Jinyi Spring

Chapter 118 Xiao Qingrui and Xiao Wan
Shangguan Ruyu pursed her thin lips, trying to save face, "I, Shangguan Ruyu, am not bad looking, and my family is decent. Many young ladies would be interested in me. But when it comes to you, I offer you my whole heart, only to be discarded like trash..."

She let out another heavy sigh, "Alas, if it weren't for my father... it's truly a cruel twist of fate that shattered my hopes."

The implication is that if it weren't for my father and your aunt's affair, you would definitely have married me.

Feng Chuchen pretended to be angry, "If you keep talking nonsense, I'll send you out."

"Alright, alright, the past is gone... let's not talk about it. My father told me to treat you and Buji as younger sisters and brothers, to visit each other often, and to take good care of them."

Feng Chuchen's gaze was calm and composed. "Let's be friends, or even just Master and Uncle-Master."

Shangguan Ruyu's peach blossom eyes widened instantly, and her face flushed slightly. "Feng Chuchen, you and that little bean Feng Buji, do you think you can be my elders?"

Feng Chuchen retorted, "Who was it that insisted on becoming my disciple in the first place? I've taught you so much, you're not losing out by being my disciple."

Shangguan Ruyu pursed her thin lips, her tone softening, "How about we remain friends, mentors and helpful friends?"

Feng Chuchen nodded, "Okay."

Shangguan Ruyu has some difficult questions about burns to ask today.

Feng Chuchen spoke very earnestly, as if he wanted to pour out all the knowledge he knew about burns, which made Shangguan Ruyu overjoyed.

During the explanation, Feng Chuchen would casually ask some questions, such as, "At the Old Madam Ming's birthday banquet, Kong Xiyan wanted to use the eldest princess to punish me?"

Shangguan Ruyu was a little embarrassed. "Cousin Ming already scolded me for praising your good looks in front of Kong Xiyan. That little girl is so young, but she's really mean. I'm never talking to her again."

Feng Chuchen followed up by asking, "Is the eldest princess very powerful?"

Shangguan Ruyu nodded. "She is the Emperor's eldest daughter, and her birth mother holds a high position, so she is indeed willful and domineering. Don't be afraid, she is confined to the inner palace and rarely sees you."

Feng Chuchen tentatively asked, "If you marry her, the Shangguan family will have two imperial consorts."

Shangguan Ruyu looked disgusted. "How could I possibly marry her... Everyone knows it's impossible, except for her who can't understand it."

Feng Chuchen grinned mischievously, "Let me tell you another piece of medical knowledge: marriage between close relatives is more likely to result in unhealthy children. If you want to strengthen family ties, you should wait at least three generations."

She then realized that if she were born into royalty, Shangguan Ruyu would be her cousin... Having such a brother would be wonderful.

Shangguan Ruyu pondered, "No wonder, the Second Prince... Hahaha, the First Princess is physically healthy, but her brain isn't up to par, she's both fierce and ruthless."

Judging from the situation, the second prince also has some problems. Most likely, he is the opposite of the eldest princess: he is intelligent but physically weak.

Why would someone like that compete for the throne?

She then asked, "How old is the eldest princess this year?"

"We are the same age as you, born on July 16th, and I am more than half a month younger than you."

He's actually one day younger than her.

The two first talked about the princesses, and then about the princes.

According to the system of the Great Yan Dynasty, princes were granted the title of king and married at the age of eighteen, and then left the palace to establish their own residences.

The eldest prince and the second prince are both eighteen years old this year, which means they will both be granted the title of prince and leave the palace to get married this year.

Feng Chuchen continued to ask, "Without an empress in the harem, why wasn't Consort Xue, who was so favored, promoted to the rank of empress?"

"Curiosity can be deadly." Shangguan Ruyu glared at her, but still lowered her voice and said, "The late emperor said that the next emperor must not be a grandson of the Xue family."

“If Consort Xue is made empress, the second prince will be the rightful heir of the empress, and the legitimate heir. The emperor and his maternal grandmother are following the late emperor’s instructions and cannot make her empress. If she cannot be empress, then the other women in the palace are even less qualified.”

Feng Chuchen understood that the late emperor had become wary of the Xue family, but the Xue family was still unwilling to give up.

She then asked, "The Empress Dowager is also a member of the Xue family, why doesn't she support the Second Prince?"

Shangguan Ruyu's eyes were full of admiration. "My maternal grandmother is the most fair and wise. Since she has been entrusted by the late emperor, she will definitely follow his instructions. It's just that Consort Xue and the Xue family are not giving up and are still working in secret."

Feng Chuchen cut to the chase, "What major taboo did the former empress commit when she was deposed?"

Shangguan Ruyu looked at her in surprise. Why was Doctor Feng, who was usually aloof and disliked worldly affairs, so curious about palace secrets today?
He replied dismissively, "How would I know about palace secrets?"

Seeing Feng Chuchen's curious eyes, he reluctantly said, "When I was five years old, Xiao Shi was deposed, and I can't even remember what she looked like. I only vaguely remember that she was very beautiful and had a good temperament. My maternal grandmother and my mother both liked her very much."

