Chapter 63: Gnawed by a Dog
The next day, Chen Bai entered the palace as Mountain Lord.
A small episode happened when he entered. An inner attendant led him around in circles several times before bringing him into the palace.
Chen Bai could not help sighing. Were they that afraid of people knowing His Majesty had summoned him into the palace?
What Mountain Lord was most famous for was painting and medicine. They probably did not want people to make unpleasant associations. Unfortunately, as he had walked in just now, there had been panicked speculation everywhere.
Sometimes, the more one tried to hide something, the more people’s imaginations ran wild.
After winding around and around, he was secretly brought to the King’s sleeping chambers.
This was Chen Bai’s first time seeing the King since the assassination attempt by the Yan merchant.
He had not expected that in such a short time, the King, who had originally seemed imposing and robust, would now look indescribably haggard. His face was sickly as well.
Sure enough, his condition was much worse than what the imperial physicians had let out.
The King was helped up and half-reclined against the head of the bed. In a hoarse voice, he said, “You’re here.”
Chen Bai hurried forward to pay his respects.
The King did not say much either. He directly had Chen Bai examine him.
As a fake physician, Chen Bai could only put on an act. The most important part was asking the imperial physicians present about the situation.
But the moment these imperial physicians opened their mouths, all they said was that the King’s condition was stable and that he needed patient recuperation.
Then they kept saying how brilliant Mountain Lord’s medical skills were, almost short of praising Chen Bai as an immortal physician descended to earth.
The moment Chen Bai heard this, his heart tightened. These damned imperial physicians were actually trying to drag him into the water and use him as a shield.
Fortunately, he had gained some understanding of the crooked ways of officialdom recently. If he had truly taken their praise to heart and become smug about it, he probably would not even know how he died when the time came.
If it really was as these imperial physicians said, that the illness was stable and only required quiet recuperation, then why summon him here? For such great merit, these imperial physicians would probably be fighting one another to take charge.
As for praising his medical skills, that was just feeding him an intoxicating soup of flattery, trying to make him take over. Then if anything went wrong, everything could be pushed onto him.
After all, even if they did their utmost, once they failed to control the illness and the King took his anger out on them, no number of heads would be enough to chop off. Among all officials in the palace, those who lived most precariously day by day were none other than these imperial physicians.
Chen Bai remained calm.
If these imperial physicians praised him, he praised them right back.
He even had someone bring over the prescriptions the imperial physicians had previously written for the King. He studied them with a convincing air, then said, “This prescription is quite good. Follow this prescription.”
In any case, the ones treating the King were the imperial physicians, and the prescription had also been written by the imperial physicians. If anything happened, it had nothing to do with him.
The group of imperial physicians looked at one another. Why was he so impervious to both oil and salt?
Still, through the open and hidden shirking back and forth, Chen Bai more or less understood the King’s condition. These imperial physicians were clever with their words, actually managing to convey the important information about the illness to Chen Bai in mild phrasing.
In truth, apart from the King’s old illness flaring up again and already reaching a difficult-to-treat stage, there was also the fact that the King worried day and night, which worsened his condition.
Chen Bai pondered for a while. With his great reputation, if he came to the palace and did nothing, merely following the imperial physicians’ previous diagnosis, that would not be very appropriate either.
After thinking for a moment, he said, “The King worries day and night, increasing the burden on his body even more and delaying his recovery.”
“I happen to have some pills that aid sleep. They can help His Majesty regulate his rest. As for the rest, just follow the imperial physicians’ previous prescription.”
In any case, he would only be responsible for whether the King could sleep or not. He would not manage anything else.
The King froze for a moment. Did anyone know how painful it was for a person to be unable to sleep? Especially someone already suffering from injury and illness.
Mountain Lord had not given him a new treatment plan, which disappointed him somewhat. But if Mountain Lord could let him have a good sleep, that seemed rather good as well.
Only then did he nod.
The other imperial physicians immediately looked worried. Mountain Lord, was your medical skill not unrivaled under heaven? Why were you simply unwilling to take over?
In the end, the heavy responsibility of treating the King still fell on them.
And every time they took the King’s pulse, they trembled with fear.
This consultation took quite some time. Most of it was spent prying the King’s condition from the mouths of these imperial physicians.
On top of that, the King looked rather fatigued, so Chen Bai hurriedly said, “I will go fetch the pills for the King now. I will have an inner attendant deliver the pills directly into the palace.”
The King gave a sound of assent and said nothing more. The bloodshot veins in his eyes already showed that the only thing he probably wanted right now was to rest properly for a while, even though the more he wanted to rest, the less he could manage it.
