PNB Chapter 589 Conjecture
Chapter 589 Conjecture
Next, Nangong Qinghe betrothed Princess Chang Le to Shen Nianfeng, the eldest son of Marquis Ruian Shen Muchun.
Shen Muchun was still researching the "strange disease" in Cangzhou, and only Lady Cui Ai, the wife of the Earl of Rui'an, attended the ceremony to express her gratitude with her son.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"
Princess Chang Le's hopes were dashed as well. She looked at Xie Buqi sitting next to Prince Anguo and saw him smiling broadly. Her heart shattered into pieces.
"Mother." She tugged at Lu Meiyi's sleeve, looking aggrieved.
Wasn't my father the one who doted on me the most?
Knowing that she was in love with Xie Buqi, why did you betroth her to the heir of the Marquis of Ruian?
Lu Meiyi glanced at her helplessly. If they don't want to, can your father really go against the will of Prince Jing'an and Prince Anguo?
The assembled officials, vassal kings, and envoys all turned their gazes toward the seats of the two princes, eager to make their move.
Since their sons and nobles are no longer marrying into the royal family, does that mean their own children will have a chance?
Many people began to think about who to ask to propose marriage.
Unexpectedly, Nangong Qinghe then announced that the Princess of Anle County would be granted the title of Princess of Anle Prefecture, and the Princess of Yongle County would be granted the title of Princess of Yongle Prefecture.
The merits of the Prince of Jing'an and the Prince of Anguo were too great to be granted any further titles, so their descendants could only be promoted.
Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an hurriedly brought their daughter to the event to express their gratitude for the Emperor's grace.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"
Those who were just thinking of proposing marriage to Prince Jing'an and Prince Anguo were suddenly speechless. These two county princesses have been promoted to county princesses. What kind of man is worthy of them?
One happy event after another, the festive atmosphere of the birthday banquet grew stronger and stronger. Everyone rose again to raise their glasses, and the sounds of congratulations, toasts and music intertwined, creating a lively, solemn and grand scene of the birthday celebration.
The next day, Jiang Li received an urgent report from Ji Feng: Shen Muchun had made a major discovery with her help!
When Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an accompanied Xie Wuchou to inspect the Huichang Canal last time, Xie Wuchou said that the fish in the canal were big and fat, and the people along the banks especially loved to eat them. Jiang Li then had a vague idea.
Later, she heard that there were also freshwater delicacies such as shrimp and crabs in the Huichang Canal, especially a kind of hermit crab that was particularly delicious. Jiang Li had a thought: if there was no problem with the water in the Huichang Canal, could there be a problem with the fish, shrimp and crabs in the Huichang Canal?
Especially the hermit crab, which is known as a "specialty of Huichang Canal"!
This type of crab is not something most people have eaten before. Could the problem be caused by eating hermit crab?
Shen Muchun suddenly understood and immediately ordered his subordinates to conduct an investigation into the patients.
The result surprised everyone: almost all the patients had eaten hermit crabs from the Huichang Canal!
It seems that Jiang Li's guess was correct, and the problem likely lies with those hermit crabs!
Shen Muchun was eager to find a live hermit crab as a sample for testing.
However, the Huichang Canal is currently completely closed, and it is winter now, so the hermit crabs have long since disappeared and gone to hibernate somewhere.
Therefore, he asked Jifeng to deliver a message to Jiang Li, asking if the aquatic team could help him catch a few hermit crabs so he could study them.
Jiang Li pondered for a while, then summoned Xie Wuchou and ordered her to give orders to the aquatic and sea creature armies to hunt down the hermit crabs with all their might, leaving no one behind!
All the hermit crabs were confined until Shen Muchun obtained the test results, at which point they would be dealt with accordingly.
She had a vague idea, but it still needed to be confirmed.
She wrote another letter to Shen Muchun, asking him to return to the capital as soon as possible.
At the same time, the letter congratulated him, saying that Mange'er's good news was coming soon, and he would soon have a princess as a daughter-in-law!
