The Deposed Crown Prince had Three Lifelong Regrets - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

In the ninth year of Zhizheng, the Empress’s contact with the imperial court grew tighter. When an epidemic capable of causing insanity struck the capital, she urgently sent the Crown Prince to the countryside.

The epidemic was raging fiercely, and local governments everywhere were in chaos.

Furthermore, the Emperor’s uncle’s old followers seized the opportunity to sell opium transported from the border in the Qilu region, causing the entire court to become volatile and unstable.

Empress Zhu resolutely decided to eliminate the threat once and for all. Since the addiction could not be broken, she secretly used martial arts factions to spread the plague.

The sudden severe illness in the capital was undeniably linked to foreign tribes, and this latest development led to the plague’s spread. The Emperor and Empress consulted and decided that they could not lose their wife and forfeit their troops. They simply had Zhu Lingwei go to supervise the work and establish her authority.

The arrow was on the string and had to be shot, but once released, the arrow could no longer be controlled.

The plague in the Qilu region could not be contained. Two entire counties died out within half a month. The Censorate conducted a secret investigation and found that the Song family was hoarding and inflating the price of medicine, while the Mo family was entrusted to help.

The night was moonless and silent.

A cold crow perched on a branch. The Imperial Medical Office tried to deduce the components of the only five existing antidote bottles based on samples.

The admitted patients suffered from persistent high fever and mental confusion. Their armpits and necks were swollen, and their skin was patchy and black.

Prescriptions, primarily based on Houttuynia cordata, were replaced one after another, and they even mixed two mutually restrictive herbs, just to gamble on the so-called miracle.

Zhu Lingyi guarded the Imperial Medical Office. She intentionally maintained her dignified appearance, trying to wait elegantly and gracefully for the results of the compounding.

But she couldn’t do it.

Heaven was determined to destroy her. Just when the woman had secured a few minor rights in the court, she made a wrong decision.

Famine, plague, madness.

What was wrong with wanting power? What was wrong with a few common people dying?

A little eunuch rushed past Zhu Lingyi and accidentally bumped into her. Immediately, the desk was slammed, rattling three times.

The servants below shrank and knelt in a mass. Zhu Lingyi’s chest heaved violently, and she had to clutch the desk to stay steady.

“Get out! Everyone unrelated, get out!”

She stood and paused for a moment, then collapsed onto the stool in despair.

Soon, the Empress regained her last shred of composure. She summoned her trusted aides and instructed them to send one of the bottles of antidote to the Crown Prince, who was far away in the countryside.

The imperial guards sent to deliver the antidote were ambushed en route, and the small bottle containing the antidote shattered into pieces.

The antidote was gone. Zhu Lingwei, stationed in the Qilu region, naturally couldn’t produce antibodies by extracting her blood and dissolving it in water to save the refugees. Now, she was merely a person in disguise, locked up as a prisoner in a dungeon.

Her identity was that of a physician sent from above. She had extensive contact with the refugees but had not been infected with the plague to this day.

It was only then that she realized she must have taken the antidote in advance, and the bottle her Imperial Mother planned to send was probably a diversion.

The sole heir of the dynasty could not die in an obscure prison. Someone bribed the jailers, who conveyed messages during meal deliveries.

Zhu Lingwei’s ankle was inexplicably uncomfortable. Leaning against the mottled wall, she randomly beat the iron gate, diligently playing the role of a distraught physician.

“One can still know what’s happening in the world even in prison. His Highness, who is recovering at home, has submitted a memorial, demanding a thorough investigation of the plague case.”

Many people crawled to the iron gate, listening to their cellmate talk across the aisle.

She also looked sideways. The person speaking was a young man in rags.

“She is an extraordinary woman. Auspicious signs appeared at her birth, and every word in her memorial hits the nail on the head.”

The fake Crown Prince was recovering in the palace, while the real Crown Prince was in prison, using a thorn from the wooden pillar to stab the small bugs in her food, letting them crawl onto Lu Fengmian’s body to avoid the rats. She pretended to pester the guards to extract news from the palace.

“I think we won’t be in much trouble. Look, Miss Lu from the Zhao family is here, and Miss Xiang Hao from the Mo family is also here…”

Others sneered, “Who doesn’t know the plague was his doing? He secretly wanted to seize power. How many upright officials wrote memorials to the Emperor, yet His Majesty still protects that despicable villain?”

Lu Fengmian listened, filled with apprehension, but she forced herself to maintain a composed, immovable facade.

