In the middle of the night, a violent cough came from Weiyang Palace. Along with this cough was the panicked cry of the eunuch guarding the palace.
"Quickly call the imperial physician, the crown prince is acting up, the crown prince is acting up!”
The Crown Prince's illness, how important was this? The lights lit up Weiyang Palace as if it was daytime. The palace maids, eunuchs, guards, and internal court officials all rushed in and out, making the usually quiet Weiyang Palace seem as lively as a market.
Not long after, several imperial physicians came with medicine boxes. When the Emperor and Empress, who had already fallen asleep, heard that the Crown Prince was ill, they did not even have time to change their clothes and rushed over with only their outerwear.
When he saw the Crown Prince Chu Shengyi, who was coughing so hard that his body was trembling and his face was flushed red, and he was almost out of breath, the Emperor of Shang, Chu Pei, was shocked and in pain. The Empress, Zhao Yan 'er, could not help but shed tears. She rushed forward and hugged her son.
"Sheng 'er, my poor Sheng' er, where are you feeling unwell? Quickly tell mother, mother will immediately call the imperial physician to treat you!”Zhao Yan 'er's face was filled with tears as she patted her son's back desperately to make him feel better.
Chu Shengyi shook his head. He coughed and said," It's…It's alright. Your son…Your son is alright…Please don't bear it, Mother…"
But before Chu Shengyi could finish his sentence, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
Chu Pei was shocked and shouted,""Xia Jisheng, where did Xia Jisheng go?”
The imperial physicians hurriedly knelt down.
"Emperor, Imperial Physician Xia has left the palace to help the Crown Prince find medicine.”
"Then…who's on duty at the Imperial Academy of Medicine now?”
"It's us!"
"No matter who it is, come over and help Sheng 'er take a look.”
"Yes!"
The imperial physician respectfully stepped forward and carefully held Chu Shengyi's hand, carefully checking his pulse.
"How is it? What happened to Sheng 'er? Wasn't he listening to songs and dancing with me during the day? Why was it acting up again? Was he tired from sitting for too long, or did he catch a cold from the wind?”Chu Pei's questions popped up one after another before the imperial physician finished taking his pulse.
Because he had always loved Chu Shengyi, when he saw his beloved son acting up, he naturally felt pain in his heart.
Not long after Chu Shengyi was born, Chu Pei granted Chu Shengyi the title of King of Jin because he loved Empress Zhao Yan 'er. When Chu Shengyi learned to speak, Chu Pei hurriedly conferred him the title of Crown Prince, even disregarding the etiquette of his ancestors. According to the rules of the Shang Kingdom, the Crown Prince had to be recommended by the Imperial Clan and the ministers. He had to be at least eighteen years old to become the Crown Prince. Chu Shengyi was only three years old that year.
However, Chu Pei did not care about that. He overcame all difficulties and made Chu Shengyi, who was only three years old and only knew how to ride a horse and fight. He could not even recite a Tang poem, the Crown Prince.
When Chu Shengyi was twelve years old, Chu Pei ignored the objections of all the civil and military officials and sent Chu Shengyi to learn martial arts, the art of war, and Qimen Dunjia. This was because he wanted his son to not only be full of knowledge and ideals of governing the world and helping the people, but also to be a man of great talent, courage, and good at fighting.
Chu Shengyi did not disappoint Chu Pei. He had learned a lot of martial arts. At the age of nineteen, he led the Shang Kingdom's army to conquer the south and the north. In less than a few years, they had conquered the north and south of the Yangtze River, inside and outside the Great Wall. For a moment, the chaotic Central Plains seemed to be unified, which made Chu Pei extremely proud.
However, the heavens did not allow him to do as he wished. Just when Chu Pei thought that he could ascend to the throne of the Central Plains with his son's help, Chu Shengyi suddenly contracted a serious illness. No matter how he tried and visited famous doctors, Chu Shengyi did not get any better. In fact, his illness became more and more serious.
Faced with the Emperor's interrogation, the Imperial Physician's forehead was covered in sweat as he stammered,"Reporting…reporting to the Emperor, the Crown Prince, he…"
"What happened to the Crown Prince? Tell me!"
" The Crown Prince fainted because his blood was unable to return to his meridians. As long as he takes medicine, he will wake up, but, but…"
"But what? Tell me!" Chu Pei shouted anxiously and angrily.
