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The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Restoring Mother’s Reputation

As soon as Xiao Ninth Miss uttered these words, the surrounding murmurs grew even louder, with sounds of disbelief and sneers of contempt filling the air.

A’xiu couldn’t help but feel scared upon hearing the surrounding whispers.

Fenghuang clenched his fists in anger and roared, “You’re talking nonsense! Why should we believe what you say is true? How can you prove this thing you’re talking about?”

His outburst immediately attracted more people to watch, and even the guests inside the Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower gradually poured out of the building. One after another, windows on the upper floors opened, revealing curious faces.

“Hey, Third Young Master, come and see! Isn’t this the divine physician we met in Xuzhou Pengcheng?” Suddenly, a voice exclaimed in surprise. Behind one of the windows, another man couldn’t resist his curiosity and leaned out, his gaze sweeping down from above. It easily landed on the white figure surrounded by the crowd, accompanied by the Northern Barbarian boy dressed in black.

“Proof? Many palace maids, nurses, and consorts saw it when it happened. It was already widely known back then, so why do I need proof?” Xiao Ninth Miss retorted disdainfully.

Xiao Jinyu shook her head with a wry smile.

“Many palace maids, nurses, and consorts saw it? Then which palace maid, which nurse, or which consort saw it? Now it’s just you saying this, how do we know this isn’t a rumor you spread?” Xiao Jinyu countered.

“Indeed! Who can say for sure whether this palace secret is true or false? Based solely on the words of a young lady, it’s certainly not conclusive.”

“Young Lady, you speak with such certainty, but you must provide evidence! Otherwise, you’re slandering Young Lady Xiao’s reputation. How can you be so malicious at such a young age?”

Xiao Ninth Miss’s expression suddenly panicked, and she thought to herself: This is bad. No matter which palace maid or nurse saw it, under the late emperor’s iron fist, those people are long gone. Even Consort Wang and Lady Zhang, who were present, later fell out of favor and were banished to the Cold Palace. Empress Shen also failed to win the late emperor’s heart and suffered his neglect. It was only after the late emperor’s death that she rallied various forces in the court and secured the throne for her son, Chen Bozong, thus preserving her status as Empress Dowager.

However, her son didn’t reign for long before his throne was usurped by Prince of Ancheng, Chen Xu, who is now the current emperor. The current Empress Dowager Shen only holds the empty title of Empress Wen and is confined by the current emperor to Wende Palace, a mere widow.

I can’t possibly ask this widow to come out and testify, can I?

Xiao Ninth Miss’s face turned pale. She looked at Princess Ningyuan beside her, but the princess also shook her head. She then cast a sharp gaze at the group of noble ladies, finally settling on Fifth Young Lady Kong.

The Kong family had marital ties to the Chen imperial family, and Fifth Young Lady Kong’s aunt was a consort of the late emperor.

“She… her aunt was also present that day and witnessed it with her own eyes!” Xiao Ninth Miss suddenly pushed Fifth Young Lady Kong forward and said.

Fifth Young Lady Kong was stunned for a moment before mustering the courage to say, “Yes, I’ve heard my aunt mention this before. The legitimate daughter of the Xiao family, oh no, that is, Xiao Luan, who has been expelled from the Xiao family, she often exchanged letters with General of the Right Guard Han Zigao while treating Princess Yuhua in the palace. The two of them had a secret affair behind Princess Yuhua’s back, so that’s why… what Ninth Miss just said happened…”

“Exchanged letters?” Hearing this, Xiao Jinyu narrowed her eyes and asked Fifth Young Lady Kong, “So you want your aunt, Consort Kong, to come and testify? Where are the letters? Do you dare to guarantee that what you said is true?”

Fifth Young Lady Kong was refuted and hesitated to speak, but seeing Xiao Ninth Miss’s fierce gaze, she stammered in a loud voice, “I dare to guarantee!”

Xiao Jinyu smiled again and said, “Alright, even if your aunt saw it with her own eyes, does what she saw necessarily represent the truth as you claim?” She then pointed to the assassins hanging from the trees, “Take these people for example, I said they were assassins sent by the mistress of the Xiao family, relentlessly pursuing and attempting to kill me. You dared to turn the tables and accuse me of staging this whole thing. So how can we be sure that what was seen and heard in the palace wasn’t also a staged act by someone else?”

By this point, Xiao Jinyu’s voice had turned solemn, and her indignant and resolute tone abruptly silenced the surrounding clamor.

Li Mi leaned even further out, thoroughly engrossed in this unfolding drama.

Xiao Jinyu continued, “Fifteen years ago, my mother, Xiao Luan, practiced medicine in this very Jiankang City, treating everyone from nobles and officials to ordinary people. How many people have benefited from her healing grace? Even among you present, or your family members, there must be some who have received her treatment, right?”

As she spoke, silence fell over the crowd.

✿✿✿

“When my mother was alive, or when you received her kindness, you called her a divine physician, praised her as a master of medicine, and held her in high esteem, whether out of flattery or respect. Now that she is no longer with us, can her posthumous reputation be so easily trampled upon simply because of a rumor whose truth is unknown?”

