Chapter 67 Pain Suffering: "A Calm Madman"

Tinglan had another dream; in his dream, he returned to the day he prepared the young prince for burial.

Every single event is playing out before my eyes.

He was extremely reluctant to bury Ji Qing, but Chen Yu said that there was a folk legend that if a person's body is left for too long after death, their reincarnation will be delayed.

He did not want to delay His Highness's appointed time because of himself.

Tinglan leaned down and planted a kiss on the little prince's lips.

"How is Your Highness today?"

He smiled as gently as ever, but his eyes were filled with exhaustion, as if he were only holding on with a sliver of reason. If that sliver of reason were to break, he would immediately go insane.

A calm madman.

Tinglan took off the soft robe the little prince was wearing, carefully picked him up, and placed him in the clear water.

Warm water trickled down his pale skin, flowing over the horrifying wound that would no longer bleed.

Tinglan's face flushed slightly, and a hint of happiness appeared on her face. She poured water around the little prince, reminiscing with a smile.

He seemed to have only bathed with Ji Qing once before. At that time, Ji Qing was extremely shy and hid in the water, refusing to come out. When they got ashore, she wrapped herself in her clothes and ran away.

Tinglan picked up the rose cream from the side and rubbed it on Ji Qing's long hair. The hair was smooth and floated in the water, just as it had been when he was alive.

"You still like this taste, don't you?" Tinglan bent down and whispered in Ji Qing's ear.

He continued, smiling to himself, "A new flavor has arrived as tribute from a foreign land. I find it quite pleasant, fragrant but not cloying. How about giving Your Highness a few bottles?"

How can Your Highness test this? The only option is to put it in a coffin as a burial offering.

But Tinglan's tone was extremely ordinary and natural, as if he were simply giving a gift to his beloved.

His left hand was wrapped in a piece of gauze, a wound left from Tinglan's self-inflicted injury. He had cut it very hard, and the wound was extremely deep. Fortunately, it did not damage his meridians. It had reopened many times, but Tinglan had never paid any attention to it.

He even deliberately tore open his wounds to see them bleed profusely.

It's as if this will make you feel better.

The gauze was already soaked with water, and the blood was faintly visible through it. Tinglan rolled up her sleeves to her elbows, revealing her fair forearms.

He chatted casually, laughing as he spoke, but no one answered him; or rather, the fox's replies could not be heard.

Where Tinglan couldn't see, the fox was practically flailing its legs in desperation, its eyes brimming with tears. "Tinglan, please, re-bandage your hand and apply medicine, okay? Please, it hurts so much."

"Your Highness, you're all washed." Tinglan dried her hands with a handkerchief, then bent down and picked up the little prince.

For some reason, he always felt that the little prince was lighter than before, and it was much easier to carry him.

Tinglan was afraid that the blood would get on the little prince, so she directly tore off the gauze on her hand. The half-congealed blood from the wound stained the gauze, and tearing it off caused excruciating pain.

Tinglan's expression didn't change. He casually took a clean piece of cotton cloth, wrapped it around Ji Qing's hand, and after making sure there was no blood seeping out, he went forward to wrap Ji Qing in the cloth and placed her on the couch next to him.

She turned around, picked up the elaborate dress from the side, and held it up for Ji Qing to see.

"Does Your Highness like this dress? The workmanship is quite good."

The fox seemed to be lying there quietly, not saying a word, but it had actually been muttering to itself for a long time, though no one could hear it. "I think it's nice, the color is red, I like it very much, but I feel that the clothes are fine, you should go and treat your hands first."

Tinglan chuckled, untied the cloth wrapping the fox, and helped him put on his clothes.

This garment wasn't rushed out; there were actually two of them.

This is a wedding dress that Tinglan secretly commissioned to be made. It was just finished a few days ago, and even the fox has never seen it before.

The wedding dress was made by the best embroiderers in Jiangnan, and no expense was spared in the materials used; it cannot be described simply as "well-made".

Now all I can do is wear it into a coffin...

Tinglan originally thought that each person would have one, and that dying together in the same grave would be a wonderful thing.

Let's keep his; he won't have a chance to wear it anymore.

The fox had never been dressed like this before, and he was so uncomfortable with it. If he could move, he would have curled up into a ball, whimpering and whimpering.

Tinglan took two steps back and examined him carefully.

The clothes looked nice, but they made the little prince look even paler. Tinglan bent down, picked him up, and carried him to another room.

A coffin made of Phoebe zhennan wood lay quietly there, with a brocade quilt adorned with pearls and gemstones inside.

But now Tinglan is reluctant to let the little prince lie in it, after all, even the most luxurious coffin is cold and hard.

"Your Highness, please stay with me a little longer." Tinglan lowered her head and buried her face in the fox's neck. The familiar scent of rose ointment filled her nostrils, just as it always had.

The dream was interrupted.

Inside the Directorate of Ceremonial, Tinglan suddenly sat up in bed, panting heavily.

For him now, what just happened should be considered a beautiful dream, after all, the little prince is now missing and his whereabouts are unknown.

Who on earth could take the young prince away in full view of everyone? Thinking back to the note from a few days ago, Tinglan couldn't help but speculate that it was something supernatural or supernatural.

He lowered his head and rubbed his temples, never expecting things to get even worse.

The sky outside was just before dawn. Tinglan put on her clothes and went outside.

He had only taken two steps out the door when he suddenly remembered something important.

Where did the little prince's pet fox go?

Why haven't I seen him in so many days?

The young prince's death has thrown Changqiu Palace into chaos. No one knows if anyone will feed him or if he will go hungry.

