The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 132

Chapter 132: Chen Xu After Awakening

At dawn, the sound of horse hooves suddenly echoed through the empty streets of Jiankang City. It was the news of victory from outside the city: the rebellion of the Prince of Shixing had been quelled!

When Xiao Mohe entered the city with a hundred cavalrymen in a grand procession, he was greeted by the cheers and welcome of the people of Jiankang City lining the streets!

The body of the Prince of Shixing was placed in a coffin and transported to Tai City in a prison cart. Although his body was not visible, the people on the street spat at it, cursed it, and threw countless eggs and vegetable leaves at it.

Both Chen Zhishen and Chen Zhonghua, in their roles as Ma Rong, couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride: It turned out that killing a Prince of Shixing could win the support of so many people. Was this what it meant to have the support of the people?

In the Qianqin Hall of Tai City, under the watchful eyes of a group of imperial physicians led by Yao Boshen, Chen Xu woke up at a quarter past noon, just as expected.

Several imperial physicians couldn’t help but rejoice.

Yao Boshen secretly sighed: “This young lady’s medical skills are truly remarkable. She said he would wake up at noon, and he really did wake up at noon!”

But by the time Chen Xu woke up from his coma, everything had already settled.

Xiao Mohe ordered someone to carry the body of the Prince of Shixing to the front of the Taiji Hall and reported to the Emperor: “The Prince of Shixing kept private soldiers in the Buddhist temple and colluded with Buddhist monks to assassinate the Crown Prince. When the plot failed, he stationed troops in the Eastern Palace City, raised a rebel flag, and attacked Jiankang. We, under the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, have executed the rebellious minister and quelled the rebellion!”

Chen Xu, who had just woken up, was still a little dazed. For him, it was as if he had just woken up from a sleep, and he had already lost a son.

Seeing Chen Shuling’s body laid out in front of him, Chen Xu was speechless for a long time. Only these words echoed in his ears:

“The Prince of Shixing misgoverned and harmed the people, kept private soldiers, and intended to rebel. Please, Your Majesty, punish the Prince of Shixing!”

Consort Peng rushed into the hall with disheveled hair and cried over the body of the Prince of Shixing.

“Your Majesty, Shuling was wronged! Shuling died in front of Xie An’s tomb. This must be related to Xie Zhen of the Chenjun Xie Clan. Please, Your Majesty, find the real culprit and avenge our royal son!”

“Someone, take Consort Peng away. Peng has lost her mind. From today onwards, she is confined to the Yuqing Palace!”

It was Empress Liu Jingyan who gave the order.

Hearing this, Peng immediately cast a resentful look at Liu Jingyan.

“Your Majesty, this humble consort has always treated you with sincerity. Why are you so ruthless towards my son, driving him to his death?”

“Peng, you are you, and the Prince of Shixing is the Prince of Shixing. The crimes committed by the Prince of Shixing are outrageous and have angered both Heaven and the people. He should be punished according to the law. This has nothing to do with personal feelings. This Taiji Hall is not the place for you. Return to your Yuqing Palace!”

“This Taiji Hall is not the place for me, so is it the place for you?” Peng suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, pointing at Liu Jingyan and cursing, “You have disguised yourself well all these years! You said you would stick to your womanly duties and never interfere in politics. But you took advantage of His Majesty’s illness to exercise the Emperor’s power and sent the General of the Right Guard to chase after and kill my son. You have a venomous heart! You were just one step away from becoming the regent, weren’t you?”

“Silence!” Chen Xu finally spoke, but it was a sharp rebuke. Then he ordered the eunuchs to take Peng away.

“Your Majesty, every word this humble consort said is true. Why don’t you punish Liu but reprimand this humble consort?”

After Peng was taken away, Liu Jingyan knelt down.

“If Your Majesty wants to punish this humble consort, this humble consort is willing to accept the punishment!”

Chen Xu looked at Liu Jingyan’s calm and composed demeanor and was deeply moved.

Before he could speak, Yao Boshen ran over and reported to him: “Your Majesty, please do not believe in slander. While Your Majesty was in a coma, it was Her Majesty who stayed by your bedside, tending to your medicine, and it was Her Majesty who invited the Divine Physician to treat you. That’s why Your Majesty was able to wake up.

When the Prince of Shixing rebelled, it was Her Majesty who remained calm and collected, ordered the Crown Prince to take charge, summoned the General of the Right Guard to quell the rebellion. Her Majesty was thinking of the country and the people!”

“Divine Physician?”

Amidst Yao Boshen’s impassioned speech, Chen Xu caught these two words. He vaguely remembered seeing Xie Yuqing visiting him in his dream, but he only called out once before the figure disappeared, and he fell into a coma again.

“Yes, Your Majesty, it was the Divine Physician Lady Xiao Jinyu, whose fame has spread throughout Jiankang City. She cured Your Majesty!”

Chen Xu pondered silently for a long time before allowing Liu Jingyan to rise and said, “The Empress has worked hard!”

“It is this humble consort’s duty to share Your Majesty’s worries! The weight of the country rests on Your Majesty’s virtue!”

“Since Your Majesty has awakened, this humble consort will take her leave!”

