Chapter 137 The Cause of Second w.a.n.gzi’s Paralysis
With Shui YouLian’s reminder, Second Yiniang remembered Dier’s tolerance. “Fifth Yiniang is completely right. The previous furen arranged it by days. Even the first and fifteenth of every month were given to us sisters. Why does the current Furen monopolize Laoye now?”
“That’s right.” Third Yiniang did not have children, so she was the most anxious and the first one to agree. “We should go remind Furen. She said that we should share good fortune. She can’t lie to us.”
Fourth Yiniang only had a daughter. Of course, she wanted a son. She immediately nodded. “Then we’ll go tell Furen tonight, lest she forgets all about us when she sees Laoye.”
So, on the night that Mu YingRui returned, the first household’s concubines waged a war of saliva over which courtyard he sleeps in on which night. It was said that it was very lively.
Third Yiniang was a Nanjiang woman. She spoke softly with a Nanjiang woman’s uniqueness and delicateness. She was mimicked by little spirit mouse Xiaoling’s excellent and exciting portrayal of her.
“Xiaojie, Third Yiniang first said to Furen: ‘Furen, Laoye finally comes back with difficulty. Shouldn’t you make a plan? In the beginning, we considered that you and Laoye were newlyweds, so it’s fine if we suffer a little grievance. But now, you and Laoye have been married for more than a year. You can’t still monopolize Laoye. We sisters can’t even see Laoye’s face.’
“Second Yiniang follows up with, ‘Yes…… Furen, when the previous furen was alive, she had a good method. She wrote down which courtyard Laoye was going to that night. It was distributed fairly, so there wasn’t any fighting.
“Furen heard this and immediately slapped the table. ‘Nonsense! What do you think Laoye is? Whatever Laoye wants to do, is that something that you can interfere with?
“Sixth Yiniang heard this and coldly sneered as she said, ‘Furen, what do you mean? So it’s up to Laoye whom he wants to sleep with then? Sisters, since Furen said so, then we should reveal our means.
“Furen then looked at Sixth Yiniang as if she wanted to eat her.”
Zi You almost couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Mu YingRui, this is the result of your lecherousness! One day, you will pay for your heartlessness towards mother and me!
Due to the fighting over favor with the yiniangs, w.a.n.g Yiping did not have time to scheme against Zi You.
Zi You ordered Weishali and its spirit pets, “Keep an eye on that woman for me.”
On the other side, she said to Liu Yanhong, who had been a rough-work maidservant for more than three months, “Starting today, you will be a second-rank maidservant. Laoye is back. I will turn you back into a virgin in these few days. It is up to you how to obtain Laoye’s heart. You better be obedient and don’t play games with me. Otherwise, I will make you wish that you are dead. Do you understand?”
Liu Yanhong thought of Zi You killing that mouse and started trembling without any color on her face.
She nodded again and again. “Rest a.s.sured, Xiaojie. Nubi will be obedient.”
It will be strange if I believe you. Zi You’s eyes were deep as she waved her hand to let her go out. She took advantage of this time to secretly meet Second w.a.n.gzi in Yichun Hall.
When Second w.a.n.gzi saw Zi You this time, she was wearing a pinkish plum-colored arctic fox fur coat. It was paired with a white pleated skirt with hundreds of b.u.t.terflies on it. A blooming red plum blossom beaded hairpin was in her head. Other than that, she wore no other jewelry.
He suddenly looked away. The hair of black ink, the jade-like elements on her body, and the simple figure already made people unable to look away. That snow-white face, with ice-cold and proud features, was as gorgeous as red plum blossoms. She was a breathtaking beauty.
Zi You seemed to have been used to this kind of stunned gaze.
Second w.a.n.gzi had eyes like a deep spring. He was wearing a dark blue silk-embroidered sable wool cloak, a moon white narrow-sleeved robe with silver lined auspicious clouds on the cuffs, and a dragon jade pendant hanging from his waist. The long dark green sash around his waist lightly swung in the wind. But this jade-like handsome Second w.a.n.gzi didn’t even cause a ripple in Zi You’s heart.
She walked over to him and lightly said, “Your outfit is too eye-catching. You will be noticed soon. Since they know that this is a place frequented by the female medical team, your brothers will certainly watch this place. So, please don’t look to conspicuous the next time you come. Look like an ordinary patient.”
Second w.a.n.gzi’s handsome face turned red as if Zi You saw through his intentions. She was correct. He specially dressed up in order to give Zi You a good impression today.
He did not expect that Zi You would see through him and even bluntly point it out.
In fact, he did not know that it was because Zi You observed people more carefully after her previous life’s experience. Her perception of people and things was a lot stronger than in the past. In short, she would not so easily form conclusions based on someone’s appearance and speech now.