"But the Crown Prince is seriously ill, I'm afraid…"
"What are you afraid of? Still not saying!"
The imperial physician stammered. Sweat poured down like rain and his clothes were almost soaked." I'm afraid that the Crown Prince…"
Just as the imperial physician was hesitating, afraid that he would lose his head if he said something wrong, a clear and melodious voice sounded above everyone's heads.
"He's afraid that your precious son's body is weak and he can't use medicine. If he doesn't do it well, he might even lose his life! At that time, it would not be resolved by just his head falling to the ground. He might even have his entire family killed! So how would he dare to say it?"
Chu Pei was shocked." Who?"
The girl giggled,"So stupid!" I am here, right above your head, Your Majesty!”
Chu Pei raised his head and looked up. Indeed, he saw a small, slender red figure sitting on the beam. The small figure was shaking her legs and munching on melon seeds. She looked very relaxed.
Chu Pei was furious." Come on, take this impudent little girl down!"”
The girl shook her head and spat out melon seed shells on the ground, scaring everyone into hiding and frowning.
"No, Your Majesty, I'm here to save your precious son. How can you treat me like this? You want your precious son to die, don't you?”
Chu Pei was stunned." Save Sheng 'er? What…What did you say? You said you're here to save Sheng 'er?"
The girl in red smiled and nodded. She munched on melon seeds and spat out their shells, not forgetting to look at the unconscious Chu Shengyi on the bed." Your Majesty, let me explain. If I'm wrong, Your Majesty, can you ask these stinky guards to take me down again?"”
Chu Pei frowned and looked up at the strange girl in red.
"I'm guessing…the Crown Prince's illness isn't an illness, right?”
Chu Pei was stunned, and his expression changed slightly.
"Let me guess again. Not only does the crown prince cough, but he also often feels chest tightness, panting, and his palms are hot. Sometimes, he even has a backache and is inexplicably afraid of the cold, right?”
Chu Pei's expression changed drastically. Before he could say anything, Zhao Yan 'er had already stood up.
"How do you know about Sheng 'er's symptoms? And he said it exactly? You've peeked, haven't you?"
The girl in red spat and landed lightly on the ground like a small firebird. She walked around Chu Pei and Zhao Yan 'er in a dignified manner, completely disregarding the guards in the room.
"Peeping? I, Little Light Tuo, Zhangsun Lingyun, want to see a person's illness. Why would I need to peek? I only needed one glance to know what illness he had.”
"Then tell me, what illness is Sheng 'er suffering from?" Zhao Yan' er asked anxiously. Can he be saved?"
This little girl called Zhangsun Lingyun stuck her head out proudly and looked at the pale Chu Shengyi on the bed.
"He's not sick. He was too impatient in his cultivation and injured his lungs!”
Chu Pei could no longer remain calm when he heard that." His lungs were injured?”
Zhangsun Lingyun nodded and said with an air of seniority,""That's right! He injured his lungs, and his injuries are different from ordinary people. Ordinary people might take medicine and recuperate for a year and a half, but he…"
She tilted her head and looked at Chu Shengyi. From his head to his feet, and from his feet to his head, she suddenly jumped onto the bed and poked his chest, back, waist, and shoulders rudely.
Seeing this, Chu Pei and Zhao Yan 'er could not help but wonder if this little girl was taking advantage of her precious son.
"But what?" Zhao Yan 'er asked. Tell me quickly!"
Zhangsun Lingyun jumped off the bed and revealed a sly smile." Your Majesty, can I ask you a question first?”
"What is it?"
"If I cure your son's illness, how will you thank me?”
Zhao Yan 'er was stunned at first, then she turned to look at Chu Pei." Your Majesty, this…"
"If you can cure my illness, I'll agree to anything you want!" Chu Pei continued.”
Zhangsun Lingyun's eyes widened." Really?”
"Of course, a king doesn't joke. Don't you know that?”
Zhangsun Lingyun nodded and tilted his little head to think about it. After a long time, he said,"Then can I marry him?”
Chu Pei was a little surprised." You want to marry Sheng 'er?”
"That's right! He's very good-looking, good at martial arts, good in knowledge, good in temper, and very good to people. He's a very good person, so I want to marry him!”Zhangsun Lingyun praised Chu Shengyi a few times, but did not mention that Chu Shengyi was the Crown Prince and would inherit the throne.
