Princess, Spare My Life - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: The Princess Has Arrived (Second Part)

When Yuan Shang came out to pick up the little girl, the girl was sitting in the same position where Yuan Shang had hidden her in. Biting her lower lip, she stared blankly without a word. In front of her, a wild dog was drooling with an ominous glint in its eye as it circled around her menacingly. However, it did not dare to approach the girl, as if something invisible was surrounding her to prevent the dog from approaching.

Yuan Shang flung a silver needle towards the large dog, which stabbed into its left eye. The needle pierced straight into its brain. It fell onto the ground, twitching twice before never moving again.

Yuan Shang noticed that the little girl’s lip was bleeding due to how hard she bit it. Yuan Shang slowly opened her mouth and said, “You did well!” Then, she picked her up and let the girl shrink into her arms. To be honest, she had no idea how to treat children.

—Oh, how did her superiors and Big Sis Yu Ling treat her back then? How could she treat this little girl like how they did to her?!

She doesn’t want to think about it. Could she really treat ordinary children that harshly? What was her previous identity? The way that Yu Ling treated her was how to train a professional killer. However, that was not the correct way normal people would raise children!

After nine full days, Yuan Shang squeezed modern medical knowledge into Grandpa Chen San in the courtyard as he suddenly became enlightened. If his master was here, the old man would have to bow to his teacher immediately.

Yuan Shang’s original purpose was to get rid of her identity as a prince consort. As for where she would go once she was free, she still hadn’t thought about it. For now, she exchanged the medical knowledge she was best at with an ancient doctor while curing her body. There was nothing wrong with how they treated her, so she stayed here in peace.

Early morning on the tenth day, the middle-aged doctor went out, but before a quarter of an hour had passed, he returned. He didn’t just come back alone, but with someone who was holding a sword to his neck. 

“What are you looking at? Let us in!” As she noticed how the two boys who were staring blankly at her finally move, the owner of the sword sighed in relief. The sword was slightly shaking and her grip was unstable. It seemed that there was a problem with her right wrist as if it were being heavily strained. Her left hand was also weakened as it seemed like she couldn’t close it.

Yuan Shang, who had just returned from her morning training, hid in the corner and prepared a long needle in her sleeve. She watched the situation silently.

As the middle-aged doctor trembled in fear, he said, “Swordsman, please lower your sword. If you are seeking medical treatment, it is this lowly one’s duty to treat you. There is no reason for me to decline!”

“I may be young, but I have heard of your famous name! On the surface, you appear to be a sincere and honest man, but in truth, you are a sly fox! Back in those days, you plundered from Lake Tai. You were nicknamed the ‘slippery fish who escapes death’. If I loosen my grip ever so slightly, you might slip away. How could I be sure if you’re telling the truth or not?”

“Young lady, swordswoman, noble warrior, you’re speaking to the wrong person! I am just a doctor. Look at my old limbs, even if I were a fish, I would have to be able to swim! With you acting like this…how could I diagnose your illness?”

The woman’s complexion was red as she furiously shouted, “You better not lie to me. Go inside and sit down!” As she pointed to the boys standing to her side, she said, “You, boil some water and you, go and lock the doors!”

From afar, Yuan Shang remembered the figure of the woman who shot her with an arrow on that day. In return, Yuan Shang shot back with needles at the lake. The other throwing knife assassin must have already been arrested on the ship.

“Humph!” Chen San was still dressed as an old farmer, carrying a small bucket in one hand and a small soil shovel to repair a medicine pot in his other hand.

When the woman met his gaze, she promptly spoke in respect, “Godly Doctor, I have presumptuously come to pay a visit. I request you to please forgive me for my rude behavior.”

With both of his hands full, Chen San had a cold expression, just like how he did when he first saw Yuan Shang. “So it turns out to be a member of the Thousand Jade Pagoda. I don’t welcome you here, so you may leave!”

This hard-to-understand woman suddenly launched a brilliant smile as her tone became much more respectful. “Godly Doctor, you are the country’s divine physician. This lowly woman seeks medical treatment as a patient. Won’t you please cure a member of the younger generation?”

Who would have thought that this boot-licking was like beating a dead horse? It simply made Chen San seethe in anger. “I am a doctor, but I have never once considered myself a good person. As a member of the Godly Medical Sect, I will save people who need to be saved, but I will not tolerate people who wave their fingers at my people and order them to do their bidding! Today, you seized my disciple as your hostage, so someday, I will do the same to your master’s disciples out of self-satisfaction,” he said, “don’t think that your Thousand Jade Pagoda, as good-looking beauties, could simply toy with all the men in the work and make them run around in circles. This old man had turned seventy this year, so your honey trap is futile against this old man! If this old man is a divine physician, then what would this old man’s master be? Nonsense! I am not the Godly Doctor, my master, that old man is the true Godly Doctor!”

The woman quickly let go of the middle-aged doctor and said, “Each and every one of the members of the Godly Medical Sect is a Godly Doctor. This is what everyone in the world knows…this youngster was simply being impatient and was in a hurry, it’s just that…this man lied to me, telling me that you were out. I was not willing to go out to search for you. I was just…”

These words made Chen San’s expression relax, but his face was as stern as before. “Humph! Are you Yu Wantian’s first disciple?”

“From the younger generation, I am Yu Qinghong. Among my fellow sisters under the same teacher, I am ranked ninth. Godly Doctor, please don’t get angry at the younger generations! There is no need to concern yourself with the younger generation!”

