Chapter 129: So Sweet

 

During these five days, everyone in the Imperial Hospital was caught in deep waters and blazing flames1.

Especially Jiang Yubai.

Ever since the Second Princess Qi Bingzhi miscarried, she had become rather weird. She was always touching her belly and mumbling to herself; it seemed as though she was speaking to the child in her womb.

But in truth, not only was her child gone, but she would also never be able to give birth again. Due to drinking excessive amounts of medicine for years, her body had already changed.

As time passed, Qi Bingzhi’s symptoms became more obvious. She was starting to seem like a bit of a lunatic. Whenever she saw people, she would ask, “My baby2? Have you seen my baby? Where did my baby go?”

The Empress’s heart ached for her, but she didn’t have a solution either, so she locked Qi Bingzhi in her residence, before she summoned the Imperial Hospital staff to treat her.

However Qi Bingzhi’s symptoms were very strange. Everyone in the Imperial Hospital had taken her pulse, but they still couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

Even Jiang Yubai was at his wit’s end. On top of that, he had always suspected that there was something off about this matter.

However, Qi Bingzhi could not be cured, and the Empress was enraged. She wanted everyone in the Imperial Hospital to be punished at once.

But at that moment, Jiang Yubai stood up, and shouldered all the blame himself.

The Empress merely sneered, “Since Imperial Physician Jiang says that he wants to bear it all himself, then let’s give him the death penalty.”

Jiang Yubai had been a rare talent in the field of medicine. During the years he spent in the palace, he had made countless contributions. But in truth, it would only take a single word from the royal family to have him executed.

And the Empress had made up her mind to execute him. First off, in front of everyone, Jiang Yubai had left no room for refusal. Everyone else in the Imperial Hospital had all been absolved of their crimes by his decision, but only he did not take himself into consideration.

Secondly, the Empress had received information from an unknown source; she actually found out that Jiang Yubai had saved Pei Zheng’s life many years ago. Therefore, she concluded that Jiang Yubai was already on Pei Zheng’s side, so it would be too dangerous to keep him in the palace. Moreover, Jiang Yubai was the only one who knew the full story behind Qi Bingzhi’s miscarriage and infertility issues. If he was killed, this matter would remain a secret forever.

Jiang Yubai didn’t return to the Imperial Hospital. Instead, he was taken straight to prison.

Those two prison guards in charge of watching Jiang Yubai had already been bribed by the Empress’s lackeys. They would definitely make this ignorant imperial physician suffer unbearably before he died.

This prison was dark and damp; the moment one was locked inside, one couldn’t tell the difference between night and day.

Jiang Yubai’s arms were hoisted high into the air and twisted into a strange position. The entirety of his body weight could only be supported by his wrists, which were bound by iron chains.

After hanging like this for a long while, Jiang Yubai’s arms were pulled out of their sockets.

He was a doctor; naturally, he knew that if he continued to hang like this, it wouldn’t be an issue of having his arms dislocated; he would probably end up losing them completely.

But the pain from all his other wounds made him unable to care about the pain in his arms

An ice-cold whip slapped his body. It was covered in small, thin barbs; one could tear away a bit of flesh just by lifting it off the skin. After being lashed with this whip a few times, one’s entire body would become a mess of flesh and blood.

After a single session of whipping, the white robe Jiang Yubai was wearing had already turned red. The liquid that was dripping down the hem of his clothes was obviously bright red blood.

Jiang Yubai couldn’t stop trembling from the pain. He had cured so many people, from those with terminal illnesses to those who were at death’s door from being poisoned. But he had never known that being on the brink of death was so painful, that death would actually become a relief to him.

Later, those two prison guards obtained some sort of drug that could prevent wounds from closing, so they applied it generously onto their whips.

So from then on, Jiang Yubai’s injuries wouldn’t stop bleeding for a long time. He could only watch as his skin and flesh were torn open, and his blood poured continuously from the wounds.

Because he had lost too much blood, Jiang Yubai’s complexion became even paler. Those eyes that once shone with joy and anger were now veiled in a layer of gray. His hair was messy and covered his face, concealing the radiant light of the past.

When his consciousness became muddled and he fainted, a bucket of cold water showered down from the top of his head.

One of the prison guards held a bucket of water. Even he looked unwilling to continue doing this, but he couldn’t disobey the Empress’s orders.

“Imperial Physician Jiang, the higher-ups won’t let you faint. Every time you faint, you’ll be doused in cold water. You won’t be able to stand having cold water poured all over you in this weather, so you should try to stay awake.”

