Published
at 15th of August 2018 02:49:25 AM
Chapter 104
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Li Chang Le laughed, her laughter carrying like silver bells, “It’s a pity that Si Di has to suffer so much at such a young age . It must be due to him bearing the karma of his mother’s evil sins . ” Upon hearing her, Loa Fu Ren snorted coldly and drew a long-drawn sigh . Li Wei Yang suddenly stood up, her abruptness gave Li Chang le a start as she watchfully monitored Wei Yang’s reaction . Contrary to expectation, Li Wei Yang did not get angry and yet calmly said, “This room is getting too stuffy, I’m going out for a breath of fresh air” As Wei Yang walked out of the door, she was greeted by Li Min De rushing towards her . His back was drenched with dew as if he had just come back home . Upon seeing Li Wei Yang, he said, “I’ve already prepared a carriage, let’s go!”) Puzzled, Li Wei Yang asked, “Where to?” “To just stand here and dazedly do nothing is not helping! I’ve heard people saying that there is a Master physician in Da Li . As long as the person has not drawn his last breath, he is able to save them from the brink of death! The only flaw is that his personality is rather quirky and he refuses to enter the palace to be an imperial physician” Is such a person even real?” Startled, Li Wei Yang searched her recesses of her memory . “Are you talking about Lu Xiao?!” Wei Yang had been too frazzled and had even forgotten about Lu Xiao’s existence . Lu Xiao, or as the public called him Lu Gong(“Gong” is ancient China was a title reserved for people of highest honors, for example, a duke) was indeed a gifted surgeon . His skills were not restricted to just the art of healing . He could accurately pin point the root cause to the patient's illness . In fact, if he told you that he could treat the illness, it was as good as any other doctor meaning you could be cured from your illness permanently . There was a famous case that Lu Gong had treated . The patient had complained he suffered from a headache . After feeling his pulse, Lu Gong could accurately determine that the illness was too severe and could not be saved . He had told the patient’s brother, “Your brother has contracted a particular illness that will start showing its effect in his digestive system . In 5 days’ time, his stomach would bloat and in 8 days’ time, he will vomit out pus and die . ” There was another occasion where he used TCM to treat a noble’s son . The son was only 17 years old and once Lu Gong saw him, he diagnosed and said, “Your inner organs are weak . You need to diligently take the medicine I prescribe to you for a year, or else your whole body’s hair will shed and drop off . The youth was rather skeptical and did not diligently take the medicine . Indeed, by the age of 25, his hair, his eyebrows had dropped off . The most famous example was the Lu Gong and the Imperial Family . The Late Emperor’s cherished Concubine Liu concubine fell ill . Using every possible way, the late Emperor searched for Lu Gong to render his expertise . With one look, Lu Gong diagnosed and said, “Your sickness has already taken root, we need to cut open your abdomen to heal . However, it is the heaven’s fate that you can only live for two more years . Even if you do the surgery, it is pre-ordained that you can only live for those 2 years . ” At the Emperor’s command, he commanded that Lu Gong was to try every possible means to cure her anyway . But during those two years, Liu Fei died . Lu Gong’s accurate predictions was picked up speedily by the locals and became sensational news . Due to Lu Gong’s stellar skills and his frank nature, he became Da Li’s star doctor with his name travelling far and wide . However, the late Emperor continued to suspect Lu Gong was not skilled enough to safe Concubine Liu . He thought Lu Gong had concocted the two-year death as a story and hence treated him as a wanted criminal and continuously hunted Lu Gong down . Lu Gong gradually turned against the royal throne and decided to wander about, disappearing without a trace . How exactly did Li Min De manage to find this elusive and mysterious doctor?
Li Wei Yang had not uttered a single word during the ride . She grabbed tightly to the handrail with sweaty palms . Li Min De could perceive that she was nervous and panicky . Wordlessly, he placed his palm on hers and patted it, wanting to give her reassurance and comfort . Only then did Li Wei Yang regain her resolute calmness . The house had a very elegant exterior . Unfortunately, the gatekeeper arrogantly called out “I’ve already told you that my master isn’t in . Yet you’re coming back again at midnight . Are you crazy?” Min De called out, “But this time, someone is very sick and needs help!” The gatekeeper coldly said “ I don’t care what sort of illness he has . He’s not in!” Li Min De lost his composure and commanded, “Zhao Nan!” Before the guard could even react, a sharp blade was pressed at the gatekeeper’s throat . The gatekeeper was scared out of his wits . Li Wei Yang hurriedly intervened, “You know that even if we’re patient, the blade is never patient with its victims . I’ll bet you before your master can come back home, you would have been dead and even Lu Gong would not be able to revive you!” The guard’s arrogant expression was wiped off his face, he uncertainly stared at Li Wei Yang . If looks could kill, Li Wei Yang embodied that . Her murderous expression terrified him . Not daring to look at Wei Yang again, he directed his words to the less scary of the two, Li Min De . “Sir, I’ve already told you, he isn’t in! This is the truth, I wouldn't lie to you… If you don’t believe me, you can enter the premises and check!” Li Wei Yang grinded her teeth, “Zhao Yue, go in and search! Don’t think about etiquette at this critical juncture! Think about the life we are about to lose!” Zhao Yue rapidly went into the house . Not before long, he bounded out, dejectedly shaking his head . Li Wei Yang frowned . The guard said,” See! See! I’ve already told you my master is not at home! You should come another day!” “Another day?! Another day?! This situation could not be resolved on another day!” Li Wei Yang agitatedly thought to herself . “If Li Xiao Ran could not get a physician from the royal palace as well, what would happen to Min Zhi? Would she have to barge into the imperial palace and snatch the imperial physician?” Li Wei Yang took two steps back dazedly . As if she was in a trance, Wei Yang swayed like a wind . “Do you want to live!” Her body was pulled by Min De who was in front, but the voice came from someone else . Li Wei Yang lifted her head to locate the voice coming from her back, only to see a carriage leaning towards her, precariously tilting to the side . It seemed that she had startled the carriage’s coachmen . After rearing back the horse, he began to scold loudly, “Do you have eyes? When you walk on the roads, do you not use your eyes to guide you? Or is it that you are so idle and free that you can run freely around into other people’s house to want to find a way to die?” Drawing in a breath after his rant, he asked,” Lao Ye, are you alright?”
