◇ Chapter 42 (42) Tattoos and Spells
Silence.
Bai Kang repeated his request. Emperor Jianguang refused, his head bowed, his gaze fixed on the figure in his arms. The Imperial Concubine was the first to speak up, urging, "Let the Imperial Physician treat Madam Bai. The Imperial Household Department is mismanaged, and this is my own fault. Your Majesty, rest assured that I will thoroughly investigate this matter and give Master Bai an explanation."
Emperor Jianguang hummed, his eyes still fixed on Lianzhi's face. Lianzhi felt uncomfortable being looked at, and tried to keep pretending, but suddenly she felt Bai Kang's arm tremble.
He immediately thought of the injury on Bo Kang's shoulder. Could it be that he couldn't hold him anymore? If he dropped him to the ground, wouldn't Chen Fengke really see him?
Just as he was thinking about it, Bo Kang tightened his arms and sobbed. A tear fell to the ground, splashing water.
Lily looked up and saw that Bo Kang's eyes were red. Her head seemed to explode, and she even forgot how to regulate her breathing.
Did Bai Kang cry? Didn’t Bai Kang see that he was pretending?
Are you crying because of him?
Returning home became a natural process. Bai Kang's sobbing was earth-shattering; although he didn't make a sound, it still confused everyone present. The imperial physician hurried over to check Lianzhi's pulse and confirmed that he wasn't poisoned, but had simply passed out from kneeling for too long.
When Emperor Jianguang heard the words "kneeling for too long", his expression changed slightly.
At the last palace banquet, many officials had witnessed the Empress Dowager forcing Bai Kang's wife to kneel. If word of this were to spread today, it might be seen as the imperial family mistreating the families of officials. Emperor Jianguang immediately lost interest in exploring Lianzhi's appearance and ordered Bai Kang to quickly return with his men.
Bai Kang hurried out of the palace, carrying the person, and boarded the Shangshu Mansion's carriage. Lianzhi, who had been held in his arms the whole time, poked her head out and took a deep breath. Where was the weakness on her face? It was clearly all fake.
The two looked at each other and laughed.
"You're pretending." Lianzhi patted her cheeks and burst into laughter. She didn't expect Bai Kang to be so good at pretending to cry. He started crying as soon as he said he would. Bai Kang fell into the soft chair and said casually: "You're not bad either."
When he first entered the Imperial Garden and saw Lianzhi lying unconscious on the couch, his bones weakened with fear. He thought the Empress Dowager had finally lost control and, in a fit of rage, had poisoned Lianzhi. But today, all the officials had seen Lianzhi arrive at the palace in a carriage from the Shangshu Mansion, looking very proud. The Empress Dowager wouldn't let Lianzhi die in the palace... would she?
Bai Kang looked at Lianzhi's tacky wedding dress embroidered with colorful patterns and thought.
Besides, it wasn't entirely fake. This was the first time he fell in love with someone, so how could he bear to watch that person die in front of him?
No, I can't think about it anymore.
"Baby, come here." Bai Kang stretched out his arms, and Lianzhi walked over very obediently and snuggled into Bai Kang's arms. Then, she heard an expected question: "Let me ask you, the Queen Mother's poisoning, do you have anything to do with it?"
"Brother Kang, how could you doubt me?" Lianzhi pouted aggrievedly, "I was also poisoned, why don't you care about me?"
Bai Kang's expression changed slightly, and he quickly lifted Lianzhi's chin to take a closer look. Her fair, round face was rosy, her lips were bright red, and even the fine hairs on her face looked healthy.
"I don't doubt you, I just want to confirm." Bai Kang gently pinched Lianzhi's face. It was soft and felt great, reminding him of the feeling when he applied medicine to Lianzhi... No, he couldn't think about this anymore!
I hope Lianzhi will be more obedient. If today's incident is really related to Lianzhi, he can only find a way to clean up the mess for Lianzhi.
