Do You Know?: Rule the World.

Chapter 128 Summon the Imperial Physician, Poison from the Blood-Drying Grass
"Go all over Bianjing and ask around, see if any family has ever been involved in such a scandal!"

"You wretched child! You've finally achieved some success, yet you're so ungrateful and destroy your own foundation!"

Gu Tingye endured the pain and gritted his teeth, saying, "I drove Zhu Manniang away a few years ago, but she has now appeared in Bianjing. Doesn't Father suspect that someone is deliberately setting a trap for me?"

"Harm you? If you are upright and honest, who could harm you!"

"Did someone hold a knife to your neck and force you to keep a mistress?!"

"You wretched child, how can you face your mother in the afterlife with such a disgraceful act!" Gu Yankai gripped his red-tasseled spear, his face flushed with anger.

Gu Tingye twitched the corner of his mouth, a hint of disappointment flashing in his eyes.

"I'm sorry to my mother, but what about you, Father? Do you still remember what my mother looks like?"

"She married into the Marquis's mansion full of hope, but what she received was daily neglect and constant disdain."

"She was driven to her death by your Gu family!"

"Now, everything in the entire Ningyuan Marquis's mansion was preserved thanks to my mother's dowry!"

Gu Yankai stared at him intently, his hand holding the red-tasseled spear trembling slightly. "Yes, the Gu family has only survived to this day because of your mother."

"But if you were in my situation back then, could you have stood by and watched the century-old Marquis's mansion crumble and the entire clan become homeless without hesitation?!"

"You keep referring to yourself as your mother, but do you ever respect me as your father?"

Gu Tingye lowered his head, his eyes filled with tears, his voice choked with emotion yet stubborn, "Over the years, I've heard a lot of rumors."

"Granny Chang said that before my mother died, she kept repeating that you had deceived her so badly."

"Father, I want to know, is this really true?!"

His mother was dead, and all he wanted was an explanation and his father's repentance.

Gu Yankai threw away the red-tasseled spear. He didn't want to explain or face this matter.

The first thing Gu Tingye did upon returning was to petition for a new imperial decree for Lady Bai in front of all the civil and military officials at the Chuigong Hall.

In his view, his son had never considered his feelings at all.

He only wanted to vent his anger and expose this family scandal from many years ago to everyone.

As for bowing down to Gu Tingye, that's even more impossible.

"Who lied to her? It was your maternal grandfather who married your mother into the family for the sake of a title."

"Human life and death are determined by fate. Her fate is such, so why are you so stubborn and insist on bringing up these old grievances?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingye stood up unsteadily. "Old grievances? My mother was pregnant for eight months and died along with her unborn child. In your eyes, that's just old grievances."

After saying that, he lifted his foot to leave.

Gu Yankai shouted sternly, "Stop right there!"

"Go to the palace immediately and apologize to the Crown Prince and the Emperor. As for the Censorate... I will handle that..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gu Yankai's vision went black, and he staggered to grab the table for support.

“Your Highness already knew that if it weren’t for Your Highness’s advice, I wouldn’t have driven Zhu Manniang away.”

"Father, you don't need to worry about this. I want to see who is behind this!"

Gu Tingye had his back to him and noticed that there was no sound behind him for a long time.

He turned around and saw that Gu Yankai's face was pale and one hand was covering his chest.

"Father, what's wrong?" Gu Tingye rushed forward to check on him, his expression somewhat anxious.
Gu Yankai heard that Zhao Han already knew about this, and his worries immediately lessened.

But he didn't want to see Gu Tingye again at all, and gritted his teeth, he snapped, "Get out!"

"Father!"

"Get out of here..." Gu Yankai suddenly pushed him away, then spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, Gu Tingye couldn't help but panic. "Father, what's wrong?"

Upon hearing the news, Madam Qin, who was feigning concern for Zhu Manniang in the backyard, hurriedly brought her mother over.