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From the inside of the carriage, a sonorous voice piped out, “Whatever is happening out there?” The coachman began explaining the circumstances to the old man . Li Min De was close to his boiling point . However, he started to notice Li Wei Yang had been staring fixedly at the carriage . At this moment, the elderly person in the carriage alighted . Cupping his hands in greeting, he said “I hope I did not disturb you…” “Ah! My Master has finally arrived home! You are most fortunate to be able to meet him!” The guard said as he came running up to greet his master . It was only then did Li Wei yang’s spirit return . Involuntarily, she took a step forward to clarify, ”You are ----Lu Gong?” “Are you here to seek treatment on your illnesses? Come into the house and talk!” Since Lu Gong had already said that, Li Wei Yang grasped hold of his sleeves “There is no time! Please come with us, my brother cannot even wake up!” Lu Gong shook his head and said, “I still need to go in and get my medical trest ah!” Eyeing Li Wei Yang’s hand on his sleeves, his eyes wrinkled into a smile . Li Wei Yang realized how utterly without propriety she was and immediately released his sleeves from her hand . Inside the house, one could see that the house’s layout was simple and bare . All the furniture seemed as if it was designed for functionality as their first priority and had no traces of luxury . For example, the table was bared with only an inlaid with a Chinese chess . The only trace of luxury lay in the far corner designated for flower pots . Heaps of precious herbs were stored there . Not to mention the grand bookshelves which were burgeoning with stack and stacks of ancient tomes specializing in the art of healing . As for the appearance of Lu Gong . Well, Lu Gong’s beard was white . During his youth, he must have been a strapping young man but the years had made him hunched and bent . Even so, he still exuded the aura of a formidable man . Initially, he did not want to treat patients upon his arrival back home . But after hearing the Li’s family plight, and upon hearing that they had hired 7 doctors only to hear that all 7 said Min Zhi’s illness was beyond treatment, he began to cheerily say, “All of the doctors said he couldn't be saved? I must really see him!” This evidently meant that Lu Gong treated Min Zhi as if he was a specimen to be studied upon . Li Wei Yang swallowed her misery and said, “Please good sir, please use your utmost efforts to save Min Zhi! If he can be saved, the Li Family will be extremely grateful” Lu Gong smiled and instructed the guard to fetch his medicinal chest and stepped into the carriage . As the carriage trundled into the Li Household, the butler who welcomed them back had anxiety written all over his face . In a whisper, he said, “Lao Ye has not come back” . His words implied that Li Xiao Ran had not succeeded in procuring an imperial physician . Li Wei Yang nodded her head, and gestured to Lu Gong, “Welcome to the Li Mansion . ” By the time Lu Gong reached Tan Shi’s office, the sky had already brightened and it was almost dawn . Lao Fu Ren and the entire household’s faces had anxiety etched all over their faces as they waited for the news . Li Chang Le was the first to stand, “This physician is----?” Li Wei Yang said, “This is a top physician called Lu Physician . ” Lao Fu Ren was widely read and upon hearing this name, an image sprung up to mind . She immediately said, “Lu Gong, you have travelled a great distance . You have suffered . ”
Li Chang Le glanced at the mama beside her . The mama’s head was hanging down . She coldly laughed, Lu Physician? Li Wei Yang had surely lost her head in this frenzy, why else would she engage a no-name physician! While Li Chang Le was always superficial and shallow minded, it was true that majority of the people in the city had completely forgotten about Lu Gong’s existence because he hadn’t been treating people in the capital for a while . So, one could not fault Li Chang Le’s ignorance . The entire household surveyed Lu Gong . This included the 7 physicians who were helpless in the face of the crisis . They glared at the physician, suspicion radiating off them . Lu Gong rinsed his hands . Using his white handkerchief, he methodically wiped both his hands till dry before walking towards the cradle . He prodded, smelt and gazed at the baby for half an hour . With a serious gaze, he took a step back . Pinching Min Zhi’s stomach, he gravely said, “Bring me the original medicine that Min Zhi was eating . ” Li Wei Yang personally brought forward the medicine the previous imperial physician prescribed to Min Zhi to Lu Gong . Lu Gong narrowed his eyes upon looking at the medicine and repeatedly sighed, “A quack doctor! A Quack doctor!” Upon hearing these words, Lao Fu Ren agitatedly said, “These were prescribed by the imperial physicians . How can there be a problem?” “This child’s toxins have not been purged out and on top of that, he suffers from a mild cold . What was prescribed to him are all toxin purging medicine suitable for adults and does not address his cold . It’s obvious a childwill not be able to take the strong medicine! This doctor is a disgrace! His prescription is plain horrible . He shouldn’t be practicing!” Lu Gong said . One of the 7 doctors had originally approved such a method . Upon hearing this, he could not help but say, “These medicines were prescribed because the child was suffering from poisoning! You can’t deny it’s the right prescription to make… You can’t just treat his cold and neglect the fact that the child has been poisoned? Obviously, we would prioritize treating his poisoning first because it’s more important than a mere cold!” Lu Gong disdainfully said, “A quack doctor would parrot exactly what you said . Superficial knowledge and healthy dose of generalization! This child is still tiny . You need to understand you have to nurture him, build his health from a foundation level . If his body becomes weak, he would naturally be susceptible to the common cold . This prescription only contains medicine suitable for strong illnesses . Do you want to kill the child? If I waited for you to purge the toxins out of the child, the child would have already died!” The physician continued trying to defend himself, “Originally, these two illnesses when contracted together are very hard to treat . In addition, the child is still too young to consume the Ephedra herb . It’s such a complicated case, no one can save him!” Lu Gong coldly smiled and said, “If youcan’t do it, does it mean no one else can?” Hope began to blossom in Lao Fu Ren’s chest as she hoarsely voiced out, “How do we treat him?” Lu Gong glanced at Tan Shi cradling Min Zhi . Gently, she used some wet handkerchiefs to wipe Min Zhi’s brow . Even so, the child had his eyes tightly shut, as if he could not wake up . Lu Gong unhurriedly said, “I’m going to dispense the medicine… Please undress the child for me . ” Lao Fu Ren agitatedly said, “This child is so small, are you sure he can withstand the medicine? Would it be better if the wet nurse drank the medicine and the medicine gets transferred via breastmilk?” Lu Gong shook his head “There is no time! If you have faith in my abilities, you would listen to me! If you don’t believe, then find someone to treat him! Li Wei Yang grinded her teeth and said, “Lao Fu Ren, let’s listen to Lu Gong!” Even though Lao Fu Ren was still faintly skeptical about Lu Gong, she had no choice . There was no sight of her son and the imperial physician . She could only rely on Lu Gong who was in front of her . Yet the unspoken still had to be said, “If . . . you can’t heal the boy…” Lu Gong’s face was flushed with confidence . “The fact that I am prepared to treat him and that I have gone to the extent of prescribing him medicine means I am confident that he will get well! There is no such thing as “If” in my dictionary!” Immediately, he began the tedious process of prescribing, procuring and dispensing the various herbs . He spent a whole 6 hours on the task, toiling till noon and waking the entire household up with his activity . It was only then, at noon, did Li Xiao Ran hurriedly step foot back into the Li Mansion, bringing the Imperial Physician with him . Li Min Zhi’s vomiting and diarrhea spells and his extremely high fever has already stopped by the time they arrived . Wang Imperial Physician looked amazed at how the situation had turned out and was thinking of saying something . Lao Fu Ren was rather afraid the two physicians would come into conflict . Hence, she instructed the servants to bring the Wang Imperial Physician to sample some tea . It came as a surprise when Wang Imperial Physician brushed the servant off and immediately took the initiative to go straight to Li Min Zhi’s cradle to inspect it . After questioning for what seemed like a day, his face showed a mask of uncertainty . When he met with Li Xiao Ran and Lao Fu Ren he betrayed some sort of agitation . After a long while, he slowly said, “Indeed, the physician is a master . ” He glanced at Li Xiao Ran and said, “Prime Minister Li, I am not needed . ” As he finished cupping his hand, he left without a word . The rest of the physicians looked at each other in dismay, uncertain at the Imperial physician’s actions and why he left so suddenly . The person with the most complex feelings was Li Chang Le . She didn’t speak at all, and had her head hanging down . If anyone could look any more awkward it would be her . Lu Gong took a last look over at Min Zhi and smilingly said, “There’s nothing wrong with him already . ” Li Wei Yang immediately let out a breath of relief . It was only then she discovered even Lao Fu Ren had stayed up the entire night . She immediately said, “Lao Fu Ren, you should go and rest immediately . Don’t worry about sending the physician to the door, I’ll do it . ”
