Before the city was placed under martial law, Xie Lian and his companions traveled through the night and arrived at another city.
He still placed the king and queen in seclusion, and he and Feng Xin went out to earn money. However, just because they couldn't make much money in the first city, it didn't mean they would suddenly have good luck in the next city.
The two still often only received a meager wage after a hard day's work. Moreover, with one member suddenly missing from the once inseparable trio, the other two were extremely unaccustomed. For example, Mu Qing had previously been responsible for keeping the money bag and counting it at all times. Now that Mu Qing was gone, Feng Xin bluntly warned him that he might lose the money, so Xie Lian had no choice but to keep the bag with him. Every time he counted the pitiful amount, he couldn't believe that this was his reward for a day's work. After all, in the past, even tipping beggars would have cost him more than this.
Without Mu Qing and no one to bring food to the King and Queen, Xie Lian had no choice but to personally deliver all the necessary supplies to the King and Queen's hiding place every day, accompanied by Feng Xin. The Queen was delighted to see her son more often, and her joy immediately led her to the kitchen. That day, she asked Xie Lian and Feng Xin to taste her soup, then pulled them to the table and said, "You two need to nourish yourself. You've both lost weight."
Feng Xin was sweating profusely. As soon as his butt touched the stool, he jumped up and waved his hands, saying, "No, no, no, Your Majesty, Feng Xin dare not, absolutely not!"
The queen said with a pleasant face, "What are you afraid of, child? Come, sit down."
How could Feng Xin dare to speak? He truly didn't. He gritted his teeth and sat down, and the queen presented the fruits of her labor. Feng Xin took a deep breath and suddenly lifted the lid of the pot. Xie Lian sat at the top seat. Both of them looked at the contents of the pot with expressions of utter horror.
Xie Lian whispered, “This chicken… died such a tragic death.”
"..." Feng Xin's lips moved slightly, and he said, "Your Highness, you are mistaken. There is no chicken in there at all."
“???” Xie Lian: “What’s this dead chicken-like thing floating in there?”
Feng Xin: "I guess it's a paste... the shape is a little off?"
The two studied the pot for a long time but couldn't guess what it was. The Queen served Xie Lian a bowl each, and Feng Xin grabbed one for himself. As soon as the Queen went back to the house to find the King, they immediately poured out the soup in their bowls, pretending to drink it all in one gulp and wiping their mouths with satisfaction, saying, "I'm full, I'm full."
Seeing this, the queen was quite pleased and asked, "Is it delicious?"
Xie Lian said insincerely, “It tastes good, it tastes good!”
The queen said happily, "It tastes good, so drink more!"
Xie Lian nearly spit out the nonexistent soup, raising his handkerchief to pretend to wipe the corner of his mouth. At this moment, the queen seemed to hesitate for a moment, then said, "My son, I have a question for you. Don't blame me for being nosy."
Xie Lian's heart tightened slightly. He put down his handkerchief and said, "What's the matter? Ask ahead."
The queen sat down beside him and asked, "Where's Mu Qing? Why hasn't he come these past few days?"
really.
Hearing her mention Mu Qing, Xie Lian's heart tightened even more. He said, "Ah, I gave him some tasks, so he went somewhere else first."
The queen seemed relieved and nodded, then asked, "When will he come back?"
Xie Lian said, “Perhaps, I’ll be away for a long time… and won’t be able to come back.”
Hearing this, the Queen looked a little embarrassed. Xie Lian noticed this and asked, "What's wrong?"
The queen immediately said, "Nothing."
Feng Xin was still sharp-eyed and suddenly asked, "Your Majesty, what happened to your hand?"
hand?
Xie Lian looked down and was immediately shocked.
His mother's hands, once well-maintained and graceful, now looked appalling. The knuckles were broken, and there was a faint trace of blood. Xie Lian stood up suddenly, took her hand, and asked, "What's going on?"
The queen said hurriedly, "Nothing serious. I just washed some clothes and quilts, but I'm not very good at washing."
Xie Lian blurted out, “Why do you want to wash it yourself? You can…”
Before he could finish his words, he was stuck. What could he do? Could he ask the palace maids to help wash it? Could he ask Mu Qing to help wash it? All of that was impossible.
During their escape, Mu Qing had been the personal attendant who had taken care of all the daily chores for Xie Lian, the king, and the queen. Once he left, there was no one to do all the trivial matters.
No one cooked, no one washed, no one folded the quilts. Life, once so simple, suddenly became a mess. Xie Lian could manage it, for he had so much to worry about, but how could his mother, accustomed to a leisurely life, ever handle such rough work? And if the queen wouldn't do it herself, who could do it for her?
