Wasn't he supposed to be beaten to death? Why did this powerful cousin love him so much?

Jiang Sese got busy with the penicillin matter.

During this time, a major event also occurred.

Although Zheng Tong, as the hereditary Duke of Zhenguo, had long since relinquished his military power and no longer held troops in the border towns, his family's noble lineage was deep and his former subordinates and relatives in the court were deeply entrenched, and all civil and military officials had to show him respect.

The Zheng family's branch was a small and weak lineage, and for generations, they had been idle members of the clan without titles or positions. They were looked down upon within the clan and relied on the main family for their livelihood.

Upon hearing that Zheng Tong was about to celebrate his seventieth birthday, the collateral relatives began to plot to curry favor with him and seek official positions.

They reasoned that ordinary gold, silver, and silk were nothing special, but if they could build a villa comparable to a palace as a birthday gift, they would surely win Zheng Tong's favor. As long as the Duke was willing to recommend his sons and find them a minor official position in a prefecture or county or a leisurely job in the capital, the entire collateral branch could raise their status and no longer have to live at the mercy of others.

Knowing full well that royal etiquette must not be violated, they deliberately built the villa in a remote valley. The craftsmen who oversaw its construction were all recruited from other places at great expense, and they were promised generous sums of money to keep quiet and strictly forbidden from revealing any details of the construction.

Building a private residence is not a crime, but the steps in this courtyard are built in the style of the imperial palace, forming the Danbi Imperial Road.

The Dayong Dynasty had a strict set of etiquette rules, and even princes and nobles dared not act in this way. For the Duke of Zhenguo to do so was clearly a sign of his intention to overstep his bounds.

Originally, Zheng Tong could have simply distanced himself from the matter and said he knew nothing about it, and that would have been the end of it.

However, Xie Jue used the Qianlin Guard to mislead Emperor Jingyuan into believing that Zheng Tong knew about this matter.

Emperor Jingyuan was furious and immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the Zheng family.

In the emperor's eyes, regulations were never just about decoration styles, but a unique testament to imperial power.

For others to copy the imperial palace and residences without authorization is tantamount to denying the emperor's absolute authority and secretly diminishing the emperor's majesty. If they dare to overstep the bounds today, they will dare to covet power in the court tomorrow. Once the bottom line is breached, all the nobles and officials in the land will follow suit, and the imperial dignity will be completely destroyed.

The Zheng family was implicated and nine generations of relatives were punished; Zheng Tong was given poisoned wine.

A large area of ​​space in the imperial court was left empty.

After listening to Hongdou's words, Jiang Sese lowered her eyes and remained silent for a long while. She wasn't sympathizing with Zheng Tong; she was just reminded of Xie Yujiao, the girl who was kidnapped in the book.

This time, Xie Yujiao was still alive and well, as spoiled as ever. Just the other day, she came to complain to her about how ugly the purse Qi Yun had embroidered for Xie Huaizhang was. Being able to live and complain about how ugly someone else's embroidered purse is truly a blessing.

Jiang Sese recalled the Aladdin story she had written for Chen Yi and the others. In fairy tales, a magic lamp is all it takes for a wish to come true, but in reality, for every wish to come true, someone is silently paying the price in the shadows.

In the afternoon, Fuyun returned from outside, carrying a list of retired pharmacists from the Imperial Medical Academy.

Wearing homemade cotton gloves, Jiang Sese carefully picked out a patch of Penicillium mold that had developed the best and inoculated it onto a new culture medium with bamboo tweezers.

Hearing footsteps, Jiang Sese didn't even look up: "Fuyun, you've come at the right time. Help me take a look at this plate—the mycelium is growing well, and it will be ready for purification in a couple of days."

Fu Yun leaned closer to look at the bluish-green fuzz in the shallow dish and nodded: "It is indeed better than the previous batches. The color is right, and there are fewer miscellaneous bacteria. The princess has been spending every day in the medicine room these past few days, and her eyes are bloodshot. She should take a rest."

Jiang Sese waved her hand, her eyes still fixed on the shallow dish: "It's alright, it's alright, I'm not tired. Did you get the list?"

Fuyun took out the roster from her sleeve and handed it over with both hands: "They're all here. There are seven pharmacists in total. I've checked their backgrounds and family history. Among these few, two have no family ties and can sign long-term contracts, so they can report to the Princess's residence at any time. The other three have families to support, so we need to arrange accommodations for them, which will probably take some time."

Jiang Sese took the roster, flipped through it, and nodded in satisfaction: "Good efficiency. These two are the only ones. Please have them come for a meeting tomorrow. Accommodation is easy to arrange. Aren't there a row of empty houses at the workshops outside the city? We can clean them up and let them stay with their families. They can also help look after the workshops."

Fu Yun agreed, then glanced at her again and asked, "Princess, how long does it typically take for the medicine from this pharmacy to be ready?"

