Chapter 356

Du Ruo curled her lips.

It really is that vicious woman Du Mingzhu.

She had been wondering why Du Mingzhu and her mother, Jiang Shi, would suddenly run to Fengyang Prefecture for no reason; it turns out they were aiming for the Apricot Grove Assembly. Wanting to cure Du Mingzhu's face and restore her appearance at the Apricot Grove Assembly?

The idea is well-conceived, but I don't know if they have that kind of luck.

Du Ruo stroked her chin and began to calculate in her heart.

Which one should she choose? Lou Shi or Du Mingzhu? Both have had grudges with her family, and she doesn't really want to save either...

At this moment, Du Mingzhu only felt she had no place to hide, wishing she were dead.

Those sympathetic gazes and mocking words pierced her heart like dense, inescapable arrows, leaving her bleeding.

She wanted to run, but she couldn't escape.

This is her only chance; if she misses this time, perhaps she will never have the possibility of returning to her former self in this lifetime.

Right now, besides enduring, she has no other choice.

But why, why did that bitch Du Ruo also come to participate in the Apricot Grove Assembly? Why did she even make it to the final round??

What right does she have!

Talking about high medical skills, talking about being able to cure even a blind person—others might not know Du Ruo's situation, but how could she herself not know?

A country girl who grew up right under her own nose, suddenly learned medical skills, and so formidable at that.

A joke, it's simply a huge joke!

Everyone has been deceived by that little slut!

Needless to say, she must have used her beauty to hook some powerful official and used some secret means to do this without anyone noticing.

The biggest possibility is Prince Yu, Zongzheng Yun!

Only he has that kind of ability.

Du Mingzhu's gaze crossed Wen Shiyuan, fell onto Zongzheng Yun behind him, and finally settled on Jiang Li beside Zongzheng Yun.

Heh, poor man, he doesn't even know he's been cuckolded...

Jiang Li seemed to sense something and also looked over at her.

His gaze was cold and distant.

Du Mingzhu quickly lowered her eyes, hiding the resentment deep within them.

Zongzheng Yun, however, noticed the "flirting" between the two, sized up Du Mingzhu carefully for a few moments, and asked: "Does Lord Jiang know her?"

Jiang Li did not hide it and replied yes: "Her name is Du Mingzhu, the daughter of the Wutou Xian Assistant Magistrate, Du Ren Mei."

Du Mingzhu? It's actually her!

Zongzheng Yun was startled. Half a year ago, when he had just transmigrated, he had met Du Mingzhu once in Wutou Xian. Du Ren Mei had even thought about sending Du Mingzhu to him as a concubine, but he had sternly refused.

At that time, although Du Mingzhu wasn't exactly a beauty to topple kingdoms, she could still be called a pretty woman.

How did she end up in this ghostly state in such a short time?

"What happened to her?" Zongzheng Yun asked curiously.

"Didn't Head Wen just say it?" Jiang Li replied without batting an eyelid, "Du Mingzhu was bitten by a cockroach."

Zongzheng Yun: "..."

What breed of cockroach has such strong toxicity? This is too exaggerated.

"Is the Du family a place that hides dirt and filth? Otherwise, how could a proper official's daughter have such dirty things as cockroaches in her boudoir?" Zongzheng Yun shook his head with amusement.

Jiang Li was silent for a moment, then explained: "Whether the Du family hides dirt and filth, I don't know, but Du Mingzhu was attacked by cockroaches while she was imprisoned in the Ya Men jail."

Ho, so she was in jail too.

Zongzheng Yun was rarely piqued with interest: "Tell me, what law did she break?"

A chill flashed in Jiang Li's eyes, and he said word by word: "The crime of poisoning her own sister."

Du Mingzhu's sister...

Zongzheng Yun sorted out the relationships in the Du family in his mind, and his expression suddenly turned cold.

Previously, he had ordered people to investigate Du Ruo's background, but because time was tight, he only found out that Du Ruo had been poisoned and later recovered her appearance after the poison was neutralized.

And that Du Ruo was the eldest daughter born to Du Ren Mei's first wife.

He didn't know much else.

"The one she poisoned, could it be... your wife, the Du woman?"

Jiang Li nodded: "Yes."

Zongzheng Yun immediately laughed, a laugh that was somewhat sinister.

Very well, daring to harm Tang Tang, and even daring to come to the Apricot Grove Assembly—you have quite some nerve.

Then can this Prince spare you?

He propped his chin and pondered for a while, then opened the file in front of him to look, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck.

Besides recording the name and native place of each contestant, the file also contained the patient records for each round, such as their surname and name, where they came from, their status, what illness they had, and so on.

But the patient's name for this round was not "Du Mingzhu."

Instead, it was a woman named "Tong Zhen," and her native place was not Wutou Xian, but a place called "Feicheng," ten thousand miles away from Wutou Xian.

Clearly, Du Mingzhu used an alias.

As for why she had to use an alias... Heh, one can guess with a little thought. Du Mingzhu is, after all, an official's daughter and the granddaughter of the Northern Peace Marquis's mansion; it is not appropriate for her to show her face in public, let alone be watched and mocked by crowds.

That is the first reason.

Second, the Du family likely intends to find her a good marriage into a high-ranking family after curing her, so they absolutely cannot let the other party know she has this dark history.