Although she knew the probability of being safe was high, no one could control the rampant plague. Empress Zhu’s sincerity was inconsistent; she revealed some inner information yet was willing to send her here.

She was unsure if she would get infected, so she didn’t take unnecessary risks.

Zhu Lingwei’s identity was a mystery. No one in the prison besides her knew the prisoner’s real name.

This was a year of famine. Many people were imprisoned for stealing food. Initially, people were smiling, saying it was better to come in and get a meal than starve to death outside.

But the daily beatings that led to festering wounds, combined with the sandy, unpalatable food, caused many to die.

She felt horrified, but Zhu Lingwei, with her grand airs, would only scoff. In times of famine, human lives were as worthless as grass, and all living beings were treated as sacrificial dogs.

Later, people from the martial arts world were sent by the Mo family to break into the prison, rescuing the person surnamed Mo and other Taoist priests. At this point, the surrounding townships were already blockaded, and normally escape would be impossible, but the fake Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace had sent a secret message for the high-ranking officials and nobles still in the plague area to protect themselves.

Before leaving, Mo Xianghao specifically asked Zhu Lingwei, who was making faces at the cell, if she wanted to leave with her.

Since Lu Fengmian was from an official family, unauthorized escape from prison would implicate her family, so she didn’t ask Lu Fengmian but turned to Zhu Lingwei.

The other party must have mistaken her for a martial arts acquaintance.

She smiled and said, “Someone will come to pick me up. Don’t worry.”

“The sooner you leave, the better. Just come with me. It’s not like I’m going to eat you. Delaying will only lead to more complications,” Mo Xianghao said with disdain.

Zhu Lingwei pushed Lu Fengmian backhand, tilting her head to indicate that a way out was right in front of them.

The dumbfounded Lu Fengmian naturally couldn’t leave. She immediately let out a cold snort. She pretended to kick the other person and then turned to lean against the straw pile on the inner side of the cell.

For some reason, an odd atmosphere always arose when these two were together.

Due to their differing statuses, although they were childhood friends, there was always some barrier between them.

Both were worried about causing trouble, fearing that the other might harbor ulterior motives. Even among friends, constant probing was necessary, and their interactions were always restrained and awkwardly petty.

Lu Fengmian was always a sober-minded person, capable of hiding her edge and avoiding prominence. She appeared to be profoundly wise, yet not cowardly or shy.

Even the sporadic timidity was likely not entirely genuine.

Her current awkward posture was very much in line with a young woman in love.

Even though it was only Mo Xianghao’s misunderstanding, in her eyes, as an outsider, the two were indeed being strange, making one instinctively want to stay away.

Mo Xianghao felt the air becoming polluted and couldn’t bear it for another moment. She finally left a parting word.

“You two… take care of yourselves.”

Lu Fengmian instinctively felt she should explain but also thought that rejecting the kind offer was not a big deal in the current situation, so there was no need for a special explanation.

She suppressed the urge to speak.

A “click” sounded, and the prison lock suddenly opened.

Following the sound, she saw Crown Prince Zhu retracting the hairpin and slipping it back into her sleeve, then getting up and kicking the door open. The entire sequence was smooth and seamless.

Swallowing, she followed the gesture of the person waving her over. Her wrist was instantly seized, and the two of them ran, one after the other.

Not waiting for anyone else to rescue them, they simply followed the route cleared by the Mo family, galloping quickly all the way.

Picking up a wooden pole prepared in advance, they turned to flee onto another path that still had guards. In fact, it was the same whether anyone blocked the way or not. The guards completely ignored them, and when they passed right in front of them, the guards desperately craned their necks upward, pretending not to see the escapees.

Zhu Lingwei successfully hid in a cellar using a terrible, improvised stick fighting technique.

After pushing the person she was holding inside first, a guard rushed over. He hurried up, realizing he could actually catch up, and instantly panicked.

Following the principle of seeing the performance through and sending the Buddha all the way to the West, Zhu Lingwei used the pole to feign an attack. Just as she extended the pole without putting any force behind it, the guard tumbled back about 6.6 meters.

The round guard, who clearly had gorged himself on illicit gains, lay on the ground, hugging his legs and groaning in pain.

Lu Fengmian was the first to enter the cellar. It was pitch black inside. She cautiously moved to the side to make room for the person who was about to descend.

As soon as she moved, two rows of torches immediately lit up the surroundings.

It was a long, narrow tunnel, with no end in sight.

