The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 57

Chapter 57: He Stood Up

Perhaps finally resigning herself to fate, the woman kneeling below finally fell silent, a faint, cold smile playing on her lips, with nothing left to say.

Xiao Xian couldn’t help but walk towards the woman who slowly stood up, her eyes filled with a desolate and cold loneliness.

“Elder Sister—”

He called out softly, reaching out to take the woman’s hand, but in a flash, the woman in white appeared outside the Qingxi Gate of Jiankang City.

“Alright then, Father, A’luan will never see the Xiao family again!”

She laughed sorrowfully and spurred her horse away without looking back.

Behind her, someone holding the supervisory seal representing the Xiao family’s control over their personal troops, was smiling contentedly with a slight curve of their lips.

“Elder Sister, don’t go, don’t listen to them, don’t leave the Xiao family, and don’t leave me…”

He screamed in his heart, wanting to chase after her, but because he was too young, he was quickly pulled back by a group of servants.

He struggled in vain, eventually falling asleep from exhaustion.

✿✿✿

“Finally driven her away. When the Crown Prince entrusted his son to us on his deathbed, he actually handed over the financial power and personal troops of the Xiao lineage to a mere girl, causing our Lanling Xiao branch to be dominated by women, our sons suffering endless humiliation…”

✿✿✿

Whose voice was that? He couldn’t see the blurry figure. The scene before his eyes shifted, and he saw his mother. At this time, she wasn’t as withered as in his later memories, but possessed the elegance, dignity, and beauty of a noble lady. However, her eyes were red from excessive grief.

“It’s been so long, let’s bring A’luan back from the north, let her come back, okay? She’s still a daughter of our Xiao family, how can she stay in that barbarian land of the north, by the side of that cruel and debauched ruler? If this goes on, she’ll lose her life… she’ll lose her life…”

“I heard she even gave birth to a child. Let that child return to our Xiao family, okay? Let both mother and daughter come back, alright?”

He saw his mother pleading bitterly, but his father showed no sign of being moved. He flung his sleeve and said coldly:

“Impossible, she can’t come back! And she can’t come back ever again!”

“How can you be so heartless? How could you become so cruel? Have you forgotten what A’luan has done for our Xiao family?”

✿✿✿

“Father, let Elder Sister come back, please, let her come back!”

Amidst the pleas, Xiao Xian suddenly sat up on the bed. He saw that the sky outside the window was already bright. The room was clean and tidy, and a very fresh and pleasant medicinal fragrance filled the air. But he didn’t see his parents, nor did he find his Elder Sister…

So, he slowly moved his legs off the bed, slowly stood up, and walked towards the door.

Outside the door was a very spacious hall, with a pool of flowing water in the middle, and winged cups gently swaying on the clear ripples.

Three men were lying haphazardly in three corners of the hall, and one of them was lying diagonally outside his room, dressed as a servant.

Xiao Xian couldn’t help but bend down and shake the servant who was still asleep, asking, “Wake up, where did you send Elder Sister?”

The servant immediately shuddered and opened his eyes abruptly, startled awake from his sleep.

He looked at Xiao Xian in a daze, seemingly unable to believe his eyes. He rubbed his eyes again and looked carefully once more!

From head to toe!

He’s taller?

No, his legs are too long!

No, he’s standing up! Because his legs are long, he looks exceptionally tall!

He used to look down at the young man in the wheelchair, but now he had to look up to him!

“Young Master, you… you… you’re legs are healed? You’re standing up?”

Feng Dong shouted excitedly. His shout immediately woke up the two men sleeping in the hall. At the same time, Xiao Tenth Miss, who heard the shout, also ran out of the room!

Li Mi sprang to his feet, rubbing his sleepy eyes. The first thing his clear vision caught was Xiao Xian in white.

At this moment, Xiao Xian had a slender and straight posture, with a remarkable air of “as graceful as a willow in spring moonlight, as radiant as the rising sun.”

