Old Mrs. Zhuang was old and frail, so naturally she could not catch up with King Qi's troops. It was getting dark, and as she walked on the road, she could always hear the cries of night owls, which sounded like evil spirits calling, and was very scary.
So Mrs. Zhuang came back soon, her face full of regret and anger.
"The second child has really changed. He actually treated me like this! When Dabao and Erbao were little, I loved them the most. Now that they've grown up and become independent, they don't recognize me as their grandmother. What a heartless thing! I treated them so well..."
Old Mrs. Zhuang was talking to herself as she walked, and her mind began to recall the past, but she suddenly froze.
She couldn't remember! She couldn't even remember how she had treated the Second Wife well back then. How could that be?
In her impression, she should have loved her second child very much, and loved her two extremely smart grandchildren even more. Why, when she recalled the past, her mind went blank, as if a part of her life had been inexplicably lost.
The more Mrs. Zhuang walked, the slower she became. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. She was practically insane. No matter how foolish and ignorant she was, she knew this situation was definitely not normal. How could she forget about her youngest son and eldest grandson, whom she spent every day and night with?
They say the youngest son and the eldest grandson are the lifeblood of an old lady. How could she have forgotten her lifeblood and instead felt inexplicably fond of Zhuang Tianer?
Old Mrs. Zhuang squatted down with her head in her hands, groaning in pain.
At this moment, someone called out from under the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village: "Is that Old Lady Zhuang over there?"
"It's me," Mrs. Zhuang replied weakly, struggling to stand. She ordered herself not to dwell on the past, and her aching head instantly returned to normal.
This is very abnormal! Old Mrs. Zhuang was horrified and quickly ran towards the banyan tree where the voice came from.
When she got closer, she found that the villagers had not yet dispersed and were gathered under the tree chatting.
"Mrs. Zhuang, do you know why the scholar is valued by the prince?" someone brought up the topic.
"I don't know, I'm wondering too!" Old Mrs. Zhuang was confused.
"Let me tell you, your scholar is even more powerful than Master Xuanzhenzi of Qingtian Temple..." This man was also a dock worker and was well-informed. He recounted the great achievements of Zhuang Li in the past two days with exaggeration.
The villagers who had already heard these stories still listened with great interest and kept exclaiming in amazement.
Old Mrs. Zhuang was stunned when she heard this. She didn't realize that her old man was also squatting in the shadows, smoking a pipe with a horrified expression on his face.
At the end, the man lowered his voice and concluded, "Your scholar is a true god who has descended to earth. Catching ghosts, seducing spirits, and understanding the past and future are all divine skills. He's the only one who can cure the prince's illness. After the cure, the prince will definitely take him to the capital and make him the imperial preceptor! Xuan Zhenzi was even sent to the eighteen levels of hell by the scholar. Who in this world would dare to touch him? I always hear the second son of Zhuang say that his two sons are the incarnation of Wenquxing. I think the great scholar Zhuang is not Wenquxing, but the King of Hell."
Everyone around showed expressions of horror and fear.
Someone muttered, "It's said that Yama's eyes can see through all evil spirits. The other day, Mr. Zhuang said that Zhuang Tian'er was an evil spirit—"
The man didn't dare to finish his words because he suddenly thought of the donkey's egg's horrible death.
At the time, they simply thought that Zhuang Laoer's family had been punished by heaven and that they deserved their misfortune. Now, looking back, they suddenly realized: How could Heaven punish someone in such a sinister way? Didn't Heaven usually just use lightning to strike them?
To trick others into hanging themselves is the method of an evil spirit!
Thinking of this, all the people who had gathered under the tree to chat fled in panic, holding their breath, and never mentioned the name Zhuang Tianer again.
One old lady couldn't bear it any longer, so she pulled Mrs. Zhuang aside and whispered to her, "I just realized that there have been many things wrong with you over the years.
"You used to love the second wife the most, especially your two grandchildren. You wanted to pluck all the stars in the sky for them. But then, for some reason, you changed. You kept talking about Zhuang Tianer all day long, and you became worse and worse to your two grandchildren.
"Two scholars were peacefully reading in their room, yet you ran over and scolded them for no reason. They didn't want Zhuang Tianer to disturb them while they were studying, and you almost tore down their door. Think about whether your actions were reasonable.
"No matter how well-behaved and sensible your granddaughter is, she belongs to someone else and will definitely marry off in the future. Your two grandsons are the real pillars of the old Zhuang family. The future of changing the family and rising to prominence will all depend on them. You don't treat your two grandsons well, but instead, you interrupt their studies every day for the sake of your granddaughter. They're going to get strange headaches and hand pains, and nine out of ten times it's your fault."
"To be frank, no matter how promising Zhuang Tian'er is, what good can she do? She's a peasant girl, can she possibly marry a noble? At best, she can only marry a scholar. If you don't separate, when both of you scholars rise to high positions, Zhuang Tian'er will have a chance to soar to prominence. If you separate now, she'll be a sparrow for the rest of her life.
"To put it bluntly, your family's prosperity and wealth don't depend on Zhuang Tian'er at all, it's all thanks to those two scholars. How did you, who used to be so shrewd, get fooled by a little girl into this? Think about it carefully."
The old lady shook her head, sighed and left. It seemed that she was one of the few people who had not been brainwashed.
As she walked further, she suddenly muttered "evil spirit" and then ran away as if frightened. After she finished speaking, she suddenly realized that Zhuang Tian'er was indeed a bewitching evil spirit!
