Lost Red Pearl, Inadvertently Luring the Red-Eyed 5
Xie Lian soothed, "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to do anything. I only want to check your injuries."
That child, however, pressed his hands harder, revealing only one large obsidian eye, looking panicked. But this panic didn't seem like he was afraid he would get beaten, but rather that something would be discovered.
Looking at this little face half-covered with only an eye, Xie Lian suddenly thought he might've seen this child somewhere, and squinted his eyes.
Qi Rong saw his upset face and explained, "Cousin Crown Prince, that little fiend ruined your grand ceremony yesterday, so I avenged you. Don't worry, I was careful, he won't die."
Sure enough, the child held in his arms was the one who fell from the city wall during the Shangyuan Heavenly Ceremonial Procession the day before!
No wonder Xie Lian thought he looked familiar. This little child hadn't even changed; he was still wearing the same outfit as the day before, but because of all the beating and dragging, he was filthier and looked nothing like he had before, not even like he was the same person.
Xie Lian couldn't hold back his anger anymore. "WHO TOLD YOU TO AVENGE ME??? IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS CHILD, IT WASN'T HIS FAULT!"
Qi Rong justified himself: "Of course it's his fault. If not for him, you wouldn't have gotten scolded by the Guoshi!"
This ruckus was growing out of hand, and the crowd watching was becoming bigger, all whispering to each other. Just then, Mu Qing approached too, and Qi Rong pointed his whip at him, his expression laced with hostility.
"And you! You lowly servant. Just by the looks of him I can tell he doesn't know his place. If you don't discipline him, sooner or later he's going to overthrow and step on you, the master. I helped you discipline him, but you turned around and defended him instead, and told on me too. Now Uncle and Auntie not only disregarded my good will, they even confiscated my golden carriage! Cousin, that was my birthday gift! I've wanted it for over two years!!"
Mu Qing gave Qi Rong an unreadable sweeping look. Xie Lian puffed a laugh from rage.
"I don't need your good will, not like this. Are you really avenging me? Or are you avenging yourself?"
"..." Qi Rong said. "Cousin, why would you say that to me? And what have I done wrong in following after you?"
Xie Lian couldn't argue with him. "Qi Rong, listen here. From now on, you're not allowed to touch this child. Not even a finger! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
Just then, Xie Lian suddenly felt a pull on his neck. He was just at the height of his fury and was startled. He looked down and saw that young child had buried his face in his chest; his two hands tightly encircled around Xie Lian's neck. Xie Lian felt him shake uncontrollably and thought he was hurting.
He asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"
That young child was covered all over in mud, grime, and blood, filthy and unkempt, and it all smeared onto Xie Lian's white robe, but Xie Lian didn't mind it at all. He gently patted the child's back to comfort him and said in a gentle voice, "I'll go take you to the doctors right now."
That child didn't respond but he hugged Xie Lian even tighter. He was tense and wouldn't let go, as if he was holding on to a lifeline. Qi Rong saw that Xie Lian wouldn't acknowledge his goodwill, his heart solely on outsiders, then saw that kid had sullied Xie Lian's robes with that bloody, muddy shit, and his anger flared. He raised the whip, and was about to lash the back of that child's head. Feng Xin was standing on the side, and in a split-second, his leg flew out and kicked Qi Rong right on the arm.
There was a loud CRACK and Qi Rong screamed; the whip fell to the ground, and his right arm dropped limply at an abnormal angle. He was frozen in disbelief, and it was a while before he slowly raised his head, glaring at Feng Xin, enunciating each word:
"You, DARE, BREAK MY ARM!"
The words were extremely cold. It was only until after he kicked that Feng Xin realized what he had done, and his face changed, but Mu Qing's face changed more.
It was no matter how much they detested Qi Rong behind his back, that was one thing. But as a personal guard, to have transgressed and accidentally broken the arm of royalty; that was something completely different!
Just then, Xie Lian had had his hands full with that child, and behind him was packed with onlookers, so he couldn't dodge; but if he had dodged, it would've been a piece of cake. Only, Qi Rong came at him with such aggression and so out of the blue, Feng Xin moved too fast without thinking, and Xie Lian didn't have the chance to stop him. Now everything was in even more of an uproar, and Xie Lian didn't have time to think. His clothes were getting soaked in blood, if they delayed any longer the child might just die right there.
