Chapter 298
Chapter 298
Suddenly, Luo An asked in a frigid tone.
“Lord Shen Lang, how did you know my brother was wearing the silk undergarment I embroidered?”
“Someone told me, of course. Did you think no one had noticed the scandal between you two?”
“Do not slander others with such venomous words. I’ll ask again. Su Nan’s letter claimed that the incident where the Qiang envoy burned down the Yue temple, leading to his death, was your conspiracy. Is this true?”
The woman was trying to tear Shen Lang down and drive him into a corner.
“Yes, it is true.”
“Your Majesty, he has confessed! He dared to frame our Qiang envoy. I implore you to have this man killed and torn to pieces.”
The King of Qiang was filled with rage but had nowhere to vent it. Hearing Luo An’s words, a question he’d had earlier resurfaced. From the very beginning, Shen Lang had said it was all his conspiracy and that he had been the one to harm the Qiang envoy. The King had been furious and was about to kill Shen Lang’s subordinates, Thirteen and Huang Feng, but Shen Lang had offered him treasure, and he had spared them. The King was, after all, a greedy man. But now, the topic had been brought up once more.
The King of Qiang sneered.
“Shen Lang, why did you frame our envoy? Do you have a death wish? If you can’t give me a suitable excuse, you won’t be leaving here alive.”
Shen Lang cursed inwardly.
*This King of Qiang is truly fickle, unable to even stand by his own words. He promised to spare them just moments ago, and now he’s already changing his mind. He flips faster than a dog in the street.*
Some might ask why not win the King of Qiang over instead of killing him. That was impossible. A vile man who constantly changed his mind like this could never be subdued. Killing him was the only option.
“Your Majesty, I did it because I wanted to destroy the Su Clan and take their place! I wanted to monopolize all diplomatic affairs between the Qiang Kingdom and the State of Yue.”
The King of Qiang’s eyes narrowed. That was a reason he could accept. But I’m cooperating perfectly well with the Su Clan, so why should I switch?
“Your Majesty, whatever the Su Clan offered you each year, my Jin Clan can offer as well! Not only that, but we can offer more. Would one hundred thousand gold coins a year be sufficient?”
Hearing Shen Lang’s words, the King’s eyes lit up. The profits the Su Clan shared from their annual trade with the Qiang Kingdom amounted to about forty or fifty thousand gold coins. They only gave him a larger sum when they needed a favor, such as this time, when they wanted to use his power to kill Shen Lang. But Shen Lang was offering one hundred thousand gold coins right off the bat from the trade deal alone. One hundred thousand gold coins every year.
“Furthermore, when Your Majesty needs our assistance, we will be far more generous than the Su Clan!”
The King of Qiang sneered.
“How can I believe you? I may not know much about your Jin Clan, but I know plenty about the Su Clan.”
“Big Dummy, bring it in!”
Big Dummy brought in another chest. Shen Lang positioned it where the sunlight streamed in from the window and opened it. In that instant, a dazzling light flashed, almost blindingly bright. It was a colossal mirror, a full three meters tall and one meter wide.
“Your Majesty, you must be aware of the new mirrors.”
Of course, he was. The new glass mirrors had already taken the entire East by storm. Various nations from the Western Regions had flocked to the Heavenly Dao Society, begging for a partnership to acquire these mirrors. The Heavenly Dao Society had managed to reclaim a portion of the strategic initiative in East-West trade in one fell swoop. However, all the mirrors were currently sold through auctions, and their prices had skyrocketed. Moreover, the largest mirror they had ever presented was no more than two meters tall, yet the one before him was even larger than the biggest one seen at auction. The King’s consort, Luo An, bore a grudge against Shen Lang, but even she, being a woman, couldn't help but feel her heart stir at the sight of such a magnificent mirror.
“Your Majesty, do you now believe we have the capability to replace the Su Clan?”
The King’s eyes revealed a greedy glint as he looked at the mirror. He immediately gave an order.
“Take this mirror. Detain Shen Lang and pressure the Jin Clan to offer a thousand mirrors a year.”
This was the true face of the King of Qiang. Utterly selfish and greedy, he saw himself as the only true person in a world of creatures no better than pigs or dogs. Such a man had to be dealt with and killed. But at the very least, the matter of Shen Lang framing the Qiang envoy by having him burn the temple was finally behind them.
Luo An felt a pang of regret.
*What a pity. Shen Lang has weathered the storm once again. I couldn’t have him killed.*
Then, the King’s gaze fell upon Zuo Baiyu once more. Although he somewhat believed that Zuo Baiyu and Luo An were siblings, he was not entirely convinced of their innocence.
*Should I banish this Daoist? Or kill him? No, better not to kill him. His medical skills are exceptional. If I ever contract some unspeakable illness in the future, I can have him treat me. It would be best to send him away. I must keep him away from Luo An.*
Zuo Baiyu sensed the King’s intentions and immediately knelt, trembling as he spoke.
“I do not mind if Your Majesty banishes me, but what if another member of the royal family contracts smallpox? Who will treat them then?”
The Daoist was extremely cunning, always bringing up the possibility of the royal family contracting smallpox. He would not treat the common people of the Qiang Kingdom; he knew he couldn’t cure them anyway. The royal family had a stronger bloodline and better immunity, and the palace was more sanitary, giving them a higher chance of surviving smallpox even if they caught it.
