My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 58

After receiving a letter from Wuqing, Zhuge Zhengwo returned to the Divine Marquis Mansion the next day.

While the household of the Divine Marquis Mansion didn’t know the identity of “Master Wang,” Zhuge Zhengwo did.

In earlier years, he had met Wang Lianhua a few times and established some acquaintance. Although Wang Lianhua’s uninvited appearance at the Divine Marquis Mansion wasn’t prearranged, having Wang Lianhua stay at the Divine Marquis Mansion could be considered a good thing for the capital.

After all, on his own territory, Zhuge Zhengwo could at least keep an eye on this figure who had once turned the world upside down before later reforming and returning to righteousness.

Of course, he also harbored some personal hopes of persuading Wang Lianhua to treat Wuqing, but unexpectedly, that Doctor Yan turned out to be Wang Lianhua’s disciple, which was truly…

“Doctor Yan, this old man heard from Yayu that you seem to have something to entrust to the Divine Marquis Mansion?” Zhuge Zhengwo asked.

Yan Hongyin curled her lips into a smile and slowly began, “This Princess has troubled the Divine Marquis with my marriage arrangements for days, and should not burden the Divine Marquis further. However, this matter is of great importance and only the Divine Marquis Mansion can help. As the timing coincidentally aligns with the maturation of the Golden Silk Intertwining Grass, this Princess has shamelessly come to impose upon you.”

Zhuge Zhengwo’s pupils suddenly contracted as countless previously scattered clues connected in his mind, leading to a conclusion that made even this powerful Divine Marquis, who wielded great authority in court, feel a constriction in his throat.

He had recently learned, by imperial decree while on escort duty, that Princess Qu Ya was the commander of the Jinyiwei’s Dark Division.

He was also aware that the chosen prince consort for Princess Qu Ya’s marriage was the Luocha Sect Leader, the descendant of Loulan known as Yu Luocha. But… Zhuge Zhengwo never imagined that these two seemingly unrelated identities would turn out to belong to the same person as Doctor Yan, who had formed ties with the Divine Marquis Mansion years ago!

“Your Excellency…Your Excellency have truly presented this old man with a great dilemma,” Zhuge Zhengwo said with a bitter smile, shaking his head.

Now that he knew Yan Hongyin’s identity, he still had to help conceal it, because he couldn’t let the emperor know that the Zhuge Divine Marquis Mansion had connections with the Jinyiwei Commander. Otherwise, under the emperor’s suspicion, no one could predict what changes might occur.

“The Divine Marquis serves the country and its people wholeheartedly, and I certainly won’t deliberately make things difficult for the Divine Marquis,” Yan Hongyin changed her form of address, adopting a humble attitude. “My visit is purely for personal reasons and doesn’t involve court politics. Please rest assured, Divine Marquis.”

How could Zhuge Zhengwo rest assured? He didn’t want to know this inside information at all.

Connecting Wuqing’s letter about this person’s master-disciple relationship with Wang Lianhua, certain rumors about the Imperial Consort Li not being favored also entered Zhuge Zhengwo’s mind.

“Please speak directly,” Zhuge Zhengwo raised his hand to stroke his white beard, suppressing the emotions in his eyes.

A gleam flashed in Yan Hongyin’s eyes. “I want to use the Divine Marquis Mansion as a mouthpiece to spread the news that Princess Qu Ya is actually the famous physician Yan Hongyin.”

Zhuge Zhengwo remained silent.

He didn’t want to agree to this, didn’t want to get involved in whatever Yan Hongyin was plotting.

Yan Hongyin wasn’t in a hurry either, just waiting for Zhuge Zhengwo to respond.

After a long silence, Zhuge Zhengwo slowly spoke, “The Jinyiwei’s dark envoys are spread throughout the land, making it much more convenient and discreet to spread information than the Divine Marquis Mansion. Why would you go the long way around?”

“Naturally because the Jinyiwei’s relationship with the jianghu cannot compare to the Divine Marquis Mansion’s reputation in the jianghu.”

Zhuge Zhengwo was momentarily taken aback.

So Yan Hongyin wanted this news to spread from within the jianghu?

“The Divine Marquis overthinks. As I said earlier, this is only for personal reasons, unrelated to court affairs,” Yan Hongyin smiled. “The struggle for succession in court is nearing its end, and neither the Princess nor the Jinyiwei will be involved. I merely wish to use the reputation of the physician Yan Hongyin to offer some protection to my spouse.”

Spouse…?

It truly took Zhuge Zhengwo a while to react, before recalling that night in His Majesty’s bedchamber when this Jinyiwei Commander had referred to the Luocha Sect Leader as “spouse.”

–What in the world was going on?

The old man couldn’t keep up with the young people’s games and felt only a headache.

