I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 124 Smallpox? !
"Tell me how to investigate. I can call on the Yiluansi."

Although Empress Ma was also shocked by Song Shen's words, she grew up in the military camp after all, and had seen a lot of bloodshed. Her courage, character, and knowledge were far beyond those of ordinary women, and even stronger than many men.

So at this moment, she just paused and calmed down, staring at Song Shen and said:
"Give me a way."

Song Shen thought about it for a while, but still didn't say his guess, he just said:

"Can the Yiluansi people investigate the Eastern Palace at will?"

Queen Ma smiled faintly:

"Others can't, but I can."

Domineering!

Song Shen immediately said:
"I remember hearing that there was a concubine in the East Palace named Lu?"

"You might as well have someone check how many people in the East Palace are related to her, and then check her connections with the outside world."

Empress Ma did not call for help immediately, but looked straight at Song Shen for a long while before asking:

"How is this calculated?"

Song Shen cried out inwardly, "Oh no!"

He forgot that the reason why he could speak these things so boldly now was because he had studied with Liu Bowen for a period of time. If the original owner was here, he would be able to make sense of all the nonsense he said.

But Song Shen himself doesn't understand these things at all...

How to edit it?

Behind the screen.

Zhu Yuanzhang was also desperately winking at his sister, asking her not to make things difficult for Song Shen and to investigate if necessary. If she forced Song Shen to explain everything now, and if he didn't explain clearly, then there would be big trouble!

The matter of learning Taoism from Liu Bowen was originally just an excuse, why are you digging into the truth... Really!

But Empress Ma remained unmoved.

She just waited quietly for Song Shen to speak.

Song Shen was silent for a long time before he racked his brains to think of the Feng Shui novels he had read in his previous life.

"Although I am blind and cannot see the situation in this palace, and I have forgotten the structure of the palace, I can still see the qi."

"This is Kunning Palace, where the phoenix sings in the sky. It faces south and is opposite to Qianqing Palace where your majesty is in the south."

"As for the East Palace, I don't remember the exact name of the palace, but I can guess that it is located to the east of the Imperial Palace."

"Originally, the East Palace should be the residence with the second-highest aura after the Emperor and Empress, and there should be a four-clawed golden python hovering above it. But now the golden python on the top of the East Palace is covered in blood, and its partner is even wailing. This is extremely ominous, so I asked this question."

"The reason why the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess were excluded is because they are both in danger. Last time, I heard that a concubine in the East Palace was in trouble. After some calculations, I found out the problem. This is why I asked you to investigate thoroughly."

Although it sounds full of loopholes, for example, Song Shen only knows that the prince is the golden python but doesn't know what the prince's wife is represented by, so he just vaguely uses the word "partner" to fool people.

But it seems to be the case.

Queen Ma pondered and said:
"Ziwei, I don't mean to embarrass you. It's just that the Crown Prince is my own flesh and blood. If I want to thoroughly investigate his palace, I have to find a reason. Otherwise, even if I can make people move, my subordinates won't dare to really investigate thoroughly."

"Since you have explained it so clearly, I am relieved."

"Wait here for a while. I will go out and tell them something."

"Somebody come!"

Several palace servants came in from outside.

Empress Ma was still the mother of the country, and ordered:
"Go get some snacks to fill Ziwei's stomach. I'll be back soon."

"You guys take good care of him and serve him carefully."

Everyone responded in unison.

Song Shen had no other choice but to sit there and wait obediently.

Empress Ma first made a gesture, indicating Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao behind the screen to go out together with the palace servants, and then she leisurely left the main hall of Kunning Palace.

After the family of three went out, they went around to the side hall.

This is where the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Xiongying usually plays and studies. Now it is a good place for them to use.

As soon as he entered the door, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't wait to speak:

"Sister, why are you so aggressive and insist on getting Song Shen to come up with a reason? He knows those things because he is well versed in history, not because he can really read feng shui and tell fortunes. If he doesn't make up a story, how will this end!"

Empress Ma glanced at him coldly, said nothing, and then looked at Zhu Biao.

Seeing that her son did not overreact, she asked:

"Biao'er, what do you think?"

Zhu Biao thought for a moment and said:
"Mom, do you want to do the whole show?"

Queen Ma smiled with relief.

