The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Recognition

Seeing that the visitor was Ling Ye, Fenghuang also stood up in shock.

Ling Ye was even more stunned as he stared at Xiao Jinyu, his eyes behind the mask filled with a mixture of complex emotions: shock, surprise, bewilderment, and even joy.

Seeing Fenghuang present, he remained silent, and Xiao Jinyu merely responded with a smile.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come. Have you finally remembered to see me?” she said.

“Yes, Young Lady!” Ling Ye, as if awakening from a dream, bowed and said, “Please save me, Madam!”

“Come with me to the room!” Xiao Jinyu said.

Ling Ye nodded and followed Xiao Jinyu into the simply furnished room, while Fenghuang stayed outside to keep watch as instructed.

“To be an emperor in times of prosperity does not necessarily mean nobility; to be a commoner in times of poverty does not necessarily mean lowliness. The distinction between noble and lowly lies in the virtue of one’s actions. The Xie family, by my generation, need not cling to past glories. My Xie Clan values character above social status!”

These were the first words she had spoken to Ling Ye when he was still a vagrant. Ling Ye came from a humble background, his parents had died early, and he only had a younger sister to depend on. The siblings made a living by selling candy. Unexpectedly, one day, his younger sister was taken by Xiao Zhengde, the Marquis of Leshan, and forced to become his concubine. The young girl, only twelve or thirteen years old, unable to bear the humiliation, committed suicide.

Ling Ye buried his younger sister with grief and wanted to sell himself as a personal soldier to a noble family to learn martial arts and avenge his younger sister. At that time, he was wandering the streets as a beggar, ragged and emaciated, and no one was willing to take him in. Xie Yuqing happened to pass by and took him in as her personal soldier, spending a fortune to hire martial arts experts to teach him.

Ling Ye also had a great talent for martial arts. In just three years, even the master who taught him was no match for him.

Later, she planned the assassination of Xiao Zhengde, and Ling Ye personally killed his enemy, avenging his younger sister and fulfilling his wish.

Thinking of this, Xiao Jinyu said, “Ling Ye, long time no see!”

Ling Ye was stunned again. If the bamboo tube fireworks just now only gave him some extravagant hope and suspicion, then this sentence made him certain of his guess and thoughts.

Suddenly, he knelt on one knee and said with tears in his eyes, “So you really are the Young Lady! It’s Ling Ye’s incompetence that caused the Young Lady to be trapped alone in the enemy’s encirclement…”

“What’s past is past, let’s not talk about it anymore.” Xiao Jinyu said, “Get up! Ling Ye, I still need your help.”

“Yes!”

Ling Ye stood up, looked at Xiao Jinyu’s face with great puzzlement, and asked, “They all said that the Young Lady was dead, and I also saw the Young Lady’s… What’s going on?”

Xiao Jinyu smiled and replied, “You may not believe it, but there are always unexplainable wonders in this world. What I can tell you now is that I was summoned by her. Now I am both Xie Yuqing and Xiao Jinyu!”

Ling Ye seemed to understand but was already convinced. The familiarity he felt from their first meeting, the silent attention he paid to everything about her, until he saw her pleading for her mother on the street, later using her medical skills to treat Xiao Xian, and confronting Princess Yunyin with neither servility nor arrogance, that fearless demeanor and grace were exactly the same as the Young Lady twenty years ago.

“Yes, Young Lady, whatever you need Ling Ye to do, no matter what it is, Ling Ye will go through fire and water, and die without regret!”

“Help me protect Xiao Xian and his family!” Xiao Jinyu immediately replied, “Also, gather our scattered personal soldiers in Jiankang and recruit some wandering martial artists or vagrants for my use. I need to cultivate another group of personal soldiers that belong to us. I’ll provide the money!”

