Painting Doctor Jinhua

In the early spring of the second year of Taijian, in Xingyang County of Northern Qi.

In the middle of the night, a shrill scream suddenly rang out from the Zheng family mansion located in the east of Sishui Pass. The scream pierced the sky, like a stone breaking through the water, making the originally quiet night suddenly become eerie and terrifying, and boiling like a ghost walking at night.

The old lady Zheng Lu was startled out of her sleep, and hurriedly called her maid to put on a cloak. With the help of two old women, she rushed to the courtyard where the scream came from. She saw a crowded room with servants kneeling on the ground trembling in fear, and a young man lying on the bed in the bedroom had a crooked mouth and squinting eyes, and his whole body was twitching. His miserable cries filled the whole room.

Seeing her grandson, who used to be lively, smart and pretty, turned into what he is now, the old lady felt heartbroken. She leaned on her crutches and asked angrily, "What happened? Wasn't he well two days ago? Wasn't he almost fully recovered? How did you take care of him?"

The maids were so frightened that they were fighting in chaos. One of them barely raised her head and tremblingly replied, "Madam, the young master was indeed almost fully recovered two days ago. He was able to eat and drink, and even race horses with the two young masters from the Yang and Li families. But for some reason today..." The maid seemed to have thought of something and raised her head, "Madam, the young master, he must have been possessed by an evil spirit!"

"What kind of evil has befallen me? A righteous person is not afraid of evil shadows. My descendants of the Zheng family have always devoted themselves to Buddhism and are kind and generous. How could there be an evil thing haunting us? Come on, go and get a doctor."

A maid was about to leave when she heard a voice interrupting, "Ajia, we've already asked for help. Doctor Zhang, who originally lived in the alley next to us, moved away at some point. The house is now empty."

The person who spoke was her daughter-in-law, Madam Li, the biological mother of her grandson.

The old lady felt a chill in her heart, and then she became angry: "Without Doctor Zhang, can we not invite other doctors?"

It can be said that the illnesses of the Zheng family have always been treated by Imperial Physician Zhang. Although Imperial Physician Zhang is not the exclusive imperial physician of the Zheng family, there is probably no better doctor than him in the entire Xingyang City.

It was already the middle of the night. Where could they find a better doctor? The old lady was worried, with panic and dejection on her face. She hurriedly staggered to the bedside and cried while hugging the young man who seemed to be dying.

"My dear grandson, please don't abandon your grandmother. You are the apple of her eye!"

Hearing the old lady crying, the cries of the women in the house doubled. The mournful cries spread to every corner, causing the branches of flowers to tremble and the trees to wither. The whole yard once again fell into a gloomy horror that was more terrifying than deathly silence.

The old lady seemed to realize something was wrong. She stood up again and shouted sternly, "Why are you crying? He's not dead yet! Now everyone, go out and find him. Even if you have to turn the entire Xingyang City upside down, you must find all the doctors for me. If anything happens to Shi Silang, I want everyone in this room to be buried with him!"

As soon as this order was given, the servants who were kneeling on the ground all looked ashen, trembling with fear and unable to speak. Just as they stood up one by one and were about to run out, one of the maids suddenly said, "Madam, I know there is a doctor in Xingyang City who can definitely cure your illness."

"Then bring her to me quickly!" Madam Li on the side hurriedly ordered.

But the maid replied hesitantly, "I'm afraid she won't agree."

"It is her blessing to be able to treat the children of Zheng family in Xingyang. What's the big deal..."

Before Li finished her words, the old lady gestured for her to cover her mouth, and then motioned for the maid to continue.

The maid then explained the reason: "Originally, a month ago, when my lord was touring Sishui Pass, he passed by Taohua Valley and accidentally met a woman and a boy. Although the woman was wearing a veiled hat, when the wind blew past, my lord saw her appearance and was shocked by her beauty. My lord wanted to take the woman as his concubine, but the woman refused to obey him and told him that he had a serious illness."

"Ridiculous! Just because she said she had a serious illness, can you conclude that she is a miracle doctor?" Zheng Lu slammed the table and interrupted again.

The maid immediately shook her head again: "No, old lady, first lady, later my husband went to inquire about the news about that lady. He heard that the lady cured many villagers who were suffering from the plague and was called a miracle doctor by the people in the village."

"She also told my husband that in a month, his old illness would relapse, his mouth would be crooked, his eyes would be squinting, his whole body would be twitching, he would not be able to eat, drink, move, or live, and his life would be worse than death."