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It was only then did Lao Fu Ren manage to relax, her legs were so weak with relief that they almost buckled down . As her gaze involuntarily traveled to the cradle, she said “Alright . I’ll go home first . If there are any developments, please come about and inform me about them . ” Li Xiao Ran immediately said, “Housekeeper, you accompany the 3rd Miss to send Lu Gong off . ” The housekeeper immediately understood the meaning behind Li Xiao Ran’s words and answered, “Yes” . Shortly after, he passed a heavy bag of silver to the medicine boy who had followed Lu Gong . The medicine boy beamed widely while receiving the money . As Lu Gong stepped out of the door of the Li Mansion, it was only then did he start smiling and told Li Wei Yang, “It’s alright . You just need to see me off until here . ” Li Wei Yang said “Master Lu, you saved my younger from death’s door . In the future, if you need any favors from me, I will definitely not reject you . ” Lu Gong smiled, closely assessing Li Wei Yang before saying, “Alright . I’ll take your word for it . If I need any favors in the future, I will naturally come to you and knock on your door . ” Li Wei Yang nodded . Wordlessly her eyes followed Lu Gong as he ascended up the horse carriage and trailed after them even after his carriage began to move . The midst of this, she heard Li Min De instruct his people in the background, “Follow him . ” Li Wei Yang could not help but turn her head around to ask Min De, “Why? Does he seem suspicious to you?” Li Min De said “I keep on having a bad gut feeling about him . ” He icily said as he watched the horse cart travel further into the distance . Li Wei Yang softly said, “But he saved my brother’s life . This remains an undisputed fact . ” Li Min De shook his head and said, “Last night I was too rash and agitated . Yet after I calmed myself down to think about it, there were moments that I could not place my finger on that were not right . Even if I were to take into account that Lu Gong is slightly eccentric personality, it seems mightily suspicious . Would any sane doctor immediately agree to treat someone without even seeing the patient? Or discussing payment? And he immediately agreed to come with us nary any hesitation . . . almost as if he was anticipating us . ” Li Wei Yang broke into laughter, “Your suspicions are unfounded . And anyway, at least his medical skills stood the test . ” For a split second, Li Min De’s beautiful eyes flashed with a thread of coldness . “Well, I don’t like this fellow . ” Li Wei Yang paused and searched her recollections of Lu Gong carefully . However, she had been too agitated for the last few hours . She was surprised to find out she had not actually taken a good look of Lu Gong and his features seemed to slide away from her . She could only shake her head bemusedly, feeling that Li Min De’s thoughts were slowly becoming incomprehensible to her . Lu Gong’s carriage followed the path they made when going to the Li Mansion . The medicine boy took a look behind and said in a low voice, “There are people following us behind!” Lu Gong smiled broadly as he twirled his beard and jauntily saying, “Let’s throw him off our scent!” At that, he ordered the horse carriage to immediately turn into an alleyway . Those people who were following them also followed suit immediately . Who knew that once they turned into the alleyway, Lu Gong’s horse carriage had vanished . The pursuers were stunned momentarily before deciding to re strategize and split up into the three little lanes the alleyway branched into . Soon after the pursuers left the scene, a backdoor swung forth and Lu Gong’s carriage emerged . The medicine boy stuck his head out to survey the alley before laughing and said, “The coast is clear!” Lu Gong gave a hearty laughter and said, “Quick let’s go home . We’ve toiled for an entire night, we deserve a warm bath the very least!” Lu Gong did not go back to the ramshackle clinic where he greeted Li Wei Yang and Li Min De . Instead, he did a 180 degrees turn and entered a luxurious mansion . Before the main door could close, he straightened his crooked back and resumed the posture of a young strapping man with a ram-rod straight back . 4 lithe and youthful young servants dressed in white silks came out cheerfully to greet him, “Young master has arrived home!” Lu Gong smiled sweetly, and lecherously fondled the chest of the young girl closest to him saying, “You should be calling me Great Master Lu…” “Great Master Lu…” The elegantly dressed young ladies chorused sweetly . Lu Gong grasped two beauties in both his left and right arm and entered his room . One of the beautiful servants carried a basin of water to him . Lu Gong took out what seemed like a medical bottle and started wiping his face vigorously for a full 30 minutes . After using the basin of water to attentively wash every part of his face, he lifted his head . Gone were the saggy and wrinkly skin of an old man and instead, a fine looking and distinguished youth with jade like skin and plump lips emerged . He mischievously chuckled and said, “This is the face that you’re most comfortable with right girls?” That is most natural! This face of Young master’s is the most charming and elegant one!” “That’s right that’s right! If Young Master used this face, everyone would swoon to death!” The beautiful servants were like sparrows chattering nonstop . One of the servants offered the face disguising liquid to the young man and the young man started spreading it . After 30 mins, the young man had his face disguised again and gave a big sigh, “Do you think I like to disguise myself as this broken thing, where I can’t even breathe properly! Where my lips are all puckered and when I do things I have to act frail? What rubbish is this . Ai, I only do this so people would believe me . If not, I won’t be wasting all this effort!” Young Master is really awesome… . ” A storm of high pitch twittering ensued . At this moment, one could only hear the main door bang open . A young man strode forth towards the young master who was still eating grapes and grabbed him by the collar before throwing him down again . In a furious tone, he said “You idiot! Who asked you to go and treat Li Min Zhi!” Intimidated, the young man choked on his grapes . The seeds were lodged in his throat and he could not speak . The young servants rushed to pat his shoulders . With great difficulty, he said with bravado “Jiang Nan! What are you doing!” Jiang Nan coldly smiled, pointing accusatory to the young man nose, he said, “You shameful thing! When we begged you to come home, you refused . Every day you go about town wreaking havoc . Normally we don’t interfere with you because we feel you’re too young to understand . But look at what you have done now, you meddlesome thing! Gone and save the Li household’s mongrel! What have you done!” It so turned out this young man who called himself “Lu Gong” was actually the Jiang’s family’s Second Household’s only son, Jiang Tian . Not only did he belong to one of the most prominent household in the city, he was part of Li Chang Le’s maternal family . Indignantly he said, “Anyway, originally I was one of Lu Gong’s disciple . What’s wrong with using his namesake to cure the sick? Have I done anything wrong or violated any rules of this family!” Jiang Nan’s whole face was bathed in gloom and coldness, “This Li Wei Yang- she was mastermind who ultimately caused the death of Da Gu Mu . After that I investigated the death of Er Gu Mu and I can say with 80% certainty that she had something to do with it as well . You can say that she bears a hatred as deep as the ocean for the Jiang Household . Why did you go and save Li Wei Yang’s blood brother? As if that wasn’t bad enough, you practically bounded there . Are you out of your mind?” Jiang Tian’s heart gave a big thump and he was at loss for words . Jiang Nan glared at him and said, “Now then you know the damage you have done!” Jiang Tian hesitantly ventured “That poison…” Jiang Nan coldly humphed, “That poison’s original intent was to use to handle Li Wei Yang . But that plan has been completely destroyed thanks to you! Li Chang Le is so angry . She just sent over a letter, saying Lu Gong went to her residence to save Min Zhi . I immediately thought of you! If it was not for you masquerading his name and foolishly spreading it around everywhere! Prior to this, Lu Gong has already been dead for 10 years!” Jiang Tian whined out “How would I know what you’ve been up to! How can you blame me? Anyway, when I normally treat people, I require a large sum of gold as payment . This time, I couldn't even discuss the price of my services before I was whisked away to treat the child . Anyway, if you think of it, I was helping our relative out anyway!” Jiang Nan was so angry, he was speechless beyond words . “What relative? You mean you treat Li Wei Yang as our relative? Li Chang Le is your biological cousin . Gu Mu, Li Chang Le’s mom, is your biological aunt . Li Wei Yang?! If you dare to say that Li Wei Yang is your blood relative, wait and see if our house’s Lao Fu Ren will sear your tongue away!” Jiang Tian’s handsome and intelligent momentarily twisted to become rather ugly . “But what has been done has been done! What do you want me to do about it! Alright! Why not I immediately go to the Li Household right now and go and feed the child poison!” “Come back!” Jiang Nan viciously kneed him . Unfortunately, Jian Tian was nimble enough to avoid his blows and Jiang Nan only managed to leave an imprint on his clothes . “Si Ge! What are you doing? Here I am trying to remedy for my wrongdoings?!” “Did you think that your little tricks to throw off your pursuers actually worked? Let me tell you that without my help you would have never been able to! Not only were they stellar, they had hidden certain highly skilled martial artists in their midst . You certainly could not escape their eyes with your little “clever” tricks . Let me warn you, if Li Wei Yang knew that you were part of the Jiang Household, you should be careful of your own hide!” “A small young lady? How powerful can she be? She looks like she can be knocked over by a gust of wind anytime!”“Pooh! What do you know!” Multiple swear words started to spew forth and the rough and scary demeanor Jiang Nan honed from years on the battlefield were displayed on full force“If she was actually that simple, why else would we be wasting so much effort and time on her!” Jiang Nan sat heavily on the wisteria cane chair and coldly laughed . “She’s incredibly difficult to ferret out! Every single day she hides herself at the Li’s Household . How do you draw someone like her out?!” “You can always wait for her to go out, right? And then----” “And then? In these two months, she has only gone out for a grand total of 3 times . And every single time she has bodyguards who are highly trained in martial arts to protect her . She herself is sly and cunning beyond belief . For me to even try and penetrate her defenses and find trouble with her, it’s easier said than done! Besides what our household’s Lao Fun Ren wants is for her to completely fall from grace and for her reputation to be wiped away without any trace . There’s no point in doing things in halves and letting her off lightly . If we don’t do that, then we have not avenged Gu Mu’s death! Jiang Tian stammered while looking at Jiang Nan, “This----- well this must not be an easy task!” “Originally our plan was to cause Li Min Zhi’s death . If Li Wei Yang would not become mad with anger, then she would become mad with grief . It’s all because of you that our grand plans were foiled!” Jiang Nan fumed . Yet he gave a pause . His eyes started to glint and narrow, before he coldly laughed . “Well, but I can’t say there isn’t a silver lining . Before we wanted to kill the brother, but now…” He pinned his eyes on Jiang Tian .
