The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 145

Chapter 145: Telling Her About Northern Qi Affairs

Hearing this, Xiao Jinyu understood what he wanted to say. In the third year of Taiqing, she did order someone to send a letter to the Cui family in Eastern Wei. That was merely due to the friendship between her father and Cui Heng’s father. She truly didn’t have the intention of seeking help.

“When a family encounters misfortune, fortune and disaster are unpredictable. One should prioritize the family. Young Master Cui, there’s no need to blame yourself. This was an unforeseen event! Your friend wouldn’t blame you either!”

“But…”

Cui Heng still wanted to say something, but Xiao Jinyu interrupted, “Perhaps she didn’t necessarily need your help. One in the south, one in the north, even if there was a promise made from a thousand miles away, it would be too late!”

The more she spoke like this, the more Cui Heng felt guilty and sorrowful.

“But I didn’t get to see her one last time. If I had seen this letter earlier, if I had known that Hou Jing wanted to marry into the great clans, maybe I could… could have offered a helping hand, and she wouldn’t have…”

Back then, Hou Jing, as a surrendered general of the Southern Liang, was highly regarded by Emperor Wu of Liang. Arrogant and spoiled, Hou Jing actually proposed to Emperor Wu that he wanted to marry into the Wang and Xie clans, the two great aristocratic families. However, he was politely rejected by Emperor Wu. Emperor Wu’s meaning was: with his status as a Xianbei slave, he was simply not worthy of the daughters of the Wang and Xie clans. But he could lower his requirements and seek daughters from the Gu, Lu, Zhu, and Zhang clans, those southern aristocratic families.

It was because of this that Hou Jing held a grudge. Later, after conquering Jiankang, he carried out a devastating massacre of the Wang and Xie clans.

Every time she recalled this incident, Xiao Jinyu felt a burning pain in her heart that was hard to bear.

But she still calmly said, “Young Master Cui, don’t blame yourself for this. This has nothing to do with you.”

“Then, can I still be friends with her?”

Xiao Jinyu smiled slightly.

“Of course, you can,” she replied.

Cui Heng looked at Xiao Jinyu with a relieved smile. After a long silence, he suddenly asked with a serious expression,

“Young Lady, have you heard about Emperor Wenxuan?”

Xiao Jinyu nodded, “I’ve heard both Fenghuang and Lu Yu mention him.”

“Emperor Wenxuan was considered a wise ruler during the first seven years of his reign, but after that, for some unknown reason, his temperament became extremely tyrannical. My second brother married Princess Le’an. On the day my father passed away, Emperor Wenxuan came to our house and asked Princess Le’an how the Cui family treated her. She casually replied that her husband treated her well, except for my mother who treated her poorly. Just because of this, Emperor Wenxuan had my mother killed and her head thrown outside the wall…”

Speaking of this, Cui Heng’s eyes revealed a trace of resentment and sorrowful grief.

“He indulged in alcohol, had no desires, and was addicted to killing. He even had a cauldron and a saw set up in the Golden Palace. Every time he got drunk, he would go on a killing spree. Many officials and ministers were slaughtered without cause. Later, the ministers had no choice but to send prisoners from the jail to him for his amusement and killing!”

“Prince Wei, Yuan Ang’s wife, Lady Li, was the elder sister of the then Empress Li Zue and also an aunt of Li Mi. Because Emperor Wenxuan once barged into Prince Wei’s residence and took a fancy to Lady Li, he… forcibly took possession of her. Lady Li dared not resist. After that, Emperor Wenxuan frequented Prince Wei’s residence and even wanted to take Lady Li as his consort. For this, he actually summoned Prince Wei to the palace and shot him to death with a hundred arrows!

And then there’s Prince of Lanling, Gao Changgong’s stepmother, Lady Yuan…”

Cui Heng paused, seeing that Xiao Jinyu’s expression was still relatively calm but had clearly shown curiosity, he continued,

“Lady Yuan was the Princess of Fengyi of Northern Wei. When Gao Changgong’s father, Emperor Wenxiang, was alive, he once wanted to depose his principal wife and elevate a consort to the position, but he abandoned this idea after my father strongly advised against it.

Later, Emperor Wenxiang was assassinated, and Emperor Wenxuan, Gao Yang, immediately took over his authority, controlled the court, and established the Great Qi. Afterwards, due to his addiction to alcohol and because he had been humiliated by his brother Gao Cheng in his youth, he broke into Lady Yuan’s Jingde Palace, confiscated all her treasures, and violated her in the Prince of Gaoyang’s residence… This matter reached the ears of Empress Dowager Lou, who reprimanded Emperor Wenxuan. Unexpectedly, Emperor Wenxuan directly pushed Empress Dowager Lou to the ground, causing her to be injured…”

Speaking of this, Cui Heng fell silent for a long time, seemingly waiting for Xiao Jinyu to ask him questions. However, Xiao Jinyu also remained silent, as if she was pondering something, waiting for him to continue.