“My mother said that Xiao was simple and gentle, and did not compete or fight. If she had met that Noble Consort, she would have been devoured in the palace until there was nothing left. It’s a pity that she was only twenty years old when she went to Zixia Nunnery to become a nun.”

Shangguan Ruyu's words were full of sympathy for her; Xiao was probably wronged. Moreover, many people knew she was wronged, but because of certain events, they had to force her to become a nun on trumped-up charges.

A sudden pang of pain shot through Feng Chuchen's heart. She had become a nun at twenty, leaving her young son behind in the deep palace; perhaps her newborn child had even met a tragic end…

The position of empress may seem prestigious, but it is a high-risk profession.

He then asked, "Do you know Xiao's given name?"

Shangguan Ruyu looked at her with great surprise, "You, are you the Doctor Feng I know?"

Feng Chuchen smiled and said, "I'm a doctor, and I'm also a woman, so I'm always a little curious. If you don't want to tell me, then forget it."

Shangguan Ruyu said, "Her maiden name is Xiao Wan. Are you satisfied?"

Not knowing it was her mother's name from her past life, Feng Chuchen actually felt a bit relieved.

Zhan Yan smiled and said, "I'm satisfied."

Shangguan Ruyu was somewhat stunned to see Feng Chuchen smile so brightly.

“My dad said that my judgment of people this time was actually quite accurate…”

Feng Chuchen blushed and scolded, "You're talking nonsense again."

Shangguan Ruyu hurriedly waved her hand, "Okay, I won't say anymore, I won't say anymore." She lowered her voice, "My mother told me that the Emperor wrote two lines of poetry for her back then: 'Orchids in a secluded valley reflect the bright moon, flowers in a quiet courtyard lean on the gentle spring...' So what? He just dismissed them without any mercy."

These two lines of poetry made Feng Chuchen's heart tremble slightly.

The characters “Qing” and “Rui” are cleverly combined to form her mother’s name from her previous life: Xiao Qingrui.

In my past life, my mother was a teacher of the guqin at a music academy.

Her name perfectly reflects her refined elegance, like the first lotus blossoms of Jiangnan, gentle and graceful like the misty rain of March. Her voice is beautiful, and her smile reveals shallow dimples. When she plays the piano, it's like a still-wet ink painting of a virtuous woman—serene, tranquil, and overflowing with a tenderness that even the pages of paper cannot conceal…

These are all images left behind by her mother. She sees her mother through a cold screen, and that screen separates her and her mother into two different worlds. Her mother is a guqin teacher at a music academy, and like Empress Xiao, she is simple and gentle.

She met and got to know her scumbag father during a business trip. She was attracted by his gentle temperament and "erudite conversation" that came from his family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Despite her parents' repeated dissuasion, she resolutely married him and moved to an unfamiliar city.

Just over a month after giving birth, her husband's mistress called, threateningly, causing her to develop severe depression. When her child was a little over two months old, she learned that her husband had gone to meet his mistress again. In utter despair, she opened the window and jumped from a high-rise building…

Thinking of these two women, Feng Chuchen felt a pang of sadness.

Even without the eldest aunt's courage and unyielding stubbornness, their fates would still have been tragic...

Feng Chuchen invited Shangguan Ruyu to stay for dinner that evening, and personally cooked two dishes. Although the taste was just average, Shangguan Ruyu was still very happy.

He was both relieved that his relationship with Feng Chuchen could return to normal, and bittersweet at the realization that such a wonderful girl would never belong to him.

Feeling conflicted and not wanting to go home, I left the Feng residence and went straight to the Ming residence.

Ming Shanyue had just returned from the yamen and was sitting behind his desk looking at the jade bead when Ah Xuan stood on his big hand and nudged it with his little pointed beak, thoroughly enjoying himself.

Ming Shanyue wondered, "You like small beads so much, is this one special?" After pondering for a moment, she muttered to herself, "Where did the other bead go?"

He said "bead" three times, and clever Ah Xuan learned it, flapping his wings and chirping, "Little bead, little bead..."

Ming Shanyue quickly pinched its little pointed beak shut. "Shh, don't say it out loud. You were smart this time; I only had to say it three times and you remembered it."

Upon hearing that Shangguan Ruyu had arrived, he quickly locked the jade beads in the drawer.

Ah Xuan was having a great time when he was suddenly interrupted. He was so angry that he looked up and cursed at Shangguan Ruyu who had just entered, "You little brat, Xiao Zhuzhu."

Shangguan Ruyu casually flicked its forehead, "You're the silly one. Hey, where's the little bead?"

He thought "Little Pearl" was a person's name.

Ming Shanyue put A Xuan into the birdcage, then handed the birdcage to Yinhe, saying, "Keep him in solitary confinement for a day."

To confine it, you simply cover the bird with a cloth.

Ah Xuan was dragged out, and he was so angry that he bristled, yelling, "You little brat, you little brat..."

Shangguan Ruyu sat down on the couch, raised her eyebrows slightly, and said casually, "Guess where I ate my meal before coming here?"

