Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Kang Zhanxun wasn't just blowing smoke when he bragged about how handsome his son was.

The Dingbei Marquis's household might be riding high right now, but its foundation wasn't all that solid.

It had only been three generations since the old marquis—a farmer's kid who joined the army, made a name for himself, and won this title.

Since the family hadn't been rich for long, there hadn't been much time for the genes to upgrade, so most of the marquis's descendants were pretty average-looking.

The only exception was Kang Chenyi, who'd clearly taken after his mother and was a real looker for a kid his age.

Kang Zhanxun had always been proud of that—this was his real flesh and blood, not like that little bastard!

But right now, staring at his son's face, a nagging suspicion crept into his mind.

He couldn't help it—the longer he stared at his son, the more the kid looked like Han Zhang, the guy he'd run into earlier that day.

Even his favorite concubine's eyes and brows were eerily similar to Han Zhang's...

With that on his mind, Kang Zhanxun couldn't help asking, "Xiang Lian, I remember your family were farmers on the edge of the capital. When they sold you, was it to pay for your nephew's schooling?"

"Why would my lord suddenly ask about that?"

Xiang Lian's smile dimmed a little, a shadow of bitterness flickering in her eyes.

Honestly, her life before being sold off was a nightmare—her parents had never treated her right from the day she was born. Hard work, going hungry, sleeping in the woodshed—that was the easy part. Her parents were always beating and yelling at her, and in the end, they didn't give a damn about family ties and sold her straight into a brothel, that hellhole.

She'd long since written off that family and hadn't gone looking for them in years.

Kang Zhanxun didn't know the details of Xiang Lian's childhood, but the fact that her family sold her to a brothel was enough to figure out what her life at home had been like.

He couldn't help pulling his concubine into his arms to comfort her. After a moment, he decided to share his hunch.

"Here's the thing—today I ran into a poor student at the Imperial Academy, and I suddenly realized that you and Yi'er have eyes and brows that look a lot like his."

"That student also seems to come from a farming family on the edge of the capital. What a coincidence... I was wondering if he might be your nephew."

It was one thing for his son to look like the guy, but for his concubine to have similar features too—that was way too much of a coincidence.

"Is that so?"

Xiang Lian looked surprised, but inside, her heart sank.

Truth be told, she wasn't as sweet and gentle as she let on. If she'd been a pushover, her family would've crushed her years ago.

When her parents sold her to a brothel and she met Kang Zhanxun, who "rescued" her and brought her home, that was actually all part of her own scheme.

Otherwise, with just her looks and no brains or game, how could she have gotten a man of Kang Zhanxun's standing to keep her as his only concubine?

So once she became Kang Zhanxun's concubine, she used the marquis household's power to secretly and ruthlessly crush her own family!

She didn't go as far as killing them, out of respect for blood ties, but her family would never have a good life—they could rot at the bottom, suffering and toiling forever.

And now her lord was saying what? That he might have run into her nephew?

Could it be that her nephew actually had a knack for studying, and that her family, in the years she'd ignored them, had managed to turn their lives around?

The thought alone made Xiang Lian furious.

But on the surface, she kept up her usual sweet and gentle act, asking softly, "May I ask... what's this poor student's name?"

"His surname is Han—Han Qinzhang."

Kang Zhanxun said, recalling.

Hearing that, Xiang Lian let out a relieved breath and shook her head. "Then it's just a coincidence. My nephew doesn't have that name, and my family isn't surnamed Han."

"Is that so? But you and Yi'er really do look a lot like him..."

Kang Zhanxun was a bit disappointed.

He knew Xiang Lian's family was trash, but sometimes you had to set aside feelings and think about what was beneficial.

If Han Zhang really was Xiang Lian's nephew, then with capable relatives behind her, Xiang Lian's standing in the marquis's household would be a lot more solid.

After all, relying only on his protection had its weak spots, and his own situation wasn't exactly stable.

He'd heard Han Zhang was a solid student with a real shot at passing the imperial exams and a bright future ahead.

What a shame.

Xiang Lian, though, didn't care. She had zero desire to have anything to do with her family ever again.

"The world's a big place, full of all sorts of things. It's no surprise that people look alike sometimes."

Xiang Lian smiled and let it go.

"That's true..."

Kang Zhanxun nodded, and seeing that Xiang Lian didn't want to talk about her family anymore, he dropped it.

...

Kang Zhanxun had a decent impression of Han Zhang, but he didn't think much of him, and he had no intention of getting friendly.

That was because Han Zhang was tight with Shen Huaizhi and his crew, and Kang Zhanxun had never gotten along with those guys.

Han Zhang, on the other hand, was very interested in Kang Zhanxun.

After saying he'd dig into the Dingbei Marquis household's past, Han Zhang didn't waste any time. The very next day, he had Shen Qinglan use the family flower shop as a cover to sell several plants Han Zhang had personally grown straight into the marquis's estate.

