OTFSC Chapter 6

Xie Danling leaned against Consort Shu, counting on her fingers as she said, “They set out at the end of last year, and now it’s almost April. Cousin Chen’s return trip sure has really taken quite a long time.”

Gu Zhizhuo’s bright phoenix eyes were filled up with a faint mist. Upon hearing this, she suddenly lifted her head—that’s right, she was reborn.

Young Master was still alive now. He was still here!

Gu Zhizhuo’s heart was full of hope; her eyes and brows overflowed with joy and anticipation.

Consort Shu pondered, “It has indeed taken quite a long time. I’ve heard they’ve just now entered Yizhou.” She paused, then added, “However, for Young Master Chen to have survived to adulthood with such an awkward identity, I suppose he can make it back to the capital alive as well.”

Those words carried a subtle, thought-provoking undertone!

“At that time, things will get lively.”

Gu Zhizhuo: “……”

She remembered—in her previous life, when Young Master returned to the capital, he was ambushed by bandits near the capital outskirts, gravely injured, and barely survived. And those bandits had fled from Yizhuo to the capital’s outskirts because her brother had failed to suppress the bandits.

This too became one of the heavy charges placed upon her older brother; everyone said that her older brother was a ‘tiger father, dog-like son[mfn]Meaning a great father but an inferior, unworthy son[/mfn],’ unfit to bear great responsibilities.

The Young Master had always been frail and sickly, and after that severe injury, his vitality was greatly diminished.

They searched everywhere for famed doctors, but none could help.

Even the renowned Taoist doctor, Wuweizi Zhenren[mfn]Wuweizi=Taoist name

Zhenren: “Perfected One” or “True Person,” a Daoist honorific title for an enlightened or immortal being, someone who has achieved a high level of cultivation or spiritual attainment[/mfn], could only shake his head and sigh, “Heaven’s mandate cannot be defied.” She didn’t believe in fate, so she worshipped Wuweizi as her shifu[mfn]师父: Master or teacher—emphasizes a master–disciple relationship, often in martial arts, religion (like a Buddhist monk), or other master–apprentice setups[/mfn] and exhausted every possible method to extend the Young Master’s life.

In the end, her shifu’s word still came true.

Boom!

A sudden rumble of thunder exploded overhead, startling Gu Zhizhuo so much that she snapped out of her memories; her face turned deathly pale.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared.”

Xie Danling, who was also startled, grabbed her hand tightly, unsure whether she was comforting her or herself.

After repeating “Don’t be scared” several times, Xie Danling grumbled unhappily, “Why a sudden thunder? It’s not going to rain, is it? And that Imperial Astronomical Bureau even claimed it definitely wouldn’t rain today—every single one of them can’t even read the stars properly.

Gu Zhizhuo nodded obediently and agreed, “Cousin Danling is right. I calculated[mfn]掐指一算 — literally “pinched fingers to calculate,” meaning using traditional methods or divination to predict[/mfn] it—it’ll rain at the third quarter of the You hour[mfn]around 5:45–6:00 p.m. (You hour = 5–7 p.m.)[/mfn].

“Come on, come on, let’s go take a look.”

The two cousins crowded together by the window, chattering nonstop as they checked whether it was raining.

The Consort Shu couldn’t be bothered with them. She first sent the chief palace eunuch to Fengluan Palace to inquire and then leaned lazily on her chaise lounge, looking at the two sisters with a smile in her eyes.

It wasn’t until Imperial Physician Chen arrived that she called Gu Zhizhuo over.

This imperial physician, named Chen Baishu, was about forty years old, from a side branch of the Wang family, and was also considered “one of their own” within the palace.

Back when Consort Shu and her sister married into the capital, the Wang family had Chen Baishu change to his mother’s surname and open a medical clinic in the capital. Later, when the current emperor ascended the throne and Consort Shu moved from the prince’s manor into the imperial harem, the Wang family pulled strings again to place Chen Baishu into the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Aside from the few maidservants who came with Consort Shu as part of her dowry, no one knew that Chen Baishu’s original surname was actually “Wang.”

“Imperial Physician Chen, come take a look at Yaoyao’s face.”

Chen Baishu quickly responded.

He carefully examined Gu Zhizhuo’s face from side to side, then checked her pulse thoroughly before saying, “Your Highness, fortunately the Eldest Young Miss washed off the poison in time. The redness and swelling on her face should completely heal in three to five days.

