Chapter 62

Chapter 62

Ritana, the Princess of Rong, was the only legitimate princess of the Rong Kingdom, treasured by the king like a pearl in his palm, and her several brothers also indulged her every whim. She had been interested in the culture of Great Qi since childhood, so the king found her a teacher from Great Qi. She often heard this teacher speak of Great Qi and longed to go there.

Most Rong men were burly and strong, with dark skin and outgoing personalities. They were skilled at riding, archery, and fighting, but few could compose poetry or paint. But the men of Great Qi that the teacher described, especially the royals and noble scions, were mostly fair-skinned, elegant, and refined. Not only could they compose poetry and paint, but they also excelled in horseback riding and archery—much stronger than Rong men.

Upon hearing the news of the diplomatic mission to Great Qi, Ritana begged the king to let her join, saying she would bring back a prince consort from Great Qi.

The Rong king naturally agreed, trusting his daughter’s judgment, believing she would never choose a commoner—only a royal relative or a noble scion.

Thus, it would both fulfill his daughter’s wishes and benefit diplomatic relations—which was killing two birds with one stone.

After a long journey, Ritana finally arrived at the Great Qi she had longed for. At the welcoming banquet, she met several princes of Great Qi: Prince Rui was handsome but arrogant, not taking her seriously despite her being a legitimate princess, and even shamelessly claimed that although her dancing was good, it couldn't compare to Princess Jing’s. Prince Yu was blind, Prince Kang was sickly, Prince Jing was a sycophant who only tried to please Prince Rui, and the Tenth Prince seemed not favored by the emperor, taciturn and didn’t even smile at her. She didn't take a liking to any of them.

As for the noble scions, some only knew poetry and painting, others only cockfighting and dog racing, while some whiled away their time in pleasure houses. There were also those who were diligent in official business and refined in manner, but most were too rigid and she disliked them.

In fact, some men were accomplished in both civil and martial arts, with good figures and handsome looks. Perhaps she had seen too many these days; some caught her eye, but none captured her heart.

Until one day, she passed by a rouge shop and saw a man buying rouge. Curious, she went up to talk to him.

The man had eyes like stars, brows like distant mountains, a refined temperament, and was courteous and dignified. He spoke unhurriedly, like a gentle breeze brushing her ears. When he smiled, it was like seeing the morning dawn, making her heart race.

The man said he had been busy with official duties and hadn’t been home for a long time, so he wanted to buy a box of rouge for his wife.

At that moment, with those words, her heart raced wildly. As her mother had always told her, if you meet someone you can’t take your eyes off, want to see them every moment, want to possess them, and want them to treat you the same way—then that's love.

Not only that, but Ritana also felt jealous. She wanted to know what kind of woman could be the wife of this man.

Why couldn’t she be his wife?

Since childhood, she had never failed to get anything she wanted.

The next day, she had someone investigate Zhu Shiliang.

The story of Zhu Shiliang and Lin Mei was not hard to find; it had spread throughout the streets and alleys.

Any normal woman would give up after learning about their relationship.

But this princess was different. She boldly requested an audience with the emperor to have Zhu Shiliang divorce his wife and go to Rong to be her prince consort.

The emperor knew about the feelings between Zhu Shiliang and Lin Mei. Back when Zhu Xun disapproved of the marriage and even tried to kill Lin Mei, Zhu Shiliang threatened to kill himself, causing an uproar across the capital. The emperor had long been fed up with this mess. Just as Old Nine came to plead, he issued a marriage decree, allowing Lin Mei to enter the Zhu family.

Zhu Shiliang was indeed a handsome and noble and upright man; it was normal for women to admire him.

But matters of feelings required mutual consent. The emperor advised, “As far as I know, Dr. Zhu and his wife are deeply in love. He will never divorce his wife.”

Ritana said, “That day, when Dr. Zhu looked at me, there was clearly affection. If Your Majesty doesn’t believe me, let Dr. Zhu decide for himself.”

The emperor shook his head. When Zhu Shiliang looked at anyone—unless he was giving them a cold glare—he looked at them like he had feelings, even if it was a dog.

“Since the princess says so, let Zhu Shiliang decide. Summon Zhu Shiliang.”