After a long silence, Xie Lian said, "Leave it there. I'll wash it."
The queen smiled and said, "No need. Just do your own thing. I've never done laundry or cooked before, but I have nothing to do every day, so it's quite interesting to cook for myself. Especially seeing you guys enjoying your meal, I feel great too."
That pot of soup was made by his mother's hands. However, they didn't even drink a sip and secretly poured it away. Xie Lian and Feng Xin looked at each other, both feeling uncomfortable. At this time, the queen said, "Oh, there's one more thing. Can you bring some medicine back tomorrow?"
Xie Lian opened his eyes slightly and asked, "Medicine? What medicine?"
The queen looked worried and said, "Alas, I don't know either. Why don't you go to the pharmacy and ask what medicine is used for coughing up blood?"
"Coughing up blood?!" Xie Lian exclaimed in astonishment. "Who's coughing up blood? You? Father? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
His voice was a little louder, and the queen immediately said, "Keep your voice down!" However, it was too late. An angry voice came from the back of the house, saying, "I told you not to talk too much!"
It was the king. Seeing that he had heard her, the queen no longer tried to hide her feelings and shouted into the room, "But, you can't go on like this!"
Xie Lian walked straight into the room and saw the king huddled in a ragged quilt. He hadn't looked closely enough these days, but now he saw the king's face was sickly, his cheeks practically sunken, and his complexion looked even more bleak in the gloomy room. There was no aura of a king; he was simply a gray, worn-out old man.
Xie Lian didn't even need to take his pulse to know he had been ill for a long time, and it was serious. The whole room was filled with a sickly haze, making it difficult to breathe. Thinking that the queen was talking about "coughing up blood," he became anxious and his voice suddenly rose: "What's going on?!"
The king's face turned pale and he asked, "What's with that tone of voice?"
The Queen and Feng Xin both came in. Xie Lian said, "Don't worry about my tone for now. Why didn't you tell me you were sick earlier?"
The King of the State said angrily, "Are you teaching me a lesson? I don't need you to teach me what I should and shouldn't say at any time!"
Seeing that he was still being stubborn, Xie Lian said in disbelief, "You are simply unreasonable? At this moment, you still want to emphasize your status and authority?"
The king was furious and shouted, "Get out! Get out now!"
The Queen and Feng Xin quickly pulled Xie Lian out, saying, "My son! Stop this. He's your father, the Emperor, and he's ill. Please be more considerate of him."
Fleeing while sick was like adding insult to injury. Xie Lian buried his face in his hands and said, "Mother! Why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had told me sooner, maybe I wouldn't have developed a blood-coughing condition! Do you know how difficult this disease is to treat?" It should be said that with their current conditions, it was impossible to cure it!
The queen was a little frightened and sad. She said, "We...we didn't know it would be so serious."
Feng Xin also said, "Yes. And we were running away from Yong'an's pursuers all the way. How could we stop?"
Xie Lian took his face out of his hands and said, "I'll take him to the city to find a doctor now."
But the king said in the house: "No need!"
Xie Lian turned around, about to retort, "I have the final say now," but Feng Xin said, "Your Highness, if we take the King to the city's medical clinic, they'll definitely be noticed."
Upon hearing this, Xie Lian froze. The Queen said, "We've been afraid of this, which is why we haven't told you these past few days. My dear, you should first...find a way to get some medicine back."
Behind the house, the king began coughing violently again, and the queen went in to tend to him. Xie Lian was stunned for a moment, then turned back to leave. Feng Xin said, "Your Highness! What are you going to do?"
Xie Lian didn't answer, and began to rummage through the drawers in the room. Feng Xin asked, "What are you looking for?" He didn't answer, but in a moment, he pulled something out from the bottom of the box.
It was a sword full of ancient charm. Feng Xin took one look at it and asked, "Why did you take out the red mirror?"
After a moment of silence, Xie Lian said, "I'm going to pawn it."
Feng Xin was shocked and immediately said, "No!"
Xie Lian slammed the box shut and said, “I’ve already pawned so many swords, this one won’t make a difference.”
Along the way, Xie Lian had already pawned most of his prized swords to cover their travel expenses and the necessary fees to pass through the dangerous checkpoints. Furthermore, since he couldn't go to a large, crowded pawnshop, and was sometimes threatened by unscrupulous merchants who had discovered their whereabouts, he reluctantly sold them at a reduced price. Feng Xin said, "It's different! Don't you really like this sword? Otherwise, why didn't you pawn it before and keep it in the bottom of your box? And it's a sword given to you by the Emperor. It would be embarrassing if you pawned it and told others about it."
Xie Lian said wearily, "No matter how much I like you, your life is more important. Let's go, let's go."