"My lord!" Madam Qin frowned, supporting Gu Yankai while quickly searching for a solution in her mind.

After a moment, she glanced at Gu Tingye and said, "Second Brother, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and help the Marquis back into the house."

"Alright." At this critical moment, Gu Tingye had no intention of arguing and immediately bent down to help Gu Yan up.

After settling Gu Yankai in, Madam Qin looked extremely anxious. "Second Brother, how could you make your father so angry?"

“Zhonghuai…” Gu Yankai’s lips moved slightly on the bed.

"Father!"

Just as Gu Tingye was about to step forward, Madam Qin grabbed his arm.

"Quickly go and fetch a doctor... no, a royal physician!"

"Go!"

"Once the Marquis is healed, there's nothing you can't say!"

To summon an imperial physician, one must submit a written memorial or personally explain the illness to the emperor. Only after the emperor's approval can the physician leave the palace to treat the patient.

Even if Gu Tingye pleaded with the Crown Prince, and the matter was relayed to the Emperor through the Eastern Palace, it would still take at least one or two hours for the whole process to proceed.

An hour is enough time to do it yourself.

Such an opportunity to completely ruin Gu Tingye and destroy his reputation is fleeting.

With Gu Yankai dead, the title will fall to Gu Tingyu, but given his health, he probably won't live for many more years.

"Second Brother, we can't delay any longer!" Madam Qin couldn't help but urge him.
"Okay, I'll go right away." Gu Tingye nodded repeatedly, glanced at Gu Yankai one last time, and immediately took Shi Tou and rode away.

Inside the side room, Madam Qin composed herself and glanced sideways at her mother.

"I'm afraid the Marquis won't make it through today. Boil some tonic medicine, and I'll personally serve it to him."

“Madam…” Xiang’s mother hesitated.

"What are you afraid of? Success or failure hinges on this. Increase the dosage and make sure it's over before Erlang returns home."

Ever since Gu Yankai returned from the Northwest, Madam Qin has frequently brewed tonics for him, adding plenty of blood-dried herbs to them.

Blood-dried grass is extremely cold in nature and can damage the Qi and blood, but the effects may not be immediately apparent.

However, if this continues for a long time, a person will become thin and withered like an autumn leaf, and hidden ailments in the body will also appear.

Although Gu Yankai's old ailment has been flaring up more frequently in the past half month, he simply attributed it to his own old age.

After all, who would have thought that the person who has been by your side for over twenty years would poison you?

"Yes, this old servant will go right away." After replying to his mother, he strode away.

Madam Qin sat on the edge of the bed, coldly watching Gu Yankai.

This man who ruined his own life will soon pay the price he deserves.

-

"drive--"

Holding the reins, Gu Tingye sped down the street, heading straight for the Eastern Palace.

He knew that the only way to get the imperial physician to come to him in the shortest amount of time was to ask Zhao Han for help.

East Palace, Mingde Hall.

After Gu Tingye explained the reason, Zhao Han secretly felt that something was wrong.

"Zhonghuai, you should return to the Marquis's residence immediately. If you need to ask the imperial physician, just send a servant with the invitation. There's no need for you to come in person!"

"If something happens to Lord Gu today, who do you think is to blame!"

Gu Tingye took a deep breath, his eyes darting left and right.

Yes!

He was too anxious just now, afraid of wasting time, and didn't think much about it.

It's good that my father has recovered today; otherwise, I would surely be branded as a patricide.

"You go back quickly, just leave Shi Tou here. I will go see the Emperor now and send the imperial physician with Shi Tou to the residence."

The imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy were divided into different ranks.

The imperial physicians were of the highest rank and possessed the most exquisite medical skills, specializing in taking pulses and diagnosing patients for officials, empresses, and crown princes.

Only a very few high-ranking officials in the court were allowed to leave the palace to attend to their illness with special permission from the emperor.