Since you are so afraid of your true identity being exposed, of course, this Prince will help you...

Zongzheng Yun beckoned Long Dan over and whispered a few words to him.

"Understood, Master." A murderous aura appeared on Long Dan's dark face, "As soon as the competition ends, this subordinate will immediately handle it."

Zongzheng Yun nodded in satisfaction.

His gaze returned to the competition field, looking at that ugly woman, and he bared a set of sinister white teeth.

Daring to bully Tang Tang, just having your face ruined is too cheap for you. This Prince will also make you lose your reputation and remain at home as an old maid who can't get married for the rest of your life!

Du Mingzhu did not know that just by looking at Zongzheng Yun one extra time in the crowd, she had invited his schemes.

She only wanted to cure her face quickly and leave this suffocating place.

However, the necessary procedures must be completed first.

Needless to say, the difficulty must far exceed the first three rounds.

The rules were the same, ten people were divided into two groups, each group of five people jointly diagnosed a patient, the prescription was submitted, reviewed by the judges, and finally the ranking was determined.

As for how to group, it was decided by drawing lots to show fairness.

"Before drawing lots, everyone can take a look at the patients first, so you have a bottom in your heart."

After speaking, Wen Shiyuan clapped his hands.

Immediately, two attendants carefully carried a stretcher onto the high platform and placed it in front of the contestants.

Everyone curiously stretched their necks to look.

Du Ruo naturally was no exception.

A woman was lying on the stretcher, about forty or fifty years old, eyes closed tightly, eye sockets sunken, face as white as a ghost, the whole person thin to the bone, looking a bit terrifying.

And she didn't move, even the rise and fall of her chest was not obvious.

Those who didn't know would think she was a dead person.

Du Ruo gave an "eh" sound.

This person... why does she feel a bit familiar? Seems to have seen her somewhere.

Who is it?

She tried hard to recall in her mind, pulling out all the women of the same age she knew, and suddenly her pupils shook.

Is it her?

Lou Shi, Yang Dian Feng's stepmother!

Du Ruo had met Lou Shi once. At that time, she went to the Ya Men to find Jiang Li for Mei Ruxi's matter, and bumped into Lou Shi and Yang Dian Feng's mother and son at the dormitory.

And they had a conflict.

Later, Yang Dian Feng was imprisoned, and Lou Shi went to find Jiang Li, using Jiang Li's secret as a threat, begging him to let Yang Dian Feng go.

But the two didn't talk about it. By the time Jiang Li took the truth pill to find Lou Shi, she had already left.

So she ran to Fengyang Prefecture.

It's just strange, how did Lou Shi become this half-dead look?

"This is one of the patients." Wen Shiyuan began to introduce Lou Shi's condition. "Head injury, has been in a coma for many days, can only rely on acupuncture and medicine to hang on. If there is no miracle, she will die in three days."

Hearing this, the contestants' faces became serious.

The situation is not optimistic, I'm afraid it's extremely difficult to treat.

Think about it, if it weren't for a particularly serious patient, why would she be left for the last round?

Everyone didn't want to take over very much.

Xiao Minjun smiled and opened her mouth: "Then what about the other patient?"

Wen Shiyuan clapped his hands again.

After waiting for a long time, someone finally came up to the stage slowly, and was pushed onto the stage by an attendant, seemingly very reluctant.

The contestants all breathed a sigh of relief. 【356-1

To be honest, she was a bit resistant to coming into contact with Du Mingzhu, afraid that she wouldn't be able to help but vomit, afraid that she would have nightmares at night, and even more afraid that the disease might be contagious.

She didn't want to turn into that ghostly state...

"Fourth Princess, please go first." Dongfang Qingyan, the medical envoy of the Changli Kingdom, made a very polite gesture of invitation toward Xiao Minjun.

Seeing this, the other three also politely declined.

Xiao Minjun's lips twitched slightly: "Thank you."

Things have reached this point, and there is no other way; she cannot escape unless she voluntarily gives up her qualification for the competition.

Xiao Minjun could only put on a calm and composed posture, walking gracefully to Du Mingzhu, trying her best not to look at the other's face: "Please extend your hand."

Du Mingzhu cooperated very well and extended her wrist, even pulling her sleeve up a little bit to make it easier for Xiao Minjun to take her pulse.

What Xiao Minjun did not expect was that Du Mingzhu's wrist was the same as her face, covered in dense, protruding lumps of flesh.

It looked hair-raising!

Xiao Minjun's expression changed; she really couldn't bring herself to touch it.

Thinking that her own delicate skin was about to touch these disgusting lumps, and that she might have to personally apply needles to this terrifying body later, her stomach couldn't help but churn.

No, she couldn't stand this.

There are many other ways to attract Prince Yu; there is no need to risk her own golden body.

In an instant, Xiao Minjun had made up her mind.

*Ying-ning. *

She rolled her eyes and suddenly collapsed softly.

Everyone was startled by the sudden turn of events.

"Princess!" Zhaoyue didn't care about hiding her strength anymore, directly using light-body techniques to fly onto the high platform, rushing to Xiao Minjun's side to support her, and calling out anxiously: "Princess, Princess, what's wrong with you?"