Seeing that Bai Kang didn't say anything, Lianzhi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
The moment he heard Chen Fengke's voice just now, he did tremble. Not because of fear, but because he was afraid that he would lose control of his murderous intent.
Back then, he was just a down-and-out prince who had just left the cold palace and was no different from a palace maid. When Chen Fengke, then a prince, met him, he also said to him, "Lift your head."
Later, during a palace coup, he was again imprisoned in the cold palace. Chen Fengke put on the dragon robe, walked up to him again, and said to him, "Lift your head."
That tone, that look, full of blatant inquiry, made him feel sick every time he thought about it.
The palace affairs were covered up. Lianzhi chased Bai Kang several times to ask him about it, but Bai Kang simply told him not to worry, saying that His Majesty and the Queen Mother would make the decision. However, Lianzhi knew that a group of people from the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Kitchen had been dismissed and replaced with more people from Princess Jinyang and Lianzhi's staff.
It’s better to have your own talents in the palace to feel at ease.
After several days of struggle, Prince Yuan's marriage was finally settled, but it wasn't to the Prime Minister's granddaughter, but to the daughter of the Minister of Works. After returning home, Bo Kang excitedly recounted how, at the morning court session, officials from the Empress Dowager's faction and those from the Jianguang Emperor's faction had argued furiously over this matter, leaving the Minister of Works' face stained green.
"The war on the northern border is intense, yet the Empress Dowager insists on her son getting married at this time. Who doesn't know what she's planning?" Bai Kang grinned, picking up another boiled shrimp with his chopsticks and placing it in the lotus bowl. "The daughter of the Minister of Works is truly unlucky. Everyone knows that Prince Yuan is only a young man, and the Empress Dowager has made him fat and stupid. He's not a good match. What a sin."
Lianzhi raised her eyes and glanced at him.
Bo Kang had been very busy lately, rarely having time to dine with him. Today, he finally had some free time. Remembering Lianzhi loved seafood, and since her hometown had just sent some, he had someone prepare a seafood hotpot. Normally, Bo Kang couldn't eat seafood since his injury wasn't healed yet. But he kept it to himself, wanting to please Lianzhi, who of course wanted to have a good meal first.
Anyway, he saw that Bai Kang was sensible and only picked vegetables that he could eat, so he didn't need to remind him.
"What's wrong, baby? Why are you looking at me?" Bai Kang felt uncomfortable with his cold look and guessed, "Don't you like shrimp?"
Lianzhi shook her head and said aggrievedly, "I thought you would peel it for me. Why didn't you peel it for me yourself? I don't eat the ones peeled by Xiaoliu."
Xiaoliu pointed at herself doubtfully.
So that's why. Bai Kang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he took the shrimp back and peeled it: "If you want to eat it peeled, just tell me. How can I not peel it for you if you tell me?"
Lianzhi pursed her lips.
Bai Kang didn't put the shrimp in his bowl. Instead, he picked it up with his serving chopsticks and passed it to Lianzhi's mouth, raising his chin to signal him to open his mouth. But Lianzhi turned her head away and ignored him. He was a little unsure of Lianzhi's temper. This little guy was getting harder and harder to please. "Don't want to eat? What happened this time? I peeled it, and you still won't eat it?"
If there is anything he is not satisfied with, tell him what to do and give him a clear answer.
Seeing that Bo Kang was holding the chopsticks with his right hand, Lianzhi snorted softly, tears glistening in her eyes: "Do you think the Minister of Industry's daughter is pitiful?"
"Yeah. What's wrong?" Bai Kang didn't understand.
"When you just came back, you said that the Shangshu could marry the princess?" Lianzhi continued to bring up the past.
"I said it all! What's wrong with this..." Bai Kang was halfway through his words when he suddenly realized something when he saw Lianzhi's pitiful appearance.
Oh, he's jealous, he must be jealous! Bai Kang was overjoyed. This little guy finally knew how to care about him!
"What I said is not wrong, baby, think about it, right?" Bai Kang opened his mouth, but his words were still not very pleasant to hear. "If it were you, would you rather marry Prince Yuan or me?"