Even with the Emperor's permission, ordinary officials could only take a regular imperial physician with them. "After Zhonghuai has resolved this matter, I will come to thank Your Highness for your kindness!"

"Stop talking nonsense and go back."

Gu Tingye nodded vigorously, disregarding etiquette, and galloped to the palace gate, leaped onto his horse, and whipped it, heading straight for the Marquis's residence.

After serving Gu Yan the tonic, Madam Qin went to invite Gu Tingyu and the people from the fourth and fifth branches of the family over.

Right now, she is kneeling in front of the bed, crying and complaining that Gu Tingye is disobedient and unfilial, and that he has angered Gu Yankai to the point of near death.

"That damned Erlang, how could our Gu family produce such a thing?"

"I used to think he was quite promising, but now if anything happens to my elder brother, he will be a sinner to the entire clan!"

"He should be removed from the family tree."

"..."

Gu Yanming, the fourth uncle of the Gu family, and Gu Yanzhi, the fifth uncle, stood together and discussed in hushed tones.

They had originally intended to ask Gu Tingye to help their two cousins, Gu Tingbing and Gu Tingyang, secure official positions.

To everyone's surprise, he not only avoided meeting them, but also bluntly said that their son was a good-for-nothing.

Having been looking for a way to vent their anger, they naturally followed Madam Qin's lead and took the opportunity to thoroughly humiliate Gu Tingye.

If Gu Tingye could really be driven out of the Gu family, wouldn't the remaining tens of thousands of taels of dowry from Madam Bai be left for them to squander?

Gu Yanming stood on tiptoe and saw that Gu Yankai's complexion was getting worse and worse, and he was already barely breathing. He couldn't help but shake his head.

I sighed inwardly, thinking how pitiful my older brother was, that he ended up being driven to his death by his son.

Standing to the side, Gu Tingwei looked anxious and asked the servant beside him in a low voice, "Why hasn't Second Brother come back yet?"

"Summoning the imperial physician from the palace is no small matter; how could it be done so quickly? It seems the Marquis will likely not be able to hold on until Second Brother returns."

Upon hearing this, Gu Tingwei clenched his sleeves in a panic.

"How can this be? There are so many people in the manor, why do we have to make Second Brother go and fetch the imperial physician?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a series of noisy footsteps and sounds of fighting came from outside.

"Get out of my way! If you dare to stop me again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Get out of here!"

Both Madam Qin and Gu Tingyu turned their heads to look at the same time.

Gu Tingye, his clothes disheveled, pushed aside the servants who tried to stop him and strode in.

"Where is my father?!"

Gu Tingyu had long seen through Madam Qin's scheme; in his eyes, his father was no longer useful.

If I can use this opportunity to ensure that the child of my mother's killer can never recover, it would be a good thing for me.

He stepped forward and shouted sternly, "You unfilial and disobedient wretch!"

"Relying on his military achievements, he spoke rudely and angered his father to the point of vomiting blood!"

"Didn't you go to fetch the imperial physician? Where is he?!"

"Let me tell you, you can forget about seeing your father. He doesn't want to see you right now!"

Gu Tingye clenched his fists, took a deep breath, grabbed Gu Tingyu by the collar, and shoved him aside.

"My lord!" Upon seeing this, Madam Shao rushed forward.

"Cough cough cough—" Gu Tingyu coughed violently, struggling to get up from the ground, his face pale.

"Gu Tingye, your keeping a mistress has brought shame to the Gu family, and your father is going to be driven to his death by it."

"And now they want to lay a hand on my brother... cough cough cough..."

Gu Tingye looked at him and sneered repeatedly.

"If anyone dares to stop me from seeing my father today, I, Gu Tingye, will not hesitate to die with them!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Qin immediately frowned.

She hadn't expected Gu Tingye to return so quickly, and his attitude seemed to have changed completely.

But at this point, they had no choice but to continue pretending.

Since Gu Yankai is already on the verge of death and no imperial physician has been summoned, as long as the entire Gu family speaks with one voice, they have no trouble crushing Gu Tingye.