With Chen Baishu’s words, Consort Shu’s tightly strung nerves finally relaxed completely.

“Yaoyao.”

Consort Shu gestured to Gu Zhizhuo to hand the small medicine jar to Chen Baishu.

Chen Baishu opened it, sniffed it, then scraped some of the remaining ointment with his fingernail and applied it to the back of his hand. In just three breaths, the intact skin began to turn an unnatural red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“These contain bone-eating grass, withered vine blackroot, and blood dragon’s saliva,” Chen Baishu stated confidently. He added, “These herbs corrode the skin. If there was already a wound, they would cause it to fester and become difficult to heal.”

Gu Zhizhuo lowered her gaze slightly; the heart-wrenching, bone-gnawing pain from her previous life seemed as if it were still right before her eyes.

Especially the memory of watching her own skin rot and peel off inch by inch—that torment had once made her feel life was worse than death.

She clenched her fists, letting her nails dig deep into her soft palms.

“How vicious.”

Consort Shu slammed her hand hard on the chaise lounge, her eyes filled with hatred.

Their Yaoyao was so beautiful. She resembled both her older sister and herself, with features neither too strong nor too delicate, making her truly a peerless beauty.

She could hardly imagine how desperate Yaoyao would have been if she hadn’t sensed something was wrong in time and let Xie Jing succeed. Would she even have been able to endure it?

Consort Shu fixed her gaze on that small medicine jar, forcing herself to calm down, and said, “Imperial Physician Chen, go apply something to Yaoyao’s face.”

Although the Empress hadn’t reacted just now, they still had to guard against her possibly sending someone to check on Yaoyao’s injuries.

Chen Baishu cupped his hands and acknowledged the order.

His medicine box was fully stocked; in no time, he prepared a dark reddish-black medicinal paste. Then, using a small brush, he carefully applied it to Gu Zhizhuo’s face.

“Eldest Young Miss, keep this on until evening before washing it off. This medicinal paste will soothe your skin and help the redness and swelling go down faster.”

Chen Baishu spent a whole stick of incense time before finally finishing applying it properly. When glanced at the bronze mirror, a large patch of Gu Zhizhuo’s fair, jade-like cheek was red and swollen.

Gu Zhizhuo tried to wipe it with her hand, but it wouldn’t come off.

At first glance, it looked very real, but if you leaned close to the light and looked closely, you could still spot some subtle traces.

Chen Baishu added, “This medicinal paste nourishes the skin and can be washed off with clean water. Eldest Young Miss, I’ll prepare another jar for you. After you return home, you can apply it for several more days.”

Xie Danling also came over to join the fun: “Let me have a look too.”

“Cousin Danling,” Gu Zhizhuo put down the bronze mirror, pursed her lips, looking as if she was about to cry, “do I look really ugly like this?”

“Yes……” Xie Danling hurriedly waved her hands, “No, no, no!”

“Cousin Danling, you’re the best! We agreed that we would share blessings together and face hardship together, right?”

Without thinking, Xie Danling nodded.

Gu Zhizhuo quickly dipped her fingers into the medicinal paste and lunged forward, laughing: “Then let’s be ugly together!”

Xie Danling immediately jumped up and ran away: “No way!”

The two of them chased and ran, making a lively mess.

Consort Shu rubbed her forehead and said helplessly to the senior palace maid, “It’s those two who quarrel, and it’s those two who make up. They’ve made my head ache from all the commotion.”

The senior palace maid covered her mouth and smiled: “But aren’t you enjoying watching them?”

The two cousins ran a full circle around the main hall. Xie Danling dove into Consort Shu’s arm for protection, but Consort Shu immediately switched sides, hugged her tightly, and called out, “Got you! Yaoyao, quick, come here!”

Xie Danling giggled.

Gu Zhizhuo pounced on her, pinning her so she couldn’t move, and began painting a huadian[mfn]花钿 (huā diàn) refers to ornamental floral forehead decorations worn by women in ancient China.https://www.chinese-showcase.com/blogs/jewelry/what-is-huadian[/mfn] on her forehead using medicinal paste.

After the last petal was finished, Xie Danling held up the bronze mirror, vainly admiring herself from left to right. Just then, Eunuch Zheng, the chief palace eunuch Consort Shu had sent out, returned.

He looked flustered, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and before he could even catch his breath, he urgently reported, “Your… Your Highness, Fengluan Palace was struck by lightning.”

What?!

Consort Shu recalled the sudden rumble of thunder just now, and her face couldn’t hide a look of shock.

