Chapter 345 344 Night in the Capital

After the news of Lu Bing's sudden death was spread, although the Jinyiwei was dispatched in large numbers, various versions of the story were still circulated in the teahouses, taverns, streets and alleys of the capital.

The myth version was that he was killed by someone who died unjustly, the conspiracy version was that he was murdered by a political enemy, and the secular version was naturally that he died in a woman's belly.

These news were also reported to Wei Guangde by Zhang Ji as gossip, and Zhao Hu never came back after he left.

It was not until dark that Zhao Hu came back and reported all the news he had learned in the past half day.

"Master, it is said that when Governor Lu left the Northern Pacification Office and entered the palace in the afternoon, he was still in good condition, but when he came out of the palace, he was carried by someone, followed by two imperial doctors, and later several imperial doctors came, as well as famous doctors in the capital. As long as they were a little famous, they were called to the Northern Pacification Office, but they were delayed until the evening and still could not be saved."

Zhao Hu asked in detail this time, but Wei Guangde frowned slightly after hearing it.

"That means that Governor Lu got sick while in the palace, and he saw the imperial physician in the palace, and then he was sent back to the Northern Pacification Office, and other imperial physicians and representatives from the capital were invited to treat him?"

"Yes, it is said that the emperor issued an order to let all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital go."

Zhao Hu replied.

"What disease is it? It is so dangerous. Has anyone revealed it?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously. Now it seems that Lu Bing really has an acute disease, and death is also a fate.

"No, those people are very secretive and refuse to say what the disease is."

Zhao Hu said embarrassedly.

"Secret? Is there something else that is difficult to say?"

Wei Guangde immediately heard the problem and asked hurriedly, but then he remembered something and exclaimed: "Plague?"

In this era, sudden illness is really rare. Wei Guangde only knows that some plagues seem to be like this, and the disease can kill quickly after the onset of the disease.

But not all plagues are so fast, and many of them will be delayed for several days.

Now the doctors of the Ming Dynasty have also noticed that although they call highly infectious diseases "plague", there are still differences between plagues, and the onset period and symptoms are different.

Combined with the previous doctors' secrecy, Wei Guangde had just experienced an epidemic in the south, so the first thing he thought of was that the epidemic in the south had spread to the north.

Don't say that this possibility does not exist. Wei Guangde clearly remembers that when the plague was prevalent in the south, the Jinyiwei's spies and intelligence sending did not stop. It is possible that the intelligence was contaminated with unclean things. Lu Bing was infected when he checked the intelligence, and he didn't even know it.

Thinking that Lu Bing fell ill in the palace, Wei Guangde suddenly shuddered. What if he was called into the West Garden in the next two days?

That place is now dangerous, and he may be infected with the invisible and intangible virus inadvertently.

Wei Guangde was worried in the house. Zhang Ji had previously inquired about all rumors, which made him laugh a lot, but now he can't laugh anymore.

Of course, this was not the time for him to be happy. He had to wait a few days to go to the Lu Mansion to pay tribute. After all, Lu Bing was also an elder, but he passed away before he had time to take care of him.

Without Lu Bing's protection, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that maybe Weng Pu's opinion was right. If possible, it would be good to go to the local area for two terms.

Before, he was young and ignorant, so he thought it was good to be in the capital. Later, he was caught by Lu Bing and met him. With this big man, he felt more at ease living in the capital, although Wei Guangde did not break the law.

But now it is different. He has no one to rely on, and Chen Ju in the palace has also confronted him and cannot have more contact. Now he is in the capital and has returned to the way he was when he first came to the capital. There is no channel to inquire about various news.

Not long after, Lao Kan, Zhang Ke and other fellow villagers came over, as well as the newly-appointed Jinshi Guizhi Yang and Ouyang Yijing.

They were able to get to Wei Guangde's mansion because of their fellow villagers, real fellow villagers.

Guizhi Yang was from De'an, and he passed the imperial examination in the 31st year of Jiajing, the same year as Zhu Shilong, but Zhu Shilong had lost interest in the imperial examination in the past two years and went out to travel.

It is said that Wei Guangde also participated in the Jiangxi provincial examination that year, but failed, so he was naturally familiar with Guizhi Yang.

It was just that Guizhi Yang was unlucky, and failed in the joint examinations in the 32nd and 35th years of Jiajing, and it was not until last year that he passed the examination and became a Jinshi, which was considered to be successful.

As for Ouyang Yijing, he actually passed the imperial examination earlier than Zhu Shilong and Guizhi Yang. He was a juren in the 28th year of Jiajing, but he was in mourning at home. When Wei Guangde was in Pengze, he visited his house.

