Old Stories of the Palace
Chapter 86: Past Events in the Palace
"General Xue, the prince has woken up. He asked me to come and find you at the palace."
Jin San looked at Xue Zhan who was busy handling official business, walked up to him, greeted him and invited him in directly.
"Really? The prince has woken up? How is his injury? Is he okay now?"
Xue Zhan asked three critical questions in a row, and when he heard that the prince had woken up, he finally put his mind at ease after a day of worrying.
"It's OK. You'll know when you go to the palace. The prince is waiting for you."
"Hey, let's go now. Should we call Qin Feng?"
Xue Zhan asked more.
"The prince said that only one of you and General Qin will do. Someone must be left to guard the barracks."
The first half of the sentence was said by the prince, and the second half was added by Jin San himself.
He might, perhaps, probably, know some of the reasons why the master was unwilling to let Qin Feng go to the palace.
"Yeah, yes, Your Majesty is really thoughtful. Let's go!"
Xue Zhan nodded, thinking that this was indeed the truth.
"Your Highness! I pay my respects to you, Your Highness. How is your injury?"
Xue Zhan rode his horse at full speed to the palace. As soon as he entered, he saw the prince lying straight on the bed and was filled with concern.
"It's not serious. I have five cracked ribs and damaged my internal organs. I need to stay in bed for a few days to recuperate. Don't worry, I will be back to the barracks soon."
Chu Huaibei gave Xue Zhanxian an injection of cardiac stimulant.
Xue Zhan disagreed with the prince's statement that his injuries were not serious. In the prince's eyes, only those who were seriously injured and dying were considered seriously injured.
"Your Highness, you should take your time to recover. Qin Feng and I are in the barracks, so there won't be any problems for now."
"Well, have you done a preliminary count of casualties? Tell me about it."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Nearly 50,000 soldiers were killed, nearly 10,000 were seriously injured, and the number of minor injuries was not counted. More or less, all the soldiers were injured."
"General Gong has been killed in action, General Song is seriously injured and unconscious, General Jin is slightly injured, and as for General Yang Sui, he is still in the hands of Jin Jiu and his men."
"More than 90,000 Mongols were killed in the battle, and another 30,000 were captured. Nearly 20,000 enemy horses were captured."
"Well, register the fallen soldiers, treat the seriously injured as much as possible, and instruct the military doctors to do their utmost to save their lives. They know what to do. Put a notice at the door of the military doctor's tent. The surviving soldiers are of great use to me."
"Yes, I understand!"
Xue Zhan was always touched by the prince's silent kindness.
Most seriously injured soldiers will face the dilemma of having some limbs missing. For a soldier, this is fatal and means that he will be a disabled person even if he survives.
Therefore, most people choose to keep their limbs, even if they die due to incurable diseases.
These people would rather die and let their families receive pensions than return home with their bodies unable to survive and become a burden to their families.
The prince's words would rekindle the hope of these soldiers who originally wanted to die, and make them willing to cooperate with the military doctors' treatment, so more people would survive.
"Please pay attention to the court's documents recently. I sent someone to Fengjing to deliver the urgent military intelligence report on the Mongolian attack on the northern border that same day. Judging by the time, the court should have received it."
"When you receive the document, send it to the palace. You and Qin Feng will arrange the rest."
"By the way, how are your injuries? I see the wound on your thigh is bleeding again. Is Qin Feng injured? How is his injury?"
After Chu Huaibei finished his business, he saw a red mark on the bandage on Xue Zhan's right leg, and then he remembered that his subordinates also needed attention.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. My injuries are superficial, nothing vital. This one opened up again because I rode too fast and wasn't paying attention. It's nothing serious."
"Qin Feng's injuries were slightly more serious than mine. He had a long wound on his back. It looked horrible, but fortunately, his internal organs were not damaged."
"That's good. Go get some special wound medicine from Uncle Deng later. Use it yourself and bring some for Qin Feng and Jin Hongye."
Chu Huaibei thought about it and brought one for Jin Hongye as well.
