Jinyi Spring

Chapter 122 Originally of Imperial Bloodline

"Congratulations to Miss Feng and Brother Buji on your housewarming."

"Lord Hu, young Lord Hu, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Only Ming Shanfeng's words were different: "Miss Feng, what special dishes are available today?"

Feng Chuchen smiled and said, "There are no new dishes."

Seeing Ming Shanfeng's disappointed expression, he added, "However, there is one special dessert."

Ming Shanfeng smiled and said, "It's good that there are different ones. My grandfather wants to eat Aunt Wu's braised pork knuckle with garlic sauce, so I'll bring one back with me when I go back."

Shangguan Ruyu said, "Bring one more for my father."

Feng Chuchen rolled her eyes inwardly; taking food and gifts had become a habit.

After exchanging pleasantries, the men, both young and old, went inside and presented their gifts.

The men were in the main room, while Madam Hu, Miss Hu, and Feng Chuchen went to the east wing.

Lord Hu said to Ming Shanyue, "The Yuhua Poetry Case has a hidden agenda. Please speak with Lord Ming here."

The two went to the west room to discuss the case.

After saying a few polite words, Feng Buji took Shuangshuang and Wang Shuping out to play.

Young Master Hu was adept at social maneuvering, and the three young men were able to get along quite well.

A dozen or so male servants sat resting under the eaves. After pouring tea for their master, Peony and Hibiscus busied themselves pouring tea for the servants.

Peony whispered to Hibiscus to pour tea in the main room's porch, while she went to the west wing's porch.

Because Guo Hei was sitting under the eaves of the main room.

Mu Jin didn't say anything, but took the tray and went to the west wing corridor first.

Peony stomped her foot in anger and had no choice but to go to the porch of the main room and pour tea for each of them.

This time, she not only didn't roll her eyes, but also spoke politely, "Mr. Song, please have some tea; Mr. Duan, please have some tea; Mr. Li, please have some tea... Mr. Guo, please have some tea."

Although Guo Hei was listed last, the attitude was surprisingly good, which greatly disappointed Song Xian and the others who were looking for a show.

As soon as Shaoyao entered the kitchen, Song Xian and Duan Yan began clearing their throats.

"Cough cough cough..."

Guo blushed, his eyes widened, and he whispered, "What, you want to fight?"

Duan Yan laughed and said, "Brother Hei, that's not right of you. Can't we even cough? Miss Shaoyao has already made progress. She doesn't swear or roll her eyes anymore. You should change your ways too."

The others suppressed their laughter.

Guo Hei wanted to fight but didn't dare, so he sat down to the side and drank tea in silence.

Before long, Cai Yuxiu arrived, carrying a set of blue and white porcelain bowls and plates.

Feng Chuchen missed her terribly.

He asked with a smile, "How did you know I moved?"

Cai Yuxiu smiled smugly, "What you want to know, you will naturally find out."

When Ming Shanyue heard Cai Yuxiu's voice, she looked out the small window again, and a flash of joy crossed her eyes.

At noon, Lord Hu and his son, the Ming brothers, and Shangguan Ruyu ate and drank in the main hall.

Several female guests and three boys were eating in the east wing.

Two tables were set up for male servants in the west room of the main house.

The dishes are all traditional ones, and they taste as good as ever.

One of the dishes was cold shepherd's purse salad.

When Mu Jin served the dishes to the male servants, she smiled and said, "Sister Shaoyao heard that you gentlemen like her cold dishes, so she specially made them."

Song Xian asked Duan Yan, "Do you like cold dishes?"

Duan Yan said, "It's so-so, but Brother Hei likes to eat it."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Guo Heihei's face turned bright red, and he glared at him, asking, "What, you want to fight?"

Duan Yan shook his head and laughed, "I can't beat you, and I don't want to."

Mu Jin ran back to the kitchen and told everyone about their conversation, which made everyone burst into laughter.

Peony stomped her feet in anger and cursed, "You little hussy, you're going to get a beating again."

Startled, Mu Jin hid behind Aunt Wang and innocently said, "I didn't lie, that's what they said."

Aunt Wang laughed and said, "Peony, you mustn't bully people. It's a good thing that Master Guo likes your cold dishes. Young Master Shangguan and Young Master Ming like the dishes made by the Wu family. They're not only not angry, they're very happy."

Aunt Wu smiled and said, "Of course, I love hearing people say that my cooking is delicious."

One mouth can't out-argue several mouths, so Peony had no choice but to leave.

The meal ended with a dessert, mochi.

It has no fruit, whipped cream, or cookies; the filling is red bean paste, raisins, peach crisp crumbs, and yogurt. It's still delicious and beautiful, and the name is even shocking.

The Hu people's shop sold butter and yogurt, which saved Feng Chuchen a lot of trouble.

Upon hearing the name, everyone laughed, and seeing how handsome he was, they all liked him very much.

Ming Shanfeng added, "My grandmother and mother like sweets, so please bring some home for me."

Shangguan Ruyu also said, "My mother has a sweet tooth, so I'll take some back with me."

