Chapter 43: Flesh and blood is the most painful thing in the world.
The face of the child in front of him was 70% similar to Ningxiang.
A thin body, willow-like thin eyebrows, thick and long eyelashes, bright cat eyes...
Sun Yi suddenly couldn't stop shaking.
He recalled the rainy spring day twenty years ago. As usual, Ningxiang carried her medicine box and said that the wife of a wealthy businessman in the city was ill and had specially asked her to see a doctor.
Sun Yi was a renowned physician. His first wife died young, leaving behind a pair of children who, influenced by their father's teachings, grew up to excel in the art. His eldest son, Yuanzhi, became a military physician and was killed by a Tatar horse. His youngest daughter, Ningxiang, specialized in gynecology and, at a young age, had already gained considerable fame in the Shaoxing area.
Who knew that day would be our last.
After twenty years of wandering, he had white hair and beard, and Ningxiang was dead. He didn't even know where she was buried.
The most painful thing in the world is separation from one's family.
Sun Yi had been living in a state of confusion these years. Sometimes he felt as if he had fallen into hell, being cut into pieces, boiled in hot oil, and his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys were trampled upon by the world... But more often, he just sat in the spring rain of that year, waiting foolishly for his daughter and son to come back.
Until he met Zhou Shan, twenty years of spring rain finally turned into tears, bursting the dam and completely drowning Sun Yi.
…
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Yu Xi tightly protected Zhou Xian, staring intently at Wang Xiang, and scolded him, "Wang Xiang! Ask yourself... Haven't the Queen and the Princess been good to you? How could you, how could you just find an old man and spread rumors here to distort the Queen and the Princess's life stories? Our Queen is the second daughter of the late Mr. Fu, how could it be possible..."
Her lips trembled, and at the end of her words, her legs went weak and she almost fell to the ground.
A slightly cool hand supported her.
It was Zhou Xian.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Xian was very calm.
His eyes swept across the motionless old man in front of him, and then fell on Wang Xiang not far away.
Wang Xiang raised an eyebrow at him.
"Words are not enough, Eunuch Wang, where is the evidence?" Zhou Xian slowly stood up and walked towards Wang Xiang with a cold expression.
Wang Xiang sneered, "The evidence is on the princess's body."
Zhou Xian sneered, "Don't keep me in suspense. Household registration, tokens, or even a blood test—as long as they can prove my blood relationship with Doctor Sun, I won't deny my origins. But can Eunuch Wang produce that?"
"Yes." Wang Xiang smiled. "Please listen to me as I explain."
As he spoke, he picked up the bowl, lowered his head, and slowly skimmed off the foam.
Everyone except Sun Yi looked at him nervously. The old man looked like a piece of rotten wood, his body dead yet firmly rooted to the chair, only the occasional rise and fall of his chest proving he was alive.
"Doctor Sun has a son and a daughter. The daughter, Ningxiang, was a well-known figure in Shaoxing until she disappeared twenty years ago," Wang Xiang said slowly. "Coincidentally, our Concubine Jing is also knowledgeable in medicine. The medicine the princess is taking was personally prescribed by the Concubine, Imperial Physician Li. This medicine is hard to find, and few people possess the prescription, including Doctor Sun. Since the princess still remembers the prescription, why not have a consultation with Doctor Sun?"
"It's just a prescription!" Qianshan retorted, "Who knows if you asked the old man to recite it on purpose?"
Wang Xiang smiled but said nothing. He stepped forward, leaned close to Zhou Xian's ear, and whispered, "The princess went to see Prince Yu earlier. Didn't Prince Yu tell her the truth?"
King Yu...
"There's no such thing as the Second Miss of the Fu family. She's just a decent woman he fell in love with during his incognito visit! He went to great lengths to get her into the palace, and to cover up the truth, he went to great lengths to silence the Fu family..."
"Why do you think the Queen hates Concubine Jing? It's all because of a scandalous incident of forcibly abducting a commoner girl..."
The miserable appearance of that man before his death was still before his eyes, and every word he said was heartbreaking. Zhou Xian broke out in a cold sweat. He knew that his mother's life experience was full of doubts, but he couldn't figure out Wang Xiang's intentions.
Wang Xiang is a court henchman and a loyal dog under the throne of Emperor Yongchang. If Concubine Jing's life experience is really as he knows... what exactly does Wang Xiang want to do?
Are you going to expose Emperor Yongchang’s secrets?
Is he crazy?
For a moment, Zhou Xian was overwhelmed with thoughts.
He really couldn't understand Wang Xiang. After all the previous events, he was sure that this man was Emperor Yongchang's spy. If he really wanted Zhou Shan to reunite with her relatives, why would he make such a fuss?
"Prince Yu is now dead, and there's no evidence to prove his guilt. We can only let Eunuch Wang lie." Zhou Xian said calmly, "Eunuch Wang can't produce any evidence, yet he's still nagging me about this. Don't you find it funny?"
Wang Xiang said, "We are doing a great thing. Why do you think you are ridiculous?"
Zhou Xian gave him a cold look and said, "Eunuch Wang works for the Emperor. How dare you bring up such scandalous things that you heard from others?"
Wang Xiang laughed and said, "Your Majesty, you are just marrying a woman. What kind of scandal is that?"
Yes.
Since ancient times, it has been natural for an emperor to marry a woman, no matter what the woman's background is, whether she is willing or not, or what the consequences of marrying her will be... it is not the emperor's fault anyway.
Who dares to say that the emperor is wrong?
Zhou Xian felt cold all over. He suddenly stretched out his hand and tugged at Wang Xiang's clothes. Anger flickered on his face as he demanded harshly, "What about my mother? Who is she? Who am I? You are a bunch of beasts! I..."