Chu Pei looked at Zhangsun Lingyun with a troubled expression." But the Crown Prince's marriage is a major event. I'm afraid it can't be decided so casually. Besides, the Crown Prince has already…"
Zhangsun Lingyun shrugged and looked nonchalant." Is that so? I said I want to marry him and be his wife, not his concubine. Do I need to be so careful? If you don't think so, then forget it. Anyway, I'm not the one in pain, I'm not the one who vomited blood, I'm not the one who died, and I'm definitely not the one who cried until my eyes went blind.”
As he spoke, Zhangsun Lingyun leaped onto the roof beam and sat down to munch on melon seeds. The melon seed shells flew all over the ground as usual, and his two calves swayed as usual. He even hummed a little tune, looking very relaxed.
At this moment, Chu Shengyi slowly opened his eyes. Before he could say a word, he coughed violently again and spat out another mouthful of blood. Zhao Yan 'er was so frightened that her face turned pale and tears rolled down her face.
"Sheng 'er, Sheng' er! My poor Sheng 'er, what happened to you? Sheng 'er, Sheng' er!"
Chu Pei's face turned pale when he saw this. He looked up at Zhangsun Lingyun, who was munching on melon seeds and humming a tune.
"Miss, can you take a look at Sheng 'er first…"
Zhangsun Lingyun pouted and deliberately looked elsewhere, pretending not to hear anything.
Chu Pei turned his head to look at his son, then at Zhao Yan 'er, who was already crying with tears in her eyes. His heart was struggling.
Should he agree? However, he didn't know if this girl was telling the truth or if she really had the ability to win. It was too risky to agree to her request. Moreover, Sheng 'er was the Crown Prince. Since he was the Crown Prince, how could he marry a little girl of unknown origins as a concubine? But if he did not agree, what if Sheng 'er fell ill and could not recover? Wouldn't all his hard work be in vain? What should the Shang Kingdom do?
"Miss Zhangsun, can you take a look at Sheng 'er first? As for your suggestion, I can agree to it.”
Zhangsun Lingyun's eyes flashed." Really?”
"Of course, but you have to prove that you can really cure Sheng 'er. Then I'll agree to your conditions and let Sheng' er marry you.”
"Proof? Isn't that simple!" As he spoke, Zhangsun Lingyun floated down like a little firebird and massaged Chu Shengyi's chest, armpits, and back.
Strangely enough, Chu Shengyi, who had fainted, had woken up and was even talking.
"Water, I want to drink water…"
Zhao Yan 'er was overjoyed." Quick, bring some water. Sheng' er wants some water."”
Zhangsun Lingyun shook his head." We can't give him water. If we give him water now, he'll vomit and cough even worse. If he doesn't do it well, he'll die miserably.”
"Then what should we do?"
"Of course I have a way, but…" Zhangsun Lingyun said proudly.
"But what?"
"But you guys have to go out first."
Chu Pei frowned." Why do you want us to go out?" Is there something shameful?"
Zhangsun Lingyun pouted." Eh? Can't I? Anyway, I'm not the one who's dead, and I'm not the one who's vomiting blood…"
As she spoke, she looked as if she wanted to go up to the roof beam to crack melon seeds and spit on people with melon seed shells again.
Chu Pei was angry and resentful, but he had no choice but to nod in agreement. Who told the imperial physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine to be a bunch of good-for-nothings? And the only one who could cure the disease had to leave the palace to look for medicine!
"Alright, alright! We'll leave and let you stay to treat Sheng 'er, but you have to promise me that you must cure Sheng' er. Otherwise, I will…"
Zhangsun Lingyun immediately nodded his head vigorously. He smiled so widely that his eyes narrowed into a line." Sure! I must cure him, because I don't want to marry a sick ghost.”
Watching Chu Pei and Zhao Yan 'er leave, Zhangsun Lingyun was so excited that his face turned red and his eyes lit up.
She jumped to Chu Shengyi's bed and looked at him from left to right. She even climbed onto the bed and laid on Chu Shengyi's body, sizing him up. She did not care that she might flatten Chu Shengyi, who was already on the verge of death.
