Becoming Puppet Emperor of a Paranoid Eunuch - Chapter 29

“Master, the documents are all arranged in the study,” Fuchen entered from outside the door, whispering to the Thousand Years Lord seated on the Grand Tutor chair.

Ning Qinghong just lifted his fingertips, gesturing.

Fuchen lowered his brows and quieted down.

Beside Ning Qinghong was a cup of steaming Tian Shan snow silver tip tea, with a light fragrance. He rested his head on his hand, slightly closing his eyes, playing with something in his hand.

The room fell into silence when the master didn’t speak, with only the rhythmic “crackling” sound like aging bones stretching in an instant.

He held the rosary in his hand, his gaze seemed fixed on it, but also seemed to be looking at something else, recalling something, making it impossible for people to guess what he was thinking.

“Cui’s family is quite capable,” Ning Qinghong suddenly said softly, smiling faintly, “I wonder how much incense money they donated to the temples in Qinghe County and the surrounding areas, to gather this string of beads from the barbarians.”

After thinking about it carefully, Fuchen didn’t quite understand, “But isn’t it just the death of a grand master? Master, what’s so difficult about gathering this?”

Ning Qinghong remained calm, “Just afraid of public criticism, dare not to openly admit it.” He raised his hand slightly, his wide sleeves falling like water, “There are a hundred and eight beads here, each with its own owner.”

Fuchen was surprised, “So that’s how it is, it must be troublesome to find so many deceased grand masters who passed away at the right time.”

A hundred and eight skeletons, they all felt ordinary.

Because they were used to it.

Even the servant holding the wooden box on the side didn’t move.

Is this something to be afraid of?

Ning Qinghong stood up and asked, “Where is His Majesty?”

Just now when Cui Ren left and entered the mansion, Ning Qinghong changed out of his official robe and let Fuchen lead the emperor elsewhere. He was now wearing a crane-patterned snow coat inside, with a smoke-blue robe draped outside, the hem trailing on the ground, woven with intertwined lotus patterns.

Compared to the imposing figure in red crane embroidered robes at court, it was a completely different appearance.

Very approachable.

Fuchen smiled, “His Majesty is resting in the Luoge Pavilion by the pavilion, having some snacks and letting the servants in the mansion take good care of him. When I left, he was even playing with the parrot kept by the Thousand Years Lord.”

Ning Qinghong listened while leisurely rolling up the precious rosary that was hard to come by, coiling it three times and putting it into the wooden box. “Put it in a high place to prevent His Majesty from touching it and getting dirty.”

The servant responded “Yes,” and withdrew to place the wooden box on a high shelf in the study.

Ning Qinghong then instructed, “Bring the items confiscated from the Yuxin Hall last time.”

After a short while, Fuchen returned with two porcelain plates, holding them with both hands.

Ning Qinghong touched the surface of the porcelain plates, feeling the dust on his hand. He had only brought them back yesterday, indicating how much the original owner didn’t care about these items.

He then picked up the several stones in the porcelain plates, pinching one with his fingertips and holding it up to the light to examine it.

One by one, he found that each stone was extremely beautiful.

Wu Jing had a good eye, these were all carefully selected by him, there were semi-translucent pink stones, as well as round white stones as smooth as jade, and stones covered with rocks on the surface, shining like amethyst under the light…

He also had gains from playing with mud in the imperial garden every day. If he didn’t do something he was interested in, who could go there every day and just stare blankly?

At this moment, he was playing happily with the little parrot, completely unaware that his treasures had been swept away by someone else.

“Can you see anything?” Ning Qinghong suddenly asked.

Fuchen pondered for a while, bracing himself, “Are these stones all very beautiful?”

Ning Qinghong asked again, “Is that all?”

Fuchen felt uneasy and shook his head, “This servant is foolish and cannot tell.”

Ning Qinghong smiled lightly, “I can’t tell either.” He put down the stones, not minding the dust on his hand, and picked up the nine golden copper rings strung together on the porcelain plate.

As Ning Qinghong fiddled with them, he said, “Go and fetch the physician from the mansion.”

Fuchen replied, “Yes.”

Fifteen minutes later, an old man carrying a medical kit hurried over. “Is Master Ning feeling unwell again? Why is the interval so short this time?” Before he could finish, he heard a half-smiling voice saying, “Doctor Li.”

The old man immediately breathed a sigh of relief and bowed, “Does Master Ning have any orders for me?”

Ning Qinghong humbly smiled, “I have a question.”

“The Inner Canon once said that those born with epilepsy are still affected by the mother’s fright during pregnancy.” He asked again, “After this child is born, is there still a possibility of recovery from this illness?”

“If not, will he have periods of insanity and wakefulness?”

“If so, Jingyue’s Complete Works also states that those with madness are often awake, irritable, and violent, while those with epilepsy are often unconscious, lethargic, and calm.”

Ning Qinghong stood tall and smiled faintly, “I have both, why can’t I be cured?”

Doctor Li was sweating profusely from these questions, “I have been practicing medicine for many years, and what Master Ning described is not uncommon.” He said, “Childhood epilepsy is not always characterized by dullness.”

“The Taivu Shenghui Fang combines epilepsy and epilepsy into one disease.”

“But among the children I have treated, those who are neither epileptic nor mad have never had epilepsy.”

“These children were mostly not favored when they were young, but they had extraordinary abilities in some aspects. They were frightening to people, and even speaking to them was difficult.”

“But in their eyes, they have created their own world.”

“If guided when young, it may not be impossible to correct, but if they grow up, it is already a foregone conclusion, and it is difficult to cure.”

Ning Qinghong put down the golden copper rings in his hand, tapped them on the porcelain plate, making a crisp sound, and asked softly, “So is this child stupid or not?”

