Chapter 75 Welcoming the Emperor (3)
Meng Guanqi spoke sincerely and with impeccable manners. The Crown Prince could sense from his words that he genuinely wanted to help him bathe. However, the Crown Prince was destined to become a civil official, and if he passed the imperial examination, he would surely become a pillar of the nation. How could he do such a thing?
The Crown Prince smiled and declined, saying, "Young Master Meng is also from a noble family, so why would he need to do this? Pang Shi has just arrived, so there's nothing for you to do. Let him serve me while I bathe. I would also like to ask Young Master Meng and Madam Meng to help prepare a feast. We have been traveling for so many days and are starving. I must have a big meal after my bath."
Li Xiaoxiao no longer needed to go in to help the Crown Prince bathe, which delighted Meng Guanqi. He replied, "Yes, the kitchen has already prepared it. Your Highness and I are just waiting for you to come out and drink together."
Pang Shi entered the bathing room to serve the Crown Prince. Meng Guanqi instructed Granny Qi to go to the kitchen to check on Mama Mao's cooking. After she hurriedly left, Meng Guanqi immediately pulled Li Xiaoxiao outside. Only when they reached the door did she begin to scold her: "You're too bold! How could you say such things in front of His Highness the Crown Prince? What if His Highness blames you—"
Li Xiaoxiao blinked: "We just saved his life, how can we fleece him if we don't act pitiful?"
Meng Guanqi's eyes widened in surprise: "Fleecing the Crown Prince? You, you dare to fleece the Crown Prince?"
Li Xiaoxiao whispered, "What chance do lowly officials like us have of seeing His Highness the Crown Prince? You and the official shouldn't act all high and mighty now. Make sure you accept whatever he gives you. The nobleman inside is more powerful than us; if we don't take this opportunity to get some benefits, we won't have another chance once he leaves..."
Meng Guanqi's eyes were filled with complicated emotions, and his face was sour: "So that's why you told him that our family was so poor we couldn't even afford to eat?"
Li smiled and said, "I wasn't lying. It's true. Although he gave you a jade pendant as a way of repaying a life-saving debt, we can't sell it for money. Our family will remain poor. If I complain about being poor to him, maybe he can earn back the money the adults lent us."
Meng Guanqi took a deep breath, almost fainting from anger, and finally couldn't help but tap her forehead: "Nonsense! As a subject, loyalty to the emperor and love for the country is our duty. How can we take advantage of his kindness? You know that we have very few opportunities to see His Highness the Crown Prince. A few words of guidance from him are enough for us to benefit immensely. How can we set our sights on gold and silver?"
Tch~ Li Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. What's the use of just talking nicely? Even if you brag to the heavens, it's not as practical as giving me a few taels of silver. At least I can eat a few good meals!
Seeing her clueless expression, Meng Guanqi was genuinely afraid of her outspoken and fearless personality, so he couldn't help but explain in a low voice, "You can't judge a book by its cover. I've already accepted a jade pendant from Your Highness. With this token, neither the Lu family nor the Song family will dare to give us a wide berth when they see us. They will absolutely not dare to make things difficult for us or humiliate us again. Just wait and see. When Wan Quan and Zhao Jian arrive with the troops of the Qingzhou Guard Commander, they will even apologize to us. At that time, we won't have to worry about not getting paid. In short, we won't lose out."
Li Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up: "There's such a good thing!"
Meng Guanqi glared at her: "Who do you think the people inside are?! Let me tell you, the benefits don't stop there. Who knows, our family might be completely different starting tomorrow."
Seeing Li Xiaoxiao's easily read expressions of joy and anger, he felt a headache coming on and said in a low voice, "These things can't be said openly in the future. Just keep them in your heart. It's not the behavior of a gentleman to take advantage of someone's kindness. It's not a low-class thing to let others know. I just want you to know that some benefits won't be superficial. You need to have a long-term vision."
The assassination attempt on the Crown Prince will surely shock the court and the public. Now that he has transformed into the Crown Prince's savior, can the Meng family in the capital, who are eager to separate and sever all ties with him, still sit still? Can the Meng clan, who have always turned a blind eye, still sit still?
I'm afraid that in less than a month, what his family lost will come back to him.
That is the fascinating and even disorienting aspect of power.
Looking at the still bewildered little girl, he suddenly asked, "Xiaoxiao, saving the Crown Prince is all your doing. Do you have any wishes?" It was clearly her doing, but because she was his person, all the credit was attributed to his family, and he wanted to make it up to her.
Li Xiaoxiao perked up: "Of course, my biggest wish in life is to just laze around and wait to die—"
Meng Guanqi hissed and couldn't help but want to knock her head again: "If you keep talking nonsense, see how I deal with you..." But looking at her pale and tired eyes, he couldn't help but soften and said softly: "You must be exhausted from the journey, right? Go down and wash up first, get some rest. Judging from my father's arrangements, there's probably going to be a lot of trouble tonight..."
Li Xiaoxiao asked in surprise, "We've already gone home, and to the backyard of the county government office. Do you think those assassins would dare to chase after us? How is that any different from rebellion?"
Meng Guanqi said, "My father said that it is still dangerous until the Crown Prince is handed over to the Qingzhou Guard. We have already taken ninety-nine steps out of a hundred, and we cannot relax on the last step."
Li Xiaoxiao suddenly realized that this was true. It was always frustrating when something like this happened at the last minute, no matter when it happened. Magistrate Meng was indeed a high-ranking official, and he acted with caution.
But she really didn't have the energy to keep going. Apart from the day she first transmigrated, she hadn't felt this tired in a long time.
From the time she descended from Wanshan Academy to her return to Biyang County, she barely slept for five days and four nights.