Xie Danling couldn’t be bothered to look in the bronze mirror anymore; her eyes lit up as she urged, “Quick, tell us!”

“Yes, Princess.” Eunuch Zheng still looked a bit shaken. He bowed his head and reported, “Your Highness, after you left, Your Majesty the Empress dismissed everyone else and took the Third Prince and Miss Ji to Fengluan Palace. The Third Prince admitted it was he who ordered Imperial Physician Liu to tamper with Eldest Young Miss Gu’s medicine—it had nothing to do with Miss Ji. If the Empress insists on pursuing this, it will be forcing him to death.”

He glanced cautiously at Gu Zhizhuo, then continued, “Your Highness the Third Prince repeatedly declared that his heart belongs only to Miss Ji, and the only one he wants to marry is Miss Ji! He… he said it was Eldest Young Miss Gu who was shameless, clinging to a casual remark from His Majesty the Emperor and insisting it was a marriage promise.”

“The Empress was so furious that she ordered Miss Ji to be dragged out and beaten.”

Eunuch Zheng swallowed hard; some things were just too harsh to say directly—he feared polluting the Fifth Princess’s and Eldest Young Miss Gu’s ears.

“The nannies from the Empress’s palace came to drag people away, and the Third Prince stood in front of her, striking anyone who approached. The Empress was so enraged that her chest hurt; she ordered that she must be flogged to death, it must be flogged to death.

Eunuch Zheng said in a trembling voice, “Your Highness, Aunt Qiu from Fengluan Palace told me personally that the thunder struck right after the Empress said the words ‘flogged to death.’ It was almost simultaneous.”

“The eaves of the main hall of Fengluan Palace caught fire immediately.”

Wow. Xie Danling’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

She blurted out, “The Empress wanted to flog that Miss Ji to death, and Fengluan Palace got struck by lightning?”

This……

Why did this sound like something out of a stage play? No, even a stage play wouldn’t dare write it like this!

Gu Zhizhuo curled her lips slightly, letting out a sigh that seemed to say, “Just as expected.”

Ji Nanke had always been incredibly lucky, as if she was favored by Heaven itself from birth.

It was the same in her previous life. No matter what disaster she encountered, she could always turn misfortune into fortune.

She still remembered that one year, not long after Ji Nanke became the Third Prince’s consort, the Emperor tasked Xie Jing to oversee disaster relief. At that time, the state treasury was empty, and they couldn’t afford the disaster relief funds. Xie Jing was utterly troubled over it.

Later, Ji Nanke volunteered to go with him to Dongyang County in Qingzhou. Who would have thought, after the great disaster, a great plague would follow? Before they even arrived, the plague had broken out in Dongyang County, and by the time they got there, nine out of ten households were empty, and the surviving population was less than one-tenth.

Now the funds were enough.

Xie Jing immediately allocated funds, brought in doctors and medicine for the common people, and distributed fertile farmland and seeds to each household.

Through this disaster relief, Xie Jing’s fame among the common people soared, and at the court, he was also highly praised.

Not long after, Xie Jing took charge of the Eastern Palace, and Ji Nanke became the honorable crown princess.

Xie Danling, both excited and thrilled, couldn’t wait to ask, “What happened next?”

Eunuch Zheng bowed and continued, “The Third Prince told the Empress that Qingping Zhenren[mfn]Qingping=Taoist name.

Zhenren: “Perfected One” or “True Person,” a Daoist honorific title for an enlightened or immortal being, someone who has achieved a high level of cultivation or spiritual attainment[/mfn] once read Miss Ji’s fortune and said that Miss Ji was a blessed girl by the Mandate of Heaven, destined to share in Da Qi’s great fortune.

Later, the Empress dismissed all the attendants, spoke privately with the Third Prince about something, and then quietly ordered people to send Miss Ji back to her residence. The Empress also gave strict orders to everyone in Fengluan Palace—anyone who spoke carelessly about this would be flogged to death.”

Consort Shu sneered repeatedly: “A blessed girl by the Mandate of Heaven?”

“She’s worthy!?”

She had a cold expression as she gently stroked the jade bracelet on her fair wrist.

Xie Danling was extremely curious.

To dare to say something like “destined to share in Da Qi’s great fortune” casually—if that Qingping Zhenren wasn’t truly skilled, then he should be……

“A charlatan?”

 

t/n. The title changed again <拿了爽文剧本后，反派名扬天下>.