Then, he heard her muttering to herself. From time to time, she would lie on Chu Shengyi's body and stare at him. Her small face was very close to him." You're so beautiful. I've grown up and seen so many people, but you're the most beautiful." I've decided. I want to marry you and give birth to nine children for you.”
Chu Shengyi was almost out of breath from the pressure. His face was pale, and he forced his eyes open to look at the strange little girl who was lying on top of him and staring at him. She even said that she wanted to marry him and bear nine children for him. "Miss, you are…"
Zhangsun Lingyun said to him happily and cautiously,"Listen carefully! I'll only say it once, once! I'm Zhangsun Lingyun, the precious daughter of the Phoenix Palace's master, the Vermilion Bird Maiden. I'm also your future wife and the mother of your nine children!”
Chu Shengyi was stunned." What…what did you say? What did you say you were?"
"I said my name is Zhangsun Lingyun, your future wife, the mother of your nine unborn children. I'm going to take you away from here now so that you won't really be killed by someone. At that time, I won't have anyone to marry or have children with.”
As she spoke, she did not care about Chu Shengyi's opinion. She reached out and pressed on Chu Shengyi's acupuncture point. Then, she carried him on her back and jumped onto the roof beam. Then, she broke through the roof tiles and left openly.
Before he left, Zhangsun Lingyun did not forget to shout from the roof to inform him,""Your Majesty, I'm taking your son away. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him. I won't bully him, starve him, freeze him, hit him, or scold him, so you can rest assured. Goodbye!”
When Chu Pei heard the news, he saw a red figure jumping between the rows of houses. His precious son, who he regarded as his life, disappeared under the silver moonlight with the red figure.
The strong smell of medicine mixed with the gradually rising heat woke Chu Shengyi up.
He opened his eyes in a daze. For a moment, he still could not figure out where he was until a melodious voice rang out.
"You're awake? Are you hungry? If you're hungry, there's five-spice cornbread to eat!”
Chu Shengyi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young girl in red. She looked elegant and refined, but her brows were full of vitality. She was looking at him with a small cornbread in her hand.
Chu Shengyi's heart skipped a beat when he saw this young lady. A beautiful, fairy-like figure flashed across his mind. She looked like…her!
Zhangsun Lingyun giggled and broke off a small piece of cornbread and stuffed it into Chu Shengyi's mouth." Eat quickly. You still have to soak in the soup for six days. If you don't eat anything, you won't have the strength to disperse the poison. By then, even if you don't die from the heat, you'll be cooked. So eat quickly!"”
Chu Shengyi was stunned and quickly pulled back his thoughts.
He looked down and found himself naked in an iron bucket. The water in the bucket was not only boiling hot, but it was also black like ink and emitted a strong smell of medicine. To make matters worse, he found that the water was actually smoking.
He spat out the cornbread and looked outside. Sure enough, he saw the burning firewood under the iron bucket. He was shocked.
"You…What are you doing?”
Zhangsun Lingyun was still smiling." I'm helping you treat your illness!”
"Cure?"
"That's right! Treat the illness." Zhangsun Lingyun extended his finger into the boiling water and took out a bag of powder from his pocket. He poured it into the water in a mess." You're sick and poisoned, so I'm now helping you treat and detoxify. Don't you feel that the water is very hot, but your body doesn't feel hot at all?”
Chu Shengyi was stunned for a moment, but then he understood. His shock faded a lot, because he was indeed as the girl said, his body did not feel hot at all. Not only did he not feel hot, he even felt an unprecedented sense of comfort.
"But I've never heard of such a treatment."”
Zhangsun Lingyun revealed a mischievous smile." Because your illness is very special, we need to use a special method to treat it.”
Chu Shengyi's straight eyebrows furrowed slightly." Special? How should I put it?"
Zhangsun Lingyun stood up and paced back and forth, pretending to be mature. He even said logically,
"You have two illnesses. One is cough, and the other is poisoning. The reason why you were poisoned was to treat cough, right?”
This time, Chu Shengyi could no longer maintain his composure. He opened his eyes wide to look at this beautiful and elegant little girl, who was still mischievous and childish.
Zhangsun Lingyun hopped in front of Chu Shengyi and placed another piece of cornbread into his mouth.
This time, Chu Shengyi did not reject her. He ate the strange cornbread with the smell of medicine and listened to her talk non-stop.
