Reborn as the Crippled King's Beloved
Chapter 398 Wicked People Have Their Own Scourges

Chapter 398: Chapter 398 Wicked People Have Their Own Scourges

After the incident involving Lady Wang, Murong Man personally realized that secrets can only belong to one person.

Even the most trustworthy and intimate partner in sharing a secret will eventually let it slip one day.

Another lesson she learned was to root out the source of the problem.

If Murong Jiu had been smothered in her swaddling clothes back then, none of this would have happened!

Murong Man was very clear that she and Murong Jiu were sworn enemies; Murong Jiu would never let her go.

The Second Prince and Prince Ling’s Mansion were also at odds.

But the Second Prince’s power had been waning, and was not what it used to be. Coupled with the Empress being sentenced to death under the name of a criminal, and the Second Prince being disabled with a missing foot, the likelihood of him becoming the Crown Prince was slim to none.

Murong Man could only rely on herself.

If Guard Shi could succeed, that would be for the best. If he failed to kill Murong Jiu, Guard Shi himself would pay the price.

The secret about the true father of her child, Guard Shi, would remain forever unknown.

She looked at Zhuo Yinzhu, who was filled with hatred, and took the opportunity to call Guard Shi over, conspiring in advance that he bore a grudge against Prince Ling’s Mansion and Murong Jiu because his ’good brother’ had died.

...

Miao Wuxie was already a regular at Prince Ling’s Mansion.

No sooner had Zhuo Yinzhu sought him out than he turned up at Prince Ling’s Mansion.

Of course, he only came in, disguised and blending with the servants of the mansion, after his appearance had been altered, a face already familiar to the people of the mansion.

"Sister’s meaning is that Murong Man wants to trade the life of that guard by her side for my life?"

Murong Jiu asked in surprise.

After Miao Wuxie nodded, she turned to Jun Yuyan, who did not go to the palace today, and said,

"Didn’t our spy say Murong Man and Guard Shi had an improper relationship and that the child she’s carrying might be his? And yet she actually wants him dead?"

Jun Yuyan said, "The Second Brother probably won’t be able to have children anymore. Last night we caught a spy from The Third Prince’s side who said The Third Prince’s meals were cooked with Tung Oil, intending to leave him childless."

"Tung Oil?"

Murong Jiu said with a smile, "It seems like it must have been Divine Doctor Miao’s idea. Eating Tung Oil over a long period will indeed render a man infertile."

He truly deserved it.

She still remembered from her dream about her past life, that the Second Prince had many concubines, and before her death, he already had several concubine-born sons and daughters.

Miao Wuxie was astounded.

How could he not know about this? His father had never mentioned it to him either.

But that was also true, his father liked to keep medical and poison techniques secretive when instructing him. The fact that father and son were now on opposing sides had been determined a long time ago.

He was surprised to learn that Tung Oil had the ability to sterilize a man.

Unbeknownst to many, in some distant, impoverished places, people specifically extract Tung Oil to cook their food.

Murong Jiu said, "This was discovered by my master. He had been to many places. In some incredibly ignorant villages, they even believed in sacrificing the women of the village. My master found out they wanted to execute the women because no one had become pregnant for a long time, and the villagers thought a woman had offended the mountain god, who was punishing them.

It took a lot of persuasion from my master to dissuade them. But as soon as he left, those villagers burned the selected woman alive. My master visited neighboring villages and discovered similar cases of infertility among women. It was only later he deduced it was due to eating Tung Oil."

She sighed and said, "Unfortunately, by the time my master returned to tell them the news, that poor woman had been killed by the ignorant villagers. Afterwards, my master went to some places and told people not to consume tung oil."

As the Chinese parasol trees are mostly planted in the south, such incidents rarely happen in the north.

What Miao Wuxie had learned came mostly from Divine Doctor Miao and various books on medicine and Gu; he hadn’t traveled far, so there were still many things he didn’t know about.

"Once this matter is resolved, come to the Prince Mansion, and I will teach you more," he said.

Divine Doctor Zhai, who had arrived at the doorway unknown to others, suddenly spoke to Miao Wuxie.

Miao Wuxie immediately stood up, saying happily, "Thank you, Uncle Master!"

Divine Doctor Zhai had always liked Miao Wuxie because of Divine Doctor Miao, sometimes even calling him a little white-eyed wolf.

But knowing one’s mistake and correcting it is most commendable, and since Miao Wuxie had a good nature, Divine Doctor Zhai didn’t mind teaching him some medicine so that he could save more people in the future.

Teaching Cheng Pu alone was teaching; teaching Miao Wuxie as well was still teaching.

Murong Jiu was very happy for Miao Wuxie; he was highly talented, and now he could be guided onto the right path, no longer abetting tyranny, which was a very good thing.

But back to the main topic, the group continued to discuss the matter of the Second Prince and Murong Man.

Since the Second Prince was infertile, there was no doubt that the child Murong Man was carrying must be that of Guard Shi.

Guard Shi was unaware that the woman he loved wanted him dead, his sole desire being to make her happy with a smile, so he was willing to do anything for her.

But Murong Man and Zhuo Yinzhu would surely keep this from Guard Shi, not letting him know that it was a life for a life because, in that case, Guard Shi would become suspicious and feel that Murong Man had wanted him to die right from the start.

There is a big difference between sending him to assassinate someone and sending him directly to his death.

Suddenly, Jun Yuyan said, "This Guard Shi also has an old mother at home, and without a doubt, Murong Man will make sure to get rid of her."

Murong Jiu immediately realized the implication, "That’s right, his mother is Guard Shi’s only kin. Murong Man will also try to implicate me, making Guard Shi believe that I was the one who killed her, which will make him even more determined."

Miao Wuxie then sneered, "Murong Man will definitely think that Guard Shi would tell his mother about their affair. She is so ruthless, she will surely leave no stone unturned to eliminate any trace of her secret being discovered!"

It had to be said, they had figured out the truth.

At this moment, Murong Man had already thought of a plan to kill two birds with one stone, intending to frame Murong Jiu and Prince Ling’s Mansion.

She just needed to find the right opportunity to leave the Princess’s Mansion and then get rid of Guard Shi’s mother.

"Why not turn her plans against her?"

Murong Jiu said.

Jun Yuyan said, "Ah Jiu, tell us your idea."

"After all, Guard Shi’s mother is innocent, and Guard Shi himself has been deceived by Murong Man. We need Guard Shi to see through Murong Man’s true nature, to let him witness with his own eyes how the woman he loves intends to harm his mother. This is more suitable than killing Guard Shi directly."

The plan was simple to execute; there was no need for elaborate schemes. They just had to tie up Guard Shi, gag him, and hide him in his mother’s house, where he could witness Murong Man’s ruthlessness firsthand.

Would he still be so willing to be used by Murong Man after that?

"Next, we find an opportunity to reveal to the Second Prince the matter about the kitchen using tung oil for cooking, so the Second Prince will know the child Murong Man is carrying is not his."

Divine Doctor Zhai agreed:

"That might be better. Let the wicked wear each other down, Ah Jiu, don’t dirty our hands."

Miao Wuxie said, "Then on my end, I will pretend to comply with her and Zhuo Yinzhu’s wishes for now."