Chapter 161
Back in the room, Yuwen Jue still couldn’t let go of the anger over Lu Xuzhi’s injury.
He felt he couldn’t let it slide—he had to make sure the emperor knew the truth.
Lu Xuzhi shook his head. “Ah Jue, think calmly. There’s something odd here. The Eastern Sea come openly to duel, so why poison the sword? Was it intentional, or were they manipulated? If it was intentional, why risk being unable to leave Great Zhao? If manipulated, then by whom?”
Yuwen Jue, having cooled down, realized the matter was indeed suspicious.
Lu Xuzhi said, “Someone wants to damage our generals at all costs—they’re panicking. The more desperate they are, the calmer we must be. Ah Jue, I am trained in martial arts; I have ways to protect my vital pulse. Even Peacock Gall, lethal to ordinary men, may not harm me.”
Even with Lu Xuzhi saying this, Yuwen Jue still couldn’t relax.
He sighed. “All this happened because of me. If not for us being brothers, you would have had a peaceful life as Second Young Master Lu…”
Lu Xuzhi embraced him. “What are you saying? After all these years together, that’s all you have to say?”
Yuwen Jue had never seen Lu Xuzhi so angry before—it truly startled him.
After a moment, he stepped forward and gently tugged at his arm. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pierced your heart like that.”
At that moment, Ah Meng, sleeping beside Yuwen Jue, let out a little hum, opened his mouth, stuck out his tiny tongue, and blew a small bubble.
This finally made Yuwen Jue laugh. “Look at our Ah Meng. Seeing him makes everything feel worthwhile.”
Lu Hanzhi checked on the poison called Peacock Gall. It turned out that Peacock Gall wasn’t actually a peacock’s gallbladder at all, but the dried body of the large blister beetle from the south.
Even if accidentally ingested, it wouldn’t be fatal—unless taken in large amounts.
The reason it could be lethal in poison use was that poison masters would purify it.
Purified, the toxin was hundreds of times stronger than the raw insect, and the description “blood-sealing” was not an exaggeration.
Meanwhile, Sacred-Handed Lin was still waiting by Lu Hanzhi. Lu Hanzhi guessed immediately that he had come to ask for a prescription again.
Lu Hanzhi groaned. What prescription? He didn’t have one—no way!
That talisman he had used was only an in-system exchange, capable of blocking fatal damage.
How could he explain to him that he was basically a lucky cheat?
Helpless, Lu Hanzhi exchanged a manual on Qimen techniques in the system and handed it to Sacred-Handed Lin to read.
The moment Sacred-Handed Lin saw it was Qimen techniques, he instantly lost interest.
He returned the book to Lu Hanzhi. “A healer should not practice deceitful methods; otherwise, one is no different from a witch doctor and easily strays from the right path. That is the teaching of my master, and I, Chongyun, must follow it.”
Lu Hanzhi understood. Central Plains healers emphasized this distinction from Western witch doctors.
Those witch doctors who practiced deceitful arts often disregarded human life for illegal schemes.
Lu Hanzhi, however, wasn’t concerned. He waved his hand. “Deceitful arts are neither inherently good nor evil; it depends on the practitioner. The fault lies with the person practicing it, not the path itself.”
Although Sacred-Handed Lin agreed in principle, he would strictly follow his master’s teachings for life.
Lu Hanzhi, naturally, did not dispute someone else’s beliefs. He switched the book to a copy of the Compendium of Medical Herbs and said, “Perhaps this book will interest you more.”
Sacred-Handed Lin took the book, his eyes practically glowing. Rarely so excited, he clasped the book with both hands, bowed slightly to Lu Hanzhi, and said, “Thank you, Brother Lu!”
Lu Hanzhi did not expect a simple copy of the Compendium of Medical Herbs to make Sacred-Handed Lin bow. If Sacred-Handed Lin knew Lu Hanzhi had thousands of medical texts, he would probably kneel in gratitude.
Lu Hanzhi twitched his lips, thinking: step by step!
He would give him the books gradually, letting him have time to study them slowly.
He also noticed that Sacred-Handed Lin’s eyes seemed slightly myopic; after all, he had been reading by candlelight for so long.
Lu Hanzhi thought he might need to check Sacred-Handed Lin’s vision and maybe give him glasses.
At that moment, a notification sounded in the system: “Congratulations, host. This phase of the mission is fully completed. Your ten-story building has reached its rooftop.”
Lu Hanzhi: ?????
Just a few days, and it was already topped out?
Although he had spent over a hundred thousand taels giving Second Sister-in-law free rein to build the house, cost wasn’t a concern.
If necessary, they could just use sheer manpower, ensuring efficiency and quality simultaneously.
When he had checked a few days ago, the progress was already impressive. And now, in just a few days, the frame was fully up.
The exterior decorations weren’t finished, but the system mission only required the building to be erected.
Since it was up, the mission was complete.
Lu Hanzhi was ecstatic, deeply grateful to the workers who had labored diligently.
He grinned broadly, calling He Ming. “Go inform Zia Yu to pay the workers triple today! And when the day ends, kill two pigs—each worker gets two pounds of pork and two pounds of blood sausage!”
