Walking on Eggshells (iii)
Edited: 03.10.2024
In the next month, Ruan Qing thoroughly experienced what it meant to walk on eggshells.
Xiao Ziheng’s physical fitness was excellent so his leg trauma healed quickly. After Ruan Qing removed the stitches for him, only a few shallow scars were left behind. The next most important thing was the torn ligament in his knee.
Originally, Xiao Ziheng’s ability to heal his internal and external injuries was fast. But now Ruan Qing had no more oral medicine to reduce swelling and blood stasis and only had a box of pain-relieving ointment in his hand. He applied it diligently every day but the effect wasn’t good. During the process of applying the medicine, Ruan Qing also had to rub the wound, which was so painful that Xiao Ziheng would threaten to “throw him to the wolves” every day.
Seeing that the one-month deadline was approaching, Ruan Qing was so worried that he locked himself in the manor every day to go through all the ancient texts. At first, he didn’t have much hope, but he did end up finding some very practical prescriptions.
Unlike Western medicine, which directly attacked the symptoms of a disease, Chinese medicine paid more attention to a slow simmering over low heat, especially for internal injuries such as ligament tears. Ruan Qing followed the methods in the ancient texts and first prescribed some traditional Chinese medicines that could activate blood circulation and stop blood stasis, promote qi and open his meridians, reduce swelling and relieve pain. These medicines included ligusticum chuanxiong, paeonol bark, panax notoginseng, madder, cassia twig, moxa leaf, frankincense, myrrh, peach kernel, safflower, herba sibirica, phryma leptostachya, etc. He also ordered some servants to grind these Chinese medicines into fine powder, then mixed them with oil, water, vinegar, and wine to form a paste, applied it on gauze, and then applied it to Xiao Ziheng’s knee injury.
Because the medicine was mild and non-irritating, the number of times Young Master Xiao got angry had dropped significantly and Ruan Qing’s days had naturally become much easier.
Ruan Qing was very emotional. He didn’t expect that after studying Western medicine for eight years, he would actually be relying on traditional Chinese medicine to save his own life. As expected, Chinese medical skills were profound. After all this time, Ruan Qing secretly made up his mind. Since he couldn’t change the fate of transmigrating and he couldn’t live solely on charity from the system, it was inevitable that he had to improve himself. He asked Xiao Ziheng if he could stay in the study so that he could work hard on reading through the medical books. He wasn’t aiming to be proficient, but at least, he wanted to have a deep understanding of it.
Xiao Ziheng reluctantly agreed, but the price of this was to be his personal servant, who took care of his food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
Damn the ancient Imperial power system! Ruan Qing gritted his teeth with hatred but could only obey.
At noon one day, after serving Xiao Ziheng’s meal, Ruan Qing started massaging his leg. But as time went on, he felt sore and painful, but he dared not speak out for fear of his anger.
“Your Second Imperial Majesty, is this strength okay?”
Xiao Ziheng felt comfortable being massaged by him and let out a rare and pleasant hum.
You’re happy, but I am miserable, Ruan Qing sighed. Suddenly, there was a noise outside. A travel-worn guard came and saluted Xiao Ziheng: “Your Second Imperial Majesty, General Wang Qian has sent an urgent report that the epidemic situation in Huizhou is becoming dangerous. Thousands of people have been affected. His Holiness has ordered for you to enter the palace immediately.”
Xiao Ziheng was slightly stunned before getting up immediately and returning to his cold and distant look, “Very well, this Prince understands.”
Ruan Qing was overjoyed. The bad guy was finally leaving, now he could relax and unwind. After all, he had been serving this bigshot for ten hours a day. Even the donkeys in the production team shed tears when they witnessed it.
But before he could finish being happy, Xiao Ziheng suddenly turned around expressionlessly: “You, come into the palace with me to meet His Holiness.”
Ruan Qing: “……”
Everything was so sudden and Xiao Ziheng only brought Ruan Qing and a few personal guards into the palace. When the carriage arrived at the gate of the palace, it bumped into the carriage of the Eldest Imperial Prince Xiao Ziming. There were dozens of guards and servants, making his entourage look very impressive. Ruan Qing suddenly felt Xiao Ziheng’s expression change.
“Yo, Second Brother, what a coincidence.”
According to the rules of the Dayan Dynasty, the Imperial Princes could only walk into the palace to meet His Holiness as a sign of respect, so they would inevitably have to go with Xiao Ziming. There seemed to be some anger between Xiao Ziheng’s brows and the fingers covering his legs were slightly clenched. After getting off the carriage, he reluctantly saluted Xiao Ziming: “Elder Brother.”
