Chapter 12 The Scandal: "Go explain to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."
There are three people inside the house.
The man in the middle was face down, disheveled, and dressed in rags, crawling on the ground, as if protecting his waist and abdomen. Only his back was slightly heaving, and he was on the verge of death. Su Yiyi was half-squatting, looking astonished. The fierceness between her brows had not yet been concealed. The tip of the gold hairpin in her hand was pointing downwards, dripping blood. It had already drawn a long bloody mark on the man's side. The woman standing on the right panicked and dropped the porcelain bottle in her hand. It shattered on the ground with a crash, and the liquid spilled all over the ground in an instant.
"Take it down!"
At a command, guards filed in and subdued the two women. Yuan Mingjin's pupils constricted. He quickly stepped forward, took off his outer robe, and wrapped it around the person. Turning her over, he saw that it was indeed Su Xiaotang with her eyes closed.
His face was deathly pale. Su Yiyi had used a gold hairpin to cut a long gash across his cheek from his cheekbone to the corner of his lip, leaving his skin torn and bleeding profusely. There were also some abrasions and bruises. A closer look at his collar revealed the same condition. Yuan Mingjin was horrified and immediately ordered someone to summon the physician of the manor, as well as Su Aoshuang and Xin Yaning.
"Lord Su is an official appointed by the imperial court, and I, the prince, should naturally respect her and value her talent. I must ask her to walk over 'slowly'."
She bent down and steadily picked up Su Xiaotang, letting his head rest limply on her shoulder.
Staring at the wound on his face, Yuan Mingjin frowned, his voice as cold as ice, and said, word by word, "Bring the doctor and Madam Su here immediately, the sooner the better."
The attendant obeyed and left. Yuan Mingjin glanced coldly at the two who were still in a daze, and was about to leave with Su Xiaotang when his robe was suddenly tugged.
Her eyes flickered slightly as she glanced down. She saw Su Yiyi's face was ashen, yet her fingers were still clenched tightly, clutching the hem of her garment as if it were a lifeline. Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head and sobbed, "Your Highness, it's not what you think. It's...it's Xiaotang..."
Even at this critical juncture, his tears were still incredibly moving, a vibrant crimson tinge appearing at the corners of his eyes, like a slanted red stain. Yuan Mingjin, however, remained unmoved, saying only, "In that case, I must thank you for reminding me."
Although she remained expressionless, her trusted confidants, who were quick to understand her intentions, stepped forward. One of them used a handkerchief to pick up the oddly shaped gold hairpin, while the other used a handkerchief to absorb all the water spilled from the broken porcelain bottle.
Su Yutang finally came to his senses, his lips trembling uncontrollably, and he stammered, "What... what is this? The bottle is all broken..."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Mingjin seemed to only then notice her, glancing at her sideways. However, when his gaze fell on her palm, it suddenly sharpened, and he stepped forward and snatched the strip of cloth from her hand—
"I've long heard that Miss Su has a penchant for stealing the throat bandages of respectable men, and now she's even going so far as to steal them from her own brother. What a disgraceful thing to do."
She smiled faintly, her dark eyes as deep as a cold pool, her lips clearly upturned, yet the words she uttered were like a sharp sword, piercing straight into Su Yutang's heart.
Su Yutang felt a chill run down his spine.
"What? No—"
She turned pale with fright and hurriedly reached out to snatch back the strip of cloth, but the guard held her firmly, preventing her from moving. "Your Highness! Please let me explain..."
"Go explain to the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review."
Su Aoshuang, who had rushed over, hadn't even had time to catch her breath when she heard these words. Her knees buckled, and she almost collapsed to the ground.
"Your Highness, you mustn't! Yu'er is my only daughter. Are you trying to kill my lineage?!"
A quarter of an hour ago, she saw that Prince Rui's trusted confidant had come to invite her personally. His words and actions were respectful, but his smile was forced and insincere. Although the corners of his lips were turned up high on the lower half of his face, he covered them with his hand. Looking at the upper half of his face, the corners of his fox-like eyes were flat, and the deep meaning in his eyes made people feel uneasy.