When Chen Bai left the sleeping chambers, he nearly ran into the Three Dukes, who had come to request an audience. The inner attendant hurriedly led Chen Bai aside to avoid them.
Now, court affairs were all being presided over by the Three Dukes. But as time dragged on and the King still did not show himself, the pressure on the Three Dukes grew heavier and heavier. So every day, they would come to seek an audience with the King.
This was unavoidable. If the King did not appear for a single day, perhaps some military generals would wonder whether the Three Dukes had done something to him. That was possible too. Therefore, no matter what explanation they gave, it was not as effective as the King personally appearing in court. The Three Dukes understood this as well, so they came every day to request an audience.
But each day, they could only stand outside the door and listen to the King say a few words. To be honest, the Three Dukes’ hearts were also extremely tense. But the King simply would not attend court. They had no other way. Even if they had certain guesses in their hearts, they could not say them aloud, could they?
However, the court was becoming more and more unstable.
From far away, Chen Bai could still hear the voices of the Three Dukes. “My King, now all civil and military officials are making anxious guesses. The court order shows signs of disorder. On top of that, Great Qian’s heir has yet to be decided, truly causing everyone’s hearts to panic…”
Chen Bai’s heart trembled as he listened. It sounded like ordinary remonstration, but the Three Dukes might also have had thoughts of planning ahead.
If the King truly was as the market rumors said, and something unexpected happened to him, then at least according to ancestral rules, the heir should serve as regent to stabilize Great Qian’s situation. That was the proper solution.
Between the lines, the Three Dukes were urging the King to determine the heir.
Given the King’s current concealment of his illness, if he wanted to divert everyone’s attention from himself, he would definitely push forward a new heir.
Chen Bai deliberately slowed his steps a little, but only heard the King say, “Withdraw. We will consider it carefully.”
Only then did Chen Bai quicken his pace, his heart heavy with worry.
Chen Bai did not even leave the palace through the main gate, but through a side hall instead.
Chen Bai thought this was fine too. The King did not want others to know he had entered the palace, and he himself certainly did not want others to know either. He did not want to get swept into this huge whirlpool.
The road out of the palace was indeed remote. It was an alley with palace walls on both sides, somehow giving off a chilly feeling.
Chen Bai shrank his neck and muttered, “Who designed this little alley? It’s creepy.”
Just then, a carriage drove in from the opposite end of the alley.
Chen Bai was somewhat surprised. Who would enter this alley for no reason?
He shifted aside, barely making way for the carriage in front of him.
But the instant the carriage passed him, an arm suddenly reached out from inside, grabbed him, and yanked him up.
The carriage sped away, leaving only the empty alley and its waves of cold wind behind.
Chen Bai was still shaken. In his heart, he nearly cursed out loud.
Which blind fool was this? Right at the palace gates, someone actually dared to kidnap a court official. Was this the God of Longevity hanging himself, thinking his life was too long?
He looked up and saw a pair of horizontal eyes, full of an expression that said he had been caught by the throat.
Chen Bai’s heart jolted. Damn it. Qi Zheng, that double-dealing bastard, had actually waited here especially to stop him.
Right. Only Qi Zheng knew he was entering the palace today. If Qi Zheng had people specially watch him, they would eventually catch him.
Chen Bai swallowed. He had only slipped away yesterday and stood Qi Zheng up. Now he had been caught. Was this immediate retribution?
What should he do? Looking at Qi Zheng’s face, it did not seem like this would end peacefully.
Chen Bai thought that even if he had eight heads, he still could not come up with a solution right now.
Forget it. He closed his eyes and lay down entirely. Playing dead. From now on, no matter who called him, he would not respond. Even if the sky collapsed, he would not care.
Qi Zheng was just about to speak, but then he froze. He watched with his own eyes as Chen Bai faked it so badly and lay there, “unconscious.”
Qi Zheng’s face darkened. Yesterday, he had dodged him and escaped. Now, right in front of him, he could still play rogue?
He reached out and pushed Chen Bai. “Not waking up, are you? Very well.”
His voice sounded like it was squeezed out through gritted teeth.
Chen Bai thought, with that tone of yours, how could I dare move? Right now, he was a corpse. Do whatever you want. He refused to believe Qi Zheng could do anything to an “unconscious” corpse.
This method was good.
Yet just as he thought that, all the hairs on Chen Bai’s body stood up.
Because something warm began licking his hand, going higher and higher.
Chen Bai was stunned. He had imagined many ways Qi Zheng might “abuse” his corpse. He had kept telling himself internally that no matter what, he had to endure it. Even if Qi Zheng whipped him, he would not make a sound.
