Chapter 191 The Strongest White Lotus (First Update)
After getting dressed and pulling up his pants, Xiao Jingkong bounced around on the bed and continued to show off: "Jiaojiao carried me here!"
Xiao Liulang: Heh.
Little Jingkong raised his chin: "Jiaojiao even brought me my clothes, she's so thoughtful!"
Xiao Liulang: Hehe.
Xiao Jingkong got out of bed and started looking around for Gu Jiao: "Where's Jiao Jiao?"
"She went to the clinic," Xiao Liulang said as he followed her out.
Xiao Jingkong said disappointedly, "Oh."
I was in a bad mood when I woke up in the morning and couldn't see Jiaojiao.
He glanced at his wicked brother-in-law: "Jiaojiao and I slept together! You didn't!"
Showing off a little makes me feel good!
Xiao Liulang swore that if the little monk dared to be arrogant a third time, he would tell him the truth!
Fortunately, Xiao Jingkong tossed his head and went off to brag to someone else.
Since Gu Jiao wasn't there, Xiao Liulang made breakfast.
The family looked at the large, dark, unidentifiable lump in the bowl and collectively lost their appetite.
The old lady got up early for once, and this is what you give me?!
Little Jingkong's face scrunched up. He wasn't a picky eater, but he also wouldn't eat poison!
"Why aren't you eating?" Xiao Liulang asked.
Everyone's lips twitched, and they gave him a sideways glance: Don't you know why we're not going to eat it? Why don't you take a bite and show us!
Xiao Liulang also secretly refused.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting food, the family still gritted their teeth and ate the unidentifiable porridge in the bowl. Other people's cooking skills are getting better and better, but Xiao Liulang's cooking is getting worse and worse.
Gu Yan rolled her eyes at how unpalatable it was: I need to take two more heart medications!
After a breakfast that defies easy description, the family had a short meeting, leaving Xiao Liulang behind.
Little Jingkong stuck out his tongue wildly: "I'm never letting my bad brother-in-law into the kitchen again! If I faint in class today, it'll definitely be because I ate his breakfast and got food poisoning!"
Gu Yan, Gu Xiaoshun, and the old lady all nodded in unison, deciding to put Xiao Liulang on the kitchen's blacklist. As long as he doesn't starve to death, he will never be allowed to enter the kitchen again!
After missing Xue Ningxiang, the family began to miss the old master chef. Even the old lady, who would inexplicably get angry whenever she saw the old master chef, felt that at least his cooking skills were reliable.
The old chief minister has been very busy these past few days, playing hide-and-seek with His Majesty.
He couldn't let His Majesty actually find out about Bishui Hutong, so after moving out of that inn, he rented a small villa in the suburbs.
The villa was registered with the guarantor and was recorded in the government office. His Majesty found the place by following the clues within a few days.
On the first day, the old chief priest was not present.
The next day, the old chief priest was still not there.
On the third day, the fourth day... and the fifth day, the two eunuchs who had been waiting nearby finally saw the old chief priest.
One eunuch was responsible for holding off the old chief minister, while the other eunuch rushed back to the palace to report to His Majesty.
And so, on an ordinary afternoon, His Majesty met with the old chief priest whom he had not seen for three years.
The old libationer looks much older than he did three years ago.
Of course, I deliberately let the cold wind blow on me for half an hour on the way here, so my hair is a mess and my mouth is all blown out of shape.
"Your Majesty!" The old chief priest stepped down from the carriage and bowed to His Majesty.
Seeing him like this, His Majesty couldn't bear to let him bow, and quickly helped him up with both hands: "My dear minister, please rise!"
The old chief minister displayed his masterful acting skills, his eyes reddening and glistening with tears: "I am no longer a minister in the court, this address of 'my dear minister'... is too much of an honor!"
"It's windy outside, my dear minister, you need to take care of yourself. Let's talk inside!" The truth was that His Majesty had been waiting here for a quarter of an hour, and he was so cold that his teeth were chattering!
The two went inside.
The house was simple, but Liu Quan kept it very clean.
His Majesty had thought it would be warmer once inside, but he was wrong. There was no charcoal brazier in the room, and the temperature was almost the same as outside.
His Majesty shivered from the cold, feeling all the more that the old Grand Master of Ceremonies had had a difficult few years.
The old chief priest reacted calmly, as if he were used to such harsh living conditions. He said gently, "Your Majesty has not had the tea I brewed in a long time. Liu Quan, boil some water."
"Yes!" Liu Quan went to the kitchen and boiled a pot of water.
The old libationer personally brewed a pot of Longjing tea.
His Majesty is used to drinking the fine tea in the palace. Drinking this old tea from last year is no different from drinking swill.
He finally couldn't help but ask, "My dear minister, why do you live such a poor life?"
