Chapter 7: I've Filled Mother's Courtyard with Things I Picked Up

Soon after, Guo Taiyi arrived, his flower-white beard fluttering before his chest, his old face wrinkled into a ball.

In this Jingcheng, the place he least wanted to enter was the Ning Prince's Mansion; the prince's family's ailments were truly bizarre, fundamentally untreatable. Coming again and again, returning each time empty-handed, his confidence in medicine was practically a death by a thousand cuts.

But no matter how unwilling he was, he still sat down, placed his hand on Xiao Yuanhang's wrist, closed his eyes slightly, and examined him carefully.

After a moment, his brow relaxed and he opened his eyes in astonishment: "Amazing! Today the prince's pulse is smooth and harmonious; though his consciousness has not yet returned, it is calm and steady, completely unlike before. But what elixir did he take?"

"Really?" the princess consort said, her emotions stirred.

The old madam slowly took out the black stone and handed it to him: "Do you recognize this? What is it?"

Guo Taiyi took it, placed it in his palm and examined it closely; moments later his face changed drastically: "This, this is actually the 'Exquisite Pure Calamity Pearl'?!"

"\"Exquisite... what pearl? \" the princess consort stared, stunned.

"\"Exquisite Pure Calamity Pearl. It is recorded in the Shennong's Extraordinary Treasures Record that this pearl is produced at the bottom of the Kunlun Cold Pool; only one can be obtained after a thousand years. Its nature is like ice; when it encounters impurity it becomes dim, when it encounters poison it devours, and the darker its color, the fiercer the poison."

"\"Now this pearl has turned ink-black, indicating that the prince's internal calamity has been completely absorbed by it. Such a treasure can be encountered but not sought; your mansion is truly blessed."

Cheng Ru'an asked: "If so, why is the prince still unconscious?"

Guo Taiyi hesitated a moment: "The prince has suffered from a chronic illness for years; even though the Exquisite Pure Calamity Pearl has now dispelled the poison within him, he still needs to take herbal decoctions for several days before waking. Please, princess consort, do not worry; I will do my utmost to treat the prince."

"Speaking of which, it's strange that the prince was poisoned! I feel ashamed; for years I have taken his pulse, yet failed to notice, and even now I still do not know what this poison is."

Having said that, he fell into contemplation.

Guo Taiyi is nearly fifty, has practiced medicine for several years, and holds the position of chief imperial physician; in this Jingcheng, no one's medical skill surpasses his.

He has devoted his life to this path; now seeing a poison that even he cannot detect, like a gourmet encountering a delicacy, he became utterly fascinated, lost in thought for a moment.

The old madam and the princess consort exchanged a glance silently, saying nothing more.

The old madam coughed softly, startling Guo Taiyi from his thoughts: "Please keep this matter confidential for the Prince's Mansion, and do not mention it to others. Kindly prescribe a remedy for the prince to help my son awaken soon."

"Yes! Yes! I take my leave." Guo Taiyi wiped the sweat from his forehead and withdrew.

Cheng Ru'an watched his back disappear behind the flowered gate of Yangzheng Pavilion, then fell to her knees before the old madam with a thud: "I am useless; day and night by the prince's side, I did not know he was not ill but poisoned; please mother, reprimand me."

The old madam reached out and helped her up: "This is not your fault either; even the chief imperial physician could not diagnose it, so how could you know?"

The princess consort lowered her head in thought for a moment: "Mother, lately at the ancestral hall the prince has suffered successive mishaps; the one secretly harming him must be someone from the mansion."

"According to my humble opinion, the only plan now is to investigate secretly and carefully, lest we startle the snake."

The old madam looked at her son's face on the bed and said hatefully: "Your concern is spot on; once we find this person, I will surely have his body torn to myriad pieces to ease the hatred in my heart!"

"Mother, Tuan Tuan..."

The old madam waved her hand: "No need for more words; from today onward she is the Ning Prince's Mansion's legitimate daughter; later I will personally go to the ancestral hall to pay respects to the ancestors, and then have Shun Gu inform everyone in the mansion."

The princess consort rejoiced exceedingly: "Thank you, mother!"

Cheng Ru'an wanted to tell Tuan Tuan the good news in person, but as soon as she reached the gate of Tranquil Orchid Pavilion she was startled and stopped.