But… how was he supposed to endure this?
Normally, Qi Zheng had such a sanctimonious appearance, such an abstinent air. Chen Bai had never imagined that Qi Zheng would do something so unreasonable, so outrageous, so condemned by both Heaven and man.
Chen Bai kept telling himself not to open his eyes while feeling that horrifying sensation creeping upward along his hand. He truly could not bear it.
As the saying went, what uncle could endure, sister-in-law could not.
He suddenly opened his eyes. “Qi Zheng, you filthy dead per… pervert…”
His voice grew smaller and smaller.
Before him was Qi Zheng’s ice-cold face, full of contempt, as if everything was under his control.
Then what was licking his hand?
Chen Bai was a little dazed. He lowered his head and saw an Alaskan Malamute enthusiastically panting against his hand.
Chen Bai: “…”
He knew it. This damned pervert Qi Zheng had not yet become obscene to that extent.
Qi Zheng said, “Why aren’t you pretending to be dead anymore? Keep pretending.”
Chen Bai glared at the Alaskan Malamute’s dog head. “You traitor. I was the one who gave you away, after all. You got a new father and forgot your old one.”
Chen Bai was especially embarrassed now. His face was even a little red. “Haha, I don’t know what happened just now. The moment I got into the carriage, my head spun. Look, I just happened to wake up.”
Qi Zheng snorted disdainfully. “Is that so? Those who don’t know better might think the world-famous Mountain Lord, Great Qian’s Grand Scholar of Vindication, was playing some trick again, full of ghostly little schemes.”
Chen Bai: “…”
If he had not been pushed into a corner, would he have pretended to be dead?
Chen Bai muttered softly, “Back then, who was it that sent voice messages to someone every day, and took someone along to livestream planting potatoes every day? Now it’s only a change of face, yet your attitude has made a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn. People are truly so shallow.”
Qi Zheng’s entire face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. So those heartfelt words he had once poured out were all spoken to Chen Zixiu?
Now that he had been exposed, he suddenly felt an anger born of embarrassment.
It felt like he had been deceived, while the other party still acted as if he did not care at all.
That sincere friendship of his, that friendship he had held in his heart as equal to Boya and Ziqi’s, had practically been trampled by a dog.
To think he had once felt Mountain Lord was noble and upright, like a white moonlight set apart from the mundane world. In the end…
What white moonlight? It was Chen Zixiu, this pitch-black, shameless, bottomless swindler.
Mountain Lord had been so good. And then look at Chen Zixiu, lying there like a lump of rotten mud. Even now, Qi Zheng still could not merge the two people into one.
“Shallow, am I?”
Chen Bai shuddered. “Wh-what do you want to do?”
Qi Zheng felt so dangerous right now.
“No matter what, we once had a pure…”
Before he could finish speaking, it was as if he had poked a hornet’s nest. A shadow pounced over him.
…
Outside, the uncle driving the carriage nearly lost his grip on the reins.
Good heavens. This was broad daylight, and… and on the street too…
Inside the carriage, Chen Bai struggled desperately.
The entire carriage shook a little. After all, two grown men making a commotion was no small movement.
Qi Zheng’s voice was filled with fury, and within that fury seemed to be something else. “This is for you, shameless thing, for pretending to be Mountain Lord…”
Actually, there was something wrong with Qi Zheng’s words. What did he mean, pretending to be Mountain Lord? He was the genuine Mountain Lord, all right?
Only, Chen Bai did not dare keep provoking Qi Zheng now. Who knew what outrageous, Heaven-condemning thing this man with a loose screw in his brain might do?
Chen Bai gritted his teeth. “When I entered the palace just now to examine the King, I happened to run into the Three Dukes remonstrating with him. From the King’s meaning, he should be planning to establish an heir as soon as possible. At a time like this, how about I help you pull one of the Nine Ministers over to your side?”
“That’s sincere enough, right? No matter what mistake I made, it should make up for it. That’s one of Great Qian’s Nine Ministers. Normally, if you wanted to win him over, who knows how much effort it would take, and you still might not succeed. At this critical moment of establishing an heir, you know very well how much weight one of the Nine Ministers’ words carries.”
Qi Zheng froze for a moment. “Just you? You can win over one of the Nine Ministers? Who?”
Chen Bai hurriedly replied, “Don’t look down on people. I’ll pull my father over to stand on your side, all right?”
Qi Zheng: “…”
This was the result of Chen Bai’s careful consideration. As the saying went, a new sovereign brought new ministers. The Court Commandant’s Manor had only ever supported the King, but now the King’s condition was truly dire. Once something happened, everything belonging to the Court Commandant’s Manor might also return to nothing.