Ming Shanyue blurted out, "Miss Feng's house."

Shangguan Ruyu scoffed lightly, "Only the King of Hell truly understands me. Let me tell you, the dishes she personally cooked, the delicate hands that deftly manipulated silver needles, she washed her hands and prepared soups especially for me."

Ming Shanyue's eyes were filled with inquiry, "Have you completely let go of that feeling?"

The smile on Shangguan Ruyu's lips faded, and she said sadly, "What else can I do but let go? It's better to be able to see her all the time now and treat her like a sister than to never see her again."

Ming Shanyue stretched out her long arm and patted his shoulder heavily, a smile spreading across her eyes. "You're right to think that way."

Shangguan Ruyu blinked, puzzled, and asked, "You seem quite pleased that Miss Feng and I can't be together?"

Ming Shanyue withdrew his hand, his expression returning to its usual calm and aloofness. In the dim candlelight, only the glimmer of light in his eyes remained.

Whether you and she are doing well or not is none of my business. What makes me happy is that you've finally moved on and don't have to act like you're dying anymore.

A wicked smile curled at his thin lips. "That night, who was it that wept bitterly and acted like a woman in front of me?"

Shangguan Ruyu's cheeks flushed, and she also felt quite embarrassed that night, so she quickly changed the subject:

“I also learned a medical principle from Miss Feng. She said that marriage between blood relatives within three generations is more likely to result in offspring with defects. Upon reflection, there is some truth to it. The eldest princess is not very smart, the second prince is congenitally weak, and there is also Quan Erdun from the Zhenbei Marquis’s mansion. It is probably because of this.”

Ming Shanyue seemed to be deep in thought, wondering which of the people he knew were related by blood within three generations through marriage.

After a long pause, he said, "That's true. Those families that are related by marriage have far more children with abnormal births than ordinary in-laws. That girl is really something; what else doesn't she know?"

Shangguan Ruyu's handsome face scrunched up in a frown. "Even my father said I made a good judgment this time, but it's a pity we're not meant to be..."

-

As Madam Ming's health improved day by day, the old lady began to truly appreciate Feng Chuchen's medical skills and was willing to let Feng Chuchen treat her.

The old lady was chronically ill, suffering from old wounds sustained during the war, gynecological problems that had plagued her since her youth, and the added ailments of hyperactive sexual function and cerebral infarction that arose with age. Although these illnesses were troublesome, they were not as severe as those of Madam Ming.

Feng Chuchen personally administered acupuncture, first suppressing acute symptoms such as pain from sudden flare-ups of old injuries and dizziness and headaches caused by excessive Yang. After that, daily conditioning and careful maintenance would suffice.

In the morning, it was Madam Zhiming's turn, and in the afternoon, it was Old Madam Zhiming's turn. Feng Chuchen had no choice but to have Zisu act as her assistant. Xia Ban, who had learned some medical skills, was left at the clinic. Banxia and Aunt Wang would handle what they could, and what they couldn't handle, they would wait until Feng Chuchen returned to deal with.

Feng Chuchen also wrote a letter to Dr. Fang, asking him to help find two doctors specializing in pediatrics and gynecology, as well as a pharmaceutical master. At the same time, he also began recruiting midwives and general laborers.

At the end of February, after having lunch in the main courtyard, Feng Chuchen went to Furong Hall accompanied by Granny Li.

The old lady took her hand and said, "Your back pain, which used to hurt every day, is much better now. I was too self-righteous. I should have had young Feng come to treat you a long time ago..." Then she asked in surprise, "I see that the medicine you prescribed is almost the same as that prescribed by other imperial physicians."

The old Duke, standing to the side, was overjoyed and laughed heartily, "Rong'er has been clever all her life but made a fool of herself this time. Doctor Feng's greatest skill is not prescribing medicine, but administering acupuncture. She knows the Shangyin Shen acupuncture, let alone ordinary acupuncture."

Feng Chuchen thought to herself, "The needles she's using aren't ordinary needles; they're divine needles. One year of her treatments has had a greater effect than some doctors who've used them for ten years."

Xia chimed in, "Last year I suggested asking Doctor Feng to treat Mother, but Mother said that little Feng was too young to be of any use."

The last sentence, mimicking the old lady's tone, amused everyone.

The old lady pointed at her and laughed, "You're blaming this old woman? You should have dragged this old woman along and asked Doctor Feng to come and treat your illness sooner."

"Oh dear, if I dare to hold my mother hostage, my father will break my legs."

The old Duke said earnestly, "That's right."

Xia laughed exaggeratedly, "See, I wasn't wrong."

Everyone laughed again.

Feng Chuchen really liked the atmosphere here; it was warm and joyful, and her smile unconsciously widened.

The old lady was reluctant to let go of her hand, her face full of wrinkles as she smiled. "It's really strange, I just feel like I have a special connection with Feng Xiaoya. I feel happy whenever I see her."

The old Duke laughed and said, "I share the same thought as Rong'er; I also adore this girl."

(End of this chapter)