Shen Lang said.
“I will treat them!”
Shen Lang had originally planned to completely eradicate the smallpox epidemic in the Qiang Kingdom and become its savior. That was how he would get his chance to assassinate the King. The Daoist Zuo Baiyu said coldly.
“Only I in this world can cure smallpox. How could Your Majesty trust you with the treatment? Your Majesty, for the safety of the dynasty and for your own well-being, I implore you to let me stay.”
Just then, a frantic, panicked voice came from outside.
“Your Majesty, it’s an emergency! The Third Prince, Aruhan, has been infected with smallpox!”
Then, another person knelt and cried out from outside.
“Your Majesty, it’s an emergency! The Princess has also contracted smallpox!”
Hearing this, the King of Qiang, Arugang, his face changed drastically. No sooner had his two young sons recovered from smallpox than two more were infected today. The Third Prince, Aruhan, was the son who resembled him the most, and thus the one he cherished most. The Princess Arunana, needless to say, was his treasured daughter. If the King were to lose the Third Prince and Arunana, he would suffer the heart-wrenching pain of loss.
Zuo Baiyu said.
“Your Majesty, did Shen Lang not just claim he could cure smallpox? Then let him prove it! Entrust the Third Prince, Aruhan, to me, and let Shen Lang treat the Princess. I have a divine medicine that can cure the Third Prince’s smallpox in a single day. However, I only have one dose of this divine medicine left.”
It was a brilliant strategy. Shen Lang instantly understood his intentions; Zuo Baiyu was even more despicable than he had imagined. Originally, Shen Lang had guessed that Zuo Baiyu had treated the young prince by drugging him into a deep, comatose sleep, allowing his own healthy constitution to fight off the smallpox and recover. But it turned out the young prince’s smallpox had been a complete fabrication—it was chickenpox that he and Luo An had conspired to create. A mere skin condition, meticulously made to mimic the symptoms of smallpox. That was how Zuo Baiyu had become a divine physician who could cure illness with a single dose of medicine.
Furthermore, he claimed that the divine medicine was hard to come by, so he would only save the royal family and leave the commoners to their fate. With such a deep-seated scheme, even the suspicious King of Qiang was deceived into keeping Zuo Baiyu by his side, believing his own life was guaranteed. Now that smallpox was rampant, anyone except Crown Prince Arutai was at risk of infection. Crown Prince Arutai had contracted and recovered from smallpox as a child, and his face still bore the pockmarks.
The conspiracy between Zuo Baiyu and Luo An was now glaringly obvious. The smallpox of the Third Prince of Qiang, Aruhan, was fake—another skin ailment created by Zuo Baiyu, with symptoms that merely resembled smallpox. But the smallpox that Princess Arunana had contracted was real. Someone had clearly gone to great lengths to infect her, because her return had stood in someone’s way.
Now, Zuo Baiyu proposed that Shen Lang treat Princess Arunana while he treated Prince Aruhan. The outcome was all but certain. Tomorrow, Prince Aruhan would be ‘cured,’ while it would take a long time for Arunana to overcome this ordeal. Just then, Big Dummy suddenly spoke from behind.
“Little Dummy, hurry. Hurry and save my bride.”
After speaking, Big Dummy turned and ran out.
* * *
Outside the royal palace, an isolation house for patients had already been built, mostly out of wood. Each room was designed to be completely sealed, with not even the slightest gap between the wooden planks. There were no windows, as it was believed that patients should not be exposed to the wind. The Third Prince of Qiang, Aruhan, was placed in the isolated room on the left, while Princess Arunana was in the room on the right. Only a wooden wall separated their two rooms.
Arunana’s face was already covered in smallpox pustules, which seemed to have appeared within the last few hours. Shen Lang recognized it as smallpox at a glance. She had been deliberately harmed by someone.
“Get out, get out…!”
The moment Arunana saw Big Dummy, she shouted loudly. When they had first met, she hadn’t been particularly impressed with him, but since they were essentially fellow disciples, she felt a sense of familiarity. Besides, Big Dummy wasn’t as detestable as some pretty boys. Big Dummy ran to Arunana, took her hand, and said.
“Wife, don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. Little Dummy is amazing, he can definitely save you.”
“Are you crazy?”
Arunana was completely stunned. Since she had been infected with smallpox, everyone had avoided her as if she were a venomous snake. Even her own parents. But Big Dummy, unafraid of the disease, had instead gripped her hand tightly. Smallpox was highly contagious, spreading not only through saliva but also through the air. Physical contact made transmission almost a certainty.
“Wife, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid…!”
Big Dummy said, crying. In that moment, Arunana’s heart trembled slightly, and she felt an unparalleled warmth. She had always been so strong, thinking she could do anything and never needed a man.
*Does Master need a man? If Master doesn’t have one, then I don’t need one either.*
But when she contracted smallpox, she felt true fear and realized she wasn’t as brave as she had thought. She too was afraid of dying, and when everyone distanced themselves from her, she felt utterly alone. It was then that Big Dummy appeared by her side and took her hand. In that instant, he seemed immense to her, and she felt a sense of being safely protected. Fortunately, there was no chance of Big Dummy getting infected with smallpox. Shen Lang had already vaccinated him with cowpox.