Deity of Medicine Imperial Daughter’s Temple
It had to be said that the eighth prince, Xuan Tian Mo, was also someone that was able to let things go. He definitely would not be like the late third prince, Xuan Tian Ye, and get even angrier, placing himself in a dead end. Xuan Tian Mo was very adaptable, and he was very good at pivoting, as he quickly calculated this matter in his mind: Since I am already kneeling, I can’t kneel for nothing, and I must not lose face without gaining a single benefit. At the very least, he needed to change the image that the citizens had of him.
Thus he put aside his image and put on a very sincere image of apologizing. At the same time, he pushed the responsibility on the Persian doctor, causing the citizens to feel as if there was no other alternative. He then went to the governor’s office and received his 100 strikes. In the end, his body was left battered and bloody, and not even the citizens could bear to continue watching. They all left and expressed that they would not continue to pursue this matter. As for the execution of the Persian, it was set for three days later, and this would be enough for the people.
It was just that through this matter, the people of the capital began to miss Feng Yu Heng even more, especially whenever someone fell ill. They began to reminisce about the time that Hundred Herb Hall was still around because Hundred Herb Hall did not just sell medical pills and tablets to the wealthy. It also provided a certain level of service to normal citizens. Those that could not afford to buy medicine could agree to the debt. As for how it would be repaid, there were two options. One was to repay the amount within a set period of time, and the second was to provide manual labor. It would be stuff like helping out in Hundred Herb Hall or with Feng Yu Heng’s other businesses.
The majority of the citizens chose manual labor, and a large number of people were sent to the outskirts of the capital to help with reclamation projects and planting medicinal herbs. As things continued, there were some that willingly stayed over there. After repaying their debts, they would begin their jobs officially, and they could earn some more salary. When working for Feng Yu Heng, there was never a moment when salaries were cut, and there would be gifts of fish, meat or eggs during the holidays. To the wealthy families, this was not worth much, but to the people that would earn three taels of silver for their work, it was an extremely big help. Moreover, anyone working for Feng Yu Heng’s businesses would see even more benefits when being treated at Hundred Herb Hall. Even their families would benefit.
Aside from this, the fragments of the medicine would also be used for common supplements. There were some for improving constitution and some for recovering from colds and fevers. During the Winter, there were some for dispelling the cold, and there were some for dealing with the heat of Summer. Because they were made using scattered fragments, they were not recorded and would be given to the people that needed them for free. Everyone knew that Hundred Herb Hall’s medicine was the best. Even if the fragments would be a little worse in terms of appearance, the medical effect would be the same. That was why even more people that could not afford medicine would receive some of these freebies, and they could recover quite a bit from their symptoms.
The people thought of these things pleasantly, and they would feel that Imperial Daughter Ji An was like a medical Bodhisattva. When they then thought of this Bodhisattva being chased way by those shitty officials and the eighth prince, the people began to wipe away tears. Later on, someone suggested that they raise some funds to build a statue of Imperial Daughter Ji An and send it to a temple.
After this news reached the wealthy families, they supported this fully because they had also been recipients of Imperial Daughter Ji An’s grace. There were also quite a few second and third rank officials whose families had been treated by Hundred Herb Hall’s magnificent medical techniques. Without Hundred Herb Hall’s medical techniques, their family members would not have survived. Thus the wealthy people of the capital provided the money, and the poor people provided the labor. Not only did they carve a statue of Imperial Daughter Ji An, but they built a temple for the deity of medicine in the capital to worship her specifically.
These actions were very quickly reported by the officials into court. No matter which faction the people were a part of, they did not dare to voice a single word of opposition because they knew that the Emperor favored Imperial Daughter Ji An. She had already been successfully forced out of the capital. The officials needed to pay attention to not sing the wrong note at a time like this.
Sure enough, the Emperor was in agreement with this matter. He even provided 500 taels of his personal funds to aid the construction and protection of the deity of medicine imperial daughter’s temple. With the Emperor making his move, how could the officials dare to hold back, thus everyone also put on appearances and provided a bit. It was not much, with some giving 100 taels and some giving 300 taels. In summary, not a single person surpassed the 500 taels that the Emperor had donated. This was considered a small competition and did not get out of hand.
In the end, this matter was picked up by the eldest prince. He would bring the money to the temple, and he would personally bring people to take care of the construction of the temple for the deity of medicine. From this moment, the Deity of Medicine Imperial Daughter’s temple to the North of the capital was a place recognized by the imperial family. Not only was the construction very imposing, but the people also felt even more at ease.
Of course, this was all an afterthought. At present, the eighth prince had been hit 100 times. Although he had used his inner strength to protect his body, his butt had been extremely battered to make it look more realistic. On that day, he was carried back from the governor’s office to the Sheng Palace; however, within five days, numerous officials from the surrounding areas had come to the capital. All of them had accused the eighth prince of kidnapping their daughters.
Xuan Tian Mo hated Xu Jing Yuan to his very core. If it was not for Xu Jing Yuan sticking posters everywhere, the daughters returning home would have been the end of the matter; however, it happened to be known by everyone. Regardless of the truth, this was something being spread around. The people could not avoid thinking about it, thus they came to the capital and wanted to get some sort of explanation.