In this world, if one did not have a noble status to rely on, survival was truly somewhat difficult.
For the future of the Court Commandant’s Manor, he also had to make some plans. His cooperation with Qi Zheng had already gone so deep that it could be said he could no longer switch to another partner even if he wanted to.
Court Commandant Chen had said nothing, but lately, he seemed to be worrying about where he should stand.
It had been said before that Court Commandant Chen had not taken a side, but actually, that was not right, because the side he had stood on was the King’s.
If the Court Commandant’s Manor wanted to remain powerful and noble, then without making some changes now, it would be completely impossible.
Chen Bai continued, “I’ve tied my whole family onto your war chariot. That should count as sincere enough, right? Think about it again. When I used Mountain Lord’s identity, our relationship was still quite good…”
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Zheng interrupted him with a dark expression. “Shut up.”
Chen Bai: “…”
He was not even allowed to mention his own affairs. He curled his lips.
…
Chen Bai did not even know how he escaped Qi Zheng’s claws. In any case, he practically had to support himself against the wall to return to the Court Commandant’s Manor. His brain juice had nearly been wrung dry.
Rarely, the entire Court Commandant’s Manor family had gathered to eat together today. Usually, either Court Commandant Chen’s time after court was irregular, or Chen Bai had run off to the academy, so their schedules never matched.
The meal table was rather abundant.
Chen Xiaobu tugged at Chen Bai’s sleeve. “Brother, ever since Mother learned how to use express delivery to buy things, the manor has been filled with all sorts of random things, useful and useless alike. Money is flowing out like water, and she doesn’t even know it. Today, when she checked the account books, she came to complain to me.”
“Look at this cured meat. I heard there’s enough to eat until next month. Mother plans to have me bring cured meat to the academy next time too. Tell me, we clearly can’t finish eating it, so why does Mother keep buying and buying?”
Lady Ronghua also sighed, looking as if she wanted to chop off her own hands. She felt as if she had not bought much. How had the money gone out before she even realized it? As she muttered this, however, she was thinking that the cloth shop seemed to have received a new batch of fine fabric. Should she buy some to make new clothes?
In the past, she only saw a few nearby shops, and they only sold those same things. There seemed to be nothing much to buy.
Now it was different. Once she went to the express station, there were signs set up there, saying what new goods had arrived where, what discounts there were where. If she did not buy, it always felt as if she had missed out.
In any case, it was just a matter of placing an order. It was very simple, and she did not even need to go there herself. She could just wait at home to receive the goods.
Chen Xiaobu relayed his mother’s recent worries, then looked at Chen Shouye. “Father, why are you only eating meat? You need to eat more vegetables.”
Chen Shouye: “…”
Was this not because your mother bought too much and made me eat extra?
Chen Xiaobu sighed. “Father, look, you’ve gained weight. If you only eat meat, you’ll get fatty liver, high blood pressure, all kinds of scary things.”
At such a young age, he had worried his heart to pieces.
The family chatted in bits and pieces, ordinary yet very warm.
But perhaps only Chen Bai and Chen Shouye knew clearly in their hearts that such peaceful days could face storm and uncertainty at any moment.
After dinner, Chen Bai went out for a while. When he returned, there was another person beside him. It was Meng Huanchao. Chen Bai brought him into Chen Shouye’s study.
Chen Shouye could not help freezing. Meng Huanchao’s identity was not simple. If nothing else, he had once been Crown Prince Jiao’s top retainer.
Chen Bai casually shut the door. “Father, I have something to tell you.”
It was already rather late. The setting sun shone in through the cracks of the window, carrying a dusky hue.
Once they closed the door, they talked for a full two hours.
When the study door opened again, Chen Shouye’s face carried an indescribable exhaustion.
For his whole life, he had been loyal to the King and loyal to Great Qian. But in the end, Crown Prince Jiao had slandered and framed his son. Fine, that was because he, Chen Shouye, was not good at dealing with people and had invited disaster upon himself. But the King he had served loyally all his life had clearly known the truth, yet said nothing.
How chilling that was.
Did anyone know how those days had passed? Chen Bai, locked in his courtyard and isolated from the world, might not have known. But those scholars blocking the gates of the Court Commandant’s Manor, those filthy insults in court as people pointed at his backbone—he had blocked them all with a smiling face.
Who did not cherish their own dignity? At that time, he had already reached the point where his dignity was completely gone.
Back then, the Court Commandant’s Manor had once been so difficult that it had nearly been unable to continue standing in Shangjing.
And the King had simply watched with his eyes wide open. He had not even spoken a single word of comfort.
