Seeing that his face was turning red from holding it in, Huo Baichuan turned his head away with amusement. "Laozi, Mencius, and Xunzi call you grandson, is there any need to get so excited?"
As soon as he spoke, everyone couldn't help but laugh. No one possessed the talent and achievements to match the title; calling him 'Sun Tzu' was blatant irony. They weren't Sun Tzu himself. Sun Binli was furious, pointing his finger at Huo Baichuan's nose, "You brat!"
"As expected of mother and son, both like to call others scoundrels. It's a family tradition, the grandson calling others scoundrels, haha." He said this in a serious tone, which only made it more ironic. Isn't this a case of the upper beam being crooked and the lower beam being crooked too?
Sun Binli was a scholar from a family of scholars, and he could not bear such an insult. He was so angry that he trembled.
Just as Madam Sun was about to assert her seniority, Xie Yun stared at her intently, his aged eyes gleaming. Madam Sun lost her arrogance under Xie Yun's gaze; Xie Yun was not someone to be trifled with.
Others dared not speak casually, for they did not want to be called "grandsons." Throughout history, there have been many who have been called "sons of bitches," such as Bai Qi and Sun Bin, whose names have been passed down through the ages. But those who are called "grandsons" are truly grandsons.
Just then, Physician Peng came out of the house, peeked out at the people in the courtyard, and was startled. After looking around and seeing that all the familiar faces were there, he was slightly relieved and coughed lightly, saying, "The Tenth Prince is out of danger, and the snake venom has been neutralized."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhao Shu glanced at everyone and didn't find anything unusual. Her gaze fell on Zhao Bi, who probably hadn't made a move.
Zhao Shu looked at Zhao Bi. Zhao Bi was extremely perceptive. He suddenly looked up at Zhao Shu. He did not panic, but smiled gently. However, although the smile seemed gentle to others, it was extremely cold to Zhao Shu.
"Since there's nothing seriously wrong, let's disperse." Old Madam Sun glanced coldly at the nonchalant Sun Yun, snorted, and turned away.
They wouldn't even give me the honor of going in for a second look!
The Sun family members naturally followed her and left, but Zhao Bi stayed behind. As soon as the Sun family left, the courtyard became empty. Zhao Bi called out, "Doctor Peng, may we go in to see him? Everyone is very worried about him." He was refined and polite.
The old imperial physician, Peng, opened the door completely and stepped aside, saying, "Your Highness, please."
Zhao Shu and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance. The Crown Prince shook his head slightly and said, "I'll go take a look. Let's go back."
"Let's go together." Although she really didn't want to see Zhao Yan, they were from the same clan and were in Jingxin Garden, so she couldn't let others laugh at her and reluctantly went to take a look.
The Crown Prince led the way, followed by Prince Yong with Zhao Shu. He made sure she didn't get close to Wei Tingsi. Qiu Tong and Yan Ruyu knew that Sun Yun and Zhao Shu were on good terms, so they didn't go near Zhao Shu either, but just followed silently behind.
To show his respect for the Crown Prince, Zhao Bi did not enter the gate first.
As everyone entered, several imperial physicians surrounded the tenth prince. The tenth prince had just escaped death and was extremely pale and weakly lying on the bed. When he saw the crown prince enter, he trembled and became even weaker, whether out of guilt or fear.
"Xiao Shi greets Your Majesty, Uncle Nineteen, and Sister Ajun." He struggled to get up and bow, but was held down by the Crown Prince.
"Tenth Brother, are you feeling better?" the Crown Prince asked in a gentle tone. Those who knew him would know that such a tone was extremely official, neither distant nor intimate, yet it expressed concern for his brother.
The Crown Prince is the heir to the throne, and his every word and action has a template to follow.
Zhao Yan coughed and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I am fine."
"It's good that you're alright. Take good care of your injuries. Once you're healed, your elder brother will come to see you again, Fourth Brother." After saying this, the Crown Prince looked at Zhao Bi, who was standing to the side, and said, "Your tenth brother was brought here by your fourth brother. Please escort him back to his residence."
"Yes, Your Highness, rest assured," Zhao Bi replied respectfully.
Prince Yong was unaware that Zhao Yan had brought the snake in himself. Seeing that Zhao Yan was pale, weak, and looked like he was about to die, Prince Yong felt sorry for him and reached out to pat his shoulder to comfort him.
Zhao Shu simply watched coldly, and no one spoke again. Having seen it all, she knew that the Crown Prince and Zhao Bi were only superficially friendly, and that he had never been close to Zhao Yan. So she led her people out of the house without looking at the flowers, drinking much wine, or composing poems, songs, playing music, or playing the zither. They all returned to their residences with their own thoughts.
This seemingly meticulously planned contest ended inexplicably for reasons unknown.
The one who found it most inexplicable was Zhao Bi. He did not leave Jingxin Garden with the Crown Prince, but stayed in Xuefang Pavilion. Zhao Yan struggled to sit up, and he hurriedly went forward to help him, taking a large pillow to support Zhao Yan's back so that he could lean more comfortably.
"Fourth Brother, I'm sorry, I'm useless, I failed." Zhao Yan looked remorseful as he spoke, pounding his leg where he had been bitten by the snake, below the ankle ring on his calf.
Zhao Bi didn't blame him. Instead, he comforted him and pulled his hand to stop him from hitting himself. "It's not your fault, Ayan. You shouldn't have done this. You are a prince! You are my brother!"
Clearly, this was not his arrangement. He uttered the words "my brother" with trembling hands, his eyes filled with an icy intensity that frightened Zhao Yan.
However, Zhao Bi's eyes were soon filled with tenderness, like the sun in the sky illuminating Zhao Yan's dark life.
"I'm sorry, Fourth Brother." He didn't know how to express his regret, guilt, and deep self-blame, so he could only say "I'm sorry" in a pale voice.
Zhao Bi looked at him gently and asked softly, "Did your fourth sister-in-law tell you to do this?"
"Yes." Zhao Yi nodded, then hurriedly began to explain, "I'm sorry, Fourth Brother, I wanted to give you a surprise, but I made you worry."
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