It had to be said that the Eighth Prince, Xuantian Mo, had always been someone who was able to let things go. He definitely would not be like the former Third Prince, Xuan Tian Ye, who would get angry again and again and force himself into a dead end. This Xuantian Mo was very good at dealing with people. Just like now, he quickly did some calculations in his mind: Since he had already knelt, he could not kneel for nothing. He could not lose face without gaining any benefits. At the very least, he needed to restore his image in the eyes of the citizens.
As a result, he put down his pride, and with tears and snot, cleared his name, and admitted his mistake very well. At the same time, he pushed all the blame to the Persian, and said that the common people could do nothing about it. Following this, he went to the governor to receive 100 strikes. He was beaten until his flesh was badly mangled. By the end, even the citizens could not bear to continue watching. They all left, expressing that they would not pursue the matter any further. As for the Persian, he would be executed three days later. It could be considered an explanation to the citizens.
It was just that after this matter, the citizens of the capital began to miss Feng Yu Heng even more. Especially when someone in their family fell ill, they began to miss the time when Hundred Herb Hall was still around. This was because Feng Yu Heng's Hundred Herb Hall did not just sell medical pills and tablets to the wealthy. It also provided a certain amount of benefits to the normal citizens. Those that could not afford medicine could first buy it on credit. As for how to repay it, there were two methods. One was to send the money within a certain time limit. The second was to use manual labor to pay for it. As for manual labor, it was to help Hundred Herb Hall or Feng Yu Heng's other businesses.
The majority of the citizens chose manual labor. Many people were sent to the villages in the suburbs of the capital to help open up wasteland and plant medicinal gardens. Like this, some people chose to stay there. After paying off their debts, they would officially start working, and they would be able to earn a wage. As for working for Feng Yu Heng, regardless of whether it was in the villages or other shops, there would never be a shortage of wages. During the holidays, they would be able to receive gifts such as fish, eggs, and meat. These things were not much to the wealthy, but to the people that could only rely on manual labor to earn money, they were a great help. What's more, all the workers working in Princess Ji 'an's businesses would receive better treatment at Hundred Herb Hall. Even their families would benefit from it.
In addition, the dregs of the Chinese herbs would also be concocted into ordinary tonics. Some would strengthen the body, some would relieve colds and fever, some would drive away the cold in winter, and some would relieve the heat in summer. Because they were all made from dregs, they were given to those who needed them for free, regardless of the cost. Everyone knew that Hundred Herb Hall's medicinal herbs were all good. Even if Broken Dregs didn't look as good, their medicinal effects were all the same. Therefore, more people who couldn't afford medicine would come to get these free medicines, which could also alleviate a lot of their illness.
Every time people thought of this, they felt that Princess Ji An was the reincarnation of the Medicine King Bodhisattva. When they thought of how the Medicine King Bodhisattva had been chased away by those corrupt officials and the Eighth Prince, they began to wipe away their tears. Later on, someone suggested that the common people raise money to build a statue of Princess Ji An and send it to the temple to worship.
When some of the nobles heard this, they were very supportive because they had also received the grace of Princess Ji An. There were even many second and third rank officials whose family members had been cured by Hundred Herb Hall's miraculous medical skills. Without Hundred Herb Hall's medical skills, their family members wouldn't have been able to live. Thus, the nobles in the capital gave money, and the poor people gave their strength. Not only did they carve a statue of Princess Ji An, they also built a Medicine King Temple in the northern suburbs of the capital to worship her.
This action was very quickly spread by the officials to the court. Regardless of which faction they were from, none of them dared to raise any objections because the people knew that the Emperor favored Imperial Daughter Ji An. She had already been successfully chased out of the capital. This was something that the citizens had done on their own accord, so there was no need for them to go along with it.
As expected, Emperor Tianwu was very supportive of this. He even took out five hundred taels of his private silver to further the construction and maintenance of the Medicine King Temple. With the Emperor taking the lead, none of the officials dared to disobey. Thus, everyone symbolically took some money. It wasn't much, just one hundred taels, two hundred taels, three hundred taels. In short, no one took more than the five hundred taels of Emperor Tianwu. It was considered a small matter, and it wasn't too excessive.
In the end, this task was taken over by the Eldest Prince. He sent the silver to the temple, and then personally led people to supervise the construction of the Medicine King Temple. Since then, the Medicine King Temple in the northern suburbs had become a place recognized by the imperial family. Not only was the construction very imposing, but the people felt more at ease when they worshipped it.
Of course, this was all for the future. Right now, the Eighth Prince had been spanked 100 times. Although he had used his internal strength to protect his body, for the sake of making the play seem more realistic, his butt had been beaten to a pulp. That day, he had been carried back to the Sheng Palace from the governor's office; however, within five days, many officials from the various provinces had come to the capital to report that the Eighth Prince had kidnapped their daughters.
Xuantian Mo hated Xu Jing Yuan to the bone. If it wasn't for Xu Jing Yuan putting up posters all over the place, the matter would have been resolved with their daughters returning home; however, it just so happened that everyone knew about this situation. Regardless of whether or not it was the truth, there was still this rumor. The people could not help but think about it. That was why they came to the capital to seek an explanation.
