prosperous age

After the news of Lu Bing's sudden illness and death came out, although Jin Yiwei was out in large numbers, there were still various versions circulating in the teahouses, restaurants, and streets and alleys in the capital.

The mythical version was murdered by someone who died unjustly, the conspiracy version was murdered by some political opponent, and the secular version was naturally killed in the belly of a woman
These news were also reported to Wei Guangde by Zhang Ji as gossip, but Zhao Hu never came back after going out.

Zhao Hu didn't come back until it was dark, and reported all the news he had inquired for most of the day.

"Master, it is said that Dudu Lu left Beizhen Fusi and entered the palace in the afternoon, but he was carried by someone, followed by two imperial physicians, and later several imperial physicians, and Famous doctors in the capital, as long as they are a little famous, were called to Beizhen Fusi, but they were still not rescued at night."

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

"It means that Dudu Lu got sick while he was in the palace. He saw the imperial physician in the palace, and then sent him back to Beizhen Fusi. He also invited other imperial physicians and the capital to treat him in the name of the capital?"

"Yes, it is said that the emperor ordered all the imperial doctors from the imperial hospital to go."

Zhao Hu replied.

"What is the disease, so dangerous, has anyone revealed it?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, now it seems that Lu Bing really has some kind of emergency, and death is fate.

"No, those people are very secretive, and they refuse to say what kind of disease it is."

Zhao Hu said in a difficult way.

"Secret secret? Is there any unspeakable secret?"

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

In this era, sudden illnesses are really rare, diseases that can cause rapid death after onset, Wei Guangde only knows that some plagues seem to be like this, and they die within half a day.

However, not all plagues are so rapid, and many of them will drag on for several days.

Now the doctors of the Ming Dynasty have also noticed that although they called all highly infectious diseases "plagues", there are still differences between plagues, and the disease cycle and symptoms are different.

Combined with the secretiveness of those doctors before, Wei Guangde had just experienced the epidemic in the south, so naturally the first thing he thought of was that the epidemic in the south had spread to the north.

Not to mention that this kind of possibility does not exist, Wei Guangde can clearly remember that even when the southern plague was prevalent, Jin Yiwei's spies and information distribution did not stop, maybe the information was contaminated with unclean things, Lu Bing was checking When the information was infected, 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 Xiyuan tomorrow or two days later?
That place is dangerous now, and you may be infected with the invisible and intangible virus inadvertently.

Wei Guangde was worried in the room, what Zhang Ji found out earlier was all rumors, but he laughed hard, but now he can't laugh anymore.

Of course, when he is not happy at this time, he has to wait a few days to pay homage to Lu's mansion. After all, Lu Bing is considered an elder, but he passed away before he had time to take care of him.

Without Lu Bing's asylum, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that maybe Weng Pu's opinion was right, and if possible, it would be good to go down to the local government for a second term.

He was young and ignorant before, so he thought it was good to be in the capital. Later, he was arrested by Lu Bing and met him. With this big boss, he lived in the capital with more peace of mind, although Wei Guangde did not break the law.

But now it's different, he has no one to rely on, and even Chen Ju in the palace has a showdown with him, so he can't get in touch with him, and now he has suddenly returned to the way he was when he first came to the capital in the capital, and he has no channels to inquire about various news.

Not long after, Lao Kan, Zhang Ke and other fellow villagers came over, as well as Xin Ke Scholars Gui Zhiyang and Ouyang Yijing.

They were able to sneak into Wei Guangde's house, all because of fellow villagers, real fellow villagers.

Gui Zhiyang is from De'an. He was a Juren in the 31st year of Jiajing, the same year as Zhu Shilong, but Zhu Shilong has no intention of taking the imperial examination in the past two years and has gone out to visit mountains and rivers.

It is said that Wei Guangde also participated in the Jiangxi Township Examination that year, but failed in the result, so he and Gui Zhiyang are naturally familiar with each other.