Looking at his expression, Jiang Tian was startled and started panicking . “What are you thinking of!” Jiang Nan smirked . His pretty face took on a scornful expression, “I guess even you, a good for nothing creature, has some sort of use after all . From this moment onwards, you need to follow what I say exactly . ” He whispered a few sentences into Jiang Tian’s ears . As Jiang Tian’s expression started to blanche, Jiang Nan’s smile grew wider . He said “Alright . That’s it . I’m going off now . Remember my words . If you dare to do any more hanky panky, I’m going to tell Er Shu(second uncle) all the naughty things that you have done and let him discipline you for good!” As Jiang Tian stared at the retreating figure, he heavily walked into his bedroom . Once his buttocks touched the chair, he petulantly kicked over the small table that the grapes were placed, saying “ What kind of a dog-ass Jiang Nan is . Forever being a rogue . What he’s asking me to do is unreasonable beyond belief…” The beautiful servants looked at each other . One of the more courageous ones stepped forward to attempt to placate him, “Young Master, don’t be angry . Let’s not take any notice of him . If you can’t do it, let’s tell your mother instead and she can discipline Fourth Young Master instead of you . ” Jiang Tian plaintively cried out “ Did you not see how he threatened me? Ai, such bad luck! The moment I come back home I have to deal with such things!” “Then you should distance yourself from him, young master!” Jiang Tian mournfully said “ How can you girls kick me when I’m already down . Look at me, I’m already so sad . Li Wei Yang this demon . If I had known earlier, I would have let her brother die and forget about it!” The servants looked at each other, no one dared to utter a word . -One Month Later- Mao Shi (5 AM to 7 AM), One could see the glimmer of dawn fill the sky . Yet the red lanterns that dotted the city were still alight, shining light into the pitch-black corridors of the palace, shining light into the Summer Palace’s winding corridors . The Old Taoist priest’s hair and beard were all white and his stature was shrunken and thin . Yet his pair of eyes shone brightly . He looked as if he was about 40-50 years in age . He smoothly proceeded into the Emperor’s inner chambers without anyone obstructing him . Multiple people bowed towards him as a greeting . Upon meeting the emperor, the priest bowed as a greeting, “Greetings to the emperor . ” “Rise . ” For the past few days, The Emperor was gripped in the midst of an infatuation . He pointed at the prayer mat and ordered the eunuch to prepare the incense . Yin Tian Zhao looked at his disciple . Zhou Tian Shou, the man who had gained the emperor’s favor by giving the emperor the beauty the emperor was infatuated with was also there . Yin Tian Zhao’s face momentarily sunk . But seeing the emperor’s presence, he did not dare to flare up . The emperor really was infatuated with the beauty . This was to the extent that he believed that Zhou Tian Shou had really plucked the beauty from the heavens . Yin Tian Zhao had tried to pierce through his opponent’s lies and deceits about the beauty’s birthplace . Unfortunately, the emperor believed firmly that his standing as the emperor had made the heavens happy and that the beauty was his well-deserved reward . Let’s not even talk about Yin Tian Zhao’s advice, the emperor did not even want to listen to the Empress Dowager’s warnings about his infatuation . He insisted on making the beauty a concubine of his and kept her by his side every day . With the situation like this, naturally Zhou Tian Shou would also receive a lot of favor . The eunuch took the embroidered box from Yin Tian Zhao was delivering it to the Emperor . The emperor took the red cinnabar pellet and washed it down with water . After what seemed like half a day of choking, he gasped out with great difficulty, “Every time after eating the medicine, I always feel extremely comfortable after that . Many thanks to you . ” Yin Tian Zhao took on the appearance of a grand saint before saying “Your highness, you have praised me too much . It’s only because your highness has heavenly blood flowing through you that the medicine can benefit you . ” After rising from his posture, he said, “This lowly one would like to give you some blessings and pray for you” The emperor nodded his head . Zhou Tian Zhao proceeded to kneel before the emperor and started chanting his prayers . After a while, his demeanor changed and he halted using his prayer beads, With wide eyes, the emperor asked, “Why did you stop?” Yin Tian Zhao arranged his face to make it as he was very uncomfortable . The emperor frowned and said “ Spit it out . I won’t penalize you . ” Yin Tian Zhao gave a big sigh and said, “ Your highness, this lowly priest sees that you are ever so devout . However, when I see your predestined lifespan, my heart is filled with unease!” The emperor gave a big start, involuntarily asked, “Why is that so?” Yin Tian Zhao continued to heave a big sigh, saying ,”Your highness, please follow me” Upon saying this, he balefully glared at Zhou Tian Shou, who immediately lowered his head . Yin Tian Zhao coldly smiled, his face immediately changing to reveal a crafty expression . -----------------------*****------------------------Translator: Jing HuiEditor: Jing Hui
Chapter 104
Chapter 104: Mystical Physician at Midnight
Notes:[1]1 - 3am Zhou Tian Shou stiffened, he could not shake off a sense of unease and alarm . He had already thought of the idea at all angles, polishing it like how a lapidarist polished a gem with careful precision and mastery . The best idea was to offer a beauty to the Emperor to warm his bed . The lady had to have ethereal looks akin to a fairy being sent from the heavens in order to be able to capture the Emperor’s heart . In the end, it boiled down to how the emperor had seen too many beauties that were like ethereal fairies . After all, if he wasn’t the emperor, how could he have such a marvelous predestined fate to meet these beauties? Zhou Tian Shou muttered, “The beauty of this woman is sufficient to pass off as an ethereal fairy . ” Li Min De laughed in exaltation, asking, “Really?” Li Min De smirked . This lady was painstakingly found after searching high and low-she was specially sent to learn etiquette, singing and dancing from the female scholars released from the palace and even learnt bedroom techniques meant to please a husband . Not only could she act gently, she could act coquettishly as well . Just a glance from her limpid eyes could hook any men’s’ heart . She was so gorgeous, it seemed like she is carved from jade . So pure, so virginal, unlike a seductress . Such a beauty sent to the emperor would naturally be pampered and spoiled by the emperor, gaining his favor . One could liken her image to a reincarnation of a fairy- an innocent whose virtue was as clean as jade, an incorruptible and virtuous ethereal being . When you placed a muslin veil on her, it merely added to her image of an ethereal fairy . Zhou Tian Shou abruptly broke out of his reverie of the goddess and asked, “But what exactly do you need me to do, my prince?” The youth only smiled, “I have no need of you now . Until I need your esteemed help, I shall call you . Be on standby for now . ” Zhou Tian Shou saluted, “I will fulfill my orders with utmost care sir” When Li Min De walked out of the outer courtyard, the heavy snow had already stopped falling . He softly commanded the ethereal beauty, “Do you understand what you have to do when you enter the palace? “Nu bi understands” The ethereal beauty softly replied Upon hearing this, Li Min De smiled gently and stepped into the carriage . In order to gain the emperor’s favor, he had to fight with the seventh prince to snatch Zhou Tian Shou over . Naturally he had to send over this beauty as a gift to the emperor . Ruminating over the difficulty over finding this beauty, Li Min De sighed . In order to find the beauty, he had to spend two full months searching . If one wanted to know how difficult it was to search, Li Min De would describe it as combing through the heavens and the sky . This beauty was called lotus She too hated the Jiang household with vengeance . To find someone who hated the Jiang household as much as he did was a bonus . If such a lady entered the palace, it would cause the Jiang household a whirlwind of trouble, causing them to exert themselves to sort out the trouble . Thinking of it made Li Min De smirk . It was close to Midnight . All of a sudden, Tan Shi suddenly rushed into Li Wei Yang’s room . Her flustered expressions gave the staff a shock . Before Li Wei Yang could get out of bed and speak, Tan shi urgently grabbed onto her arm, ”Wei Yang, Min Zhi . . . Min Zhi… . he…” Tears continued to seep down her face before she could finish her sentence . Wei Yang clasped her mother’s hand and asked, “Whatever is the matter?” Tan Shi continued weeping so hard she could barely utter a single word . Seeing Tan Shi in such a state, Bai Zhi hurriedly stepped in and said, “At midnight, 4th master started to have a fever . . . he even vomited out the milk he drank . ” Wei Yang immediately started getting dressed, and asked, “Has the senior physician been called?” Holding back her sobs, Tan shi eked out, “It was so late at night, I didn’t dare to disturb the senior physician or Lao Ye . I could only go to the normal physician who treats the Li family . But right now, Min Zhi is getting more and more serious . He can’t even respond when I call his name!”
