Looking at the Sword by Lamplight (VIII)
Meng Shizhuang suffered serious injuries from the explosion. When the iron lion disintegrated from the burning explosives inside, a flying iron fragment pierced his back and nearly pierced his lungs. The old doctor treating Meng Shizhuang said that if the iron fragment had been off by even a centimeter, even a great immortal would have been unable to save him. However, all his internal organs suffered varying degrees of damage from the heavy blow.
Mr. Zhou was urgently summoned by Bian Hongqiu from the bank of the Huai River to take over his old friend whose life was saved by the old doctor.
He stayed at the inn with Liu Lang for a few days, and Bian Hongqiu gradually freed himself from his busy schedule. Ten years ago, he had no idea of Bian Hongqiu's thoughts, which even he himself couldn't comprehend. His deepest connection with Meng Shizhuang was only a few months of medical enlightenment, so he naturally wouldn't specifically discuss Meng Shizhuang's health with Bian Hongqiu.
Now, even Song Jingyan, who was recuperating next door, remained silent. Mr. Zhou finally opened his mouth to test the waters: "Mr. Meng is... quite ill."
He tried hard to find a word that sounded less alarming, but after much deliberation, he decided to speak the truth. As soon as the first half of the sentence fell, Bian Hongqiu, who had been calm for so long, suddenly broke his long-cultivated expression of restraint. Panic and anxiety were clearly written in his eyes. He picked up the teacup he had knocked over and took a deep breath. "Mr. Zhou, please speak."
Mr. Zhou: "During the time that Master Meng was at Prince Liang's mansion, I took his pulse and discovered that he had been in a state of decline since childhood. Despite his young age, he suffered from a series of internal injuries and old ailments. However, with careful care, he could live to a normal age. However, in my current examination of him, besides this recent injury, I've discovered that his body has been suffering from excessive worry over the years."
Seeing Bian Hongqiu's grim expression, he couldn't help but sigh, "Your Highness, they say that cultivating one's body and mind is important. The five internal organs, bones, and skin are all solid, but the inscrutable things like temperament and mood cannot be ignored. If an elderly person holds on to a breath, struggling for a few more years is not a bad idea; but if a young and strong person has no ambition and spirit, withering away is only a matter of time."
This is very clear.
Bian Hongqiu had just breathed a sigh of relief from the important matter. He had already asked Liu Lang Meng Shizhuang about his recent life and knew that Lao Ju had passed away three years ago. He recalled what Lao Ju had said to him when they parted. Had the elder who had single-handedly raised Ah Shi already foreseen this day?
He looked at Meng Shizhuang who had just opened her eyes.
Having escaped death, Meng Shizhuang couldn't move a single part of his body. He could only stare at the person in front of him with his eyes wide open. Bian Hongqiu saw that his eyes were clear, unlike someone who had just woken up from a coma. So, thinking of Mr. Zhou's words, he said, "Ah Shi, do you remember me?"
"I'm Bian Hongqiu."
The pair of clear and bright eyes revealed a lot of dissatisfaction. The owner of the eyes suddenly closed his eyes, then struggled to open his eyelids, blinking like "I don't want to pay attention to you", and continued to look "hard" at Bian Hongqiu.
Bian Hongqiu averted his eyes and "introduced" himself: "You said 'see you later', now that we really have met again, can you still recognize me?"
Meng Shizhuang listened in agony as the man before him rambled on, his exaggerated "see you later" claim—utter bullshit! He would never say such things to anyone. But he was a wounded man, helpless to be bullied. So he intensified his glares, trying to make the other person clearly aware of his anger.
Bian Hongqiu understood Meng Shizhuang's eyes almost telepathically.
The general idea is to tell him not to make connections randomly.
Also, let him get to the point.
After just a few glances, Meng Shizhuang already looked exhausted. Bian Hongqiu didn't want to bully the injured person, so he immediately changed his tone: "Liu Lang is fine, not even a hair has fallen out."