How stupid! Bai Kang is so stupid! Lianzhi felt very angry, but Bai Kang still acted like he was very charming. He snorted again, put down his chopsticks and said, "I said I don't want to eat hot food in such a hot weather, why did you let the kitchen cook?"
"Eating hot food in the summer is good for your health. Have you heard that you nourish yang in spring and summer, and yin in autumn and winter?" Bai Kang said, "From today on, drink a bowl of hot soup every day."
Seeing Lianzhi about to cry again, Bai Kang finally gave in and said, "We'll talk about this later. Let's eat first, okay?"
Lianzhi finally opened her mouth and ate the shrimp. Bokang had learned his lesson this time, personally removing the shrimp shells before feeding them to Lianzhi. Although he found this a bit cumbersome, he decided to skip the pot next time and let the kitchen handle the ingredients.
Lianzhi devoured most of the seafood in the pot. The capital is mostly plains, far from the sea, making seafood extremely difficult to find. Even back in the palace, Lianzhi didn't get to eat it every day. The consequence of eating so much today was that by midnight, Bai Kang suddenly felt his body getting hotter and hotter. It was getting really hot.
He thought his wound had become inflamed again and needed a new bandage. He felt around, the gauze was clean and still smelled faintly of medicine. Then he looked down, and the person in his arms was nearly as red as a boiled crab.
"...Lian'er! Lianzhi!" Bai Kang hurriedly woke her up, "How are you?"
Lianzhi slowly woke up, frowned and muttered softly: "Brother Kang, my head is so dizzy."
Lianzhi had a fever. He'd eaten too much seafood, and the fever had inexplicably persisted. The doctor came to take his pulse, but said it was nothing serious. Fever from indigestion is common in children, and seafood is cold, and Lianzhi is naturally fragile.
"Sir, why don't you let me take a look at your injuries?" said the doctor.
Bai Kang glanced at the drowsy Lianzhi and asked the doctor to leave with him. Several days had passed, but the wound on his shoulder hadn't healed yet. The deep cut, visible to the bone, was an abnormally bluish-purple color.
"How could this happen!" Qinghe exclaimed.
"Keep your voice down, there are people sleeping here." Bai Kang turned his head to look at him and patted him on the head.
Bai Kang wasn't that concerned about him. Furthermore, he'd been a guard for so many years, and had sustained numerous injuries, both large and small. As long as he wasn't dead, it wasn't a big deal. He didn't take the doctor's words seriously. "Is there a blood clot? Doctor, please clean it up for me."
Bright red blood oozed from beneath the skin. Contrary to the doctor's expectations, it didn't look like poisoning. But bruising wasn't entirely accurate. Ultimately, he decided to go back and consult his medical guide before making a final decision.
After sending the doctor away, Bai Kang returned to his room and asked someone to bring warm water to wipe Lianzhi's body. Today was not Eunuch Wen's night shift. When Xiaoye entered the room with the basin of water, Bai Kang suddenly changed his mind: "Put it down, I'll do it."
It's crazy. He actually doesn't want Xiaoye to wipe Lianzhi's body.
Lianzhi was sound asleep, snoring softly. Her face, already warm from sleep, felt a bit hot to the touch, but she didn't wake up even after he nudged her twice. She even leaned over to rub his hand. Bo Kang washed the towel, unbuttoned Lianzhi's shirt, and wiped his body to cool him down.
His fair skin was a faint pink, and he had almost no blemishes. Bo Kang silently recited the Heart Sutra twice, then turned the boy over in bed, his eyes fixed straight ahead, his deliberate and unhurried.
A saint who could remain calm in the face of temptation was born tonight. Bo Kang thought, his hands gripping the towel lowered, and when his eyes touched his waist, he abruptly turned his head away.
……wrong.
On the side of Lianzhi's waist, there was a pattern he had never seen before.
Without taking any precautions, Bai Kang moved forward. It was clearly a tattoo with an animal pattern, an animal he had never seen before. Its ferocious fangs were exposed on the snow-white skin, which was completely inconsistent with Lianzhi's temperament.