He Ming responded cheerfully, “Yes, Young Master! Young Master, you keep giving rice, flour, meat, and grain every few days. The workers are working their fingers to the bone. But they’re very grateful—everyone, young and old, now has a good life. That motivates them even more.”
Lu Hanzhi laughed. “As the saying goes, great rewards produce great courage.”
But in his excitement, disaster struck. A sudden cramp hit his stomach, and he hissed as it felt like tiny fish were wriggling inside him.
He clutched his belly, stunned for a long moment.
He Ming jumped in alarm. “Young Master! What’s wrong? Is it the fetus moving? Should I fetch Sacred-Handed Lin immediately?”
Lu Hanzhi waved him off. “It’s fine. I know what’s happening.”
Damn, this must be the baby moving, right?
He carefully touched his belly, realizing that this pregnancy had been… a little haphazard.
Other expectant Xiao Langjuns carefully nurtured their pregnancies, supplementing their bodies daily.
He, however, had traveled to the Western Frontier right after conceiving, then returned to fight a massive battle.
And even now, he ran around constantly. Hardly the behavior of a careful, pregnant husband.
If not for the baby moving today, little Ah Zhu would have had to remind him of its presence—he might have completely forgotten he was carrying a child.
Lu Hanzhi sat on the bed, touching his small belly, unable to help but laugh.
So this is what it feels like for a man to be pregnant?
Quite an unusual experience.
He tried speaking to Ah Zhu, a rare softness in his eyes: “Zhu’er, can you hear Daddy?”
After all, Ah Zhu was his very first child that he had conceived himself.
Previously, when Ah Chan had been in the original owner’s womb, he hadn’t even known—the awareness hadn’t awakened yet.
Looking back, he truly had to thank the original owner.
Carrying a child was not easy; hiding a pregnancy was even harder; being beaten after giving birth to Ah Chan was near impossible.
All that suffering had been borne for him. Lu Hanzhi couldn’t help but press his fists together in gratitude.
After a moment, he realized how silly he looked. Now that he was the fusion of himself and the original owner, he literally was himself, and the original owner was him—yet he still clumsily performed this formal gesture. Ridiculous.
Lu Hanzhi couldn’t help but laugh aloud, then got up to go find Ah Chan.
In Xiaoyu Residence, Zong Yuan knelt on a round cushion, facing his eldest brother, Zong He.
Zong He held the long sword he had used in the duel with Lu Xuzhi, his eyes cold and sharp. “What did you say? The emperor didn’t touch you?”
Zong Yuan replied, “Yes, I took the medicine that day, but he remained unmoved. I don’t know what went wrong. Could it be, as the rumors say, that the Great Zhao Emperor is truly a virtuous and chaste man?”
Normally, any man in that situation would have pounced long ago.
Zong He let out a cold laugh. “How is that possible? If he had genuinely loved Yin Pingwu, how could he have done such filthy things back then? It was all an act—pretending to care, convincing himself of his own depth of feeling. The truth of that time… hardly anyone knows anymore. After all, those who did know have all been silenced by the emperor.”
Zong Yuan asked, curiosity piqued: “You keep mentioning the truth, the truth… What exactly happened back then? What did that damned emperor do to earn your contempt?”
Zong He gave a light, cold snort. “Everyone says the emperor loved Yin Pingwu dearly, but who knows? He seduced Yin Pingwu into bed merely to leverage the Yin family’s influence. Then, upon learning Yin Pingwu held no real power in his household, he discarded him like trash and secretly pursued Yin Pingwu’s sister. Yin Pingwu’s stepmother, Madam Zou, adored her daughter fiercely and, relying on her own family’s power, tried to have her daughter replace Yin Pingwu.”
“At that time, the then-Crown Prince—later emperor—didn’t want to be controlled by foreign ministers like the late emperor. So he feigned deep affection while coaxing the still-young Yin Liwu. Only after he secured the throne did he bring Yin Liwu into the palace.”
Zong Yuan nodded slowly. “I see. But… even so, it doesn’t seem enough to warrant such universal contempt. After all, as emperor, he must make choices.”
Zong He crossed his arms. “True, but he did one thing that earned my deep admiration.”
Zong Yuan asked, “Hmm?”
Zong He replied, “This has never been verified, only spoken of by a palace maid executed before she died. She had served close to Yin Pingwu and said that when Yin Pingwu was pregnant, he had a deep affection for the then-Crown Prince. But he overheard him telling his young sister that if the Yin family fully supported him in securing the throne, Yin Liwu would become his main consort. Within two months, Yin Pingwu died in childbirth.”
Zong Yuan pieced together the events. “Are you suggesting that Yin Pingwu’s death was ordered by the emperor? But these things can hardly be proven, right?”
Zong He said, “Indeed, it’s hard to prove, so it remains unconfirmed. But if you know another piece of information, you wouldn’t need proof—you could pin the blame on the emperor immediately.”
Zong Yuan asked, “Hmm? What other unspeakable thing did that damn emperor do?”
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