Su Aoshuang, being a high-ranking official of the third rank, possessed a keen political sense. Her right eyelid twitched immediately, and she had a very bad feeling. When she heard the man ask her to walk slowly and not lose the demeanor of a trusted minister, the ominous premonition in her heart grew stronger. In the end, she could not suppress it and walked over with great speed, almost running.
—Then I heard Yuan Mingjin say those words.
"With the King's consort injured like this, does Lord Su intend for me to have no heir?" Yuan Mingjin sneered, returning her words verbatim, leaving the Su family members in the room looking at each other in bewilderment, and then took the unconscious Su Xiaotang to see the doctor.
As they passed each other, Su Aoshuang saw the person in her arms with a bruised and swollen face, looking utterly wretched. Her eyes widened suddenly, her pupils trembling uncontrollably.
"mother!"
As soon as Yuan Mingjin left, Su Yutang was the first to react. She cried out in alarm and rushed forward on her knees, ignoring the burning pain in them. She hugged her mother's legs, tears welling up in her eyes: "Your Highness Prince Rui, she... she really wants to send me to the Dali Temple? Mother, I was just momentarily bewitched. It was that slut Su Xiaotang who seduced me first! You have to save me—ah!"
The last word suddenly changed tone. Su Aoshuang kicked her in the chest, knocking her to the ground. Although she was furious, she instinctively remembered to hold back her strength, but the kick still sent Su Yutang sprawling.
The kick stunned Su Yutang. It took her a long time to react. She scrambled to her feet, her eyes filled with disbelief, "...Mother, you kicked me?"
Seeing this, Su Yiyi shrank back in fright, afraid of being implicated—her mother always doted on her younger sister the most, and if even she was being beaten, who knew what kind of punishment awaited her...
It's all Su Xiaotang's fault!
"Hmph, if we can't satisfy His Highness Prince Rui, it won't just be a matter of kicking him once!"
Su Aoshuang, panting heavily, glared at her with exasperation—"When will you ever behave yourself? It seems that making you kneel in the ancestral hall last time was too lenient!"
Like a beautiful orchid or a jade tree, one wishes to have it grow in the courtyard. She truly hated that Yuan Mingjin was not her daughter, but this good-for-nothing who was more trouble than a good-for-nothing in front of her!
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. Although Yuan Mingjin is still just a young tiger, he should not be underestimated. Su Aoshuang knew perfectly well that since His Highness Prince Rui had ordered someone to summon her first, instead of immediately sending Yu'er to the Dali Temple, it proved that there was still room for negotiation in this matter.
How can we satisfy His Highness Prince Rui?
Su Aoshuang ignored the dumbfounded expressions of the two men in the room, who looked as if they had seen a demon. Even though it was late spring and the weather was still chilly, she was breathing heavily.
She looked around and saw a door bolt that looked like a carrying pole standing behind the gate. She strode over, raised it, and swung it down at Su Yutang's left leg!
"ah--!"
The screams were incessant. Yuan Mingjin watched as the doctor applied medicine to Su Xiaotang while straining his ears to listen to the sounds from the other side. Seeing that there was nothing else except a cry of pain, he frowned in dissatisfaction.
"Ugh!" Su Xiaotang cried out in pain while unconscious, startling the doctor who was pouring the medicine powder. He quickly and cautiously checked on Yuan Mingjin and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was not angry.
She had practiced medicine for decades and treated many high-ranking officials and nobles, but this was the first time she had treated a member of the royal family.
And it was none other than the rising star, Prince Rui…
"Your Highness..." the physician asked cautiously, "The wound on the royal consort's face is long and deep, and it may require several stitches."
This question drew Yuan Mingjin's attention back. Her eyes darkened as she stared intently at the doctor: "Will it leave a scar?"
"This..." The doctor felt as if he were being crushed by a mountain when she glanced at him, and he couldn't help but want to raise his sleeve to wipe his sweat. "I have heard that the Imperial Hospital has a medicine called Jade Skin Pill. After taking it, the skin can be made smooth and new, and scars can also be completely removed."