"You've practiced a very overbearing martial arts, but overbearing martial arts usually require time to practice slowly. You can't rush it at all. Once you rush it, it will hurt your body. This is one of the reasons why you keep coughing.”
"What about the second reason?"
"The more overbearing your kung fu is, the greater the backlash. The longer you practice, the deeper the damage. At first, you only coughed, but recently, you must have not only coughed, but also felt low back pain, chest tightness, dry throat, and vomiting in serious cases, right? This was proof that the injury had already spread to the lungs. If he continued to ignore it, the injury would spread to his internal organs in less than three months.
In order to prevent your injuries from worsening, you listened to those idiots and ate a poison that seemed to be able to fight poison with poison on the surface, quickly take effect, and suppress your injuries. In fact, it worsened your injuries. This is also why you vomited blood, fainted, and almost died. Am I right?"
Chu Shengyi's brows furrowed even more tightly, but his deep black eyes shone with a strange light.
How old was this girl? He actually had such accurate judgment? There were many imperial physicians in the Imperial Academy of Medicine, but only Xia Jisheng could barely tell the cause of the illness, and she…could actually tell the cause and effect so accurately, as if she had seen it with her own eyes? Could she really be…her?
Chu Shengyi sized up Zhangsun Lingyun, carefully observing this little girl who was only seventeen or eighteen years old but had already grown to be so beautiful.
Her hair was like clouds, her eyebrows were blue, her eyes were bright, and her lips were cherry. Without makeup, she was like the morning glow reflecting the snow, like a pear flower in the rain, beautiful and flawless.
She also saw her smooth and clean skin, her beautiful eyes were clear, her bare face was red, exquisite like jade, delicate like begonia, beautiful like apricot…What a peerless beauty.
It was a pity that she was still too young, and there was still a hint of childishness between her brows. If she were a few years older and more mature, she would look like " her ". At that time, who knew what kind of scene it would be, who knew how many people would be charmed.
Chu Shengyi spoke. His tone was no longer suspicious or rejecting, but was replaced by curiosity and confusion.
" That's right, you're absolutely right. It's indeed as you said. I was injured while practicing martial arts, and then I used the wrong medicine. The problem is…"
"What's the problem?"
"If even the national doctors in the Imperial Academy of Medicine can't cure it, how can you be sure that you can?”
This time, Zhangsun Lingyun was very proud." Of course I do. Otherwise, how would I dare to say that I want to marry you?”
Hearing the little girl say that she wanted to marry him again, Chu Shengyi couldn't help but frown.
Zhangsun Lingyun pointed at the steaming hot water that was as black as ink and said,"Do you know what this is called? This is a Hundred Herbs Soup that I used a hundred different herbs and spent a whole year and eight months to brew. It can detoxify, clear heat, relax muscles and tendons, and promote blood circulation. It can cure all kinds of diseases! If an ordinary person had a minor illness, they would only need to take a small sip of this Hundred Herbs Soup to ensure that the illness would be cured. Even if it was an old chronic disease, such as wind evil, wet pain, or people who could not move an inch, as long as they soaked in the soup for a day and night, they would be full of vitality and could walk as if they were flying.”
Chu Shengyi was a little surprised. Was this black soup the legendary Hundred Herbs Soup that could cure illnesses? He couldn't help but look up at Zhangsun Lingyun.
When Zhangsun Lingyun saw Chu Shengyi looking at her, he started babbling non-stop.
"Although this Hundred Herbs Soup is very powerful, your injuries are really not small. In addition, you used the wrong medicine and vomited a lot of blood. Moreover, the soup medicine did not enter, so I had to soak you in the soup and cook you first. But don't worry, after you cook it like this, eat the medicine I specially refined and rest for a few months. You will definitely recover. But…I have conditions!"
"Condition? What conditions?"
Zhangsun Lingyun inched closer to him. There was a hint of excitement and a hint of dizziness on his snow-white little face." You marry me, and then we'll have nine babies and inherit the Phoenix Palace and Nine Heavens. What do you think?"”
Chu Shengyi stared at Zhangsun Lingyun. After a while, he shook his head gently." I'm sorry, I can't promise you."”
Zhangsun Lingyun's face turned pale, and his smiling eyes were instantly filled with confusion." You can't agree? Why?"
"Because I'm already engaged. The 10th of next month is the day I get married.”#
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。