Jiang Yubai’s entire body was soaked. The water that was running down his skin was red, the same hue as his blood. He couldn’t stop shivering from the cold; his teeth were chattering so hard that it seemed like they were about to break.

“It’s time for the beating, isn’t it…”

That prison guard said, “It’s time, but why don’t you take a breather first?”

Jiang Yubai shook his head, “Get it over with while I’m still numb.”

The prison guards sighed, before they picked up their whips and were about to begin the beating.

Just as the whip lashed Jiang Yubai’s broken body, the dim candlelight in the cell flickered and suddenly went out.

Everything was plunged into darkness. How could there have been wind in this tightly enclosed prison?

In the instant before the candlelight went out, a dark shadow appeared in Jiang Yubai’s vision. Unfortunately, his eyelids were too heavy, so he couldn’t look up to see who it was.

A sword flashed through the darkness. The chains on Jiang Yubai’s arms had been sliced apart. He let out a muffled groan of pain. His body fell limply to the ground, before he was gathered into someone’s embrace.

The prison guard relit the candle but was startled by the sight in front of him. At some point, another black-clad man had appeared in the cell, but no one had heard the cell door open.

“W-who are you? You dare, you dare to break into prison?”

Cheng Feng supported Jiang Yubai. His face was revealed by the candelight; his elegant yet tense eyes concealed a strong murderous intent.

He ignored that prison guard’s question. Instead, he said to the blood-soaked Jiang Yubai, “I’m taking you away.”

Only then did those prison guards see the jade tablet the black-clad man was wearing; it was a pass that granted one access to any place in the Celestial Dynasty. They were fortunate enough to have seen Prime Minister Pei wearing this jade tablet before, so that meant that the person in front of them was definitely someone from the Prime Minister’s Manor.

Jiang Yubai’s breathing was weak, but his voice was full of determination.

“I can’t leave.”

If he left, then the Imperial Hospital’s staff, for whom he had laid down his life to protect, would be incriminated again. And even more importantly, he would implicate Cheng Feng, as well as the Prime Minister’s Manor as a whole.

Cheng Feng’s lips pursed slightly, and he stared fixedly at Jiang Yubai.

How could he not know what Jiang Yubai was thinking? As a doctor, although Jiang Yubai seemed facetious on the surface, in the depths of his heart, he was incredibly gentle and kind.

Since he refused to leave, they wouldn’t.

The two prison guards were scared out of their wits as they looked at the man in front of them. If they lost the person that the Empress had told them to guard, they would lose their insignificant lives as well. But they didn’t dare to rashly provoke anyone from the Prime Minister’s Manor either; if something happened, they would die either way.

Cheng Feng felt the cold wetness of Jiang Yubai’s robe, as well as the uncontrollable trembling of the man in his arms. He undid his outer robe with one hand and draped it over Jiang Yubai.

Then, Cheng Feng took the whipping in Jiang Yubai’s place.

Those prison guards thought to themselves, the Empress’s lackeys had only told them that they would have to whip the man in the cell every day. Although the whip was lashing Cheng Feng’s body, they were still technically completing their task.

The Empress’s family and Prime Minister Pei were as incompatible as fire and water. If they could show even the slightest bit of cruelty to the Prime Minister’s Manor, then those prison guards would turn a blind eye to the specifics of the situation.

But even though Cheng Feng had internal energy to protect himself, he still couldn’t withstand daily whippings. Coupled with that drug that prevented wounds from healing, Cheng Feng’s body was already torn and bloody after just a few days.

But when Cheng Feng came, he had brought some ointment for wounds with him. However, all of it had been used by Jiang Yubai, and he was finally able to breathe again.

Every day, as Cheng Feng was being whipped, Jiang Yubai could only watch. He watched until tears rolled down his cheeks, but he didn’t have the strength to do anything to stop it.

Fortunately, an informant had been planted by the Prime Minister’s Manor inside that prison. That informant went to great lengths to send Cheng Feng’s slip of paper to Pei Zheng.

But when Pei Zheng finally received it, five days had already passed.

Pei Zheng went to the palace and headed straight toward that prison. But he was stopped on the way, having been summoned by the Emperor’s decree to the main hall.

The Emperor discussed the matter of the borderlands to delay Pei Zheng. But once he saw through Pei Zheng’s intentions, the Emperor even stated bluntly, “Impossible.”

The words Pei Zheng was about to say froze in his mouth.

“If you’re here to beg on Jiang Yubai’s behalf, you needn’t waste your breath.”