"Thank you, Your Highness! I will not refuse!"
Xue Zhan was delighted. The golden medicine in the palace was priceless and its effect was fast, accurate and drastic!
"You're still so polite to me. I don't have any other instructions for now. I won't delay you from returning to the barracks to deal with things. If you have anything, come to the palace directly to find me."
"Yes, Your Highness. You rest then. I'll go find Uncle Deng, get the medicine, and then go straight back to the barracks."
"Well, go ahead."
"I'll take my leave!"
Xue Zhan stood up and walked towards the east wing where Uncle Deng was.
After Jin San came back, Sun Mingsi moved to sit behind the screen. It was not that he was ashamed to be seen, but that every time General Xue saw him, he looked as if he wanted to poke out his own eyes. In order to make everyone feel more comfortable, it was better to stay away from him.
Indeed, Sun Mingsi is aware of his appearance.
After waking up, Hengheng saw his mother was safe and sound and his father was full of energy. He felt relieved and returned to Lancaoyuan to study with his master.
Oh, the new guest has a very kind look in his eyes, and he often discusses current affairs with the master. It is obvious that he is also a man of great knowledge.
Three days later, the toxins in Sun Mingsi's body were cleared. Once his old illness disappeared, all the minor ailments that he had suppressed broke out. He lay side by side with Chu Huaibei for a few more days.
On this day, Chu Huaibei was finally allowed by Deng Ran to get up and walk around a little. Chu Huaibei could not wait any longer, so he immediately went to his mother's yard to ask about the old things.
"Mother! My son is here!"
The voice arrives before the person arrives.
The concubine put down the work in her hands, waited for her son to enter the house, and then signaled Aunt Wen to close the door.
"I knew you would come."
The concubine placed Chu Huaibei on the soft couch that had been prepared long ago, and sat beside him, thinking about how to start the conversation.
"Mother, Uncle Deng was able to immediately prepare medicine to cure Hu Zhi's poison. Someone in the palace must have been poisoned by this."
Chu Huaibei got straight to the point.
"Indeed, we did win, and your father and I won together."
The toffee's tone revealed a sense of clarity that the past events of the years were finally coming to light.
"This story starts with Deng Ran."
"Deng Ran traveled the grasslands in his early years, often treating foreigners in exchange for precious local herbs."
"Once, he prescribed medicine for a nobleman. After he drank the medicine, the nobleman died suddenly and mysteriously. Naturally, Deng Ran was hunted down by them."
"He fled to the vicinity of Youzhou. Just when he was cornered, your father happened to be passing by on patrol and saved him. After that, he stayed in the palace and became the court physician."
"At that time, your father and I had been married for three years, but we hadn't conceived a child. We had consulted various doctors in the Northern Territory, and they all said that we were both healthy and that we were destined to have a child."
"But half a year after Deng Ran moved into the palace, he discovered that the flowers and plants in the palace often had incompatible plants. Every time he dug them up, they would be replaced soon after."
"One day, he couldn't help himself and came to ask me why I had to plant those special flowers. Did he particularly like them? He had already pulled them out several times."
"I was completely confused by the question at the time. Your father doesn't understand the art of being refined. I'm also someone who doesn't care about these people. I just see the bright colors and the excitement."
"The flowers and plants in the mansion are all taken care of by the dowry I brought from Fengjing and the original servants of the palace. Deng Ran found it unusual when he heard this."
"After that, I began to slowly check my husband and I's food, clothing, and daily necessities. It took me more than half a year to finally find something."
"The dowry I brought was bribed, or rather, it belonged to him. He put a drug in your father's wine, the same drug in my favorite sweet soup, and another drug in my food."
"These two medicines are not poisonous when taken alone. Even if they are taken on the same day, there will be no poisoning. However, if they are taken on the same day and mixed with the scent of the specific flowers and plants in the mansion, they will gradually become poisonous."
"The symptoms of poisoning are that men's bodies gradually weaken and eventually die, and women will have difficulty conceiving."