Jiang Sese put the shallow plate back on the shelf, took off her gloves, wiped her fingertips with a handkerchief, and mentally calculated the process: "The first batch should be ready for production around next spring. We need to stabilize the purification process in the next few months. It's not enough for just me to know it; I need to train a few skilled workers. Once the process is stable, we can move to a workshop outside the city to expand production. If all goes well, the first batch of medicine can be supplied in February or March next year."

Fuyun nodded, then hesitated for a moment before speaking, "When the first batch of medicine comes out, could the princess give me some?"

Jiang Sese looked at her curiously: "What, does someone in your family need it?"

Fuyun pursed her lips somewhat shyly: "I have a few friends who are constantly on the edge of their skin, and getting injured is a common occurrence for them. Their wounds often become infected and are even harder to treat than knife wounds. So I was thinking that if the medicine becomes available here, Your Highness, I could give some to them."

After hearing this, Jiang Sese immediately said, "Okay, I'll save you a copy later, as an employee benefit."

Fu Yun thanked her repeatedly, but inwardly she wondered, "Employee? What employee?"

……

The next day, Jiang Sese went to see the newly rehearsed play by Yuhe Troupe at Zhang Fumeng's invitation. Accompanying her were Princesses Chen Yi and Chen Pei, Princess Yunhe Chen Shixuan, and several familiar noble ladies including Li Wanru, Sun Mingwei, and Liu Yuying.

Several girls were chatting and laughing in a private room when a commotion suddenly erupted downstairs, accompanied by the rattling of chains dragging on the floor and the gruff shouts of constables. Jiang Sese, who was closest to the window, casually pushed it open and glanced down, then stopped abruptly.

A group of exiled prisoners, men, women, and children, were escorted from the street corner. They were dressed in rags, unkempt, and had heavy iron shackles on their feet.

Among the women following closely behind, one of them was walking unsteadily and needed someone beside her to help her stand up – it was Xie Yihua.

Following closely behind was Chu Zhiyin, her hair disheveled, her face smeared with dirt, her lips chapped and peeling, and she had lost a lot of weight. Her steps were unsteady, as if she might fall at any moment.

Several noble ladies, seeing her standing motionless by the window, curiously gathered around to look.

Zhang Fumeng was the first to peek out, then gasped and whispered, "Isn't that Xie Yihua and Chu Zhiyin?"

Zhang Fumeng clutched her chest, a wave of fear washing over her. Thankfully, she hadn't been the one to marry into the Chu family. Who could have imagined the Chu family would…

Li Wanru and Sun Mingwei also squeezed to the window and looked down. For a moment, no one spoke. All that could be heard was the clanging of iron shackles dragging across the bluestone slabs and the whispers of the onlookers.

The cheerful atmosphere that had been there during the opera performance in the private room had vanished completely. The girls watched the group downstairs in silence, their expressions varied and filled with sorrow.

Sun Mingwei gazed at the limping figure below and couldn't help but sigh, "Sister Yihua used to be so kind to people, but now..."

At this point, Sun Mingwei's voice choked, and she shook her head without saying anything more.

Li Wanru chimed in, her tone tinged with pity: "Who can argue with that? She's acted as a peacemaker for us several times. It's truly pitiful that she's ended up in this state."

Liu Yuying remained silent, only glancing sideways at the ground below.

Only after Sun Mingwei said those words did she speak with a hint of smugness: "What, none of you knew? Those rumors circulating in the capital that Princess Chenjia was a jinx were spread by Xie Yihua and Chu Zhiyin. A woman named Li personally went to the yamen with evidence to report her, and only then did the truth come to light."

"You were just feeling sorry for her, but you probably don't know how she treated the princess back then."

Liu Yuying said sarcastically, "That's why I say some people look pitiful, but they're actually vicious at heart. We're here shedding tears for her, but she didn't shed a single tear when she was harming people. What do you call that? You call it God having eyes, and reaping what you sow."

After Liu Yuying finished speaking, she smiled ingratiatingly at Jiang Sese.

The women were in an uproar.

Zhang Fumeng, always outspoken, slammed her hand on the table: "Serves you right! You should have expected this day to come after taking someone's life. This isn't pity, this is retribution!"

Chen Pei coldly echoed, "Fu Meng is right, this kind of person doesn't deserve sympathy."

Sun Mingwei remained silent for a long time, then blushed and said, "...I take back what I just said."

After speaking, she looked up at Jiang Sese, her eyes filled with shame. "Princess, I'm sorry, I didn't know she had done those things..."

Xie Yihua was always generous and polite, and they really didn't know that Xie Yihua and Jiang Sese had such a grudge.

Jiang Sese never turned around, but quietly watched the group of people downstairs walk further and further away. Then she gently closed the window, turned around and smiled at everyone: "Let's continue watching the show."

This sentence marked the end of this interlude.

Therefore, everyone knew there was no need to mention it again.