Chapter 366

Du Ruo didn't ask much, just said a word to Wen Shiyuan's little apprentice and got into Ziyu's carriage.

Zongzheng Yun's villa was not far from Huanglong Cave, about half an hour's journey.

However, Du Ruo was nearly asleep from the swaying in the carriage, and they still hadn't arrived.

She lifted the cloth curtain suspiciously and looked out.

Strange, where is this?

The surroundings were desolate, with only yellow grass all over the sky and a road that couldn't be seen to the end.

Two huge eagles were even circling overhead, screaming.

"Aren't we going to see your Prince? Where is Miss Ziyu taking me?" Du Ruo suddenly became vigilant.

Ziyu smiled. "Divine Doctor Du, don't panic; we'll be there soon."

Don't panic? How could she not panic?

Du Ruo had only traveled here for half a year, and she had already made a basketful of enemies. Who knew if it was some guy who had secretly bought off the people around Zongzheng Yun and wanted to put her to death?

Du Ruo pretended to be calm, but a bag of poison powder appeared silently in her palm.

Better safe than sorry; caution is the parent of safety.

The carriage wheels rolled for another quarter of an hour, and the road became more and more remote, until finally, it turned into a forest and stopped.

Ziyu lifted the curtain. "Divine Doctor Du, we're here."

Du Ruo said 'um' and jumped out of the carriage with Ziyu's help.

She looked around.

The wind was a bit strong, blowing the leaves and making them rustle like a woman's sobbing, and because the trees were tall and the leaves were dense, the light couldn't penetrate, and there was an inexplicable chill.

The only bright spot was the luxurious carriage parked a few meters away.

Standing next to the carriage was a burly man wearing armor and a horizontal blade at his waist.

Seeing him, Du Ruo breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Long Dan was also there, it meant Zongzheng Yun was nearby, so she must have been overthinking.

Long Dan still had that paralyzed face and didn't speak, just bowed to Du Ruo, signaling her to get into that carriage.

Du Ruo climbed up full of doubts and lifted the pearl curtain to look inside.

Zongzheng Yun was indeed inside.

Their eyes met, and Du Ruo finally put down her hanging heart, then put away the poison powder without a trace, walked in, sat opposite him, and said angrily: "Didn't you say you caught a cold and were waiting at the villa? Why did you run to this wilderness? Secretive, scaring me, I thought I had fallen into someone else's trap."

Zongzheng Yun pushed the peeled grapes on the small table toward her, his long eyebrows stretching.

"Rest assured, Ziyu and Long Dan are both my confidants and are absolutely trustworthy. Besides, no one can order them around except me."

As he spoke, he asked casually: "Did you get the Elder Order?"

"I got it; it was all thanks to you and Little Divine Doctor Mu, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to be this elder."

Du Ruo grabbed a grape and stuffed it into her mouth, a bit puzzled. "It's strange to say, that old man Hua looked quite healthy; he was more energetic than anyone when scolding people, and he didn't look like he was overworked at all. Why did he resign as soon as he said he would, letting me pick up a big bargain."

Zongzheng Yun's eyes flickered, and he smiled without saying a word.

Would a pie fall from the sky for no reason?

Of course not; it was all man-made.

He couldn't control the fact that the old man Hua looked down on women, but looking down on Tangtang and persistently finding fault with her was courting death!

So he specifically had someone investigate Doctor Hua.

He thought that Doctor Hua usually had a noble appearance of a gentleman, and except for his prejudice against women, it would be difficult to find any black spots.

The facts, however, made him drop his jaw.

There were indeed no black spots on the old man, because his whole body was soaked in black mud.

So black it was nearly oozing oil.

Doctor Hua's first wife died of illness early; there were also rumors that she was angered to death by him during her confinement, but the specific situation was unknown to outsiders.

The couple only had one daughter and no legitimate son.

In order to carry on the family line, Doctor Hua successively took five concubines, regardless of beauty or ugliness, but one point was very important.

That was that they must be able to eat, and their butts must be big.

Because such women were good at giving birth, and the children they gave birth to were mostly healthier and easier to raise.

He even released word that whoever gave birth to a son first would be promoted to the main wife.

With this carrot hanging, the five concubines all exerted their strength, either giving birth to children or being in the bed giving birth to children, and in ten years, they gave birth to twenty daughters for him.

Unfortunately, they were all daughters, and not a single one had a 'handle'.

Doctor Hua refused to accept it and swore not to stop until he gave birth to a son!

As a result, he really got his wish. In the year Doctor Hua was forty-five, the only seedling of the Hua family finally crawled out of his fifth concubine's belly.

