The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 104

Chapter 104: Cripple Him

Xiao Xian came with Yuan Rujing and her daughter, A’yuan.

Early this morning, Xiao Xian received an imperial edict from Chen Xu and went to the Taiji Hall in Taicheng Palace to meet the emperor. Minister of the Left Xu Ling also went with him.

Originally, Chen Xu was still hesitant about whether to recruit Xiao Xian into officialdom and what kind of official position should be arranged. After a long talk with Xiao Xian, until they talked about the current drawbacks of the Chen State, Xiao Xian’s answers shocked him several times.

Among the drawbacks he pointed out, the most important one was the household registration. Originally, powerful and wealthy families kept a large number of slaves and occupied land without paying taxes. Some farmers were hidden, but what was more serious was that nearly hundreds of thousands of farmers were hidden in the Buddhist community. This data from the Ministry of Revenue was the biggest harm in the Buddhist community.

Although Chen Xu believed in Buddhism, the Chen State also needed to fill the national treasury for future military needs. Making monks return to secular life and making commoners pay taxes naturally coincided with what he had in mind. Therefore, when Xiao Xian gave a few more suggestions on how to “clean up” the Buddhist community, Chen Xu was naturally moved and felt even more appreciative of Xiao Xian’s talent.

When Emperor Wen of Chen was alive, he suppressed and refused to use the descendants of the Xiao family because he was afraid that several branches of the Xiao family would join forces to make a comeback. But after more than ten years, the prestige of the Lanling Xiao Clan was far less than it used to be.

It was just a Xiao Xian, and he had already fallen into a collateral branch. Moreover, the current Xiao Xian was weak, his family did not keep slaves, had no personal troops, and even had no private property. Except for a noble surname, he was no different from a commoner.

How could he, Chen Xu, be afraid of a young scholar who had just come out of the mountains?

Therefore, under the repeated recommendation of Xu Ling, Chen Xu finally ordered the Ministry of Personnel to appoint Xiao Xian as the Attendant Censor to assist the Chief Censor Wang Zheng in inspecting officials.

At the same time, he also bestowed upon Xiao Xian a residence and a piece of land, granting him the right to establish his own residence and administration in Jiankang.

With land and the right to establish his own residence and administration, it meant that he, as a branch of the Xiao Clan, had roots and a real home of his own.

Everything was developing in a good direction as Xiao Jinyu expected, but just as he left Taicheng Palace at a quarter past five in the afternoon, he saw Yuan Rujing waiting for him anxiously with her daughter at the palace gate.

Yuan Rujing told him everything about how she was tricked by her husband’s family and sent to the Prince of Shixing’s Residence, and how the Prince of Shixing used her and her daughter to lure Xiao Jinyu.

After hearing this, Xiao Xian was naturally worried and rushed to the Prince of Shixing’s Residence with Yuan Rujing, but on the way, they met Dugu Shan, the envoy of the Zhou State, and learned that Xiao Jinyu had been taken to the embassy by the Prince of Lanling.

It was already around ten o’clock at night when they arrived at the embassy.

After submitting their visiting cards and waiting for a while, they finally waited for the Prince of Lanling’s guard to convey:

“Young Master Xiao Xian, our Prince invites you in!”

After returning a salute, Xiao Xian hurriedly entered the embassy with Yuan Rujing and A’yuan. As soon as they arrived at the main hall, they saw Xiao Jinyu, who was standing side by side with the Prince of Lanling and had already revealed her true appearance.

At this moment, even Xiao Xian was stunned for a moment.

Yuan Rujing was even more surprised and said, “You are A’yu?”

Xiao Jinyu did not answer, and Xiao Tenth Miss answered for her, “Yes, Aunt Rujing, she is A’yu.”

“So this is your true appearance, you… you look so much like him! No, you look even more beautiful than your father, just like…”

“Just like a fairy from heaven…”

After A’yuan finished her sentence, she hurriedly ran to Xiao Jinyu’s side and said in a crisp voice, “Sister, I’m sorry, it was A’yuan who caused you trouble today. If it weren’t for saving A’yuan, sister would definitely not have gone to that bad guy’s place…”

“It’s not your fault, A’yuan. Don’t blame yourself for other people’s mistakes. Whoever’s fault it is, it’s their fault!”

“Yes, sister, you’re right!”

The little girl nodded innocently and looked at Xiao Jinyu and the Prince of Lanling beside her with infatuation, sighing,

“Sister, you are so beautiful, and the brother beside you is also very beautiful. You look very good together!”

Everyone was stunned by her words.

A glimmer of light flashed in Lu Yu’s eyes, and he said with a grin, “Little girl, you are so sweet. Tell us more!”

However, Yuan Rujing panicked and pulled her daughter into her arms, nodding apologetically to the Prince of Lanling and saying, “I’m sorry, she’s just a child, please don’t blame her, Prince!”