"Okay." Yuan Mingjin nodded, indicating that she had made a note of it. Seeing the doctor's hesitant expression, she asked, "Is there anything else?"
"I injured my hand years ago and I'm afraid I won't be able to hold a needle steadily. Your Highness, could you please ask a skilled embroiderer to sew up the needle for me? I will guide you from the side. If Your Highness is not at ease, you may also watch from the side."
"allow."
Before long, the confidant brought in a young embroiderer. Upon seeing Su Xiaotang, the embroiderer exclaimed in shock, "What's wrong with Second Young Master?!"
The other three people present all felt a twitch on their foreheads.
"Call him Wang Fu." She didn't speak, and the other two didn't dare to utter a sound either. Yuan Mingjin rubbed her temples. "He's married."
"This...when did he get married?" The embroiderer was clearly confused and wanted to continue asking, "This child clearly doesn't even know how to embroider a wedding dress..."
"This is His Highness Prince Rui, why don't you pay your respects?" Seeing that he was still oblivious and kept stepping on the wrong foot, the confidant finally couldn't help but shout.
I've never seen such a stupid person!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"
Xiulang seemed to wake from a dream and was about to kneel down when Yuan Mingjin stopped him: "What time is it? Saving the King is the priority. There's no need for these formalities."
"yes."
Even so, the embroiderer still seemed dizzy, but when he picked up the silver needles, he was like a different person. Not to mention how precise he was in inserting the needles, just watching the needle tip pierce the flesh and the needle thread drag out sticky blood streaks was an extremely bloody process, but his movements were like embroidering flowers and sewing brocade, with neat stitches, which was very entertaining. The doctor was amazed.
Su Xiaotang suffered terribly; even in her unconscious state, she couldn't help but whimper in pain, her brow furrowed deeply, and she trembled in waves.
"Shouldn't you give him some anesthetic before sewing?" Yuan Mingjin couldn't bear to watch any longer and turned her head away.
She had seen military doctors stitch up wounds before when she was in the army. She could even have a doctor clean and stitch her wounds while she was talking to someone.
But when it came to Su Xiaotang, for some reason, she couldn't stand it.
"Your Highness, no need. The liquid that the royal consort inhaled seems to contain anesthetic components." Although the physician answered, his eyes were still fixed on the silver needle in Xiulang's hand, as if he wanted to see clearly how each needle was inserted.
Yuan Mingjin listened, but did not relax, and asked again: "Could it lead to addiction?"
Some of her wounded soldiers suffered unbearable pain after recovering, so they used some pain-relieving prescriptions. Unexpectedly, after they were fully recovered, they still wanted to take these prescriptions. If they didn't take them for a day, their joints would ache, their heads would split, they would feel dizzy, and they would feel extremely uncomfortable. They would rather spend all their money to get another prescription from the physician. In the end, it took a lot of effort to quit.
"This... I don't know," the doctor hurriedly replied.
Knowing that although she was a famous doctor in the capital, her insight was naturally inferior to that of the imperial physicians and itinerant doctors, Yuan Mingjin did not make things difficult for her. She ordered her confidant to send the water-soaked handkerchief to the Imperial Hospital for examination, and then got up and followed the servant sent by Su Aoshuang to invite her to the hall.
Four people were already waiting for her inside, one of them prostrate and the other kneeling. Su Aoshuang used the door bolt for support, clearly using it as a cane. In just half an hour, this important official looked haggard, as if he had aged decades in an instant.
Yuan Mingjin didn't even glance at the disheveled man prostrate on the ground. He simply sat down at the head of the table, picked up the porcelain cup beside him, skimmed off the tea foam, and slightly raised his chin, smiling at Su Aoshuang:
Is that all?
A note from the author:
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"It is like wanting orchids and jade trees to grow in the courtyard," a quote from the "Biography of Xie An" in the Book of Jin.
I had menstrual cramps all day and slept, but thankfully I woke up in time to fix the post and update it. [emoji]
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