Princess of Liang (VII)
Even though she knew what Song Jingyan meant, Meng Shizhuang was still embarrassed by her description.
He looked at himself, and when he lowered his head, he saw a row of neatly arranged bones - his collar had just been torn open by the little fat boy, and then he had been rummaging around and had no time to care, so it was left open in a mess.
This bony body, like its owner, exuded a half-dead aura. Flesh was visible above the bones, only scars. The ugly color spread across the skeleton, neither resembling a "butterfly" nor beautiful. As for his appearance, although no one had ever mentioned it to Meng Shizhuang, he had certainly lowered his head over the river before; he simply didn't like looking at his face.
Meng Shizhuang didn't want to dwell on his own body anymore, and instead thought of the pink butterfly. Whether in pink or white, she had a refined, delicate, and beautiful aura. He couldn't forget her after only a few encounters.
He raised his eyes, and the people on the boat gave him the same feeling as pink butterflies.
But he doesn't fit in, and I'm afraid he won't be able to pretend to be one.
Song Jingyan saw the hidden meaning behind Meng Shizhuang's expression. Sunlight shimmered on the river, a golden glow. The light filtering into the cabin illuminated the Mulan Sword with unprecedented brightness. Her gaze fell on Meng Shizhuang's prominent cheekbones. The slender outline and sharp edge reminded her of the blood-stained swords of the battlefield. She slowly smiled and amended her tone, "Or perhaps you want to make a sword? That's not impossible."
Meng Shizhuang stood there in a daze, and finally put down the sword in his hand.
Song Jingyan's anger subsided, and she signaled others to go to the next room to wait for her to discuss matters, and asked Mr. Zhou to change the medicine for Meng Shizhuang.
Mr. Zhou and the medicine boy squatted beside Meng Shizhuang. The boy put down the medicine box and reached out to pick up the child from Meng Shizhuang's arms. He had been in a coma for three days, and the little chubby child had been coaxed into being natural after three days on the boat. The medicine boy said in a pinched voice, "Liu Lang, my sister needs to change the medicine. How about I take you to see the sunset?"
But Meng Shizhuang was the one who rescued him from Xiliuhai that day. When he was unconscious, the child had no one closer to rely on, and he didn't feel that the people on the boat had any ill will towards him. Living under someone else's roof, he had always been easy to coax, but at this moment he was a little unwilling.
Meng Shizhuang hesitated for a moment and handed him to the medicine boy. "Is your name Liu Lang?"
Liu Lang clung to his hand and said, "Grandma calls me Liu Lang."
He was too young to know his own name. His family members called him "Liulang Liulang", so he only knew that he should be called "Liulang".
Meng Shizhuang had never coaxed a child before, so she nodded and said stiffly, "Liu Lang, get out."
Even with his hands wrapped, he knew how unsightly his wounds were, and for the first time in his life, he felt a pity for the child, not wanting to frighten him. However, his attempt wasn't very successful. His tone frightened Liu Lang, who sobbed as he hugged the medicine boy's neck and walked away.
Mr. Zhou then removed the splint from his hand. The blood clots and swelling on his right hand were gradually subsiding, but once the splint was removed, his arm began to tremble unconsciously. He tried to move his fingers, but they refused to obey him. Mr. Zhou pinched his fingertips, applied medicine, and re-wrapped the gauze. He looked up at Meng Shizhuang and said, "Your palm injury was not treated in time. Although the bone has healed now, it is deformed. The meridians and flesh in your palm are entangled by the crooked bones."
Oh, it can’t be cured.
Meng Shizhuang understood.
But Mr. Zhou's next sentence took a surprising turn: "However, there is another way, which is to smash the bones and reconnect them."
Meng Shizhuang's heart was filled with a sense of caution that he hadn't even noticed. "Will I still be able to wield a sword in the future?"
Mr. Zhou shook his head: "No."
Meng Shizhuang was confused by the twists and turns of the words.
"After the repair, the bones and flesh grew back, but the injury lasted too long. I can barely hold a sword or even twist a piece of paper. I can only move slightly."
It was a very slight movement.
After Mr. Zhou finished speaking, he also felt that this was a futile effort.
The most that can be done by smashing the bones and reattaching them is to make Meng Shizhuang's twisted right hand less unsightly.
But from the perspective of using your right hand, you don't have to suffer this kind of pain.
Song Jingyan had already made up an excuse for the "Princess of Liang's" hand injury, and did not insist on completely curing Meng Shizhuang. She said lightly, "Then let it go."
"Smash it."
Meng Shizhuang's voice fell with her.
He glanced at Song Jingyan strangely, thought for a moment, and decided that perhaps it wasn't yet time for him to decisively order the doctor. He asked, "Can I ask you to do something for me now, sir?"
Song Jingyan's throat was blocked by Meng Shizhuang's interruption.
She just looked at Meng Shizhuang with a complicated look.
Meng Shizhuang cleared her throat, but still felt a little sore.
"Even if it's just a twist of the paper—I should be able to make the decision, right?" To pretend to be the pink butterfly, Meng Shizhuang had no intention of just following the boat's orders. He wanted to take advantage of the already agreed-upon conditions without restraint.
Even if my hand can't be cured, it doesn't matter if it looks better.
If he could find Lao Ju, he would probably feel much more relieved after seeing him.
Song Jingyan's gaze drifted out and landed on the white blade of Mulan Sword.
