Chapter 29 - 1#
In all his years, the thing Zong Yuanxin regretted most was becoming an official at court.
In his early years, he never imagined he would end up clocking in every day, receiving a salary from the court, and entering and leaving the imperial palace daily.
He certainly never thought he would encounter a patient as unreasonable as Helian Rong.
His ill-fated connection with Helian Rong went back a long way.
But he couldn’t be bothered with the details.
Today, cooped up in the Imperial Academy, counting the countless “pear blossoms” outside, he was about to fall asleep. In this palace, there were only two people who could command him by status.
One was the emperor, the other the empress dowager.
The emperor didn’t value his life and didn’t want to be seen by him; the empress dowager was even less likely to let him see her.
Although a doctor’s heart is like a parent’s, and Zong Yuanxin would have gone if the empress dowager had summoned him out of a desire to save a life, he trusted his medical skills, but the empress dowager did not.
How could she trust the emperor’s man?
Zong Yuanxin had no choice but to continue to lie low.
And because he was so bored, so utterly bored, he spent a lot of time offering free clinics outside. Since the court was paying him to do nothing, he might as well give his time to the poor people outside.
If it weren’t so cold today that Zong Yuanxin was too lazy to move, the people from Qianming Palace might not have been able to find him.
This was his first time setting foot in Qianming Palace.
The funny thing was, the person who had made him an official in the palace was Emperor Jingyuan, but the person who never cared about his own life was also Emperor Jingyuan.
The emperor’s thoughts were truly difficult for outsiders to fathom.
But if Zong Yuanxin had to say it, it was just being difficult.
Knowing that the person who could save his life was right there, but refusing to summon him, what was that if not being difficult? In this world, there was probably no one more difficult than this emperor.
Outside Qianming Palace, Zong Yuanxin sniffed and said to Ning Hongru, who was welcoming him, “You’ve lit all the incense?”
Ning Hongru smiled and said, “Indeed, all thanks to Imperial Physician Zong’s skill.”
The incense made under Zong Yuanxin’s guidance from that batch of agarwood was truly effective.
It was just…
Ning Hongru hesitated, but before he could speak, Zong Yuanxin had already walked to the front of the main hall, his nose twitching again. His face immediately fell. “He didn’t light it in the main hall?”
Ning Hongru gave a bitter smile. “You know His Majesty’s temper.”
Zong Yuanxin knew, he knew all too well.
He walked in with a long face.
Inside the hall, Emperor Jingyuan, who had clearly just bathed, nodded at him. “Sit.” Under the cold voice, Zong Yuanxin didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down beside him.
“Hand.”
Zong Yuanxin took out a pulse pillow from his medical kit and had Emperor Jingyuan extend his hand.
Emperor Jingyuan did as he was told. Zong Yuanxin frowned and began to take his pulse, his eyes not stopping, glancing all over the emperor’s body, finally staring at his face.
Ning Hongru was long used to his strange habits when diagnosing patients and stood by calmly.
His toes still hurt.
From being stepped on by Shi Lijun.
Twice. It hurt like hell.
But Ning Hongru knew he deserved it. Such a big incident had happened in front of the hall, and he had heard upon his return that the incense was not waterproof, a truly careless oversight that should have been noticed. If not for His Majesty…
Ning Hongru’s gaze couldn’t help but fall on the two people in the center of the hall. Not only him, but Shi Lijun as well. Besides them, there were no other servants in the hall at this moment.
“Hmm,” after a long while, after examining both hands and checking Emperor Jingyuan’s complexion and tongue coating, Zong Yuanxin’s expression became somewhat grave. “If you had been willing to be treated earlier, it wouldn’t be so troublesome.”
Ning Hongru’s face changed slightly, and he subconsciously said, “Imperial Physician Zong, is it untreatable?” This was originally overstepping his bounds, but after waiting for so long, His Majesty was finally willing to let Zong Yuanxin see him. If this was the answer…
Zong Yuanxin shot him a look and said irritably, “When did I say it was untreatable?”
Ning Hongru: “That’s good, that’s good.”
Zong Yuanxin looked back at Emperor Jingyuan. The emperor’s faint gaze was on him, but he seemed to feel none of the cold weight, and said, “From the moment I met you, I told you that the root of your illness is poison. If it’s not removed early, you will die sooner or later. You refused treatment then, why are you willing now?”
