I just want to be a princess, no, you want to be a queen

Chapter 202: Last Thoughts

"You guys eat first." Chu Mingzheng glanced at Lu Mingyuan and walked out. Lu Mingyang followed him out.

Mother Shen stood at the gate of the mansion. She was slightly plump and looked very strong. She was wearing a lake blue brocade dress, the style of which was still from a few years ago, but it looked very new. A young woman was supporting her.

Seeing Chu Mingzheng, Shen's mother bowed awkwardly.

Chu Mingzheng supported her, "Old Madam, what does the prince want to ask?"

Mother Shen smiled and said, "It's nothing serious. I'm just going back to my hometown tomorrow, and my son asked me to bring something back for His Highness. I was afraid I'd forgotten, so I thought I'd give it to you first."

As she spoke, Shen's mother took out three books from her bosom, one of which was "Reform of the Ministry of War", one was "Detailed Notes on Laws", and one was "Self-records of the Examination of Craftsmen", all of which were written by Shen Yan.

Chu Mingzheng had a bad feeling and asked tentatively, "Does the old lady know where Zhijie went?"

"He told me that he would be away on business for a long time and asked me to stay in the countryside for a while. Now that I've been sent there, I won't disturb Your Highness." Mother Shen said goodbye and left.

As the carriage drove away, Chu Mingzheng looked at the girl beside him: "What was Shen Yan's last words to my eldest sister today?"

Lu Mingyuan's voice came from behind him: "He said he wished me a peaceful and happy life."

But, how can a dying person have any more life?

"Yangyang, take Leng Lingfeng to the Dali Temple." Before he finished speaking, Chu Mingzheng had disappeared.

Lu Mingyuan's face turned pale.

Lu Mingyang supported his shaky elder sister and looked at Lu Mingze approaching. He felt panic in his heart: "What is Shen Yan going to do?"

Lu Mingze said, "The laws of Dasheng state that a life cannot be paid twice."

"What trouble is he making?" Lu Mingyang hurried to find Leng Lingfeng, while Lu Mingyuan and Lu Mingze rushed to the Dali Temple.

When Lu Mingyang and Leng Lingfeng entered the Dali Temple dungeon, a crowd of people gathered in the cell. Shen Yan lay on a straw bed, barely breathing.

Leng Lingfeng stepped forward to take his pulse.

Chu Mingzheng took out the oil paper he found under the straw and handed it to Leng Lingfeng, saying, "Is it arsenic? After inducing vomiting, feed him a bowl of raw milk."

Leng Lingfeng picked up the powder on the oil paper and sniffed it carefully. "It's arsenic."

Arsenic is highly toxic, and it's unknown how much Shen Yan consumed. A silver needle was inserted into the Baihui acupoint, and when it was removed, it was dim. Leng Lingfeng fed Shen Yan a pill and lowered his head to write the prescription.

"The poison has entered my bloodstream. I can only give it a try to see if I can survive."

After handing the prescription to the jailer, Leng Lingfeng began to give acupuncture.

The man on the straw reacted, his mouth opening and closing as he uttered mumbled words: "Madam Yuan."

"What?" Leng Lingfeng lowered his head to listen, glanced at Lu Mingyuan in surprise, pretended not to hear, and continued to give acupuncture, but the sound became louder and louder, and everyone heard it.

"Arsenic can cause hallucinations," Leng Lingfeng explained. Shen Yan slowly opened his eyes, and the light inside gradually faded. He was startled and said anxiously, "This is a near-death hallucination. Miss, please talk to him!"

"What did I say?" Lu Mingyuan was flustered.

Leng Lingfeng made way and said, "Tell him what he likes to hear, or let him say it. As long as you don't let his consciousness dissipate, anything is fine."

Lu Mingyuan knelt beside the straw bed and called softly, "Master Shen!"

"Madam Yuan!"