However, Bian Hongqiu had already hastily left him with the impression that he was unreliable, so he continued to glare at her unwillingly.
Bian Hongqiu thought he was just looking for trouble, and immediately turned around and shouted, "Where's Liu Lang? Call Liu Lang to me!"
Liu Lang, who was delivering oral and topical medications to two patients, one paralyzed in bed and the other guarding the bedside, came in holding a tray.
"Liu Lang is here. What are your orders, Your Highness?"
Bian Hongqiu waved at him, telling him to stop fiddling with the medicine: "Come here, your brother is awake and wants to see you."
Liu Lang slammed the medicine in his hand to the ground, rushed to the bedside, and grabbed Meng Shizhuang's left hand. He looked up, sobbing, tears welling in his eyes. Without saying a word, Meng Shizhuang suddenly tilted her head and fainted again. He was startled and, without waiting for Bian Hongqiu's instructions, immediately went to drag Mr. Zhou, who was staying in the left wing, over.
Mr. Zhou, napping with his eyes closed, thought something terrible had happened. He immediately rolled off the bed and crawled over. He pulled at Meng Shizhuang's makeup-covered eyelids, and Liu Lang finally managed to finish his words, stammering. Beside him sat a sullen Bian Hongqiu. The only doctor in the room dared not speak out, his anger fading. Throwing his hands would have made him seem heartless, and all his temper melted into a sigh.
He raised his hand and patted Liu Lang's head: "Care makes you confused. Master Meng is fine now."
Of these two men, one was already the master of the Liang Palace, commanding the Western Border Army, whose power had been approaching that of Xi Zhongting's men for the past two years; the other had been partly raised by the Liang Palace, personally dubbed "a heart of lotus roots" by Mr. Liu, and had dared to go into the Tiger Cave alone to do things even before his teeth had grown, and he had done it with flying colors. Now, he was frightened to the point of losing his mind by someone closing his eyes.
Mr. Zhou had comforted Liu Lang and was about to leave when he caught sight of Bian Hongqiu's expression, which hadn't improved at all. Although he'd spent so many years in the Liang Palace, and the palace was likely to erect a memorial tablet for him in his later years, he couldn't help but worry about something that might jeopardize the relationship between the emperor and his subjects. He fussed like an old woman, "Your Highness, please remember what I said. Master Meng's current illness isn't just about his body, it's also about his heart."
Bian Hongqiu nodded, "Thank you, Mr. Zhou."
As soon as Mr. Zhou left, he turned his heavy gaze to Liu Lang.
"Lotus Heart" keenly sensed the hidden meaning in Bian Hongqiu's eyes. He sat cross-legged on the bed, embracing Meng Shizhuang's left hand. The tears on his face dried, revealing a mature young man with the same aura as Bian Hongqiu. Because of his short stature, he rolled his eyes upwards and said, "I am now the most important person to my brother."
Bian Hongqiu simply picked him up by his collar.
"Am I someone who will do anything to achieve my goal?" Whether Meng Shizhuang could raise his voice or not was entirely up to him. Bian Hongqiu wouldn't go to the trouble of finding someone else to stand before Meng Shizhuang and urge him to act. Wouldn't that just be adding to Meng Shizhuang's unnecessary work?
Liu Lang turned around and saw that Meng Shizhuang had no intention of waking up. He put away the pitiful look on his face and stood up straight. He gave Bian Hongqiu a curt bow and said, "Your Highness, please don't blame me. Liu Lang dare not second-guess Your Highness." If he didn't have any second-guessing, how could he say this?
Bian Hongqiu didn't want to argue with the child and wanted to send him out together.
Liu Lang stumbled and dragged himself toward the door, his neck craned as he spoke with difficulty, "Your Highness, Your Highness is upright and honest. My brother, on the other hand, doesn't like to beat around the bush. When Uncle Ju was still around, if he'd asked him to help others, he wouldn't have beaten around the bush with things like 'Put yourself in someone else's shoes, everyone has a father.'"
