20demayo Chapter 130 The Evil of Human Nature
Chapter 130 The Evil of Human Nature
At such a young age, Xia Muning didn't even know the names of the teachers and guards. The two corpses would slowly rot in the well. Xia Muning put his hands together and gently said an apology to the two corpses.
If Xia Muning hadn't reacted quickly and decisively, pushing the young scholar out, his fate wouldn't have been much better than the scholar's if he had been discovered.
Xia Muning felt a little sad and regretful, but she didn't regret it. This little teacher had brought Xia Muning here with malicious intent.
The affair between Prime Minister Jiang and the Empress Dowager was not a secret in the palace, at least not to Le Wentao. He used this to try to kill Xia Muning.
He wanted Xia Muning dead, but he didn't want to do it himself; he wanted to use someone else to do it!
If Xia Muning is discovered, even without Le Wentao's intervention, the Empress Dowager and Prime Minister Jiang can find a thousand ways to kill him.
However, this young scholar who was pushed in front of Prime Minister Jiang will shift the Empress Dowager's attention to Yue Wentao. Good, let Yue Wentao taste the feeling of shooting himself in the foot!
It's a pity that, in order to prevent the young scholar from escaping, the whip was left on his body and not removed. This was discovered by Prime Minister Jiang, which is a potential problem!
Xia Muning tensed up and carefully observed his surroundings to see if anyone else was there. He needed to be extra careful now and could not afford to make the slightest mistake.
Once back in his palace, Xia Muning finally felt relieved. All he needed to do now was lie in bed, pretend to be fast asleep, and clear himself of all suspicion.
Xia Muning slowly drifted into a deep dream, while Le Xingxi wished that everything she had experienced was just a dream.
Qiantang is dead! But Le Xingxi's fear did not disappear. His face burned with pain, and he looked ugly and disheveled. He lay in Zhongtian's arms without crying. He just stared silently at the corpse on the ground.
Zhongtian looked at the redness and swelling on Le Xingxi's face with heartache. A man's face is so important! If it is not treated, it will leave a scar.
"Xingxi, did you bring your medicine?"
Le Xingxi's voice was muffled, and there was a hint of pain in her voice as she spoke: "No."
Le Xingxi had a lot of medicine for injuries, but none for treating the scars caused by beatings. He had thought he might go hungry or get sick, but he never expected to be beaten, especially with those forced slaps.
Zhongtian gently touched Le Xingxi's face with his fingertips, and Le Xingxi recoiled in pain.
"Xingxi, stop talking! We need to find a doctor."
Zhao Duan, with a sorrowful expression, collected his mother's remains. Hearing Zhong Tian say that he wanted to find a doctor, he stepped forward somewhat timidly and said, "Madam Zhong, may I take a look?"
"You know medicine?" Zhong Tian was quite surprised.
Zhao Duan was a little embarrassed: "You know what I... do?"
He was a little embarrassed to talk about it, but he quickly regained his composure and continued, "There are always some guests with special hobbies, but fortunately, I met a kind brother who seemed to be a medical student himself, but he still taught me everything he knew."
Zhao Duan skillfully took out bottles and jars of medicinal herbs from his sachet and began to prepare medicine for Le Xingxi.
Taking this opportunity, Nakata asked from the side, "Do you know who your mother works for?"
Zhao Duan's hands kept moving, but his tone was full of hesitation: "Madam Zhong, I am a man. My mother avoids me when she discusses matters with others. I only overheard snippets of conversation, saying that our weapons will be collected by a specialist every once in a while."
Will someone come to collect it?
"What time? What place?" Nakata asked hurriedly.
"I don't know, but the last time was a month ago."
After hesitating for a long time, Nakata finally asked his question: "Why have you fallen to this state?"
Zhao Duan spoke calmly, but Zhong Tian could hear the deep sorrow in his voice. He slowly recounted the little-known past of Lizhen.
“Our Lizhen used to be a rather remote place. Although we were poor, everyone was very hardworking, so even though life was tough, we were still able to get by!”
"But unforeseen events can happen at any time. A few years ago, a great plague broke out in Lizhen, and everyone was on the verge of death. The government reported to the imperial court, but the court ignored it and left us to fend for ourselves!"
"When everyone was in despair, a great benefactor appeared, took out herbs and food, and saved us from our predicament."
"This great philanthropist had only one request: that we forge weapons for her. This was a risky business, and my mother knew it, but people's lives were simply unbearable! In addition, there were grievances against the court's inaction in the face of death, so she agreed."
"At first, everything was fine. The kind man would provide plenty of iron ore and enough silver. But recently, he stopped providing the iron and the money, but he still demands weapons! If the goods are not delivered on time, he will kill people."
As Zhao Duan spoke of this, tears streamed down his arm, his voice filled with terror.
"I have never seen so much blood. The blood on the ground slowly turned the yellowish-brown earth red. It couldn't be wiped off, it couldn't be removed! In order to survive, the men of Li Town began to sell their bodies to feed this bottomless pit!"
As Yue Xingxi listened, he grew increasingly puzzled. He asked, "Was the plague five years ago?"
"Yes!" Zhao Duan remembered it very clearly.
Looking at Zhao Duan's expression with some sympathy, Le Xingxi slowly said, "Zhao Duan, I have something to tell you. Listen carefully: the imperial court has allocated funds for the plague in Lizhen!"
Zhao Duan looked at Le Xingxi in shock.
Le Xingxi remembers it very clearly: five years ago, there was a plague in Lizhen.
At that time, His Majesty had just ascended the throne. When he heard about the plague, he was very distressed. He believed that he had not been diligent enough in governing the country and had angered Heaven, which led to the disaster.
However, the imperial court had just finished its campaign against the Southern Frontier Kingdom, and the national treasury was empty. Someone proposed a fundraising campaign, which quickly received a response.
So, in the front court, Prime Minister Jiang took the lead, and in the harem, the Empress Dowager took the lead, to raise funds for Li. The reason why Le Xingxi was so impressed was that after hearing about this, she donated her favorite and most expensive jewelry. She remembered that she was heartbroken for a long time at that time!
Zhao Duan covered his face and cried, crying heartbrokenly. He never expected the truth to be like this.
The imperial court has not abandoned them; for so many years they have lived in a huge lie, acting as accomplices to evil!
Guo Mao rushed in from outside. Seeing Zhao Duan crying, she didn't have time to comfort her. Her eyes were filled with panic as she said to the people in the room, "Something terrible has happened! Everyone who was imprisoned in the cave is dead!"