Once he's branded with the crime of being disobedient and unfilial, he can never clear his name for the rest of his life.

"Erlang, your elder brother is asking you a question! Where is the imperial physician? You wretched child, I told you to go and fetch the imperial physician, and you actually came back on your own!"

"If anything happens to you, my lord, today, I'll fight you to the death!"

Gu Tingye ignored her words and rushed to the bedside.

When a person is on the verge of death, although they cannot speak, they can still hear sounds.

Gu Yankai heard everything clearly in the room, from the arguments and scheming that had just taken place.

He never expected that the entire Gu family would work together to pin the blame on Erlang, and even obstruct his last meeting with Erlang.

Moreover, after taking the medicine brought by Madam Qin, he felt increasingly unwell, as if his internal organs were burning and his breathing became increasingly difficult.

"Father……"

Hearing Gu Tingye call his name, Gu Yan opened his eyes and his fingers twitched.

Seeing this, Gu Tingyu couldn't help but feel anxious. He forced himself to say, "Now that you've seen Father, get out of here!"

"Men! Throw him out of here!"

Just as the servants were about to step forward, they saw Shi Tou leading the imperial physician into view.

Stone's martial arts skills were certainly not inferior, but in order to get rid of the servants outside, he had several bright red scratches on his face and his clothes were torn, making him look quite disheveled.

"Young master, the imperial physician has arrived!" Shi Tou grinned and bowed.

Madam Qin's face froze for a moment, followed by a rare flash of panic.

He subtly tugged at his mother's sleeve, having already decided to take the blame for her.

"Get out of my way!" Gu Tingye roared.

The members of the fourth and fifth households exchanged glances and immediately made way for the imperial physician.

"Fortunately, we arrived in time. If we had been even half an incense stick later, I'm afraid Lord Gu would have been powerless to save us!"

After taking Gu Yankai's pulse, the imperial physician hurriedly opened his medicine box and began administering acupuncture.

A moment later, at the imperial physician's instruction, Gu Tingye helped Gu Yankai up. Gu Yankai's throat bobbed, and a mouthful of black blood gushed out.

"Sir, why is my father's blood black?!" Gu Tingwei exclaimed in surprise, bewildered.
Beneath her wide sleeves, Madam Qin clenched her fists tightly, wishing she could slap him right now.

The imperial physician did not answer; how could he not know that Gu Yankai was poisoned?

However, such private matters are really not suitable to be discussed in front of others.

He does have that much insight.

"Young Master Gu, may I have a word with you in private?" The imperial physician turned to look at Gu Tingye.

The two moved behind the screen, where the imperial physician revealed the whole story of Gu Yankai's poisoning, stating that the poison had penetrated deep into his bone marrow and that he would have no more than six months to live.

Gu Tingye frowned, his face more gloomy than ever before.

Gu Yanming and Gu Yanzhi looked at each other, both of them completely bewildered.

They only knew that their eldest brother was about to die of anger, so they came to join in the fun, hoping to get more of Bai's dowry in the future.

About half an hour later, Gu Yan took the medicine and woke up.

He raised his hand, trembling, and pointed at Gu Yanming and Gu Yanzhi, gritting his teeth as he squeezed out a single word, "Get out!"

"Big brother, you..." Gu Yanming was about to explain when Shi Tou stood in front of him.

He could only awkwardly say, "We only came because we care about you, brother. In that case, we'll come to see you again in a few days."

Gu Yankai turned his head and looked at Gu Tingyu again, a look of unprecedented disappointment flashing across his eyes.

Because his eldest son was born to Lady Qin and had always been in poor health, he inevitably showed some favoritism.

Unexpectedly, he would frame Gu Tingye in this way.

Gu Tingye glared at Madam Qin with resentment, "Father, should we invite someone from the Marquis of Dongchang's residence over?!"

(End of this chapter)