Thinking this, Tinglan went to the small kitchen, found a boiled chicken leg, carefully tore off the meat, put it in a porcelain bowl, and prepared to go out to look for the fox.

The morning mist shrouded the area, casting hazy shadows of the trees. Tinglan's footsteps made soft, crunching sounds as she walked on the bluestone ground.

Inside the Changqiu Palace courtyard, only Qiuyuan, dressed in white, was sweeping. Hearing a noise outside, she looked up in surprise. Who could be here so early?

"Greetings, Your Excellency." Qiu Yuan bowed somewhat nervously.

Tinglan, holding a white porcelain bowl, looked around the courtyard. "Have you seen the fox that the little prince used to keep?"

Qiu Yuan shook her head. "It's been a long time since I've seen her. At least ten days ago, I haven't seen the fox."

"Thank you, sorry to bother you."

Tinglan went out, carrying a porcelain bowl, and searched along the base of the wall.

This fox used to be elusive, appearing out of nowhere and suddenly standing in front of him, squeaking and wanting a hug.

Such a clever fox should be able to survive on its own outside.

Despite these thoughts, Tinglan did not stop, but after searching for a while without success, she had no choice but to turn back.

As dawn broke and the time came for the ministers to leave court, the ministers, dressed in red robes and carrying their tablets, hurried away.

Tinglan had been claiming illness for some time and had therefore not attended court. He avoided the crowds and went to the garden.

As they walked, they overheard a small group of people talking amongst themselves, "Let me tell you, I saw it clearly, Brother Wang was there too, that white fox..."

Upon hearing the words "white fox," Tinglan hesitated, stopped, and turned around. "You've seen the white fox? Where is it?"

The person who was talking enthusiastically heard someone chime in and immediately added, "Oh dear, sir, you don't know, what we saw wasn't an ordinary fox, it was a fox spirit, and it can talk."

A chorus of boos erupted from the surrounding crowd.

"Hey, don't you believe me? That fox even asked me how to get to the Golden Palace."

"Did you give them directions?" a colleague joked.

"How could I dare? I ran away in fright."

Tinglan shook her head after listening. What nonsense was this? She smiled helplessly and turned to leave.

I still have things to do today.

Tinglan was still dressed in plain clothes, but the white clothes were completely out of place with what she was going to do today.

At the entrance of the imperial prison, Tinglan fed a chicken leg to the guard dog, Big Yellow, who wagged its tail happily.

He smiled, then turned and walked into the imperial prison.

Chen Yu was already waiting next door. After what happened a few days ago, he needed to keep a close eye on the palm print to feel at ease.

Before entering, Tinglan deliberately moved his injured hand; the pain would keep him alert.

The stinging pain came as expected, but thankfully the wound had already healed and there was no bleeding.

The wound healed quickly, which should have been a good thing, but Tinglan frowned, seemingly somewhat displeased.

Chen Yu pushed open the prison door for him.

The prison held a general who was barely recognizable as human, still breathing.

The imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy would come to check his pulse every half day and use the best ginseng soup to keep him alive, for fear that he would die halfway through.

"Chen Yu, you choose today." Tinglan slowly took out black sheepskin gloves and put them on.

His reason snapped, and he finally looked like a true madman. His fingers trembled with excitement, a smile played on his lips, but his eyes held a deep sorrow.

When he was with the young prince, Tinglan was still mindful of accumulating good deeds and virtues, but now he doesn't care at all.

Even if he was to suffer retribution or divine punishment, it was better to come sooner rather than later; he was eager to travel with Ji Qing.

I just don't know if he'll be able to join Ji Qing, given how many murders he's committed in his life.

"Those old subordinates who followed you in the rebellion have been executed yesterday. Hold on, don't reunite with them too soon."

Chen Yu stepped forward and removed the gag from Chen Yu's mouth.

"Bah, eunuch! Why didn't my men kill you that day?" After uttering these harsh words, he actually closed his eyes and tried to bite his tongue to commit suicide.

But Chen Yu was quick-witted and stabbed an iron rod into his mouth. "Even if you bite your tongue and commit suicide here, it won't do any good. The imperial physicians are waiting outside."

"If you dare to rebel, why are you afraid of this little pain?" Chen Yu continued to smile, speaking in a sarcastic tone.

"Tinglan, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

Upon hearing this, a young Taoist priest with an air of otherworldly wisdom suddenly appeared outside the door. He had a rather intimidating demeanor and flicked his whisk, saying, "Amitabha, it's just a coincidence. I'm good at reciting the Rebirth Sutra. If you were to die, you would be delivered to the afterlife on the spot and wouldn't become a ghost."

You sent someone to kill the fox, I will never let you get away with this. You tried to kill the Ninth Prince before but failed, he hasn't settled his debt with me yet, and everyone in our temple is waiting for a good meal.

Unbeknownst to Tinglan, the fox and her sister arrived home.

The fox was still inside the bead when he entered the room. He rolled out with a gurgling sound, shouting as he ran, "Sister, I want to cultivate! I want to heal my wounds!"

Guan Ning stood leaning on his sword, thinking to himself, "This unlucky kid has never been so enthusiastic in his life, except when it comes to eating."

"Hurry up and practice. Once you've mastered it, go back and find your beloved Tinglan." She yawned and stretched, but she was still a little worried.

There shouldn't be any problems in the capital, right? Before leaving, I instructed the Taoist priest to keep a close eye on Tinglan.

But I feel that Taoist priests... aren't very reliable.

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Author's Note: The part where the fox goes back to see Tinglan will differ slightly from the synopsis's short skit, because I felt that a direct revelation of his identity would be a bit boring, so I'm planning to add some more content. [Panda head emoji]