Chapter 139: The Divine Doctor Seeks to Marry the Flowery Peacock

Chapter 139: The Divine Physician Seeks the Flowery Peacock's Hand

"Father, what do you think?"

At the crossroads just outside the capital, Xiao Baiyu, dressed in white, addressed his father Xiao Qisheng softly.

Xiao Qisheng, like his son, was renowned for his gentle nature—warm, kind, and compassionate, called "the Living Bodhisattva" by his patients. But at this moment, this "Living Bodhisattva" was about to turn into a "Flaming Bodhisattva."

Xiao Qisheng pointed at Xiao Baiyu with a trembling hand, his eyes blazing with fury. "You still dare to ask me?"

Xiao Baiyu lowered his head, his expression humble. "It's about marriage, after all, so of course I have to ask you, Father."

Seeing him like this only made Xiao Qisheng angrier. "Now you remember to ask me! You—when you were bullying little Zhao, why didn't you think of me then?" The more he thought about it, the angrier he grew. "He's so young! How could you touch him? He's your junior martial brother!"

Xiao Qisheng had spent years traveling around as a wandering doctor, and Xiao Baiyu had been chasing after He Zhao the whole time, so the two rarely got to talk face-to-face. This time, the Emperor happened to summon both of them, and after they'd taken care of official business, Xiao Baiyu mentioned that he planned to marry He Zhao.

At first, Xiao Qisheng thought he must still be dreaming. He asked Xiao Baiyu several times if he'd heard right, but every time, Xiao Baiyu firmly confirmed he'd heard correctly.

His own son wanting to marry his adopted son—Xiao Qisheng felt like he'd been struck by lightning. Once he snapped out of it, he immediately demanded to know why Xiao Baiyu had suddenly decided this. Xiao Baiyu said he'd lost control and forced himself on He Zhao.

Xiao Qisheng was stunned for a few seconds, then slapped Xiao Baiyu several times without mercy, cursing him out as a scoundrel and saying that if Xiao Baiyu weren't his son, he'd beat him to death.

"Father, what do you think of setting our wedding for the Mid-Autumn Festival?" Xiao Baiyu, despite the slaps, still dared to push his luck.

"No." Xiao Qisheng refused flat-out, still uneasy about it. "Let me think this over."

Hearing this, Xiao Baiyu said with a hint of melancholy, "Then you might lose Zhou Zhou as a son, Father."

Xiao Qisheng: "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Zhou Zhou seems to have fallen for someone recently. He even said he wants to be with that person for life, just the two of them." Xiao Baiyu explained, putting on a sad face.

"What? Little Zhao's not into you anymore?" Xiao Qisheng never expected his own son to be so useless—couldn't even keep someone's heart.

"Yeah, his name's Qin Jiao. Zhou Zhou really likes him."

Xie Nai, who happened to overhear from nearby: "?"

Luo Bei, who also unintentionally caught the father-son conversation: "?"

What the hell? Xiao Baiyu's not even trying to make his lies believable?

Ignoring the weird looks from Xie Nai and Luo Bei, Xiao Baiyu kept spinning tales for his dad with a straight face. In the end, he bamboozled Xiao Qisheng until the old man was completely turned around.

"No! Little Zhao can't like someone else!!" Xiao Qisheng fumed.

His kid—the one he'd raised more dearly than his own flesh and blood—was about to be stolen away by someone else? No way! That couldn't happen!

"No, I'm going back right now to get ready. We'll have you married by the end of the year!"

Xiao Qisheng thought to himself: the moment he first laid eyes on He Zhao, he'd loved him to bits. He'd brought him home and raised him with care for all these years, and now someone was trying to steal him away?

Dream on! You can't force a duck onto a perch—no way! You can't pick up tofu with a hemp rope—don't even think about it!

"Thank you, Father, for granting this." Xiao Baiyu bowed to Xiao Qisheng, a faint smile of "mission accomplished" curling at the corner of his lowered lips.

Poor Qin Jiao, all the way up in Lingbei, had inexplicably become the scapegoat for "stealing someone's man."

After Xiao Qisheng hurried off, Xie Nai rode up next to Xiao Baiyu. "When did He Zhao ever say he wanted to spend his life with Qin Jiao?"

Xiao Baiyu naturally knew what he was thinking. "No need to be jealous. You know I only said that to rile up my dad."

"What if Manor Lord Xiao gets too riled up?"

"He won't. I know my dad." Xiao Baiyu paused for a moment. "And I know Zhou Zhou too. He's always afraid of letting my dad down, so he won't really open his heart to me. But that's fine—I'll clear every obstacle out of our way."

Though Xiao Baiyu looked harmless and gentle, those who really knew him understood that he was deeply calculating, and once he set his heart on someone, he'd never let go.

After speaking, Xiao Baiyu glanced at Xie Nai and added, after a moment's thought, "If you ever need it, I can help you come up with a plan too."

"No need." Xie Nai refused flat-out, his voice firm and arrogant. "No one and nothing is worthy of standing between Qin Jiao and me."

Amid the howling wind, Xie Nai's calm words seemed to stir a thousand waves in an instant—mountains and rivers shook, dust swirled wildly. Time ground everything to dust, yet some convictions kept surging back and forth through the bustling days, fierce and unyielding.

...

He Zhao had been in Lingbei for over three months. Gradually, he discovered that the people of Lingbei were pros at finding ways to have fun—whenever they had nothing to do, they'd get together to play leaf cards and sip tea.

In early summer, the shade was just right. A deck of cards under the tree, a pot of tea on the table, a tabby cat curled up at your feet—that was the good life.

One lazy afternoon, He Zhao set up a table and invited Qin Jiao, Military Doctor Hou, and Cong Shuang to play leaf cards.

Qin Jiao wasn't all that into leaf cards, but Military Doctor Hou and Cong Shuang—both homebodies—really liked it. They picked it up fast too; He Zhao only had to teach them once before they got the hang of it.

The card table was set up by the window, looking out over a tributary of the Fengwu River. He Zhao and the others had really bought a fantastic place—facing the river and backed by the mountains, with a lush elm tree growing right outside the window.

That elm tree was pretty old, with dense branches and a crown that spread out like an umbrella. Its roots grew in the water, and the parts above the surface were covered in thick moss, from which sprouted unknown climbing vines that nearly covered the whole window. With the old elm's huge shadow on top of that, this spot was truly a peaceful escape from the summer heat.

"Qin Jiao, you lost!" After one round, Qin Jiao lost right off the bat. He Zhao smugly held out his hand. "Pay up!"

Qin Jiao paid up right away without complaint, then declared with confidence, "Sooner or later, I'll make you pay for that!"

He Zhao let out a wild laugh. "A dead duck still has a stiff beak! Come on, let's play another round!"

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