Ling Ye was slightly surprised, “Gathering the scattered personal soldiers or recruiting wandering martial artists and vagrants, Ling Ye can do it, but protecting Xiao Xian? Young Lady, Ling Ye’s lifelong mission is to protect you! Last time, because of the Young Lady’s order, Ling Ye took the Young Master and the young ladies to escape from Jiangling, but left the Young Lady…”

Speaking of this, Ling Ye seemed to be saddened.

Xiao Jinyu then said, “It’s all in the past, Ling Ye, don’t be sad. Asking you to protect Xiao Xian is the reward I should give for returning to this world. Protecting her family and clearing her parents’ names is her wish, and now it’s also my wish.”

“But Young Lady, you…”

“I still have Fenghuang by my side. Don’t look at his young age, his martial arts skills are not much worse than yours. Moreover, Ling Ye, if you stay by my side all the time, it will attract more attention. I also need you to teach Xiao Xian some self-defense skills.”

“But the identity of this Northern Barbarian boy, does the Young Lady know him? Will he always be loyal to the Young Lady?”

Facing Ling Ye’s question, Xiao Jinyu smiled and said, “Since I woke up, Fenghuang has saved my life many times. As for his identity… Ling Ye, I said, my Xie Clan values character, not social status. And I can probably guess who he is, but it doesn’t matter to me.”

Social status, including who he was in the past, didn’t matter. What mattered was the present, only this person. The Young Lady had always treated him this way!

Ling Ye understood her meaning and said no more.

“By the way, how are A’zhen and the others doing?”

✿✿✿

Suddenly asking about the Young Master, Ling Ye smiled and replied, “The Young Master and the young ladies are doing very well in the Northern Zhou territory. Young Master Zhen has been devoted to his studies and is now a companion to Prince Zhao, Yuwen Zhao. Young Lady Xuan is also doing well, always remembering what the Young Lady said, keeping a low profile and accumulating strength for the Xie Clan. Now, the personal soldiers that the Young Lady left for them are also in Young Lady Xuan’s hands.”

Xiao Jinyu nodded and remained silent for a moment.

“Now the one in power in the Northern Zhou is Yuwen Hu. I heard that this person is very good at strategy and ruthless, having killed three emperors in a row, is that right?” she suddenly asked.

Ling Ye nodded, “Yes, Emperor Gong of Western Wei abdicated to Yuwen Jue, the son of Yuwen Tai, which was orchestrated by Yuwen Hu. After that, Yuwen Hu held great power and gradually controlled the court. The decisions of deposing and enthroning emperors were all made by him. After Yuwen Jue ascended the throne and established the Zhou Dynasty, he wanted to rule personally, so Yuwen Hu conspired with Yuchi Gang to force him to abdicate to Yuwen Yu. Then this young emperor was very diligent in government affairs, working hard to rule, treating scholars with courtesy, and winning the hearts of the people. But unfortunately, he died of illness less than a year after he ascended the throne.”

“I see!” Xiao Jinyu said, “The so-called death from illness should also be Yuwen Hu’s means of deceiving people. The more popular this young emperor was, the more afraid Yuwen Hu would be.”

Ling Ye pondered for a moment and also said,

“Maybe so, there are also rumors among the people that Yuwen Yu was probably killed by Yuwen Hu, but no one knows the truth.”

Xiao Jinyu was silent, and after thinking for a while, she suddenly said,

“It seems that the Zhou Dynasty is not a place to stay for long. I have to find a suitable opportunity and find a way to bring A’zhen and the others back to their homeland.”

After saying that, she looked at Ling Ye seriously and said, “Ling Ye, help me send a message to A’zhen. I will make his name famous in Jiankang. Let him hide his identity for now and protect himself with A’xuan.”

“Make his name famous in Jiankang?” Ling Ye said in surprise, “What is the Young Lady going to do? The current emperor of the Chen Dynasty is Chen Xu! If he knows that the Young Lady…”

Xiao Jinyu smiled.