This is her cub! Smart!
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. He looked at his wife and then at his son, and said suspiciously:

"you……"

Queen Ma said unhappily:
"Although Song Shen is a kind-hearted person, he is not so easy to fool."

"Just based on his casual words, I, as the queen and mother, have to investigate the East Palace. How can it be so simple?"

"If that's the case, even if he can't react now, when he comes to his senses after leaving the palace, he will definitely think that there is something fishy about what happened today!"

"Zhongba, since you know he is well-versed in history, you should also know that he is not stupid. It is not that easy to get him to tell lies. It is said that three women make a play. How long have I, the queen, watched people perform? If you saw with your own eyes what those women in your harem are doing every day, it would be difficult for the Lord of Justice to solve the case!"

Well, I got scolded again.

Zhu Yuanzhang touched his nose and said nothing.

After all, my wife was telling the truth.

Apart from this humble couple, all the women in the harem were noble ladies who had been literate since childhood. Zhu Yuanzhang sometimes felt dizzy when he heard them making noises around him, not to mention Empress Ma who had to deal with them every day.

When it comes to pretending, no one is better than my wife.

"besides."

Queen Ma added:

"He even knows about history books. Aren't there enough things in history books about what the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and the fortune tellers said? He just picked out a passage and made up a story. As long as we don't really care about it, we can just fool him and he won't notice anything. But if we don't ask, then there will be a big problem."

"You reckless man, next time you ask me to do something, don't give me orders from behind. Have you heard that everyone has their own expertise?" Zhu Yuanzhang agreed awkwardly.

then.

He walked to the door and knocked three short and one long times, and someone immediately answered from outside.

"His Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang opened the door and saw Mao Xiang outside, so he waved to him to come in and talk.

When they saw Mao Xiang, Zhu Biao and Empress Ma were a little surprised.

"Didn't you send him to farm? Why is he here?"

Queen Ma was surprised.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked pleased, stroking his short beard and smiling:

"When you said you wanted to meet Song Shen, we called Mao Xiang back."

"Although Jiang Li has done a good job recently, he has been in charge for too short a time. This matter concerns the East Palace, so Mao Xiang has to come. Wasn't he asked to do the last Lu family matter?"

"Mao Xiang, tell them all how you dealt with Lu last time and what you found out. Don't worry, there is something wrong with Lu this time. The prince will definitely not blame you after hearing it!"

Even with His Majesty's words, Mao Xiang, as the commander of the Yiluansi, how could he not know the character of his own Majesty.

What he said was just like the red seal and iron certificate he issued, all bullshit.

After carefully observing Zhu Biao's expression and seeing that there was nothing unusual, Mao Xiang felt a little relieved and spoke respectfully.

"I went to the Imperial Hospital first last time. The doctor said that after Mrs. Lu's pregnancy stabilized for five or six months, they suggested that she go to the garden more often when she has time. This is good for the fetus and will also help with childbirth."

"Then I went to the East Palace, and sure enough, I saw Lady Lu being taken a walk outside the Chunhe Palace by a palace maid."

"There were people around her, so no matter how many tricks I used, I couldn't use them. So I designed a plan to have other people lead the palace maids away, and finally only one person was left with Lu. I also shoveled some moss on the cobblestone road along the route they went back and forth, causing her to fall and bleed profusely."

"The maid hurriedly ran to find the imperial physician. I knocked her unconscious and then sent her out of the palace. I told the public that she was beaten to death for failing to serve me well."

"I have also given the imperial physicians secret instructions in advance, asking them not to use all their strength to treat the baby, and just have the baby die."

This is the whole process of designing to cause Zhu Yunwen to die in the womb.

Zhu Biao turned pale when he heard this.

He had experienced the birth of the Crown Princess, but no man was allowed to enter the delivery room, not even the husband, not to mention that he was the Crown Prince, who was second only to the emperor. But even if he had not seen it with his own eyes, Zhu Biao had heard the screams for several hours. When Zhu Xiongying was born, his wife's voice was hoarse and she was completely exhausted.

Childbirth was so terrifying. Lu was eight months pregnant and had a miscarriage after falling. It was likely to result in two deaths.

Zhu Biao himself was an insider of this matter. He always felt guilty towards Mrs. Lu and did not dare to ask what happened, let alone meet her. So he has not visited Mrs. Lu until now.

But now, when Zhu Biao heard Song Shen say in person that he would thoroughly investigate the Eastern Palace and the Lu family, his heart, which had finally calmed down, finally died.

