Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 337: The Miracle of Medicine

Of course, Yang Zhong was a northerner, and he was a hard-nosed warrior. As long as he couldn't torture them to death, he would torture them to death. Soon, he tortured the two monsters to death, and they confessed everything.

"Tell our master the truth!" Yang Zhong threw a fat rat covered with bruises in front of Ren Yuan.

The only way to tell that this is the blind woman is by the traces of eyebrows and eyes drawn on her.

The fat mouse with tear-stained makeup was trembling and speaking in human language:
"My husband and I are mole spirits from the Dabie Mountains. We used to dig holes and eat worms every day in the cave, and we lived a happy life. Later, my husband heard rumors from his fellow villagers that there was a prince who urgently needed talents like him. If he came, he would live a life of debauchery and lawlessness, and no one would dare to stop him."

"He drank someone's magic potion and insisted on coming to the city. As a result, he turned bad in a few days and raped young girls and wives everywhere. I told him, 'You are just a fool, why are you doing this? You have earned a bad reputation for nothing.' He didn't listen and just kept doing it. Now he is getting his comeuppance..."

"That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking where he went?" Ren Yuan waved his hand and asked in a deep voice.

"Years ago, he said he would follow the prince to the capital and dig a hole huge enough to pierce the sky, but he never came back. Did he... do that to the princess?" the female mole asked with a blink of her eyes.

"Nothing." Ren Yuan was helpless. He then asked her what the fellow villager's name was and where he lived.
"His name is Uncle Jiu. He's a short guy with a pointed chin and only one ear. I don't know where he lives." The female mole replied.

After that, nothing valuable could be asked... After she followed him into the city, she stayed at home every day, eating and sleeping, and knew nothing about what was going on outside.

Ren Yuan waved his hand and asked Yang Zhong to knock her out and keep her under guard.

"Damn it, he was silenced as expected." Chen Baxian spat.

"Normal." Ren Yuan was not surprised by this result. The other party did not expect to kill the female mole as well. This was already a pleasant surprise.

"But it's not all in vain. At least we have confirmed the identity of one suspect." Ren Yuan continued in a deep voice, "The other one must be a mystery. There's no point in hiding it any longer. We should show up and attack!"

"Okay!" Chen Baxian responded excitedly and quickly contacted the main force.

~~
At dusk, two sailboats slowly sailed into Guangling Wharf.

Ren Yuan, who came to greet the large army, had changed into a military officer's uniform, wearing a black hakama with a red tunic on the outside, a leather cap on the head, and leather boots on the feet. The scarlet cape on his back fluttered in the river breeze. The golden waist badge on his waist sparkled in the setting sun.

With a loud noise, twenty ghost sword masters and sixty big whores all saluted him in unison: "Greetings, Lord Guardian!"

"Okay." Ren Yuan nodded and said, "The county has already arranged the barracks. It's getting late. Let's follow Deputy Chief Yang to set up camp."

"Yes!" Everyone in Chongguang Chuang responded in unison and lined up to follow Yang Zhong to set up camp.

Ren Yuan also ordered Chen Baxian to go to the governor's office with his visiting card and documents from the bureau to ask for an audience with Prince Yuzhang.

When it was dark, Chen Baxian came back, and with him came a middle-aged man with a big forehead, a pointed chin and gray hair.

"Lord Wei, this is Zu Sima of the Inspectorate, and also the father of Zu Zhuangzhu." Chen Baxian introduced the two men.

"How dare I trouble my uncle to come in person?" Ren Yuan quickly stood up and saluted with his hands crossed.

"Master Ren Wei, what are you saying? You are the emperor's special envoy." Zu Sima also quickly returned the greeting.

The man who came was Zu Geng, Zu An's father, but the father and son were like strangers. When Zu An heard that he was coming, he immediately avoided him... In fact, Zu Geng had served as the Minister of Rites in the previous dynasty for his contribution to the "Da Ming Calendar". In this dynasty, because of his superb mechanical skills, he was appointed as the Minister of the Imperial Household by Xiao Yan, responsible for various construction matters in the palace. He completed the tasks perfectly and was deeply appreciated by the emperor.

Later, Xiao Yan appointed him as General of Materials and ordered him to oversee the construction of an unprecedented huge project - Fushan Weir.

After receiving the order, Zu Geng immediately went to Fushan Gorge for a field investigation. After a rigorous argument, he finally came to the conclusion that although the Huaihe River is narrow here, the water is turbulent, the sand is soft and flowing, and it is not solid. Forcibly building a dam is a waste of money and labor. Even if it is barely built, it is likely to collapse due to constant erosion during the flood season.

Zu Geng, in a pragmatic and rigorous attitude, urged Xiao Yan to give up building the dam, but Xiao Yan was so overwhelmed by a series of victories that he refused to listen. He insisted on doing it his own way and ordered Xiao Hui to mobilize 200,000 soldiers and civilians to start building the dam. Seeing that he could not stop it, Zu Geng tried his best to design the dam reasonably and solidly, and finally miraculously built the Fushan Weir that crossed the Huai River.

After the Fushan Weir was built, Shouyang City was submerged as Xiao Yan wished. However, in the autumn of that year, heavy rains occurred for months, and a flood that occurred once in a century occurred. The raging flood destroyed the Fushan Weir, taking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and displacing millions of people...

In the end, Zu Geng became Xiao Yan's scapegoat and ended up in jail.

At least Xiao Yan knew that he was taking the blame for his crime, so he didn't chop off his head. So Zu Geng was imprisoned for a few years, then released, demoted to a minor official, and then gradually promoted to his current position.

So he looked older than his actual age with gray hair and beard; his face was sad, as if he was carrying a heavy psychological burden.

~~
"I'm sorry, Lord Wei, the prince is ill and cannot see you for the time being." After exchanging greetings, Zu Geng stated his purpose.

"What a coincidence?" Ren Yuan frowned slightly.

"It's not a coincidence. The prince fell ill shortly after returning from Jiankang, and has been closed to visitors recently." Zu Geng smiled bitterly, "Even we haven't seen him for a long time."

"What disease does the prince have? Is it serious?" Ren Yuan asked again.

"This is a secret of the palace. If the prince doesn't tell us, we can't ask about it." Zu Geng said apologetically.

"But I have been ordered to ask the prince something." Ren Yuan said in a deep voice: "Could it be that the prince can't even speak?"

"Yes, it is said that he can't move or speak." Zu Geng said softly.

"Okay, then you report to the palace. We will take the prince back to Jiankang tomorrow and ask the imperial physician to treat him." Ren Yuan raised his eyebrows and said in a deep voice.

"This...what should I say?" Zu Geng didn't expect this kid to be so arrogant, and said with a wry smile.

"Just tell the truth." Ren Yuan said calmly, "We brought the materials to build a teleportation formation, which can allow the prince to return to Jiankang instantly without any pain."

"Okay, I'll convey your exact words." Zu Geng had no choice but to leave.

In the middle of the night, Zu Geng returned again and reported with a smile: "Good news, the prince can speak now, and the imperial envoy will go to see him tomorrow."

"Wow, this is really a medical miracle." Ren Yuan couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, it's really a miracle." Zu Geng also nodded with a wry smile.

(End of this chapter)