dognovel Chapter 172 The Crown Prince Observes Mourning
Chapter 172 The Crown Prince Observes Mourning
The four of them, along with Wei Yonghuai, quickly returned to the Duke of Wei's mansion.
In Min Wenqian's room, apart from Zhu Huaning, Yu Chi Rui, Luo Lixian, and Qing Cui were all present.
Most importantly, the two doctors argued in front of Min Wenqian's bedside, and they argued so heatedly that they were almost about to fight!
"What are you doing?"
Faced with the tense atmosphere inside, Min Qiang couldn't help but shout.
The doctor in the gray robe saw him return and hurriedly stepped forward, saying, "Steward Min, you've come back just in time. The Duke is on his last breath. If you have any filial piety, hurry up and see him one last time!"
Another doctor in a gray robe said indignantly, "The Duke was clearly poisoned, yet you insist that he is on his deathbed. How can the Duke rest in peace if you disregard the facts like this?"
Min Qiang looked at the gray-robed doctor and asked, "Who are you?"
The gray-robed doctor pointed at Qingcui and said, "My surname is Xiao, and I was invited by this young lady to examine the Duke!"
Qingcui immediately explained, "Steward Min, the Duke is seriously ill. His Highness the Crown Prince heard that Physician Hua had gone out, so he asked me to invite a doctor for the Duke. Unexpectedly, Physician Xiao and Physician Li, whom you invited, had different opinions after examining the Duke."
Gu Simo immediately stepped forward and, after examining Min Wenqian on the bed, raised her voice and said, "Stop arguing, everyone! The Duke's time is almost up. If you have anything to say to the Duke, say it now!"
Unable to accept it, Min Qiang rushed to the bedside, grasped Min Wenqian's withered hand, and cried out in grief, "Lord Duke...you can't leave me behind..."
Yu Chi Rui, enraged, pointed at Gu Simo and said, "You surnamed Hua, you have been in charge of treating my maternal grandfather's illness, but Doctor Xiao said that my maternal grandfather's illness is incurable and caused by poisoning. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
Gu Simo met his anger with a calm expression, "Does Your Highness mean that I poisoned the Duke? Can Your Highness provide any evidence?"
Yu Chi Rui then gave Qing Cui a wink.
Qingcui went outside and soon brought in a maid.
It was Xiao Feng, the maid who usually helped Gu Simo prepare medicine.
"Xiao Feng, tell me what you know!"
Faced with Qingcui's stern expression, Xiaofeng asked blankly, "Miss Qingcui, what do you want me to say?"
Qingcui was slightly taken aback, her face turning quite ugly as she said, "Didn't you tell me that Huaxin tampered with the Duke's medicine? You even said you saw it with your own eyes!"
Xiao Feng knelt down and exclaimed, "Miss Qingcui, please don't talk nonsense! I never said anything like that!"
"You!" Qingcui stared at her in horror.
“Miss Qingcui, have you misunderstood something? Physician Hua has been doing her best to treat the Duke. If she wanted to harm the Duke, she wouldn’t have stood by and let him fall critically ill. The Duke’s health is so poor, why would she need to do anything to him!” Xiao Feng tried her best to explain. “I did tell you that Physician Hua added something to the medicine, but those things are specially made by Physician Hua for treating the Duke. They cannot be leaked. Besides, I don’t understand pharmacology and can’t explain it clearly. So I can only say that Physician Hua added something to the medicine.”
"You...you dare to betray me?!" Qingcui could hardly believe that the maid she had bribed with a hundred taels of silver would turn against her at this moment!
“Miss Qingcui, I am a servant of the Duke of Wei’s mansion. How could I have betrayed you?” Xiao Feng crawled to Min Qiang’s feet, grabbed the hem of his robe, and cried. “Steward Min, you must stand up for me! I did nothing wrong. I don’t know why Miss Qingcui called me in and said those things to me, as if I were her person!”
Yu Chi Rui watched from the side, his eyes gloomy and his face ashen. He wished he could strangle Qing Cui first and then kill this maid named Xiao Feng!
The plan was flawless, but it turns out that Xiao Feng's defection was a ruse...
He glanced at the old man on the bed, who was emaciated and on the verge of death, and suddenly drew his sword, pointing it angrily at Gu Simo. "Hua Xin, since you dared to take on my maternal grandfather's illness, you should have been confident in curing him. But now his life is hanging by a thread, which means that your medical skills are not good and that you are using the name of the divine doctor of Hua Xiang Pavilion to deceive the world. Do you know your crime?"
Gu Simo replied, "Your Highness, the Duke is sixty-seven this year. He was already old, and he recently suffered a serious illness, which almost completely drained his body. Now that he has reached his limit, he can be considered to have died a natural death. There's nothing strange about it. If everyone makes those around them bear the blame when they die of old age, then I'm afraid no one in this world would dare to die. Don't you think so?"
"That's sophistry!" Qingcui couldn't help but retort. "The Duke of Wei's mansion sent you to treat the Duke. Since you can't cure him, you should report the truth and let other skilled doctors treat him! What are you trying to do by just watching the Duke's life hang in the balance?"