Zhu Lingwei quickly descended, inserting the door bolt from the inside, and climbed down the embedded ladder.

Only a thin wooden board separated them, yet no one broke the door down. Outside, there was only the clamor of people beating their chests and stomping their feet.

Originally, she needed a short person to enter and lead the way, but she forgot in the chaos. She didn’t mind, but she wondered what that person was feeling now.

The journey here had been anything but pleasant. Eighty percent of the people knew they were allowing the escape, and the remaining twenty percent hadn’t been informed and were rash.

If she hadn’t been able to read people’s expressions, she might have been arrested on the spot.

There were so many reckless people in the world that Zhu Lingwei even gained a few more bruises.

“I was distributing relief grain at the porridge stall and was arrested here. Was it because I added too much water, or because I put husks in the grain and scraped people’s throats?”

Zhu Lingwei tilted her head. Seeing that her attempt at banter didn’t elicit a smile from the beauty, she became serious.

Exiting this tunnel would take them out of the city. Then, they could quickly distance themselves from the Qilu region or head back to the capital to seek refuge.

Halfway through the tunnel, she suddenly stopped.

“You go back and find the Empress first.” She should have added that the Empress wouldn’t make things difficult for her, but Zhu Lingwei didn’t say it aloud.

Her Imperial Mother was too affectionate and not ruthless enough. Of course, this only applied to juniors like them. Had she not been the Empress’s only healthy child, raised by her mother’s side since childhood, she wouldn’t have understood her concern for Lu Fengmian.

It was different from the way one would treat the daughter of a close friend who passed away.

The affection was devoid of any pampering, feeling much like the way the Emperor and Empress interacted: outwardly harmonious, but emotionally distant.

The generous treatment of the Zhao daughter was only because it was proper protocol. Making her risk her life to come to Qilu and constantly reminding the world that she was not her real daughter.

The Zhao daughter did not need to achieve great merits; she was more like a funerary object sharing honor and wealth, a sacrifice for the Zhu family’s glory.

This was the so-called way of the ruler and subject.

Lu Fengmian was clear-headed. She regarded Empress Zhu as her master early on and lived freely. Compared to her own family, who showed no regard for her late mother’s face, this person still provided all the help she could. As long as their interests didn’t clash, she would even lend a hand even if it meant a slight loss.

Furthermore, Empress Zhu wasn’t particularly good to any of her other relatives and was terrifyingly harsh to herself. She really couldn’t ask for anything more.

“If the Empress ranks herself first,” she thought, “then I should rank fifth or sixth.”

When living under someone else’s roof, fewer complaints are always better.

But leaving Zhu Lingwei and going back would undoubtedly lead to a barrage of kind inquiries. In that case, she might as well stay and share some of the credit.

“I refuse to accept.” Lu Fengmian spread her hands.

Zhu Lingwei neither rushed nor got angry. Her brown eyes watched the other person.

“If we go back now, we are slapping the face of the entire yamen (local government office).”

It was as if this person suddenly forgot the meaning of knowing when to retreat. Lu Fengmian immediately nodded in agreement, lifted her feet, and started walking back.

This series of actions, fast and furious, made her exasperated.

The area near the wooden board had quieted down. The only remaining voice was very jarring, constantly questioning the person next to him why they let the criminals escape and why they were stopping him from smashing the door.

In fact, both of them were unfairly arrested. They had been distributing relief grain every day for ten years. The soldiers passing by insisted they were inciting the masses and arrested them.

Fortunately, neither of them were truly common people. Taking this opportunity to see the true face of the local officials was a win-win situation.

Because of the arguing, the sound of the door bolt was covered up, making it seem to outsiders that the wooden board was suddenly thrown open.

Without any warning, two heads popped out of the ground.

The head surnamed Lu was looking at them with a sly smile, while the head surnamed Zhu was as dark as water.

The officials in the yamen were shocked, their souls trembling.

Everyone wore looks of great alarm. Zhu Lingwei smiled apologetically. Before she could stand steady after climbing out of the cellar, the person who had been shouting about smashing the wooden board suddenly rushed over.

He grabbed her collar and raised his fist to strike.

With too many things happening at once, Lu Fengmian was the first to react and tried to stop him. The crowd rushed to separate the two, offering comfort to both.

Zhu Lingwei was hit once, leaving a bruise around her left eye. The hand hanging by her side clenched and unclenched. It took her a long time to persuade herself again not to stoop to the level of a brute.