If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t dare to say such impolite words.
But he was Zong Yuanxin.
For so many years, he had been chasing after Emperor Jingyuan, wanting to treat him, but had never received a response, and had even eagerly followed him into the palace to see him.
Zong Yuanxin thought, it wasn’t just Emperor Jingyuan who was being difficult, he was too, he was being damn difficult.
When he saw those strange pulse conditions, those special patients, his heart itched to treat them. If the patient refused, he would knock them out and drag them back for treatment.
So domineering, such a forced sale.
Such a person who forced sales had, for all these years, run into a brick wall like Emperor Jingyuan.
He couldn’t win in a fight. But he still wanted to treat the illness.
But his question was not without purpose, not just to vent his years of frustration, but also to confirm the patient’s will.
Some treatments, once started, the pain and trouble of regretting and stopping midway were worse than not starting at all.
This was the case with Emperor Jingyuan’s “illness.”
Given that he had never cared about his own life before, Zong Yuanxin was afraid that he was acting on a whim, starting to mess with his own lifespan.
Emperor Jingyuan slowly raised his eyes and said nonchalantly, “…Because I’m raising a… little dog. Very weak, very stubborn, very easy to die.” So, to keep the little dog from dying so easily, he had to try harder and live a few more years.
Zong Yuanxin was slightly stunned, his expression even more strange.
He glanced at Emperor Jingyuan a few times, then asked no more. Instead, he asked Ning Hongru for a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and sat down to write a prescription.
Don’t look at Zong Yuanxin’s frowning face, in his heart he was blooming with joy.
Damn it, after so many years, he had finally waited for this!
His handwriting was like a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing, like a snake slithering, written in one go. After he finished, he placed the prescription aside to dry.
“From today on, His Majesty’s food, clothing, and shelter will be decided by me. A long life of a hundred years is unlikely, but living a few more years is still achievable.”
“Food, clothing, and shelter are fine,” Emperor Jingyuan said. “Travel, no.”
Zong Yuanxin: “It has to be, even if it’s not!”
So domineering.
After Zong Yuanxin had given all his instructions and was personally seen out by Ning Hongru, Zong Yuanxin looked around and said in a low voice to Ning Hongru:
“The incense in the main hall, if it can be lit, then light it.”
Ning Hongru nodded imperceptibly.
Zong Yuanxin sighed, then suddenly said, “What His Majesty is raising, it’s not really a little dog, is it?” He put his hands behind his back and pondered for a moment, then grinned and shook his head, not intending to hear Ning Hongru’s answer, and waved his hand as he left.
Ning Hongru stood still, watching Zong Yuanxin’s back gradually disappear into the distance.
Suddenly, he also smiled.
…
“Jingzhe, why aren’t you a little dog?”
Outside the imperial kitchen, Mingyu wailed, hugged Jingzhe, and rolled his head on Jingzhe’s shoulder, looking utterly miserable.
Jingzhe: “Go to hell, you’re the dog.”
He pretended to bite Mingyu, but then patted his shoulder. “Were you wronged?”
Hmm, but Mingyu looked fatter.
His face had also become rounder.
Mingyu: “It’s nothing.”
He pouted and stood up.
Hidden under his clothes were his two arms, covered in green marks from being whipped with a cane.
Mingyu had benefited a lot from learning from Zhu Erxi. But Zhu Erxi was a strict person, and would punish him for any mistake, so when Mingyu first arrived, he was beaten every day.
But Mingyu didn’t feel that there was anything wrong.
He knew that being an apprentice outside the palace only included food and lodging, not even money, and even then, you might not learn a trade. But now, learning from Zhu Erxi, his monthly salary had increased, and he could learn openly. This was something many people in the imperial kitchen envied.
It was just…
Sometimes it was really tiring. Now that Jingzhe had finally come to see him, Mingyu of course had to seize the opportunity to complain.
But Jingzhe spat a few times after hearing his complaints. “If you want to pet fur, go pet someone else, stop touching my head!” His head was spinning.
Mingyu lovingly rubbed Jingzhe’s little dog head and said with a smile, “Want to come in and eat something with me? If nothing else, there’s a lot of food in the imperial kitchen.”