The old lady looked at her grandson again and saw that the young man was twitching even more violently as if he had seen something horrible. Saliva was dripping from the corners of his mouth. He could neither speak nor move. Wasn't it a fate worse than death?

She hurriedly shook the young man's hand and said with sorrow and distress, "Fourteen, don't be afraid, Grandma will invite this miracle doctor to you right away!"

Just as she was about to leave, Li stretched out her hand to stop her, saying, "Ajia, don't you think there is something wrong with what this maid said?"

"What's the problem?" asked the old lady.

Li replied, "This maid said that Shishilang wanted to take that girl as his concubine, but she refused, so she told him that Shishilang had a serious illness."

"You mean, you suspect that Shishiro's illness was caused by this woman?"

"I just feel that we have never met this woman before, and she has a grudge against Shisi Lang, so we have to be on guard. Not to mention whether she is really as magical as the rumors say, if she wants to harm Shisi Lang..."

"No matter whether she can be cured or not, no matter whether this woman is a human or a ghost, I have to see her first." The old lady interrupted.

It was almost midnight, the sky was starless and moonless, and the night was falling like ink. The door of the Zheng mansion was suddenly opened, and a group of people and horses slowly walked out of the courtyard following a carriage and sped away towards the west of the city.

The rumbling of the carriage, mixed with the sound of hurried and disorderly footsteps, passed through the entire street leading to the west of Sishui Pass City, until it stopped at a suburban village by a clear spring stone.

"Madam, this is it."

Following the maid's gentle call, the old lady opened the curtain, stepped on the back of an old servant, and walked out of the carriage. She saw the scenery illuminated by the torch: a small bridge, flowing water, green bamboo, pine and cypress, as well as spring apricots like snow and young peaches. She couldn't help but sigh in her heart: What a paradise on earth with apricot blossoms and misty rain like the south of the Yangtze River, and peach blossoms and flowing water with green shade. It turns out that there is such a quiet and elegant place here.

Led by the old lady, the group supported each other and stepped onto the white stones emerging from the stream, then meandered towards the village.

No one noticed that as the torches were lit one after another, a small figure passed through the pine forest and quickly rushed into a low, dilapidated hut.

"Brother Qing, as you expected, they are here." said a boy's voice that sounded a little childish.

The room was silent and simply furnished with only a couch, a table, and a huge screen that could divide the room into two rooms. A "young man" in white was holding a wolf-hair brush, staring blankly at the screen. The flickering candlelight cast a layer of hazy blush on the "young man's" fair skin.

If someone looks closely, they will find that there is actually nothing on the screen, or rather, there is only a painting with some outlines but no completion.

And this painting may be waiting to be revived by the pen of the "young man" and present all the splendor that originally belonged to it.

"Okay, I understand." The young man replied, put down the pen in his hand, and picked up the veil hat on the table next to him.

The door rang at this moment, and a noise suddenly broke out in the silent night.

……

"Go and ask that lady to come out, and tell her that it's the old lady from Zheng family in Xingyang who's here to seek medical treatment." Li pointed at the maid in front of her and ordered.

The maid looked at the dark room, as if only a candle flame was flickering. A gust of cold wind blew and almost extinguished the candle. The half-open door actually made a creaking sound, which frightened the maid so much that she shivered and her legs shook so much that she dared not move forward.

"Go quickly! Why are you still standing there?" Li pushed her impatiently, and the weak little maid stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Useless thing. Whoever goes in and invites that miracle doctor out will be rewarded handsomely by me when he returns." Li simply offered benefits to lure him.

Several maids who were standing aside immediately swarmed towards the door, but at this moment, they suddenly saw a lantern swaying from the door.

The maids screamed in fear, and when they looked carefully, they saw that the lantern was held by a boy in blue. The boy looked no more than ten years old, but was extremely beautiful, with skin as white as snow. All the maids were stunned for a moment.

Madam Zheng and Mrs. Li were both surprised and stunned when they saw him. They had seen many handsome men from the north, but the shock they felt at this moment was far greater than before.

Just when everyone was stunned, the boy asked, "Are you here for medical treatment?"

The sound was melodious and pleasant to the ears, like the sound of water hitting a stone chime, and she was both beautiful in voice and appearance.

"Yes, yes!" the maid replied repeatedly, "We are servants of the Zheng family. Please let us know that our old lady is here."

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the boy say bluntly: "I'm sorry, my master has fallen asleep, so it's not convenient to see you now. It's late at night and the dew is heavy. Please go back quickly!" After that, he seemed to be going to close the door and say hello.

