The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Meeting Ling Ye

Everything that had happened in the Left Consort’s courtyard quickly reached Princess Yunyin’s ears. Upon hearing that Xiao Yuan had a chance of regaining consciousness, Princess Yunyin’s face darkened.

“What a useless wench! She can’t even handle such a simple task. Not only did she fail, but she also left a trail!” she said angrily.

“Princess, that girl Ah Chan is already dead. It’s a case of ‘dead men tell no tales.’ Even if she said something, there’s no one to corroborate it. No one can blame this on you, Princess!”

“Hmph, even if they knew, what could they do? I am a princess of the Chen Imperial Family. I monitor officials, investigate treason, eliminate dissent, and punish those disobedient aristocratic families for my imperial brother. What’s wrong with that?”

Hearing her say this, Nurse Jiang responded with extreme flattery: “Yes!”

“However, that wench Xiao Jinyu does have some skills. She was actually able to pull Xiao Yuan, who was practically dead, back from the gates of hell. This Princess underestimated her before, otherwise I wouldn’t have…”

Thinking of this, Princess Yunyin, filled with regret and hatred, couldn’t help but clench her teeth. She thought to herself: The most hateful thing is that even if I want to skin her alive right now, at this very moment, I still have to go and smile at her, begging her to save my son!

“Your Highness, is that Divine Physician not here yet? I’m afraid that if we delay any longer, the Young Master will truly be beyond saving!” At this time, Physician Liu Lü ran over to urge her.

“How is Yunlang now?”

“He’s in agonizing pain, and the wound is even more swollen. His forehead is burning hot, and there seem to be symptoms of internal heat. I just gave him some herbal decoction, and he’s currently asleep. But the Young Master’s injury really cannot be delayed any longer!”

“That wench! She doesn’t seem to be in a hurry!”

After cursing angrily, Princess Yunyin finally couldn’t hold back any longer. She led seven or eight maidservants and stormed into the Left Consort’s Wutong Courtyard. She saw Feng Dong and You Tan, two servants, each carrying a box, and Xiao Xian pushing a wheelchair, about to leave. Sitting in the wheelchair was Xiao Yuan.

Xiao Yuan had already changed into a clean red-gold striped dress and was covered with a light gauze robe. The deathly pallor had faded from her face, and her previously dark lips now had a hint of redness.

Xiao Jinyu was walking at the very front.

Seeing that Xiao Yuan was still alive and sitting in the wheelchair, a cold glint flashed in Princess Yunyin’s eyes.

“You’re done with your business now, right? It’s time for you to go to Yi Xiang Courtyard to treat my son, isn’t it?”

“Princess, don’t you have any idea where your son is injured? I’m still an unmarried young lady. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to enter your son’s courtyard, would it?” Xiao Jinyu said.

“What did you say? You wench, are you playing me for a fool!”

Princess Yunyin immediately glared at her, as if she wanted to devour her alive.

“Right Consort, please control your emotions. This is not the demeanor and grace befitting a princess of the Chen Clan. I just said that I wouldn’t enter your son’s courtyard, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t treat him.”

“Are you saying that you know how to treat him without even seeing him?” Princess Yunyin said mockingly. “Even Bian Que, when he met Duke Huan of Cai, had to stand at a distance before he could discern the Duke’s illness. You can treat him without even looking? Have you become a god?”

“How my Qing Gege treats his patients is none of your business. Are you going to treat him yourself, or are we going to treat him?” Fenghuang said angrily.

Princess Yunyin was so angry that she was speechless.

At this time, Xiao Jinyu said, “Call your physician here. I’ll teach him how to treat him!”

Seeing Xiao Jinyu’s calm and composed demeanor, as if she had everything under control, Princess Yunyin had no choice but to suppress her anger. She hurriedly called for a maidservant to summon Liu Lü.

When Liu Lü heard that a Divine Physician had entered the residence and was willing to teach him how to treat the illness, he was overjoyed and immediately rushed over with the maidservant.

“Where is the Divine Physician?”

As soon as he entered Wutong Courtyard, he looked around, but he couldn’t find the physician he had imagined.

“Where are you looking? Isn’t she right here?” It was Feng Dong who pointed at Xiao Jinyu and reminded him.

Liu Lü’s gaze finally landed on Xiao Jinyu, and his expression immediately revealed surprise and bewilderment.

“Such a young lady, a Divine Physician?”

“Fenghuang, get me paper and a brush!”

Ignoring Liu Lü’s astonishment, Xiao Jinyu immediately asked Fenghuang to bring her brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. She quickly wrote down a prescription and handed it to Liu Lü.

“Use this prescription. The swelling and fever will subside overnight, and new flesh will grow tomorrow…” she said.

Liu Lü took the prescription and studied it carefully for a while. Although he recognized every medicinal herb on the prescription, he couldn’t understand this particular combination at all.

“Young Lady, these are just ordinary herbs. Can they really cure…”

“If you don’t believe it, you don’t have to try it!” Fenghuang interjected.

Liu Lü was skeptical. His gaze shifted, and he suddenly noticed that the Left Consort, who had been bedridden and practically a living skeleton, was now sitting in a wheelchair. Although her expression was somewhat vacant, she was clearly in better spirits and didn’t look like she was about to die.

Could it be?

Suddenly thinking of something, Liu Lü looked at Xiao Jinyu again and said with a smile, “It’s not that I don’t believe you, Young Lady. I’ll give it a try tonight.”

✿✿✿

Xiao Jinyu nodded and looked back at Xiao Xian, signaling for everyone to leave quickly. Unexpectedly, Princess Yunyin suddenly called her servants to block their way.

“To prove that your prescription really works, you will stay in the residence tonight.”

“No!” Xiao Tenth Miss immediately retorted. Xiao Xian also looked worried.

“Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, I’ll have all these people around you buried with him!” Princess Yunyin added.

Fenghuang angrily stepped forward, but Xiao Jinyu stopped him and said, “Alright, I can stay. However, I don’t want anyone to disturb me tonight. Give me a secluded place to stay!”

“A’yu—” Xiao Xian worriedly tried to stop her. “If you stay, then we’ll stay together!”

“No, it’s not suitable for you to stay here anymore. Go to my Early Spring Courtyard.” Saying this, Xiao Jinyu looked at Xiao Xian and smiled. “Uncle Xian, don’t worry. Before Xiao Yun recovers, Princess Yunyin won’t be foolish enough to try to assassinate him again. Am I right?”

She looked at Princess Yunyin as she asked the last question.

“Likewise, if any of these people around me are harmed, I can’t guarantee that Xiao Yun will be able to recover like a normal person!”

Princess Yunyin gritted her teeth and clenched her fists again.

After a pause, Xiao Jinyu reminded her again, “And the medical fee I asked for, 50,000 strings of cash, please send it over immediately!”

✿✿✿

No matter how unwilling she was, Princess Yunyin still sent the 50,000 strings of cash to Xiao Jinyu and ordered her servants to prepare a clean room for her. It wasn’t far from Xiao Yun’s Yi Xiang Courtyard, but it was separated by a rock garden, several pavilions, and a winding path leading to a secluded spot. Ancient trees towered overhead, and green pines brushed against the eaves. Although the room was simple, it was indeed quiet and undisturbed.

Xiao Jinyu handed the 50,000 strings of cash to Xiao Xian, who then took her grandmother, Tenth Miss, and two servants to Early Spring Courtyard. She only kept Fenghuang with her.

As night fell, the moonlight poured down like silver. Xiao Jinyu suddenly walked out of the room and looked up at the starry night sky, lost in thought.

“I can’t believe Princess Yunyin would so brazenly poison the Left Consort of the Xiao Family. I bet the epidemic that plagued the Xiao Family before was also her doing!”

Fenghuang’s voice came from behind her. He then asked, “Qing Gege, you had Uncle Xian, Tenth Miss, and the Left Consort leave the Xiao Residence because you were afraid that they would be harmed by Princess Yunyin, right? Did you discover something in Uncle Xian’s courtyard?”

Xiao Jinyu nodded and looked up at the starry sky again. “The entire Xiao Residence is designed according to the Luoshu Nine Stars. However, Uncle Xian’s courtyard is near water, located in the center. The arrangement of the inner room is also extremely unfavorable for male offspring, bringing misfortune and death. The Left Consort’s courtyard, on the other hand, is near wood, located in the southeast. Its trigram indicates misfortune, unfavorable for the eldest daughter, prone to madness and mental instability.

It’s clear that the person who arranged these living quarters for them is very knowledgeable in Feng Shui and numerology and has been meticulously planning this for a long time.”

“But can Feng Shui and numerology really kill people invisibly?” Fenghuang asked curiously.

Xiao Jinyu smiled and shook her head. “Of course not. Feng Shui and numerology only influence a person’s fortune. The real killing intent is hidden inside that room. Uncle Xian is not a man who enjoys luxury, and he has been wary of Princess Yunyin all these years, so there aren’t many servants in his courtyard, nor are there many valuables. There are only some famous calligraphies and some silk scrolls.

Uncle Xian also knows a little about medicine, so he wouldn’t be fooled by anything he eats. Therefore, they applied some poisonous cinnabar to the walls of his room, and then combined it with the fragrance of some of the colorful plums, oleanders, or lily of the valley in his courtyard, creating a toxin that gradually weakens the body.”

Hearing this, Fenghuang was stunned and exclaimed, “What a vicious plan! Was this all designed by Princess Yunyin alone?”

Xiao Jinyu smiled, unconvinced. “I doubt it. This Princess Yunyin is arrogant and domineering, but she’s not very smart and has no respect for physicians. She doesn’t seem like someone who understands poison.”

Fenghuang pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement.

“Then who else could it be?” he asked. “Also, Qing Gege, why didn’t you demand the wealth and personal troops that the Xiao Clan Head left for Aunt? Wouldn’t all of Aunt’s hard work be wasted on that vicious woman?”

Xiao Jinyu smiled and said, “Wealth is just a worldly possession, far less important than people. If I gain the people, wealth will naturally follow. As for personal troops, we can also build our own, a group of people who are citizens in peacetime and soldiers in wartime. The most important thing about people is their sincerity and loyalty. If we win the hearts of the people, people will naturally come to us!”

Fenghuang’s eyes lit up as he listened. He looked at Xiao Jinyu and contemplated her words, as if mesmerized. In fact, many years later, when he led thousands of troops across battlefields, he would often recall these words, recall the young girl in black robes smiling gently at him under the moonlight. The moonlight draped over her like a veil, making her seem unreal!

At that moment, something seemed to strike his heart, something he would never be able to forget or let go of.

“Fenghuang, there’s something I need to discuss with you. I need to meet someone tonight and have a few words with him. Could you guard outside this house for me and make sure no one comes near? ”

Waiting outside meant that he had to avoid the meeting. This was probably the first time Xiao Jinyu had made such a request of him!

Fenghuang felt a little disappointed, but he nodded and said, “Alright!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Jinyu took out a bamboo tube from her medicine chest. She aimed it at the night sky and gently pressed it. A beam of fire shot up into the sky, then exploded like fireworks, scattering into countless tiny stars.

Almost the instant the firelight disappeared, a black shadow flew over the towering ancient trees and landed right in front of Xiao Jinyu.

The newcomer was dressed in a black robe and wore a mask that covered half his face. A clear scar could be seen on his chin.

It was Ling Ye!