Even if the old chief minister was an honest official who only received a salary from the imperial court, he shouldn't have fallen into such a state of destitution.
An ordinary official's family would support a large household, but the old chief minister's wife died early and he had no sons, so his salary was enough for him to live a very comfortable life.
The old chief priest thought to himself, "Wasn't it because your mother robbed us?"
Forget it, they're not my biological child anyway.
The current emperor's background is actually quite pitiful. His birth mother was just a lowly palace maid who became pregnant by chance after gaining the favor of the late emperor.
In the Zhao Kingdom's harem, concubines below the third rank were not qualified to raise imperial heirs. After his birth, he was sent to Consort Jing's palace and raised by her.
The old chief minister smiled and said, "I actually think this kind of simple life is quite nice; it brings peace of mind. After so many years of ups and downs in the court, there have been very few times when we can be this peaceful."
His words did indeed touch His Majesty's heart.
As the ruler of a country, from the court to the harem, he never had a single day of peace.
While waiting for the old chief priest in the cold wind, my mind was actually the least cluttered.
Sitting indoors, free from worries about the political situation in the court, one can truly steal a half-day of leisure from a busy life.
His Majesty suddenly felt that the room wasn't so unbearable after all: "Did you return to the capital to see Elder Feng?"
He had also heard the news of Feng Lao's passing and felt deeply sorry for him, lamenting the loss of such an outstanding talent.
The old chief priest nodded: "It's for Elder Feng, and also because he wants to see His Majesty."
His Majesty sighed, “I have reopened the Imperial Academy, but without you, my dear minister, I feel something is missing.”
The old chief priest said, "The State of Zhao is full of talented people. Your Majesty will surely be able to find a suitable person to take over the Imperial Academy."
His Majesty sighed again: "Alas, I'm afraid you haven't heard about the Imperial Academy."
The old Chancellor looked bewildered: "Imperial Academy... what happened again?"
His Majesty recounted Zheng Siye's several shady dealings: "Not only did he embezzle and accept bribes, but he also abused his power to arbitrarily alter the students' grades. How could I dare entrust the Imperial Academy to such a person? I truly wish to expel him from the Imperial Academy!"
The old chief minister hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. No one is perfect. The matter of Zheng Siye accepting bribes happened several years ago. Now that he has reformed, why not give him another chance? As for the matter of changing the students' grades, I believe Zheng Siye is not so confused. Perhaps there is some misunderstanding."
Are you kidding me?
Without Zheng Siye's darkness and wickedness, where would his whiteness as a pure lotus flower come from?
The old chief priest said a few more good words about Zheng Siye, which finally made His Majesty give up the idea of deposing him.
Afterwards, His Majesty spoke with the old Chancellor about inviting him to return to the Imperial Academy.
"The Imperial Academy has been closed for too long, and morale is low. Various powerful forces are infiltrating it. The Prince of An, the grandson of Grand Tutor Zhuang, has returned from the State of Chen. He has entered the Imperial Academy with the highest score." His Majesty stopped there, looking affectionately at the old Grand Chancellor. "I am in dire need of capable people now. I hope that you, my dear minister, can return to my side and help me to consolidate the Zhao Kingdom's rule!"
The old chief priest did not immediately agree.
His Majesty's gaze fell upon the old Chancellor's complex expression, and he asked, "My dear minister... are you still grieving over Aheng's matter? Is it because that's where Aheng's accident happened that you don't want to return to the Imperial Academy?"
The old chief priest remained silent.
His Majesty did not force him, but got up to leave. When he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and said, "Aheng's spirit in heaven must also hope to see the Grand Master return."
The old priest's expression grew even more sorrowful.
His Majesty sighed and left.
Once the carriage was out of sight, the old chief priest's expression changed instantly: "Liu Quan, bring out the chicken legs! I'm starving!"
Gu Jiao didn't sleep well last night. There wasn't much going on at the clinic during the day, so she went back to her own courtyard to rest.
She had slept for less than an hour when she was awakened by a knock on the door.
"Miss Gu! Miss Gu! Please come out for a moment!"
It was Xiao Sanzi's urgent yet cautious voice.
Gu Jiao also has a bad temper when she wakes up. She impatiently tugged at her little ear and opened the courtyard gate for Xiao Sanzi with a dark face.
Xiao Sanzi was taken aback by her intimidating aura: "Miss Gu..."
"What is it?" Gu Jiao asked.
Xiao Sanzi said awkwardly, "That person from last time is here."
"Which person?" Gu Jiao asked him with a dark face.
Xiao Sanzi swallowed hard, thinking to himself, "Could you please stop wearing that dark face? I feel like my life is about to end..."