He seemed to be just casually mentioning an interesting story related to Meng Shizhuang.
Bian Hongqiu understood and stopped.
Liu Lang thought to himself, this is what you have to do when dealing with people with a lot of tricks.
It has nothing to do with the relationship between each other.
They were simply used to speaking this way, as if anything too direct was either foreshadowing or a trap; in short, they refused to speak directly. It wasn't that his brother didn't understand, it was just that he didn't like to use his brain and didn't like to speak or act this way. Besides that, only General Qi, with his club, could kill anyone who kept their words to themselves.
Liu Lang turned back his collar, which had been wrinkled by Bian Hongqiu. "I was in danger on Huangque Island and was rescued by my brother. He originally refused to take me with him," he lamented dryly. "Alas, I didn't dare to get involved. But after three days of begging with a bowl in hand, I ran into my brother every day. He softened his heart, and so did Uncle Ju, so he had no choice but to take me back."
Bian Hongqiu raised her eyelids and looked down at him, wondering if he was afraid to get involved.
This is simply unscrupulous.
Thinking of this, he understood what Liu Lang wanted to say.
Liu Lang seemed unaware he was poking him in the heart. "It's okay, Your Highness. Actually, you and my brother are destined to be together. We spend every day together, just like the other brothers and sisters in Prince Liang's mansion. Then, you'll be a brother of the opposite sex. There's no closer relationship than that, right?" He cautiously stepped out of the room. "My brother hasn't had a considerate person around him these years. If Your Highness is truly interested, please find him a woman or a man. Life is short, and I urge my brother to accept Your Highness's kindness."
Bian Hongqiu felt so upset that he wanted to roll up his sleeves and beat the kid's butt until it bruised.
He said with a gloomy face, "Liu Lang, come here."
Liu Lang was so stupid that he went over and ran away.
After Meng Shizhuang woke up, her recovery accelerated. For the first three to five days, she barely opened her eyes or spoke. She ignored Bian Hongqiu, who muttered to himself beside her bed—no, Bian Hongqiu was simply too noisy. Only three people were milling about the room. Mr. Zhou, who always kept to himself, didn't talk nonsense. Liu Lang would talk to him about the weather and what he'd done that day, and then he'd quietly read.
And Bian Hongqiu, the busiest of the busy men, might not be seen for a day or two. Or, when he was awakened by the wound on his back in the middle of the night, he could see this man sitting under the window with a light on like a ghost. He might leave before dawn. Or, he might not have to go out for the whole day, and he would hold up the confidential memorials from Prince Liang's Mansion, annotate them, and pick out some interesting things to tell him.
Meng Shizhuang felt quite uncomfortable.
When he was able to speak, he asked Mr. Zhou when he could move.
Of course, as a doctor who treats himself, when he feels that he can open his eyes again, Liu Lang should take him back to Renjitang.
However, Mr. Zhou did not give in. When he talked to him about his injury, his voice was serious and low, and he told him not to play around with his mood.
Meng Shizhuang could only wait for his lagging body to recover. He thought, after all, this injury was a shield for King Liang, and it wasn't like he was receiving reward for nothing, so there was no reason for him to stay. This excuse didn't last him more than two days.
That afternoon, Liu Lang went to visit Li Minghe, and Mr. Zhou went to the temporary base of the Western Frontier Army in Huangquezhou to take care of the wounded.
Meng Shizhuang wasn't one to lie paralyzed in bed waiting for others to take care of him. After realizing no one was in the courtyard, he generously let himself go, thinking he could take a walk around the small courtyard. He slowly got up from the bed, sweat dripping from the pain in his waist as he struggled with the bed for nearly half an hour.
He couldn't find a crutch in the house, so he simply moved out little by little using the armchair.