Xie Lian made a split-second decision, inhaled deeply, and shouted in a clear voice, "EVERYONE, IF ANYONE WAS PULLED INTO THIS INCIDENT TODAY, PLEASE RECORD ANY DAMAGES AND LOSS. I WILL TAKE ALL RESPONSIBILITY WITHOUT FAIL!"
Then, he turned to Feng Xin and Mu Qing. "Save the child first. Take Qi Rong away, and don't let him continue havoc outside."
Finishing his instructions, Xie Lian ran towards the palace with the child in his arms. Feng Xin received the command, his expression back to normal, and picked up the raging Qi Rong before following after Xie Lian. The soldiers guarding the palace gates thought it was strange to see the Crown Prince racing back having only left but a short while ago, but naturally they wouldn't stop him. Thus, Xie Lian ran straight to the medical pavilion and entered the infirmary, leaving Feng Xin and Mu Qing outside the door with Qi Rong under arrest.
The Crown Prince rarely returned to the palace and rarely made demands, so the imperial doctors naturally rushed over speedily.
Xie Lian placed that young child in a chair and said, "Thanks in advance, everyone. This child was beaten by a number of adults, got stuffed into a gunny sack, and dragged on the roads. Please check for me if there are any head injuries first, that's the most important thing."
The imperial medical team had never seen a royal or a noble bring a dirty wild babe for them to heal before, but they also knew they needed to do whatever they were told to, and they all acknowledged Xie Lian's direction.
One of them spoke, "Put your hands down first, little kid."
However, although that young child was docile in Xie Lian's arms the whole time, he started struggling then and firmly covered the right side of his face, refusing to let go no matter what. No matter how skilled the imperial doctors were, if the patient didn't cooperate there wasn't anything they could do. The doctors looked to Xie Lian.
"Your Highness, how...?"
Xie Lian raised a hand. "He's probably afraid of strangers. Don't worry, let me."
That child was sitting in a chair and Xie Lian couldn't meet his eyes, so he bent forward and inclined his head.
"What's your name?"
The large eye of that child stared at him intently, his obsidian- black pupil reflected a snow-white silhouette. This gaze, if it must be described, was exactly like Feng Xin had said—"possessed by the devil"—and shouldn't be the gaze of a child.
It was for a moment before the child lowered his head.
"...Hong¹..."
His voice was tiny and soft; mumbled, as if he didn't want to say it, as if he was a little embarrassed. Xie Lian only sort of heard the word "Hong" and asked again,
"How old are you?"
"Ten," that child replied.
Xie Lian was only asking offhandedly, hoping to lower his guard, but hearing that he responded with "ten", he was startled. He thought, "I thought he was only seven or eight, but he's ten? This child is truly weak and emaciated."
After a pause, Xie Lian smiled softly. "The doctors will see to your wounds now, don't be afraid and lower your hands, okay?"
That child heard, but hesitantly shook his head.
"Why not?" Xie Lian asked.
He was silent for a while before replying, "Ugly."
His response was just the one word, and no matter how Xie Lian soothed, he refused to remove his hands. Xie Lian promised that he wouldn't think him ugly, that he wouldn't look; turning around wouldn't do either. Such a young age, but such obstinance. Without much choice, the imperial doctors could only ask him a few questions, have him recognize a number of fingers, make sure he didn't feel faint or have any headaches, make sure he understood what he saw and what he thought, then tend to his physical wounds.
As the imperial doctors worked, they became more and more awed. Xie Lian guarded on the side, and hearing their sounds of wonder, he asked, "How is he, everyone?"
One of the imperial doctors couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, did this little kid really get beaten and dragged on the roads in a gunny sack?"
Xie Lian was speechless. "Why should that be false?"
The imperial doctor replied, "If that really was the case, then...amazing. I have never seen anyone so tenacious. He has five broken ribs and a broken leg, a number of injuries big and small. Even with all of that added together, he remains conscious and converses while sitting up. Even adults would find this difficult to do, nevermind a ten year old child?"
Hearing how severe the injuries were, Xie Lian became even more furious at Qi Rong. He looked at that child and saw that he was sitting there on that chair as if he felt no pain, and was peeking at him with that large black left eye. When he noticed he was caught staring by Xie Lian, he immediately turned his head away.
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Translator Notes:
¹Hong is the word for "red"