All she saw was the ground inside the pavilion covered with all sorts of strange oddities, arranged and piled; she lifted her foot then put it back, unable to step further—how could she walk? It was nearly impossible to move.

Looking inside, she saw pile after pile of junk, big and small, already stretching from the doorway to the corridor; another heap and it would reach the inner chambers!

Withered branches, fallen leaves, sachet tassels, hand-warmer fringes, paper kites with half a wing missing…

Cheng Ru'an felt her head ache from looking, and couldn't help but hold her forehead.

"\"Mother! Mother! Look! I've picked up so many treasures! \" Tuan Tuan came flying toward her from inside.

Her waist's pretty little pouch was now bulging round, its strings unable to be tied tight, while the several servants of Tranquil Orchid Pavilion had long since given up struggling, standing aside, each holding various big and small strange items.

"\"Are these all you picked up? I didn't even know the mansion had such things… Have you turned the whole mansion upside down?"

Cheng Ru'an stared, speechless, at her carefully tended courtyard turned into a junk recycling station, momentarily unsure whether to be angry or amused.

Tuan Tuan pursed her lips, voice childish as she clung to Cheng Ru'an's thigh: "\"Isn't it what mother said? I want to pick up whatever I like; if I can't carry it, let them help me! Mother is the best!"

"\"…\" Cheng Ru'an was momentarily speechless.

The servants nearby trembled with suppressed laughter, straining hard not to laugh.

"\"Mother, don't you remember? You must not deceive Tuan Tuan."

"\"I never said you couldn't pick things up..."

"\"Then may I continue picking up tomorrow, okay?"

"\"…\""

Cheng Ru'an sighed, squatted and held her in her arms, her tone indulgent as if about to drip water: "\"Tomorrow mother will have Grandma Liu clear out a big room for you, specially for storing your treasures."

"\"From now on, please don't pile things in mother's courtyard, okay?"

"\"Really? \" Tuan Tuan widened her eyes, the two dimples on her face instantly blooming.

"\"Truer than pearls! \" the princess consort chuckled: "\"Come, let's go eat first—all your favorite foods…\" She took her daughter's small hand, and they chatted and laughed as they entered the inner chambers.

At dusk, Shun Gu personally went through every courtyard of the Ning Prince's Mansion, informing everyone that, by the old madam's order, from today onward Tuan Tuan is the mansion's legitimate daughter, and all must treat her with the rites due a legitimate daughter, without negligence.

Inside Defying Frost Pavilion, Fang Qingyan was rolling a cooled hard-boiled egg wrapped in fine silk across her cheeks to reduce the swelling and pain of her flushed face.

Upon hearing Shun Gu's message, her hand clenched tightly, crushing the egg; countless fragments slipped through the silk's tear and stuck to her face.

Jinxiu exclaimed in alarm: "\"Madam! \" and hurried to fetch water to wash her face.

Originally the Ning Prince's Mansion had only her own daughter as a girl; although she was of concubine birth, to outsiders the mansion's sole daughter was considered of noble standing.

But now a legitimate daughter has appeared! She outright surpassed her own child! With a legitimate daughter, what future could a concubine daughter have? In future marriages, the gazes of those royal nobles and powerful officials would never fall on her daughter.

Fang Qingyan felt her chest ache with anger, unable to eat dinner, sitting alone in silent contemplation with her head bowed.

"\"Jinxiu, what has that girl been doing since she entered the mansion?"

Jinxiu thought: "\"Nothing special; she just loves picking up things, and the princess consort even specially set aside a room for her to store her collected items."

Fang Qingyan wondered: "\"Picking up things? What kinds?"

"\"Apparently, they are all unwanted junk."

"\"Junk? How could a little child distinguish clearly? \" Fang Qingyan laughed.

Jinxiu felt a creepy sensation: "\"Madam, could it be that you've become addle-headed from anger?"

Fang Qingyan glared at her: "Shut up, come over."

Jinxiu approached, and Fang Qingyan whispered a few words in her ear; Jinxiu suddenly understood: "Yes, I understand."

That way, this charge is enough to drive her out of the Prince's Mansion.

Fang Qingyan, thinking of her triumph, grinned until the corners of her mouth split, but she accidentally tugged at her still swollen, red face: "Ouch!"