An orphan girl in troubled times, living a miserable life
Chapter 368 Extra 1 The Evil Cannot Get Life or Death
Chapter 368: The Evil Man Cannot Be Determined by Life or Death
Emperor Taikang ascended the throne, issued a general amnesty, and bestowed titles on the previous dynasty. Everyone in and around the capital, everywhere, was filled with joy, except for the mansions of some evil people, which were lifeless.
The head of the Zhou family had just endured a fatal itch. At this moment, he was sweating profusely and collapsed on the bed like a dead dog. He didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger. Seeing his confidant hurried in, the Zhou family head lazily raised his eyelids and spoke weakly.
“Why are you here? Didn’t I ask you to go to Qijitang and find the man named Ji who would pay a large sum of money to buy the antidote? Is there any news?”
The visitor was hesitant, but knew he could not hide it, so he knelt down, leaned over with his forehead to the ground, and answered respectfully and nervously.
“I have already sent people to look for him. What a pity…”
“What’s a pity?”
It had to be said sooner or later, so the confidant gritted his teeth and closed his eyes and risked his life, “It’s a pity that I don’t know what happened. Since that day, all the Qijitang in and outside of Kyoto have closed down. When we went to look for them, the place was empty and there was no trace of Doctor Ji at all!”
“What!”
Seeing that his master’s face changed and his eyes widened as if he wanted to eat someone after hearing the news, the confidant did not dare to delay and hurriedly made up for it.
“But don’t worry, Master. I have already had people keep a close eye on the Cheng family and wait for Doctor Ji to show up. I have also sent people out of the capital to look for famous doctors at a high price. I have also sent people from outside to buy medicine from Qijitang. Even if Qijitang in the capital or even nearby is closed, it doesn’t matter. With these three methods, I will definitely cure the poison in you, Master. Don’t worry.”
Upon hearing this, the Zhou family patriarch breathed a sigh of relief, released his strength, collapsed on the bed, gasping for breath and groaning.
After calming down for a long time, he finally gathered some strength and said to the person who came, “Alright, this family master knows that you are doing your best. Find the antidote for this family master. I will not treat you unfairly when the time comes. Now go down.”
When the confidant heard this, he should have retreated, but when he thought of the reason for his visit, he stopped.
Seeing this, the Zhou family’s patriarch looked listless and raised his eyebrows and asked, “What? Do you have anything else to do?”
The confidant’s face froze, and he did not dare to hide anything, so he quickly reported his purpose.
“Master, yes, it’s the eldest daughter. She’s in a tantrum again. She smashed all the furniture and utensils in the room. She cried and shouted that she would never go to the family temple, even if she died. Master, what do you think? Or…”
What is he looking at? Either this or that!
He didn’t want to look at it at all. She was just a rebellious girl, a rebellious girl! If it weren’t for her, why would he have ended up in this situation?
Speaking of his daughter, the head of the Zhou family felt annoyed, regretful, and exhausted.
To this day, he and even the entire Zhou family behind him have been harmed by his daughter to this point. They have lost the emperor’s favor, lost their titles, are embarrassed, and are looked down upon. They have lost the power and wealth that they should have obtained. This is all the work of his good daughter! What kind of monsters are they catching and what kind of people are they killing!
Now it is like this, he really loves his good daughter for half his life, not caring about the family’s honor and disgrace, not caring about whether he is a good father, but only thinking about himself. He hates and regrets it!
Never mind, never mind. “This family master cannot control her anymore. Life and death are determined by fate. Let her go, let her go…”
Seeing that the master was disappointed and didn’t want to get involved anymore, the confidant didn’t dare to say anything more. He just bowed and kowtowed, then stood up and left.
The Zhou family’s patriarch suddenly thought of something and hurriedly shouted, “Wait a minute.”
The confidant stopped, turned around and asked respectfully: “What else does the master have to say?”
The head of the Zhou family spoke in a dry voice, raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the Cui family.
“You, you go ahead and send some smart guys to the Xu family, the Cui family, the Lin family, and the residence of the lord who worked with this lord to kill the witch in the palace that day to ask about their situation. Have they bought the antidote? Have they found the guy named Ji? If so, you must find a way for this lord.” “Yes, lord, rest assured. I will go and check it out.”
The head of the Zhou family hummed and watched his confidants come and go in a hurry. Then he lamented that he had misjudged people and doted on his daughter too much. He wondered how he should send that rebellious girl to the family temple to reflect on herself. The pain came again, and the excruciating pain in his body surged over him, almost making him choke.
