New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

"Tell me, what exactly is in here?"

Faced with the questioning in the hall, Zhuo Luwang still tried to put on a brave face, but his guilty eyes had already betrayed him: "What? What is it? Isn't it just the pills to treat the Grand Marshal's old ailment?"

"Is that so?" Tang Qian's eyes were full of confidence. "Zhuo Luwang, you can fool others, but you can't fool me. Others may not know the origin of what's in here, but I know it all."

A faint sense of fear rose in Zhuo Luwang's heart. He wanted to stop Tang Qian, but Tang Qian had already taken out a pill from the porcelain bottle and held it in front of everyone. "Don't you all feel that the Grand Marshal's temperament has changed a lot lately? His health is not as good as before, but his spirit is often in an abnormally excited state?"

“That’s right.” The head of the guards nodded firmly. “Just as you said, since you met Zhuo Luwang, the Grand Marshal has indeed changed a lot. Many times, even we guards who have been by his side for more than ten years feel unfamiliar with him.”

The head of the guards had followed Wanyan Zongwang for many years and knew the Grand Marshal's temperament better than anyone else. He could sense Wanyan Zongwang's desire to kill Zhuo Luwang, and although he had offered to do it himself several times, the Grand Marshal always stopped him.

From beginning to end, he couldn't understand why the Grand Marshal was so conflicted; it seemed the time had come to reveal the answer.

Seeing that everyone's bright eyes were all on him, Tang Qian didn't intend to keep them in suspense any longer: "As far as I know, the pill that Zhuo Luwang gave to the Grand Marshal was not a panacea for treating old illnesses at all, but a kind of psychotropic drug that can numb the nerves, make people temporarily forget all their troubles, and make them feel like they are sitting on clouds. It comes from the demonic flower of the Western Regions, the poppy."

"Psychotropic drugs? What are those?"

Seeing that the crowd still didn't understand, Tang Qian pondered for a moment and gave the simplest explanation: "It means that this kind of pill can make people live in an illusion, like a dream, in which they can get everything they want, but when they wake up, it's all just empty joy. However, this is not the most terrifying thing about this kind of pill. What is frightening is that it can make people addicted. If they don't take it for a period of time, they will become listless and then disorganized, and eventually they will be unable to escape the erosion of addiction for even a moment, completely becoming a walking corpse."

Upon hearing Tang Qian's explanation, all the guards took a step back. The porcelain bottle in Tang Qian's hand immediately transformed into a terrifying poison, making it something no one dared to touch.

"Since the effects of this drug are only to cause addiction and affect the mind, and it does not pose a threat to life, why did the Grand Marshal suddenly die?"

Tang Qian shook his head: "Of course, people will die if they take too much of this kind of medicine. It's a miracle that the Grand Marshal has been able to survive this long, given that he has been taking it without any restraint."

Tang Qian's words were not false at all; he truly admired Wanyan Zongwang's physique.

In order to attract repeat customers, unscrupulous merchants in later generations used poppy shells to make broth. As long as the dosage was controlled, it would not be too harmful to the human body. But for Wanyan Zongwang, this was equivalent to swallowing opium raw. Although Zhuo Luwang's poppy fruits were certainly not purified and contained a lot of impurities, who could withstand eating this stuff as a meal?

Zhuo Luwang obtained the imperial decree for marriage through Wanyan Zongwang, which was already half a year ago. This means that Wanyan Zongwang was already consuming this substance before the Jin court even discussed attacking the Song Dynasty. If it were anyone else, they would probably be dead by now.

"Please don't be impulsive, everyone. Let me explain." Seeing that his trick had been ruthlessly exposed by Tang Qian, Zhuo Luwang almost wet his pants. Of course, he knew that Wanyan Zongwang had died at his hands, but he had never intended to harm him. "I told you long ago that this stuff shouldn't be eaten in large quantities, but the Grand Marshal just wouldn't listen. He couldn't control himself, so what could I do?"

"Now that things have come to this, you still want to deny it?" The head of the guards sneered. "If you hadn't offered this medicine, how could the Grand Marshal have fallen for your tricks, become addicted to it, and obey your orders? The brothers had already noticed something was wrong. If the Grand Marshal hadn't stopped you, you would probably be dead countless times by now."

"No, no, no, let's talk this out. After all, I'm the Seventh Princess's future husband. You absolutely can't kill me..."

Before Zhuo Luwang could finish his plea, he had no chance to speak again. With a spurt of blood, Zhuo Luwang's head was severed from his neck and lay to one side. His wide-open eyes revealed disbelief, and all the strength in his body was instantly drained. The next moment, he fell straight to the ground, becoming yet another corpse that slowly lost its warmth.

The head guard shook the crimson blood off his sword, sheathed it, and bowed to Tang Qian, saying, "Thank you for your help, young master. Only then were we able to kill this man and avenge the Grand Marshal."

Immediately, he waved to his subordinates and helped Wanyan Zongwang's body onto his warhorse: "We need to rush back to Yunzhou to handle the Grand Marshal's funeral arrangements. If you need any help in the future, please come to the Yunzhou Marshal's Mansion."

Watching the group leave in a hurry, Tang Qian glanced at Zhuo Luwang's body lying not far away, and then gently shook his head.

The reason why Wanyan Zongwang, the second prince of the Jin Dynasty, died mysteriously has finally been figured out. He did not die on the battlefield of attacking the Song Dynasty, but died by taking drugs. No wonder there is no detailed record in the historical books. This kind of death is really too damaging to Wanyan Zongwang's reputation.

As for whether the poppies planted by Zhuo Luwang would continue to cause any harm, Tang Qian was not too worried. Since Wanyan Zongwang's guards had already killed Zhuo Luwang, the Zhuo Lu clan, which was under the jurisdiction of the Western Route Army, would not exist for much longer. Eliminating the root of the problem was the principle of war. With the crown prince killed, the Zhuo Lu clan had no reason to continue to exist.

The news from outside the inner city gate was brought back by Miss Xiao Li. Upon learning that Zhuo Luwang was dead and his body was still lying outside the city gate, Wan Yanxi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since news of the Jin army's triumphant return reached Youzhou, she had been worried that Zhuo Luwang would make her fulfill her marriage contract, but from now on, she could finally stop worrying about it.

Seeing Wanyan Xi's relieved expression, Xiao Li pouted and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "Zhuo Luwang is dead, doesn't that mean we don't have to go to the Song Dynasty with Tang Qian?"

Although Xiao Li only muttered a few words quietly, Wan Yanxi heard them clearly. She also unconsciously began to ask herself, "Yes, if I can't go to the Song Dynasty with... with Yingluo, won't the days ahead be too boring?"