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Li Chang Le laughed, her laughter carrying like silver bells, “It’s a pity that Si Di has to suffer so much at such a young age . It must be due to him bearing the karma of his mother’s evil sins . ” Upon hearing her, Loa Fu Ren snorted coldly and drew a long-drawn sigh . Li Wei Yang suddenly stood up, her abruptness gave Li Chang le a start as she watchfully monitored Wei Yang’s reaction . Contrary to expectation, Li Wei Yang did not get angry and yet calmly said, “This room is getting too stuffy, I’m going out for a breath of fresh air” As Wei Yang walked out of the door, she was greeted by Li Min De rushing towards her . His back was drenched with dew as if he had just come back home . Upon seeing Li Wei Yang, he said, “I’ve already prepared a carriage, let’s go!”) Puzzled, Li Wei Yang asked, “Where to?” “To just stand here and dazedly do nothing is not helping! I’ve heard people saying that there is a Master physician in Da Li . As long as the person has not drawn his last breath, he is able to save them from the brink of death! The only flaw is that his personality is rather quirky and he refuses to enter the palace to be an imperial physician” Is such a person even real?” Startled, Li Wei Yang searched her recesses of her memory . “Are you talking about Lu Xiao?!” Wei Yang had been too frazzled and had even forgotten about Lu Xiao’s existence . Lu Xiao, or as the public called him Lu Gong(“Gong” is ancient China was a title reserved for people of highest honors, for example, a duke) was indeed a gifted surgeon . His skills were not restricted to just the art of healing . He could accurately pin point the root cause to the patient's illness . In fact, if he told you that he could treat the illness, it was as good as any other doctor meaning you could be cured from your illness permanently . There was a famous case that Lu Gong had treated . The patient had complained he suffered from a headache . After feeling his pulse, Lu Gong could accurately determine that the illness was too severe and could not be saved . He had told the patient’s brother, “Your brother has contracted a particular illness that will start showing its effect in his digestive system . In 5 days’ time, his stomach would bloat and in 8 days’ time, he will vomit out pus and die . ” There was another occasion where he used TCM to treat a noble’s son . The son was only 17 years old and once Lu Gong saw him, he diagnosed and said, “Your inner organs are weak . You need to diligently take the medicine I prescribe to you for a year, or else your whole body’s hair will shed and drop off . The youth was rather skeptical and did not diligently take the medicine . Indeed, by the age of 25, his hair, his eyebrows had dropped off . The most famous example was the Lu Gong and the Imperial Family . The Late Emperor’s cherished Concubine Liu concubine fell ill . Using every possible way, the late Emperor searched for Lu Gong to render his expertise . With one look, Lu Gong diagnosed and said, “Your sickness has already taken root, we need to cut open your abdomen to heal . However, it is the heaven’s fate that you can only live for two more years . Even if you do the surgery, it is pre-ordained that you can only live for those 2 years . ” At the Emperor’s command, he commanded that Lu Gong was to try every possible means to cure her anyway . But during those two years, Liu Fei died . Lu Gong’s accurate predictions was picked up speedily by the locals and became sensational news . Due to Lu Gong’s stellar skills and his frank nature, he became Da Li’s star doctor with his name travelling far and wide . However, the late Emperor continued to suspect Lu Gong was not skilled enough to safe Concubine Liu . He thought Lu Gong had concocted the two-year death as a story and hence treated him as a wanted criminal and continuously hunted Lu Gong down . Lu Gong gradually turned against the royal throne and decided to wander about, disappearing without a trace . How exactly did Li Min De manage to find this elusive and mysterious doctor?
Li Wei Yang had not uttered a single word during the ride . She grabbed tightly to the handrail with sweaty palms . Li Min De could perceive that she was nervous and panicky . Wordlessly, he placed his palm on hers and patted it, wanting to give her reassurance and comfort . Only then did Li Wei Yang regain her resolute calmness . The house had a very elegant exterior . Unfortunately, the gatekeeper arrogantly called out “I’ve already told you that my master isn’t in . Yet you’re coming back again at midnight . Are you crazy?” Min De called out, “But this time, someone is very sick and needs help!” The gatekeeper coldly said “ I don’t care what sort of illness he has . He’s not in!” Li Min De lost his composure and commanded, “Zhao Nan!” Before the guard could even react, a sharp blade was pressed at the gatekeeper’s throat . The gatekeeper was scared out of his wits . Li Wei Yang hurriedly intervened, “You know that even if we’re patient, the blade is never patient with its victims . I’ll bet you before your master can come back home, you would have been dead and even Lu Gong would not be able to revive you!” The guard’s arrogant expression was wiped off his face, he uncertainly stared at Li Wei Yang . If looks could kill, Li Wei Yang embodied that . Her murderous expression terrified him . Not daring to look at Wei Yang again, he directed his words to the less scary of the two, Li Min De . “Sir, I’ve already told you, he isn’t in! This is the truth, I wouldn't lie to you… If you don’t believe me, you can enter the premises and check!” Li Wei Yang grinded her teeth, “Zhao Yue, go in and search! Don’t think about etiquette at this critical juncture! Think about the life we are about to lose!” Zhao Yue rapidly went into the house . Not before long, he bounded out, dejectedly shaking his head . Li Wei Yang frowned . The guard said,” See! See! I’ve already told you my master is not at home! You should come another day!” “Another day?! Another day?! This situation could not be resolved on another day!” Li Wei Yang agitatedly thought to herself . “If Li Xiao Ran could not get a physician from the royal palace as well, what would happen to Min Zhi? Would she have to barge into the imperial palace and snatch the imperial physician?” Li Wei Yang took two steps back dazedly . As if she was in a trance, Wei Yang swayed like a wind . “Do you want to live!” Her body was pulled by Min De who was in front, but the voice came from someone else . Li Wei Yang lifted her head to locate the voice coming from her back, only to see a carriage leaning towards her, precariously tilting to the side . It seemed that she had startled the carriage’s coachmen . After rearing back the horse, he began to scold loudly, “Do you have eyes? When you walk on the roads, do you not use your eyes to guide you? Or is it that you are so idle and free that you can run freely around into other people’s house to want to find a way to die?” Drawing in a breath after his rant, he asked,” Lao Ye, are you alright?”