After Liu Jingyan finished speaking, she bowed and was about to leave, but Chen Xu called out:

“Wait, did she make any requests for treating me?”

Liu Jingyan stopped, not hiding anything, and turned around to say: “Yes! I beg Your Majesty to grant her request!”

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Many things don’t need to be said too explicitly. She knew Chen Xu was a deep thinker. If he didn’t ask in detail, she wouldn’t elaborate, especially since there were still several ministers present in the Taiji Hall.

“Alright, you may leave.”

“Yes, this humble consort will take her leave!”

After Liu Jingyan left, Chen Xu turned his gaze to Xiao Mohe, the General of the Right Guard, who had come to report back. Xiao Mohe was considered the Emperor’s personal guard and, like Fan Yi, the General of the Left Guard, was his confidant.

“Why did you follow the Empress’s order and execute the Prince of Shixing?”

“Your Majesty, this humble minister believes that Her Majesty, during Your Majesty’s illness, ordered the Crown Prince to take charge, quell the internal rebellion, eliminate treacherous officials, and protect the people of Jiankang from the scourge of war. This was for the sake of the country and the people. As long as it is for the sake of the Chen Dynasty, this humble minister is willing to give his life!”

These words left Chen Xu speechless. After a long silence, he finally ordered Xiao Mohe to withdraw.

No matter how heartbroken he was, Chen Shuling’s death was a foregone conclusion. What needed to be done now was how to convict the Prince of Shixing and what kind of funeral to give him!

The next day, there was another heated debate in the court. More than half of the ministers believed that the Prince of Shixing’s crimes were too numerous to record and that he should be stripped of his title, demoted to a commoner. Only a few ministers, to cater to the Emperor’s wishes, advocated for retaining his title and royal status.

After several rounds of debate, Chen Xu finally ordered Xiao Mohe to confiscate all the property that the Prince of Shixing had embezzled and awarded half of it to Xiao Mohe, with the rest being turned over to the national treasury. Chen Shuling was stripped of his title but was still buried in the imperial mausoleum.

Not long after the Prince of Shixing was buried, Consort Peng committed suicide by hanging herself.

After seeing Peng’s body, Chen Xu stayed in the Yuqing Palace for a whole night without sleeping.

✿✿✿

But the death of the Prince of Shixing had become the most exciting topic in Jiankang City. Some even wrote it into a storybook, which was sung and told in taverns and teahouses. In this storybook, Xiao Mohe was the hero who quelled the rebellion, and Empress Liu was the heroine admired by everyone. For a time, Empress Liu Jingyan’s reputation soared, and she won the hearts of the people.

But apart from this, the Empress’s urgent summons for Xiao Jinyu to enter the palace and the Divine Physician Lady’s treatment of the Emperor became the most heated topic of discussion. Some, who didn’t know the truth, even spread rumors that the Divine Physician Lady had gone to the underworld and snatched the Emperor’s life back, and that she had also helped the Empress turn the tide and save Jiankang from danger.

Some even said that the reason why Chen Shuling, the Prince of Shixing, had met such an end was because he had offended the tomb of Grand Tutor Xie.

“This is called karma. The Prince of Shixing did all kinds of evil deeds, and even Grand Tutor Xie couldn’t stand it anymore, so he manifested his spirit and took his life!”

“Yes, yes, this is also what he gets for offending the Divine Physician Lady!”

Someone else added, causing everyone who heard it to ponder: It seemed to be true! Xiao Yun offended the Divine Physician Lady and ended up disabled. Then the Prince of Shixing offended the young lady, so…

“So the Prince of Shixing ended up like this because of that wretched servant girl? Was it her?”

The Xiao Residence was now like winter approaching, with servants trembling and afraid to speak.

For these servants, this was not the first time Princess Yunyin had lost her temper in the courtyard. And once this princess got angry, she would either injure someone or kill someone. Since the Prince of Shixing’s rebellion, many people had mysteriously disappeared from the Xiao Residence.

“Stop talking. The Prince of Shixing launched a rebellion and ended up like this because he deserved it. It has nothing to do with A’yu. Don’t blame everything on her…”

“Xiao Jian, I can’t help but think about it. It hasn’t been long since the Prince of Shixing took that wretched servant girl to his residence, and he met such an end. You say it has nothing to do with her, who would believe it? Even the rumors outside say that this is what happens when you offend that wretched servant girl!”

“It was the Prince of Changsha who found evidence that the Prince of Shixing was keeping private soldiers and colluding with high-ranking monks from the Buddhist temple. It was Xie Zhen who insisted that a prince breaking the law should be punished the same as a commoner. From beginning to end, Xiao Jinyu was not involved in this matter!”

“Not being involved doesn’t mean she didn’t fan the flames. That wretched servant girl is really good at scheming! Next, is she going to scheme against me?”

“No, this princess can’t just sit and wait for death. This princess must strike first! I must strike first!”

Princess Yunyin muttered to herself as if she had gone mad. Xiao Jian felt that this woman was simply unreasonable. She could make up a causal relationship out of anything, even things that were completely unrelated. He ignored her and left in a huff.

At this moment, he had no idea that this woman would act on her words and actually cause trouble.