Ever since he finished his training in front of the Meridian Gate that day and went home, he fell ill the next day. During this period, he consulted countless doctors, but all of them were helpless. For this reason, they even recruited many outstanding imperial physicians from the previous dynasty who were living in exile to see him, but in the end, they only said that he was poisoned, but they didn’t know what the poison was or how to cure it. None of these useless people had a solution, and they couldn’t even relieve the symptoms.
It’s a pity for a man of his age. Ten out of the twelve hours in a day, he is tortured by the excruciating pain and the itching that goes deep into his bones.
When the pain flared up, he was neither able to live nor die. He curled up in bed, clutching the corner of the quilt tightly. The head of the Zhou family was in great pain and was full of regret.
What the head of Zhou family could not have expected was that Mr. Xu, the Cui family, the one with the surname Lin, and all the people who had been ambushed with the golden needle by the villain Ji Mo that day, except for those who died, all the others were in the same state as him at this moment, in excruciating pain, and they wanted to bang their heads against the wall when they got angry. Even Xu Chengfeng, who considered himself a man of integrity, had long lost his former arrogance, and with the knife wound in his abdomen, he was tortured to the point of excruciating pain, unable to live or die.
They searched for Ji Mo and Qijitang, but Ji Mo was such a vicious guy that he had disappeared long ago. Qijitang in and around Kyoto also disappeared completely overnight, leaving them with no one to turn to for help.
The Zhou family’s confidant took the order and headed out, feeling uneasy. As a result, as soon as he walked out of his house, he met Ichikako blocking his way.
At first, the confidant was puzzled, “Who is this? In broad daylight, you can’t even see where you are. The Zhou family has been a family of nobles for generations, and you, a beggar, dare to insult them!”
The beggar looked down on him and kicked him, and hurriedly asked the doorman to get him out, but the beggar seemed to be crazy and rushed over to him, shouting and yelling.
“You little dog slave, don’t you see who Grandpa is?”
who is it?
The confidant froze, also feeling puzzled. He subconsciously looked at the face under the other person’s lifted hair and was shocked.
“Duke of Korea?” Oh, no, no, no, that’s not right! The previous dynasty has been destroyed, so there is no such thing as Duke of Korea. The man in front of him is at best the master of another branch of their Zhou family, and he is almost five generations away from the throne.
Is this a door-to-door begging?
Their Zhou family is wealthy and powerful, and the clan has relied on this man’s power many times in the past. Besides, there are still three pounds of nails in a broken boat. After all, he is a duke, and his confidants dare not treat him lightly. Although they look down on him in their hearts, they still speak to him in a friendly manner.
“Oh, who am I thinking? I didn’t know that Third Master was here. I’m sorry for the loss. Third Master, haven’t you always been in the south? When the tyrant emperor was in trouble, you were still with him. Now that the tyrant emperor has been executed, how did you escape the disaster? How did you get to Kyoto? Are you okay?”
What’s good about it! He looks bad!
Moreover, a mere servant actually dared to question him, the Duke. Even if he was no longer a Duke, he was still the master of the Zhou family. How could he allow a lowly servant to question him? Why should he explain to a lowly servant?
It was just that he was unlucky now and had to bow his head under the eaves, so he threw away his sleeves and was unwilling to mention how he had luckily escaped after the defeat of the tyrant emperor, nor how he had struggled to hide with his old wife and concubines after his escape, and he was even more unwilling to mention that they dared to come to the capital only because the new emperor ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty. He just gave a perfunctory answer.
“Oh, the tyrant was executed, but many of our old nobles are innocent. Although they have lost their former status, their foundation is still there. Thinking that their roots are in Kyoto, they came to the capital with the support of the former Marquis Zhenwei, Marquis Nanxiang and others.”
Ha! Still innocent? With all the evil he did in the past, he still dares to come to Beijing? He is quite courageous!
The dear sneered in his heart but said nothing, after all, he was just a servant.
He just led the person into the mansion. The details would depend on the arrangements of the head of the family. However, considering that the head of the family was busy with his own affairs and that everyone in the family was afraid of the new emperor’s hatred, they were all keeping quiet. To put it bluntly, considering the cold temperament of the head of the family and the elders, it would be strange for them to take in the still arrogant former Duke of Korea!
It has to be said that the reason why a confidant becomes a confidant is that he knows his master very well, and his guess is particularly correct.
This once arrogant Duke Hanguo has never been seen since he entered the Zhou family. Later, when the head of the family was poisoned and tortured to death and the Zhou family fell apart, his confidants who were forced to be sold to work elsewhere heard from others that this Duke Hanguo was taken away by the Lu family, a favorite of His Majesty and a newly promoted family with two dukes, and his body was never found.