BLPSG Chapter 12: Sharing an umbrella in the snow

The third prince turned so pale that he didn’t even know how to quibble.

Seeing his appearance, the emperor didn’t bother asking further: “You rascal! Full of lies, how can you even resemble a prince?”

“Always mingling with those idle sons of nobles, not learning anything good—”

He suddenly stood up, pointing at Consort Wan’s nose: “Incompetent in educating children!”

Consort Wan was powerless, cautious to the point of cowardice, and had never been liked by the emperor.

Being scolded and pointed at her nose, she immediately went weak all over, trembling and unable to speak.

But seeing the Third Prince’s terrified appearance, she still gritted her teeth and banged her head one after another without caring about anything else, and after a few knocks, blood oozed from her forehead.

“Please forgive me, Your Majesty, it’s… it’s all the fault of my negligence…”

The emperor was still furious.

He sneered and directly smashed the teacup in his hand towards where the Third Prince was sitting.

The porcelain cup shattered, and the scalding tea splashed onto the Third Prince’s body.

The boy, who had never seen his father so angry, trembled like a sieve.

“Playing tricks under my nose? This matter will be thoroughly investigated by Consort Lan. I want to see who dared to bring a beast trap into the palace!”

“Go back to the palace for confinement first, and then It will be dealt strictly after the investigation is complete——”

The Third Prince instantly collapsed on the ground.

The emperor did this not to favor Xie Bufeng.

The incident during the Sheri undoubtedly tarnished the royal family’s reputation.

More importantly, if someone could bring a beast trap into the palace today, who knows if someone would bring something else to assassinate him tomorrow?

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Consort Lan quickly bowed.

Then, the emperor, who was still not satisfied, turned his attention to the second prince whom he always doted on: “Are you the same, you actually fooled around with them? Go back today and reflect together!”

Unlike Xie Bufeng, the Second Prince was born as the pride of heaven and grew up under the expectations of the Consort Hui and the emperor.

Feeling unjustly implicated, he just responded with an “oh” and turned to leave, even kicking the broken teacup on the ground as he went.

This temperament is exactly the same as that of Consort Hui.

But as Wen Qingci turned around, he saw that the young prince’s eyes had turned red at some point.

The Second Prince, always favored by the emperor, was scolded for the first time today.

He wasn’t inherently bad, just accustomed to being loved, pampered, and surrounded, and at an age of innocence.

Thinking of this, Wen Qingci’s gaze suddenly became somewhat complicated.

In “Supporting the Ming Hall,” he didn’t live to see the end.

Soon, the Second Prince would end up committing suicide due to a palace struggle…

In the moment they passed by each other, the young prince glanced coldly at Wen Qingci.

But Wen Qingci just smiled and nodded at him, his gaze even carrying a hint of pity.

Instantly, the Second Prince felt as if he had been seen through.

He hesitated for a moment, then hastened his pace away from the Ninghe Hall.

“Go check on the background of that imperial physician.” The Second Prince lowered his voice and said to the little eunuch waiting outside the hall.

“Yes, Your Highness.” The little eunuch replied, stealing a glance at him.

This prince, usually described as “arrogant,” was not an exaggeration.

The news about Wen Qingci spread throughout Taishu Palace a while ago, and he didn’t even bother to listen. Why was he suddenly interested in this imperial physician now?

Inside the hall, the emperor rubbed his forehead heavily, impatiently gesturing for Consort Wan to leave: “Leave, don’t let me see you for the next few days—go back to the palace, reflect on yourself, and we’ll talk after the investigation!”

“Yes… yes, Your Majesty.” Consort Wan, covered in blood, stayed here.

The attendant beside her hurriedly got up and helped her leave the hall.

And the Third Prince had already lost all strength to sit up.

In the end, he was carried out by two eunuchs.

The Ninghe Hall quieted down again.

Wen Qingci took out some soothing incense and lit it in the incense burner.

The emperor sighed deeply, closing his eyes slowly as if forgetting that Consort Lan and Xie Bufeng were still in the hall.

He used to be someone who didn’t show his emotions, but now he was becoming increasingly irritable, even suffering from nervousness, insomnia… classic symptoms of heavy metal poisoning.

In this era, heavy metal poisoning was almost incurable.

Wen Qingci knew very well that if the source couldn’t be found, he could only alleviate the symptoms for the emperor, unable to cure the disease.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the emperor spoke slowly as if in a dream: “… The medicine Wen Xiansheng mentioned last time, will it be delayed because of this?”

Wen Qingci’s hand with the incense paused suddenly… The emperor had never urged the progress of medicine production before.

Today, he deliberately said such words in front of him and Xie Bufeng.

As an imperial physician, Wen Qingci had to remain absolutely neutral.

He had no need to please Xie Bufeng, and even his recent actions still fit with everyone’s consistent impression of the original owner.

But what just happened still made this suspicious emperor feel somewhat uneasy.

Wen Qingci’s mood became tense immediately.

The emperor’s question was not just about delaying the medicine, it was also about trying to sow discord between him and Xie Bufeng, and even to test…

“Your Majesty, ” Wen Qingci suppressed his nervousness and closed the incense burner, softly answering, “It will be ready in at most five days.”

