Inside Anle Residence, sandalwood incense curled through the air.
Pei Cijing sat on the couch by the window, his brows tightly furrowed. Looking much like a drenched quail, he radiated an aura of "I'm so annoyed" and "My life is so hard."
Seeing him like this, Shen Ninghuan could not help but curve her lips into a smile.
She sat down beside him.
She took his hand; his knuckles were distinct, and his palm was warm.
"Do not worry, Husband," Shen Ninghuan said gently. "The risks of this matter are actually not as great as you imagine."
Pei Cijing looked up at her, his eyes carrying a hint of suspicion. "Wife, you do not need to comfort me. That is the Ninth Prince! Feigning death to escape is the crime of deceiving the Emperor. Now, this person has been stuffed into our home. If word gets out, heads will roll!"
Shen Ninghuan shook her head slightly. "Husband, just listen to me explain it to you in detail."
She paused.
And began in a steady tone...
"First of all, the hardest step, the 'feigned death', has already passed."
Pei Cijing blanked for a moment.
Shen Ninghuan continued, "The Ninth Prince has already been verified by the palace to have died of illness and has been buried."
"From the Ministry of Rites to the Imperial Clan Court, from the imperial physicians to the eunuchs, all the necessary procedures have been followed. The person who was supposed to 'die' has died. Now, in the eyes of the world, the Ninth Prince, Li Chenglu, is nothing but a corpse lying in the imperial mausoleum. He is a dead man."
"A dead man," she repeated these two words, looking at Pei Cijing. "Do you know what this means, Husband?"
Pei Cijing blinked. "It means... she is no longer in this world?"
Shen Ninghuan nodded. "Exactly. As long as some time passes and this storm blows over, the world will gradually forget the Ninth Prince. By then, even if Cheng Lu walks openly on the streets of Shengjing, no one will connect her with the Ninth Prince."
"Why?" Pei Cijing asked subconsciously.
"Because she is a woman," Shen Ninghuan smiled faintly. "The Ninth Prince was a man; Cheng Lu is a woman. This difference in gender is an uncrossable chasm. People will only think that this girl is beautiful, but they will absolutely never think, 'She is a prince.' After all, how could a prince be a woman?"
Pei Cijing nodded thoughtfully.
It seemed...
To make sense?
Seeing his expression soften slightly, Shen Ninghuan continued, "As for why she is staying in Shengjing instead of being sent far away, I reckon, first of all, it is easier to look after her if she is close by. The Sixth Prince and the Ninth Prince share a deep bond. If he sent his sister far away, how could he be at ease?"
Pei Cijing nodded.
That was true!
What older brother could bear to send his sister, who had just "died" once, to the ends of the earth? If she was not kept under his watchful eye, what if some scoundrel ran off with her?
"Secondly," Shen Ninghuan looked at him, a profound meaning in her gaze, "the 'Ninth Prince' still needs to stay in Shengjing for medical treatment."
Medical treatment?
Pei Cijing was taken aback, but then he quickly realized.
Right.
The Ninth Prince's condition of being "male on the outside, female on the inside" was not something that could be cured just by changing identities. To cure it completely and restore her true female body, she still needed the care of imperial physicians and those precious medicinal ingredients.
And were not all the best doctors in the Great Qian Dynasty concentrated in Shengjing?
"The Sixth Prince kept her in the capital most likely because he still wants her to become a true woman again," Shen Ninghuan said softly.
Pei Cijing fell silent for a moment.
He had not seemed to tell anyone that he could help the Ninth Prince restore her female body. If his wife's guess was true, there must be someone else in the capital who could also achieve this...
If that were really the case.
To be able to go back to being her true self...
Then she would indeed choose to stay.
Pei Cijing let go of another small portion of the worry in his heart, but he still could not help muttering, "It is one thing to stay in Shengjing, but did she have to be placed in our Marquis's estate? Could they not find a farmstead, a separate villa, or some place where no one knows her to hide?"
Shen Ninghuan chuckled.
Looking at Pei Cijing's face that clearly read "I am not happy about this," she said gently, "Think about it, Husband. Why the Marquis's estate?"
Pei Cijing frowned, thought for a moment, and ventured, "Because... the relationships are simple?"