“Things are different now. When he killed me, he was just a hostage held by the Prince of Xiangdong in Jiangling. I’m afraid no one knows that I died at his hands. But now he is the emperor of a country, he must cherish his reputation and maintain his image as a wise ruler. After all, my Xie Clan has inherited three hundred years of glory. Even though the family has declined now, its reputation remains. He doesn’t dare to kill me!”

“But Chen Xu is too insidious and cunning, I’m worried…”

“That he will assassinate me again?” Xiao Jinyu interrupted and said with a smile, “If the emperor of a country is so narrow-minded, then his throne should be coming to an end. Besides, Ling Ye, I still have some unfinished business that I don’t quite understand. Do you know if there is a person named Xiao Jian among the direct descendants of Crown Prince Zhao Ming?”

Ling Ye thought for a moment and shook his head, “I know the same as the Young Lady. Crown Prince Zhao Ming only had five sons in his life. The eldest legitimate son, Xiao Huan, unfortunately, died early. The second son, Xiao Yu, was killed by his uncle, the Prince of Xiangdong, during the Hou Jing Rebellion. After the Western Wei army captured Jiangling, the third son, Xiao Cha, proclaimed himself emperor in Jiangling. Now he only occupies three hundred miles of land outside Jingzhou and Jiangling, calling it the Liang State. But he is controlled by the Western Wei and is now also a vassal of the Northern Zhou.”

“Xiao Cha proclaimed himself emperor in Jiangling?”

“Yes, because Xiao Yu died at the hands of his uncle, the Prince of Xiangdong, Xiao Cha, in order to protect himself, asked for the help of the Western Wei, so he led the Western Wei army south and killed Xiao Yi, the Emperor Yuan of Liang, who had already proclaimed himself emperor. But since then, the government decrees have not been effective, and the feudal lords in various places have begun to control their own troops. Not long after, Bashu and Hanzhong fell into the hands of the Western Wei, which is now the Zhou Dynasty. The north of the Yangtze River also fell to the Gao family of the Northern Qi, and the Southern Liang was thus divided…”

Hearing the fate of Crown Prince Zhao Ming’s sons, Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but feel sad. The Crown Prince was kind all his life, believed in Buddhism, was compassionate, loved landscapes and did not indulge in women. He could be said to be a perfect person with both virtue and appearance. But she didn’t expect that when Emperor Liang was trapped in Jiankang and the country was destroyed, his sons, Xiao Cha and Xiao Yu, would fight for power and profit like the other sons of Emperor Liang, regardless of their brotherhood, and even cooperate with the Western Wei to betray their country for glory.

But she only pondered for a moment and then said, “Then the Lanling Xiao Clan in Jiankang now is not the direct lineage of Crown Prince Zhao Ming, but why do they claim to be the direct lineage?”

Ling Ye seemed to be thinking about something, and then he heard her say,

“This Xiao Jian, as the head of the Xiao family, is like a puppet, completely without his own opinions, listening to everything Princess Yunyin says, even ignoring his own children, which is why the Xiao family’s descendants have ended up with so few offspring…”

Mentioning the current situation of the Xiao family, Ling Ye couldn’t help but worry.

“Young Lady, the Xiao family is now under the control of Princess Yunyin. If the Young Lady is still trapped in the Xiao family, then Princess Yunyin will definitely attack the Young Lady again. Why don’t I take you out now and then kill this Princess Yunyin to eliminate future troubles for the Young Lady!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Xiao Jinyu.

“No, this Princess Yunyin can infiltrate the Xiao family so thoroughly, it’s definitely not just her own ability. She now also controls the Xiao family’s personal soldiers. Not to mention that killing her will cause a huge commotion, it will be very detrimental to your and even my plan. And…”

Speaking of this, she looked at the knife wound on Ling Ye’s chin and his chest,

“You are also seriously injured now. This injury is not a new one from killing a few assassins last night, but an old one!” She paused and asked with concern, “How did you get this injury? Why are you so seriously injured?”