"Xian"er, save me!"
You Qingcheng backed off with great caution. Behind her was bottomless cliff. Any carelessness would make her fall down. Ni Shang flew to her, followed closely by the men in black. Xu Xi planned to take You Qingcheng away and got away to a faraway place with her. However, Ni Shang was about to reach the Queen when an explosion roared suddenly. You Qingcheng got in a panic with fear. Ni Shang flew to hold the Queen. Unexpectedly, the roar sounded again. Ni Shang lost her footing and fell to the cliff.
Seeing figures dropping across her head, Changxi who was gathering medicinal herbs on the cliff leapt high into the air and condensed Spirit Power. Then, ropes flew out of her hands. Ni Shang clenched the rope nimbly. You Qingcheng could not help but scream all the way and did not open her eyes when she landed on the bottom, and went faint when seeing the spiritual creature there.
"You dare lie to me! Didn"t we agree not to hurt younger sister You?"
Xu Xi grasped the black-clothes man"s collar. He did not expect his brother would do like that. Xu Xi plunged into the cliff. Xu Yin flew to clench his brother"s collar. Was this guy crazy, even risking his life for the woman? Xu Yin gripped the palisades with one hand, tugged his brother and climbed up. If he had known that his brother was so infatuated with that woman, he thought he would not have taken him there. The trap that he had set with You Qingmo was to never let You Qingcheng come out alive. But out of his expectation, his brother even planned to run away with her. Xu Yin felt disappointed with his brother at tham moment.
When Xu Yin climbed up to the top, Xu Xi picked himself up and slapped toward him. Not to be outdone, Xu Yin fought back. How useless his brother was! Xu family had been ruined and many members had been dead. And Xu Xi even turned against him for the woman! Xu Yin thought it was a must to slap to awaken him. Their original intention to enter the Qi Palace was to take revenge, but it seemed that Xu Xi had forgotten it completely and their dead father.
"Xu Xi, do you have such tiny ambition? For a woman, abandon the revenge for our father? And hope vainly to fly high and far with that woman! Can you face our dead father?"
"Elder Brother... you should not hurt Sister Qingcheng... Didn"t we agree that we just want Di Qing to die?"
"Look how cowardly you are! You are nothing now before we can take revenge."
"Elder Brother... has Qingcheng ever done harm to our family?"
"Temporarily not. But things are unpredictable. Perhaps she has the same nature as Di Qing."
"Sister Qingcheng is not that kind of person. She did not dare to step on an ant when she was a little girl."
"Innocent! One day you will regret it."
Xu Xi was knocked faint and thrown into the carriage by his brother. The group of people sat on the carriage and came back. It had been dark when they arrived at the palace. Xu Yin climbed over the wall and ran to the Western Palace. Little palace servant was waiting for him and hurried to greet him when seeing Xu Yin coming.
"Her Majesty is waiting for Supervisor Xu."
Xu Yin followed the little palace servant to the inner hall where a screen separated them, making the figure inside vague.
"How is everything going?"
"Your Majesty, I saw her fall into the cliff. She should be dead this time."
"Well done."
"It is supposed to be. But Your Majesty, please don"t forget what you"ve promised me."
Xu Yin said with emphasis, trying to remind the woman behind the screen. You Qingmo would not forget their interest. At the beginning, the two brothers helped You Qingmo in order to find a person under control. But since she had been living in the palace for a long time, her thoughts changed. Desire was limitless. You Qingmo thought further. Instead of being Di Qing"s little concubine, You Qingmo would see further. Rather than kneel down for others, she preferred others men"s kneeling for her. You Qingmo had been living humbly since childhood, and she had been fully aware what a tough life of being a daughter of concubine. So to live with dignity, she had to count on herself, because it was risky to live on men. You Qingmo needed to depend on herself. Xu brothers needed Di Qing"s death while You Qingmo needed supreme authority. Yes, You Qingmo wanted authority. Across the screen, Xu Yin could also feel the woman"s ambition.
"You"re tired and take an early rest!"
"Your Majesty, since you"ve made up your mind, you should not shrink back. I will help you to the end."
"I know what you are thinking about..."
