aircannonsinc Chapter 1881 Colliding with the Plague God
Chapter 1881 Colliding with the Plague God
The painting that the Second Prince sent to Prime Minister Shen was packed in a rather heavy box, but Lu Anfan discovered that it had a hidden compartment inside.
When the dark layer was slid open, a human skin mask was revealed.
Human skin masks have always existed in the martial arts world.
However, what is shocking is that the human skin mask in Prime Minister Shen's box is actually the appearance of a loyal minister!
That loyal minister also died young, on his way to manage the floods. He was only twenty-eight when he died, leaving behind three children and a widowed mother. His wife died from postpartum hemorrhage while giving birth to their third child.
At that time, the retired emperor also felt that he was in a bad situation, so he originally did not want him to go to the far south of Jiangnan to manage the floods, and wanted him to stay in the capital.
However, the young official said that he had studied water conservancy and that he and Minister Qin of the Ministry of Works were fellow students. He also said that Minister Qin would help him take care of his family.
At that time, Prime Minister Shen was also one of the factions that strongly supported his trip to Jiangnan.
Actually, it was because the floods were very severe at that time, and two local officials had already drowned.
The officials in the capital dared not go and tried every means to refuse, but that young official went without hesitation.
Not long after, I heard that he had died there, and when his body was found, it was so wet that it was unrecognizable.
When the news reached his family, they were heartbroken.
Later, it was Lord Qin who helped him take care of his mother until her death. He also raised the three children, and they all have some status now.
But unexpectedly, that official's face was actually in one of Prime Minister Shen's painting boxes!
When this news spread, it caused an uproar throughout the entire capital.
As a result, Prime Minister Shen was immediately taken to the Dali Temple.
Because the painting was a gift from the second prince, the second prince was also implicated.
The Second Prince was still troubled and angry about Qiu Yunzhen's matter when Lu Anfan led people in and ordered them to be taken away. He was completely stunned.
When the Second Prince was brought into the Dali Temple and saw Lin Rong sitting in the hall, his face turned dark.
"Lin Rong! Have you lost your mind? I haven't done anything wrong, why are you arresting me?"
When Consort Shu heard that the Second Prince had been taken to the Dali Temple, she could no longer sit still and went to the Dali Temple herself.
Lin Rong allowed her to attend the hearing as well.
"Second Prince, do you remember when you were young, you gave Prime Minister Shen a painting?"
"What painting?" The Second Prince had completely forgotten. "How could such a thing happen! Why would I, the Prince, send him a painting?"
Consort Shu felt a sudden unease.
The second prince probably doesn't remember much, because he was very young at the time and didn't understand anything.
At that time, the Second Prince heard that the Prime Minister was a very high-ranking official, and that whichever prince the Prime Minister helped would have a powerful ally. He didn't know anything about that. Just then, someone delivered a bunch of gifts, so he just grabbed one at random and went to present it to Prime Minister Shen.
They said that since they had accepted his gift, they would have to help him in the future.
At that time, everyone just thought it was a child's joke. His father told Prime Minister Shen to accept it.
It was just a landscape painting, but Prime Minister Shen accepted it.
But who could have known that the painting would cause such a big problem more than a decade later?
The second prince cried out that he was innocent, but Lin Rong said, "Prime Minister Shen said that the painting was a gift from you. He didn't open it and looked at it carefully, so he doesn't know anything about it."
"He's talking nonsense! This prince knows nothing about it either!"
"This matter concerns that young and prematurely deceased official. Now, his three children are aware of this matter and they want to pursue it to the end. They are already preparing to file a complaint with the Emperor."
Lin Rong said, "So if the Second Prince doesn't explain himself clearly, you'll have to suffer and stay in the Dali Temple prison for the time being."
"what?"
Consort Shu quickly recounted what had happened back then.
"That cartload of gifts was brought in by palace servants. It was delivered by many people, including barbarians and princes from the Qian Kingdom! The Second Prince was just a child at the time, and he just happened to pick one of the gifts and give it to Prime Minister Shen. He didn't know anything about it!"
The second prince looked at her in shock, "Mother, was that painting really a gift from me?"
"What do you mean you sent it? You're just using it as a pretext!" Consort Shu said irritably. Why is she trying to take the blame?
"Yes, yes, I didn't send it!" The Second Prince looked at Lin Rong and said angrily, "Now that my mother has testified, you must release me immediately!"
Lin Rong could tell that the Second Prince really didn't remember, and the way Consort Shu spoke didn't seem like she was lying.
However, he would definitely have to leave the second prince behind for the time being.
Because this also relates to another matter.
"I still need to investigate what Consort Shu said. Until the investigation is completed, the Second Prince will have to remain in Dali Temple."
"Mother, I don't want to go to jail!"
The second prince shouted.
Consort Shu also wanted to stop him, but Lin Rong was not the kind of person who could be easily coerced or bribed. He was quite principled and said that if he wanted to leave the Second Prince behind, no one could take him away.
"If Consort Shu can find the list of items that entered the palace back then, she can clear the Second Prince's name."
"Lin Rong, you just wait!" Consort Shu returned to the palace in a fit of rage, causing chaos as everyone frantically searched for the gifts and lists from years ago.
After being imprisoned, the second prince started chatting with a prisoner in the next cell.
"Second Prince, how did you get dragged into this? Could it be that something happened in the manor these past few days that offended a plague god?"
"What's wrong? Did you offend the plague god?"
The second prince, hearing the other party's somewhat mystical tone, asked, "What kind of things are likely to offend the God of Plague?"
"Generally speaking, if a happy occasion is not handled well, or if someone breaks a taboo, or if there is a sudden increase in the number of people born, it is easy to offend the god of plague."
The second prince pondered for a long time, then slapped his thigh, "Does that count if I just got married? That woman's face was ruined as soon as she entered the house!"
After thinking it over, this was the only thing he could think of right now!
The person next door responded, "Why would someone's face break out for no reason? Generally speaking, brides pay more attention to their appearance. Why would their face break out on their wedding day if nothing bad has happened?"
"How would I know! But her face is really rotten and smells terrible! It must be because she offended a plague god!"
The second prince was so angry he was pacing back and forth, wishing he could go back to his residence immediately and kick Qiu Yunzhen out.
Then someone came and told him, "Your Highness, the Second Prince's Consort just wrote a letter of divorce and had it sent in, saying that she doesn't want to spend her life with you."
The jailer handed in a divorce agreement.
The second prince was furious upon hearing this.
"She's gone too far! I haven't even written her a letter of divorce yet, and she dares to bring up divorce? With her looks, it's me who should be rejecting her!"
He was still hoping to have General Qiu as a powerful backer, but before he could even get that backer, the plague came first!