As early spring draws to a close, the magnolias planted in many Huangquezhou mansions are quietly withering. This is a private residence on Huangquezhou, now requisitioned by His Royal Highness Prince Liang as a temporary residence. In the main courtyard, magnolias fall quietly in the wind, while behind the courtyard wall, the crabapple trees are already turning red.
I guess the former owner of this house was quite elegant.
Meng Shizhuang moved to a stone bench in the courtyard, holding his waist and relaxing for a long while. After the pain in his waist finally subsided, the injuries between his ribs and back started to gnaw again. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes for a moment, looking at the fallen flowers in the yard. He felt that he and these flowers were no different. When the time came, they would naturally return to the earth. He couldn't understand why he woke up.
He could no longer find the courage to "rather die than surrender" that he had on Sujian Mountain.
He used to never bother to watch the flowers bloom and wither in the world because he thought it was boring. He could not imagine that there was someone who was so leisurely as to be happy for a flower blooming and cry for a flower withering.
Until he and his wife went to the south of the Yangtze River.
Just like those two days at the Daohaicheng dock, he left early and returned home exhausted. One day, Lao Ju suddenly had an idea and asked Meng Shizhuang to pick him a bouquet of evergreen flowers. How could such flowers exist? Flowers only bloom in season. He had to spend ten cents every few days to buy them at the flower market. To prevent the flowers from withering too quickly, he had to spend more money. No matter how late he returned home every day, he had to divide his attention to care for the flowers.
Later, when I went out, I remembered to move the flowers to a place where the sun was shining but not too strong.
Lao Ju said he wanted to see the flowers, so he just wanted to see them. He didn't care whether they were dead or alive.
Meng Shizhuang cursed, grumbling about tightening his belt and having to deal with such things. But day after day, he seemed to find some joy in it, never feeling tired even after a busy day. Once, Lao Ju caught him grinning foolishly at a flower that had come back to life, and he said to him, "Ah, even if you can't do anything else in this life, just seeing a flower bloom with your own eyes is worth it."
His illness dragged on, and Meng Shizhuang was averse to words like "life and death." She wouldn't say a word when he mentioned them, even that time. Now, Meng Shizhuang himself was the one feeling powerless. He didn't want to be there during the old man's final days. Was he seeking greater relief, or perhaps just wanting to spend more time with him?
Whatever the truth, the process would be painful for him.
But as he sat in the deserted courtyard, he clearly understood what Lao Ju wanted to tell him.
But it was difficult for him to do so.
There are all kinds of people in the world. Some people are down-to-earth and contented, and are happy with the sunrise and the sunset; some people are unwilling to be ordinary, and always feel that they have to live a grand life to be meaningful.
Meng Shizhuang was forced to be the second type of person when she knew nothing. Now she has to bend down and smell the roses, which she finds both boring and laborious.
The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He didn't know what he wanted or what he wanted to do.
Bian Hongqiu, still in his armor, had just entered the courtyard when he saw Meng Shizhuang, her face pale as gold, her clothes thin and draped in the wind. He frowned and was about to approach when a sudden gust of wind blew, sending magnolias dancing through the air. Meng Shizhuang remained motionless, lost in thought. He suddenly stopped, turned back, and plucked the tallest crabapple blossom from the wind-swept, swaying tree across the wall.
Then, he walked towards Meng Shizhuang's empty eyes, and before Meng Shizhuang could react, he pulled out the magnolia hairpin behind Meng Shizhuang's head and replaced it with this beautiful branch.
Meng Shizhuang and the others finished their work before coming back to their senses and leaning back slightly to create some distance.
He reached out with difficulty and felt it, and found a fresh flower. He immediately asked with a strange look on his face, "What are you doing?"
Bian Hongqiu had just taken a stroll at the west city gate. The person left behind by King Jingxi was still reluctant to leave. He was still full of energy. In response to Meng Shizhuang's action, he also took two steps back, then smiled with his eyes crooked.
He said, "I'll give you a branch of spring."
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