The Splendid Brocade of the Painting Physician – Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Assassination

After parking the carriage to the side, Fenghuang brought Xiao Jinyu to a stop in front of a tavern called “Phoenix Arrives Residence”. People were coming and going in front of the tavern, and the inside was also very noisy and lively, all of which showed that the tavern’s business was booming. Moreover, judging from the carriages parked in front of the door, it could be seen that the people who came here were either rich or noble, all of them people of status.

The Northern Regions also did not lack handsome young masters from aristocratic families. At this time, a group of young masters in flowing sleeves, wearing wooden clogs, walked towards the tavern, talking and laughing. After Fenghuang glanced at these young masters, he took Xiao Jinyu’s hand and found a window seat to sit down.

“Waiter, bring us two plates of Lotus Chicken Slices and Braised Lyre Fish!”

After shouting this sentence, the boy happily observed the people and things around him.

“The few who came in before us just now seem to be young masters from the Zhao Commandery Li Clan and the Boling Cui Clan.” As soon as they were free, the boy began to talk to her endlessly about the current situation, “The Zhao Commandery Li and the Boling Cui are both illustrious clans of Shandong, and together with the Taiyuan Wang Clan, the Fanyang Lu Clan, and the Yingyang Zheng Clan, they are known as the five prominent families of the Central Plains. Now, both the Zhao Commandery Li Clan and the Boling Cui Clan have people serving as high officials in the Qi State, but I’m afraid their days are not very easy.”

“Why is that?” Xiao Jinyu asked casually.

The boy then said in a delicate voice: “I heard that in the early years, when Emperor Wenxuan, Gao Yang, was alive, he once wrongly judged and exiled Cui Jilun, the head of the Boling Cui Clan. Later, Emperor Wenxuan’s younger sister, Princess Le’an, married into the Cui family. When Emperor Wenxuan asked about her married life, the Princess replied that she was disliked by the family. So, Emperor Wenxuan went to the Cui family and killed Lady Li, the old madam of the Cui family.”

“Also, there’s Empress Li Zue, the wife of Emperor Wenxuan. After Emperor Wenxuan died, she was taken to the harem by the current Son of Heaven, Gao Zhan, and was forcibly occupied and humiliated. Later, the Empress gave birth to a daughter who died. Gao Zhan thought that the Empress had killed her, so he killed the Empress’s son in a fit of rage. The Empress was heartbroken and denounced Gao Zhan. Gao Zhan then beat the Empress severely, leaving her covered in blood and in excruciating pain. In the end, he even forced her to become a nun.”

After a pause, he explained to Xiao Jinyu, “This Empress Li came from the Zhao Commandery Li Clan. Although these two families have marriage ties with the Gao imperial family, being close to the emperor is like being close to a tiger. I’m afraid their days are spent walking on thin ice.”

After finishing speaking, he saw that Xiao Jinyu had put down her teacup and was looking at him with a surprised expression. He smiled sheepishly and said, “Qing Gege, why are you looking at me like that?”

“You seem to know a lot about the secrets of the Gao imperial family,” Xiao Jinyu said with a smile.

The boy said without modesty, “Of course, I love to hear these things, and these matters of the Gao family are no longer secrets.”

Xiao Jinyu nodded with a smile and said no more. At this time, a waiter with a towel around his neck came over with two plates of dishes, shouting as he placed the two plates of Lotus Chicken Slices in front of Xiao Jinyu and Fenghuang respectively.

“Please enjoy your meal, gentlemen!” The waiter grinned obsequiously. After sizing up Xiao Jinyu and Fenghuang, he bowed and retreated.

Looking at the tender, white, glossy, and plump chicken slices on the plate, Fenghuang could no longer bear his hunger and picked up his chopsticks to take a slice into his mouth, saying “delicious” repeatedly as he ate.

Xiao Jinyu couldn’t help but smile as she watched. She also picked up her chopsticks and was about to eat when she caught a glimpse of the waiter who had just left standing in the hall not far from them, squinting at them with a sinister look in his eyes.

“Fenghuang, stop eating! Spit out what you’ve eaten!” Xiao Jinyu suddenly shouted.