The Emperor said, “The Empress wanted to punish him. He couldn’t cure Bing-er, so there should be some consequences.”

“Your Majesty, if that’s the case, does that mean that there can’t be any incurable illnesses in this world? “

“Bing-er suffered some shock after her miscarriage, and her body has been damaged as well.”

When the Emperor said this, Pei Zheng’s gaze flickered, “Pei-aiqing should understand this better than me.”

Seeing that the Emperor had made up his mind to side with the Empress, Pei Zheng’s heart sank. If this dragged on for any longer, Jiang Yubai would die in that prison before the day of his execution.

“Your Majesty, this subject has someone to refer to you.”

In the end, the Emperor agreed to Pei Zheng’s proposal, and allowed Shen Huan to enter the palace to diagnose and treat Qi Bingzhi. If she could cure her, then he would let Jiang Yubai and everyone in the Imperial Hospital go. But even if she couldn’t cure Qi Binzghi, Shen Huan wouldn’t be implicated in this matter.

Shen Huan only knew that the Second Princess had some kind of incurable mental illness, and that the Empress wanted to execute Jiang Yubai.

She took Shen Shijiu and followed that servant into the palace. Several eunuchs were waiting to escort them to Qi Bingzhi’s residence.

Shen Huan stood there and didn’t move, before she said seriously,”I want to see Imperial Physician Jiang.”

Unexpectedly, the head eunuch actually agreed to her request, “His Majesty said that everything must be done in accordance to Master Shen’s wishes. If Master Shen wishes to meet with him, we shall take you to him.”

The prison guard led Shen Huan and Shen Shijiu to the prison. Cheng Feng was already gone, but Jiang Yubai was hung up by his arms again.

The moment Shen Shijiu saw the blood-covered Jiang Yubai, his eyes reddened, “Imperial Physician Jiang!”

Shen Huan was also startled; people who were locked up in prisons were waiting for their execution. So why did he look like he was already on the brink of death?

She instantly understood; he had definitely been tortured.

“How are you? Still alive?” Shen Huan asked in concern.

“Hurry up and let him down!”

The head eunuch waved his hand, and the prison guards let Jiang Yubai down.

“While I’m in the palace, you are not to torture Imperial Physician Jiang.” Shen Huan looked at that eunuch as she spoke.

Jiang Yubai was being supported by Shen Huan. His breathing was extremely weak.

Shen Huan hurriedly fed him a pill, before she applied ointment onto his most serious wounds.

Jiang Yubai’s entire body was covered in cold sweat. It looked as though he had just been fished out of water. He gripped Shen Huan’s hand; his fingertips were white.

“Cheng… Feng…”

Shen Huan didn’t hear what he said, “What did you say? Speak up.”

Shen Shijiu lifted his head, “Shifu, Imperial Physician Jiang said A-Feng’s name.

“What happened to Cheng Feng? He’s here too? He was arrested as well?”

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Jiang Yubai couldn’t form another coherent sentence.

Those prison guards stepped forward and said, “Master Shen, he’s in the Imperial Hospital.”

Shen Huan’s expression changed.

Shen Huan stuffed Jiang Yubai with a bottle’s worth of pills before she took Shen Shijiu to the Imperial Hospital.

Cheng Feng’s injuries looked to be much more serious than Jiang Yubai’s. Although they had already been taken care of, he was still unconscious.

Shen Huan clenched her fists.

In the past, she had always been alone. She lived alone, she stayed in the barren Ghost Valley alone.

Then, she found her little disciple. And after that, she found a few friends.

Now, the few friends that she had had been harmed by Qi Bingzhi to this point, not to mention that her little disciple had been caught up in her schemes in the past. So she had to go and pay this Qi Bingzhi a little visit.

Shen Huan didn’t allow her little disciple to come along. Instead, she had Shen Shijiu stay in the Imperial Hospital, under the pretense of watching over Cheng Feng. But in truth, she just didn’t want her little disciple to see Qi Bingzhi, lest he recall any bad memories.

She came to the Second Princess’s residence. It was a bright, clear day, but the residence was covered in thick, heavy curtains, casting it in shadow.

Shen Huan stepped inside. It was empty; there wasn’t a single maid or eunuch. The entire building looked lifeless, and it seemed even gloomier than the Prime Minister’s Manor.

Truthfully, it was a bit creepy.

“Ahem, is anyone here?” Shen Huan had never believed in ghosts, gods, or the Buddha, so she stepped right inside.

“Second Princess? Second Princess, are you in here?”

Still nothing.