But the people held back a bit. After all, they were not officials from the capital, and they did not really understand the situation in the capital. The eighth prince and the ninth prince were the same. They both had rights to command troops. Although the Southern Army had already been transferred to the ninth prince, the eighth prince had also received control of the imperial guards inside the imperial palace. That was the position closest to the Emperor, and someone analyzed: “To say something antagonistic to the imperial family, if the eighth prince desires it, mobilizing the imperial guards to control the imperial palace, even if the ninth prince turns the army back around, there would not be enough time. When that time comes, the eighth prince will have already assumed the throne. Also, privately killing off the people in the imperial palace would not affect the citizens on the outside. But if the army is mobilized, the ones to get hurt would be the citizens. That’s why the ninth prince would be the one in a predicament once this happens.”
The people felt complicated: “Then we came for nothing? Our daughters were bullied for nothing?”
Someone a bit smarter continued: “Analyzing this matter on our own is pointless. We can’t have come for nothing. We need to find someone to inquire a bit. This talentless one can be considered acquaintences with the governor, Lord Xu. He is the parental official of the capital. Nobody has more of a right to speak than him. How about we ask him?”
This suggestion was met with approval by the officials, thus that person invited Xu Jing Yuan to the posthouse. Naturally, Xu Jing Yuan would not speak in favor of the eighth prince, but he was not overly biased. He just made one thing clear at the end to everyone: “The eighth prince, for the sake of ascending the throne, has used underhanded tactics. Although there are people that had said that the ninth prince was capricious, so many sets of eyes have seen that the ninth prince loves the country and its people. He would never do anything that would be detrimental to the people. But what about the eighth prince? You must have heard about the incidents that have just occurred in the capital. What exactly is he doing? Either way, if you ask this official, this official feels that if someone like the eighth prince ascends the throne, I would feel uncertain. That would really be extremely perilous at the ruler’s side!”
When the people heard this, was it not this reasoning? Once the eighth prince ascended the throne, the world would struggle to find peace. That sort of backstabbing person had actually sent people to kidnap their daughters for the sake of competing with the ninth prince. Perfectly good and pure girls were kidnapped. Even if nothing had happened, their reputations had been thoroughly ruined.
The people gritted their teeth and cursed out the eighth prince from head to toe; however, they decided not to pursue the matter. After all, they did not want to cause the Emperor to feel any unhappiness because the matter of the kidnapping was all speculation. If the eighth prince resolutely denied it and said that he was being framed, and they decided to continue causing a fuss, the Emperor might get annoyed. But they had already made up their minds. They could not stand on the eighth prince’s side, and they definitely would not support any motion started by the eighth prince.
The officials from out of the province had come into the capital. In the end, it became a visit to pay respects to the Emperor and the Empress, and some gifts were sent. The Emperor and the Empress understood the situation, but they did not openly point it out. The battle for the throne had already reached this point. Their best choice was to just observe from above, especially for the Emperor. They were all family. Even if he wanted to favor the ninth prince, he could not just toss the eighth prince into a bottomless abyss. After all, that was his son and not the late Xuan Tian Ye.
But there were still officials in the capital that wanted to stand on the eighth prince’s side. This included the officials from out of the province that had not been meddled with. Today, they had also seen the eighth prince’s spokesmen. These spokesmen knew how to find gaps, and those that went to visit the officials were people that had sent their daughters into the palace in the past. It was well known that after the appearance of Imperial Concubine Yun, the Emperor’s inner palace had become a decoration. The ones that were lucky to have given birth to princes before Imperial Concubine Yun could be considered as having pillars of support, but those that did not have the chance to give birth and did not even have the chance to receive the Emperor’s favor were stuck in the palace. They were alone and without any help. Because they did not have children, they did not have any standing, thus they could not provide their maternal families with any support. They had clearly been sent into the palace as their families’ hopes; however, they gradually became worthless chess pieces.
But those that could be sent into the palace would all be important daughters of the family, and they would be the ones that were most valued. They were the ones that they had put all of their heart into raising. Such good children had become worthless pieces, but these officials did not dare to say a single word about it to the Emperor; however, once someone brought up this topic, they could not stop themselves from feeling bitter. They slowly revealed this to the spokesmen that had been sent out.
This was the outcome that the spokesmen had desired. They had specifically sought out this sort of person. Acting from Imperial Concubine Yun’s angle, they spoke of the ninth prince’s improper actions. They even said to those officials: “Think about it, once the ninth prince takes the throne, Imperial Concubine Yun would be the Empress Dowager. That woman is proficient in jealousy. She is currently just an imperial concubine, and she has already forced the others into their current situation! If she really becomes the empress dowager, the outcome would be…”
All of the officials inhaled sharply. Although they had already given up on the daughters that they had sent into the palace, they had put painstaking care into raising them. Who could avoid feeling distressed? Moreover, the spokesmen said: “I fear that just dealing with them would not be enough. The future empress dowager might even end up resenting my Lord. My Lord, you must think about your family!”