Jingzhe: “Alright, I’m glad you’re okay. You go on and be busy.”
Mingyu grabbed Jingzhe and wouldn’t let him go. “It’s not mealtime, how can I be that busy? But…” Before he could finish, his eyes seemed to see someone, and he suddenly pulled Jingzhe to hide inside the hall.
He moved quickly. Seeing his serious expression, Jingzhe didn’t resist and followed him in on tiptoe.
The two of them hid inside, listening as someone new seemed to have come to get food. After a while, they heard the sound of footsteps leaving again.
During this time, Mingyu had been quietly listening to the movements outside. Jingzhe didn’t disturb him. When it was quiet outside again, he asked in a low voice, “Who was that outside?”
“From Zhongcui Palace.”
Mingyu also lowered his voice. “From now on, if you see anyone from Zhongcui Palace, be sure to take a detour.”
Zhongcui Palace?
Isn’t that the Noble Consort’s palace?
It’s not mealtime, what are their people doing here?
Jingzhe: “How did you get into trouble with them?”
Huang Yijie was definitely not right.
Otherwise, how could she appear in the system’s tasks one after another?
But Jingzhe didn’t expect Mingyu to have dealings with them too.
Mingyu shook his head. “No, it’s a kind of…” He scratched his head, as if it was hard to explain.
After a while, Jingzhe learned the whole story from Mingyu.
When Mingyu first came to the imperial kitchen, he naturally couldn’t help out right away. Zhu Erxi had him watch others and run errands.
He had seen people from Zhongcui Palace a few times.
They were always led by a friendly-looking head eunuch with a few people to carry things. But that day, it was said that the Noble Consort of Zhongcui Palace wanted something sweet, and at an awkward time, she came to the imperial kitchen herself. It was no longer the head eunuch, but a head palace maid.
At that time, a few boys were left in the imperial kitchen to watch the fire. Zhu Erxi was naturally resting.
When someone from Zhongcui Palace arrived, the imperial kitchen immediately sent someone to find him. This task had to be done by Zhu Erxi himself; he didn’t trust anyone else.
The person running back and forth was Mingyu.
After he was done, he put the dessert made by Zhu Erxi himself into a box, sealed it, and handed it to the head palace maid to take away personally. When he turned back to look at the imperial kitchen, he saw Zhu Erxi standing in front of the chicken coop, looking thoughtful.
“You know, in this palace, everyone has their share of food,” Mingyu explained to Jingzhe. “Some masters like to eat fresh, so it has to be killed and prepared on the spot. That’s why there are also some live animals kept on the side.”
The noisy sounds were not very obvious in the entire imperial kitchen. After all, when the imperial kitchen was in full operation, you couldn’t hear the sounds of the live animals at all.
However, when the head palace maid from Zhongcui Palace appeared, they all became very quiet.
Quietness was something that almost never happened in the imperial kitchen, even in the dead of night, the imperial kitchen was always on fire, ready for any unexpected needs.
Mingyu’s voice was low. “Jingzhe, that head palace maid from Zhongcui Palace, there’s definitely something wrong with her.”
Creatures will instinctively fear beings much stronger than them, but facing people like them who walked around all day, the live animals in the imperial kitchen had never been quiet. Yet, when that head palace maid came, they all became as quiet as if they were dead.
After she left, they all regained their vitality one by one, screaming their heads off as if venting some inexplicable terror.
Jingzhe frowned. After a long while, he touched Mingyu’s hand and said softly, “Have you seen her since?”
Mingyu shook his head. “I avoid anyone from Zhongcui Palace.”
Jingzhe nodded and spoke to the system in his mind.
“Can you check if there’s anything wrong with Mingyu?”
[The system’s energy is running low.] The system said, almost like a “complaint,” but the flat electronic voice was very rigid, with no change in tone. [Already checked, very healthy.]
Jingzhe selectively ignored the system’s first sentence and felt relieved by the second. Then he gave Mingyu a few more instructions, which made him laugh.
“Alright, she only came that one time, and she’s the Noble Consort’s favorite. She wouldn’t remember a small fry like me. Even if she’s a powerful figure, I’ll just avoid her.” Mingyu said. The reason he specifically warned Jingzhe was because the young master Jingzhe had served in the Chuxiu Palace was Huang Yijie.