A swift wind carried a secret message, spreading its wings and flying towards Cangzhou.
Shen Muchun received the letter and felt quite helpless.
Because of the swift wind, Jiang Li's letter arrived before Cui Ai's.
Upon hearing the news that Mange'er was going to marry a princess, Shen Muchun felt a headache coming on.
There are too many taboos surrounding marriage with royalty!
If possible, he wouldn't want his son to marry the king!
But the imperial decree had already been issued, and he had no choice but to accept it.
After all, not everyone is like Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an, who have the confidence and ability to refuse imperial orders.
Jiang Li told him to return to the capital as soon as possible, not because of Man Ge'er's desire to marry a princess, but because it must be related to the "strange illness".
Although Shen Muchun was completely confused, he still rode his fast horse back to the capital overnight.
Upon returning to the capital, he rushed to the Jing'an Prince's Mansion without even having time to rest.
"Sixteenth Sister, you told me to come back as soon as possible, did you discover something else?"
Jiang Li and Xie Chang'an both had solemn expressions and dismissed their attendants.
"Brother Shen, do you still remember the symptoms that Empress Dowager Zhang and the Duke of Zhenguo had back then?"
Shen Muchun was shocked: "You mean..."
"I would like to ask Brother Shen to go to the Imperial Hospital to retrieve the medical records of Empress Zhang and the Duke of Zhenguo from back then, and compare them one by one."
Shen Muchun slapped his thigh: "That's right, how could I forget about this! I guess I'm getting old."
Although more than a decade has passed, he doesn't remember very clearly, but he still has an impression that the main symptoms are indeed very similar!
The medicine was ineffective, and they gradually weakened, just like Empress Zhang and the Duke of Zhenguo, who, despite showing no signs of poisoning, were constantly losing their vitality.
The only difference was that Empress Zhang and the Duke of Zhenguo were losing their vitality very obviously, while the people who contracted the "strange disease" were weakening much more slowly.
"I remember you said it was also a kind of poison, called... 'Soul Poison'?"
"Correct."
Jiang Li said, word by word, "As the name suggests, it means the soul is poisoned!"
Shen Muchun was shocked: "That monster...didn't it self-destruct?"
Xie Chang'an said in a deep voice, "That's right. At that time, both of us and the Mermaid King witnessed the monster self-destruct in the sea, its soul scattered."
"Then why has the 'Soul Poison' reappeared after so many years?"
Shen Muchun frowned deeply. "Could it be that the demon has risen from the ashes and been resurrected?"
Jiang Li frowned: "Back then, I suspected that the monster wasn't completely dead."
"Why?"
Shen Muchun was greatly shocked. His soul seemed to have been scattered. Didn't that mean he had completely disappeared?
What kind of soul can reunite after it has been scattered?
Besides, he self-destructed!
"The demon's soul possessed a fragment of a magical artifact, which is how it became a mirror demon."
"That magical artifact is still a rare treasure from the upper realm, named the 'Mirror of Reincarnation'."
Shen Muchun was horrified.
The "Mirror of Reincarnation" – as the name suggests, must possess the power of reincarnation.
Therefore, even if the demon's soul is scattered, it is still possible to reassemble its soul with the help of this fragment of magic weapon!
"Back then, after that monster self-destructed, we did not find any fragments of the Mirror of Reincarnation."
Jiang Li pondered for a moment and said, "Logically speaking, that fragment should not have been blown up to the point that not even a trace remains."
Either the spirit took it away, or it was washed away by the waves.
Under the powerful explosion, the fragment was blasted into countless pieces.
More than a decade later, the Soul-Eating Insect, with the power of the fragments of the Reincarnation Mirror, pieced together his remnant soul fragments bit by bit in the vast ocean.
If her guess is true, Jiang Li truly admires her perseverance.
"I will go to the Imperial Hospital immediately and retrieve the medical records of the Empress Dowager and the Duke of Zhenguo," Shen Muchun said solemnly.