It's just that Gui Zhiyang was unlucky. He failed in the Jiajing examination for 32 years and 35 years in a row. It was not until last year that he got the title of Jinshi, which is considered successful.

As for Ouyang Yijing, he was actually selected earlier than Zhu Shilong and Gui Zhiyang. He was a Juren in the 28th year of Jiajing, but Ding You was at home. Wei Guangde had visited his residence when he was in Pengze.

But time has changed, and the little boy from back then has stepped into the officialdom before him and has become his predecessor.

It is worth mentioning that Ouyang Yijing also participated in the 35th Jiajing Examination, and arrived in the capital in time to complete the registration at the Ministry of Rites, but failed in the end.

After learning that he failed the ranking, he left the capital immediately and returned to his hometown in Jiangxi. It can be said that he came and went in a hurry.

Today, when they learned that Wei Guangde was returning to the imperial court, the two new scholars came here uninvited, and the news was naturally learned from Lao Kan.

During Wei Guangde's absence from the capital, officials from Jiujiang surrounded Lao Kan.

As for the reason, it is actually very simple. Although Jiangxi is a major province of imperial examinations, the Jinshi in Jiujiang Prefecture can only be regarded as the middle and lower level in Jiangxi. There are few people and the official positions are not high.

At the wine table, everyone's topic naturally concerned about Wei Guangde's trip to the south, and then talked about Lu Bing's matter.

Wei Guangde could tell that they were all envious of him being sent abroad again and again. Zhang Ke also hiccupped at the banquet and said, "I will probably be able to go to Shanxi next month." '

"Censor?"

Lao Kan asked in surprise.

Zhang Ke nodded, "Forget it. The Zhongshu Department is just a decoration. There is nothing to do all day long. No matter which room of the sixth department next door is busy, there is nothing in our place. "

Zhang Ke said it lightly, but Wei Guangde also knew that this old man probably spent a lot of money in order to get transferred.

Picking up the wine glass, he smiled at Zhang Ke: "From now on, we will be colleagues of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and we will take care of each other."

"Hehe. That's that."

Zhang Ke laughed out loud, raised his wine glass and touched Wei Guangde lightly, and the two drank it down in one gulp.

"I've heard people say that Mr. Lu got sick in the palace. Why did he get sick so violently?"

Gui Zhiyang watched them drink a cup, and then asked.

Now that he is in the Pedestrian Department, he is also anxious to change his post, but it is not easy to transfer, it depends on the opportunity.

So when Wei Guangde and Zhang Ke were talking, he waited on the sidelines until they put down their wine glasses before interjecting.

Lao Kan smacked his lips, his behavior naturally attracted the attention of others, including Wei Guangde.

In the past, Wei Guangde was a know-it-all in their small circle, but now that he has just returned to the capital, his know-how must not be very good.

Seeing Lao Kan's appearance, as if he knew it, Wei Guangde couldn't help asking curiously: "If you know it, just say it, don't pretend to be profound."

"Cough cough."

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

"Everyone take turns to offer Sir a glass of wine, or two if one is not enough, until he is willing to speak."

Seeing Lao Kan's appearance, Wei Guangde jokingly raised his wine glass first.

"Don't, don't, I'm just playing around."

When Lao Kan heard that Wei Guangde was going to drink him, he immediately waved his hands, "It is true that Master Lu had an accident in the palace, but I heard that it was not a disease of Fa Lao Shizi, but a test of medicine for His Majesty. The medicine has erysipelas, Master Lu couldn't bear it, and the imperial doctor couldn't do anything about it, and it ended like this."

"What? Eat pills and die?"

Ouyang Yijing was slightly surprised, in fact, not to mention him, Wei Guangde didn't expect it either, so he was still a little dazed at the moment.

He even wondered if Lu Bing was infected by the plague in the south, and died of sudden illness. It can be said that he died after eating the new elixir refined by Emperor Jiajing.

