I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 229 Meeting before marriage may not bring good luck

Jiaofang Hall.

When receiving Liu Che's edict, Wei Zifu also fell silent.

She still didn't know what had happened. Why did Liu Che leave this matter to her to deal with before, but suddenly intervened today? This was not in line with Liu Che's style.

Moreover, she also knew that her method of "using someone else's power to replace the dead" was not problematic and was sufficient to completely eliminate the impact.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if there was a slight discrepancy between Liu Che's thoughts, he would definitely choose to acquiesce rather than personally issue an imperial decree to deal with it...

at this point.

Wei Zifu knew that Yi Shuo was doomed to fail, even if a god came.

"Come here, summon Yi Shuo to see me."

After a long silence, Wei Zifu finally sighed and said in a low voice.

A moment later, Yi Shuo, dressed in palace attire, entered the hall and bowed to Wei Zifu:
"Your servant Fu Chen greets Her Majesty the Queen."

Hearing this voice, Wei Zifu just remembered that she had changed Yishuo's name yesterday. From now on, Yishuo would be called Fuchen in the palace, and would be just an ordinary palace maid in the Pepper Room.

To whisk means to brush away old dust and change one's appearance.

It was also when Wei Zifu saw the whisk used to chase and beat Liu Ju some days ago that she gave Yi Shuo the name on a whim.

"No need to be so polite. From now on, you should call me Yi Shuo..."

Wei Zifu didn't know how to start.

She could see that Yi Shuo was not in good condition. After just one day, her face had become much paler and her eyes no longer had the vitality they once had.

She also knew in her heart that it was not that Yi Shuo could not adapt to life in the palace. As a female doctor before, she often had to live in the palace for several months, taking care of concubines who needed fetal protection or postpartum care. Although she was always cautious at that time, it was definitely not like this.

Yi Shuo now seemed to have suddenly lost her soul.

As for what this soul was, Wei Zifu also had an idea in her mind - medical skills.

When she summoned Yishuo to the palace yesterday to find out the situation, she already had a full understanding of Yishuo's intentions.

This female doctor is only obsessed with her medical skills. She does not marry or have children so as not to distract her energy and time from studying medical skills. She steals corpses to do autopsies in order to improve her skills. Medical skills are the soul that supports her to live alone in this world.

Since Wei Zifu had previously decided that "there is no Yishuo in the world anymore", Yishuo naturally could not return to the Imperial Medical Bureau, nor could she continue to study medical skills. From now on, she had to hide in the Pepper Room as a palace maid. Otherwise, if she was recognized, it would still attract some gossip, and if it got out, it would still cause some negative impact.

Wei Zifu had liked this girl for a long time. After learning of her feelings, she not only liked her but also felt a bit more respect and sympathy for her.

But between Liu Ju and Yi Shuo, she could only choose one.

But this was a multiple-choice question for her, with only Liu Ju as the option!

Therefore, she decided to appeal to Yishuo's emotions and reason with him...

She hoped that Yishuo would willingly cooperate with her plan, which was the best outcome she could think of for everyone. Otherwise, no matter how much she liked this girl, she would have to send her to the gallows with her own hands.

But what Wei Zifu didn't expect was.

She had just started to speak and hadn't gotten to the point yet.

Yishuo immediately expressed his determination to die.

It was only then that Wei Zifu finally realized that Yi Shuo had already made up her mind to die and would rather commit suicide than bring any trouble to Liu Ju.

Before, when Jingzhao Yin came to arrest her, she would have committed suicide if Liu Ju had not stopped her and persuaded her.

It is the same now. If Wei Zifu needs her to die, and if this can eliminate the negative impact she has brought to Liu Ju, she will not have any complaints and will be willing to die anytime and anywhere.

When saying this, Yi Shuo acted very calmly, yet there was some guilt towards Liu Ju in his tone.

This made Wei Zifu like this female doctor even more... Therefore, the plan of "Li Dai Tao Jiang" was officially implemented, and Yi Shuo became the "whisk" of the Pepper Room Palace.

But now.

But she had to tell Yishuo in person again that the plan of "using a substitute for someone else" could not be implemented and Yishuo must accept public execution. How could she feel?

"Yishuo...I understand."

After hearing Wei Zifu's riddle-like words and seeing the embarrassment and reluctance in Wei Zifu's eyes, Yi Shuo understood the meaning of the words. He knelt gently on the ground, grinning with a relieved smile.

"Yishuo should bear the consequences of what he did."

"Your Majesty the Queen and Your Majesty the Crown Prince are both kindhearted people. They have tried their best to protect Yishuo. This is the utmost kindness. Yishuo is flattered. I will never forget this kindness. I will repay them in my next life by turning into an ox or a horse."

"But I still need your Highness to make it clear whether Yishuo should commit suicide or wait for his fate?"

Wei Zifu sighed deeply, and her voice became a little sour:

"The court judge will be here soon... Yishuo, if you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can entrust them to me and I will definitely fulfill them for you."

Yi Shuo pondered for a moment, and finally said:

"Could you please tell the Crown Prince that although Yi Shuo is not blessed enough to be your disciple, the Crown Prince must accept a disciple in this lifetime. If you really do not want to accept a disciple, the Crown Prince must compile the medical skills you know into a book and pass it on to future generations. It must not be lost to the world."

"What are your medical skills?"

Hearing this, Wei Zifu began to feel confused.