As mentioned earlier, plants he temporarily controlled could only act as his eyes and ears for a short time.

But plants he'd grown from seed and modified with his power could serve as his "eyes and ears" for long-term surveillance.

These plants typically lived for about three to six months.

He refused to believe that with his plants listening day and night for that long, he wouldn't pick up something useful!

Meanwhile, at the Imperial Academy, besides hitting the books, Han Zhang was also quietly showing off his "medical" skills.

He'd been planning this for a long time.

His Plant Power didn't just speed up ripening—it could heal too. If he didn't create a "miracle doctor" persona for himself, it'd be a total waste.

As the saying goes, offend anyone, but never the doctor who can save your life.

If he could bring people back from the brink, once he entered court, others would think twice about messing with him, given that unique skill.

Of course, this was also to lay the groundwork for Kang Zhanxun to come seeking his help once he discovered his poison was incurable, which would naturally build a connection between them.

However, opportunities to show off "top-notch medical skills" didn't just fall into your lap.

Han Zhang had no choice but to pick some unlucky bastard and create his own opportunity again.

But he couldn't just pick anyone—nobody would trust a stranger's medical skills, especially someone as "amateur" as him.

So after mulling it over, Han Zhang once again set his sights on his "long-suffering brother," Old Shen.

After all, hadn't this brother-in-law made his life hell before?

Now being his guinea pig was just paying that debt back.

The ultimate sucker, Second Brother Shen: ???

And so, that day came.

In the lecture hall of the Imperial Academy's D-class dormitory, the instructor was droning on about the deeper meanings of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Shen Huaizhi sat by the window, half-asleep from the lecture, when suddenly a sharp pain twisted in his gut. He grabbed his stomach and rolled off his seat onto the floor.

"It hurts... my stomach... my stomach hurts so much!"

He screamed in agony.

Pan Taining and the others freaked out: "What's wrong? Old Shen, Old Shen, what happened to you?"

The instructor at the podium was startled too and rushed over to check on him. Seeing Shen Huaizhi writhing on the floor, he said urgently, "Quick! Take him to the infirmary!"

These Imperial Academy students weren't like regular academy kids—every single one came from a serious background. If anything happened to them on campus, he, a lowly instructor, couldn't afford the consequences.

"Second Brother, I'm fast. Let me carry you to the doctor."

Han Zhang, who had just pulled off the deed, eagerly stepped up, hoisting the wailing Shen Huaizhi onto his back and sprinting toward the infirmary.

He wore a look of deep worry and concern—anyone seeing him would think he was the world's most devoted brother-in-law.

Shen Huaizhi, on his back, was deeply touched: Brother Han really was a great brother-in-law, caring about him this much!

But Shen Huaizhi's warm feelings didn't last long.

Because once they reached the infirmary, the physician took his pulse and went pale: "This student has intestinal abscess syndrome!"

"What? Intestinal abscess?"

Pan Taining and the others, who'd caught up, went white as sheets.

The so-called intestinal abscess syndrome was, in fact, acute appendicitis.

In modern times, this was nothing—a quick surgery fixed it—but in this era, it was a death sentence with a slim shot at survival.

Shen Huaizhi was so scared that tears and snot were streaming down his face as he grabbed the physician's leg: "Save me! Please, doctor, save me! I don't want to die yet!"

He'd just hit twenty and hadn't lived nearly long enough.

The infirmary physician, knowing his own limits, wiped his sweat and said:

"This young man's intestinal abscess came on fast and fierce. My skills are limited; I can only ease the symptoms for now with herbal medicine and acupuncture. To fully cure him, we'd need a court physician or one of the famous healing masters from the capital's medicine halls."

"If we want to cure him, we'll need to call in a doctor from the Imperial Medical Academy, or one of the most famous senior physicians from the capital's medicine halls..."

Pan Taining and the others bolted: "We'll go get someone from the medicine halls!"

Calling in a court physician meant submitting a formal request ahead of time—a slow, bureaucratic hassle. Intestinal abscess syndrome couldn't wait that long.

The famous senior physicians at the capital's medicine halls were all retired imperial doctors, highly skilled—surely they could save him.

Well, under normal circumstances, those senior physicians' skills would've been enough.

But things weren't normal right now.

With Han Zhang messing around behind the scenes, even an imperial physician couldn't cure Shen Huaizhi.

So, unsurprisingly, the senior physicians rushed over in a flurry, worked frantically, and ended up with nothing to show for it.

"Ugh... it still hurts... it hurts so much..."

Shen Huaizhi remained curled up on the bed, weeping miserably, his condition showing no improvement.

The senior physicians shook their heads and sighed: "No hope. This young man should start making his final arrangements."

Shen Huaizhi: ...

No, he felt he could still be saved!