The two on the other side eagerly said, "Take some home for my mother."

Feng Chuchen had already made preparations and done a lot.

After the meal, eight were sent to the residences of the Princess, the Ming family, and the Hu family.

Feng Chuchen whispered to Cai Yuxiu, "That's all there is. Come tomorrow and ask Aunt Wu to make some more for you to take home."

Cai Yuxiu also wants to come tomorrow to continue learning episiotomy and suturing from Feng Chuchen.

She agreed with a smile.

After seeing off the guests at the end of Shen Shi (3-5 PM), the courtyard finally returned to tranquility.

As if they had planned it together, the Ming brothers and Shangguan Ruyu each presented a small carved nanmu desk. One was decorated with a peony scroll pattern, and the other with a plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum pattern.

The former was a gift from the Ming brothers, and the latter was a gift from Shangguan Ruyu.

Feng Buji was overjoyed and couldn't wait to use the gift he had just received.

His and his sister's desks were both simple, rectangular tables with dull paint, utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal. In his view, everything else was acceptable, but reading was not.

He circled the desk twice and said, “My sister is elegant and beautiful, and she is the perfect match for this noble peony. As for me, I am a gentleman, and I am more suited to the plum blossom, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo.”

Feng Chuchen also liked the two desks, and the little guy's words were so pleasing to the ear. He immediately had the old ones moved out and the new ones brought in. The next day, at the end of the morning hour, Cai Yuxiu arrived.

As soon as she entered the door, she laughed and said, "My mother scolded me, saying that no one goes to visit neighbors so early in the morning. I told her that visiting other people's houses is called visiting neighbors, but visiting Sister Feng's house is called visiting relatives, so they won't laugh at me."

She went to the clinic first and worked with Aunt Wang and others.

Around noon, Feng Chuchen finally found some free time and called her over to the house.

A chicken breast with skin on has been prepared.

Cai Yuxiu's medical talent is far inferior to Shangguan Ruyu's. Today is her second time learning suturing, and her stitches are still crooked and she can't control the depth of cutting the flesh.

She gradually became impatient, pouting and muttering, "Am I really that stupid? My grandpa and dad always say that my aunt learns everything extremely quickly, and I'm not even half as smart as her. At first, I didn't accept it, but now I see, I really am stupid."

Feng Chuchen smiled mischievously and said deliberately, "To be frank, even though I have never had the chance to meet Dr. Cai, I dare say that she is far more intelligent than you."

Cai Yuxiu stomped her foot and pouted, saying, "Why do you have to tell the truth? Can't you just comfort me?"

Feng Chuchen smiled, then sighed, "Not only my aunt, but also Her Highness the Eldest Princess, Old Madam Ming, and Madam Ming all praised Doctor Cai. It's a pity she passed away so early... Uh, when did she die?"

That day was so unforgettable that Cai Yuxiu blurted out without thinking, "In the fifth year of Jianzhang, at the end of the Yin hour on the fifteenth of the seventh month, Consort Xue suddenly felt unwell in her stomach, fearing that she was about to give birth, and hurriedly summoned my aunt to serve her."

"It was still dark then. My aunt couldn't see the road clearly, and she slipped and fell into the stream at Zixia Temple, where she drowned. Alas!"

"Zixia Nunnery? She died at Zixia Nunnery?"

Feng Chuchen suddenly raised her head, her voice carrying a tension she herself was unaware of.

Cai Yuxiu nodded and lowered her voice, saying, "I heard that when the Emperor personally led the expedition that year, the weather was very strange in mid-July. It snowed and hailed in the middle of summer. The Empress Dowager had a nightmare about a skinless monster..."
"Shengsheng fell ill from fright, worried about the Emperor's safety. Consort Xue and the former Empress were both eight months pregnant, and they volunteered to go to Zixia Nunnery to pray for the Emperor and the Empress Dowager."

"Many imperial physicians and female doctors went to serve her, including my eldest aunt. Alas, who would have thought that something would happen to my eldest aunt?"

In an instant, Feng Chuchen recalled the route they took from Baima Village to Zixia Temple that day: passing through the reed marshes, circling the foot of Qingmiao Mountain, crossing the Baicang River, and then crossing a small bridge, they were not far from Zixia Temple...

She suppressed her turbulent emotions, struggling to keep her voice steady, "Consort Xue, was it that day?"

Cai Yuxiu said, "No, the eldest princess was born the following afternoon."

Feng Chuchen unconsciously dug her fingertips into her palm and pressed for an answer, "What about that former empress?"
Cai Yuxiu was carefree and outspoken, and loved to inquire about palace gossip, so she didn't notice Feng Chuchen's unusual behavior.

She lowered her head and continued sewing, saying directly, "I heard that she gave birth to a stillborn child on July 16th."

"Were they all born in the Zixia Nunnery?"

"Yes, they were all born at Zixia Nunnery..."

When was the former empress deposed and forced to become a nun?

