The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 62

Chapter 62: Branching Out of the Clan （Part 1）

Returning to the Elegant Poetry Pavilion once more, Xiao Jinyu found a low table and sat down. A’xiu served her tea.

“My Lady, this is a tea brewed with honey and pomelo. It can clear heat, reduce fire, and enhance beauty and nourishment,” A’xiu said.

Upon hearing the words “enhance beauty and nourishment,” Lady Wei’s eyes lit up.

“Can it really enhance beauty and nourishment?” She was a bit skeptical, but she really wanted to believe it.

“Of course, absolutely true! Just look at how my Lady looks,” A’xiu said, patting her chest.

“Your Lady is naturally beautiful beyond compare. Few can match her!”

These words slipped out of Lady Wei’s mouth before she even realized it. Perhaps it was because she had seen a breathtakingly beautiful face in her dream last night, and it had become deeply imprinted in her mind.

In any case, although this young lady’s appearance couldn’t be described as breathtaking, it was still a rare and exquisite beauty, especially her skin. It was delicate, snow-white, smooth, and radiant, truly like it was made of fine jade!

“Um, A’xiu, can I also try that tea?”

“You’ll have to ask my Lady!” A’xiu said bluntly.

Lady Wei looked at Xiao Jinyu, who smiled faintly.

“Give Lady Wei a cup,” she said, then turned to Princess Yunyin, who was standing opposite her. “Give this Princess a cup as well!”

“Yes, My Lady. This servant will bring the tea to the Princess right away, and by the way, help her cool down her anger!”

Lady Wei, who had just taken a sip of tea, suddenly spat it out, spraying it directly onto a servant’s face, and coughed several times.

Like mistress, like maid. What a sharp tongue!

The servant silently wiped his face, seeing Princess Yunyin’s expression turn extremely ugly. She seemed to be clenching her teeth with all her might, barely managing to hold back the words “wretched slave.”

As A’xiu presented the tea to her, she raised her hand to knock it away, but luckily Xiao Jian, who was standing beside her, reacted quickly and caught it.

“Princess, please speak. How do you want to discuss this?” Xiao Jinyu asked directly.

Princess Yunyin glanced around, noticing that there wasn’t a single extra low table. She said coldly, “Isn’t anyone going to bring two more low tables over? You are also a member of our Lanling Xiao Clan, yet you don’t even understand basic etiquette?”

Now she finally acknowledged that this young lady was a member of the Lanling Xiao Clan!

Li Mi and Cui Heng couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking their heads secretly.

At this point, A’xiu couldn’t hold back her anger anymore. She said, “What are you talking about, Princess? My Lady is not the owner of this place. Everything here was either bought by my Lady or brought by her. You didn’t bring anything and you didn’t buy anything, so how can you blame my Lady?”

“You wretched slave! How dare you speak to this Princess!”

A’xiu rolled her eyes and stopped talking. Only then did Lady Wei order someone to bring two low tables over.

“Oh, it’s just a low table. Coming, coming!”

Princess Yunyin sat down angrily and said, “I’ll ask you, can my son’s injury be treated or not?”

“There is no illness in this world that I cannot cure,” Xiao Jinyu said with a smile, then her tone changed abruptly. “But why should I treat him?”

How arrogant!

Although Princess Yunyin was very reluctant to admit it, she had no choice but to place her hopes on Xiao Jinyu. After all, every day this illness dragged on, the more dangerous it became.

So she composed herself, softened her tone, and said, “As the saying goes, ‘a physician has a benevolent heart.’ Laozi once said, ‘Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs.’ Buddhism also teaches that ‘by practicing all good deeds, one purifies one’s mind.’ Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. If you save my son, it will also benefit your reputation. Why wouldn’t you do it?”

Princess Yunyin was really shameless, actually trying to reason with her!

The onlookers couldn’t help but sigh inwardly, watching to see how Xiao Jinyu would respond.

“So, Princess, you’re saying that if I don’t treat him, I’m not living up to the words ‘a physician has a benevolent heart,’ is that right?” Xiao Jinyu continued, then sneered, “Laozi did say, ‘Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs.’ He also said, ‘Knowing that ‘good’ is ‘good’ is not good.’ This is to warn us, why be obsessed with performing good deeds for personal gain?”

As she spoke, she stood up and continued, “Buddhism does teach that ‘by practicing all good deeds, one purifies one’s mind,’ and that ‘saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.’ That’s true, but if I save someone like your son, will I truly receive good karma?”

“Saving one person is compassion, but what if the one saved is a ferocious tiger? When the tiger returns to the forest, it will prey on weak rabbits and deer, causing more killing. Can this still be considered compassion?”