Shen Ninghuan nodded. "Exactly. The Marquis's estate has a clean reputation and a simple household without so much messy drama. The Old Madame is capable, keeping everyone in the estate firmly in line. It is much safer than a farmstead or villa outside."
"Moreover," she paused, her gaze reflecting clear insight, "the Marquis's estate has the ability to look after her. Although the Weiyuan Marquis's estate is not the most prominent in the capital, it is still a noble household. We have guards, older female servants, maids, and manpower. If something really were to happen, we can protect her."
Listening to this, the bit of resentment in Pei Cijing's heart gradually dissipated.
He had to admit that his wife was right.
If it were another estate, it would either have complicated relationships with too many prying eyes, or lack the power to protect someone. The Marquis's estate, on the other hand, was neither too big nor too small.
It really was the most suitable choice.
"Besides," Shen Ninghuan looked at him, smiling slightly, "we could not refuse even if we wanted to, right?"
Pei Cijing choked on his words.
True.
This was an arrangement personally handed down by the bigwigs above, and settled by the Old Madame herself. As mere juniors of the second branch, what room did they have to question or refuse?
"Then we can only try our best to handle things as thoroughly as possible," he sighed, a hint of resignation in his tone.
Seeing his "forced to accept reality" demeanor, Shen Ninghuan could not help but curve her lips again.
She stood up.
And walked over to Pei Cijing.
Pei Cijing looked up at her, about to say something, when he suddenly felt a weight on his head; Shen Ninghuan's hand had landed on it.
Gently.
She rubbed it.
Pei Cijing: "...?"
He blinked, failing to react for a moment.
Shen Ninghuan's hand gently stroked the top of his head. The texture was fluffy and soft, feeling even better to the touch than the head of Wangcai, the little local dog raised by her mother-in-law, Madam Zhou.
She could not resist rubbing it again.
"Wife?" Pei Cijing's voice carried a hint of bewilderment.
Shen Ninghuan looked down at him, her eyes curved with a radiant smile.
"Rest assured, Husband," she said softly, her voice as warm and gentle as a spring breeze in March. "Now that Miss Cheng Lu has arrived at the inner courtyard of the second branch, I will naturally arrange everything properly for her. I will keep an eye on her food, clothing, expenses, and daily life. I absolutely will not let anything go wrong!"
She paused, her hand movements becoming even gentler.
"Husband, you just focus on your studies with peace of mind."
"If you can pass the exams and see your name on the golden scroll, we will have more confidence to face whatever comes our way in the future. When that time comes, even if there really is a storm, we will be able to stand firm and not be easily knocked down by others."
Pei Cijing looked up at her.
Against the light, her features were as gentle as a painting. Her clear, bright eyes reflected his image, as if between heaven and earth, she could only hold him in her sight.
The remaining bits of anxiety, resentment, and displeasure in his heart suddenly vanished.
Vanished cleanly without a trace.
Replaced by an indescribable warmth that surged from the bottom of his heart, washing over his limbs and bones, permeating every inch of his flesh and blood.
He suddenly reached out and grasped the hand she had placed on his head.
"Wife," he spoke, his voice a little dry.
Shen Ninghuan said, "Hmm?"
Pei Cijing looked at her and said earnestly, "I will listen to you."
Shen Ninghuan was slightly taken aback.
"I will listen to my wife," he repeated, his tone growing even more solemn. "I will study hard and definitely earn a rank in the spring imperial examination. Not for anything else, but so that if anything ever happens in the future, I can keep you all safe."
Shen Ninghuan looked at him.
Looking into his earnest eyes and at his face that practically screamed "I keep my word," she suddenly felt her heart soften completely.
Curving her lips into a smile, she said softly, "Alright."
Then...
Her hand moved from the top of Pei Cijing's head and landed on his cheek, giving it a gentle pinch.
"Then my husband must study diligently," she said with a beaming smile. "If you slack off, I will deduct your rewards."
Pei Cijing was speechless.
His face flushed slightly, but he still stiffened his neck and argued, "That won't do! We already agreed on the matter of rewards. A person cannot go back on their word!"
Shen Ninghuan burst out laughing.
Her laughter was crisp, like the tinkling of wind chimes, echoing gently in the afternoon sunlight.
