The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Prologue

Taiqing Year 3, Jiankang City, the imperial capital of the Great Liang Dynasty.

A biting wind swept through, carrying with it a thick, inescapable scent of blood.

Countless soldiers clad in armor and wielding halberds patrolled the city, occasionally hauling out cartloads of corpses.

This was the 130th day of Hou Jing’s siege. For these 130 days, the 8,000 troops under Hou Jing’s command had wantonly burned, killed, looted, and plundered within the city. Over 3,000 members of the aristocratic clans had perished under his blade.

For a time, the entire city of Jiankang was like a living hell, with people resorting to cannibalism, corpses strewn across the fields, and human presence scarce. A thousand miles of desolation.

The once prosperous and elegant Wu Yi Alley had become eerie and terrifying, devoid of life. Only blood flowed like a long river, staining every corner of the Qinhuai River’s southern bank.

A squad of soldiers emerged from within, their faces etched with anxiety and murderous intent.

“Well? Did you find her?” one of them asked.

“No,” another replied.

“The Grand General has ordered that the eldest legitimate daughter of the Chenjun Xie Clan, Xie Yuqing, be captured alive. Where could that Young Lady have run off to?”

The speaker’s expression was filled with anger. He abruptly flung his spear, impaling the corpse of a young man lying on the ground.

“Go find her! Chase after her!” the leading general commanded.

“Yes, sir.”

The soldiers acknowledged the order and scattered in different directions.

Nightfall gradually deepened. In the deserted wilderness, a carriage with a green canopy and double shafts was galloping across the open fields. The uneven road caused the carriage to jolt violently, making it almost impossible for the children huddled inside to sit still.

“Big Sister, where are we going?” one of the boys with braided hair couldn’t help but ask.

Xie Yuqing’s heart ached. She pulled the boy into her arms and, holding back tears, replied, “Big Sister is taking you to a place without war. Big Sister has friends there, and we will live there. We must all live on.”

The boy nodded and stopped asking questions, instead turning his gaze to the outside.

Xie Yuqing had lifted the carriage curtain. Outside, the sun was setting in the west, and mist drifted around like ghosts. The barren mountain road was devoid of life, with only a deep and eerie cliff on one side and visible corpses in the distance.

“Big Sister, I’m scared,” another little girl trembled, seeing this scene.

Xie Yuqing embraced the girl as well, comforting her, “Don’t be afraid. Big Sister will protect you. Big Sister will definitely keep you safe.”

As she spoke, another violent jolt shook the carriage. A horse’s neighing came from the front, and the carriage lurched forward a few steps before coming to an abrupt halt. At that moment, a deafening sound of galloping horses and the howling of wolves erupted from outside.

“Catch them! Don’t let them escape! The Grand General has ordered that no one from the Xie family is to be spared. Whoever captures Xie Yuqing alive will be rewarded with a thousand households! Chase them!”

The stern shouts came from behind, and the children inside the carriage cried even harder in fear.

“Big Sister, I’m scared, scared…” a young girl’s voice murmured.

“Don’t be afraid. Grandfather said that even though our Xie family is not from a martial background, we should have the integrity and backbone of scholars. Even in death, we must never beg for mercy from others. Big Sister will always be with you.”

After saying this, tears welled up in Xie Yuqing’s eyes. She comforted the children, then lifted the carriage curtain and instructed the driver, “Ling Ye, protect them. In a moment, take them north and keep running. Follow the route I told you, don’t look back, keep running to the Wei State. Our clan members will be there to meet you.”

“Yes, I, Ling Ye, swear to protect the Young Masters and Young Ladies with my life. What about you, Young Lady?” Ling Ye asked.

Xie Yuqing only smiled and said, “Don’t worry about me.”

Perhaps it was because this smile was so warm and beautiful that Ling Ye was momentarily lost in thought. His despairing and trembling heart felt a surge of warmth, as if this smile had given him immense courage. Ling Ye raised his whip and urged the horse to gallop with all his might.

However, at this moment, the children’s voices called out in unison, “Big Sister—”

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Ling Ye’s heart. He looked back and saw that Xie Yuqing had jumped out of the carriage at some point. She had rolled on the ground for a while before staggering to her feet, meeting his gaze with a smile and a shake of her head.

Ling Ye wanted to stop the carriage, but he knew that Xie Yuqing’s smile was to remind him not to turn back. At this time, Xie Yuqing was already holding a bamboo tube in her hand.