Madam Li was stunned for a moment. Could it be that this kid has never heard of the great name of Zheng family of Xingyang? As the saying goes, "Wang Lu, Cui Zheng, Wang Xie, Yuan Xiao", whether in the south or the north, Zheng family of Xingyang is a big family that is on par with the top families. They are the existence that these lowly people have looked up to all their lives. Even hermits have never seen someone who remains calm despite being famous. What's more, this kid looks like a lowly servant. Judging from his clothes, the status of his master's family will not be very high either.

"Wait, listen to me, kid. We are here to ask for medical advice, not to seek medical help. Your master must go today, whether he wants to or not. Someone—"

Li thought that she had to show some strength to scare this ignorant and incompetent child, so at her signal, two of her soldiers picked up long sticks and strode towards the boy.

Unexpectedly, before the two of them got close, they felt a severe pain in their stomachs, as if they were kicked hard in the abdomen, and their bodies fell back like a kite with money broken.

Seeing two bodies slamming down in front of her, Li screamed and widened her eyes, looking in shock and disbelief at the boy who was standing with his feet raised and an angry look on his face.

He's actually good at martial arts!

"So you are not here to seek medical treatment, but to cause trouble. I am sorry that I cannot keep you company. Please leave now!"

The boy ordered her to leave again, and Li dared not fart again. Madam Zheng, however, was calm and composed. She slapped Li in the face, then saluted the boy with her fists, and said in a humble and kind tone, "Young man, there is a saying that a doctor is like a parent. I heard that your master is also kind-hearted and has treated many villagers suffering from plague. Why is she unwilling to lend a hand and save a life today? There is a saying in Buddhism that saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. This is also to accumulate merits for your master. If you can cure my grandson's disease, I can also use the power of my Zheng family to help your master spread her good name and make her medical skills famous all over the world!"

I have said so much just to tell boys that this is a way to gain both fame and fortune.

The old lady thought that this kind of temptation with such benefits was enough to tempt people! Isn't the purpose of life to leave a name? But she didn't expect the boy to ask back: "Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda, but what if it is a wolf? Letting the wolf go back to the mountains will only make more lives suffer. Madam Zheng, what do you think, should we save it or not?"

The old lady was stunned. She never expected that after living for most of her life, she would have to talk about Buddhism with a child today.

What does it mean to let the wolf go back to the mountains? Should we save it or not?

Seeing the old lady pondering, the boy's lips curved slightly, his eyes showing contempt, he turned around and was about to slam the door and go in, when he heard the old lady shouting: "Wait--" This was not a question of whether it was a wolf or not. The old lady suddenly had a clear mind and simply got to the point: "Young Master, has my Shishilang ever offended your master?"

The boy said, "Not only that, your Shisilang not only seized good farmland, bullied innocent people, and robbed women, but he also tried to molest my brother Qing. Why did my brother Qing save him?"

The old lady's face turned pale, it turned out that they had been enemies for a long time!

"Then the disease that I, Shishilang, have is caused by your master..."

Before the old lady finished speaking, the boy raised his eyebrows in displeasure and interrupted her, "Why? Do you still suspect that the disease of that wretched idiot is related to my brother Qing?"

Who was she calling a fool? Her grandson was clearly "as handsome as Pan An and as talented as Zi Jian". Even the emperor had commented that he was "intelligent and wise". The old lady frowned in displeasure, but she couldn't say anything since she was asking for help.

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the small room that had been dark and silent for a long time: "Phoenix, come in for a moment!"

Phoenix? Is that the boy's name? How dare you name a lowly servant like this "Phoenix"?

Amid the stunned astonishment of the women, the boy rushed into the house like a whirlwind. Not long after, he came out again, with a sullen face and said unhappily, "My brother Qing has promised to cure that idiot in your family. Send him over here quickly!"

"Send it here? No...shouldn't it be sent to our house? We have a carriage here..."

Li casually interjected, but was immediately met with a glare from the boy, who shouted angrily: "Are you treating the disease, or are we treating the disease? The people who treat the disease are more arrogant than us, the people who treat the disease. If you don't want to send the patient here, get out of here immediately!"

Li was dumbfounded again. The maids were all holding back their laughter and dared not make a sound. Only the old lady suppressed her anger and responded calmly, "Okay, I'll ask someone to send him here right away." Then she ordered the servants, "Go back quickly and send Shishilang here!"

Several soldiers and the maidservant who was called responded to the order. When they were about to leave, they suddenly heard the boy shout again: "Wait, if I want to cure your second idiot's illness, my brother Qing has another condition."

condition?What conditions?

The hearts of the crowd, led by the old lady, rose to their throats again: We knew it wouldn’t be that simple.