The two sides he had been thinking about appeared before him, and Shen Yan reached out to touch them. Lu Mingyuan dodged awkwardly, but just as the pale hand slipped away, he grabbed it with his backhand.

"Master Shen, do you have anything to say to me?"

"Madam Yuan," the weak voice was filled with trepidation, "Rain falls on the sycamore trees at night, and my heart is as pure as ice in a jade pot. Zhijie gave Madam Yuan this jade pot. Do you like it?"

"Cough, cough..." Chu Mingzheng covered his mouth and coughed lightly.

The Dali Temple Minister immediately understood and said, "Your Highness, please call me if you need anything." He then left with the Dali Temple staff. As he left, he did not forget to scold the prisoners in the other cells to lie down and sleep.

The Dali Temple is a place where serious criminals are detained. There are not many people in the prison, and it becomes quiet as a chicken in an instant.

Lu Mingyuan panicked: "Master Shen, wake up, we'll talk when you wake up."

Tears welled up on Shen Yan's pale face: "I know you don't like it. I know I'm vulgar and dirty. I shouldn't desecrate my wife. I meet you in my dreams every night, but I can't control it."

"Zhijie had read the books of sages for decades, but it was not until he met Lady Yuan that he understood what Luoshen Xiaoxiang was."

"A goddess with beauty should be like a lady; a goddess with heart should be like a lady; a goddess with merit should be like a lady."

"..."

Those cheesy words made everyone uncomfortable. Chu Mingzheng hugged Lu Mingyang and walked to the other side of the cell door, while Lu Mingze walked outside.

Lu Mingyang glanced back. Across from the straw bed was a wooden bed, upon which lay his eldest sister's quilt. He called him vulgar and filthy, but even at death, he would never touch his eldest sister's things.

"Zizhou, is that you?"

A familiar shout, accompanied by an echo, came from deep in the dungeon. Lu Mingze followed the sound, turned a corner, and saw Song Wei at the end of the corner.

He sat cross-legged in the narrow moonlight, his bracelets and anklets hidden beneath his loose prison uniform, looking nothing but a mess. As if the Dali Temple official knew he would eventually be released, the cell was furnished with everything he needed, including a bed, a table, and cups for wine and tea.

"Are you looking for me?" Lu Mingze paused.

Song Wei looked up and caught sight of Lu Mingyang at the corner. He looked away awkwardly, "I'm only talking to you."

"Fourth sister!" Lu Mingze turned around.

"Oh!" Lu Mingyang walked back.

Song Wei watched Lu Mingyang disappear and said, "Zizhou, I never wanted Zishen to die. I just wanted him to lose once. And Uncle Lu, if I had known, I would never have let Lieutenant General Sun harm your father."

He had originally thought that Concubine Song had ordered Lieutenant General Sun to kill his father, so he admitted the crime. Lu Mingze asked, "Why?"

Song Wei said self-deprecatingly, "Zi Shen and I have been classmates for ten years and sworn brothers. He could have chosen not to help me, but I never thought he would rather help Prince Ning Yuan than me."

Lu Mingze couldn't believe it: "When did my second brother help King Ningyuan?"

"Do you think I don't know?" Song Wei laughed. "On the eve of the expedition, why were 10,000 of the 30,000 selected cavalry suddenly replaced by the Shuofang garrison? Those Shuofang garrison were once subordinates of King Ningyuan."

"Doesn't Prince Ningyuan just want his subordinates to achieve meritorious service so that he can control the court?"

"I thought Uncle Lu was upright and incorruptible, never disdaining power struggles in the court, and always devoting himself to the country. But why did Prince Ningyuan agree after only a secret meeting with him?"

Lu Mingze was so angry that he laughed: "My father used the Shuofang garrison because the Xiongnu general Jin Yiluo had been fighting against them for years. My father had a secret meeting with King Ningyuan because King Ningyuan was familiar with Jin Yiluo's military tactics."

"My father did everything to protect the territory of Dasheng. He never had such dirty thoughts as you do."