But the people also paid attention. After all, they were not officials from the capital, and they did not understand the situation in the capital too well. The Eighth Prince was the same as the Ninth Prince. He also had military power. Although the Southern Army had already been handed over to the Ninth Prince, the Eighth Prince had also received the right to command the Imperial Guard. That was the person closest to the Emperor. Someone analyzed: "To say something offensive, if the Eighth Prince has any ill intentions and mobilizes the Imperial Guard to take control of the Imperial Palace, even if the Ninth Prince mobilizes the army to come back, there would not be enough time. When that time comes, the Eighth Prince would have already been seated firmly on the throne. Also, killing inside the Imperial Palace would not affect the citizens outside the Imperial Palace, but if the army was mobilized, the citizens would be the ones to suffer. That's why once this happened, the Ninth Prince would be in a difficult position. "
The people were conflicted: "Then we came for nothing? Our daughters were bullied for nothing? "
Some of the smarter ones said: "It's not good for us to analyze this on our own. We can't have come for nothing. We need to find someone to ask around. This humble one is not talented and can be considered an old friend of the governor, Lord Xu. He is the parent official of the capital. Nobody has more right to speak than him. How about we go and ask him? "
This suggestion was approved by all of the officials, thus that person invited Xu Jingyuan to the posthouse. Xu Jingyuan naturally would not speak in favor of the Eighth Prince, but he was not too biased. He just pointed out to everyone at the end: "The Eighth Prince is willing to do anything for the sake of ascending to the throne. Although there have been people who said that the Ninth Prince is temperamental in the past, over the years, those with eyes have seen. The Ninth Prince loves his country and the citizens. He would never do anything that would harm the citizens. As for the Eighth Prince? I think that you must have heard about the incidents that just occurred in the capital. What sort of things did he do? Either way, if you ask this official, this official feels that with someone like the Eighth Prince ascending to the throne, I would feel uncertain. That would truly be the case of being in the same position as a tiger! "
When the people heard this, was this not the reasoning? Once the Eighth Prince ascended to the throne, the world would not be at peace. For the sake of fighting with the Ninth Prince, that sort of despicable person would actually send people to kidnap their daughters. A perfectly innocent girl had been kidnapped. Even if nothing had happened, her reputation would have been completely ruined.
The people gritted their teeth and cursed the Eighth Prince from head to toe in their hearts, but they decided not to pursue this matter. After all, they did not want to cause any more trouble for Emperor Tianwu because the kidnapping was just a guess. The Eighth Prince refused to admit it, only saying that he had been framed. If they went to cause a fuss, perhaps Emperor Tianwu would be annoyed. But the people also made a decision. They would definitely not stand on the Eighth Prince's side. They would definitely not support any of the Eighth Prince's actions.
The officials from out of the province entered the capital, and in the end, they paid respects to Emperor Tianwu and the Empress. They also sent some gifts. Emperor Tianwu and the Empress were well aware of what was going on, but they did not point it out. The battle for the throne had already reached this point. Their best choice was to sit in a high position and watch, especially for Tianwu. The palm of his hand was his flesh. Even if he wanted to favor the Ninth Prince a little, he could not immediately throw the Eighth Prince into a bottomless abyss. After all, that was his son and not Xuan Tian Ye from back then.
However, there were still some officials in the capital that were willing to stand on the Eighth Prince's side, including those officials from out of the province who had not been persecuted. Over the past few days, they had met with the lobbyists sent by the Eighth Prince's manor. These lobbyists also knew how to find openings. All of the officials that they met had daughters that had been sent into the palace many years ago. Everyone knew that because of Consort Yun's appearance, Emperor Tianwu's imperial harem had become a decoration. Those who were fortunate enough to have a prince before Consort Yun could still rely on someone, but those who did not have a chance to give birth to an imperial heir and did not even have a chance to be favored by Tianwu could only be locked up in the palace for the rest of their lives without anyone to rely on. Because they did not have an heir and did not have any status, they could not help their mother's family in any way. They had clearly been sent into the palace as the hope of their family; however, they gradually became worthless.
But those that could be sent into the palace were all daughters of noble families or daughters of the first wife. They were also the children that had received the most attention and had been nurtured with the most care. For such good children to become worthless, these officials did not dare say anything over the years because of Emperor Tianwu, but once someone brought up this topic, they could no longer hold back their bitterness, as they slowly poured out their grievances to the lobbyists.
The lobbyists were aiming for this effect. They specifically sought out this sort of person and began with Consort Yun, speaking of the Ninth Prince's faults. They even said to the officials: "Think about it, once the Ninth Prince ascends the throne, Consort Yun will become the Empress Dowager. That woman is prone to jealousy. Right now, she is just an imperial concubine, yet she has already forced the other imperial concubines and noble families into such a state! If she really becomes the Empress Dowager, the consequences would be … … "
The officials all sucked in a breath of cold air. Although they had long given up on the daughters that had been sent into the palace, in the end, they had poured their heart and soul into them. Who wouldn't feel distressed? Moreover, the lobbyists also said: "I'm afraid that just punishing those imperial concubines is not enough. In the future, in order to not cause trouble for herself, the Empress Dowager might even hold a grudge against you. Sir, you have to think about the family! "
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