He also knew what this bamboo tube was for—to buy them more time to escape by creating a diversion.

The Young Lady was using herself as bait!

Ling Ye’s heart ached, and tears streamed down his face. He tightened his grip on the reins, no longer hesitating, and whipped the horse to run even faster.

With a soft sound, dust rose from the ground, obscuring their escape route.

“She’s there! That Young Lady is there! Quick, surround her!”

The sound of galloping horses, accompanied by fierce shouts, quickly converged on Xie Yuqing.

“Xie Yuqing, so this is the eldest legitimate daughter of the Xie family, Xie Yuqing. She’s even more delicate and beautiful than in the portraits,” the leading burly man laughed, his eyes fixed on her.

“Who are you?” Xie Yuqing asked.

✿✿✿

The burly man laughed even more wildly: “Hahaha… The renowned talented woman of the Xie Clan, can’t you guess who we are?”

As he spoke, the burly man’s eyes flashed with excitement and lust, “I’ve long heard that the noblewomen of the Southern lands are all so delicate and charming, with skin like jade, soft as congealed fat. I wonder how it would feel to hold one in my arms.

And this one from the Xie Clan is the best of Jiankang City, a rare beauty among beauties. Brothers, we’ve never played with a noblewoman before. Grab her, and let’s have some fun.”

The soldiers cheered with delight, but one of them said fearfully: “General, this Lady Xie is the one the Grand General wants. If we…”

“What are you afraid of? We Xianbei people have never valued female chastity, and would the Grand General care about such things? Go, seize her!”

As soon as the leading officer finished speaking, the soldiers burst into laughter and rushed towards them.

Xie Yuqing also drew a spare short sword from her hand and started slashing at these men, however

These people seemed endless, surging forward one after another, and the lewd laughter continued to ring in her ears.

After an unknown amount of time,

Another burst of hoofbeats came,

A group of men in black surged forward,

Surrounding the soldiers.

In less than a quarter of an hour,

All the soldiers were slain.

Xie Yuqing looked at the man who had come to her rescue, sitting on horseback.

White robe, armor, handsome and elegant,

Just like in the past.

“You finally came.”

Xie Yuqing smiled tearfully.

The man also jumped off his horse, strode over, and embraced her.

“Yes, I’m late.”

The man whispered in her ear.

“Not too late.”

Xie Yuqing replied, choking back sobs.

The man asked softly again: “Yuqing, where are your younger siblings?”

“I gave them to Ling Ye, they escaped.”

“It’s good they escaped, it’s good they escaped.”

The man murmured softly, then turned his gaze back to her and asked cautiously, “Is that thing still there?”

Not noticing the flickering light in the man’s eyes, Xie Yuqing said: “Yes, it’s on me. I had planned that if I couldn’t escape, I would jump off the cliff, taking it with me, vanishing from the world forever. I would never let it fall into the hands of thieves.”

A flicker of barely perceptible ecstasy flashed through the man’s eyes, then

He snapped: “What nonsense are you talking about?”

As if distressed, tears seemed to well up in the man’s eyes, and he said softly, “Fortunately, you’re alright, Yuqing. Let’s go, I’ll take you to Wei. With your talent, the King of Wei will surely appreciate you.”

Xie Yuqing nodded in agreement, she just happened to want to reunite with her younger siblings who had gone to Wei.

But just as she turned around, she heard the man call out again in a deep and gentle voice: “Yuqing—”

Xie Yuqing turned back at the sound, the man suddenly stepped forward, only inches away from her. However, what she never expected was that

This gentle and doting closeness would take her life.

Her heart felt like it was being ripped open by a sharp knife. As death approached, she looked at the man and asked: “Why?”

But the man exerted more force, holding her tighter, and at the same time lowered his head and covered her cherry lips, until she breathed her last breath.

“I’m sorry, only in this way can I get close to him, to avenge you, and your Xie Clan. Only in this way can I realize our ideals.”

“Xie Yuqing, I’ve looked up to you all my life, and admired you all my life. Just because of the disparity in social status, your Xie Clan was unwilling to betroth you to me. What about high-ranking families and humble origins? I’ll show you how I will obtain this world and create a new golden age.”

“And you, you can only be my woman in this life, I will never let you fall into the hands of others.”

After speaking, he took out a brocade pouch from Xie Yuqing’s arms, his gaze filled with greedy light.