Shen Huan continued to walk forward. The further she walked inside, the darker it became. The walls in the inner hall were also covered in strange images that had been drawn in blood-red.

She stood beside the wall and took a look. These images were quite grotesque and strange.

A weak, emaciated hand suddenly touched Shen Huan’s shoulder.

“Have you seen my baby? Have you? Right there.”

A weak, fluttery voice sounded from behind Shen Huan. Although she knew that the person behind her was definitely alive, she couldn’t help but break into cold sweat from the shock.

Qi Bingzhi had lost a great deal of weight. Her face didn’t have a trace of its former radiance, and she was thin that her cheekbones were protruding. But her eyes were deeply sunken; it looked as though she had aged ten years.

Shen Huan said, “I did. There really is a baby. It’s a boy too.”

Qi Bingzhi’s gaze changed. It seemed as though no one had ever listened to what she was saying before, and she was immediately rendered speechless.

“So did you see him? His hair is this long, his little hands are soft and fat, and I think he’s talking.” Shen Huan continued. She slowly placed her hand on Qi Bingzhi’s wrist as she spoke and began to take her pulse.

Qi Bingzhi was slightly stunned, and seemed to be pondering Shen Huan’s words.

But the longer Shen Huan took her pulse, the deeper the creases in her forehead became. Before Qi Bingzhi started to struggle, Shen Huan quickly grabbed her other wrist and placed her fingers on it.

No, this still wasn’t right.

It wasn’t that Qi Bingzhi’s pulse was too complicated or difficult to understand. On the contrary, Shen Huan discovered that her pulse was completely normal, without any signs of madness.

But Shen Huan still found that something else was off. But before she could continue to evaluate her findings, Qi Bingzhi suddenly let out a sharp scream and ran away.

Shen Huan hurriedly chased after her. She had to understand what exactly was wrong with Qi Bingzhi.

But Qi Bingzhi quickly made herself scarce. The light in the residence was too dim, so Shen Huan couldn’t tell where she was hiding.

Shen Huan ran to the door of the main hall and yelled for the maids and eunuchs outside to come in, “Take all these curtains down.”

These people had all been ordered to follow all of Shen Huan’s instructions, so they quickly tore all the curtains away.

Shen Huan found Qi Bingzhi, who was hiding beneath the bed, and had someone pull her out and pin her to the mattress.

Qi Bingzhi screamed as she struggled with all her might. Shen Huan took out a silver acupuncture needle, and quickly pricked Qi Bingzhi’s body until it was full of needles. She finally stopped struggling and quieted down.

“Your Royal Highness, keep running, keep screaming. Why aren’t you running or screaming anymore?”

Qi Bingzhi stared at Shen Huan. She opened her mouth but couldn’t make a sound.

Shen Huan took out an even sharper needle, and waved it in front of Qi Bingzhi, “If I’ve guessed correctly, you’ve been faking this illness of yours, right?”

Qi Bingzhi’s gaze didn’t waver at all. She continued to stare at Shen Huan.

Shen Huan measured the needle against Qi Bingzhi’s face several times, before she said, “Although you’re a little thinner now, you’re still pretty. But if your face was disfigured, you might not be so pretty anymore. If that happens, the Lord Prime Minister won’t be the only one who doesn’t want you. I’m afraid that no one will even be able to stand the sight of you.”

Qi Bingzhi began to make muffled noises; it seemed that she really wanted to say something.

Shen Huan yanked out a needle, and Qi Bingzhi could finally speak again, but her body was still completely numb.

“Who the hell are you?! Why are you trying to boss this princess around?! I’m going to get my mother to drag you away and have you executed too!”

Shen Huan wasn’t scared by her threats at all. Instead, she glanced outside.

“Oh. then do you need me to call everyone inside before you give them your orders? But then those people might find out that you aren’t actually crazy.”

Qi Bingzhi was extremely angry, but Shen Huan’s words were reasonable.

Shen Huan pinched Qi Bingzhi’s wrist and continued to take her pulse, before she said, “Right. I forgot to tell Your Royal Highness something. I’m surnamed Shen.”

Qi Bingzhi froze. It seemed that she had recalled a certain person; her gaze turned hateful.

But Shen Huan had discovered something strange; Qi Bingzhi’s illness hadn’t caused her to go mad. Instead, it had caused her to become infertile.

Shen Huan could cure this illness, but it depended on if she wanted to or not.

“I can cure you, which means that you’ll still be able to have your own baby in the future.”

Shen Huan said, “But may I ask Your Royal Highness, just what kind of resentment do you hold toward Imperial Physician Jiang and the Imperial Hospital, to go to such great lengths to oppose them?