Li Mi’s mouth dropped open, and Cui Heng also stared at this scene in disbelief.

It took a while before Li Mi finally patted his head, feeling a slight pain, and exclaimed in surprise, “Brother Xiao, your illness, the one that’s supposedly paralyzed you for twelve or thirteen years, is cured?”

Cui Heng also said, “Was it her? Did she cure your legs?”

Xiao Xian still had a feeling of being in a dream, unsure if he was truly awake. He looked down at the servant Feng Dong, who was still sitting on the ground, gazing up at him in a daze. His memory seemed to be pulled back from more than a decade ago.

“Are you… Feng Dong?”

“Yes, Young Master, you haven’t forgotten me, have you? I’m Feng Dong. You gave me this name!”

Xiao Xian looked at Li Mi and Cui Heng again, remembering that two days ago, these two young masters from the north had played Go with him.

“Young Master Li and Young Master Cui?”

“Yes, Seventh Young Master Xiao, we have already conceded defeat in the three games of Go two days ago. Your talent, Young Master Xiao, is even more impressive than what we’ve heard!” Cui Heng replied with a bow.

At this time, Xiao Tenth Miss was already in tears, rushing to Xiao Xian.

“Seventh Uncle, it’s me, Tenth Miss, do you still recognize me?”

Xiao Xian looked at Tenth Miss’s pale, porcelain-like face, which looked even more delicate and fragile due to her thinness.

After gazing at her for a moment, he smiled and nodded.

“That’s why I said, that young lady’s agitation of Princess Yunyin yesterday was definitely not just to clear her mother’s name. In my opinion, she deliberately made Young Master Xiao vomit blood and fall asleep, and then treated his legs. Now he’s fully recovered, and I’m afraid the name of Young Master Xiao will be even more renowned in Jiankang City!” Li Mi said happily.

Before, it was his talent and the short-lived reputation of being paralyzed and unlikely to live past twenty-five that spread.

From now on, who would dare to compete with him for the title of the most handsome and talented man in Jiankang City!

“Seventh Young Master Xiao kept mentioning his Elder Sister just now, but it was because of this obsession in his heart that…”

Cui Heng seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked.

✿✿✿

Was it because of the obsession in his heart? That he had been paralyzed and ill for so many years?

“I remember, that young lady said before that our Young Master’s illness wasn’t in his body but in his heart. Could it be that this time, the young lady’s confrontation with Princess Yunyin was actually to treat our Young Master’s illness?”

At this moment, Feng Dong also seemed to have a sudden realization.

Xiao Xian’s heart suddenly ached!

It turned out that what he saw just now, about his Elder Sister, all those memories, were just a dream, a dream hidden deep in his heart that he had always been unwilling to recall!

Then her daughter…

“Where’s A’yu?” he suddenly asked nervously.

“She’s here! Seventh Uncle, she’s resting in that room.” Xiao Tenth Miss pointed to a side room not far from the long corridor and replied happily.

Xiao Xian immediately walked towards that bedroom, but was blocked by Fenghuang, who was sitting by the door.

“You can’t go in now, don’t disturb her rest,” Fenghuang said coldly.

“How is she now?” Xiao Xian asked in a trembling voice, his concern and gratitude evident.

Fenghuang looked up at him, his eyes seemingly glistening with tears, his expression filled with worry and sorrow.

“Are you hiding something? How is she really?” Xiao Xian asked, even more anxious and afraid.

Fenghuang then stood up and slowly said, “Three months ago, we were assassinated in Qi territory. The carriage was tampered with, and Qing Gege and I unfortunately fell off a cliff…”

As soon as he started speaking, the listeners were already terrified, and Xiao Xian’s eyes were filled with distress.

“And then? What happened next?” Li Mi asked urgently.

“Later, fortunately, we both survived, but Qing Gege injured the back of her head. After she woke up, she had memory loss and became very weak. Every time she recalled the past, she felt unbearable pain, sometimes even fainting and sleeping for several hours.