His tone was gentle, and there was no indication in his words whether he was being rational or cold-blooded: “I’ve already examined it, and the injury on the Crown Prince’s shoulder is not serious. The only thing to note is that he had a fever after being injured. Fortunately, the fever has subsided now. In another two or three days, after confirming his pulse is normal, we can continue with the medication.”

In Wen Qingci’s words, there was no consideration of Xie Bufeng as a “person.” at all.

The caring care that night seemed to have all been explained.

The emperor nodded slowly, seemingly very satisfied with Wen Qingci’s response.

Hearing this, Ming Liu’s hand holding Consort Lan’s trembled heavily.

And Xie Bufeng, who had already agreed to the “transaction,” stood here as if he didn’t know they were talking about him, still expressionless.

As the soothing incense burned, weariness gradually appeared on the emperor’s face.

In the eyes of this sovereign, everyone in the palace had their own calculations, hiding and scheming when facing him.

Only Wen Qingci said whatever he saw, devoted himself to medicine, and had no interest in anyone in Yongdu.

Therefore, what he said was the most reassuring.

Through the swirling smoke, the emperor squinted his eyes and muttered softly like a dream: “…Wen Xiansheng, do you think this small injury is worth such a fuss?”

Listening to this, a warning bell immediately rang in Wen Qingci’s mind.

The person on the dragon throne seemed to be asking, but Wen Qingci, who had read “Supporting the Ming Hall,” knew that at this moment, the other party already had an answer in his heart… the emperor just wanted to use someone else’s mouth to say it!

Emperor Xie Zhaolin was originally the king of Suzhou in the former dynasty.

Although he was “elected” as the emperor, in the eyes of some officials of the previous dynasty, this was still considered “illegitimate rule.”

Not all the noble families supported him either.

In the original story, Xie Zhaolin used various excuses to deal with a bunch of nobles from the previous dynasty.

Now, he not only wouldn’t let go of this opportunity, but would also use it to escalate the situation!

Wen Qingci’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and his fingertips went numb.

…His behavior just now caused trouble after all.

Wen Qingci smiled lightly, avoiding the question of “is it worth it?,” pretending not to have thought much about it, and following Consort Lan’s words from earlier, he casually said, “Since the prince is guilty, he should be treated the same as the commoners. If there are problems with the noble sons, they should naturally be handed over to the local yemen or the Ministry of Justice for handling.”

The emperor chuckled lightly, seeming to finally remember Consort Lan, who was still kneeling in the hall: “…Alright, beloved consort, you may all leave now.”

“These children are just fooling around, why bother to disturb the Ministry of Justice?” After saying this, the emperor stopped speaking, seemingly falling into a deep sleep with the help of the soothing incense.

Xian Gonggong pursed his lips, looking deeply at Wen Qingci.

Having followed the emperor for half his life, he knew that since the emperor didn’t reprimand Wen Qingci, it meant he approved of the physician’s words.

…The peaceful days in Yongdu probably won’t last long.

Consort Lan was pregnant, and the emperor allowed her to return to the palace in a sedan chair.

After packing up his medicine box, Wen Qingci left the Ninghe Hall slowly.

The rain mixed with snow intermittently fell in Yongdu, the chill penetrating to the bone.

The cold wind, accompanied by rain and snow, passed through the corridor, and as soon as Wen Qingci stepped out, he coughed heavily, feeling a hint of sweet and fishy taste in his throat.

He pressed the silk handkerchief against his lips, and the next moment, a few bright red spots appeared on it.

The physician didn’t heal himself, and his own body had some troubles…

Wen Qingci silently put away the handkerchief.

“Wen Xiansheng, Wen Xiansheng!” At this moment, Xian Gonggong suddenly called out to Wen Qingci and hurriedly walked over, smiling as he handed an umbrella to him, “I noticed that you didn’t bring an umbrella when you came, you mustn’t catch a cold.”

Xian Gonggong was very good at observing words and colors, knowing that Wen Qingci didn’t like having someone following him, so he only gave him the umbrella without sending someone to hold it for him.

“Xian Gonggong is considerate.” Wen Qingci hurriedly thanked him.

After selling this favor, Xian Gonggong exchanged a few simple greetings with Wen Qingci and quickly returned to the Ninghe Hall.

There was no one on the palace road.

Wen Qingci walked forward with one hand holding the medicine box and the other holding the umbrella.

Before he had taken two steps, his footsteps suddenly stopped.

Among the crimson palace walls and the falling snow, there is a dark figure, walking alone in the wind and snow.

He looked exceptionally lonely.

Wen Qingci didn’t say anything, just quickened his pace, and walked to his side, holding the umbrella.

The warmth of the person next to him, along with the faint bitter fragrance, transmitted to the young man’s body through the semi-wet clothes.

The umbrella given by Xian Gonggong is not big.

The seemingly invisible touch while walking, turns into a tingling sensation that is difficult to ignore, crawling along the arm towards Xie Bufeng’s heart.

The young man’s breath suddenly became erratic for a moment.

Neither of them spoke, just walked side by side in the wind and snow.

It wasn’t until he saw Magnolia trees in the Imperial Medical Office from a distance that Wen Qingci realized belatedly that the boy beside him had become a little taller than himself.