Chapter 238: Scorching Sun and Heavy Rain
Standing in front of the window on the second floor of Yichun Hall, the prince stared at the carriage in front of the Yichun Hall. He sent people to cause trouble, hoping to open the door and see who was inside. However, except for the Xiao family, Yichun Hall also helped to maintain it, and the troublemakers could not get close to the carriage at all.
The crowd was full of Prince Yan's spies, and he was afraid that if the situation got out of hand, Prince Yan would take advantage of the situation to create chaos and hurt the Xiao family. He would have waited here for four days in vain.
The glimpse he got that day in Yichun Hall made him suspect that the Second Madam of the Xiao Mansion was the God of Medicine. However, the Second Madam was wearing a veil that day and was protected by Xiao Jun, so he couldn't see her face clearly and was never sure. Honestly, he didn't want to believe that she was married, especially the daughter-in-law of the Xiao family.
"Your Highness, you have been standing for almost an hour. Sit down and take a rest first. Or I will bring you a chair."
After hearing what Li Du said, the prince turned around and looked at him with clear eyes. It was as if an invisible pressure was released from his cold eyes. Li Du couldn't help but sweat on his forehead. He suppressed the panic in his heart and said again:
"Your Highness, please sit down and have a cup of tea first."
After looking at Li Du for a long time, the prince waved his hand and drove all the guards out. The servants of Yichuntang saw this, looked at Li Du, and when they saw him nod, they also followed him out. Only Li Du and the prince were left.
Slowly walking to the table and sitting down, the prince picked up the tea and took a sip. Seeing this, Li Du couldn't help but groan inwardly. It seemed that the prince really doubted the identity of his host, otherwise how could a dignified prince of the current dynasty, a royal noble, stay in such a small place for four days.
Standing aside, Li Du looked at the prince carefully. After a long while, he heard the prince ask:
"Li Du, I heard that some medicines in Yichuntang have been out of stock these days. It is widely rumored that my second brother has met with an accident. Is my second brother really in trouble? Tell me about it. I can help her out."
"Your Highness, the master is just sick. Thank you for your concern."
"I'm sick. My second brother is the God of Medicine. How can an illness take so long to be cured?"
"As the saying goes, a doctor doesn't treat himself, and a fortune teller doesn't calculate himself. I'm afraid the master is worried and hasn't been able to cure him for so long."
The prince listened and nodded:
"That's right. Where is my second brother? I will ask Dr. Li to come and see him tomorrow."
After hearing the prince's unquestionable words, Li Du trembled and said quickly:
"I would like to thank you for your kindness on behalf of my master, but my master is in the south and is weak. He cannot bear the fatigue of the journey and I am afraid he will not be able to return to Pingyang for a while."
After hearing this, the prince's cold eyes flashed with a gleam of coldness. He stared straight at Li Du and asked again word by word:
"My second brother is really not in Pingyang!"
Li Du's clothes on his back were already soaked. Seeing the prince interrogating him, he gritted his teeth and said:
"I dare not deceive Your Highness. If the master was in Pingyang, given his character, how could he let Master Xiao kneel there for four days? I have tried to persuade him several times."
After hearing this, the prince seemed to sigh, stood up and came to the window again. Li Du reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead, followed the prince to the window, looked at the dark clouds that had floated up in the sky at some point, and carefully reminded the prince:
"Your Highness, things are going to change."
After hearing what Li Du said, the prince looked up at the sky and murmured:
“Things are really going to change.”
After the prince finished speaking, he pondered for a moment, then turned to Li Du and said:
"Li Du, the Queen Mother is seriously ill in the palace now, and the Prince of Yan is in a desperate situation. If the Prince of Yan attacks me, in addition to the important officials in the court who support me, the first ones to attack are the Xiao family and Yichun Hall. Li Du, look outside, there are many secret agents of the Prince of Yan in the crowd, and they are looking for the whereabouts of my second brother. Once my second brother falls into the hands of the Prince of Yan, Yichun Hall will be destroyed by the Prince of Yan in an instant. Tell my second brother that the outside world is in a panic now, and tell her to be careful, careful, and careful."
The prince said the last three words carefully while looking at Li Du. When Li Du responded, the prince turned and walked towards the door. When he reached the door, he turned around again. Li Du, who was following behind him, almost bumped into him. He stopped and asked:
"Your Highness, you still have something to do."
"Li Du, since my second brother is not in Pingyang, go down and persuade Xiao Jun to prevent him from harboring resentment towards Yichuntang. If Yichuntang and the Xiao family fall out at this time, they will only be defeated one by one by the King of Yan, which will not benefit anyone. You better take care of yourself!"
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. I will go and persuade them right away. There are too many people at the front door, Your Highness, please follow me and leave through the back door."
…
Perhaps God was moved by these kind people. Just as the onlookers were complaining about the scorching sun, a dark cloud appeared on the horizon. A cool breeze blew by, making people feel a lot cooler. There was finally wind and they could breathe. Just as people were rejoicing, dark clouds rolled in overhead, covering half the sky in darkness, as if a disaster was about to happen.
After a long while, I heard someone yelling:
"Oh no, it's going to rain, hurry up and pack up and go home!"
"This summer rain is so damned amazing. It comes as soon as it's supposed to. The sky was sunny just a moment ago, but it changed in a blink of an eye..."
As they were talking, a flash of lightning and a loud bang of thunder resounded in the air, shocking people so much that everyone was in a mess. The shops on both sides of the road were busy closing their signs, the vendors were hurriedly packing up their stalls, and those who were passing by and those who were watching the fun all hurried home.