Watching her beautiful, smiling face, the slight embarrassment Pei Cijing felt from having his cheek pinched suddenly didn't seem so important anymore.
Whatever.
Let her pinch it.
After all, it actually felt quite nice.
He secretly muttered in his heart: If I let my wife pet my head more often in the future, maybe I can exchange it for exemptions from writing a few more policy essays?
...
The Imperial Palace, the Castration Room.
This place was located in an inconspicuous courtyard in the northeast corner of the imperial city. With its gray bricks and tiles, it looked so crude compared to the surrounding palaces and pavilions that it seemed like a forgotten corner.
The high courtyard walls isolated it from the noise outside. Only occasionally would a few shrill cries ring out from within, only to be quickly muffled.
Hua Yuan stood in the courtyard, looking up at the crooked old locust tree. The autumn sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, casting dappled shadows on his face.
He took a deep breath.
Then, he slowly exhaled.
To be honest, he had served in the Imperial Hospital for over thirty years and attended to two emperors. He had seen countless scenes, but this castration room... it was truly his first time here.
"Imperial Physician Hua," a eunuch's shrill voice came from behind, carrying a hint of sarcasm. "After you. Everything is ready inside."
Hua Yuan turned around.
The eunuch was only in his early twenties and had a fair complexion, but his brow carried the arrogance of a petty man drunk on power. He was sent by the Empress to supervise. His duty was to ensure that Hua Yuan performed the castration personally, without delegating it to anyone else.
Hua Yuan gave him a glance, nodded slightly, and stepped over the threshold.
The light inside the room was dim.
An indescribable odor hit his face, a mix of medicinal herbs, blood, and a sickening, musky stench that had accumulated over the years.
A charcoal basin burned in the corner.
The firelight flickered.
It stretched and shrank the shadows in the room.
Several half-grown boys huddled in the corner, their faces deathly pale and shivering uncontrollably.
The youngest was only eight or nine years old, and the oldest was thirteen or fourteen. They had all been selected from various regions and sent into the palace to serve the nobles.
In another half an hour.
They would no longer be whole men.
"Hua Yuan, begin," the eunuch said, leaning against the doorframe. He held a handkerchief over his nose and mouth, his tone filled with the amusement of watching a good show. "Her Majesty the Empress has ordered that you must do it yourself. One by one, and do it... very carefully."
Hua Yuan ignored him.
He walked to the charcoal basin and picked up the sharp blade that had been prepared in advance.
The blade was about seven inches long, narrow and thin, and it glowed a faint red from the charcoal fire. He raised the knife, examining it closely against the light filtering through the window lattice.
The blade reflected his face.
His hair and beard were half-white, and his eyes carried a hint of exhaustion, yet there was also a kind of focus that others could not understand.
Hua Yuan plunged the blade back into the charcoal fire, turning it slowly to ensure every inch was heated evenly. The leaping flames cast flickering shadows across his face.
"Imperial Physician Hua, what are you dawdling for?" the eunuch urged. "Her Majesty the Empress gave strict orders. You must personally operate on these few today."
"If you are unwilling, I can always go back and report..."
"What is the rush, Eunuch?" Hua Yuan did not even turn his head, his voice as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "This matter cannot be rushed. If the knife is not hot enough, the cut will not be clean. Not only will the child suffer, but if something goes wrong and the wound festers and the person dies, who will bear the responsibility when questions are asked? You or me?"
The eunuch choked on his words.
He sheepishly shut his mouth.
Hua Yuan continued to turn the blade at an unhurried pace, but his gaze fell upon the shivering boys, a trace of complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
Speaking of which.
To outsiders, his current predicament indeed seemed quite unjust.
The Ninth Prince had died of illness.
The Imperial Hospital had been helpless, a fact known to the entire court.
But what kind of illness did the Ninth Prince have? Congenital deficiency, stagnation of liver qi, and blood stasis due to cold... He had repeated these words over and over for three years. For three years, the prince had been on constant medication, yet there was never any improvement.
In the end, the prince passed away.
Could he be blamed?
But Her Majesty the Empress insisted on blaming him.