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From the inside of the carriage, a sonorous voice piped out, “Whatever is happening out there?” The coachman began explaining the circumstances to the old man . Li Min De was close to his boiling point . However, he started to notice Li Wei Yang had been staring fixedly at the carriage . At this moment, the elderly person in the carriage alighted . Cupping his hands in greeting, he said “I hope I did not disturb you…” “Ah! My Master has finally arrived home! You are most fortunate to be able to meet him!” The guard said as he came running up to greet his master . It was only then did Li Wei yang’s spirit return . Involuntarily, she took a step forward to clarify, ”You are ----Lu Gong?” “Are you here to seek treatment on your illnesses? Come into the house and talk!” Since Lu Gong had already said that, Li Wei Yang grasped hold of his sleeves “There is no time! Please come with us, my brother cannot even wake up!” Lu Gong shook his head and said, “I still need to go in and get my medical trest ah!” Eyeing Li Wei Yang’s hand on his sleeves, his eyes wrinkled into a smile . Li Wei Yang realized how utterly without propriety she was and immediately released his sleeves from her hand . Inside the house, one could see that the house’s layout was simple and bare . All the furniture seemed as if it was designed for functionality as their first priority and had no traces of luxury . For example, the table was bared with only an inlaid with a Chinese chess . The only trace of luxury lay in the far corner designated for flower pots . Heaps of precious herbs were stored there . Not to mention the grand bookshelves which were burgeoning with stack and stacks of ancient tomes specializing in the art of healing . As for the appearance of Lu Gong . Well, Lu Gong’s beard was white . During his youth, he must have been a strapping young man but the years had made him hunched and bent . Even so, he still exuded the aura of a formidable man . Initially, he did not want to treat patients upon his arrival back home . But after hearing the Li’s family plight, and upon hearing that they had hired 7 doctors only to hear that all 7 said Min Zhi’s illness was beyond treatment, he began to cheerily say, “All of the doctors said he couldn't be saved? I must really see him!” This evidently meant that Lu Gong treated Min Zhi as if he was a specimen to be studied upon . Li Wei Yang swallowed her misery and said, “Please good sir, please use your utmost efforts to save Min Zhi! If he can be saved, the Li Family will be extremely grateful” Lu Gong smiled and instructed the guard to fetch his medicinal chest and stepped into the carriage . As the carriage trundled into the Li Household, the butler who welcomed them back had anxiety written all over his face . In a whisper, he said, “Lao Ye has not come back” . His words implied that Li Xiao Ran had not succeeded in procuring an imperial physician . Li Wei Yang nodded her head, and gestured to Lu Gong, “Welcome to the Li Mansion . ” By the time Lu Gong reached Tan Shi’s office, the sky had already brightened and it was almost dawn . Lao Fu Ren and the entire household’s faces had anxiety etched all over their faces as they waited for the news . Li Chang Le was the first to stand, “This physician is----?” Li Wei Yang said, “This is a top physician called Lu Physician . ” Lao Fu Ren was widely read and upon hearing this name, an image sprung up to mind . She immediately said, “Lu Gong, you have travelled a great distance . You have suffered . ”
Li Chang Le glanced at the mama beside her . The mama’s head was hanging down . She coldly laughed, Lu Physician? Li Wei Yang had surely lost her head in this frenzy, why else would she engage a no-name physician! While Li Chang Le was always superficial and shallow minded, it was true that majority of the people in the city had completely forgotten about Lu Gong’s existence because he hadn’t been treating people in the capital for a while . So, one could not fault Li Chang Le’s ignorance . The entire household surveyed Lu Gong . This included the 7 physicians who were helpless in the face of the crisis . They glared at the physician, suspicion radiating off them . Lu Gong rinsed his hands . Using his white handkerchief, he methodically wiped both his hands till dry before walking towards the cradle . He prodded, smelt and gazed at the baby for half an hour . With a serious gaze, he took a step back . Pinching Min Zhi’s stomach, he gravely said, “Bring me the original medicine that Min Zhi was eating . ” Li Wei Yang personally brought forward the medicine the previous imperial physician prescribed to Min Zhi to Lu Gong . Lu Gong narrowed his eyes upon looking at the medicine and repeatedly sighed, “A quack doctor! A Quack doctor!” Upon hearing these words, Lao Fu Ren agitatedly said, “These were prescribed by the imperial physicians . How can there be a problem?” “This child’s toxins have not been purged out and on top of that, he suffers from a mild cold . What was prescribed to him are all toxin purging medicine suitable for adults and does not address his cold . It’s obvious a childwill not be able to take the strong medicine! This doctor is a disgrace! His prescription is plain horrible . He shouldn’t be practicing!” Lu Gong said . One of the 7 doctors had originally approved such a method . Upon hearing this, he could not help but say, “These medicines were prescribed because the child was suffering from poisoning! You can’t deny it’s the right prescription to make… You can’t just treat his cold and neglect the fact that the child has been poisoned? Obviously, we would prioritize treating his poisoning first because it’s more important than a mere cold!” Lu Gong disdainfully said, “A quack doctor would parrot exactly what you said . Superficial knowledge and healthy dose of generalization! This child is still tiny . You need to understand you have to nurture him, build his health from a foundation level . If his body becomes weak, he would naturally be susceptible to the common cold . This prescription only contains medicine suitable for strong illnesses . Do you want to kill the child? If I waited for you to purge the toxins out of the child, the child would have already died!” The physician continued trying to defend himself, “Originally, these two illnesses when contracted together are very hard to treat . In addition, the child is still too young to consume the Ephedra herb . It’s such a complicated case, no one can save him!” Lu Gong coldly smiled and said, “If youcan’t do it, does it mean no one else can?” Hope began to blossom in Lao Fu Ren’s chest as she hoarsely voiced out, “How do we treat him?” Lu Gong glanced at Tan Shi cradling Min Zhi . Gently, she used some wet handkerchiefs to wipe Min Zhi’s brow . Even so, the child had his eyes tightly shut, as if he could not wake up . Lu Gong unhurriedly said, “I’m going to dispense the medicine… Please undress the child for me . ” Lao Fu Ren agitatedly said, “This child is so small, are you sure he can withstand the medicine? Would it be better if the wet nurse drank the medicine and the medicine gets transferred via breastmilk?” Lu Gong shook his head “There is no time! If you have faith in my abilities, you would listen to me! If you don’t believe, then find someone to treat him! Li Wei Yang grinded her teeth and said, “Lao Fu Ren, let’s listen to Lu Gong!” Even though Lao Fu Ren was still faintly skeptical about Lu Gong, she had no choice . There was no sight of her son and the imperial physician . She could only rely on Lu Gong who was in front of her . Yet the unspoken still had to be said, “If . . . you can’t heal the boy…” Lu Gong’s face was flushed with confidence . “The fact that I am prepared to treat him and that I have gone to the extent of prescribing him medicine means I am confident that he will get well! There is no such thing as “If” in my dictionary!” Immediately, he began the tedious process of prescribing, procuring and dispensing the various herbs . He spent a whole 6 hours on the task, toiling till noon and waking the entire household up with his activity . It was only then, at noon, did Li Xiao Ran hurriedly step foot back into the Li Mansion, bringing the Imperial Physician with him . Li Min Zhi’s vomiting and diarrhea spells and his extremely high fever has already stopped by the time they arrived . Wang Imperial Physician looked amazed at how the situation had turned out and was thinking of saying something . Lao Fu Ren was rather afraid the two physicians would come into conflict . Hence, she instructed the servants to bring the Wang Imperial Physician to sample some tea . It came as a surprise when Wang Imperial Physician brushed the servant off and immediately took the initiative to go straight to Li Min Zhi’s cradle to inspect it . After questioning for what seemed like a day, his face showed a mask of uncertainty . When he met with Li Xiao Ran and Lao Fu Ren he betrayed some sort of agitation . After a long while, he slowly said, “Indeed, the physician is a master . ” He glanced at Li Xiao Ran and said, “Prime Minister Li, I am not needed . ” As he finished cupping his hand, he left without a word . The rest of the physicians looked at each other in dismay, uncertain at the Imperial physician’s actions and why he left so suddenly . The person with the most complex feelings was Li Chang Le . She didn’t speak at all, and had her head hanging down . If anyone could look any more awkward it would be her . Lu Gong took a last look over at Min Zhi and smilingly said, “There’s nothing wrong with him already . ” Li Wei Yang immediately let out a breath of relief . It was only then she discovered even Lao Fu Ren had stayed up the entire night . She immediately said, “Lao Fu Ren, you should go and rest immediately . Don’t worry about sending the physician to the door, I’ll do it . ”