The boy realized what was going on and abruptly overturned the table in front of him, vomiting violently. At that moment, a gleaming broadsword came hacking towards them.

The sword’s momentum was swift and aimed directly at Xiao Jinyu. Seeing the sword about to approach Xiao Jinyu, the boy raised his hand and smashed a porcelain plate on the table, picking up a shard and slashing it fiercely towards the attacker’s throat.

With a “puff” sound, blood splattered everywhere, and the attacker’s offensive came to an abrupt halt. The tip of the broadsword stopped right at Xiao Jinyu’s neck, a hair’s breadth away.

There was an immediate wave of terrified screams in the tavern. The female guests either huddled together or scattered in all directions, while the male guests also left one after another. In the end, only the few elegantly dressed noble young masters remained to watch.

“This young master has such swift movements,” one of the young masters exclaimed.

“Indeed, to have such high martial arts skills at such a young age is truly remarkable,” another young master said.

“I never thought that such a violent incident could happen in such a large tavern in Xuzhou.”

There was more than one assassin. After the waiter who had attacked Xiao Jinyu fell, a group of disguised men in black emerged from the tavern, surrounding Xiao Jinyu and Fenghuang.

“This kid has been poisoned. We don’t need to be afraid of them. Kill them, and the master will reward us handsomely.”

Perhaps knowing that the matter had been exposed and that there was no point in concealing it any longer, one of the assassins simply emboldened himself and shouted.

At his command, seven or eight men in black, wielding broadswords, charged towards Fenghuang and Xiao Jinyu. Fenghuang’s face changed drastically, and he immediately stood in front of Xiao Jinyu.

A flurry of swords and shadows instantly stirred up a bloody storm in the tavern.

One boy against seven or eight strong adult men was ultimately a bit overwhelming, especially since he had just eaten the poisoned Lotus Chicken Slices. Soon, he was at a disadvantage.

Seeing the broadsword approaching and unable to defend himself, the boy simply closed his eyes and firmly shielded Xiao Jinyu. At that moment, a clear shout suddenly rang out from the tavern: “Stop! Who is causing trouble here?”

The voice was clear and melodious, resonant and powerful. Along with the voice came the sound of heavy footsteps filled with a murderous aura. Everyone saw a group of tall and mighty soldiers walking in.

“It’s Prince of Lanling!” someone shouted.

Amidst a chorus of surprised voices, Prince of Lanling, clad in white robes and armor, strode towards them, waving his hand to signal his soldiers to apprehend the assassins in black.

The men in black in the tavern were once again surrounded by a group of armored soldiers. Seeing that the newcomer was the Prince of Lanling, who was rumored to be gentle in appearance but strong in heart, several assassins turned pale with fear. But the situation had come to this, and there was no escape. The leading assassin actually took out a jade tablet and looked at Prince of Lanling, saying, “Prince of Lanling, I advise you not to meddle in other people’s business. These two are wanted by the court, and we are ordered to take them back.”

Seeing the jade tablet, Prince of Lanling hesitated for a moment and asked, “What crime have they committed?”

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“Please forgive me for not being able to tell you,” the assassin replied, and then ignored Prince of Lanling, making a horizontal slashing gesture to his men. Several men in black were about to step forward but were immediately pinned down and forced to kneel by a group of black-armored guards who surged forward.

“Prince of Lanling, what are you doing?” The leading assassin was shocked and shouted angrily.

Prince of Lanling smiled and said, “I, Gao Changgong, hate those who bully the weak. A teenager and a child under ten years old, I really can’t see how they pose any threat to the court? As for you, holding a jade tablet of unknown authenticity, you dare to ride roughshod over me, Gao Changgong? Are you looking down on me, Gao?”

The assassin’s face suddenly turned livid. It seemed that he had misjudged Prince of Lanling’s character, thinking that he was not someone who liked to meddle in other people’s business and stir up trouble. At this moment, he felt both angry and afraid, and hurriedly bowed his head to apologize, “Yes, I deserve to die for my offense. I have offended Your Highness. I beg Your Highness for forgiveness. But these two people…”

“You don’t need to worry about these two people. As for you, I, Gao, have to take care of it. Holding a jade tablet, you dare to disturb the peace in Pengcheng. Who gave you such audacity? Come, arrest them and send them to the nearby yamen to investigate their identities!”