The white blade seemed stained with blood under the orange sunset. She remembered that Bian Hongqiu had broken his leg and was carried back by Shao Zheng and others. She also remembered that earlier, Bian Hongqiu asked her excitedly and nervously: "Sister, can you give me another half a month? I can't ride my pony well yet. I want to practice for another half a month." Then, she persuaded him by saying "strike while the iron is hot."
Behind him, Hengbo knocked on the door and asked, "Sister, everyone is here."
As if she had a perfect excuse, Song Jingyan didn't let anyone see her disgraceful expression. She hurriedly turned and left, saying, "Mr. Zhou, I will listen to His Highness's decision."
Mr. Zhou leaned forward and responded.
Meng Shizhuang watched Song Jingyan leave and asked Mr. Zhou, "Is the beautiful butterfly you lost called 'Your Highness'?"
This is certainly not a name, but these things that seem very natural to Mr. Zhou are difficult to explain to Meng Shizhuang as a matter of course. He explained briefly a few sentences, but Meng Shizhuang didn't know who "Prince Liang" was, who "Princess" was, who "Princess" was, and didn't understand why the Princess was also His Highness.
He didn't ask any further questions, but the confusion in his eyes could not be hidden.
Mr. Zhou wiped his chin and felt that he should report to Song Jingyan and ask her to send someone to teach the new "Prince".
He suppressed the thought and re-wrapped the splint: "Your palm needs to clear the blood clots first before you can smash it and then re-set the bones."
Meng Shizhuang didn't understand pharmacology anyway, but he just refused to let go of the sword and let him do whatever he wanted with the rest.
After changing the medicine for him, Mr. Zhou carried the medicine box and left without complaint before the medicine boy came back with Liu Lang.
When they reached the next room, the wooden door was pushed open, and Song Jingyan's calm and majestic voice floated out: "...Wait in the provincial capital closest to Minghunzhou. Once Minghunzhou opens, go back to look for His Highness."
Then several people answered in unison and came out holding swords and sabers.
Mr. Zhou stepped back half a step to let them pass first.
The boat will sail on the river for another three days and will be able to dock in Licheng tomorrow morning and take the land route to Beijing.
Here, Song Jingyan is still arranging everything.
"Qiuka, Qinhe, your Highness's preferences now require careful observation and no neglect."
Pretends are easily exposed. Song Jingyan did not intend to let Meng Shizhuang imitate Bian Hongqiu. The two had very different appearances and personalities. They changed carriages from Licheng to enter the capital in just over a month, so it would be impossible for them to imitate Bian Hongqiu even if they wanted to.
Then the only option is to make Meng Shizhuang come true.
Then, Song Jingyan turned to Shao Zheng and said, "He moved easily on the Xiliu Sea that day. He must have been practicing martial arts since he was a child. You should follow him these days to familiarize yourself with his skills and then teach him some things from the Prince of Liang's Mansion."
Shao Zheng didn't nod immediately and asked her, "Are you sure?"
Song Jingyan didn't answer directly. "Fortunately, for the past ten years, His Majesty has only issued appeasement edicts, and the imperial envoys have rarely interacted with Your Highness. Hong Min and others are dead, and Xi Zhongting is busy rectifying Ming Hunzhou. Letting us get away with it is the best proof. As long as we don't reveal ourselves, no one will know what Your Highness should have been like."
Shao Zheng: "What if His Highness finds it back..."
Song Jingyan shouted sternly: "Your Highness will definitely find it back."
Shao Zheng was silent for a moment, "Then how should Your Highness deal with it?"
Song Jingyan suppressed the anger on her face and didn't want to talk to Shao Zheng any more. "Young people change every day. Your Majesty didn't summon us back to the capital just to support a bunch of quarrelsome good-for-nothings. Since the situation is still unsettled, I will find a way to get an assignment outside the capital. I can stay out for three to five years and nothing will happen."
There are certainly many difficulties involved, but at first glance, it seems like a best of both worlds solution.
Shao Zheng realized how big a mistake he had made and didn't dare to argue anymore. "I know, I will teach him carefully."
He wanted to leave and let Song Jingyan rest alone, but Song Jingyan didn't respond for a long time.
In terms of official rank, the only two officials in the Liang Palace were Bian Hongqiu and Shao Zheng. The current Emperor Xue had abolished the system of female officials after ascending the throne, and although Song Jingyan was a commoner, she still called the shots in the Liang Palace. Even Shao Zheng waited for Song Jingyan's decision on everything.
The sunset was too brilliant. He couldn't see Song Jingyan's expression. He knew she was upset. Just as he was about to quietly leave, he heard Song Jingyan say, "Shao Zheng, did I do a lot of wrong things to His Highness in the past?"
Shao Zheng was stunned, thinking he had heard wrongly.
Regardless of whether Song Jingyan was wrong or not, she couldn't be any better to Bian Hongqiu.
Before he could react, he heard Song Jingyan mutter, "I'm stubborn and self-willed. I deserve my retribution."
Shao Zheng was shocked, "Jingyan, you..."
Song Jingyan took a deep breath, turned her back to him and looked at the vast water outside the window, "You go out."
"I will bring you out from the rising yellow sand and will never let you die in the capital."
Shao Zheng had many words stuck in his chest, but he found that nothing he said was appropriate.
The old Prince Liang died too early, leaving too many messes. The burden on Song Jingyan is not something she can bear lightly. If she is not decisive and arbitrary, how can she suppress the crazy princess and the fickle hearts of the people in the palace?
She might have made the wrong decision, but from that night on Xiliu Sea to the current situation, no one in Prince Liang's Mansion could stay out of it.
Including Bian Hongqiu, whose life or death is unknown.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