Xiao Jinyu’s rebuke made Xiao Ninth Miss and Fifth Young Lady Kong turn pale, and they couldn’t help but stagger back a step.

The crowd fell silent, some sighing and lamenting, while others even showed shame on their faces.

Even Twelfth Young Master Li Mi, who was watching the spectacle, couldn’t help but suppress his smile, a hint of disbelief and guilt appearing in his expression.

“And even if this matter were true, if it was a matter of love, she didn’t hurt anyone, didn’t harm anyone, so what’s wrong with that? Back then, when Princess Yuhua fell in love with Han Zigao and wrote him love poems, it was considered a beautiful story. But my mother is being slandered and subjected to your filthy accusations. Is it only because of your so-called evidence…” Xiao Jinyu pointed at Xiao Ninth Miss, “Only because of your accusation of shamelessness, that you want to erase all her lifelong reputation, righteousness, and good deeds?

Is this your… way of being human?”

The final question deeply moved everyone present. Not far from the encircling crowd, Feng Dong was pushing Xiao Xian’s wheelchair slowly towards them. Hearing this, he stopped in astonishment.

“Young Master, it’s that Young Lady! Were those words just spoken by her?” Feng Dong, seeing the murmurs and discussions in the crowd, and Xiao Ninth Miss’s pale face, couldn’t help but say joyfully, “Look, Young Master, Ninth Miss has been refuted speechless! Who would have thought that Young Lady not only has excellent medical skills but also such eloquence!”

Xiao Xian was also stunned. Indeed, this was true eloquence. Such words, even if some dared to think them, no one dared to speak them aloud. Even he, when facing those rumors spread by his elder sister, couldn’t argue his way to victory.

At this moment, a clear round of applause came from the Apricot Blossom and Misty Rain Tower, and two men dressed in white emerged from the building.

It was Third Young Master Cui Heng and Twelfth Young Master Li Mi.

Li Mi strode forward, saying in a loud voice, “Well said! My 《Tao Te Ching》 emphasizes the way of being human, with benevolence as the foundation, cultivating goodness and the heart, practicing and promoting good deeds. I’ve also listened to this…” He pointed at the pale-faced Xiao Ninth Miss and Fifth Young Lady Kong, and said with a smile, “This Xiao Ninth Miss’s words, and I more or less understand what’s going on. Which family among these great clans doesn’t have some hidden secrets? However, what puzzles me is that this Xiao Ninth Miss is also surnamed Xiao, why would she disregard her own family’s reputation and spread such unspeakable… scandals? Could it be that she’s intentionally exaggerating the truth, with the sole purpose of preventing this legitimate eldest daughter of the Xiao family from returning to the family?”

Li Mi’s words sparked even louder discussions among the crowd, and someone exclaimed, “Yes, Xiao Ninth Miss is also a daughter of the Xiao family, how can she slander her own lady’s reputation like this? This matter is indeed suspicious. Could it be that it’s truly a fabricated lie…”

“Whether it’s a fabricated lie or not, as an outsider, it’s not my place to comment on their family matters. Just as this Young Lady said, even if someone witnessed it with their own eyes, how can we be sure it wasn’t a staged act by someone else to frame her mother?”

“However, I’ve met that legitimate eldest daughter of the Xiao family, Xiao Luan. When I was in Qi, even the ruler of Qi praised her for her exceptional character and appearance, saying she was a true noble lady among the southerners, a true embodiment of a distinguished scholar’s demeanor. Moreover, during her time in Qi, she treated both the imperial family and the common people, and countless people were cured by her. She truly possessed a benevolent heart as a physician. From what I can see, she doesn’t resemble the shameless person described by Xiao Ninth Miss at all.”

As Li Mi spoke, he glanced at the cornered Xiao Ninth Miss with a mocking smile.

Then, he playfully asked Cui Heng, “Third Young Master, wouldn’t you agree?”

“You, who are you? How would you know how she was in Qi? Don’t talk nonsense here! I think you’re also someone she hired to act with her!” Xiao Ninth Miss said in a fit of anger.

“Who are we? Heh…” Li Mi couldn’t help but laugh and nudged Third Young Master Cui beside him, “Third Young Master, show them!”

At this moment, a group of officials parted the crowd and approached. The leading officer walked to the center of the crowd and asked, “What happened? Who reported this to the authorities?”


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(🇨🇳)The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician

🇨🇳)The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician

画医锦华
Score 8
Status: Ongoing Native Language: Chinese
The setting sun slants across the entrance to Wu Yi Alley. A divine stroke of the brush captures winter and spring. A single brush, painting all of nature's creatures, capturing the myriad forms of human life, yet no one can fathom the meaning behind the artist's strokes or the strategies hidden within their heart. Xie Yuqing of the past life, Xiao Jinyu of the present. Having experienced betrayal, the extermination of her clan, and a life of displacement, the reborn Xie Yuqing decides to live a different life. In this chaotic world, outwardly prosperous yet inwardly decaying, she is determined to forge a magnificent prosperity that no one in this world dares to seek.

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