabouts of the people who had been taken away, walked to her side, as if he had something urgent to report.
She had just finished seeing one patient and said to the next one, "Wait a moment."
“Princess, those who were taken away under the pretext of the plague are not in the place the magistrate mentioned.”
Yun Zhaoxue asked in surprise, "They've all disappeared? More than a thousand people could have turned to ashes without leaving a trace."
"Are you sure you haven't come to the wrong place? Have you searched the entire area?"
“I’ve searched the surrounding area, but it’s not there. I asked the villagers nearby, and they said they didn’t stay there. They went northwest, which is Nanhai County.”
What are they doing in Nanhai County?
"My guess is that they want to use the families of the people to coerce and entice them into joining the rebellion."
Some heartless people, when torn between their own consciences, push the elderly, disabled, sick, and weak to their deaths.
"Keep investigating the whereabouts of those people behind closed doors, and also find out about the power in Nanhai County, especially the foreign merchants and travelers."
Killing one man surnamed Pu is not enough to deter them; we need to kill a whole bunch more.
The porridge was all distributed at noon, and then there was a free clinic to attend to. We didn't finish until evening.
I was just about to pack my things and go home.
"Finally finished, honey, how about we go to a restaurant for a nice meal and treat ourselves?"
"Sure, it's my treat, everyone come."
Yun Zhaoxue wanted to go home to see her child as soon as possible, but she didn't mind waiting a little longer. She figured her family had already eaten by now, and if she rushed back, the food would be cold. She decided to eat at a restaurant with everyone and go home earlier.
Hua Murong shouted, "Hurry up and pack your things!"
Xiao Mingshu replied cheerfully, "Okay, Master."
The other doctors, upon hearing that they would be going to the most popular restaurant in the city, immediately shook off their fatigue and quickly began packing.
At this moment, a group of people came carrying or lifting dozens of people on their backs.
"Miracle doctor, something terrible has happened! Help! Someone's dying! They've been poisoned..."
Those patients experienced symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, drooling, foaming at the mouth, and body spasms.
It looks quite frightening.
"What happened?"
"We don't know what happened either."
What did they eat before they became poisoned?
"I ate porridge in the evening, plain porridge."
“My son also ate plain porridge. Miracle doctor, miracle doctor, I beg you, you must save my son. He is so young, only eight years old.”
"Okay! We will do our best to put the patients down first and line them up."
Seven doctors worked together.
Hua Murong confirmed that they were indeed poisoned. Judging from their symptoms, it seemed like several poisonous powders were mixed together. "There's aconite, strychnine, and other ones that aren't immediately apparent..."
Yun Zhaoxue said, "Induce vomiting first."
"Go and prepare salt water to force-feed them."
Seeing that the patient was almost out of breath, Hua Murong opened his medicine box and took out a blue porcelain bottle.
"This is an antidote. Quickly feed it to them; it will save their lives temporarily."
Others rushed over to help.
Yun Zhaoxue fed them antidote pills and spiritual spring water, forcing them to drink them.
The spring water can dilute the poison and detoxify.
They were in a flurry of activity when a group of onlookers gathered and began demanding accountability: "They got poisoned from drinking congee; everyone, please don't eat it again!"
"The imperial court changes its orders every day. In order to avoid being condemned for disregarding the people, they secretly put poison in your porridge to kill you."
“King Xuan wants to poison you. They have ill intentions. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You can survive for seven or eight days if you don’t eat it, but you will die if you do.”
"There's a war going on in the north, and they need food. Their supplies are tight, so why would they give up their food for disaster relief? They couldn't resist taking it after only a few days."
The refugees were brainwashed and began to suspect the imperial court of trying to poison them.
Although they are useless, they are all citizens of the Great Zhou Dynasty, honest and law-abiding citizens who pay their taxes on time.
The imperial court not only ignored them but also tried to poison them; it's chilling!
...
Yun Zhaoxue ordered, "Men, arrest all those who spread rumors!"
Zhu Feng led his guards to arrest people.
These rumor-mongers got scared and, seeing the crowd running backwards, shouted, "Murder to cover it up! Murder to cover it up! Help!"
The hilt of Zhu Feng's sword flew out and struck the man's back, causing him to stumble forward and fall to the ground. Chu Feng quickly stepped forward, stomped on the man's hand, and forcefully crushed it, kicking the man down again.
There was another one ahead of him. He flew onto the roof, dodged the crowd on the street, ran faster than the other man, landed in front of him, and held a knife to his neck.
The man pulled a knife from his sleeve.
Zhu Feng grabbed his arm, twisted it backward, breaking his arm, and then pushed him hard, the dagger piercing his shoulder, "Thud!"
Upon seeing this, the surrounding people screamed in terror and ran away, crying, "Ah! Murder!"
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