This counter-question immediately plunged everyone present into deep thought. Li Mi couldn’t help but say, “Indeed! A tiger is a living being, and so are weak rabbits and deer. Why should we save a ferocious tiger at the cost of harming more living beings? This is not the compassion that Buddhism advocates!”

Cui Heng looked at Xiao Jinyu in astonishment.

Even Xiao Jian was staring at Xiao Jinyu with an expression of disbelief.

“Your Highness, I never thought this young lady would have such eloquence!”

Lu Yu couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. Gao Changgong was also lost in thought.

“Are you saying my son is a ferocious tiger?”

Princess Yunyin couldn’t help but shout angrily.

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“Whether he is or not, Princess, you know it in your heart!” Xiao Jinyu retorted, not backing down.

Hearing Xiao Jinyu’s words, Princess Yunyin became even more furious and couldn’t help but stand up.

“I didn’t come here today to argue with you! Xiao Jinyu, are you determined to oppose this Princess to the end?”

“It was you who wanted to argue with my Qing Gege, repeatedly trying to put him to death, yet now you’re turning things around, saying that my Qing Gege wants to argue with you. A princess of a nation, yet so unreasonable?”

Fenghuang couldn’t help but retort.

At this moment, Xiao Jian hurriedly pulled Princess Yunyin back down and said, “A’yu, what you said makes sense, but your Uncle Yun is not necessarily a ferocious tiger. He’s just young and reckless. We will discipline him properly in the future. He knows he was wrong now. Can you give him another chance?”

“He is not my uncle!” Xiao Jinyu immediately interrupted, then continued, “If you’re here to claim kinship, then please go back. If you’re here to seek medical treatment, then you should have the attitude of someone seeking medical treatment and show your sincerity.”

Princess Yunyin wanted to explode in anger, but she finally held back and lowered her voice, saying, “Fine, I agree to the demands you made yesterday!”

“What?”

“I will allow your mother’s memorial tablet to return to the Lanling Xiao Clan. I will hold a funeral for your mother and order all the Xiao Clan’s descendants to observe a mourning period for her. And you, from today onwards, will be entered into our Xiao Clan’s genealogy, just like your mother, as the eldest legitimate granddaughter of the Xiao Clan. In the future, whether you want to marry or take a husband, I will agree! Are you satisfied now?”

Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s truly rare for the Princess to relent and acknowledge my mother’s and my identity!” She sighed, then her tone changed abruptly. “However, I made a vow here yesterday, to never step foot in your Xiao Clan’s doors again. Princess, Su Qin once said, ‘Words spoken are like spilled water, hard to retrieve.’ I, too, have my pride!”

Lu Yu, who was eavesdropping, couldn’t help but cover his mouth and chuckle again.

“Then what do you want?” Princess Yunyin’s eyes were practically spitting fire.

Only then did Xiao Jinyu turn serious and say, “You have to return everything that my mother created for the Xiao Clan.” With that, she once again took out the jade seal and the handwritten letter left by the Xiao Clan’s head. “My mother once managed the household finances and held the seal of the commander of personal troops in the Xiao Clan. Not to mention all of your Xiao Clan’s assets, at least half of them should belong to my mother, shouldn’t they?”

“Impossible! Xiao Jinyu, are you here to rob our Xiao Clan?” Princess Yunyin couldn’t help but shout.

Xiao Jian’s expression also changed drastically.

“Heh…” Xiao Jinyu sneered again. “Robbery? If we’re talking about robbery, Princess, who can compare to you!”

“You—”

Princess Yunyin’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.

After a brief, suffocating silence…

Xiao Jinyu said, “As a physician, it is indeed my duty to heal the sick and save the dying. However, it’s not too much to ask for the patient to pay the appropriate medical fee, is it?”

“How much is the medical fee? I’ll pay it!” Xiao Jian finally spoke up.

“I don’t want much, just 50,000 strings of cash! Your Xiao Clan can afford it. Also, I want people…”

50,000 strings of cash and she says it’s not much?

Princess Yunyin was furious, but after weighing the pros and cons, she finally held back her anger.

“The money can be given, but people are impossible! The Xiao Clan’s personal troops are now under my control. Even if you want them, they might not follow you!”

“You’re wrong, Princess. I don’t want personal troops. Besides, those who are loyal to me will naturally follow me. What use do I have for those who are disloyal?” At this point, she got straight to the point. “I want to branch out of the clan!”

“Branch out of the clan?”

This time, it was Xiao Jian’s turn to lose control of his emotions. He stood up in shock.

Everyone else was also stunned!

Branch out of the clan? Could it be that this young lady really wanted to establish her own independent household?

Then they heard her say resolutely, “Yes, branch out of the clan! Therefore, I want three people to separate from your branch!”

“Which three?” Xiao Jian asked.