Xiao Sanzi mustered his courage and said, "It's that Liu Yisheng! He's here to get medicine again! The second boss isn't here, so Manager Wang doesn't dare to get medicine for him and is trying to get rid of him."
Gu Jiao remembered; he was a patient with chronic cholecystitis and had rather delicate features.
Gu Jiao nodded and said, "I understand. Take him to my office."
Little Sanzi chuckled: "Alright!"
He's a very kind person.
Gu Jiao was thirsty, so she went back to her room, drank some water, and then went to the clinic.
He refused when Gu Jiao first asked him to come into the consultation room, but this time he readily agreed.
He was still wearing the same clothes as before, except that there was an extra patch on the sleeve of his undershirt.
His complexion was no longer sallow, but rosier, and he looked even more handsome and refined than before.
Seeing Gu Jiao walk in, he stood up and greeted her, "Miss Gu."
"Sit down." Gu Jiao sat down opposite him.
He sat down as well.
Gu Jiao observed his complexion: "How are you feeling?"
Liu Yisheng touched her upper right abdomen and said, "It feels much better, it doesn't hurt as much here anymore."
On the first day after he brought the medicine home, he didn't have much hope. This sounds contradictory, because he knew that no doctor in the entire capital would prescribe the right medicine for him, yet he always hoped for a miracle.
Perhaps because he had been disappointed too many times, he would tell himself before each batch of medicine that it would not be effective either, as if that would prevent him from being disappointed.
He didn't feel much pain on the night he took the medication, but his appetite improved at dinner the next day, and he felt almost no pain on the third night, allowing him to sleep soundly.
He gradually recovered, and to this day, he only feels a slight pain occasionally.
His treatment was within Gu Jiao's expectations. Gu Jiao pointed to the pulse pillow on the table: "Put your hand on it."
Liu Yisheng was still not used to a female doctor taking his pulse, and hesitated for a moment before slowly placing his hand on hers.
Gu Jiao's icy fingertips touched his pulse.
"Do not look at what is improper," Liu Yisheng lowered her eyes.
His pulse was relatively stable, except that it was beating a little too fast.
Gu Jiao withdrew her hand and used her fingers to pry open his eyelids to take a look.
This movement caused her body to lean towards him.
The girl's aura permeated everything, like fresh grass after the rain, clean and refreshing.
Liu Yisheng's eyelashes trembled.
Gu Jiao released him and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, keep taking your medicine. I'll add another liver-protecting medicine for you."
Liu Yisheng opened her mouth.
Gu Jiao promptly replied, "No extra charge."
"Oh." Liu Yisheng breathed a sigh of relief.
The medicine cost one hundred coins last time, but he only brought one hundred coins with him today.
Gu Jiao wrote out a prescription. She used a charcoal pencil to write the prescription, and her handwriting was decent, but the way she held the pencil made Liu Yisheng quite curious.
Does anyone still hold a pen like that?
“This time it’s for seven days,” Gu Jiao said.
Liu Yisheng said, "But I only brought enough money for five doses of medicine."
Gu Jiao didn't even look up and said, "Then I'll owe you for now and pay you next time."
Liu Yisheng suddenly sneered: "Aren't you afraid I won't come if I have the prescription?"
Gu Jiao said "Oh," and then asked, "Besides Miaoshoutang, where else in the capital would dare to prescribe the right medicine for you?"
Liu Yisheng chuckled again, this time self-deprecatingly. He looked at Gu Jiao: "But miss, aren't you really afraid of getting yourself into trouble?"
Gu Jiao handed him the written prescription: "This is my business. You are the patient, so you don't need to worry about it."
Liu Yisheng took the prescription; the handwriting, though not particularly beautiful, was vigorous and powerful.
He gripped the prescription tightly and said coldly, "If you really get into trouble because of treating me, I'll stand by and do nothing."
Gu Jiao: "Okay."
Liu Yisheng was surprised by this answer.
He looked at Gu Jiao.
Although it wasn't the first time we'd met, this was the first time I'd truly taken a good look at her. Her face looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, and her brows held a calm and composed air that belied her age.
She had a striking red birthmark on her left cheek. If an ordinary woman looked like that, she would probably stay at home and dare not go out, but she showed no fear whatsoever.
She has a very unique aura.
"Any other questions?" Gu Jiao asked him.
Liu Yisheng looked away and said, "That's all. I just hope you won't regret it. If you think I'm a member of the Liu family and want to bet on me, then I advise you to give up now. The Liu family can never rise again, so don't offer help when you're in trouble; it won't work."
Gu Jiao: "Oh."
He had said everything he needed to say, and there was nothing he could do if she didn't believe him.
Liu Yisheng turned and left.
Just as she was about to cross the threshold, Gu Jiao said casually, "Want to make a bet?"
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(End of this chapter)
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