Ye Shijun had long wanted to intervene when his wife was being targeted, but his brother-in-law had been secretly holding his wrist, preventing him from acting impulsively. Now, seeing even a palace maid daring to bully his wife, Ye Shijun could no longer tolerate it. He forcefully shook off Yu Chiling's hand, rushed forward to shield Gu Simo behind him, and retorted, "When the Duke was on his deathbed, instead of being by his side to show filial piety and listen to his dying words, you left him aside to discuss medical matters. What were your intentions?"
Yu Chi Rui's eyes narrowed, and after clenching and unclenching his fists, he knelt down by the bedside, his voice choked with sobs, and said, "Grandfather, it's all my fault. I didn't come to Jizhou sooner. If I had come sooner, perhaps you wouldn't have suffered from this illness..."
Min Wenqian, lying on the bed, was even thinner than a few days ago, just skin and bones; to say he was emaciated would be an understatement. Perhaps on the verge of withering away, his face was covered with many black spots, making him look particularly frightening.
Seeing him so close to the person on the bed, Ye Shishu felt a little uneasy.
Yu Chi Ling noticed her worry and winked at her behind her back, indicating that she should not worry.
Ye Shishu stared at the back of Yuchi Rui's head, and a smile gradually appeared on her lips.
Indeed, her worries were somewhat unnecessary.
The last time Yu Chi Rui and Zhu Huaning visited their maternal grandfather, Min Wenqian, was on the day they arrived at the Duke of Wei's residence. These past few days, although the couple had been staying at the Duke of Wei's residence, they hadn't stepped into Min Wenqian's room even once, except for having Qingcui come to the main courtyard to pay her respects daily.
She didn't know if they had observed Min Wenqian properly last time, but this time, Yu Chi Rui knelt on the bed and didn't look directly at the person on the bed.
Perhaps the sight of an elderly person dying in bed was too terrifying, or perhaps it was for some other reason...
Anyway, I didn't watch it.
She suddenly understood why Yu Chi Ling dared to switch the beams and pillars.
It's because Yuchi Rui and Min Wenqian haven't seen each other for many years!
Having not seen someone for years, and who is not even his maternal grandfather, and is on the verge of death, how could Yu Chi Rui possibly expect him to properly pay his last respects to Min Wenqian? He probably just wants Min Wenqian to die quickly, so how could he possibly do something that disgusts him?
The old man on the bed did not disappoint Yu Chi Rui. He slowly raised his withered hand, but closed his eyes the next moment, and his slightly moving fingers fell stiffly.
Yu Chi Rui sensed the movement, then looked up and cried out in grief, "Grandfather!"
"Lord Duke!" Min Qiang cried out in grief.
Apart from Yu Chi Rui and Ye Shi Shu, everyone else knelt down before the old man on the bed.
The Duke of Wei has passed away.
Upon hearing the news, officials of all ranks in Jeju City rushed to the Duke of Wei's residence to offer their condolences.
Min Wenqian's son, daughter-in-law, and grandson are all serving in distant places. Let alone asking them to come back to handle the funeral, it would take at least seven or eight days to send a letter to call them back. In this scorching heat, who would dare to offend the dignified Duke of Wei?
As the grandson of the Duke of Wei and also the crown prince, the task of organizing the funeral fell to Yuchi Rui.
Watching him choke back tears and weep as officials arrived one after another, and having to keep vigil every night to fulfill his filial duty, Ye Shishu and the others were overjoyed when no one was around.
"Your Highness, that was a really cunning move of yours, haha! When we get back to the capital and the Crown Prince finds out that the Duke is still alive, I reckon he'll be so angry he'll die on the spot, haha!"
Ye Shijun also laughed, "Seeing the Crown Prince's mournful appearance, I almost couldn't hold back several times! Your Highness, let's find an excuse to leave, lest we give ourselves away if we stay too long!"
Yu Chi Ling was also unusually all smiles.
The crown prince of a country, mourning someone else in a foreign land, must cry with genuine emotion to show filial piety and brotherly love. Not to mention his brother-in-law, he was about to lose his temper.
"Alright, we'll set off back to Beijing tonight."
He then summoned Min Qiang and spent the time it takes for an incense stick to burn in the room with him.
……
After keeping vigil for three consecutive nights, Yu Chi Rui was truly exhausted. On the fourth night, when he didn't see Yu Chi Rui and the other three, he called Min Qiang over to inquire.
"Your Highness, Prince Cheng and Princess Cheng said they have important business to attend to and have already left Jeju," Min Qiang replied.
Yu Chi Rui's haggard face was dark and looked very unpleasant.
After Min Qiang left, Qingcui went to Yuchi Rui's side to comfort him, "Your Highness, it's good that Prince Cheng and the others have left. If they were here, you would have to continue wearing mourning clothes, which would be really hard for you."
Yu Chi Rui thought about it and agreed.
Qingcui continued, "Anyway, we have achieved our goal. Now we just need to wait for the Crown Princess to recover so we can return to the capital."
Yu Chi Rui's complexion finally improved somewhat.
Their purpose in coming to Jeju was to eliminate Min Mun-gyeon and prevent Yuchi Ling from finding evidence of his relationship with Empress Min. Although the process of eliminating Min Mun-gyeon was somewhat unsatisfactory, and they were even filled with resentment, Min Mun-gyeon was dead nonetheless.
He and Consort Lan were finally able to let go of the grudges between them.
All that's left is to return to the capital and focus all my efforts on dealing with Yuchi Ling and Ye Shishu!