In the imperial study, Emperor Shenzong Zhu Yijun was sitting in front of the desk wearing a bright yellow dragon robe. A unicorn-shaped incense burner blew out wisps of cigarette smoke.
Chief Assistant Shen Shixing sat on a sandalwood chair at the bottom with a respectful expression. Shenzong glanced at him and said slowly: "I am very worried about the Jiangnan plague. Have you written the cabinet draft?" Shen Shixing said: "Your Majesty, the cabinet has already drafted the draft."
Emperor Shenzong said: "Oh. Let's hear it." Shen Shixing said: "The cabinet approved the governor of Zhejiang's proposal, and the Ministry of Rites instructed the Prime Minister of Taiyuan Hospital about it." Shenzong said: "Did the silver used for disaster relief be reported to the Ministry of Personnel? ?" Shen Shixing said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the officials won't be able to come up with the money."
Shenzong was startled and said: "Don't you want to tell me that the matter at Prince Fu's residence will continue to be slowed down?" Shen Shixing said: "Old minister, I have no such intention." Shenzong said: "I have no such intention. You are just showing off. Ming Ming, blame it on me." Shen Shixing's expression changed, he knelt down and said: "It is a crime for a minor minister to die."
Shenzong waved his hands and said: "Get up. If I don't go to court, your ministers will clamor to establish a prince. Now that I have agreed to this matter, when will the palace of King Fu be repaired, when will I canonize the prince? As of now, Jiangnan plague, the officials will take it. No money is given. The people are my subjects, and Prince Fu is also my son. The palms and backs of these hands are all flesh.
If I ignore the people because of the restoration of the Prince's palace, I am afraid that I, the emperor, will be in vain. I won’t let you embarrass me, and you can’t embarrass me either. The matter of repairing the palace of Prince Fu was temporarily detained, and the matter of canonizing the prince was postponed. What does Mr. Ge think? "
Shen Shixing understood that Shenzong was continuing to delay, and if the Ming Dynasty's crown prince was not established for a day, the country's foundation would be shaken, which would ultimately be detrimental to the Ming Dynasty. But now to solve this urgent need, the only thing that can be mobilized is this amount of money. As the chief minister of the cabinet, he can only make a decision on this matter with one sentence. However, if he agrees to this matter, those officials may have to go to court to impeach him.
He lowered his head and said nothing, and Shenzong said impatiently: "Shen Shixing, did you hear what I said clearly?" Shen Shixing raised his head and said, "I'm afraid I don't have the final say on this matter alone?" Shenzong said: "I put the cabinet's This position has been given to you, and I hope you can do more than Zhang Siwei. Now it seems I was wrong?"
Shen Shixing knelt down, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said: "Your majesty is wise and wise, I just obey the orders." Shenzong smiled and said: "Okay, Zhang Jing, give the drafted ticket to the elder. I'm tired, you guys retreat. Come on." Seeing Shenzong walking out of the study, Shen Shi couldn't help but sigh.
Zhang Jing, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, helped Shen Shixing up and said, "Mr. Ge, we are all on errands for the emperor. We will do whatever the master says, so why bother?" Shen Shixing pushed Zhang Jing away, glared at him, and walked away. go.
Zhang Jing looked at Shen Shixing's back and said, "How are you so arrogant? How about the cabinet? You're not just a slave running errands for your master." A young eunuch interrupted: "Grandpa is right. I mean, this old man Shen Shixing The boy really doesn't understand current affairs." Zhang Jing sneered: "He won't be proud for a few days."
But Xiao Yunfan got the advice from the swallow and rushed to the ruined temple in the west of the town. As soon as he entered the temple gate, he saw two beggars lying on the ground, with blood pouring from the corners of their mouths. He leaned over and probed their noses, and then took their pulses. These two beggars had been dead for a long time.
He carefully checked the cause of death of the two beggars, and found that they had their neck bones crushed and died. He couldn't help but wonder: "It seems that the murderer arrived here earlier and killed the two of them. Could it be that someone from the Ghost Sect did it?" Then he reached out and groped around the two beggars' bodies, and found two pieces of oil paper. When you open the packet, you will see white powder inside.
He said to himself: "This is probably the poisonous powder they used to create the plague. I might as well find a doctor to take a look at this thing. Maybe I can find a way to restrain it."
When he returned to town, he found the hospital closed. In front of the door, a child of about seven or eight years old was sitting on the ground playing. Xiao Yunfan asked the child: "Child, the plague is rampant now? Why are you playing here alone?"
The child raised his head and said, "My father is dead, my mother is also dead, and I have nowhere to go." Xiao Yunfan said with pity in his heart: "That child, let me ask you, where is the home of the doctor in the medical clinic?" The child replied: "You said Doctor Liu died earlier." Xiao Yunfan asked curiously: "Dead? Could it be that someone killed him?"
The child said: "No, uncle. Doctor Liu hanged himself." Xiao Yunfan was confused and asked: "Are there other doctors in this town?" The child said: "I heard that the doctors in this town seem to be They are all dead, so no one treats us." Xiao Yunfan said: "Your parents are dead, how come you are fine?"
The child said: "A big brother gave me a pill a few days ago, and he told me to take it, so I'm fine." Xiao Yunfan said: "Where is that big brother now? Can you take me to find him?" The child said: "Big brother told me to go find him when it gets dark."