"Your father and I had a big fight and dismissed all the servants and dowry in the palace, leaving only a few people, and sealed off the other courtyards of the palace."
"All the flowers and plants in the palace were disposed of under the pretext that your father was in a bad mood and had no place to vent his anger, so he took out his sword and chopped them all down. From then on, this is the palace you are familiar with now, a palace without a single flower or plant."
"Deng Ran spent a year preparing the antidote. Only after the poison was removed did you come into being. Considering the period of time he was poisoned, being able to have one child was considered lucky. If we had a second child, the emperor would definitely know that we knew about his poisoning and that we had already removed the poison."
"At that time, the emperor sent several generals to take charge of military affairs. The meaning is self-evident."
"Your father and I announced to the public that we had a prince and raised you as a boy. Shenzhi, your name took your father a long time to decide. He hoped that you would be cautious and prudent in everything you do and protect peace in the North."
"Mother knows this is unfair to you, but your father and I had no better solution under the circumstances at the time."
Chu Huaibei slowly sat up and hugged his mother in his arms.
"Mother, I have never complained about any of this. Practicing martial arts and leading troops to defend the northern border is what I enjoy most. Being confined behind high walls like a woman from an aristocratic family would be a life worse than death."
"Mother, don't blame yourself. Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
"Your father forbade me to tell you. He said you were a bit impulsive, and after knowing the truth, he was afraid you would do something to the Emperor that would bring disaster upon the North."
"If this emperor dies, there will be another emperor. There will be endless killing. But if one is killed, it will not only involve Daxia, but also Mongolia, the hungry wolf of the grassland."
The concubine stretched out her hands and lightly embraced Chu Huaibei's back, not daring to touch her chest for fear of pressing on her ribs.
Chu Huaibei buried his face in his mother's neck, and the anger in his heart grew stronger and stronger.
All the Kings of Zhenbei in history died on the battlefield just to defend the northern border and prevent the Mongolian iron hooves from breaking through the national border and entering the heart of Daxia.
Even if someone really had those little thoughts, for the sake of the millions of people living in the north, anyone with a conscience would not do it.
As for those generals sent, those who were brave and resourceful and capable of shouldering the responsibility of guarding the northern border would be given more power. However, there has not been a single such person so far, and they were frightened after fighting the Mongols once or twice.
They're all cowards! Not even as good as the stubborn Kim Hongye!
He tried to calm himself down, and then told the concubine about Sun Mingsi's identity.
"Mother, Huzhi's real name is Sun Mingsi. He is the current Prince Xian, and his fiefdom is Longzhou. His mother is the late emperor's concubine Zhu."
"Well, Mom guessed it."
"Mother, Hu Zhi said that we should treat him the same as before. He likes this kind of life."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
"Mother, you have worked hard over the years."
Chu Huaibei spoke in a muffled voice because he had his head buried.
Toffee moved his hand to the back of her head and stroked the top of her hair like he did when she was a child.
"Mother doesn't feel it's hard. The best decision she made was marrying your father."
"Ah? Did you choose it yourself? I heard others say that my father forced it. Besides, my two uncles occasionally expressed disdain in their words."
Chu Huaibei raised his head in shock, stared at the concubine and asked back.
"That was just a joke from someone watching the fun outside my house. Don't take it seriously. As for your two uncles' disdain, mother thinks it's probably because they think your father is a rough guy who doesn't know how to be considerate. In fact, your father is very caring."
The concubine seriously refuted the rumor, but she didn't expect that even her own son thought so. The rumor was too outrageous.
In fact, at that time, many young men from aristocratic families begged their families to go to the Feng Mansion to ask for the eldest daughter of the Feng family on their behalf. There were not many people who were both beautiful and talented, and the Feng family had no connections, so there was no need to worry.
But they never expected that Cheng Yaojin would appear out of nowhere and abduct the beautiful bride back to the northern border. The young men from the aristocratic families were so angry that the rumor became more and more convincing and more and more people believed it.
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