Doctor Hua was overjoyed and held a banquet for half a month.

He even gave his son a particularly domineering name.

Called Hua Tongtian.

Meaning borrowing the blessings of heaven, with hands that can reach the sky.

It was just that Doctor Hua never expected that things would not develop as he had envisioned.

As Doctor Hua's heart-and-soul treasure, Hua Tongtian was spoiled since childhood, getting whatever he wanted, and gradually developed an arrogant and domineering personality.

After growing up a little, he didn't put anyone in his eyes, bullying men and women all day long, nearly poking a hole in the sky.

The villagers, out of respect for Doctor Hua, mostly endured it.

Those who really couldn't endure it went to the door to make trouble, but they were all sent away by the Hua family with money.

Seeing that this couldn't go on, Doctor Hua simply took his son to the medical clinic he opened and taught him medical skills himself, wanting him to inherit his mantle.

However, this bastard kid was not that material at all; not only did he not study well, but he also caused trouble everywhere in the medical clinic, making the waiter grab the wrong medicine and nearly killing a life.

After this incident spread, the medical clinic's business became much colder.

His son was always causing trouble, the family had many mouths to feed, and the concubines and daughters were all able to eat, plus twenty dowries needed to be prepared; all the expenses were supported by Doctor Hua alone.

He finally couldn't take it anymore.

In order to maintain his livelihood, Doctor Hua began to use inferior goods to pass for good ones, tampering with the medicine the patients took.

Of course, it wouldn't kill anyone, but the effect was greatly reduced.

But that was still far from enough, so Doctor Hua hit on the idea of the Apricot Forest Assembly, using the opportunity to screen patients to accept bribes and fill his own pockets.

For example, the rich lady who suffered from insomnia, and for example, Du Mingzhu.

Doctor Hua first told them they weren't selected, then extorted money from them; just from those two, he extorted nearly a thousand taels of silver!

Zongzheng Yun sent all the evidence he collected to Wen Shiyuan.

After Wen Shiyuan finished reading, he was furious, wishing he could use his eleven fingers to crush that old thing to death!

So he immediately grabbed Doctor Hua and threw the evidence hard onto his old face.

With conclusive evidence, Doctor Hua had no way to argue and could only obediently accept the punishment.

Out of consideration for past feelings and the reputation of the Apricot Forest Assembly, Wen Shiyuan did not send him to the officials, but ordered him to "return home to retire" and abdicate to the virtuous.

Zongzheng Yun took the opportunity to recommend Du Ruo.

He thought he would have to spend a lot of words to get Wen Shiyuan to agree, after all, Du Ruo was too young and her qualifications were far from enough.

As a result, he didn't expect Wen Shiyuan to agree immediately.

Du Ruo becoming an elder of the Apricot Forest Assembly meant she had the protection of the Apricot Forest Assembly, which was good for her future medical practice, and she didn't have to worry about being made difficult by others...

"By the way, Xiao Chuan, you haven't answered yet; why did you run here to meet?" The curious inquiry of Du Ruo came from her ear.

Zongzheng Yun withdrew his thoughts, his gaze falling on Du Ruo's face, and he sighed long.

"Tangtang, I'm going back to the capital."

News came from the palace that Imperial Concubine Li had accidentally fallen into the lotus pond and was still unconscious and unaware of anything.

It was said that there was little hope of saving her.

After all, she was the original owner's biological mother, and since Zongzheng Yun occupied the original owner's body, he naturally had to help him look after her.

Besides, if he went back too late and couldn't see Imperial Concubine Li for the last time, he was afraid someone would be restless again.

At that time, they would put a big hat of unfilial piety on him.

His emperor father valued filial piety the most, and the favor he had just brushed up would probably drop all the way down.

So, he had to rush back immediately.

It was just that he had walked more than ten miles, and he tossed and turned in the carriage, but in the end, he was still reluctant and wanted to see Du Ruo one more time before leaving.

After explaining the reason, Zongzheng Yun took out a box from his body and handed it to her. "Here, for you."

Du Ruo looked at him, then at the box.

This was already the third box she had received today.

"Inside, it shouldn't be a token, right?" She asked with a strange expression.

Zongzheng Yun opened it in front of Du Ruo—it was a copper tiger with claws and teeth, engraved with dense text, cold to the touch, and revealing a murderous intent.

"This is the Tiger Order, which can mobilize two thousand troops."

Zongzheng Yun explained, "Keep it for self-defense. In case you are bullied in the future, or encounter any difficulties, take it to the nearby military camp to shake people."

Du Ruo: "..."