A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination

Chapter 32: Yizhi

So, the reason why black plaques appeared on the deceased was just because the wild vegetables in the porridge were poisonous? ”

“Yes!” Xiao Jingduo nodded firmly, “I once heard from the local villagers at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain that this wild vegetable is poisonous, but it looks very similar to bracken, so there are always people who mistake it. Eating this dish. I heard that after being poisoned, even a healthy adult man will suffer for three days, not to mention that the plague patient is already weak, and eating this wild vegetable will make it worse. Ordinary people will be slow after boiling for three or four days. Slowly overcome the toxicity, but after the plague patient died, the toxicity in the body was too late to digest, so it precipitated on the skin, and black patches appeared, which looked like the handprints of ghosts.”

After listening to Xiao Jingduo’s words, even a good-tempered person like the prince felt angry. He pinched his eyebrows and asked, “According to you, the rumors that have been making a lot of noise during this time are just because these officials and ladies mistakenly added poisonous wild vegetables when they were cooking porridge?”

Xiao Jingduo did not speak, tacitly.

The poisonous wild vegetables happened to collide with the plague, which led to the misunderstanding of all the doctors in the Imperial Physician’s Office, and even caused the East Palace to be criticized and impacted for so long.

Rong Ke was speechless for a long time, and finally, she sighed silently: “No disaster.”

Yes, this time the East Palace was simply wronged, and it was completely innocent. The prince sighed silently, these officials and ladies, don’t even help, but clean up bad things!

But besides complaining in private, what else can the East Palace do? Let’s not say that these officials and wives had good intentions, but they did wrong things with good intentions, and said that the prince and the East Palace behind him, dare to offend so many high-level officials and wives at one time? There is even the Prime Minister’s wife.

The prince naturally dare not, he is just the prince and not the monarch, how dare he do such a thing that offends people. So this time Donggong was wronged, and he could only admit it through gritted teeth.

Xiao Jingduo saw that the prince was so angry that he didn’t want to speak, so he retired wisely. He did not go out, but stood outside the yard, quietly waiting for someone.

After a while, Rong Ke came out. She was listening intently to the maid’s report when she heard a clear voice behind her.

“The county master stay.” Xiao Jingduo walked out from the corner and walked slowly towards Rong Ke, “I have a way to punish the initiator, I don’t know if the county master is willing to listen.”

Rong Ke raised her eyebrows slightly and smiled: “I would like to hear more about it.”

“Although the family is ugly, but the county master also knows the situation of our family, so there is nothing to hide. To be honest with the county master, when I just came back from Qingyuan Temple in June, my stepmother was in my house. The smallpox scab was put in the teacup to make me contract smallpox. In this plague, Wu Junru can be said to be the culprit behind the scenes. She was the first to add poisonous wild vegetables to the porridge. Part of it came from her porridge shed.”

Rong Ke almost understood, she smiled and asked: “You mean…”

Xiao Jingduo sighed, these princesses in the palace, obviously already understood, but refused to admit it, for fear of being caught, they must take the initiative to ask others, and they will follow the trend.

So Xiao Jingduo took a step back and gave Rong Ke a long bow: “The East Palace has a great favor to me, please use my name to reprimand Wu Junru, so as to vent the anger of the East Palace.”

Rong Ke looked at Xiao Jingduo and did not speak for a long time. After a while, she aroused Xiao Jingduo, half persuaded and half sighed: “If you borrow your name, Donggong can certainly breathe a sigh of relief, but you must know that the son does not tell his mother’s fault, if you really do this, even if It was her unrighteousness that came first, and you will fall into the name of unfilial piety, and your reputation will not be good after that.”

“I know.” Xiao Jingduo lowered his head and said very firmly, “But I don’t care.”

As long as Wu Junru can get the retribution he deserves, even if he is notorious, what is it?

Rong Ke nodded and said, “Okay, your love is accepted by Donggong.”

Rong Ke said in her heart that she was not angry. The East Palace was walking on thin ice these days. In order to resolve the matter between the ghost soldiers and the prince, the prince did not return to the palace for several days, and was running around all day. But they didn’t expect that the shocks and rumors they endured were only taken for granted by an ignorant woman.

Wu Junru took it for granted that she wanted to balance the porridge, meat and vegetables, so she added wild vegetables in it. As a result, her actions caused such serious consequences.

Rong Ke would be a ghost if she was not annoyed with her. Now that the ready-made handle was delivered to the door, how could Rong Ke’s temperament not be violent? Perhaps, Empress Cui of the Zhonggong Palace can also plan something.

Rong Ke restrained her smile, half-drooping her eyes without speaking, obviously already thinking about the next plan. Seeing this scene, Xiao Jingduo felt relieved inexplicably, he said softly: “The county master, please retire.”

Rong Ke nodded lightly, she waved her hand, and motioned for the maid to see off the guest.

After he returned to Qingzeyuan, the first thing he did was to take a bath and burn incense, and sleep comfortably.

The next day, a doctor from the Imperial Physician Department came to visit Xiao Jingduo. He conveyed the greetings from the doctors of the Imperial Physician Department to Xiao Jingduo, and took the smallpox-stained tea set with him.

Since Xiao Jingduo suddenly appeared, Wu Junru has been in a state of inexplicable unease, not to mention that Xiao Jingduo was unharmed and did not seem to be infected with smallpox, and that people from the Imperial Physician Department suddenly came to visit Xiao Jingduo, Xiao Jingduo’s relaxed attitude alone was enough to make Wu Junru suspicious. But before Wu Junru could find out anything, Yi Zhi in the palace arrived.