"Actually, if you ask some Taoist priests, you will know that the elixir that is refined has erysipelas, it's just a question of how much.

The pills that have been practiced are said to make the body strong and rejuvenate, but they can't be taken for a long time, because the pills have erysipelas.

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

At this time, Lao Kan was able to speak leisurely. After speaking, he picked up the chopsticks on the table, put a mouthful of food into his mouth, and began to chew slowly.

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

Zhang Ke on the side laughed.

"You heard that too?"

Wei Guangde wondered.

"There are so many secrets in the officialdom. What happened in the palace, those little servants in the palace have to go to the sixth department every day. I don't know who told it. Then I will know."

Zhang Ke replied, "And I also heard that in the early years, people died from eating it, but they haven't died from eating it these years, but there are also people who vomit and have diarrhea after taking the pill.

By the way, Elder Yan Ge had eaten the elixir rewarded by His Majesty a few years ago, but he went back and lay on the bed for three days. He was alive and alive after eating it, and he almost died after eating it. "

Wei Guangde felt happy when he heard this, and thought that it might be that Emperor Jiajing took too many drugs and his body was more resistant to erysipelas, and that Yan Ge was old and his body was not as good as the emperor's.

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

Then, Emperor Jiajing had nothing to do, he was still meditating and practicing, but Yan Song fainted without much effort, and was carried out of Xiyuan by his servants and sent back home, and there was another flutter.

Emperor Jiajing, who had completed his meritorious deeds, was rewarded, and hurriedly called the imperial physician to come 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 saw with his own eyes, and there was absolutely no falsehood, so many people believed it at the time.

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

Of course, with his own time travel, Wei Guangde is also a little uncertain about the theory of gods and ghosts.

Most of the lines used in later works about ancient gods and monsters are "Zi don't talk about strange powers and gods". Of".

After chatting for a few words, Wei Guangde felt relieved, as long as Lu Bing was not infected with the plague, he could still go to Xiyuan, but in the future he must be given the elixir given by Emperor Jiajing, that thing is really dangerous.

What if, what if, Emperor Jiajing insisted on rewarding him with pills?
Wei Guangde subconsciously thought again, then he just said he didn't have that kind of luck.

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

But thinking about it, this time the elixir poisoned Lu Bing to death, and Emperor Jiajing probably wouldn't just give it to others for a long time.

When the Wei mansion was drinking and drinking, it was the same in several mansions in Beijing, where the masters were drinking and having fun.

Of course, the reasons for their happiness are naturally different, perhaps only the Lu family is gloomy at this time.

As the pillar of the Lu family, he was gone if he said nothing, he was fine the day before, and even in the afternoon, but such bad news came out in only half a day.

But it's just worrying, the Lu family is not in a hurry, after all, when Lu Bing was alive, relying on Emperor Jiajing's favor for him, he made a very careful layout, just to protect his family, even when he was not around, he could still maintain it. .

Lu Bing's son Lu Jing married the granddaughter of the right governor Gao Shu, the eldest daughter married the son of Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Cheng, the second daughter married Yan Shaoting, the grandson of Yan Song, the third daughter married the son of Xu Jie, and the fourth daughter married The fifth daughter was married to the son of Wu Peng, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and formed a powerful political marriage alliance with relatives and nobles.

In fact, it can also be seen from it that Lu Bing once hoped to use Yan and Xu to balance the court, and he married the two respectively for insurance.

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

At this time in Xiyuan, 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 in a daze.

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

Lu Bing is not only his trusted subject, but also his good brother.

The two grew up together since childhood. Emperor Jiajing knew him, the nanny's son, when he was very young, and the relationship was already deep.

When his mother passed away, when he was on his southern tour to bury his mother and queen together with his father, halfway through the trip, Wei Hui's fire was still vivid in his memory. It was Lu Bing who rushed into the sea of ​​flames and carried him out, and Zhu Xizhong also helped.

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

It's just that, unexpectedly, Lu Bing actually found out after a trial of medicine.