Painting Doctor Jinhua

"This is the Southern Chen Kingdom, which was established by Emperor Wu of Chen, Chen Baxian, after the Xiaoliang Kingdom. The Chen Kingdom has been established for more than ten years and has experienced four emperors. The current emperor is Chen Xu, the King of Ancheng, the nephew of Emperor Wu of Chen."

The two were walking on the streets of Jiankang City, and Fenghuang began to tell Xiao Jinyu about the Southern Dynasty. When she mentioned Ancheng King Chen Xu, the boy did not notice that Xiao Jinyu paused slightly.

The streets are bustling with people, and ox carts can be seen moving slowly everywhere. Most of the people riding on the ox carts are scholars in white robes. They hold a jade ruyi or wave a feather fan, chatting and laughing, looking very elegant.

When they reached a less crowded place, Fenghuang leaned close to Xiao Jinyu's ear and whispered, "I heard that this King Ancheng is not a good guy either. Like Gao Zhan of Qi, he also took his nephew's position and ascended the throne. After ascending the throne, he suppressed and purged the important officials of the previous dynasty. Recently, everyone in Jiankang City is talking about one thing."

"whats the matter?"

As soon as Xiao Jinyu asked, Fenghuang grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a teahouse that was full of guests and very lively.

There seemed to be a heated debate going on in the teahouse, with several gentlemen even arguing with each other until their faces turned red. The storyteller seemed to enjoy the sense of accomplishment of being able to make people discuss until their faces turned red, and he just smiled and said nothing more.

"What a pity! We will never hear such beautiful lines and good music again: 'In the past I heard about Zhou Xiaoshi, and now I sing about the person under the moon. The jade dust in my hands never leaves, and the sheep cart in the market seems empty.'" one of the gentlemen sighed.

Just as he finished his sigh, he heard another voice in the tavern sneer, "A person who got to his current position by flattering others on the bed, is he worthy of such praise from you?"

"What did you say?" The young man from before stood up angrily.

"Isn't it? Han Manzi was just a commoner who sold straw sandals and wove shoes. He was of such low status that he couldn't even be considered a poor family. If he hadn't captured the heart of Emperor Wen with his face, how could he have achieved his current status? Only people like you would regard him as a role model?"

"you--"

When the two were arguing fiercely, another voice suddenly came: "No matter how General Han got to his current position, he was respectful to the wise and humble, loyal to the country, and brave in the battlefield. How can ordinary people look down on him? There is a saying that does not promote people based on their words, nor does it discard words based on people. Since the person is gone, why do you have to make such mean words to slander others?

This voice was different from the anxiety of others. Instead, it was as clear as the bright moonlight, as if it instantly washed away the noise and anxiety in the teahouse.

"Hey, it's Xiao Lang here!"

I don't know who shouted first, but everyone in the teahouse turned their heads in the same direction and saw that the person who spoke was a young man in a wheelchair. Unlike the other scholars, this young man was wearing a pure blue robe, his skin was as pale as jade, his eyes were affectionate, and he had the clarity of the moon shining among the pines, and the purity of the spring flowing over the rocks. He had no ornaments on his body, but gave people a kind of elegance and refinement that was "meticulous and chestnut, warm and moist".

Such temperament and appearance undoubtedly perfectly conform to the current southern scholars' pursuit of morbid beauty. However, perhaps only Xiao Jinyu can see that under the handsome appearance of this young man is a body that has been stretched to the extreme.

This young man may not live long!

"Mr. Xiao Xianlang, how come you still have time to join in the fun today? Didn't I hear that a young lady in your family has fallen in love with General Han because of his death?" A young man in a tall hat and a wide belt said with a smile while waving a feather fan.

The young man called Xiao Xianlang didn't seem to care about the sarcasm in the words, and only replied: "How can you casually spread private family affairs and make them the subject of others' jokes? If it was really lovesickness, then you wouldn't let Zhu's son know about it. How come Zhu Silang knows more than me that a young lady in my Xiao family is suffering from lovesickness? Did someone in my Xiao family tell you?"