Doctor Li said, “What I said is rare.” He seemed to know who Master Ning was referring to, “But in my opinion, if this child has extraordinary abilities and can do things, but his thoughts are like that of a three-year-old child.”

“Both are possible.”

“Like you—”

Isn’t this indirectly insulting the Lord?

Fuchen’s face changed abruptly, and he said sharply, “Shut up! Such offensive words, don’t say them again—”

Before he could finish speaking, someone rushed in from outside the door, saying, “Master! Something’s wrong!”

“The parrot you and His Majesty raised is making a racket!”

“This, that parrot is something you like, and His Majesty’s status is noble. We don’t know how to handle it.” He looked distressed, “Master, please go and take a look.”

Fuchen couldn’t believe it and asked with a complex expression, “What did you say?” His expression was complicated, “Who is arguing with whom?”

The servant also had an extremely complicated expression and repeated, “The parrot raised by His Majesty and the Thousand Years Lord—”

“Is making a racket.”

Ning Qinghong spat out the two words.

The servant immediately knelt down, trembling and dare not say another word.

Ning Qinghong pressed his temple, “Just kill the parrot and be done with it, go away.”

The servant quickly agreed and got up, bowing before retreating.

Just as he was about to step out of the threshold, a voice came from not far ahead, “Wait.”

Ning Qinghong sighed softly, “Forget it, take Doctor Li back safely.” He looked at the old man with a half-smile, “Take another look.”

He then instructed Fuchen, “Let the storeroom provide a reward for Doctor Li, and put away these porcelain plates for now. Come with me to take a look.”

The Luoge Pavilion.

Wu Jing sat on the wooden railing by the corridor, leaning against the large beam, feeling frustrated as he turned his face away.

Hanging above a pillar just across from him was a golden cage with a red and green parrot inside, chirping, “Little fool, little fool!”

It was clearly mimicking, with a strange tone, but with a few more traces of mockery than usual, making Wu Jing feel even more stifled.

He couldn’t even win an argument with a parrot!

What a disgrace!

Wu Jing muttered to himself, “You’re the fool.”

The parrot became even more arrogant after hearing this, shouting two more times with a sharp and loud voice.

Wu Jing covered his ears.

He was furious.

Just moments ago, he was playing with this parrot, but somehow, it started shouting at him.

No matter what he said, the parrot could come up with ten retorts. The more he listened, the angrier and more frustrated he became, and he couldn’t win the argument.

And to make matters worse, it wasn’t even his parrot, so he couldn’t discipline it.

“Wu Wu?”

Suddenly, a gentle voice came from above his head.

The parrot’s voice immediately disappeared, and it tucked its large wings in, nestling into the wood shavings below like a quail.

Just like the wild dogs in the imperial garden, it knew how to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Wu Jing raised his head blankly and met the gaze of Ning Qinghong, who was as graceful as a picture. He couldn’t help but pout with a sense of grievance.

Ning Qinghong bent down, and his half-tied ink hair fell over Wu Jing’s body. “Why are you sitting on the railing? It’s dangerous.”

Ning Qinghong held Wu Jing’s hand and led him down. “Alright, brother just changed clothes.” He asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wu Jing, as if someone had backed him up, said, “Brother, the smelly bird.” He pointed at the cage and after holding it in for a long time, he spat out a term that was neither offensive nor dirty.

His cheeks were red with frustration,

He really looked pitiful.

Ning Qinghong’s eyes seemed to hold a smile, but he asked with a headache, “What does Wu Wu want to do to vent?”

Wu Jing thought for a long time but couldn’t think of a way.

Ning Qinghong took a lighter approach, “If you can’t think of one, forget it. It’s time for lunch. Brother will take Wu Wu to eat delicious food.” He paused. “Hmm?”

Wu Jing suddenly had an idea and his eyes lit up, “Wu Wu eats, but it doesn’t eat!”

Ning Qinghong took Wu Jing’s hand and led him out of the corridor. As they walked, he raised his fingertips to make a gesture behind him.

Fuchen understood the signal and stopped. While the master dealt with the people in the palace, there were still troublemakers in the mansion, and today they were mimicked by this parrot.

There were places that needed to be disciplined.

Ning Qinghong agreed lightly with Wu Jing, “Alright, let’s listen to Wu Wu. Then let’s punish this smelly bird by not giving it lunch.”

He paused, as if gently asking for approval.

Wu Jing reluctantly agreed, and happily went to have lunch with Ning Qinghong.

Ning Qinghong smiled lightly,

But no one could tell,

He was completely composed.

“Tian Shan snow silver tip tea” likely refers to a type of high-quality tea originating from the Tian Shan mountain range in Central Asia, known for its snowy peaks and rich biodiversity. The term “snow silver tip” might indicate that the tea leaves are harvested when they are still young and covered with fine, silvery hairs, which is often associated with superior quality and flavor. It’s a poetic way of describing the tea’s appearance and suggesting its rarity and delicacy.

“The Inner Canon” likely refers to the Huangdi Neijing (黄帝内经) or “The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon,” which is a classic Chinese medical text that is considered one of the fundamental doctrines of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It is attributed to the legendary Yellow Emperor Huangdi and is believed to have been written around the 2nd century BCE. The Inner Canon is divided into two parts: the Suwen (素问) or “Plain Questions” and the Lingshu (灵枢) or “Spiritual Pivot.” It covers a wide range of topics, including physiology, pathology, diagnosis, treatment principles, acupuncture, herbal medicine, and lifestyle advice.

The Taivu Shenghui Fang is a medical text or a compilation of medical knowledge that classifies epilepsy and convulsions as a single ailment or disorder.