The crowd at the entrance of Yichun Hall disappeared in an instant as if swept away by a strong wind, leaving only the second master kneeling there alone, the gorgeous carriage, and several guards beside the carriage. In the distance, the servants of the Xiao family were also running towards this side quickly with umbrellas and rain cloths.
Li Du walked out of Yichun Hall and looked at the Second Master who was still kneeling there, and shook his head unconsciously. In the past four days, he had advised the Second Master countless times, saying that the God of Medicine was not in Pingyang and that Madam Xiao had already stopped breathing, and asked him to give up, but the Second Master was still kneeling there. He saw with his own eyes that the eldest master and the third master of the Xiao family had come to persuade him in person, but the Second Master just shook his head, stubborn like a child. In order to prevent the waiters from discovering that the person in the carriage was the God of Medicine, he had to order all the waiters of Yichun Hall not to approach the carriage within three feet, and asked Ouyang Di to send a group of bodyguards who had never seen the owner to help the Xiao family protect the carriage.
Even the second master's three daughters were ordered to come and kneel down to beg their father to go back and bury their mother as soon as possible. But their father just said that your mother is not dead, she is just sleeping. They superstitiously believed that as long as the God of Medicine was willing to take action, Mengxi would be able to come back to life.
Seeing that dark clouds were rolling overhead and raindrops were about to fall in an instant, and the prince's words were still echoing in his ears, Li Du sighed and came to the second master again said:
"Brother Xiao, please listen to my advice. Madam has already stopped breathing. Not to mention my master, even if the Golden Immortal came, he couldn't save her. You should just give up. Hold the funeral for Madam as soon as possible so that she can rest in peace sooner."
"Shopkeeper Li, the lady is not dead. If she was dead, she would have rotted away in this hot weather. Look at her, her face is still rosy after four days. She just fell asleep and can't wake up. Please be kind and ask the God of Medicine to come out. Even if it's just a pill, Xiao Jun will agree to any condition from the God of Medicine as long as it can save the lady's life. I also ask Shopkeeper Li to speak well of Xiao Jun in front of the God of Medicine."
"Second Master, you don't know. I have tested the bird's nest porridge that your Madam used. It was contaminated with crane ambergris. People who are poisoned by this will not rot after death, and their faces will be as beautiful as when they were alive. If there is no antidote within three days, the poison will definitely kill you. It has been four days. Your Madam is really beyond saving. As the saying goes, the dead cannot be resurrected. Second Master, you should be more open-minded. Look, it's about to rain. You have been kneeling under the scorching sun for so long. If you are stimulated by this rainstorm, even an iron man can't stand it. I am afraid that your Madam will not be saved, but you will be tormented."
As he was speaking, there was a flash of lightning above his head, followed by another thunderbolt, followed by bright white raindrops falling on the ground, splashing a lot of dust, and a few large raindrops hit the second master's back, and the second master shivered twice. The servants beside him had already put the rain cloth on the carriage, and seeing the raindrops falling, Xiao Xia hurried over to hold an umbrella for the second master.
"Go away!"
The Second Master shouted fiercely, and Xiao Xia shuddered violently, and tried to persuade him with a crying voice:
"Second Master, please stop torturing yourself like this. Second Madam has already, has already...if you continue like this, you will die sooner or later."
As he was trying to persuade him, Xiao Xia lowered his head and met the Second Master's stern gaze. He closed his mouth unconsciously, took a step back, and stood behind him, holding an umbrella for him.
After a while, the dripping raindrops merged into one, and everywhere was grey and chilly. The rain was getting heavier, and gradually the sky and the earth could not be separated, as if the water in the sky was pouring down, and in an instant the sky became dark and the earth was gloomy. The water on the ground flowed everywhere, and it seemed like a water world. The umbrella held above Erye's head was useless.
Li Du was soaked in an instant and shouted to the Second Master:
"The rain is too heavy, please go to the pharmacy to take shelter for a while!"
"I beg Shopkeeper Li to help me let Xiao Jun meet the God of Medicine! Shopkeeper Li's great kindness, I, Xiao Jun, will repay you in my next life."
The Medicine God was in the car next to the Second Master. No matter how much Li Du wanted, he could not satisfy the Second Master's overbearing request. Seeing that the Second Master was stubborn and refused to get up, Li Du had no choice but to sigh and turn around and run back to the medicine hall.
Seeing the Second Master's face turning purple and his lips trembling, Xiao Xia couldn't help but persuade him again:
"Second Master! Please get in the car first, the rain is too heavy!"
The master and servant had already become soaked. The heavy rain made the Second Master feel much better and clearer. He glanced at Xiao Xia and said:
"You can go back now. You don't have to stay here with me."
"Second Master, I beg you to stop making trouble. Go back and take a look. The Xiao Mansion is filled with gloom all day long. Even the old lady hasn't eaten for two days."
Seeing that the Second Master finally spoke, Xiao Xia shouted at him. The Second Master glanced at Xiao Xia and stopped talking. He just knelt there, closed his eyes, and let the bone-chilling rain pour over his body.
Gradually the rain became lighter, and after a while it started again. This time it was not as heavy as before, but it continued. It did not stop until the evening. The Second Master was already kneeling in the mud, his body began to shake, and even Xiao Xia felt a little drowsy.
The street was empty except for the five guards of the Xiao family who were standing around the Second Master and the carriage. They were all dripping with water and the rain was still running down their faces. Although it was a hot summer day, these men couldn't help but squeezing the water out of their bodies while looking at the Second Master. At this moment, they wished they could knock the Second Master out and carry him back to the Xiao Mansion.
Suddenly, seven or eight masked men in black jumped down from the roof of Ruyi Restaurant across the street and ran straight towards the carriage. Xiao Xia was sharp-eyed and shouted:
"Second Master, look!"
The Second Master looked back and shouted:
"Protect the carriage"