The corner of Xiao Ziming’s mouth curled up unnaturally. He immediately noticed Ruan Qing behind him and his smile deepened: “He looks quite cute, your new little pet?”
Although Ruan Qing didn’t know what a little pet implied, it was probably by no means a good word. It probably referred to a gigolo or a male pet, which made him angry: “Your First Imperial Majesty, you are wrong. I am just His Second Imperial Majesty’s doctor, not a little pet.”
Xiao Ziming was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. His eyebrows resembled Xiao Ziheng’s. They were both handsome and dashing, but Xiao Ziming felt more scholarly while Xiao Ziheng had been crawling around on the battlefield, adding an air of hostility to him.
Xiao Ziheng obviously didn’t want to talk to him anymore, so he said goodbye hastily and pulled Ruan Qing forward. Xiao Ziming followed behind them as his eyes suddenly lit up with a fierce light like a wolf, and he immediately said to the guards around him: “Notify the undercovers at the Prince Yan Manor, tell them to find out about this doctor’s origin.”
Xiao Ziheng was very tall and walked like the wind. Ruan Qing was out of breath as he tried to keep up his pace and had to pull on his sleeves to beg: “Your Majesty, please walk slower.”
Xiao Ziheng paused, slowed down his pace, and turned around with a cold expression: “Next time, don’t talk too much with the Eldest Imperial Prince or I will pull out your tongue.”
Ruan Qing was startled. His tone made it seem like he wasn’t lying and he nodded quickly like a chicken pecking at rice.
After entering the Xuanzheng Hall, the two Princes knelt down side by side while Ruan Qing knelt outside the hall. Of course, not only were the three of them working overtime, but the Huizhou Governor and Captain were also kneeling and being lectured by the Emperor, with a pile of broken tea cups and porcelain pieces on the ground.
“What a dog minister you are! The epidemic has been around for half a month, but you didn’t even report it, causing thousands of people in Huizhou to suffer. What should be your punishment?!”
The governor of Huizhou was trembling with fear and kept kowtowing: “Your Holiness, forgive me! I had expected that there would be an epidemic after a great war as stated in the texts. Since Huizhou is the front line, it is common to have an epidemic break out so I called in some doctors to take a look. Initially, everything was going good, but I never thought that it would suddenly lose control and end up like this.”
The Emperor was furious and wanted to immediately kill him: “If you knew that an epidemic would occur after the war, you should have reported the situation to the Imperial Hospital as soon as possible instead of acting smart and calling those idiotic doctors. Why did We raise such a fool?!”
“I have failed in my duty, Your Holiness, forgive me……” The governor of Huizhou knew that he had failed his duty and was probably going to get killed. He knelt on the ground with tears streaming down his face and kowtowed loudly.
The Emperor was annoyed by his noise and ordered the guards around him to tie up these two idiots and beat them eighty times with a paddle.
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After his anger, the Emperor’s expression looked very bad. He looked at the two Princes below him deeply: “Heng’er, Ming’er, what do you think about this epidemic in Huizhou?”
Xiao Ziheng bowed to him and said respectfully: “Huizhou has just experienced a fierce battle. And now that they are facing a great epidemic, the people are in dire straits. I thought it would be better to invite a general to go to the front line to appease the troops and the people while also sending an Imperial doctor to accompany him to treat the epidemic and overcome the difficulties.”
The Emperor nodded with deep understanding and his expression showed what might seem to be approval. Xiao Ziming captured this detail keenly and was unwilling to accept it: “Father, Second Brother’s leg is inconvenient right now. It is better if I lead the army to Huizhou to appease the people so I can also share Father’s worries.”
Xiao Ziheng’s eyes darkened slightly. Xiao Ziming’s desire to strive for merit was clearly revealed, but sadly, he would not be able to fulfill his wish. He immediately smiled and said: “Father, I recently took in a wonderful doctor. With his help, my leg has recovered and I can easily lead troops, whether it be riding and shooting. Besides, Huizhou is the place where I fought and I know the military situation and the people’s sentiments better. The birthday of Elder Brother’s Mother Consort is approaching and I can’t bear the pain of having him being separated from his mother, so it’s better to let me go.”
The Emperor nodded in relief, “Heng’er is indeed filial. When it was your Mother Consort’s birthday, you don’t know how worried she was when you were fighting on the battlefield. We are the Emperor and also a Father. We really don’t want to see Ming’er suffer like this so please take this trip on behalf of Us.”
When Xiao Ziming noticed that the opportunity he finally had in his grasp was going to be stolen again, he glared at Xiao Ziheng angrily and argued: “Father, please think twice. It has only been a month since Second Brother was injured. Huizhou has high mountains and long roads. What will happen if the wound relapses?”