This was also an indirect mockery of him for making up rumors to slander others. At that moment, all eyes on the surroundings turned to the man surnamed Zhu, all revealing contempt. The man surnamed Zhu's face turned ashen for a moment, and then turned pale.

"What are you looking at? I'm just asking casually." After saying that, Zhu Silang waved his long sleeves and hurriedly ran out of the teahouse with a few followers. Before leaving, he muttered, "Why are you pretending? You are just an unloved abandoned child of the Xiao family. Do you really think that you can take the reputation of the most talented person in Jiankang City just because of your literary talent?"

The young man named Xiao Xian still didn't care at all. He called the servant behind him and was about to leave.

At this moment, a boy's voice suddenly came and asked, "Wait, Xiao Xianlang, are you from the Lanling Xiao family?"

It was Phoenix who asked the question.

The young man immediately ordered the servant to stop the wheelchair and looked in the direction of Xiao Jinyu and Fenghuang.

"That's right. May I ask what may I do for you, young man?" Xiao Xian asked politely.

As expected of a noble family from the south, his every move is elegant and noble.

When Fenghuang was about to answer, Xiao Jinyu grabbed her hand.

"I have heard of the name of Xiao Lang from Jiankang for a long time. I am just admiring your reputation and want to say hello." Xiao Jinyu said first.

Phoenix was stunned, and just as he was about to say something, a sarcastic voice rang out from the surroundings.

"It turns out that he is a person who doesn't know his place and wants to get close to the Xiao family!"

After all, the Xiao family is a famous noble family. Although it has fallen on hard times now, there are still many scholars from poor families who want to take the opportunity to curry favor with them in order to get recommended for official positions.

However, this kind of behavior of currying favor will often make the children of the gentry look down upon you.

As everyone was waiting to see the show, they unexpectedly saw no anger on Xiao Xian's face. Instead, he smiled and nodded at Xiao Jinyu, then ordered his followers to push the wheelchair away.

After Xiao Xian walked away, Fenghuang couldn't help but ask, "Brother Qing, why didn't you let me explain it to him just now so that you could recognize the people of the Xiao family."

Xiao Jinyu shook her head: "You saw it just now. We were just saying hello, but we were looked down upon by others. This shows that the concept of class in the southern nobility is even stronger than in the north. If we rashly acknowledge our relationship, it will be counterproductive. No matter how much we say, they will not believe it."

Fenghuang nodded and said, "That's right. The nobles value their status and never take the common people seriously, let alone accept a stranger as a member of their family."

People of this era attached great importance to surnames and pure bloodline. Even if you held a high position, without a noble surname you could only be considered a poor family. And those who pretended to be from a noble family would lose even their lives.

"What should we do then?" Fenghuang became anxious, and then she thought of something, "But, Brother Qing, didn't your aunt leave you a token? She said that with that, you can go back to the Xiao family to recognize your relatives."

Speaking of those tokens, Xiao Jinyu was silent for a moment, then shook her head and said, "Just having the tokens is not enough. First, we don't know why my mother left the Xiao family and went to Northern Qi to be an official. Second, I still don't know who my father is, and why my mother only lives with me and never mentions my father. Third, what do the people of the Xiao family think of my mother? Will they really recognize me as their granddaughter?"

When Xiao Jinyu said this, Fenghuang also fell silent.

"That's true, but Brother Qing can't stop returning to the Xiao family just because of these reasons, right?" The boy said, and suddenly an idea flashed in his mind, "Why don't I go and find out what the Xiao family is like?"

After saying that, without any hesitation, he took Xiao Jinyu's hand and walked out of the teahouse.

At this time, Xiao Jinyu asked again: "By the way, Fenghuang, who is Han Zigao, the one they were arguing about just now?"

Fenghuang laughed and said, "This Han Zigao is as famous as Gao Changgong in the north. There is a saying that goes 'There is Gao Changgong in the north and there is Han Zigao in the south'. A few years ago, this Han Zigao was known as the most handsome man in the south. It is said that he was originally a commoner of humble origin, making a living by weaving shoes. During the Hou Jing Rebellion, he met Chen Qian, the Emperor Wen of the Chen Dynasty, who was appointed as the governor of Wuxing. Because of his 'beautiful appearance and woman-like appearance', he was favored by Chen Wendi and was later brought to his side to fight in various battles, where he repeatedly made military achievements.