He had heard that some actors would get tattoos, often floral designs. This custom had come from the Qiang people. No one in the capital wore tattoos; they were only used to curry favor with high-ranking officials. Chunfenglou had actually tattooed Lianzhi. How painful must that be?
Bai Kang felt uneasy. Then he thought again, and it didn't seem right. Everyone else tattooed flowers. Wouldn't it be terrifying to have a tiger-head pattern like this on a lotus branch? It wasn't like the people of Liangzhou were so different that they liked something this exciting.
The tattoo was small, and if he hadn't scrutinized every part of Lianzhi's body, he wouldn't have noticed it. The ferocious tiger head tattooed on Lianzhi's body also made her look like a kitten taking advantage of the tiger's power. He quickly rubbed Lianzhi's back twice, waited for her body temperature to return to normal, and then held her in his arms and continued to sleep.
Lianzhi was back to normal the next day. Prince Yuan's wedding had already been set, and it was next month. Lianzhi despised the haste with which it was done. A member of the royal family, their marriage being finalized so hastily would be a disgrace to the clan.
As long as the frontier was not pacified, the court was short of money. Even though the empress dowager allocated money from her own private treasury, she was still criticized by the court officials. This mother and son's fighting was really brainwashing.
Lianzhi flipped through the household affairs that had accumulated in the mansion over the past two days. Her eyes stopped at the newly added page of the roster and she frowned. "How many new guards were assigned to the mansion? When did this happen? How come I didn't know about it?"
"Master, this matter was decided by our master. When the housekeeper delivered the list that day, you said you were tired and sent the housekeeper away." Liang Ye replied.
"On this page, several people were kicked out again. Why didn't you tell me?" Lianzhi raised her eyebrows and asked.
"The housekeeper came twice that day, but you were sleeping. The master told us not to tell you about this matter." Liang Ye continued.
Lianzhi was about to explode when she saw the name of the man Arus had impersonated crossed out from the roster, and her mood brightened again. She heard the Ministry of Justice had taken on the theft case at the mansion, and a city-wide search was underway for Arus today. It would be best if he was apprehended and executed quickly.
Thinking of this, he was in a good mood and asked the housekeeper to prepare the car quickly because he was going to pick up Bai Kang.
It had rained that morning, and the air was damp. As soon as Bai Kang arrived at the Ministry of Rites, he felt a pain in his joints, and he was restless. Everyone in the Ministry knew about his condition—ever since Bai Kang was seriously injured three years ago and was promoted to Shangshu, the Ministry had always kept painkillers on hand.
Having been relatively unbusy lately, and with Lianzhi becoming increasingly obedient and sensible, Bai Kang was in a very peaceful mood. Seeing his good mood, the clerk's mind perked up, and he hurried over with the medicine. Normally, being overly attentive would get you scolded, but now, being attentive was different. After Bai Kang finished his bowl of medicine, the clerk didn't leave, whispering, "Sir, I've heard there's a folk remedy that can heal your injury, and it's incredibly effective."
"Do you know any folk remedies?" Bai Kang asked doubtfully.
The clerk grinned and said something completely incomprehensible. Bai Kang was still waiting for him to tell him the prescription, or even to recommend a clinic - maybe it was his family's clinic. But after the clerk finished speaking, he continued to smile, rubbing his hands and looking at Bai Kang.
"What are you talking about?" Bo Kang frowned.
"It's said that this is a spell passed down by an immortal. Repeat it a few times and all injuries and illnesses will disappear." The clerk finished speaking and recited it again. Bo Kang's expression suddenly became serious and he sat up straight.
He still didn't understand the sentence, but he had a good memory and heard two words in the clerk's words. The pronunciation was very familiar, he had heard it before.
It's the two words "emu".
If it were just these two words, he wouldn't have doubted it. But the clerk's pronunciation was exactly the same as what he had heard from the old woman in Liangzhou.
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