Chapter 4: A Fatal Disaster
Translator: Flying-Lines
There was an inner chamber on the right wing of the room, and a curtain of crystal beads in strings was hanging at the entrance of the chamber .
Minghao halted by the bead curtain, and informed reverently to the person in the chamber, “Lord Seventh, Prime Minister Qin is here . ”
A young and deep voice came out from the chamber, “Make sure he is seated and presented tea . ”
“Yes . ”
Minghao wasted no time carrying out the orders, he seated the Prime Minister then ordered the maids to prepare tea and desserts .
Then Minghao exited the room sensibly, waiting outside for his master’s orders .
Qin Zizheng, the first-ranked official, did not take the slightest offense by the delayed show up of the mansion’s owner .
He seemed quite used to it, seated in the red rosewood chair with great respect, asking the person who had not presented himself, “Have you been well recently, Lord Seventh?”
“Thank you for your concern, Prime Minister, I’ve been well . ”
“You resided in Putuo Temple for days according to Minghao?”
“I was there to discuss some Buddhist Doctrine with Master Huijing . ”
After the brief conversation, the person who hadn’t unveiled himself asked casually, “Are you here to exchange notes on certain matters, Prime Minister?”
Qin Zizheng, casting a look at the silent Bai Qingqing, stated why he paid this visit . “You are correct, Lord Seventh, I do want to discuss something with you today . Have you heard of the then renowned Mo Shoude---the Divine Physician?”
“A little bit . ”
“Mo Shoude is a friend of mine date back to the old days . He mastered superb skills, I intended to turn to him when you turned blind . Unfortunately, that was when he was hit by his wife’s sudden death . He officially retired and was nowhere to be found consequently . It wasn’t until two month ago that I was informed of his whereabouts, I corresponded with him requesting his visit to the capital city to treat you . ”
“Is he here?” he asked slowly, without any emotion coloring his tone .
“Umm...”
With a pause, Qin Zizheng said, “Please forgive my incapability, Mo is not here, but...”
Then he hastily continued, “I managed to bring Mo’s disciple, Bai Qingqing . Although she is just eighteen years old, her skills win my admiration . Do you recall that four years ago, I was plotted and my life was on the line? I survived in the end, but that left me with severe migraine . Hundreds of imperial physicians were clueless at my disease . Qingqing described my symptoms by simply a look and cured me within such a short period of time of seven days . ”
Qin Zizheng praised Qingqing’s skills as great as unworldly, his sole purpose was to persuade the person in the chamber not to give the little girl the cold shoulder .
It turned out Lord Seventh wasn’t touched by Qin’s sentimental remarks .
Lord Seventh smiled subtly, “Prime Minister, your kindness is highly appreciated . As for my blindness, treat it or not, it doesn’t make any difference . ”
That implied he wasn’t intrigued by the doctress invited by the Prime Minister .
“Lord Seventh...”
Qin Zizheng failed to collect himself, persuading hastily, “Please reconsider your decision, a young lady Qingqing may be, but...”
“Prime Minister, I feel tired, let Minghao show you the way out if that’s all you want to discuss . ”
A person who dared to order the Prime Minister to leave must possess either great fortune or great influence .
Bai Qingqing realized the person in the chamber must hold great status despite the fact that he never even presented himself .
Seeing that Qin Zizheng meant to give it another try, Bai Qingqing, who kept mute the whole time stood up, calmly replied, “Prime Minister, forgive me for my bluntness . I’ve been carrying out a set of unwritten rules when practice medicine . First, I don’t treat any man who has committed crimes; second, I don’t treat any man who possesses an unclear mind; Third, I don’t treat any man who pursues death deliberately . I have no idea who this Lord Seventh is, but it’s not hard to tell, he’s being so passive on his own disease . And that goes right up to my third rule . Now that he has no desire to ask for cure, why are you constraining him to do something that goes against his will, Prime Minister? He who gets the disease suffers . As long as we feel no qualms upon self-examination, that’s fine from an outsider’s perspective . ”
Her expression was neither too fast nor too slow, yet so powerful . She conveyed her attitude as well as a subtle warning that your condescending attitude wouldn’t work for a girl with pride .
Qin Zizheng was shocked and immediately shot Qingqing a warning glance, as if telling Qingqing, “The person in the chamber holds a special status, even I dare not to offend him, little girl you’d better not get carried away which will incur a fatal disaster for yourself . ”
While Qingqing on the other hand kept indifferent to Prime Minister’s silent warning, as if the pressure she was supposed to be under was as light as a drifting cloud .
The bold manner of the country girl Qingqing not only frightened the Prime Minister but also Minghao, who was waiting upon outside .
Lord Seventh, Minghao’s master, was only second to His Majesty . Not one single soul dared to behave so arrogantly in front of him .
But how dare this uncouth young girl speak to his master in such an insubordinate manner, was she asking for a recipe of death?
As expected, Bai Qingqing’s offensive language worked .
With the lift of the bead curtain, a jade cane reached out from the chamber, and a tall figure came out thereupon .
Bai Qingqing lifted up her eyes and saw a man about twenty five or twenty six years old with arresting appearance .
His features were so fine, eyebrows bushy, eyes sparkled, nose prominent, and lips dedicate . Though in a plain white leisurewear gown, his aura revealed that he must hold a high position and possess great background .
The moment Qingqing recognized the person in front of her, she felt a stabbing pain in her heart . Her countenance changed abruptly, her eyes flickered complicated thoughts .
She tentatively made an eye contact with him, only to find his pupils stayed stagnant .
She lifted a finger and waggled right in front of his eyes . It was confirmed, he could not see anything .
He...turned blind?
What...what happened?