Originally, it was just the cold weather and the journey that made her so tired, but in the rainy night, she used her ultimate ability to kill ten people in one go, which wiped out all the superpowers she had painstakingly accumulated. Without any rest or replenishment, and after traveling for three or four days without sleep, she was now at her limit.
She went back to her room, changed into a clean set of clothes, and immediately fell asleep on the bed.
Meanwhile, just as Pang Shi finished serving the Crown Prince his bath, Magistrate Meng was already waiting outside with Doctor Xie from Huichuntang and Doctor Zhang from Jimintang.
Pang Shi helped the Crown Prince to a chair in the hall, then casually lifted his robe and sat down beside him, extending both hands: "Doctors, please take my pulse first."
Doctor Xie and Doctor Zhang exchanged a glance, seemingly discussing who should step forward to take the patient's pulse first.
Half an hour ago, Steward Zhao dragged the two men out of the pharmacy, panting. He asked them who needed medical attention and what kind of emergency they had, but Steward Zhao refused to reveal a word, only saying that they were important people from the capital.
It turned out to be a distinguished person whose identity could not be revealed, and who had come from the capital. The two doctors dared not neglect him and immediately packed their medicine boxes with all the emergency medicines they needed and hurried over.
Upon entering the inner courtyard, they found Magistrate Meng and his son standing at the gate, seemingly as noblemen taking a bath inside. The two doctors became even more uneasy, wondering how high-ranking an official Magistrate Meng must be to be waiting outside.
Fortunately, the wait wasn't long. A bearded man who looked like a military general helped a handsome young man out. Both of them wore light yellow undergarments that were neither new nor old, but the noble air that the young man exuded in his every move steadily suppressed the domineering aura of the bearded man.
The two secretly thought that someone who could raise such a person must come from an extraordinary family, and was probably a high-ranking official from the capital.
When the Crown Prince saw that Magistrate Meng had actually invited two doctors, a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
He was injured outside, so he certainly wouldn't dare to trust the doctor's diagnosis or take any medicine casually. Unexpectedly, Magistrate Meng was quite meticulous and invited two doctors from different clinics to come and take his pulse. This way, they could supervise each other's medication and ensure that nothing went wrong.
This is similar to how, even though Wan Quan was seriously injured and didn't have much medicine powder left in the dilapidated temple, he still desperately rushed over to test the medicine when he saw Meng Guanqi applying it to him.
As someone from a prominent family, he knows all the intricacies of this situation.
With Wan Quan absent, Pang Shi naturally stood in his way.
Doctor Xie and Doctor Zhang dared not delay. They stepped forward, put down their medicine boxes, took out pulse pillows, and began to take pulses from both sides.
The two doctors took about the same amount of time to examine the pulse, listening for about ten breaths before letting go. They then asked Pang Shi to stick out his tongue and examine it carefully for about two more breaths. The doctors nodded, indicating that the examination was complete, and stepped back to await their reply.
Pang Shi said, "Well? Who wants to go first?"
Doctor Xie stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, “Sir, I am the resident doctor of Huichuntang, surnamed Xie. Your pulse is weak and rapid, your mind is listless, and your face is pale. This is a sign of excessive blood loss. Do you have any sword or knife wounds on your body?”
Dr. Zhang continued, "The patient's eyes are bloodshot, his eyelids are bluish-purple, his heart is racing and slightly constricted, and he shows signs of anxiety, restlessness, and lack of rest. In addition, he has lost too much blood, and his mind is unsettled, like an arrow on a bowstring that cannot be released. Besides the excessive blood loss, he also has anxiety..."
Pang Shi glanced at the Crown Prince and nodded.
Both doctors diagnosed the condition as normal.
Pang Shi said, "I do have injuries, and I have been extremely anxious and haven't been getting enough rest lately. Please, both doctors, prescribe a medicine so I can get it."
Doctor Xie and Doctor Zhang knew that the two distinguished guests were testing their medical skills, so how could they show weakness? They immediately sat down at the table and each wrote down a prescription.
Pang Shi picked it up and looked at it. The medicine looked similar to the one he was looking for. He nodded and took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket: "I used this white medicine a few days ago. Which doctor's pharmacy did you use?"
Upon seeing the bottle, Doctor Xie said, "This is our Huichuntang Baiyao, the best medicine for treating injuries."
Pang Shi said, "Give me two bottles of this wound medicine."
These medicines are always carried with you. Doctor Xie immediately opened his medicine box and took out two bottles of white medicine. Doctor Zhang watched enviously from the side. Their Jimintang also has excellent wound medicine, and its efficacy is no worse than Huichuntang's white medicine. But since the noble person used the white medicine first, would they still use their wound medicine?
Pang Shi took the medicine, opened it, glanced at it, smelled it, and slowly unbuttoned his clothes, revealing several scars that were still bleeding.
He gestured to Doctor Xie, who immediately and skillfully took the medicine and applied it to him. Then, he took out gauze from the medicine box and bandaged the wound. "Sir, change the dressing once a day. The wound must not get wet until it heals. In ten days to half a month, the wound will be completely healed."
The wound, after being treated with the white medicine, first stung, then felt cool. Pang Shi felt much better. After confirming that there was nothing wrong, he nodded to the Crown Prince: "Second Master, shall Doctor Xie apply the medicine to your wound as well?"
The crown prince nodded.
Doctor Xie dared not ask any more questions and hurriedly stepped forward to help unbutton the prince's clothes, revealing a scar about two inches long on his chest. Upon seeing the scar, Doctor Xie was stunned, and his movements slowed down.
The Crown Prince asked astutely, "What's wrong?"
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