"In August of the fifth year of Jianzhang, I not only heard my parents talk about it, but also the female doctors whispered about it. The emperor defeated the enemy and returned to the capital in triumph. A few days later, the empress made a mistake and was deposed. She went to Zixia Nunnery to become a nun."

"It was supposed to be a joyous day of celebration for the whole country, but who knew that incident would happen so soon after. The former empress, now known as Qingxin, has been in poor health, and Physician Zhou occasionally visits Zixia Nunnery to treat her. She says she's become extremely thin..."

Feng Chuchen rubbed her head, her face instantly turning pale. "I suddenly have a terrible headache, I need to rest. You stay here and practice as I told you..."

Cai Yuxiu then realized that Feng Chuchen's expression was off and quickly reached out to touch her forehead.

Feng Chuchen's body temperature has always been lower than normal, and she can't tell if it's hot or cold.

He said urgently, "Take your own pulse. If it's serious, quickly send someone to fetch a doctor to administer acupuncture."

"It's alright, I just need to rest." Feng Chuchen then instructed Shaoyao, "Take good care of Miss Cai."

Peony was almost in tears. She wanted to help Feng Chuchen into the house, but Feng Chuchen waved her hand and went to lie down on the bed in the bedroom.

She almost collapsed onto the edge of the bed, then lay down heavily, pulling the thin blanket tightly around herself as if to shut herself out of everything outside.

There is no doubt that she, the original owner of this body, is the daughter born to the former Empress Xiao, who was supposed to be stillborn.

The claim that Ms. Xiao gave birth on July 16th is intended to mislead the public.

Someone asked Dr. Cai to kill the child with acupuncture, but Dr. Cai saved the child instead. Somehow, the child was taken outside and carried by another person to a nearby reed bed…

As for Dr. Cai, she was silenced an hour later.

Feng Chuchen felt as if a cold hand had gripped her heart tightly, then violently kneaded it into a tangled mess. Her wildly pounding heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest.

Shock, sorrow, and tenderness for the original owner of the body... a series of emotions surged within her, making it impossible for her to calmly sort out these myriad thoughts.

Soon after, there was a knock on the door.

It was Aunt Wang's worried voice, "Girl, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, I just need to rest."

The voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly, through the blanket.

After a while, Mu Jin's voice came, "Miss, dinner is ready."

"You guys eat, I'll rest a bit more."

Then came Feng Buji's voice, on the verge of tears, "Sister, are you sick?"

"No, I'm just tired. I'll be fine in a bit."

Time passed slowly, and Feng Chuchen's turbulent emotions finally calmed down. Her mind started working again, and the clues gradually became clearer.

The young protagonist was able to survive thanks to the old female doctor, Cai. It was she who used a secret technique of the Li tribe to insert a needle into the young protagonist's Baihui acupoint, putting her in a state of suspended animation for two hours, thus giving her a glimmer of hope…

So, who buried her in the reed marshes?

It couldn't possibly be the Xiao family; they probably didn't even know the child was alive. Otherwise, they would have secretly searched for the child, made sure he was settled, and then devised a way to retaliate against the mastermind behind it all.

Most likely, Dr. Cai received a secret order to kill Xiao's child, but couldn't find an opportunity to pass the message on to Xiao, or perhaps she dared not disobey in order to protect her family.

However, she was unwilling to harm the emperor's bloodline, or perhaps out of loyalty to Lady Xiao, she managed to tell someone else.

That person was also loyal to the Xiao family, or rather, to the imperial court, and under some unknown circumstances, he obtained a child who had faked his death.

Why he didn't place it at his aunt's doorstep, but instead buried it in the reed marshes, and coincidentally, his aunt and Aunt Wang went to bury the dead child at that time, remains unknown.

Fortunately, they won their gamble; the aunt found the child and cleverly changed the time and place of finding him.

Old Cai, the female doctor, knew full well that she was doomed after doing this.

Sure enough, she fell silently into the stream and drowned.

The identity of the other person is unknown; perhaps he or she has already been silenced.

Old Cai, the female doctor, knew the secret arts of the Li ethnic group, which no one else knew, otherwise the person who gave the order wouldn't have sent her to complete that task.

As for Ming Shanyue, he had clearly heard some rumors and suspected that the old female doctor Cai had caused the death of Xiao's child. That's why he pressed her about the upright delivery and tried to get information out of Cai Yuxiu.

If the person who buried the original owner also dies, then the secret that the Xiao family's child is still alive will likely remain buried forever.

Now it seems that the original owner of the body lived peacefully until the age of fourteen in Baima Village. When she transmigrated here, no one had ever touched that small grave, so it's highly likely that the person who left it is dead.

It's obvious without much thought that Consort Xue and her family were responsible for harming the original owner of this body. Their goal, of course, wasn't to kill a princess, but to bring down Empress Xiao and the eldest prince.

The child was lost; it's unclear whether it was replaced by a skinned raccoon dog or some other monster.

The birth of the monster by the Xiao family is considered an omen of bad luck, and it's certain that she will be deposed.

(End of this chapter)