It wasn’t until we arrived in Jiankang that her memory slowly recovered and her health gradually improved…”

Speaking of this, he looked at Xiao Xian again, his tone changing, “But today, she spent more than seven hours treating you, without sleep, food, or rest. This is already the limit her weak body can bear. I went into the room last night to bring her food, but she only took a small bite before fainting. So I’m really afraid… I’m sometimes afraid that she’ll fall asleep and never wake up again…”

Cui Heng was shocked, and Xiao Xian’s face was filled with shock and sorrow.

“Isn’t she a divine physician herself? Could it be that even she… a physician can’t cure herself?” Li Mi couldn’t help but ask.

Fenghuang didn’t answer, continuing to look at Xiao Xian, and continued, “Young Master Xiao Xian, Qing Gege once said that in this world, only heart disease is the most difficult to cure. If you weren’t someone who could make her feel familial love in this world besides her aunt, if you didn’t hold a certain place in her heart, I would never let her take this risk.

Because in this world, I only have her!”

I only have her!

Fenghuang’s words instantly made Xiao Xian’s heart ache as if it were being squeezed in his hand. Whether it was blaming himself for his helplessness or rejoicing at his position in her heart, all these complicated emotions were too much for Xiao Xian to bear at once.

A heart-wrenching pain almost made him kneel to the ground. Feng Dong quickly helped him steady himself and comforted him, “Young Master, the young lady will be fine. She’s so strong, she’ll be alright. She put so much effort into curing you, you can’t let her down!”

“Yes! Seventh Uncle, you’ve just recovered, take care of yourself!” Xiao Tenth Miss also advised.

“But I’d rather not be cured…”

It turned out that his Elder Sister had suffered so much in the north with her daughter, it turned out that his niece had almost died before she was saved, it turned out… that curing him had come at the cost of her own health…

If that’s the case, why did I…

“Fenghuang—”

Just as he was overwhelmed with emotions, he suddenly heard a faint voice from the room. A figure flashed before his eyes, and in the blink of an eye, Fenghuang pushed the door open and rushed to Xiao Jinyu’s bedside.

The moment the door opened, Xiao Xian saw Xiao Jinyu slowly getting up with A’xiu’s help. At this moment, she wasn’t disguised, possessing a breathtaking beauty like her father, and a unique aloofness that belonged only to her. Even though she was slightly pale and fragile, she was still so strong-willed that no one dared to treat her like an ordinary young lady and offer her pity.

“Qing Gege, you’re awake, are you feeling unwell anywhere?” Fenghuang asked with both joy and worry.

Seeing the worry and concern in Fenghuang’s eyes, and the faint fatigue beneath them, Xiao Jinyu felt both warmth and guilt.

“I’m sorry for making you worry, Fenghuang. I’m fine, just tired, so I slept for a while,” she said.

“It’s good that you’re fine! It’s good that you’re fine!”

Overwhelmed by fear and relief, Fenghuang couldn’t help but embrace Xiao Jinyu.

Seeing Xiao Xian standing tall and graceful at the door, like a crane, Xiao Jinyu smiled with satisfaction and said to the boy who was holding her tightly, “Fenghuang, go and rest! You were tired last night!”

“No, I’m not tired, Qing Gege, you must be hungry. What do you want to eat? A’xiu and I will make it for you now.”

After saying that, he let go of her and looked at her with pure and expectant eyes.

Xiao Jinyu couldn’t bear to refuse him, nodding and smiling, “Then let’s have hot pot with beef!”

“Okay!”

“A’xiu will go and prepare it right away!” the maid also replied happily.

After A’xiu left, Xiao Jinyu lowered her voice and said seriously:

“Fenghuang, disguise me again! Today, we may face another fierce battle!”

After saying that, she looked at Xiao Xian outside the door: “Uncle Xian, I also have something to tell you—”

Many thanks to Tian Tian Wei Xiao tt for the monthly ticket, and to everyone for the recommendation tickets, thank you very much.