“Yes!”

Several soldiers responded in unison. One grabbed each of the men in black and walked out of the tavern.

Prince of Lanling was also about to leave, but his footsteps suddenly stopped. He turned around and saw that the boy’s lips were turning purple, as if he was about to collapse. The “young man in white” beside him hurriedly embraced him.

“Qing Gege, I’m afraid I won’t be able to protect you anymore,” the boy said, his face gradually turning pale and his breathing becoming weak.

“What a pity, I’m afraid this young master won’t live much longer,” someone in the tavern sighed, his voice full of regret. But it was only regret. Living in this era, they couldn’t even guarantee whether they would be alive tomorrow. Life and death had become very insignificant to them.

However, someone came over and said, “Beauty fades easily, but a good match is hard to find. As Ruan Buping once said: Life is like dust and dew, the way of heaven is vast and boundless. This young master, please accept my condolences.”

The man who offered his condolences was wearing a tall hat and a wide belt, his clothes elegant and refined. He was the young master from the Boling Cui Clan.

However, he only offered a few words of comfort when he heard Xiao Jinyu say softly, “Don’t speak!” Then, she suddenly lifted her veil and kissed the poisoned boy’s purple lips.

This action shocked the aristocratic young masters who were watching. They knew that if the poison could spread, Xiao Jinyu’s action meant that he wanted to die with the boy.

“Why go to such lengths?”

Even Prince of Lanling, who was standing by the side, seemed to be unable to bear it. The others shook their heads and sighed.

“Let’s go, Saburo. If someone is determined to die, even Buddha can’t stop them. We can’t do anything about it. Stop watching, let’s go!” Another young master pulled the young master from the Boling Cui Clan and said.

Just as they were about to leave, they heard another voice exclaim in surprise, “Hey, look!”

Look at what?

The young masters curiously looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Xiao Jinyu had found a black box from somewhere and was taking out some silver needles, swiftly inserting them into the boy’s Lingtai and Baihui acupoints. Then, she rummaged through the black box again and took out some strangely shaped dried fruits, bark, and leaves, putting them into her mouth and then transferring them into the boy’s mouth after a while.

Within a quarter of an hour, fine beads of sweat had appeared on Xiao Jinyu’s smooth forehead, and her luscious lips were even redder, as if she was extremely exhausted. After carefully putting the boy down, she leaned back and closed her eyes to rest, her chest rising and falling with her gentle breaths, and a faint blush appearing on her jade-like cheeks.

“Hey, this young master is exceptionally slender and fair, with a beautiful face. He doesn’t look like a young master but rather like a young lady.” One of the young masters said, then frowned in thought as if he had discovered something, “This face… where have I seen it before?”

“Shi’erlang, stop joking. You say you’ve seen every beautiful young lady somewhere before,” another teased.

Unlike the young masters who were joking, Prince of Lanling had been silent, only silently observing the “brother and sister”. He saw that after the “young man in white” had administered the needles and medicine, the black and purple color on the boy’s lips gradually faded, and he slowly regained consciousness.

“Look, look, he’s awake! It seems like this young master has come back to life,” someone exclaimed in surprise.

The gazes of several young masters were instantly drawn over. They saw that the boy who had been on the verge of death just now was now kneeling beside the “young man in white”, full of life, calling out urgently, “Qing Gege…”

“Don’t move, I just suppressed the toxicity for you. To completely cure it, we still need a snake gallbladder, but we can use ground rhinoceros horn, combined with Angelica dahurica and honeysuckle as a substitute,” Xiao Jinyu said.

“Okay, let’s find an inn to stay at, and I’ll grind the rhinoceros horn right away,” the boy nodded repeatedly.

The onlookers all opened their mouths wide, no longer laughing and joking or lamenting the fleeting beauty of spring. They all showed expressions of disbelief and astonishment!

So he’s a divine physician!