Xu Yin left and flew to the Eastern Palace to see the Eastern Palace"s response and what Di Qing would react to You Qingcheng"s disappearance. When he got to the Eastern Palace, it was as normal as usual, and nothing strange happened. Xu Yin flew up to the rooftop, disclosed tilts and understood everything clearly. You Qingcheng sat before the dressing table. Several court maids were busy serving for their master. Xu Yin jumped down the rooftop carefully. It seemed that the person called Xian"er was so extraordinary that she had found a subst.i.tute for the Queen. But it did no harm to Xu Yin at all. Even if the Queen died outside the palace, no one would know it. Xu Yin just wished that chaos ran amuck in the Qi Kingdom, and then Di Qing went out of his power.
You Qingcheng let out a scream at the sight of spiders crawling everywhere, even some climbing along her shins. You Qingcheng shivered and fell down to the ground straight. Changxi hurried to catch the spiders, totally having no time to take care of the woman. Seeing the Master was so timid, Ni Shang held You Qingcheng up, ready to leave there.
"Do you want to climb up? Or just come with me?" Changxi said as she kept busy with the work and did not stop until the porcelain basin was full of poisonous drug. Ni Shang sized up the woman who gathered medicinal herbs. Judging from the techniques that the woman had practiced to save her, Ni Shang guessed the woman was not a common doctor. When the woman raised her head, Ni Shang"s eyes brightened up. The woman in front gave off peaceful spiritual Qi, her inky hair down and her skin white as jade, which reflected her indifferent temperament. She was totally unlike a grey-haired old woman. What would Wuyou do when she knew that Granny was such a beautiful woman? Chang Xi carried the bamboo basket on the back and dissipated the defensive cover, followed by Ni Shang who lifted up the Queen.
Surrounded by moutains in all directions, Qingyao Town was situated in the concave in the middle of the moutains. It had been dark when Ni Shang arrived at the residence. Ning Hai was enthusiastic when seeing a stranger and prepared something to eat for them. You Qingcheng was full of praise when she had the delicious food got from the moutains. It did taste delicate, sweet and palatable. Ni Shang felt it a relief that she had found a subst.i.tute for the Queen in the palace. Otherwise, it would have raised a rumpus in the palace. After supper, Ning Hai prepared the rood for the two. Ni Shang was so exhausted that she was desperate to sleep as soon as possible. However, You Qingcheng did not reconcile herself to it. She rummaged the bedding to look carefully, and did not cavil when seeing it was clean. But she kept groaning as she lay on the bed. Ni Shang sat up and stared at the Queen.
"How can I sleep on this bed. It is so hard that my waist is going to be broken."
Ni Shang did regret her decision. Why had she bothered herself to have agreed to come out of the palace? The Master was really hard to please. In fact, it was already lucky to find a residence to live in. If she had known things would go on like that, she would rather stay in the deep valley.
"Your Majesty, it is not in the palace. If you want to enjoy comfor, you should not leave the palace."
Outside the room, Ning Hai went wild with joy upon hearing the words. It was a fat lamp indeed! He did not expect that Chang Xi would bring back a wealthy person. The more he thought, the happier he became. He seemed to see a large sum of taels of silver in front and decided to keep the guest in any cases. On the other hand, the person inside was totally unaware that she was being plotted by others, and just complained the bed was not so comfortable.
The moment Ni Shang woke up, she saw the Queen sleeping against the wall. The Queen was really a delicate flower that had not experienced hardship. Ni Shang let out a sigh and got off the bed. She should be more stricter with herself since she was living in other"s house. So she made her clothes perfunctorily and pushed the door open. Then, mountain wind shivered her spine with chill.
Ning Hai and his wife did not have loose end inside the room. They got up early and prepared breafast for the women tenants. Last night, they picked up through the corner that the two women were rather precious persons of high ranks. To get something good from them, the couple planned how to play up to the tenants. Ning Hai bought some fresh material of food and then was busy preparing the food with his wife. When the delicious food was served, You Qingcheng could not help but pull the corner of her mouth. What were these dishes? How oily! She felt she had been full before eating anything. As a matter of fact, this couple were not bad except that they were greedy for money. However, the two women did not pick up any food with their chopsticks, and Ni Shang did not want to have the common people"s food at all, but just had some soup. Ning Hai and his wife felt embarra.s.sed about the breakfast, since they had intended to fawn on the two women tenants, but out of their expectation, the two just turned up their noses at the food.