Wu Junru took the lead in making porridge in the city, with great momentum and fame. I heard that even the queen in the palace praised this matter.

When the decree came, everyone in Dingyonghou Mansion came out to greet it. The old lady, Second Aunt Xiao, Third Aunt Xiao and others all put on the most decent clothes, and even the newly born girls in the house were taken out. Xiao Jingduo arrived at the scene unhurriedly. As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw Wu Junru surrounded by everyone, with the stars in the moon, high above.

Wu Junru also saw Xiao Jingduo, she sneered disdainfully and turned her head away. Xiao Jingduo held back his smile and waited quietly for the next thing.

Wu Junru has a mission, kneeling side by side with the old lady at the front. In addition, everyone knew that this time was mostly a reward from the palace, so Wu Junru knelt in front of everyone as it should, and waited for the next reward with a straight waist.

Seeing that everyone has arrived, the inner servant cleared his throat before slowly opening the imperial edict. Wu Junru didn’t know if it was an illusion. She seemed to see the inner servant glance at her, with an inexplicable sympathy in her eyes.

“The edict said: Mrs. Wu of Dingyonghou, the daughter of the clan, is in the Ming Dynasty and is suitable for the Xiao clan. The wise parents teach etiquette and morality, and teach women’s classics, but Wu clan is domineering and self-indulgent. , The parents are kind and favored, they do not treat their relatives according to their obedience, and they do not teach their children their father. Yu Yifa. The Wu family should have the same education, regardless of their differences, but they favor one over the other, neglecting the son of the former wife, and risking a big disaster. In the palace, the Wu family is the first offender, so it should be warned and not severely punished. To be in charge of the family, to restrain the servants, to teach the children with all one’s heart, to live in seclusion and to cultivate virtue, and not to be partial or domineering. I respect this.”

Wu Junru was waiting for the reward with confidence, but she did not expect such a decree. With the sound of her father-in-law’s sharp voice, Wu Junru’s heart became colder and colder. When she heard the last, she couldn’t hold it anymore, and she fell to the side with a plop.

How can this be? The queen and the Wu family are friends, how could she issue such an unceremonious decree to reprimand her? She clearly set up a porridge shed in the city to do good deeds and greatly promoted the good name of the family. How could the queen treat her like this?

Not only Wu Junru can’t figure this out, but other female relatives of the Xiao family are also amazed. They thought they were just here to join in the fun, but they didn’t expect to hear such a stern rebuke. The most important thing in the aristocratic circle is face. No matter what you do or say in private, you have to show a fair and virtuous appearance in face. However, Wu Junru was criticized mercilessly by the queen, and she clearly said that she had a disadvantage in virtue of women. It’s almost a devastating blow, so how will Wu Junru go out to meet people in the future?

Old Mrs. Xiao was so frightened that her hands and feet were cold, and she could not feel her limbs. Xue Lan, who was kneeling beside her, quickly reached out to support her. The old lady leaned on Xue Lan, still muttering: “I’ve annoyed Her Royal Highness, what can I do in the future…”

Second Aunt Xiao and others also felt that this time was serious, she glanced at Wu Junru, who was on the ground, and quickly moved away from Wu Junru to distance herself from Wu Junru. The queen ordered to reprimand Wu Junru, and it has nothing to do with their second room. Xiao Yufang and Xiao Yuli are about to say that they should not be burdened by Wu Junru.

But after reading a decree, Wu Junru’s status in the Hou’s mansion fell from the sky to the ground. Wu Junru has been showing people the image of a noble and virtuous family lady, and in a flash, she became scolded by the palace eccentric stepmother.

In particular, in order to show off, Wu Junru deliberately summoned everyone in the mansion. Unexpectedly, she made a mistake and was reprimanded in front of so many people. How could Wu Junru stand such a gap.

Wu Junru felt dizzy, but she forcibly suppressed the dizzy thoughts, and asked her father-in-law with a bit of luck: “Father-in-law, I have served my parents-in-law with all my heart these years, and I have also volunteered to provide assistance. Plague, how could Her Royal Highness blame me? Did something go wrong?”

The father-in-law was displeased, and there was some anger in his tone: “Mrs. Wu, Your Highness has made it clear in the decree.

He was so honest to Wu Junru, but the next moment he changed his smile and asked, “I wonder if the Lord of the House is here?”

Xiao Jingduo got up and gave a salute to the servant: “Xiao Jingduo is here, what is your father-in-law’s order?”

“Langjun is polite, how dare the miscellaneous family to order Langjun.” The father-in-law smiled, “The saint heard the prince’s righteous deeds, and the sacred heart was delighted, and the decree of the reward came down in a few days. The miscellaneous family is here to report the good news to Langjun in advance!”

Xiao Jingduo smiled and bowed gently to her father-in-law: “Thank you father-in-law for the point.”

The father-in-law turned sideways to avoid it, and said with a smile: “It can’t be done. There are orders in the palace, the miscellaneous family has to go back, Lang Jun takes care of himself.”

“Thank you.” Xiao Ying is on duty today and is not in the mansion now. Xiao Jingduo is the most important person in the family. He took the initiative to take his father-in-law out.

.”

Wu Junru put her hands on the ground and seemed to want to get up, but suddenly her hands softened and she fell down.

The screams of the maids in the lobby continued one after another: “Madame, madam! Come on, madam fainted!”