The emperor looked sternly at Ritana. “If Zhu Shiliang refuses, I hope the princess will give up and choose another man.”

Zhu Shiliang naturally refused, firmly rejecting Ritana. “I have no romantic feelings for the princess. Please choose another.”

He then bowed to the emperor. “Your subject will only have Lin Mei as his wife in this life. If I must divorce her and marry another, I would rather resign from office.”

Ritana grew very agitated, rising from her armchair and stepping up close to Zhu Shiliang. “Am I not as beautiful as Lin Mei? Is my status lower than hers? What does she have that I don't?”

Zhu Shiliang stepped back. “In my heart, my wife Lin Mei is the most beautiful woman in the world. No matter her status, she is the only one in my heart.” He looked coldly at Ritana. “I ask you to respect yourself!”

Just then, a young eunuch announced that Minister of Personnel Zhu Xun sought an audience.

Ritana wouldn't let it go. “That day we met, you clearly had feelings for me!”

Zhu Shiliang stepped back again. “I apologize, I made the princess misunderstand. I am willing to receive twenty strokes of the cane, and from now on, I will never look at the princess again.”

“You!” Ritana was furious. “You don't know what's good for you!”

She turned to the emperor. “If Dr. Zhu refuses, then the treaty between our two countries need not be signed!” The more Zhu Shiliang refused, the more determined she became to win him over. She was a princess who had never failed to get what she wanted.

The emperor detested being threatened, but for the sake of diplomacy, he couldn’t refuse outright. He was considering putting the matter aside for a few days to find another solution when Zhu Xun entered the imperial study.

Zhu Xun first glanced at Ritana, then bowed to the emperor. “Your Majesty, my son Zhu Shiliang is willing to divorce his wife.”

The emperor frowned. “Minister Zhu, are you truly going to break up this loving couple?”

Ritana immediately cut in, “Zhu Shiliang, doesn’t Great Qi place the utmost importance on filial piety? Your father has agreed, so why don’t you agree quickly!”

No one acknowledged Ritana.

Zhu Xun knelt. “Your Majesty, please hear me. Of the three unfilial acts, having no heir is the worst. Your subject has only Shiliang as his legitimate son. Lin Mei has the difficulty conceiving. The Zhu family's legitimate bloodline would be cut off.”

The emperor was momentarily speechless. Even as emperor, he couldn't meddle in a subject's family succession matters.

But he also understood that Zhu Xun did not agree to send Zhu Shiliang to Rong as a consort; he just wanted to use this chance to get rid of Lin Mei.

Looking at the three people in the room, the emperor got a headache. He waved his hand. “We will discuss this later. All of you, leave.”

“Yes.”

Zhu Xun and Zhu Shiliang withdrew.

But Ritana blocked the emperor’s path. “Great Emperor of Qi, I want only Zhu Shiliang as my prince consort. Otherwise, we will depart for Rong tomorrow, and the treaty will not be signed.”

The emperor dropped his kindly expression and looked sternly at Ritana. “If the princess insists, then leave tomorrow.”

The envoy behind Ritana quickly pulled her aside and bowed deeply to the emperor. “Your Majesty, please calm your anger. The princess has been spoiled by the king since childhood. Your Majesty’s heart is as vast as the blue sea; please do not hold it against her. We will do as Your Majesty wishes. The selection of the prince consort can be discussed in a few days, and the treaty will be negotiated and signed as usual.”

After saying this, he gave Ritana a signal. Seeing the envoy’s attitude, she finally softened and curtsied to the emperor. “Your Majesty, please forgive my inappropriate words.”

The emperor gave her an indifferent glance and left without a word.

Ritana was aggrieved. “Uncle Aji, before the mission, Father said I could freely choose a prince consort. If I chose a prince, I would stay in Great Qi as a consort; if I chose someone else, I could bring him back. Does that no longer count?”

Aji soothed her. “Princess, the Dr. Zhu you have chosen already has a wife, and they are deeply in love. If you force this, it will only end in bitter resentment. Please choose someone else.”

Hearing this, Ritana became even more stubborn. “I want him! I'm set on him!”

She swept away in a huff, and Aji shook his head, hurrying after her.