After breakfast, Ning Hai and his wife repeatedly asked the women tenants to stay, but Ni Shang insisted on taking a look around the town. Since You Qingcheng came there for the female magic doctor, she did not want to stay, either. Ning Hai was a well-known miser in the town. How could he sell his hen on a rainy day since he had spent many taels of silver in the morning? As a qualified miser, he thought he had to make both ends meet at least. There was only a main street in the Qingyao Town, and folk custom there was unsophisticated. After crossing the street, You Qingcheng put forward that she wanted to see the female magic doctor in the town. Ning Hai thought it was time to get profits.
The group of people entered the thatched cottage. Ning Hai spared the inner hall for the tender women guests. Changxi was occupied diagnosing and prescribing the patients in the courtyard. Ning Hai began plotting how to get good from the distinguished guests.
"Magic Doctor Chang, you can"t neglect the female guests inside the room. The house"s cost for the year depends on you now."
"Ning Hai, look at these seriously injured patients first."
Chang Xi took a young woman"s pulse. The woman had been pregnant for eight months, close to the time when she could give birth. So Changxi told the woman to come earlier when it was time to deliver her baby. Today, there were more people in the clinic than ever, and the patients did not become less until Chang Xi had been busy for almost half a day. Ning Hai had urged her several times, but she was up to her neck in work. Not until the sun sank in the west did Chang Xi finish her work today. Chang Xi liked such bustling life, of which she could teach the pregnant the puerperal care. It was the happinest moment for Chang Xi. In the past, she practiced medicine for atonement; but now, Chang Xi lived a substantial life because the women there needed her. And it was also the value for her life. As for those past events, Chang Xi was unwilling to think of any, and just wanted to stay in the Qingyao Town in the rest of her life.
"So you are the magic doctor!" You Qingcheng was overcome with unexpected joy, just as the saying went, "Fancy finding by sheer luck what one has searched for far and wide."
" I really don"t deserve this."
Chang Xi did not care about the bubble reputation at all, but just wanted to do something for the women in the Qingyao Town to make the pregnant there receive more care and less sufferings. It was the purpose that she chose to stay. You Qingcheng followed Chang Xi into the inner hall, and Ning Shang stepped in as well. Ning Hai was about to come in, but retreated with second thought. However, he did not walked away, because eavesdropping could let him find more business opportunities. The two women had n.o.ble dignities. As long as he made good plot, profits would pour in from all sides. However, the magic doctor always let opportunities slip away.
"Queen, you have been scared. It is hard to be pregnant."
You Qingcheng was taken aback. How could the magic doctor guess right that she had been scared? It seemed that she was really marvelous. Ni Shang began admiring the female magic doctor. Only she knew the Queen"s being humiliated. And the female magic doctor could guess some without feeling the Queen"s pulse. She was indeed terrific.
"Magic Doctor Chang, please help me. I have to have a baby, no matter what the cost."
You Qingcheng knelt down on her knees. Ning Hai outdoors was delirious with joy. It seemed that he had picked up a treasure this time, and it was a great treasure. The tender female guest was the Queen of the Qi Kingdom. Ning Hai clang his ears closely to the paper window, afraid that he would miss a great business opportunity. He prayed in his heart that Magic Doctor Chang did not mess up the way to make a fortune. Every time the women in the town came to see the doctor, Magic Doctor Chang would put his heart and souls into helping them. This time, the Queen was desperate to have a baby! And how priceless the treatment fee would be! Ning Hai"s eyes brightened at the thought of taels of silver. However, Magic Doctor Chang inside remained silent, which almost drove Ning Hai outside crazy. At that moment, Ning Hai had an itch to curry favour with Changxi, even willing to wait upon her, as long as she agreed on the Queen"s request. Ning Hai paced back and forth anxiously, hoping Magic Doctor Chang would agree with the Queen as soon as possible.