“No need, she’s just a child, and what she said wasn’t bad!”

Seeing that the Prince of Lanling’s expression had softened a bit and his gaze towards Xiao Jinyu was obviously gentler, Xiao Xian felt a little worried. He raised his hand and asked the Prince of Lanling, “Could I have a word with you in private, Prince of Lanling?”

Gao Changgong nodded.

The two of them went to a side room. Bathed in the moonlight outside the window, the Prince of Lanling’s face looked even more radiant and aloof. It was a kind of clear and yet unyielding temperament.

Although Xiao Xian was not good at physiognomy, he had also heard about the Prince of Lanling’s deeds, including his life experience.

“I have heard that the Prince of Lanling is kind and benevolent, and I also respect you as a person. As for today’s matter, I am even more grateful to the Prince of Lanling for saving A’yu. However, I still have a request, and I hope the Prince of Lanling can agree to it.”

✿✿✿

“Please speak!”

“You have also heard about A’yu’s life experience, Prince. You should be able to empathize with her. So I really don’t want her to repeat her mother’s mistakes. Even if she never gets married in her life, I, Xiao Xian, can take care of her for the rest of her life, as long as she lives a peaceful and happy life and is no longer hurt.”

At this point, he looked at the Prince of Lanling and pleaded very solemnly, “Therefore, I hope that you can keep today’s matter a secret, or even forget it, Prince. No matter what happened between you, just pretend it never happened. I, Xiao Xian, will definitely repay you in the future!”

“You mean, Young Master Xiao Xian, you don’t want me to have anything to do with her anymore? Even if we have been intimate?”

The Prince of Lanling’s question made Xiao Xian’s expression suddenly change.

“Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t touch her today. Her chastity is still intact. I know that you southerners value chastity very much, but does Young Master Xiao Xian really think that your niece needs to rely on men for protection?”

“She said that even if I didn’t go to the Prince of Shixing’s Residence today, she could still escape from Chen Shuling’s hands, but she would have to pay a price. But this price could be big or small. In the worst case, it would affect you, or even all her relatives. So I guess if I didn’t go today, she probably wouldn’t have escaped, but would have perished together with the Prince of Shixing.”

“She doesn’t need your protection, but if you really want to protect her, shouldn’t you make yourself stronger first?”

These words surprised Xiao Xian even more, and he looked at Gao Changgong in astonishment.

Gao Changgong continued, “I know your concerns, Young Master Xiao Xian. It’s nothing more than those rumors about our Gao imperial family. But if I have feelings for her, I will never let go.”

In Xiao Xian’s astonishment and shock, the Prince of Lanling said seriously,

“As long as she’s willing, I will marry her properly!”

Xiao Xian couldn’t believe that these words came from the Prince of Lanling. With Gao Changgong’s identity and life experience, if he wanted to gain a foothold in the Northern Qi territory, he would definitely marry a young lady from a northern aristocratic family for the sake of his future. The Zhao Commandery Li Clan, the Qinghe Cui Clan, the Boling Cui Clan, and the Yingyang Zheng Clan in Qi territory all had intermarriages with the Northern Qi imperial family. If nothing unexpected happened, Gao Changgong’s future wife was also very likely to come from these five prestigious families in the north.

If he had such ambition…

“Are you serious, Prince?”

“Of course I am serious, but it’s useless for us to talk about it here. Even you, Young Master Xiao Xian, can’t control her decision, can you?”

What does she want to do? What kind of path does she want to take? What kind of life does she want to live?

That’s all up to her. No one can control her thoughts, and no one has the right to make decisions for her.

“It turns out that you understand her better than I do, Prince. I have overstepped my bounds.”

He couldn’t help but laugh and sigh. He originally thought that the worst outcome would be her losing her chastity, and even if she did, he could protect her from following in her mother’s footsteps, even if she never got married…

As long as she lives well!

But if she falls in love, if she falls in love…

Seeing Xiao Xian’s obviously disappointed and scared expression, Gao Changgong felt a little uncomfortable:

Young Master Xiao Xian, you understand, but you are also reluctant and greedy.

While the two were silent, they suddenly heard footsteps on the roof, rushing towards the main hall.

So, the two of them hurriedly returned to the main hall and saw that it was Fenghuang, the boy, who had jumped down from the roof after removing the tiles.

“Hey, who are you?”

Lu Yu shouted in shock.

Fenghuang came to Xiao Jinyu with a ashamed look and said, “Qing Gege, I seem to have caused you trouble.”

“What trouble?” Lu Yu asked immediately.

Fenghuang seemed a little embarrassed and hesitant. After a long pause, he replied, “That beast Chen Shuling, he actually wanted to rape me, so I got angry and… crippled his third leg!”

“Pfft—”