Rumor had it that on the day the Ninth Prince died, the Empress cried until she fainted three times in Kunning Palace. The first thing she did upon waking up was to issue a decree: Hua Yuan, the Head of the Imperial Hospital, was unskilled in medicine and had delayed the prince's treatment. He was stripped of his position and banished to the castration room... to personally castrate the newly entered young eunuchs.
When this news spread, the entire court was in an uproar.
The Head of the Imperial Hospital, a fifth-rank official, a national physician who had served two emperors, was actually punished to do such a thing? If this wasn't humiliation, what was? It was simply a psychological execution!
Even the Emperor could hardly bear to watch.
Hua Yuan recalled the scene from three days ago when the Emperor had secretly summoned him to the Imperial Study.
The old Emperor sat behind the dragon desk, holding a memorial in his hand, his face showing a mix of helplessness and guilt.
"Hua Yuan," the old Emperor spoke, his voice aged but still majestic. "I know that the matter with the Ninth Prince is not your fault. His constitution was weak from a young age. Being able to hold on until now... is also your merit."
Hua Yuan knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. "This subject does not dare accept such praise. Although His Highness the Ninth Prince's illness was thorny, it was ultimately this subject's incompetence that failed to ensure His Highness's health..."
"Enough, enough," the old Emperor waved his hand. "I am not here to listen to your apologies."
"As for the Empress... you know she raised the Ninth Prince since he was little. Their mother-son bond was deep. Now that she has suddenly lost her child, she cannot get over that hurdle in her heart. In her entire life, she has rarely asked anything of me. For this one act of willfulness, I... find it hard to deny her."
Hua Yuan bowed his head. "This subject understands."
The old Emperor looked at him, his gaze carrying a hint of calculation. "I have already made the arrangements. You will go and stay at the castration room for a while. Once the Empress's anger has subsided, I will find an excuse to transfer you back. The position of Head of the Imperial Hospital will be kept for you."
Hua Yuan kowtowed once more. "This subject thanks Your Majesty for your divine grace."
"Rise," the old emperor sighed. "I know very well how you have nursed my health all these years. At sixty-six, to still be able to every now and then... ahem, it is all thanks to you. Keep up the good work and harbor no resentment in your heart. I will not treat you unfairly."
Hua Yuan stood up and remained at the side with his head bowed.
The old emperor offered a few more words of instruction, nothing more than phrases like "endure this grievance for a time" and "I will naturally compensate you." Hua Yuan agreed to each one and respectfully took his leave.
The moment he stepped out of the Imperial Study.
He looked up at the sky.
The autumn sky was high and very blue, with light clouds and a gentle breeze.
Hua Yuan suddenly wanted to laugh.
Grievance?
What did he have to feel aggrieved about?
He didn't feel wronged in the slightest!
Because all of this had been part of the Empress's scheme from the very beginning! No, it should be said it was the scheme of the Empress and the Sixth Prince!
The Ninth Prince, Li Chenglu, should now be called Cheng Lu.
That child was not dead at all.
Hua Yuan had personally concocted the death-faking drug, personally watched the child swallow it, and personally confirmed that her breath was gone and her pulse had stopped. Three days later, the drug's effects would naturally dissipate.
She had come back to life.
But what about after she came back to life?
She had to return to being a woman, to restore her original nature, and surgically remove that useless affliction that had plagued her for sixteen years. And looking across the entire Great Qian Dynasty, the most suitable person to perform this procedure was probably him, Hua Yuan.
After all, the Hua family's ancestral medical texts contained detailed records of such cases.
His ancestors had dissected the bodies of such patients and were intimately familiar with the location, shape, and connection of the affliction to the surrounding organs.
The concept of restoring the original nature was also proposed by his ancestors.
By removing the affliction, healing the wound, and using medicine to harmonize yin and yang, a person could be restored to their true nature. In the future, marriage and childbirth would be no different from that of an ordinary woman.
But a concept was, in the end, just a concept.
Hua Yuan had never actually performed the procedure.
He needed practice.
And the Purification Room...
The corners of Hua Yuan's lips curled up slightly. The curve was very faint, so faint it was almost imperceptible, yet it carried a bit of the profound, meaningful smile unique to an old fox.
Wasn't the Purification Room the best place to practice?