“None.” Qi Bingzhi said coldly, “They aren’t the ones I resent.”

Shen Huan thought for a bit, “You couldn’t be talking about my little disciple, Shen Shijiu?”

Qi Bingzhi snorted coldly.

Shen Huan seemed to piece everything together, “So, all of this was to lure Shen Shijiu out? You just didn’t expect that you’d lure me, his shifu, out instead?”

“That’s right, all I wanted was for Shen Shijiu to end up just like those Imperial Hospital staff, all of them should be executed! Since he’s your disciple, just what kind of things did you teach him? Stealing other people’s husbands? And what’s more, he’s a man!”

“Husband?” Shen Huan raised her voice, “May I ask if the princess and Lord Pei were married?”

“W-we weren’t.”

“Then that’s it. Both of them were willing to be with each other. Princess, you’re the one who insisted on inserting yourself between them.”

Upon hearing Shen Huan’s words, Qi Bingzhi’s rage surged again.

“What do you know?! Do you know why His Lordship kept him? He had ulterior motives! It was because he looks like someone!”

Unexpectedly, Shen Huan didn’t care in the slightest. After all, she already knew about her little disciple’s identity, so it wasn’t a shock to her.

However, Qi Bingzhi’s next words turned Shen Huan’s world upside down.

“It was enough for His Lordship to imprison Changyi by his side and torture him in every possible way, he even forced him to jump off that cliff! There weren’t even any bones left! Do you want that Shen Shijiu to follow in his footsteps?!”

Imprisonment, jumping off a cliff, no bones left-

These words continuously rippled in Shen Huan’s mind, and all the pieces gradually linked together.

No wonder. No wonder the Pei Zheng of the present treated her disciple so well. She had thought that he loved her little disciple deeply, but it turned out that it was only because of his guilt and regret.

Shen Huan promised Qi Bingzhi that she would treat her condition, which would allow her to get pregnant again. She also swore that she wouldn’t disclose this matter to anyone, on the condition that Qi Bingzhi’s madness had to slowly ‘get better’. She also had to tell the Empress to let Jiang Yubai go immediately.

But in truth, Shen Huan wasn’t actually going to treat Qi Bingzhi’s illness. This damn princess had really struck a nerve with Shen Huan. Shen Huan would make it seem like Qi Bingzhi’s body had recovered, but once she became pregnant, she would definitely have a difficult labor; there was no way that the child would be born safely.

Shen Huan didn’t believe the matter of her little disciple jumping off the cliff had nothing to do with Qi Bingzhi, so she was giving her what she deserved.

As for Pei Zheng, Shen Huan still hadn’t thought of a way to face him.

Jiang Yubai was immediately freed. After nursing himself for a bit, he went to take care of Cheng Feng.

After this incident, Jiang Yubai had come up with a new plan; he was going to resign from his position as an imperial physician.

Shen Huan temporarily stayed in the wing near Qi Bingzhi’s residence and took good care of Qi Bingzhi.

Shen Shijiu stayed in the Imperial Hospital to help out, as well as to watch over Jiang Yubai and Cheng Feng.

But Jiang Yubai was a terrible patient; Shen Shijiu had him lie down and stay still, but the moment he turned, Jiang Yubai had gone to Cheng Feng’s room to take his pulse.

Shen Shijiu stood outside the room and sulkily watched Jiang Yubai.

“Imperial Physician Jiang, you are so disobedient! If you don’t come back, I’m going to leave you alone!” Jiang Yubai turned a deaf ear to him; he didn’t even lift his head.

Shen Shijiu wanted to walk in and yell at him again, but a figure suddenly hugged him from behind.

It had been several days since Pei Zheng had last seen Shen Shijiu. He missed him terribly, but this small, stubborn man hadn’t even thought about going back to the manor to see him, so Pei Zheng could only come to the Imperial Hospital himself to find him.

Since his waist was being encircled from behind, Shen Shijiu tilted his head, and saw Pei Zheng’s slightly tired eyes.

“My Lord…”

Pei Zheng “mm”d. He buried his face into the small man’s shoulder and took a deep sniff.

So sweet.

 

Notes

Sigh. Is that really how we’re ending…

ALSO CHENGBAI IS FINALLY REAL, THIS IS NOT EXACTLY HOW I IMAGINED IT, BUT AT LEAST THERE’S FOOD NOW AHHHHHHHHHH

Also, happy Chinese New Year~ it’s the year of the bunny, perfect for this novel hehe~

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