Xiao Yunfan thought to himself, "The big brother this kid talks about must be proficient in medicine. I might as well meet this guy. Maybe he has a way to detoxify everyone." The kid looked at Xiao Yunfan and said, "Uncle, do you have anything to eat?" Xiao Yunfan took out a steamed bun from his arms and handed it to the child.
Xiao Yunfan saw that the child was eating delicious food and said, "Child, eat more slowly. It's not enough. Uncle has more here." The child nodded. Xiao Yunfan said: "What is your name?" The child said: "My name is Qin Ying." Xiao Yunfan said: "You are helpless now, what are your plans for the future?" The child said: "The elder brother said, When he finishes his work, he will take me away from here."
At night, Xiao Yunfan and Qin Ying came to a cemetery. Xiao Yunfan thought to himself: "Is this child a ghost? This dear man has no place to be reincarnated, so he shouldn't look for this child." He was muttering. Qin Ying suddenly ran forward and saw a man standing on the tombstone.
Xiao Yunfan cupped his hands and said, "Hello, my dear friend. Do you know your surname?" The man wore a shabby hat and said to Qin Ying with a straight face: "Hey, little guy, why do you bring outsiders to see me so casually?" Qin Ying touched his head and said, "Brother, this uncle is a good man." The young man in the hat frowned and said, "You silly boy, is it written on your face that you are a good guy or a bad guy?"
Xiao Yunfan said: "I'm just presumptuous, because I heard this kid mention that my dear friend has a pill to avoid poison. The people here are suffering from the plague, so I came here to ask for it." The young man looked at Xiao Yunfan, his feet At one point, he did a somersault in mid-air and stood on the ground. The young man asked: "I don't want to buy this pill."
Xiao Yunfan said: "Oh. Since my dear brother is willing to give medicine to this child, why not to other villagers?" The young man said: "It's my business whether I give it to him or not. The pills are mine. I can give them to whomever I like." , It seems to be none of your business, right?" Xiao Yunfan smiled and said: "As the saying goes, 'Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda.' If my dear fellow, you can save the lives of the people nearby, everyone will definitely thank you for your kindness."
The young man tutted: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you sound like a monk. It's a pity that I don't believe in Buddhism. It's useless if I want a seven-level pagoda. Even if you tell the truth, I won't take out the pills." Xiao Yunfan said. "Since you don't want to save people, can you pass on the prescription to save people and let me save them?" The young man shook his head and said, "No. How can I give away the prescription that I worked so hard to come up with?"
Xiao Yunfan said: "Since you don't want to give it away, I can pay for it." The young man said: "Are you deaf? I said I won't sell it, so I won't sell it." Suddenly his eyes saw the long sword behind Xiao Yunfan, Said: "However, it is not completely non-negotiable." Xiao Yunfan saw that his tone softened and smiled: "So your Excellency is willing to make conditions."
The young man said: "Don't be too happy first. If you want to know the boy's prescription, you must defeat me." This young man was none other than Feng Huahao, a disciple of Changchun Island who appeared at Xuanbing Villa that day. He escaped from the island because he accidentally broke his master's favorite Ru kiln azure peony bowl with dragon pattern.
He originally wanted to find an identical item before his master returned to the island, but he traveled all the way to the border of Huizhou and visited all the major antique stores but could not find anything like it. After he left Xuanbing Villa that day, he went to several antique shops to inquire, but still found nothing. Unexpectedly, within a few days, a plague broke out in Huizhou.
The founders of Changchun Island are closely related to the founders of Shennong Valley, so the disciples of Changchun Island are also involved in medicine. However, the symptoms of the plague were very strange and he was helpless. In the past few days, he had been running around collecting medicinal herbs. He met the boy Qin Ying outside this town. What he gave Qin Ying was poison-avoiding pills, which could not detoxify him.
When Xiao Yunfan heard that he wanted to fight, he smiled and said: "Since my dear brother is so elegant, I will accompany you." Feng Huibao stretched out a hand and said: "Wait a minute, you and I fight, we have to make a rule." Xiao Yunfan said. : "What rules?" Feng Huibao said: "The first is the rules for winning and losing; the second is the rules for fighting."
Xiao Yunfan said: "Okay, your Excellency will come up with the question." Feng Huibao said: "If you lose to the boy, I will lend you the sword on your back to play for two days. If you win, I will tell you the prescription." Xiao Yunfan said "What's the big deal about the sword you want? I'll just give it to you." Feng waved her hair and said happily, "Are you serious?" Xiao Yunfan reached out to unbuckle the sword and prepared to hand it to him.
Unexpectedly, Feng Huibao made a serious face and said, "No, I didn't win, so I can't take advantage of you in vain. You'd better put your sword away first." Feng Huibao scratched his cheek and said, "Usually, others fight in the open. , the two of us will fight backwards, what do you think?"
Xiao Yunfan heard that the comparison he said was very interesting, and thought to himself: "This man's temper is very compatible with mine." He then took off the sword and the baggage, let Qin Ying hold it, and then said: "Okay, since If you have a question, I will accompany you."
Feng waved his hand and said: "We are fighting backwards. Each of us only needs to use one hand. Whoever's foot hits the ground first loses. What do you think?" Xiao Yunfan said: "Okay, it's up to you."
Feng Huibao immediately took off his hat, threw it casually, and put it on Qin Ying's head. He smiled and said to Qin Ying: "Little guy, you should stay away. If the two of us fight, I'm afraid it will hurt you." Qin Ying took two steps back after hearing what he said.