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It was only then did Lao Fu Ren manage to relax, her legs were so weak with relief that they almost buckled down . As her gaze involuntarily traveled to the cradle, she said “Alright . I’ll go home first . If there are any developments, please come about and inform me about them . ” Li Xiao Ran immediately said, “Housekeeper, you accompany the 3rd Miss to send Lu Gong off . ” The housekeeper immediately understood the meaning behind Li Xiao Ran’s words and answered, “Yes” . Shortly after, he passed a heavy bag of silver to the medicine boy who had followed Lu Gong . The medicine boy beamed widely while receiving the money . As Lu Gong stepped out of the door of the Li Mansion, it was only then did he start smiling and told Li Wei Yang, “It’s alright . You just need to see me off until here . ” Li Wei Yang said “Master Lu, you saved my younger from death’s door . In the future, if you need any favors from me, I will definitely not reject you . ” Lu Gong smiled, closely assessing Li Wei Yang before saying, “Alright . I’ll take your word for it . If I need any favors in the future, I will naturally come to you and knock on your door . ” Li Wei Yang nodded . Wordlessly her eyes followed Lu Gong as he ascended up the horse carriage and trailed after them even after his carriage began to move . The midst of this, she heard Li Min De instruct his people in the background, “Follow him . ” Li Wei Yang could not help but turn her head around to ask Min De, “Why? Does he seem suspicious to you?” Li Min De said “I keep on having a bad gut feeling about him . ” He icily said as he watched the horse cart travel further into the distance . Li Wei Yang softly said, “But he saved my brother’s life . This remains an undisputed fact . ” Li Min De shook his head and said, “Last night I was too rash and agitated . Yet after I calmed myself down to think about it, there were moments that I could not place my finger on that were not right . Even if I were to take into account that Lu Gong is slightly eccentric personality, it seems mightily suspicious . Would any sane doctor immediately agree to treat someone without even seeing the patient? Or discussing payment? And he immediately agreed to come with us nary any hesitation . . . almost as if he was anticipating us . ” Li Wei Yang broke into laughter, “Your suspicions are unfounded . And anyway, at least his medical skills stood the test . ” For a split second, Li Min De’s beautiful eyes flashed with a thread of coldness . “Well, I don’t like this fellow . ” Li Wei Yang paused and searched her recollections of Lu Gong carefully . However, she had been too agitated for the last few hours . She was surprised to find out she had not actually taken a good look of Lu Gong and his features seemed to slide away from her . She could only shake her head bemusedly, feeling that Li Min De’s thoughts were slowly becoming incomprehensible to her . Lu Gong’s carriage followed the path they made when going to the Li Mansion . The medicine boy took a look behind and said in a low voice, “There are people following us behind!” Lu Gong smiled broadly as he twirled his beard and jauntily saying, “Let’s throw him off our scent!” At that, he ordered the horse carriage to immediately turn into an alleyway . Those people who were following them also followed suit immediately . Who knew that once they turned into the alleyway, Lu Gong’s horse carriage had vanished . The pursuers were stunned momentarily before deciding to re strategize and split up into the three little lanes the alleyway branched into . Soon after the pursuers left the scene, a backdoor swung forth and Lu Gong’s carriage emerged . The medicine boy stuck his head out to survey the alley before laughing and said, “The coast is clear!” Lu Gong gave a hearty laughter and said, “Quick let’s go home . We’ve toiled for an entire night, we deserve a warm bath the very least!” Lu Gong did not go back to the ramshackle clinic where he greeted Li Wei Yang and Li Min De . Instead, he did a 180 degrees turn and entered a luxurious mansion . Before the main door could close, he straightened his crooked back and resumed the posture of a young strapping man with a ram-rod straight back . 4 lithe and youthful young servants dressed in white silks came out cheerfully to greet him, “Young master has arrived home!” Lu Gong smiled sweetly, and lecherously fondled the chest of the young girl closest to him saying, “You should be calling me Great Master Lu…” “Great Master Lu…” The elegantly dressed young ladies chorused sweetly . Lu Gong grasped two beauties in both his left and right arm and entered his room . One of the beautiful servants carried a basin of water to him . Lu Gong took out what seemed like a medical bottle and started wiping his face vigorously for a full 30 minutes . After using the basin of water to attentively wash every part of his face, he lifted his head . Gone were the saggy and wrinkly skin of an old man and instead, a fine looking and distinguished youth with jade like skin and plump lips emerged . He mischievously chuckled and said, “This is the face that you’re most comfortable with right girls?” That is most natural! This face of Young master’s is the most charming and elegant one!” “That’s right that’s right! If Young Master used this face, everyone would swoon to death!” The beautiful servants were like sparrows chattering nonstop . One of the servants offered the face disguising liquid to the young man and the young man started spreading it . After 30 mins, the young man had his face disguised again and gave a big sigh, “Do you think I like to disguise myself as this broken thing, where I can’t even breathe properly! Where my lips are all puckered and when I do things I have to act frail? What rubbish is this . Ai, I only do this so people would believe me . If not, I won’t be wasting all this effort!” Young Master is really awesome… . ” A storm of high pitch twittering ensued . At this moment, one could only hear the main door bang open . A young man strode forth towards the young master who was still eating grapes and grabbed him by the collar before throwing him down again . In a furious tone, he said “You idiot! Who asked you to go and treat Li Min Zhi!” Intimidated, the young man choked on his grapes . The seeds were lodged in his throat and he could not speak . The young servants rushed to pat his shoulders . With great difficulty, he said with bravado “Jiang Nan! What are you doing!” Jiang Nan coldly smiled, pointing accusatory to the young man nose, he said, “You shameful thing! When we begged you to come home, you refused . Every day you go about town wreaking havoc . Normally we don’t interfere with you because we feel you’re too young to understand . But look at what you have done now, you meddlesome thing! Gone and save the Li household’s mongrel! What have you done!” It so turned out this young man who called himself “Lu Gong” was actually the Jiang’s family’s Second Household’s only son, Jiang Tian . Not only did he belong to one of the most prominent household in the city, he was part of Li Chang Le’s maternal family . Indignantly he said, “Anyway, originally I was one of Lu Gong’s disciple . What’s wrong with using his namesake to cure the sick? Have I done anything wrong or violated any rules of this family!” Jiang Nan’s whole face was bathed in gloom and coldness, “This Li Wei Yang- she was mastermind who ultimately caused the death of Da Gu Mu . After that I investigated the death of Er Gu Mu and I can say with 80% certainty that she had something to do with it as well . You can say that she bears a hatred as deep as the ocean for the Jiang Household . Why did you go and save Li Wei Yang’s blood brother? As if that wasn’t bad enough, you practically bounded there . Are you out of your mind?” Jiang Tian’s heart gave a big thump and he was at loss for words . Jiang Nan glared at him and said, “Now then you know the damage you have done!” Jiang Tian hesitantly ventured “That poison…” Jiang Nan coldly humphed, “That poison’s original intent was to use to handle Li Wei Yang . But that plan has been completely destroyed thanks to you! Li Chang Le is so angry . She just sent over a letter, saying Lu Gong went to her residence to save Min Zhi . I immediately thought of you! If it was not for you masquerading his name and foolishly spreading it around everywhere! Prior to this, Lu Gong has already been dead for 10 years!” Jiang Tian whined out “How would I know what you’ve been up to! How can you blame me? Anyway, when I normally treat people, I require a large sum of gold as payment . This time, I couldn't even discuss the price of my services before I was whisked away to treat the child . Anyway, if you think of it, I was helping our relative out anyway!” Jiang Nan was so angry, he was speechless beyond words . “What relative? You mean you treat Li Wei Yang as our relative? Li Chang Le is your biological cousin . Gu Mu, Li Chang Le’s mom, is your biological aunt . Li Wei Yang?! If you dare to say that Li Wei Yang is your blood relative, wait and see if our house’s Lao Fu Ren will sear your tongue away!” Jiang Tian’s handsome and intelligent momentarily twisted to become rather ugly . “But what has been done has been done! What do you want me to do about it! Alright! Why not I immediately go to the Li Household right now and go and feed the child poison!” “Come back!” Jiang Nan viciously kneed him . Unfortunately, Jian Tian was nimble enough to avoid his blows and Jiang Nan only managed to leave an imprint on his clothes . “Si Ge! What are you doing? Here I am trying to remedy for my wrongdoings?!” “Did you think that your little tricks to throw off your pursuers actually worked? Let me tell you that without my help you would have never been able to! Not only were they stellar, they had hidden certain highly skilled martial artists in their midst . You certainly could not escape their eyes with your little “clever” tricks . Let me warn you, if Li Wei Yang knew that you were part of the Jiang Household, you should be careful of your own hide!” “A small young lady? How powerful can she be? She looks like she can be knocked over by a gust of wind anytime!”“Pooh! What do you know!” Multiple swear words started to spew forth and the rough and scary demeanor Jiang Nan honed from years on the battlefield were displayed on full force“If she was actually that simple, why else would we be wasting so much effort and time on her!” Jiang Nan sat heavily on the wisteria cane chair and coldly laughed . “She’s incredibly difficult to ferret out! Every single day she hides herself at the Li’s Household . How do you draw someone like her out?!” “You can always wait for her to go out, right? And then----” “And then? In these two months, she has only gone out for a grand total of 3 times . And every single time she has bodyguards who are highly trained in martial arts to protect her . She herself is sly and cunning beyond belief . For me to even try and penetrate her defenses and find trouble with her, it’s easier said than done! Besides what our household’s Lao Fun Ren wants is for her to completely fall from grace and for her reputation to be wiped away without any trace . There’s no point in doing things in halves and letting her off lightly . If we don’t do that, then we have not avenged Gu Mu’s death! Jiang Tian stammered while looking at Jiang Nan, “This----- well this must not be an easy task!” “Originally our plan was to cause Li Min Zhi’s death . If Li Wei Yang would not become mad with anger, then she would become mad with grief . It’s all because of you that our grand plans were foiled!” Jiang Nan fumed . Yet he gave a pause . His eyes started to glint and narrow, before he coldly laughed . “Well, but I can’t say there isn’t a silver lining . Before we wanted to kill the brother, but now…” He pinned his eyes on Jiang Tian .
Looking at his expression, Jiang Tian was startled and started panicking . “What are you thinking of!” Jiang Nan smirked . His pretty face took on a scornful expression, “I guess even you, a good for nothing creature, has some sort of use after all . From this moment onwards, you need to follow what I say exactly . ” He whispered a few sentences into Jiang Tian’s ears . As Jiang Tian’s expression started to blanche, Jiang Nan’s smile grew wider . He said “Alright . That’s it . I’m going off now . Remember my words . If you dare to do any more hanky panky, I’m going to tell Er Shu(second uncle) all the naughty things that you have done and let him discipline you for good!” As Jiang Tian stared at the retreating figure, he heavily walked into his bedroom . Once his buttocks touched the chair, he petulantly kicked over the small table that the grapes were placed, saying “ What kind of a dog-ass Jiang Nan is . Forever being a rogue . What he’s asking me to do is unreasonable beyond belief…” The beautiful servants looked at each other . One of the more courageous ones stepped forward to attempt to placate him, “Young Master, don’t be angry . Let’s not take any notice of him . If you can’t do it, let’s tell your mother instead and she can discipline Fourth Young Master instead of you . ” Jiang Tian plaintively cried out “ Did you not see how he threatened me? Ai, such bad luck! The moment I come back home I have to deal with such things!” “Then you should distance yourself from him, young master!” Jiang Tian mournfully said “ How can you girls kick me when I’m already down . Look at me, I’m already so sad . Li Wei Yang this demon . If I had known earlier, I would have let her brother die and forget about it!” The servants looked at each other, no one dared to utter a word . -One Month Later- Mao Shi (5 AM to 7 AM), One could see the glimmer of dawn fill the sky . Yet the red lanterns that dotted the city were still alight, shining light into the pitch-black corridors of the palace, shining light into the Summer Palace’s winding corridors . The Old Taoist priest’s hair and beard were all white and his stature was shrunken and thin . Yet his pair of eyes shone brightly . He looked as if he was about 40-50 years in age . He smoothly proceeded into the Emperor’s inner chambers without anyone obstructing him . Multiple people bowed towards him as a greeting . Upon meeting the emperor, the priest bowed as a greeting, “Greetings to the emperor . ” “Rise . ” For the past few days, The Emperor was gripped in the midst of an infatuation . He pointed at the prayer mat and ordered the eunuch to prepare the incense . Yin Tian Zhao looked at his disciple . Zhou Tian Shou, the man who had gained the emperor’s favor by giving the emperor the beauty the emperor was infatuated with was also there . Yin Tian Zhao’s face momentarily sunk . But seeing the emperor’s presence, he did not dare to flare up . The emperor really was infatuated with the beauty . This was to the extent that he believed that Zhou Tian Shou had really plucked the beauty from the heavens . Yin Tian Zhao had tried to pierce through his opponent’s lies and deceits about the beauty’s birthplace . Unfortunately, the emperor believed firmly that his standing as the emperor had made the heavens happy and that the beauty was his well-deserved reward . Let’s not even talk about Yin Tian Zhao’s advice, the emperor did not even want to listen to the Empress Dowager’s warnings about his infatuation . He insisted on making the beauty a concubine of his and kept her by his side every day . With the situation like this, naturally Zhou Tian Shou would also receive a lot of favor . The eunuch took the embroidered box from Yin Tian Zhao was delivering it to the Emperor . The emperor took the red cinnabar pellet and washed it down with water . After what seemed like half a day of choking, he gasped out with great difficulty, “Every time after eating the medicine, I always feel extremely comfortable after that . Many thanks to you . ” Yin Tian Zhao took on the appearance of a grand saint before saying “Your highness, you have praised me too much . It’s only because your highness has heavenly blood flowing through you that the medicine can benefit you . ” After rising from his posture, he said, “This lowly one would like to give you some blessings and pray for you” The emperor nodded his head . Zhou Tian Zhao proceeded to kneel before the emperor and started chanting his prayers . After a while, his demeanor changed and he halted using his prayer beads, With wide eyes, the emperor asked, “Why did you stop?” Yin Tian Zhao arranged his face to make it as he was very uncomfortable . The emperor frowned and said “ Spit it out . I won’t penalize you . ” Yin Tian Zhao gave a big sigh and said, “ Your highness, this lowly priest sees that you are ever so devout . However, when I see your predestined lifespan, my heart is filled with unease!” The emperor gave a big start, involuntarily asked, “Why is that so?” Yin Tian Zhao continued to heave a big sigh, saying ,”Your highness, please follow me” Upon saying this, he balefully glared at Zhou Tian Shou, who immediately lowered his head . Yin Tian Zhao coldly smiled, his face immediately changing to reveal a crafty expression . -----------------------*****------------------------Translator: Jing HuiEditor: Jing Hui