The princess was ordained by Heaven.

Since he ascended the throne, similar rumors have never ceased, except that in the past, he was the one being attacked.

Zheng Xun didn't care, only sighing softly to himself:

Oh wow, they're coming for me.

"But the rumors are horrible..."

"Since you know it's just a rumor, why bring it up in court? Where's your brain?" The emperor interrupted him impatiently. "Tell me about that strange illness, what's going on?"

What else could be going on? Someone's causing trouble.

The emperor's gaze was deep and somber.

Could it be that the strange disease was man-made?

[That village does exist, but there are only two households living there, both elderly single people with young children. They died from a cold. The so-called strange illness was just an excuse he made up based on hearsay.]

Thinking that the place was remote and no one would verify it, he fabricated a strange illness as a reason to attack me.

But I don't have any grudge against him, do I?

I want to see why he's staring at me and biting me.

Having passed through the busiest period in the court, Zheng Xun finally had the mind to investigate the matter, and the court officials finally had the mind to gossip.

Upon hearing the words "I'd like to see," one or two people immediately perked up their ears, eager to hear what would happen next.

[Oh? The Fifth Prince was punished by his own mother last night. He got five strokes of the cane on his buttocks, and they're still raw.]

Consort Duan asked him if he had arranged for the two palace maids who were stirring up trouble. He denied it, but Consort Duan didn't believe him, so she had him beaten up.

He thought I was deliberately trying to shift the blame for this, so he held a grudge...

What on earth is all this?

The second prince's eyes flickered, and he feigned a sigh, "Why are my knees a little sore?"

After saying that, he raised his foot, pretending to stretch, and then slammed his knee into the Fifth Prince's buttocks.

The fifth prince let out a "whoosh" and jumped up to be half a person's height.

Wow! Consort Duan is fierce and powerful when she fights, and her son jumps like a rabbit. Both mother and son are natural-born athletic geniuses!

The Fifth Prince, clutching his backside, glared angrily at the Second Prince: "What are you doing!"

The second prince, with the most innocent expression and the most perfunctory tone, said, "It was an unintentional mistake, please forgive me, Fifth Brother."

Fifth Prince: I suspect you want to harm me, but I have no evidence.

He'll remember this grudge for now; he doesn't have time to dwell on it.

He paused for a moment, then continued his eloquent speech.

"That disease was too bizarre. It caused people to bleed inexplicably, become dizzy, and have certain parts of their bodies become deformed and horrifying. However, because it was not contagious, it did not attract much attention."

The elderly and children?

Suddenly remembering something, Zou Yu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, in fact, several elderly people and children have died from this strange disease in recent years. Xu Zhen reported this to me a few days ago, and he is currently investigating. I expect he will submit the results soon.”

[Huh? Xu Zhen went to the Ministry of Revenue? Father really thinks highly of him.]

However… a strange illness? It is indeed a strange illness, but it's a strange illness created by someone.

Was it really man-made?

The emperor's unfriendly gaze fell on the fifth prince.

Could it be that this wretched thing did something stupid?

[This matter actually involves quite a few people, but some of them are already dead. Hmm... Looking at it this way, quite a few people have died in the court recently.]

In truth, this whole affair was orchestrated by spies from the Brown Kingdom.

With a stern face, Minister of Revenue Fang Xunshan asked Shen Jiaming, "Tell me, is it too late for me to abandon my studies and join the army?"

His broadsword was already thirsting for blood, and he couldn't wait to kill a few brown people to quench his thirst!

Shen Jiaming groaned in pain: "Your grandson is old enough to run errands, save your breath!"

The Minister of Revenue looked regretful.

They certainly know how to exploit human nature, using the guise of immortality to sell a poisonous elixir. This elixir is made from the blood, brain matter, and bone powder of elderly people and children under five, with added deadly substances like cinnabar, mercury, and lead...

[My God, the ingredients are full of heavy metals and viruses! I'm afraid the people who eat it won't die!]

They used the promise of longevity and immortality to specifically target people of prestige and power, encouraging them to take elixirs and even asking them to help find ingredients for making those elixirs.

[What are the ingredients for alchemy? The most important thing is human life! They're not consuming pills, they're consuming people!]

Zheng Jiao sneered: "So, some people in the Brown Country are just beasts."

The Third Prince smiled and said, "If my elder brother, the Crown Prince, were here, he would definitely refute you, saying that there are also commoners and good people in the Brown Kingdom."

"But even those good people can't determine the Brown Kingdom's stance. In fact, when conflicts arise between us Dayong people and the Brown Kingdom people, they will mostly side with their own people."

This is human nature; even people from brown countries have their own stance.

However, the people of Dayong also have their own stance.

"Perhaps, when the Brown Kingdom is incorporated into the territory of the Great Yong, we will be able to slowly teach them what means are acceptable and what means are not."

If they lack the courage and ability to uphold morality, what makes the Brown Kingdom so powerful? What makes it capable of swallowing up the Great Yong Kingdom?

They would deliberately seek out sparsely populated, inconspicuous villages, or unregistered remnants of the ancient people in the mountains. This is why their scheme went undetected for so long.

However, such villages are hard to find. Sometimes, when they come across a suitable but difficult-to-access location, they have to resort to underhanded tactics.

They would bury stones containing radioactive material in the village, and then the villagers' bodies would slowly deteriorate. At that point, their deaths would not seem out of place at all.

During this process, they also tirelessly spread rumors about "divine retribution" and "divine punishment" to the royal family. Unfortunately, the common people are not fools, but the emperor is different; they know whether life is good or bad.

Elixirs made using this method are even more poisonous.

Moreover, the Brown Kingdom had another consideration: they specifically targeted wealthy families and officials. Once this matter was exposed, public resentment would inevitably boil over. At that point, before the Brown Kingdom could even invade, the Great Yong Kingdom would disintegrate on its own.

Look at this, that's real sophisticated provocation. What is the Fifth Prince anyway?

He's stupid, but he's also audacious, using this incident to frame me. He can expect to get implicated!

Zheng Xun's gaze swept over the assembled ministers.

Those who heard their elders talking about immortality immediately felt dizzy: "Don't look at us, we're about to faint!"

Zheng Jin looked left and right, muttering, "I feel like something's missing?"

Zheng Jiao: "What?"

"Oh dear, the Grand Tutor isn't here; he's always getting dizzy!"

And at his age, it's quite amazing that he can get up every time he faints.

Zheng Jiao: ...

You are the real living Yama!

Zheng Xun pretended to be profound and counted on his fingers before looking at Ren Qianshan, the Minister of Justice.

Ren Qianshan naturally turned his face away, pretending not to receive Zheng Xun's gaze.

If he didn't see it, then it didn't happen; he understood.

But Zheng Xun didn't let him off the hook: "Lord Ren, did your old lady ever encounter a Taoist priest who pretended to be a ghost?"