Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 130 Extra: The Sixth Prince (4)

When the Sixth Prince first met Rui'er, he was surprised. Why could someone live so freely, climbing trees, picking flowers, and eating fruit every day? He was really envious. But he later learned that Rui'er was just like him, so lonely. They were the same kind of people.

Every day in Medicine King Valley, the Sixth Prince pretended to have amnesia, spending his days playing with Rui'er as if he were accompanying his younger self. Perhaps this was a way of making amends.

That evening, the Sixth Prince searched her residence again for the elixir of immortality.

As time went by, he gained nothing and had to continue acting. As he acted, he himself became confused about whether he was the Sixth Prince or Xiao Liu. Sometimes, he really wished he was Xiao Liu, so that he could live a carefree life in Medicine King Valley.

That day, Rui'er took him to a secret room. Rui'er didn't know that he wouldn't lose his memory, and he would remember everything the next day.

He finally found the twelfth volume of the book in the secret room. The book recorded how to use the Dream Eater Flower to make a drug to reverse aging, as well as the side effects of the drug... He did not feel the joy he thought he would feel, but only a faint sorrow.

Nearly a month later, the two poisons flared up simultaneously, nearly killing him. But he wasn't afraid, because this gamble was the result of his own voluntary choice; he had always been a crazy gambler.

Of course, he won his gamble.

The arrival of the Second Prince was exactly what the Sixth Prince wanted. He was just wondering what excuse to use to get rid of this rival, and now the Sixth Prince had delivered the bait himself—how foolish! It seems the information he deliberately spread had worked; the fish had taken the bait, but it was a bit too slow, taking the bait so slowly that the poison was about to take effect.

In the secret room, when Yan Mingzhang said that one book was missing from the set and then gave him that look, he truly panicked. His first reaction wasn't that the book would be taken back, but rather that he was genuinely afraid Rui'er would be disappointed in him. He was startled by his own thoughts.

Fortunately, this matter was not exposed, and he didn't know whether Yan Mingzhang was a friend or foe; he couldn't quite figure him out...

Unexpectedly, the Second Prince was quite capable, almost driving him to the brink of despair. He held out until the very end without sending out his assassins, not because he was unafraid of death, but because those men were his only reliance, and he couldn't let them go to waste.

Having escaped, he thought he had won, but when Rui'er saw the Dream Eater Flower with roots still in his arms and the way Rui'er looked at him, he panicked for a moment.

He thought his heart was hardened like iron, that he didn't care about anyone anymore, but... why did he feel so sad? He had clearly gotten what he wanted... he had won!

When the stone gate closed, he really thought he was going crazy. He really wanted to stay in Medicine King Valley and be Xiao Liu, no matter what.

He didn't like being the sixth prince, he always had been...

On horseback, he saw the field of forget-me-nots. He knew that in some corner, a boy named Xiao Liu was disappearing... Forget it... That was never you to begin with...
-
"Father, it's time to take your medicine..." The Sixth Prince stood in the hall, with the Emperor's most trusted eunuch, Eunuch Li, beside him. Eunuch Li had now switched sides and stood on the Sixth Prince's side.

Eunuch Li was carrying a tray lined with yellow silk, on which sat a pink, luminous pill.

"I...I won't eat it! I won't eat it!" The Emperor, his dragon robe crumpled and his hair disheveled, hid behind the dragon throne, shaking his head in terror. "You...you're trying to harm me!" "Father, how could that be? This is an elixir of immortality, newly concocted by the alchemist..." The Sixth Prince slowly strolled over, unhurriedly, and squatted down beside the Emperor. "Father, your life is so precious, how could I bear to part with it?"

The Sixth Prince held the Emperor's chin with one hand and stuffed a pill into his mouth with the other: "You and I are connected by blood, and you're getting on in years. Isn't it more meaningful to use you as a test subject? Even if I take medicine, I'll only do so in my later years, before I die. I won't be as foolish as you, starting to take medicine in your prime... Now you've ruined your health..."

The emperor hurriedly tried to vomit the medicine by gagging his throat, but to no avail.

"You unfilial son!" the Emperor roared.

"Oh, but I am the Crown Prince appointed by you. Now, the court officials only say that the Emperor is immoral, spending his days and nights cultivating immortality and refining elixirs, neglecting state affairs, and that only I, the Crown Prince, can oversee the country. That can only prove one thing: you are blind!"

"You! You!" The emperor was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Eunuch Li, remember this: after taking this pill, one will vomit blood…” The Sixth Prince looked up, his eyes full of smiles, like a child. “Let’s go. I heard that Physician Zhuang has returned from his medical travels today. Let’s go to the Imperial Hospital to find him.”
-
"Imperial Physician Zhuang, what do you mean by this?" The Sixth Prince sat upright, his face grim. He clenched his teeth, his eyes were bloodshot, and there was even a hint of grievance in his eyes.

"Sixth Prince, I am old and my energy is not what it used to be. I am really unable to share Your Highness's burdens. I hope Your Highness will grant me permission to retire and return to my hometown to enjoy my old age..." Imperial Physician Zhuang knelt there, his back straight, neither humble nor arrogant.

"You're looking down on me..." The Sixth Prince's eyes suddenly reddened. "You were the one who made me fight for it in the first place, and now that I've won it through my own abilities, you're not happy with it..."

“Your Highness, you have skill but no morality.” Imperial Physician Zhuang straightened his back even more. He was already half-buried in the ground. His family members had passed away one after another, and now he was all alone. He had nothing to fear.

"Skilled but without principle? Hahahaha..." The Sixth Prince stood up and began to laugh wildly. He smashed his teacup on the ground. "Principle? My principle is the principle of survival. Only those who survive are qualified to preach the principle!"

"You shouldn't have killed your father and brother!" Doctor Zhuang's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thunderclap. Eunuch Li, standing beside him, trembled with fear and dared not utter a word.

The sixth prince slumped into his chair, tears finally streaming down his face. A bitter smile appeared on his lips: "Father-killing and brother-killing? Is that how you see me? If I hadn't killed them, they would have killed me. Father-killing and brother-killing? Let me ask you, do they deserve to be called father and brother?"

Unable to answer, Physician Zhuang lowered his head, a hint of reluctance in his eyes.

The sixth prince staggered to his feet, walked to Physician Zhuang, knelt down in front of him, placed his hands on his shoulders, and asked, "I regard you as my father and my teacher, but why are you abandoning me? Don't you want me anymore?"

The sixth prince stood up, turned around, and, no longer wanting to wait for his answer, said, "You may leave... I grant your permission..."

When the Sixth Prince spoke to Physician Zhuang, he never put on airs and referred to himself as "I." This was the first time he had referred to himself as "this Prince," and Physician Zhuang knew that it would also be the last time.