Neither Zhu Yuanzhang nor Empress Ma had any unusual reactions.

The former was used to seeing life and death, and the latter was also used to seeing women who were seriously injured or even died due to childbirth, difficult labor, or miscarriage. It's not that they didn't have empathy, they were just a little numb. In addition, Lu was not a good person to begin with, so they couldn't feel any sympathy for him at all.

Queen Ma was silent for a moment and asked:
"Then, His Majesty asked you to investigate the Lu family. Did you find anything?"

Mao Xiang bowed:

"In reply to the Queen, I investigated some things and reported them to Your Majesty. Many of them seemed insignificant at first glance, and there was nothing wrong with Lu herself. But Your Majesty just ordered me to connect the things inside and outside the palace. I do have a guess."

The three of them were all excited at the same time and asked in unison:
"What guess?!"

Mao Xiang was startled, but he couldn't afford to offend any of the three people in front of him, so he could only carefully cover his pounding heart to calm it down a little and continue to talk.

He thought for a while and said:

"Ms. Lu is from the Lu family. Her father is the current Minister of Rites, Lu Ben."

"Lü Ben has only one daughter, Lu, and no sons. Your Majesty should be very clear about his origins. He is a member of the Huaixi noble family and a native of Fengyang, but he is not a military general. He joined Your Majesty later when the uprising began, so he was only a secretary in the Secretariat at first."

"After leaving the Secretariat, his career was promoted step by step. He was only dismissed and impeached in the sixth and seventh years of the Hongwu reign. After being pardoned, he went to Beiping to serve as a deputy censor. After that, he made some achievements in some political discussions. At the beginning of this year, he was recalled to the capital and promoted to the Minister of Rites."

"Lü's father was roughly like this... Your Majesty, I have a question, but I don't know if I should ask it or not?"

The veins on Zhu Yuanzhang's forehead twitched.

If you don't know whether you should ask or not, don't ask. Doesn't Mao Xiang know this? !

But his wife's son beside him was looking at him with burning eyes, and he had something important to do, so he didn't want to get angry. He just nodded casually, indicating Mao Xiang to speak directly.

Mao Xiang asked cautiously in a low voice:
"You promoted Lü Ben to the position of Minister of Rites. Does this have anything to do with Lü's pregnancy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth:
"... a little, but not much. Most of it is because of Lu Ben's own ability."

Mao Xiang nodded thoughtfully, but did not continue the topic. Instead, he changed the subject and said:

"I have found out that the Lu family has a farm in the suburbs of Beijing. When they encounter refugees fleeing to the capital, the farm often provides relief by providing porridge, so it has a good reputation."

"But the manor is closed on weekdays. My subordinates checked and found out that there are not many people in the manor, so if they encounter really pitiful refugees, they will take them in and let them help with work and have food to eat. However, many of these people are disabled or sick, so it is not easy to open the door for fear of affecting the surrounding villages."

Zhu Biao blurted out:

"That's a good thing! Any questions?"

Empress Ma and Zhu Yuanzhang both looked at their son as if he were a fool.

This child...is he honest?

No one paid any attention to Zhu Biao. Empress Ma frowned and asked Mao Xiang:
"Then, have you sent anyone to check inside the village?"

"Is there a problem?"

Mao Xiang's face twitched:
"We did send them, but the brother who sneaked in died of illness not long after he came out. He had smallpox and a high fever. We had to burn him in the end."

"I don't know what kind of disease there is. At that time, I thought that maybe, as the rumors say, the people in the manor are miserable people with many disasters and diseases. Those of us who are strong and healthy will definitely be able to withstand it and be infected by the disease. So I didn't investigate it further. Because the people from the Yiluansi were not killed in there, this blame cannot be put on them anyway."

"Only later..."

"Later, a few brave ones insisted on going in. They all wore masks to cover their mouths and noses, and took precautions as if they were entering an epidemic village. They were fine, but when they came out, they told me that all the people kept inside were girls, ranging in age from a few years old to teenagers, and all of them were suffering from smallpox."

"Even the people who were taking care of them had pockmarks on their faces. They looked like they had had an accident."

Zhu Yuanzhang, Empress Ma and Zhu Biao all felt a chill down their spines.

smallpox……

The Lu family is raising someone with smallpox? !

(End of this chapter)