However, time has changed, and the little boy at that time has already stepped into the officialdom before him and became his predecessor.

It is worth mentioning that Ouyang Yijing also participated in the joint examination in the 35th year of Jiajing, and arrived in Beijing at the last minute to complete the registration at the Ministry of Rites, but failed in the end.

After learning that he failed the exam, he left the capital and returned to his hometown in Jiangxi. He came and left in a hurry.

Today, they learned that Wei Guangde had returned to the court, and the two newly-appointed Jinshi came uninvited. The news naturally came from Lao Kan.

During the time when Wei Guangde was away from the capital, the officials from Jiujiang gathered around Lao Kan.

As for the reason, it was actually very simple. Although Jiangxi was a major province for the imperial examination, the Jinshi of Jiujiang Prefecture was only of the middle and lower level in the whole of Jiangxi. There were few people and their official positions were not high, so they naturally had to keep each other warm and take care of each other.

At the wine table, everyone's conversation naturally focused on Wei Guangde's trip south, and then on Lu Bing's matter.

Wei Guangde could tell that they were all envious of him for being sent on foreign missions one after another. Zhang Ke also burped at the banquet and said: 'Next month, I will probably be able to go to Shanxi. ’

"Censor?"

Lao Kan asked in surprise.

Zhang Ke nodded, "Forget it, I got through it. The Chinese Book Department is just a decoration. There is nothing to do all day long. No matter which room in the six departments next door is busy, there is nothing to do." "

Zhang Ke said it easily, but Wei Guangde also knew that this man probably spent a lot of money to transfer.

He picked up the wine glass and smiled at Zhang Ke: "From now on, we will be colleagues in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and we will have to take care of each other."

"Haha. That's that."

Zhang Ke laughed out loud, picked up the wine glass and touched it lightly with Wei Guangde, and then the two drank it down in one gulp.

"I heard that Mr. Lu fell ill in the palace. Why did the disease come on so violently?"

Guizhiyang watched them drink a drink, and then asked.

Now he is in the Pedestrian Department and is anxious to change his job. However, it is not easy to transfer and he has to wait and see the opportunity.

So when Wei Guangde and Zhang Ke were talking, he waited on the side until the two put down their wine glasses before interrupting.

Lao Kan smacked his lips. His behavior naturally attracted the attention of others, including Wei Guangde, who looked over there.

In the past, Wei Guangde was the know-it-all in their small circle, but now that he has just returned to the capital, his know-it-all must no longer be as effective.

Seeing Lao Kan's expression as if he knew something, Wei Guangde couldn't help but asked out of curiosity: "Just tell me if you know it, don't pretend to be profound."

"Ahem."

Lao Kan looked at Wei Guangde and shook his head, as if he didn't want to say anything.

"Everyone takes turns to offer you a glass of wine. If one drink is not enough, just two drinks until he is willing to talk."

Wei Guangde looked at Lao Kan's look and joked, taking the lead in raising his glass as he spoke.

"No, no, no, I'm just having fun."

When Lao Kan heard that Wei Guangde was planning to get him drunk, he immediately waved his hand, "It is true that something happened to Mr. Lu in the palace, but I heard that it was not a disease caused by Lao Shizi, but something caused by testing the medicine for Your Majesty. The elixir he just practiced The medicine was erysipelas, Master Lu couldn't bear it, and the imperial doctor was helpless, and that's what happened in the end. "

"What? Will you die if you take the elixir?"

Ouyang Yijing was slightly surprised and said, let alone him, Wei Guangde didn't expect it either, so he was still a little dazed at the moment.

He even suspected that Lu Bing was infected by the plague in the south and suddenly fell ill and died. But according to Lao Kan, he died from eating the elixir newly refined by Emperor Jiajing.

"Actually, if you ask some Taoist priests, you will know that all the elixirs produced have erysipelas, it's just a question of how much.

It is said that taking the prepared elixir can make the body strong and rejuvenate the body. However, it cannot be taken for a long time because the elixirs are erysipelas.

If the refining is poor, it may be highly poisonous. Anyway, it is best not to touch the elixir. "

Lao Kan could speak calmly at this time. After speaking, he picked up the chopsticks on the table, picked up a piece of food, put it into his mouth, and chewed it slowly.

"I only heard about it this afternoon. I didn't expect Ren Zhi to know about it."

Zhang Ke on the side laughed.

"Did you hear that too?"

Wei Guangde wondered.