The news that the Rong princess had set her sights on Zhu Shiliang as her husband spread throughout the palace in half a day.

The news naturally reached He Ji and Qiao Yun’s ears, but their master’s treatment was crucial and could not be interrupted, or all previous efforts would be wasted. To let their master focus on treatment, they both tacitly chose not to say anything.

Before Xu Ping brought his senior brother to Shangjing, Qiao Yun and He Ji did not know that Chen Yingchou would take the risk to treat the eye ailment. Even when Crazy Doctor stood before them, they still tried to persuade their master to give up.

The result was predictable.

Chen Yingchou only said one sentence to shut them both up: "Either stay by my side, or get the hell out."

Xu Ping's senior disciple was surnamed Bai, and because he was the fourth child in the family, he was called Bai Si.

After examining Chen Yingchou's eyes and taking his pulse, Bai Si said there was a fifty-fifty chance of success.

Compared to ten or twenty percent, or eighty or ninety percent, fifty percent is the toughest to call.

But for Chen Yingchou, even if there was only a one percent chance, he'd still go through with the treatment.

Bai Si's treatment was divided into three steps. The first step involved daily acupuncture, taking medicine on time, and soaking in a medicinal bath every night. In the second step, in addition to taking medicine on schedule, the time for daily acupuncture and the medicinal bath was increased. The final and most critical step required daily acupuncture on the head with long needles, followed by fine needles on the eyes. To prevent the patient from moving due to pain, they'd be given an anesthetic powder so they wouldn't feel any pain, in order to unblock the meridians from the brain to the eyes. The slightest mistake could result in damage to other meridians, causing hemiplegia, loss of speech or hearing, or even severe cases of falling into a coma, with only breathing but no consciousness, in a permanent sleep.

The duration of each step was determined by Bai Si based on the condition, ranging from over thirty days to fifty or sixty days.

Chen Yingchou's condition was clearly not optimistic; two weeks had gone by, and the first step was not yet finished.

Just as Chen Yingchou finished his acupuncture, he heard someone shouting at the gate.

This courtyard was in a remote area; besides the few of them, only the people working for his father the emperor and mother the empress knew about it. The palace had sent someone that morning, so this should be someone else.

"Qiao Yun, go see which neighbor is here delivering something again."

A few days ago, He Ji, Qiao Yun, and Xu Ping had been coming and going frequently to buy the medicinal herbs Bai Si needed, attracting the attention of the neighbors.

Perhaps because Qiao Yun and He Ji were one tall and sturdy, the other handsome and polite, neighbors often came to ask about their birthdates, and women even brought them food.

When Qiao Yun opened the gate and saw it was the Guard Captain, he thought something had happened at the estate. After nervously listening to the Guard Captain, he let out a relieved sigh.

After a moment of thought, he said, "I'll tell He Ji to send a squad to look for Madam Zhu. Please tell the princess that on her birthday, the prince will definitely be back at the mansion."

After the Guard Captain left, Qiao Yun the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. The princess should have already sent people to the military camp and knew that the prince had been away for half a month, which was why she sent the Guard Captain.

Damn! Could the princess have gotten the wrong idea?

But he couldn't think too much about it. After discussing it with He Ji, they still decided to keep it from their master.

As for the princess's birthday, he'd just make up something and casually bring it up.

"Your Highness, I learned from Lanqiu that the princess's birthday is coming soon, on the sixth day of the third lunar month."

Chen Yingchou clearly didn't know when Wei Yalan's birthday was, and couldn't help but blame himself, then praised Qiao Yun.

Hearing the praise, Qiao Yun felt deeply guilty.

"Qiao Yun, go tell Divine Doctor Bai that on the sixth day of the third lunar month, I want to celebrate the princess's birthday with her. Just one night skipping the medicinal bath shouldn't set back the treatment. Have him figure out how to adjust the medication."

In this uncertain time between life and death, being able to celebrate Lan'er's birthday made him truly happy, and he even thanked the heavens for giving him this chance.

Seeing his master's joyful expression, Qiao Yun's eyes welled up.

He didn't know whether, amidst all the recent events—keeping secrets from his master on one hand and from the princess on the other—he had done wrong or right.