Later, Emperor Wu of Chen, Chen Baxian, destroyed Hou Jing and replaced Xiao Liang as the emperor. After his death, he passed the throne to his nephew, Emperor Wen of Chen, Chen Qian. Han Zigao also shared the wealth and power. He rose rapidly and became a general with a large army in the Southern Chen Dynasty. However, no one expected that Han Zigao would be killed only two years after Emperor Wen of Chen died.

At this point, he paused and said with a wry smile, "It seems that what Brother Qing said is indeed right. Since ancient times, beauties are like famous generals, and they are not allowed to grow old in the world. This Han Zigao can also be called a beauty and a famous general in one, right?"

As soon as he finished asking the question, Xiao Jinyu asked, "Hou Jing, is he dead?"

Fenghuang saw that her expression seemed a little strange again, so she quickly restrained her smile, put down the teacup in her hand, and nodded: "Yes, she died a long time ago."

"How did you die?"

"It is said that he was killed by one of his subordinates, Yang Kun, the son of Yang Kan. After killing him, he sent Hou Jing's body to General Wang Sengbian, who then cut off his hands and gave them to Gao Yang, the ruler of Qi at the time. He also sent his head to Jiangling to Xiao Yi, the Emperor Yuan of Liang at the time. His body was thrown in Jiankang City and eaten by all the people in Jiankang City. Even the Princess of Liyang, whom he forced to be his concubine, ate a piece of his flesh!"

Liyang?

Li Yang was only fifteen years old at that time, right? How could the men in the Xiao family, who were her father and brothers, bear it?

"Sister Yuqing, your handwriting is so beautiful. Why don't I come to your house more often in the future and you teach me how to write?"

Seeing that Xiao Jinyu's eyes seemed to be filled with tears, the light was flowing, and it was shining with an unusually fragile crystal. Fenghuang quickly closed her mouth and said cautiously with an apologetic look: "Brother Qing, did I say the wrong thing again?"

Xiao Jinyu immediately regained his composure and said with a smile, "No, you said before that the current emperor of the Southern Dynasty is Ancheng Wang Chen Xu, the nephew of Chen Baxian who was held hostage in Jiangling by Xiangdong Wang Xiao Yi, right?"

Fenghuang thought for a while before nodding, "Yes, before the Chen family replaced the Xiao Liang, he seemed to have been a hostage in Jiangling. Later, the Western Wei Dynasty sent troops to attack Jiangling, and Emperor Xiao Yi of Liang was defeated. He and Chen Chang, the son of Chen Baxian, were taken to the Zhou Kingdom as hostages. But after Emperor Wen ascended the throne, he was recalled from Zhou and named King Ancheng. As for the name Chen Shili, I don't think I've heard of it. Is it his courtesy name? But I remember his courtesy name seems to be Chen Shaoshi?"

After saying that, he smiled again, "I didn't expect Brother Qing to still remember something from such a long time ago."

Xiao Jinyu smiled slightly and did not answer. Chen Shili was just his nickname, but probably no one could have imagined that Chen Xu, who was a hostage in Jiangling, would rush to Guangling and take her life.

I still remember what the man said in her ear when she died: "Don't worry, I will definitely avenge you and your family, because only in this way can I gain his trust and fulfill our common wish."

King Ancheng Chen Xu, he really lived up to expectations...

In her previous life, she was so proud that she never admitted defeat to anyone. She also prided herself on being able to identify and employ people. She probably never thought that one day she would be betrayed by such a person!

Thinking of this, she smiled bitterly inwardly and couldn't help but clench her fists again.

"Phoenix, how long has it been since Hou Jing's rebellion against Liang?"

Phoenix thought for a moment and answered, "It should be almost twenty years, right?"

Really? It's been that long? In other words, she was reborn twenty years later.

After thinking for a moment, she suddenly stood up and said, "Phoenix, accompany me to Wuyi Lane!"