Tears rolled down.
Wang Xiang lowered his eyes and looked at the child he had raised, his expression unclear: "Of course a princess is a princess. The blood of the emperor is still flowing in you!"
——Why don’t you understand?
Wang Xiang let Zhou Shan pull his clothes, showing a strange expression, frowning slightly, but the corners of his lips were raised, with a hint of pity and ridicule.
How could Zhou Xian not understand?
As long as his biological father is Emperor Yongchang, no matter if his mother is Consort Jing or Empress Consort, he will never be able to escape this shackle...
"If the princess doesn't believe me, let's set off back to the capital and ask the emperor in person." Wang Xiang raised his hand and gently stroked Zhou Xian's hand away. "I originally thought the princess had no relatives from her mother's side and was all alone. Now that she finally has relatives from her mother's side, I'm sure the emperor will also—"
“That’s enough!”
An angry roar exploded in the hall, and the old man who had been sitting there for a long time finally came back to life. He stood up suddenly, dancing with his hands and feet, his face showing a mixture of joy and sorrow, crying and laughing, like a madman, and his speech was incoherent.
He cried, "No! No! This is not my grandson! Let me go! Let him go... Let him go..."
After saying that, the old man started running outside!
Wang Xiang would not let him succeed, so he shouted, "Stop him!"
Zhou Xian also shouted, "This is my yard, who dares to stop me?!"
The East Depot guards rushed to stop the old man, but they knew he was as strong as an ox, and the guards, who were skilled in martial arts, were almost unable to stop him. The old man's face flushed red, the veins on his neck bulged, and he let out a low roar and raised his hand, and the guards fell to the ground in a panic.
"A bunch of trash!" Wang Xiang was infuriated by his men. He stepped on tiptoe and rushed forward to catch the old man himself.
The Jinyiwei who were ordered to protect the princess looked at each other, unsure who to listen to. After all, the eunuchs and the guards were inseparable, and now the eunuchs were in power, with the East Factory pressing down on them, so they really didn't dare to offend them easily.
As for the other servants and maids, they hid in the corners, fearing that they would be affected.
The courtyard before him was in chaos, with people flying about and dogs clamoring. Zhou Xian was so overwhelmed by the sight that he almost couldn't breathe. He dodged Yu Xi and the others' attempts to support him, lifted his skirt, and ran, panting. He reached Wang Xiang and suddenly punched him, then grabbed the eunuch's belt tightly.
Wang Xiang was stunned by him.
It’s not that Zhou Xian was so powerful that he could defeat the masters of the imperial court. In fact, his body had not yet recovered, so when his fist landed on Wang Xiang, it didn’t hurt much.
But Wang Xiang was stunned for a moment.
He thought that Zhou Shan would never forgive him again.
Just as Wang Xiang was stunned, the old man saw the opportunity and hit Wang Xiang in the abdomen. The headbutt was very powerful. Wang Xiang felt severe pain and swayed several times. He was about to be knocked down by the old man.
What a coincidence, Zhou Shan was still pulling Wang Xiang's belt. If Wang Xiang fell, Zhou Shan would also fall!
This made Yu Xi and the others very anxious, and they all ran up to rescue Zhou Shan.
The Dongchang men were no less eager, and they rushed towards the old man. A large group of people crowded together just for this crazy old man!
Wang Xiang was in a state of panic. He began to regret having captured the old man to claim as his relative. He had waited in the capital for three days and three nights before digging out the old man. Now thinking about it, he really asked for trouble!
"He's gone mad!" Wang Xiang lowered his head and said to Zhou Shan with gritted teeth, "You won't let me stop him. Do you want him to go out on the street and embarrass himself?"
Zhou Xian clutched his belt tightly, his cheeks flushed from the effort, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. "He can go crazy, I'm stopping him, it's not me who's embarrassed! I just know that if he runs away and makes things worse, you're definitely not going to be well!"
Just as the two were at a stalemate, a voice suddenly emerged from the noise: "The Prince Consort is back!"
…
Zhang Jin rode as fast as he could, bringing Monk Yu and the famous doctor Huang Ruiying all the way back to his home in Yan'an Prefecture.
But before he could even get off his horse, a group of servants came with sad faces, saying that something had happened in the backyard!
He quickly dismounted and asked anxiously, "What happened? Where's the princess? Is she sick again?"
The servant was terrified by the scene inside. With a mournful face, he stammered and could not explain anything. He only said, "Princess...Princess...Alas! Master, please go in and take a look yourself!"
So he walked quickly into the house, only to hear bursts of noise, among which was faint crying. His heart sank and a kind of fear rose from the bottom of his heart again.
Zhou Xian...
Zhang Jinwei's heart was in a knot. He was afraid to go in and see Zhou Shan's pale face, or... or Zhou Shan would disappear again...
Fear arises from love.
With trembling hands, he pushed open the gate, walked around the screen wall, and then stood there in a daze.
Monk Yu and Huang Ruiying followed behind him and almost bumped into him because they were not paying attention.
"Donor?" Monk Yu was very confused.
Zhang Jinwei slowly exhaled a breath of foul air.
All I saw was a mess. The guards from the East Factory were tying up an old man, and the servants were hiding aside trembling with fear. Not to mention the Jinyiwei who stayed behind, they were almost moving a stool to eat melon seeds and watch the show.
And his wife was holding on to a eunuch's belt tightly and refused to let go.
Zhang Jinwei's eyes went dark and he raised his hand to slap himself.
Monk Yu was also shocked when he saw this scene. He didn't expect that Wang Xiang would come to him on his own without him having to look for him!
But when Huang Ruiying saw the old man, she was shocked and blurted out: "Senior Sun?"
Everyone in the yard turned their heads and looked at the three of them.
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