Xiao Ziheng sneered twice in his heart. With a calm expression on his face, he knelt down: “The doctor at my manor, Ruan Qing, is a miracle worker. In just a month, I have recovered very quickly with no serious problems. If Elder Brother is worried, I will take him to Huizhou with me so that he can take care of me anytime and anywhere, how about it?”
Xiao Ziming lost. He dared not speak out in anger and clenched his knuckles until they turned white. The Emperor was quite interested. After thinking for a while, he asked curiously: “Ruan Qing? We remember you said that his poor medical skills caused your condition to worsen. Why are you saying good things for him now?”
Xiao Ziheng was startled. Ruan Qing’s silly little face suddenly appeared before his eyes and he couldn’t help but smile: “Some misunderstandings occurred due to my one-sided view.”
After all the overt and covert fighting, regardless of how the two brothers were feeling, the Emperor was so happy that he even called Ruan Qing into the palace to commend him and rewarded him with a lot of silk. Ruan Qing was flattered after being praised with that many words.
As they sat in the carriage to head back to the Prince Yan Manor, Ruan Qing carefully looked at Xiao Ziheng, who was resting with his eyes closed. He usually had a cold expression, but after succeeding today, his brows were relaxed, and even the corners of his mouth were curled up into a smile.
It was already dusk. Because of the Eldest Imperial Prince’s Mother Consort’s birthday, the Emperor had issued a decree to lift the curfew for three days. There were crowds of people coming and going on the streets. Vendors setting up stalls and shouting, strange people from the Western Regions who controlled snakes with flutes, Nuo performers who pretended to be ghosts but were actually gods, and women and children setting off lanterns by the river, making the entire moat shine brightly, just like fireworks in this world.
Ruan Qing secretly pulled open the curtain to admire the scene, but suddenly there was a noise in front of him. He took a closer look and saw that it was Doctor Sun who had made a bet with him.
However, today’s Imperial Physician Sun was no longer as impressive as he was back then. He was escorted by several strong men and stood at the street corner. He had obviously been beaten a lot as his body was bruised and his clothes were ragged. He shouted helplessly: “Ruan Qing truly is a divine doctor, all the physicians in the Imperial Hospital are all dog-eyed villains!”
The whole country was celebrating tonight and the streets were extremely lively. Naturally, there were many people who were amused at the scene, pointing at Doctor Sun and secretly laughing. Imperial Physician Sun had never experienced such grievances and he wished he could cut Ruan Qing into pieces. However, he could only shout praises about Ruan Qing and belittle the Imperial Physicians over and over again. He felt like he was going to be so angry that he would vomit blood and die in the next second.
Ruan Qing couldn’t help but laugh out loud. When the carriage passed by the intersection, Doctor Sun obviously saw him. He looked like he wanted to eat him alive as Ruan Qing made a face at him fearlessly.
He was so happy that he didn’t notice Xiao Ziheng, who was already awake behind him. The latter glanced at him and showed an imperceptible smile.
Ruan Qing came back to his senses and said to Xiao Ziheng with some gratitude: “Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my reputation.”
Xiao Ziheng said calmly: “It is what this Prince promised you, and a promise must be kept.”
Although his tone was unpleasant, Ruan Qing couldn’t help but feel happy. He even hummed a ditty when he went back to the manor’s pharmacy to dispense medicine.
“2 ligusticum chuanxiong, 2 paeonol bark, 4 panax notoginseng……” Ruan Qing joyfully held a small scale as he grabbed the herbs, not noticing the door behind him quietly open as the rustling footsteps got closer and closer. He thought it was Xiao Ziheng’s servant and without turning his head, he instructed: “You came at just the right time, take the medicine to the dining room.”
Before he finished speaking, a vague smell of blood suddenly lingered on the tip of his nose. He suddenly realized that something was wrong. Just as he was about to turn around, his vision went dark. The medicine in his hand suddenly fell to the ground and a piece of white cloth covered his mouth. Ruan Qing couldn’t help but struggle in panic, but there was a stinging pain in his lower back and a cold blade touched his spine.
“Don’t move or I’ll bleed you out.” A vicious male voice came from above Ruan Qing’s head, making his head buzz.
Ruan Qing nodded desperately, not daring to continue struggling.
The man didn’t relax at all and said coldly: “Let’s go, His First Imperial Majesty wants to see you.”
Ruan Qing was shocked, the Eldest Imperial Prince wanted to see him?!
☽ ⋆ℍalf 𝕄oon 𝕋ranslations⋆ ☾ 
New toruble! （ΟΔΟ；；） And herbs! So many herbs D:
Thank You for the new chapter (ෆ❛ัᵌ❛ัෆ)°
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