Mrs. Zhuang looked at the old lady's back, her mind racing. How could she not understand such simple truths? She could spoil her granddaughter, but she couldn't overpower her two grandsons, and she couldn't interrupt her grandsons' studies just because her granddaughter complained.
She understood all these principles! But why was she always led by Zhuang Tianer?
Old Mrs. Zhuang stood there trembling, but heard a painful groan from under the banyan tree. Then Old Man Zhuang walked out from the shadows, holding his head in great pain with both hands.
The two men looked at each other, then their faces turned pale. They wanted to say something, but their tightening throats deprived them of the language.
The two of them walked towards home, one step deep and one step shallow. When they were near the gate, they heard the laughter and noises of Zhuang Tianer and Zhuang Haisheng coming from the house, and they shuddered at the same time.
---
In the wobbly carriage, Zhuang Li was sitting opposite the King of Qi, looking the man up and down.
The Prince of Qi sat upright, holding his breath, not daring to move. He had never been so nervous before his father.
Suddenly, Zhuang Li half-sat up and put his head close to King Qi's head. He sniffed gently along King Qi's hair with his upturned nose and sprayed hot breath on his cheeks, ears, neck, etc.
The muscles of the King of Qi were tense, but his bones were soft.
He looked at the young master, his dark pupils covered with a layer of depression, and asked in a very hoarse voice: "What are you doing?"
"You smell strongly of medicine, as if you were injured." Zhuang Li looked up at the King of Qi and ordered, "Take off your clothes and let me see."
Just this one sentence pulled the King of Qi out of the charming whirlpool.
The throbbing, tenderness, and tingling sensations that lingered in his heart all transformed into the fear and dejection of having to face reality. The King of Qi clenched his fists and sat frozen in place.
Zhuang Li supported the carriage wall behind the King of Qi with one hand, holding him in his arms. With the other hand, he unbuttoned his clothes and smiled softly and hoarsely, "You don't want to take them off? Well, let's play a game. I'll take off one piece of clothing, and you take off one piece of clothing. How about that?"
The King of Qi's stiff body was attacked by an even more violent agitation. His clenched fists loosened at once, and moisture continued to emerge from his palms.
He quickly pressed his restless hands to his knees and quietly wiped away the burning sweat with a bright yellow cloth.
Zhuang Li slowly unbuttoned one of his own buttons, revealing his slender neck like a white swan. He then unbuttoned one of the King of Qi's buttons, and gently stroked the pulsating blood vessels on the side of his neck with his fingertips.
The King of Qi's iron will, forged through slaughter and political intrigue, collapsed under the gentle caress of a butterfly's kiss, leaving him completely defeated. He had always been unyielding and had a heart as hard as iron, yet he was easily controlled by the young man, both mentally and physically.
He trembled all over as he endured the boy's caress. He knew that his biggest secret was hidden under this layer of cloth, but he had no way to resist the boy's exploration.
He almost suffocated as he watched the boy unbutton each other's clothes, slowly revealing each other's bodies. The difference was that the boy was so white, intact, and beautiful, while his chest was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze that was slowly soaking with black blood and emitting a disgusting smell.
Zhuang Li, his shirt half-open, was stunned. He had originally thought his lover was suffering from severe insomnia, but he had never expected that this symptom was actually caused by severe pain in the body.
At that moment, he was nearly driven to tears by the sudden pity. The blood-soaked gauze corresponded to the heart, and it was emitting a foul odor, indicating that the wound had been festering and had not healed for many years.
No wonder his lover couldn't sleep every night, and no wonder he was so thin now. The heart injury was fatal. How did he survive all these years?
Zhuang Li looked at the blood-stained gauze with red eyes, and his fingertips had completely retracted, not daring to touch his lover's body again. He had not expected the problem to be so serious.
"What's going on?" he asked, looking up.
"A few years ago, I was shot by a poisonous needle that could not be pulled out. It was embedded in the flesh and slowly festered. Don't worry, the imperial physician has already prescribed an antidote pill. I take it every day and I am in good health." The King of Qi covered his clothes and said with a relaxed look.
Zhuang Li knew how serious the problem was: "The poison needle will travel through the body, did you know? One day it will travel into your heart! In fact, you are facing death every moment now."
The King of Qi lowered his eyes and said nothing. His palms, which were originally hot and covered with sweat, now felt like they were holding two pieces of ice, freezing him to the point of gradually losing consciousness.
He closed his eyes and sighed weakly.
Zhuang Li held his cold hand and comforted him, "Everything will be fine with me here. We'll be fine once we pull out the poison needle."
"I don't want to pull it out." King Qi opened his eyes and looked straight at the young master, his eyes full of affection.
The poison needle was so close to his heart that if the doctor's wrist trembled slightly when he pulled it out, he might die immediately. He had never been afraid of death before, so he ordered the doctor to just take a gamble.
At that time, the imperial physician did not dare to gamble and kowtowed and begged for mercy again and again. He was so angry that he wanted to operate on himself; but now that the imperial physician dared to gamble, he was afraid.
After meeting the boy, he knew he couldn't afford to lose. How could he bear to leave this world with such a beautiful and moving existence?
"Don't worry about the poison needle, just let me sleep peacefully every night. I live one day at a time, there's nothing wrong with that." The King of Qi said almost pleadingly.
"I don't think it's good. I'll help you remove the poison needle tonight." Zhuang Li made the decision decisively.
If he hadn't come, his lover would have died an extremely painful death in this life. He had to find out how the poison needle had penetrated his body!
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