For example, she had only seen Second w.a.n.gzi twice. The first time, he was like a lonely hero or more precisely, like a lone wolf.
The second time that she had seen him, Second w.a.n.gzi’s hurt, indignation, heartache, unwillingness, helplessness, and despise by others after his injury were all exposed in front of her.
He only had one purpose. That was to elicit her sympathy and compa.s.sion so that she would promise to treat him.
And his appearance today was to tell her how excellent he was originally?
She guessed that if she cured his paralysis, he would use this image to face people. He would be less high-spirited than before and more low-key. He could successfully attract the Emperor’s attention again, but he would tell everyone, who threw rocks while he was down, that he did not hold a grudge.
Zi You sneered. The imperial family did not have a single simple person.
However, this was good too. If he was too stupid, he naturally was not qualified to be her ally.
Zi You’s voice turned colder. “Second w.a.n.gzi, Chennu only has one purpose in treating you. That is to form an alliance with you. You know that Taizi and Third w.a.n.gzi are eyeing our General’s Manor. So, I hope that after your paralysis is cured, you will help me keep them in check. Of course, I will try my best to get you what you want the most.”
Second w.a.n.gzi did not expect that Zi You could see through his intentions and did not expect her to speak so frankly about his intentions even more. For a moment, he was so shocked that he could not speak.
Zi You was not anxious. She sat lazily in a chair and lightly smiled. “Don’t worry. You can take time to consider.”
“There’s no need.” Second w.a.n.gzi’s handsome face sunk. He felt very uncomfortable in his heart. He thought that Zi You agreed to treat him because she had a good impression of him. His heart seemed to have been infused with warm spring water and the ice that had been frozen for years had begun to quietly melt.
But all of this had nothing to do with love. She agreed to treat him because she was looking for an ally.
Second w.a.n.gzi did not understand how a twelve-year-old little girl could be so cold. He looked at her and said, slightly sarcastically, “As long as you can cure my paralysis, I, Shangguan Boyu, will spare no effort to help Mu Xiaojie in the future. But how can Mu Xiaojie be sure that you can cure my injury? You know that this is very old injury. A lot of imperial doctors are helpless. Mu Xiaojie hadn’t even taken my pulse yet, but you’re already so certain?”
“As long as I want to, there is no illness in the world that I cannot cure,” Zi You said resolutely. Her eyes held confidence, like a vivid and bright cloud breaking through the sunrise, brightening Second w.a.n.gzi’s dark heart.
Zi You was not boasting because she had the ability to back her claim up. In the books her mother left for her, the spiritual power that their clan had could bring the dead back to life. If not, mother couldn’t have saved uncle, when he was bitten by a snake, just as the poison was taking effect.
As long as the patient had not been declared dead, that is to say, if his body’s cells had not stopped working, she could save them from death.
Zi You put a silk handkerchief over Second w.a.n.gzi’s wrist. She read his pulse and the more she examined, the more her forehead tightened.
Second w.a.n.gzi couldn’t stay calm anymore. He asked, “How is it, Mu Xiaojie? Can I be cured?”
Zi You waved to stop his questioning. Then she focused her spiritual power to examine Second w.a.n.gzi’s lumbar spine. She was very surprised and even exclaimed, “So it’s like this.”
Her back faced Second w.a.n.gzi and he couldn’t see her expression. At this time, her eyes were a beautiful purple, crystal clear and bright, like two ice sculptures of violet flowers.
As if she was afraid of Second w.a.n.gzi seeing her eyes, she waited until her eyes returned to a deep purple color. Then she walked slowly to Second w.a.n.gzi. She seriously asked, “Other than having no sensation below your waist, do you have any other discomforts? For example, dizziness, no appet.i.te, pain in your waist, etc?”
“Yes.” Second w.a.n.gzi thought about the sufferings of his paralysis over the years and trembled.
“I was dizzy and nauseous in the beginning. I couldn’t eat and my waist was so painful that I couldn’t sleep. Later on, the symptoms decreased and the time became shorter. From four or five times a day to once a day to once every four or five days. Now, it’s once every six or seven days. The doctors said that it’s caused by my irritated mood. What is it? Are there any problems?”
Zi You nodded. She calmly asked, “When you fell off the horse, you originally had some feeling in your lower extremities. It’s only afterwards that these symptoms showed up, right? Your spinal cord injury is very light. That has already recovered. You are not paralyzed. Someone has placed a gu on you.”
[TL Note: “Gu” is a legendary venomous insect created by putting various venomous creatures in a jar and each one devours the rest until one remains.]