Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Who Sat on Me? Just as Xie Changheng was deep in thought, a carrier pigeon flew in through the window and landed on Yingzhu’s hand. After reading the note the pigeon had brought, his expression changed dramatically. “Prince, word has arrived from the residence that the Young Heir is gravely ill. Please return at once to take charge of the situation.” Xie Changheng’s brows and eyes tightened, and his expression grew much graver. His eldest son, Xie Yao, had already been designated the Heir. He was seven years old, yet he had been bedridden with illness for six years. For the past six months, Xie Yao had been unconscious. Xie Changheng had summoned countless imperial physicians and traveling doctors, but none had been able to cure his illness. He had been away from the capital for barely half a month, and Yao’er had already become gravely ill? Huayu secretly gnawed on a chicken leg, vaguely understanding their conversation. “Big Brother’s sick?” “Daddy, take me back with you. I can treat people now!” The black aura surrounding Xie Changheng was so dense that it was hard to say whether it might spread to his family. Huayu guessed that the illness of this cheap older brother of hers might very well have been caused by her father’s affliction. Since she could eat her father’s black aura, she could eat her brother’s too. Hee-hee, she had really found herself a good father. She wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry anymore! Xie Changheng’s throat tightened painfully. He glanced at Huayu in his arms, then lifted her into the carriage and set off back to the capital. It was a desperate attempt, but perhaps Huayu’s arrival really could bring new life to the Prince’s Residence. The Young Heir’s grave illness was a major matter. They traveled day and night, and two days later, the carriage arrived in the capital. Xie Changheng was the first to get out of the carriage. With an anxious expression, he hurried into the residence. Huayu was still behind him, sticking out her little bottom as she struggled to climb down from the carriage. When she turned around, a magnificent and imposing Prince’s Residence stood before her. Good heavens, it was much larger than Xuanzhen Temple, where she had lived for four years. But Huayu had no mind to marvel at the grandeur of her new home. At a glance, she saw the thick black aura enveloping it, almost reaching the heavens. Her father really was something. He had managed to stain such a huge residence with black aura! Huayu released the little green snake from her sleeve, and it landed on the ground. “Xiaohong, go inside and investigate first. Come back and tell me right away if you find out anything.” The little green snake nodded and slipped into the Prince’s Residence along the front steps. Huayu hurriedly moved her short little legs and ran after Xie Changheng into the house. Xie Yao’s room was packed with people. A woman sat at the head of the bed, crying as though her heart were breaking. There was little black aura clinging to her, but her face was pale and her body weak. Beside the bed were two children, a boy and a girl. The boy sat in a wheelchair. The girl, however, appeared healthy and showed no signs of illness. “Prince, our Yao’er… he won’t make it!” The moment Xie Changheng returned, Wen Xiuzhu threw herself into his arms and wept until she fainted several times. He wouldn’t make it? Xie Changheng’s mind went “boom,” and he felt as though heaven and earth had been turned upside down. When he had left home, Xie Yao had still been unconscious, but the imperial physician had examined his pulse and determined it was steady, with no danger to his life. Yet in just a few short days, how had things reached the point where he would not survive? The imperial physicians and doctors kneeling below filled the floor, their faces full of fear. “Please forgive us, Prince. The Young Heir has been bedridden for many years, and his life force is truly exhausted.” “Judging from his pulse, he likely has only a few days left. We ask that Your Highness make arrangements early.” Upon hearing this, Xie Changheng’s steps staggered, and he and his wife nearly collapsed. The boy in the wheelchair did not cry out, but his fists were clenched tightly, and his eyes were so red they seemed to bleed. The girl threw herself onto Xie Yao and sobbed uncontrollably. “Eldest Brother, don’t go! Didn’t you like Minmin the most?” “The Imperial Preceptor said that Minmin is the house-protecting divine beast of the Prince’s Residence. From now on, Minmin will stay with Eldest Brother. You’ll definitely get better.” The room was filled with heart-rending sobs. Behind everyone, Huayu was hopping anxiously, jumping as high as she could in an attempt to see what was happening inside. Oh dear, there were so many people blocking the way that she couldn’t see anything. She tucked away the bone fragment she had gnawed on during the journey, then squeezed between everyone’s bottoms and made her way to the bedside. She stared carefully at Xie Yao. Green. Unlike the black aura surrounding Xie Changheng, the aura swirling around Xie Yao was an utterly incongruous green. The black aura came from bad luck descending from the heavens. But this green aura was the work of human-applied Curses. Her cheap Eldest Brother wasn’t sick at all. He had been cursed! Huayu knitted her little brows, climbed up along the edge of the bed, and sat directly on Xie Yao. Xie Min was sobbing so hard she was shuddering. When she looked up, she saw a girl about her age sitting on her Eldest Brother. “Who are you? Eldest Brother is gravely ill—how dare you bully him like this? Get down at once!” Xie Min urged her to move, but Huayu paid no attention. She reached into her clothes with her little hands and rummaged around. Xie Min had been about to pull Huayu down herself, but Xie Changheng stopped her. His eyes were damp and red, and he was utterly heartbroken over the prospect of his eldest son dying young. But now, he could only place his hopes in Huayu. With her here, he was no longer unlucky. Would that mean Yao’er could be saved too? After searching for a long while, Huayu took a longevity lock^[1] from around her neck. Its color had grown dull. Her Master had said that she had been wearing it when she was found. The longevity lock was a spiritual artifact. After Huayu had worn it for four years and infused it with golden light, it had grown even more powerful. It had never found a use, however, and by now its color had long since faded. Huayu carefully placed the longevity lock over Xie Yao’s heart and patted it gently. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Put on the longevity lock, and you’ll live to be a hundred!” With every pat from Huayu, the green aura around Xie Yao visibly diminished, strand by strand burrowing into the longevity lock. The longevity lock, whose luster had originally been dim, gradually regained a faint glow. Wen Xiuzhu glanced over, and her tears flowed even more freely. She did not know where this child had come from, but she could guess that the girl meant well. Yet for the sake of Yao’er’s illness, she had tried so many longevity locks over the years, and none of them had been able to suppress it. Now a little child had brought a tattered longevity lock. What use could it possibly be? On the wheelchair, Xie Qing clenched both fists and glared at little Huayu on the bed, gnashing his teeth. “Why haven’t you pulled her off my Eldest Brother yet?” “How dare she disrespect my Eldest Brother? Execute her immediately!” Though Xie Qing was young, his gaze was frighteningly cold and sinister. He did not care where this little girl had come from. Anyone who dared disrespect his Eldest Brother had only one path left—death! But Xie Changheng had not spoken, so no one in the room truly dared pull Huayu away. Xie Qing and Xie Min exchanged a glance. Each of them grabbed one of Huayu’s arms and began to pull, intending to drag her down. “Don’t pull me!” “Hey, he’s waking up—he’s waking up—” The boy who had lain unconscious on the bed for half a year suddenly began to tremble faintly beneath his eyelids. With both hands being tugged, Huayu pursed her little lips and tried her hardest to tell everyone to look at Xie Yao. The next moment, Xie Yao really did open his eyes as though by a miracle. He exhaled a long breath of foul air, feeling as though the filth that had accumulated in his internal organs had been cleansed considerably. “Royal Father, Mother…” “Who sat on me?”