“Gao Changgong is the fourth son in his family. Lady Yuan also only has one legitimate son, Prince of Hejian, Gao Xiaowan. Gao Changgong’s eldest brother, Gao Xiaoyu, was resented by He Shikai last year because he advised Empress Hu not to have physical contact with her subjects, namely He Shikai. He Shikai slandered Gao Xiaoyu in the ear of Emperor Gao Zhan, and Gao Xiaoyu was eventually poisoned to death by Gao Zhan…”

“Besides Gao Xiaowan and Gao Xiaoyu, he has three other brothers, namely Prince of Guangning, Gao Xiaoheng, Prince of Ande, Gao Yanzong, and Prince of Yuyang, Gao Shaoxin…”

Hearing this, Xiao Jinyu nodded and asked, “What about Gao Changgong’s birth mother? Who is his biological mother?”

Cui Heng was slightly taken aback and said hesitantly, “It is said that his birth mother’s background is very controversial and not suitable for public disclosure. Therefore, even the historians have erased this woman’s name. No one knows who his birth mother is.”

“Doesn’t Young Master Cui know either?” Xiao Jinyu asked again.

Cui Heng nodded again, “Yes!”

Xiao Jinyu nodded and stopped asking.

After pondering for a moment, Cui Heng said again, “Young Lady, no, Princess Consort, I am not telling you all this to scare you, to make you afraid of the Gao family or even Gao Changgong. I know you are not someone who is easily frightened. However, the emperors of the Northern Qi Gao family are not like the emperors of the Southern Chen… The current Emperor Gao Zhan, although not as crazy or bloodthirsty as Emperor Wenxuan, but his tyrannical and lustful nature…”

“I understand Young Master Cui’s meaning. Emperor Chen Xu of Southern Chen, although hypocritical, still maintains a facade and can listen to advice and act as a wise ruler. While the emperors of the Northern Qi Gao family openly display their unfilial and disrespectful behavior, they even arbitrarily kill those who offer advice. They are beastly emperors who are unwilling to even maintain a facade. Young Master Cui wants to tell me all this, right?”

Seeing her so calmly summarizing everything he said, Cui Heng was momentarily embarrassed and didn’t know what to say. He really wanted to say that the current emperor of Northern Qi was also extremely lustful and even enjoyed taking the wives of his brothers and subjects. If her beauty reached the ears of Gao Zhan, Gao Changgong might not be able to protect her!

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However, he couldn’t bring himself to say such words. In the end, he could only remind her, “Princess Consort, you are too beautiful. When you arrive in Qi territory, for safety’s sake, it’s best to conceal your appearance…”

“Yes, I will!”

Xiao Jinyu nodded with a smile and said, “Thank you also, Young Master Cui, for telling me all this, letting me know how to proceed in the future.” She then asked, “By the way, Young Master Cui is so knowledgeable about the Northern Qi imperial family and court, do you know about Lu Lingxuan?”

Cui Heng’s expression changed, and he nodded, “Yes, I do. She is the second female official to hold a position in the court besides your mother, Xiao Luan. Originally, she was the wife of the rebel Luo Chao. After Luo Chao’s rebellion, she was confiscated and sent to the imperial household department. Later, she became the wet nurse of Gao Wei, the current crown prince, and thus gained the trust of Empress Hu and Emperor Gao Zhan!”

“Just because she is the crown prince’s wet nurse, she gained the trust of Emperor Gao Zhan?”

Cui Heng thought for a moment before replying, “It is said that this woman knows numerology and can calculate the fate of people and the nation. She once prayed for rain for the people at the Ice Well Terrace in the Northern City of Ye and successfully brought rain, thus gaining the love and respect of the people!”

So that’s how it is!

She took advantage of the right time and place and won the hearts of the people!

Therefore, she won the emperor’s favor!

Xiao Jinyu nodded and bowed to Cui Heng once again, “Thank you, Young Master Cui. A’yu will take her leave now!”

As she turned to leave, Cui Heng suddenly called out softly, “Xie Yuqing!”

Xiao Jinyu’s footsteps abruptly stopped, and she turned to look at him.

Her gaze was somewhat cold. Cui Heng hurriedly corrected himself, “No! Xiao Jinyu, what I want to say is, in the past, your father wrote to my father, hoping that our two families would be united by marriage, to form a bond between our two surnames. If my father hadn’t encountered such misfortune, he would have agreed, and I would have agreed too.”

His eyes were filled with tears, overflowing with regret and sorrow.

“But I missed it! If… I mean if something unexpected happens to Gao Changgong in the future, you can come to me anytime. I, I won’t miss it again…”

“Young Master Cui—” Xiao Jinyu abruptly interrupted him and said seriously, “Let go of your guilt and obsession with your friend!”

“And, I won’t let anything unexpected happen to Gao Changgong. Since I’ve chosen this path, I will continue to walk it.

I will accompany him, in life and death!”

Cui Heng became anxious for a moment, thinking she had misunderstood his meaning, and hurriedly explained, “No, that’s not what I meant…”

“I know. I know Young Master Cui means no harm.”

Gao Changgong fought battles year-round, facing life and death on the battlefield. There were also people in the court who wished him ill. Imperial relatives were always surrounded by danger, and their fate was unpredictable.

“Young Master Cui, let it go!”

She said this last sentence solemnly, then turned and walked out of the cabin. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Prince of Lanling standing right in front of her, looking at her intently.

“Changgong—”

She called out with a smile.

Gao Changgong didn’t say a word, he just embraced her in his arms.

The river flowed endlessly, the boat had already sailed to the center of the river, the wind and waves and the sound of sails were constant.

The river wind was biting cold. Gao Changgong unconsciously tightened his embrace. After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly lifted her up and walked into a room that had been booked in the cabin.