SFS Chapter 332 Death of illness
Chapter 332 Death of illness
The censor was speechless. The imperial tutor's words were watertight, and he had actually put the censor in a difficult position.
"The matter of controlling the plague is indeed not under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Tutor, and the supervision of officials is the responsibility of the thirteen censors of the Censorate. However..."
The censor changed the subject: "His Highness has a special status. If something happens to him in Yingcheng, the Great Zhou will probably not let it go."
"The Crown Prince has not yet been formally recognized as a member of the imperial family, yet the Imperial Tutor is already in a hurry to send him to Yingcheng to deal with the plague. This is neither reasonable nor appropriate."
The Imperial Censor bowed and said, "Now that His Highness is seriously ill, the Imperial Tutor cannot escape the blame."
The Imperial Tutor's expression changed slightly.
The Minister of Personnel stepped forward and said, "As far as I know, His Highness passed away on the third day after contracting the plague. His subordinates have been suppressing the news."
These words shocked all the civil and military officials, and everyone gasped in astonishment.
Has Zhao Yi passed away?
The hall was silent for a moment, then erupted into a clamor.
"The plague spreads rapidly and can kill within days; there are no exceptions."
"His Highness has been ill for over half a month, hasn't he? If he has passed away, why hasn't the news been sent to the capital for so long?"
"The people below concealed the news of the Crown Prince's death simply because they were afraid of being punished and planned to make amends after the plague was brought under control. Or perhaps the people of the Great Zhou deliberately suppressed the news in order to preemptively strike us and catch us off guard, and then propose a humiliating treaty that would cede sovereignty to the country."
The words "loss of sovereignty and national humiliation" were pronounced with great emphasis.
The ministers immediately thought that since the Great Zhou had ceded a city to the Northern Qi, if they could take advantage of Zhao Yi's death to demand a few more cities from the Northern Qi...
A sense of humiliation welled up in their hearts, yet they were powerless against the banditry of the Great Zhou. Finally, they looked at the culprit: "The Imperial Tutor took it upon himself to send His Highness to Yingcheng. Now that His Highness has fallen ill and passed away, it is the Imperial Tutor's turn to give the Great Zhou an explanation."
Lin Yi understood the officials' thoughts well. The Northern Qi Kingdom had always been powerful and had severely suppressed the Great Zhou Kingdom. Now, having suffered a defeat and been suppressed by the Great Zhou Kingdom, they were forced to cede cities, which they considered a disgrace.
Now, because of Zhao Yi's death, they are very likely to face the situation of ceding cities again, which will arouse their anger. Some neutral ministers who are not afraid of the Imperial Tutor will naturally attack the Imperial Tutor.
A hint of pleasure flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.
When the emperor of Northern Qi heard the news of Zhao Yi's death, he was shocked and worried that Zhao Yi's death would bring disaster to Northern Qi.
Seeing the ministers' indignation and their insistence that the imperial tutor bear the blame alone, he was caught in a dilemma.
The imperial tutor was especially important to him, not only helping him ascend the throne but also serving as his strategist.
He hoped to achieve lasting fame through the help of the emperor's tutor.
The Emperor of Northern Qi asked, "Imperial Tutor, do you have anything to say?"
The Imperial Tutor succinctly stated, "His Highness did not die of illness."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor of Northern Qi breathed a sigh of relief.
He trusted the imperial tutor more than the other ministers.
Lin Yi sneered inwardly. Zhao Yi hadn't died of illness yet, but news of his death would arrive soon.
"Your Majesty, news of the Crown Prince's infection with the plague reached the capital yesterday. Given the severity of the epidemic, I fear the prognosis is grim."
Lin Yi proposed, "The epidemic in Yingcheng has not been brought under control, and outbreaks have occurred in Yuncheng and Panshicheng. I request permission to go and manage the plague and appease the people."
He alarmistly said, "These two cities are adjacent to Yingcheng. If we continue to leave them unattended and fail to provide timely medical treatment, the people will actually believe the rumors and think that the court doesn't care about their lives."
"If the Great Zhou seeks justice for the death of the Crown Prince, incites the people in the city to rebel, and then takes the opportunity to invade the city, then it will be a case of losing more than it gains."
These words made perfect sense. The Northern Qi emperor did not make a decision, but instead looked to his tutor.
Upon seeing this, Lin Yi's expression darkened.
"Imperial Tutor, the people you sent to deal with the plague have not been effective at all."
Lin Yi pressed on, saying, "The plague is dangerous. If we delay any longer, Yuncheng and Panshicheng may become dead cities."
The Imperial Tutor asked, "Can Lord Lin cure the plague?"
Lin Yi said confidently, "Your Highness will be in Yingcheng for a month. Give me a month, that's enough."
"is it?"
"If I fail to cure the plague within one month, I will remove my official hat."
Upon hearing this, the Imperial Tutor smiled slightly and said, "With Lord Lin so confident, it is a blessing for the people to have you in charge of managing the plague."
-
Lin Yi went to Yuncheng and Panshicheng to deal with the plague, and personally allocated money, grain and medicine, and also recruited several doctors.
Just as everything was ready and he was about to set off, the guards he had sent out returned.
The guard reported: "My lord, on our way to Yingcheng, about a hundred miles from the capital, we encountered Zhao Yilai and dealt with him."
They went down into the river to try and rescue Zhao Yi, but the current was too swift, and Zhao Yi was not in the carriage; they didn't know where he had been swept away by the current.
We searched along the way but didn't see them climb ashore.
The river water is icy cold; I'm afraid things are going to turn out badly.
After all, Zhao Yi only brought Jiang Mu with him, and there were no other guards around.
Lin Yi was somewhat surprised that Zhao Yi had actually returned to the capital. He couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had a backup plan and arranged for someone to assassinate Zhao Yi.
"Did you succeed?" Lin Yi asked. "Have you disposed of the body?"
The guards privately believed that Zhao Yi would definitely not survive. If they told Lin Yi the truth, they were afraid that the credit would not be attributed to them.
"We succeeded. We threw him into the river to dispose of him."
Lin Yi frowned, dissatisfied with the way the guards handled the situation, but the thought that Zhao Yi was dead and the future troubles were eliminated put his mind at ease.
He sent his guards to collect the reward, and led his men away from the capital, heading towards Yun City.
-
Shen Qingtan received a letter from Zhao Yi, in which he explained that in order to lure out the person hiding in the shadows, he would spread the news of being infected with the plague, so that she wouldn't worry too much once she heard the news.
In the letter, Zhao Yi also explained that Gu Changsheng and Zhong Heng went to Yingcheng to deal with the plague, and the prescriptions they gave were effective.
Shen Qingtan couldn't help but worry that Gu Changsheng's physical condition was no longer suitable for practicing medicine.
Zhongheng's words still echo in my ears.
Now, more than ten days have passed, and I still don't know what the situation is like in Yingcheng.
Shen Qingtan felt uneasy and inexplicably felt a tightness in her chest.
She planned to go out for a walk and get some fresh air.
As soon as I opened the door and lifted the curtain, I saw Liuyue rushing over, and my heart skipped a beat.
"Second Madam, something terrible has happened!" Liu Yue said breathlessly, "I heard outside that the Second Master... the Second Master... has passed away from illness."
At this point, Liu Yue's eyes reddened.
Shen Qingtan instinctively didn't believe it, after all, Zhao Yi said he was faking illness, how could he have died of illness?
Although that's what I thought, I couldn't help feeling panicked.
She was about to go back to her room to write a letter and send it to Yingcheng when she saw a black figure leap down from the roof.