Chen San ignored her, went straight to the medical herb garden, and sat down. He placed the bucket of water down and used a small ladle to gradually sprinkle water onto the garden. As he did this, he said, “Don’t call me a Godly Doctor, call me Doctor Chen. However, today, no matter what reason you came to find me, I can’t promise anything! For the sake of the face of your master, the Thousand Jade Pagoda’s Yu Wantian, you captured my disciple and used him as a hostage. I will not bother you anymore, you shall leave now!”

No matter what, Yu Qinghong couldn’t call him “Doctor Chen” because it was such an ordinary name. Taking advantage of the situation, she continued dragging out the issue. “Uncle Chen is a fine doctor with high morals. To treat the common folk, you choose to deny the position of the ‘national doctor’ of the imperial family. Nevertheless, the emperor would repeatedly send invitations for you to stay in the vicinity of the capital. You treat everyone in the world equally, so how can you be so heartless towards the younger generation? Even when you consider the old affection between you and my family’s master…”

Chen San slowly said, “I am not disregarding her feelings. You also know the established set of customs of the Godly Medical Sect. Once your health is restored, you will go and kill the Gu Imperial family members. I cannot go against the ‘Yaxia Oath’ made between the Gu Imperial family and the Godly Medical Sect. Yes, I can’t make any exceptions.”

Yu Qinghong replied, “Uncle Mingjian, the younger generation does not want to be against the emperor, but this was how we accepted the commission. We only took it as a one-time business, but we did not mean to go against the Gu Imperial family. Moreover, the assassination target was not a member of the Gu Imperial family, but Princess Minghui’s prince consort.”

“Oh? In the end, how did that come about?”

When Yuan Shang heard those words near the door, her mind started moving. Although she was currently not in the Imperial city, she was still wearing Su Qi’s skin, which meant that this matter was closely related to her.

She continued to listen to Yu Qingrong’s words. “We received five thousand gold taels and was requested to kill Princess Minghui’s prince consort. After the money was given, the person who gave the money did not leave right away, so he needed to be exterminated. I traced that person to silence him. When I saw that he entered a courtyard outside the capital, I found out that it was the crown prince’s palace courtyard.”

Five thousand gold taels?

Even if Yuan Shang did not understand the market price, she could estimate how much gold was in a dynasty that was less than fifty years old. It could be said that the amount spent by the Emperor of Dayan on his subjects’ residences and properties was no higher than five hundred gold taels.

One gold tael was equivalent to eight or nine silver taels. Five thousand gold taels were almost forty thousand silver taels. In modern times, it was basically more than eighty million in Chinese currency.

With more than eighty million, one could buy someone else’s life. Furthermore, this someone was not an important member of the imperial family, the son of a duke, and a dime in a dozen, the prince consort. In the Dayan Dynasty, as a prince consort, it was impossible to hold any real power nor obtain an official position. The position of a “prince consort” was also a nominally a fifth-rank unoccupied position. On the surface, there were no problems.

Chen San said, “Since the prince consort is a prince consort, he is still a part of royalty. Therefore, he is a part of the covenant.” He glanced at Yu Qinghong and continued,  “Are you truly acting on your own initiative? If you went to your master, then there is no way that your master wouldn’t do something to save your life! You should find your master and beg for forgiveness. Withdraw from this one-time job and let your master go apologize to the imperial family and plead for leniency. As the Duke of Zhao’s grandson, how could Princess Minghui’s prince consort possibly be an ordinary person? Princess Minghui is the crown prince’s younger sister, so how could the murderer be one of the crown prince’s men? You—are you not aware of what it means to get involved with the conspiracies involving the imperial court?!”

The rims of Yu Qinghong’s eyes became red as she said, “Compared to the Imperial City, it is safer here with Uncle Chen. It’s not like the younger generation doesn’t wish to return. Now that the portraits of the younger generation are posted everywhere and our members are seriously injured, it’s difficult for us to move!”

She had already disguised herself in a civilian’s attire, but there was not a single clean spot on her body. She appeared worse than how Yuan Shang was a couple of days ago. At least, Yuan Shang deliberately made herself travel-word and dirty to hide her identity, but this young lady was wearing raggedy clothes and was riddled with scars.

Chen San still refused to relent. “I see that your complexion is fine and there shouldn’t be any serious injuries. It is not difficult to find another good doctor, but it depends on how much effort you will put in finding one. With your martial prowess, it shouldn’t be difficult to find a doctor willing to help you.”

From the time she started associating with him, Yuan Shang clearly felt that Chen San was respectful to his ‘Old Master’. Since the Godly Doctor had spoken, it would be futile for Yu Qinghong to continue asking for help.

When Yu Qinghong saw no hope in this endeavor, she had no option but to say, “This member of the younger generation encountered a vicious hidden weapon. Even though I tried to treat the wound with my capabilities, the hidden weapon remains stuck left in my body, and I can’t figure it out at all. I ask for the Godly Doctor to teach me how to remove the hidden weapon.”

“That is out of the question!” Chen San shook his head, but then he spoke, “I am constrained by my master and my sect. However, there is another medical expert here. That person’s medical skills are higher than mine, and she is not from my Godly Medical Sect. If you seek her out and beg for her help, then perhaps she can help you.”

Yu Qinghong’s eyes brightened as she said, “Where is the person in question?”

Chen San said, “Shang’er, since you overheard our conversation, why should you continue to hide? Please do it for this old man’s sake and help her just this one time!”

After Yuan Shang heard this, she stopped hiding, slowly stepping out.

Yu Qinghong saw her as her eyes suddenly widened; she yelled, “It’s you!”

Yuan Shang indifferently said, “Yes, it is I! Would you like a taste of my silver needles?”