The two men took their swords and walked all the way to the city, both looking dejected. When they reached the pawnshop, Xie Lian stopped and looked at the red mirror in his hand. Feng Xin looked at him and said, "How about we not pawn it anymore? Let's try... another way?"
Xie Lian shook his head and said, "It's too late. Besides, I don't know of any other way to raise enough money."
If they were to steal, rob, or cheat, no mortal could stop them, and they would make money much faster. However, it was precisely because they had to abide by mortal rules and the principles of good and evil, and honestly find ways to earn money, that they found themselves in such a tight financial situation. Having made up his mind, Xie Lian said, "I'll pawn it. Once I've pawned it, I'll go buy medicine." He said that, but he didn't move. Feng Xin knew he was reluctant to part with it; this was his last sword, so he said, "Let's wait and see."
At this moment, there was a commotion on the street, with people shouting, "Who's causing trouble?!" "How dare you!" "Catch them! Catch them!"
Both of them were startled. Xie Lian cautiously stepped aside and asked, "Who?!"
Feng Xin was also very alert. He went to check it out, and when he was relieved, he came back and said, "It's okay! Don't worry! It's none of our business. They're not looking for us, and they're not Yong'an soldiers."
Xie Lian’s tense heart finally relaxed a little, and he asked, “What’s going on?”
Feng Xin said, "I'm not sure. It seems like a fight between a few evil servants. Should we go and take a look?"
Xie Lian said, "Let's see, don't tell me it's some bully." The two of them approached and saw a few people scuffling in the middle, with the onlookers cheering. Feng Xin patted a passerby who was watching with great interest and said, "Brother, what's going on?"
The passerby laughed and said, "Don't you know? This is so exciting! The servant beat the master!"
Xie Lian was speechless for a moment at this sort of thing. He asked, “Why is this happening? And why are you cheering for it?”
The passerby said, "Of course we should applaud! This master is such a piece of shit! This servant has been with him since he was little, loyal to him, and he only knows how to exploit him. He doesn't pay much and still makes him work like a slave. The servant can't stand it anymore, so look, look! He's beating him right now!"
As expected, the man who beat him cursed him as he beat him, saying things like, "I've put up with you for so long!" "Count what you've given me!!" "Our family is so poor we can't even afford to eat, and yet you're still bullying me!" "From today on, I'm no longer your dog!" The beaten master clutched his head and howled, while the others applauded. Xie Lian's heart tightened as he listened, and for some reason, his hair stood on end. He couldn't help but glance at Feng Xin's face. Feng Xin, however, hadn't noticed his annoyance at all. He had just listened to others talk about the master's misdeeds and casually said, "I see. This master is truly unruly. No wonder this servant is rebelling."
He said it unintentionally, but Xie Lian's heart skipped a beat and he clenched the red mirror in his hand.
After a lot of headaches and pawning the red mirror, the two finally had some money. They immediately went to the clinic to see a doctor and bought dozens of medicinal herbs to take back.
The herbs needed to treat hemoptysis are expensive and require large quantities. It's not a matter of just one or two herbs, or a day or two, so we need to keep an eye on the follow-up. That night, Feng Xin opened a few packets of medicine and boiled them outside, fanning himself furiously with a broken cattail leaf fan. Xie Lian, meanwhile, rummaged through the drawers inside. After a long search, he finally unearthed a soft, golden belt from the bottom of a box.
Xie Lian had previously owned many golden belts, but like his swords, they had all been pawned. This last one was the only one left, and he had originally intended to keep it as a souvenir, but now, he had decided to use it for something else.
Feng Xin happened to look up at him and said, "Your Highness, what are you doing with that belt? You're planning to pawn it, aren't you?"
Xie Lian walked over and handed him the golden belt.
Seeing this, Feng Xin's eyes widened suddenly, and he asked in confusion: "...Why did you give this to me? Your Highness, when you closed the box just now, you didn't close your brain with it, did you? "
"..." Xie Lian then remembered that in the Heavenly Palace, giving a golden belt as a gift had a special meaning. His face darkened immediately, and he said, "You're overthinking it. That's not what I meant at all. Just accept it as ordinary gold!" With that, he stuffed it in. Feng Xin, with the glittering golden belt hanging around his neck, glared, "No. You have to tell me why you suddenly stuffed a piece of gold in my hand."
Xie Lian said, “Just consider it as making up for the salary I owe you for so long.”
Feng Xin was puzzled. "No. What's wrong with you today? Why are you asking me for a salary at this hour? You might as well become a minister to buy more medicine for His Majesty the King. Or you can just keep it for yourself. This is something only a priest can have."
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