Although Liu Che had already known about this matter, it was the first time that Wei Zifu heard that Liu Ju knew medical skills, and she was quite surprised.

"Yishuo's medical skills can only save a thousand people, but the prince's medical skills can save the common people."

Yi Shuo kowtowed respectfully to Wei Zifu and said in a very serious tone,
"Your Highness, please do not look at the Crown Prince differently just because medical skills are considered a lowly profession."

"The prince has the common people in his heart. Yishuo believes that the prince will one day restore the reputation of medical skills and become a wise ruler who will be remembered for generations. It's just that Yishuo will never be able to see it with his own eyes." As he was speaking.

A palace attendant walked in quickly and reported in a low voice:

"Your Highness, the Tingwei's men are here..."

"Yishuo is gone. Thank you again, Your Highness."

After hearing this, Yi Shuo kowtowed to Wei Zifu, stood up and walked out calmly.

Wei Zifu trembled, quickly followed him out, and shouted to the court officials waiting outside the palace gate:
"Go back and tell Zhao Yu that the court judge should make a good judgment. I will not interfere in life or death. But if Yi Shuo is tortured and insulted in the imperial prison, don't blame me for not being able to speak well in the future!"

……

The days passed by.

Liu Ju was always under house arrest in Bowang Garden, relying on Wei Kang to go out and gather information, but he could do nothing.

Since I learned that Yi Shuo was thrown into the Zhongdu prison by the Minister of Justice and no one was allowed to visit him.

A few days later, Wei Kang brought back even worse news:

"Your Highness, the court judge posted a notice today. Yi Shuo was sentenced to death by hanging for the crime of destroying and insulting a corpse. The execution will be carried out in public on the second day of next month in the West Market, which is adjacent to the Zhongdu Prison..."

In the past, many death row prisoners had to wait until the autumn and winter to be executed, which would give them more buffer time.

But now it is the autumn killing season, and the time interval between judgment and execution is much shorter.

"The second day of next month?"

When Liu Ju heard this, his heart was gripped violently.

Now it is less than a month away from the second day of next month. Not to mention that he is under house arrest and can't do anything, even if he is not under house arrest, it is difficult to resist Liu Che's will...

"Ugh……"

Guo Zhen and Ji Ping standing by also shook their heads and sighed with regret.

Yi Shuo has been working as a royal physician in Bowang Garden for such a long time. Although she doesn't like to join in the fun on weekdays, her quiet and gentle personality, coupled with the fact that she sometimes helps treat minor illnesses for the people in the mansion, naturally makes her popular.

Now that they know Yishuo won't live long, they feel a little upset.

While speaking.

"Your Highness, I have found something. This book may be able to refute Yi Shuo!"

A gray-haired old man walked in quickly without knocking, holding a few scrolls in his hands and shouting as he walked,
"There is a Lingshu chapter in the Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic, which contains the following record: 'After death, the body can be dissected and examined to see the hardness and fragility of its organs and the size of its viscera.'"

"This sentence proves that dissection is also a means to improve medical skills, so what Yishuo did was not subjective to destroy or insult the corpse."

"If we can prove this, even if Yishuo is guilty, he should not be sentenced to death..."

The visitor was no other than the Prince's Tutor Dong Zhongshu, who also lived in the backyard. After learning about Yishuo's situation, although he seemed to have no expression, he had been trying to find a way to rescue Yishuo in his own way.

"Mr. Dong, the court judge does not use the Yellow Emperor's Canon of Internal Medicine as the basis for deciding cases. If there is a strange case, it is also decided according to the Spring and Autumn Annals."

Liu Ju said helplessly to Old Dongtou.

He was very grateful to Old Dong for helping Yishuo at this time, but it was Emperor Liu Che's will to deal with Yishuo, and this was not a problem that could be solved by debate. What's more, the court judges were all cruel officials who only listened to Emperor Liu Che's orders. No one would give Old Dong a chance to debate.

If the old boss goes too far, he might even get himself into trouble.

"Special cases require arbitrary decisions. How can we just use the Spring and Autumn Annals to make decisions? This is extremely foolish. Who made these rules?"

Old Dong was also a stubborn person. He immediately stiffened his neck and started yelling helplessly.

"..."

Everyone looked sideways at Old Dong, and no one responded.

Old Dong was stunned for a moment, and finally reacted:

"It's all my fault. I was so foolish. How could I have come up with such a foolish idea in the first place..."

at this time.

"Report, Your Highness!"

There was a report from outside the door.
"Han Ling, the daughter of Marquis Long Yi, is outside the palace asking for a meeting!"

"Who are you talking about?"

Liu Ju thought he had heard it wrong. Wasn't Han Ling, the daughter of Long Yihou, the fiancée that Liu Che forced him to marry this time?
Although there was no rule in the Western Han Dynasty that girls were not allowed to show up in public, it didn't seem to be against the rules for Han Ling to come to the house on his own initiative before the marriage, right?

However, judging from the information Wei Kang had provided previously, this girl was not a person who followed the rules.

Just thinking so.

Dong Zhongshu has already given his advice:

"Please decline, Your Highness. If a man and a woman meet before they get married, it may be unlucky and may affect the relationship between the couple."

Liu Ju didn't care about this, but he was not in the mood at the moment, so he waved his hand to the crown prince Zhongdun who reported the news:

"Reject her."

"This person said that he had something important to discuss with Your Highness, and it was related to Yi Shuo."

The prince Zhongdun then added another sentence.

(End of this chapter)