"There are not too many secrets in the officialdom. What happened in the palace, the servants in the palace have to go to the Sixth Section every day, and I don't know who revealed it, and then I found out."

Zhang Ke replied, "And I've also heard that people were eaten to death in the early years, but they haven't been eaten to death in recent years. However, there are also cases of vomiting and diarrhea after taking the elixir.

By the way, Mr. Yan Ge took the elixir given by His Majesty a few years ago. As a result, he lay in bed for three days and almost failed to save his life. Others said that Mr. Yan Ge was unlucky. The same elixir, Your Majesty He almost died after eating it alive. "

Wei Guangde felt happy after hearing this, thinking that it might be that Emperor Jiajing had taken too many drugs, and his body was more resistant to erysipelas, and that Elder Yan Ge was old after all, and his health was not as good as the emperor's.

However, he had heard about this matter, and it was naturally Chen Ju, because he was present when the medicine was given, and he watched Emperor Jiajing pour two pills from the jade bottle, take one himself, and One grain was given to Yan Song.

Then, Emperor Jiajing had nothing to do and was still meditating there, while Yan Song fainted without much effort. He was carried out of Xiyuan by the chamberlain and sent directly home, where he was in a state of panic again.

After the performance was over, Emperor Jiajing received the reward and quickly called the imperial doctor over for diagnosis and treatment.

As a result, rumors that Yan Song was unlucky spread inside and outside the palace.

This was what Chen Ju had seen with his own eyes, and there was absolutely nothing false about it, so many people at the time believed it without a doubt.

In this era, many people still believe in gods and ghosts. There are not many atheists like Wei Guangde, and most of them are scholars.

Of course, as he traveled through time, Wei Guangde became a little unsure about the theory of gods and ghosts.

Regarding the legends of ancient gods and monsters in later works, most of the lines used are "The Master does not talk about monsters and his power confuses the gods." It gives people the impression that Confucius said this as if he was saying not to talk about gods and monsters, just like what he said "respect ghosts and gods and stay away." Of".

After a few words of idle chat, Wei Guangde was relieved. As long as Lu Bing was not infected with the plague, he could still go to Xiyuan. However, he must not eat the elixir given by Emperor Jiajing in the future. That thing is really dangerous.

What if, if, Emperor Jiajing insisted on rewarding him with elixir?

Wei Guangde unconsciously thought again, just say that he was not so lucky.

Soon, Wei Guangde thought of a way to deal with it.

But thinking about it, this time the elixir poisoned Lu Bing, Emperor Jiajing should not give medicine to others casually for a long time.

While the Wei Mansion was toasting, there were several other mansions in Beijing, where the owners were happily drinking and having fun.

Of course, the reasons for their happiness were naturally different. Perhaps only the Lu Mansion was gloomy at this time.

As the pillar of the Lu family, he was gone. He was fine the day before, and even in the afternoon, but such bad news came out in just half a day.

But it was just worry. The Lu family was not panicked. After all, when Lu Bing was alive, he relied on the favor of Emperor Jiajing to make a very careful layout to protect his family, so that it could still be maintained even when he was gone.

Lu Bing's son Lu Jing married the granddaughter of Gao Shu, the right governor, the eldest daughter married the son of Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, the second daughter married Yan Shaoting, the grandson of Yan Song, the third daughter married Xu Jie's son, the fourth daughter married the son of Sun Chengen, the Minister of Rites, and the fifth daughter married the son of Wu Peng, the Minister of Personnel, forming a powerful political marriage alliance with the relatives.

In fact, it can be seen from this that Lu Bing had hoped to use Yan and Xu to balance the court, and he married the two families separately for insurance.

What's more, they already knew the real cause of Lu Bing's death, and now all they can do is to prepare a grand funeral for Lu Bing.

At this time, in the West Garden, Emperor Jiajing did not meditate in the house as usual, but stood in the garden behind the Yongshou Palace, looking up at the moon in the sky.

The news of Lu Bing's death last night was like a bolt from the blue for Emperor Jiajing.

Lu Bing was not only his trusted minister, but also his good brother.

The two grew up together. When Emperor Jiajing was very young, he knew his wet nurse's son, and their relationship was already deep.

When his mother died, he went on a southern tour to bury his mother and father together. Halfway through the journey, the fire in Weihui was still vivid in his mind. It was Lu Bing who rushed into the sea of ​​fire and carried him out, and Zhu Xizhong also helped.

At that time, Emperor Jiajing determined that these two people were loyal to him, otherwise he would never rush into the fire to rescue himself in such a fire.

But, unexpectedly, Lu Bing actually died after a drug test.