Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 98: Bloody Red Gate
After Li Tong left, Su Ze began to count the assets he had on hand.

The Tunqiying also had a military settlement outside the city of Luoyang. In addition, according to Li Daoyuan, the imperial guards also had an industry dealing in southern goods, so the Tunqiying should have some assets.

He sent Su Suan to count the assets of Tunqiying, but this guy ran out of the city and didn't come back for several days.

The paper mill is still under construction, and the Henan government office alone does not need much paper.

Su Tong was still casting statues in Yongning Temple, but his casting process was very slow, and he had to give part of the incense money to Yongning Temple, and this income was not stable.

The same is true for jewelers. The demand for high-end jewelry is limited and it rarely circulates in the market.

Su Ze now understood how horrible the cost of maintaining an army was. With his own savings, he could not even afford to support elite cavalry like the Tuqi, let alone infantry.

Seeing the poor combat effectiveness of the Yulin Army, Su Ze also understood why in the later chaotic times of the Northern Wei Dynasty, not even a record of the former Yulin Huben was left.

Compared with the border residents of the Six Garrisons who were fighting for survival on the brink of death, the Luoyang imperial guards lacked so much.
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Just when Su Ze was worried about training his troops, at Princess Lanling's mansion, the Imperial Censor Zhang Zhongyu respectfully presented an exquisite porcelain vase to Princess Lanling.

"Is this the elixir that Tao Zhenren of the Southern Dynasty made that you mentioned?"

Zhang Zhongyu said quickly: "Your Highness, this elixir was brought here from the Southern Dynasty by express horse. If you take it with special Tusu wine, you will feel the bliss of ascending to heaven."

Princess Lanling looked at the elixir in the bottle. The vermilion shell of the elixir was very similar to the color of her delicate lips. However, this princess, who stood at the pinnacle of wealth and glory in the Wei Dynasty, could not hide the depressed look on her face.

After causing a big fuss at the last event to select the best striker for Prince Qinghe, the son-in-law Prince Song Liu Hui has not returned home. However, gossip about the son-in-law Liu Hui has been spreading in Luoyang.

Princess Lanling recalled that she and her husband had once had a sweet time together, when she forced herself to marry him despite her father's opposition.

At that time, Liu Hui had not yet inherited the title of King of Song. After his marriage, Princess Lanling went to the palace from time to time, and finally persuaded her father, Emperor Xiaowen, to agree to let her son-in-law inherit the title.

When her father was alive, Princess Lanling was the most beloved princess of Emperor Xiaowen, and she was also the most beloved wife of her husband in the Prince of Song's Palace.

The change occurred after his father died suddenly and his younger brother ascended the throne.

As Princess Lanling gradually lost her influence in the court, King Song Liu Hui gradually began to neglect her.

Not only did he start to live a life of debauchery, but he also had an affair with the maids in the mansion.

In fact, this kind of thing is quite normal in the homes of nobles. It is common for dowry maids to serve the male owner. However, Princess Lanling was unable to give birth, and her character became even more jealous. She quarreled with her husband Liu Hui many times over these things.

Now they have a small quarrel every three days and a big quarrel every five days. This couple has become the laughing stock of Luoyang.

Thinking of this, Princess Lanling grabbed the medicine bottle, poured the pills into her mouth, and then took a big gulp of Tu Su wine.

Zhang Zhongyu, who was standing by, was so frightened that his face turned pale. He quickly said, "Your Highness! You can only take one pill of this elixir at a time!"

Princess Lanling threw the wine jug at Zhang Zhongyu and said:
"If the elixir is really effective, I will tell King Qinghe about your request. Now, get out of here!"

When Zhang Zhongyu saw the red in Princess Lanling's eyes, he was so scared that he crawled out of Prince Song's Mansion.

As Princess Lanling took the elixir, she felt a surge of tyranny rising from the bottom of her heart. Coupled with the effect of the Tu Su wine, her rationality became less and less.

She smashed everything in the house crazily, and then shouted, "Someone come! Someone come!" The personal maid came in in fear, and Princess Lanling said, "Bring those two bitches up!"

The maid quickly said, "Princess, haven't you decided to let them give birth to the baby?"

"Bring them up quickly!"

Princess Lanling was already hysterical. She held the broken pieces of porcelain in her hand and stabbed her maid madly, scaring her so much that she ran away quickly.

After a while, two women dressed as maids were tied up and brought in front of Princess Lanling.

Both maids were pregnant, and one of them had a bulging belly. They had rope balls stuffed in their mouths and looked at Princess Lanling with horror.

These two maids were actually the maids that came with Princess Lanling's dowry. Princess Lanling and her husband Liu Hui were not on good terms and she did not allow him to touch her maids that came with her dowry. However, Liu Hui cheated on them and they are now pregnant.

Originally, Princess Lanling had decided to let the two maids give birth to the child and then raise it by her side.

However, Princess Lanling could not accept the fact that Liu Hui had an affair with her, so she simply imprisoned the two maids in the backyard.

Now that she had taken the Wu Shi San, Princess Lanling's inner cruelty was completely aroused. She picked up the porcelain fragments on the ground and rushed towards the two maids with red eyes.

When the screams stopped, the maids present were so frightened that they collapsed on the ground, and some even fainted.

Princess Lanling was covered in blood, like a ghost crawling out of hell.

The two pregnant maids had their bellies cut open and died tragically on the spot.

The effect of the Five Stones Powder finally dissipated temporarily, and Princess Lanling regained some of her sanity.

She hugged her arms in fear, but soon her hatred for Prince Consort Liu Hui took over, and she said to her personal maid, "Stuff straw in their stomachs! Sew up their stomachs and hang them at the gate of the palace, and call Prince Consort back home!"

Then she regained her composure:

"Let me change my clothes. I want to go see my brother, the prince of Qinghe."
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At Princess Chenliu's residence, Luzhu rushed into the princess's boudoir and nearly tripped over the door frame. She said hastily, "Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!"

"Princess Lanling killed a pregnant maid in the mansion, cut out the fetus, stuffed it with straw and hung it at the entrance of the mansion, frightening the returning Prince Song to faint!"

"Prince Song is about to enter the palace to file a complaint!"

Upon hearing the news, Princess Chenliu sat down holding the cat slave, and Luzhu looked at her own princess in confusion.

In the past, when Princess Lanling’s family was in discord with each other, the one who was most keen to watch was her own princess. But after hearing such explosive news today, Princess Chenliu is no longer interested?

Princess Chenliu was heard saying, "Wang Mang's son killed a maid in the late Han Dynasty. Wang Mang killed his son to win people's hearts. Today, my sister has done something so immoral. Brother Qinghe will definitely protect her. What is the difference between the royal family of Wei and the barbarians? The achievements of my father's reforms have been ruined overnight."

"Is today the day for the army to rest? Prepare a carriage for me. I want to go to the home of General Su."

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(End of this chapter)