Seeing this, Yan Hongyin administered a stronger remedy. “Previously, I examined Constable Wuqing’s body. While the Golden Silk Intertwining Grass can neutralize the poison, it offers no improvement for Constable Wuqing’s legs. However, yesterday my master mentioned that he has a way to help Constable Wuqing stand on his legs again.”

Zhuge Zhengwo suddenly looked up. “Is this true?!”

Yan Hongyin replied, “However, Constable Wuqing’s legs have been afflicted for too long. Even with both my master and myself treating him, he would only be able to stand and walk without external support for short periods. He cannot completely return to normal.”

“…That is already enough.”

Zhuge Zhengwo murmured with a complex expression.

Among his four disciples, Wuqing was his first and the one in whom he had invested the most effort, treating him almost like his own child over the years.

With Yan Hongyin placing such a bargaining chip before him, it was impossible to say it wasn’t tempting.

“The Divine Marquis should understand that, compared to the Divine Marquis, I am even more unwilling for His Majesty to learn of our connection.”

…

When summoned by his uncle to be told that Doctor Yan and Master Wang would jointly treat his legs, Wuqing didn’t show much reaction.

The toxins sealed in his legs over these years had remained relatively dormant, apart from making him more prone to illness, and hadn’t greatly affected him.

But when Doctor Yan reached out to examine his legs, and after conversing briefly with Master Wang, announced that they could be treated, a thunderous sound filled Wuqing’s ears, and all surrounding sounds became muffled.

He gripped the armrests of his wheelchair tightly, suddenly looking at Zhuge Zhengwo standing to the side, his eyes filled with disbelieving shock.

Standing beside his senior disciple, Zhuge Zhengwo imperceptibly patted Wuqing’s arm, his gaze reassuring.

“However, the treatment process will be somewhat painful,” Yan Hongyin said. “Constable Wuqing’s leg meridians are severely blocked, and the bones have fused abnormally. For treatment, they must be broken again to regrow and reconnect properly.”

It must be said that there was still a gap between her medical skills and Wang Lianhua’s.

Years ago, she had examined Wuqing’s legs, but due to the poison, she had concluded that the legs were completely dead and could not be revitalized. But under Wang Lianhua’s careful guidance, Yan Hongyin had managed to find a breakthrough in what seemed to be a dead end.

However, she instinctively didn’t want to ask how Wang Lianhua had come to understand the regeneration of human meridians so thoroughly.

And Wang Lianhua had no intention of explaining in detail.

His daughter was now the head of the Jinyiwei after all. Telling her about his past of breaking people’s limbs to study medicine would obviously damage their father-daughter relationship.

Xiao Yin’er only needed to know that her father was very skilled, that was enough.

Wang Lianhua stood to the side with his hands folded, his expression showing the scholarly grace that matched his appearance.

Wuqing pressed his lips together and said softly, “Doctor Yan, my legs lost all sensation many years ago.”

Even if someone were to cut them off with a knife now, he wouldn’t feel any pain.

Yan Hongyin looked at him and said, “After the toxin is removed, the meridians numbed and blocked by the poison will regain some sensation. Then we will condition your body until your legs recover to a certain extent before proceeding with the next steps.”

In other words, the process of breaking and regrowing could only be done when Wuqing could clearly feel pain and provide feedback on the sensations in his legs to the physicians.

Wuqing’s eyes trembled, his fingers gripping the armrests until they nearly turned white.

After just two breaths, he resolutely said, “Then I’ll trouble Doctor Yan and Master Wang.”

****

After beginning Wuqing’s treatment, Wang Lianhua moved into Yan Hongyin’s small courtyard from the adjacent one where he had been staying near Zhuge Zhengwo.

Ximen Chuixue was truly an excellent disciple to teach.

Talented, with exceptional physical qualities, his comprehension of swordsmanship surpassed ordinary people, and he possessed extraordinary self-discipline. At just ten years old, he could consistently practice boring basic sword techniques every day without ever giving up once.

This also gave Yan Hongyin more time to learn from Wang Lianhua.

Now that their identities were in the open, Wang Lianhua naturally didn’t hesitate to pass on all his knowledge to Yan Hongyin. He was a genius with an extremely diverse range of skills, but fortunately Yan Hongyin was also a genius who could quickly understand and even expand upon Wang Lianhua’s teachings no matter how obscure or complex they were.

This filled Wang Lianhua with pride while also giving him the satisfaction of having a worthy successor.

However, there were two areas where Yan Hongyin couldn’t inherit anything from Wang Lianhua.

The first was disguise.

Known as the Thousand-faced Gentleman, Wang Lianhua’s disguise skills were his most outstanding technique, but Yan Hongyin was extremely unsuited for this art.

It wasn’t that Yan Hongyin lacked aptitude; in fact, as a physician, she picked up disguise techniques more readily than others. The problem lay in her aura and eyes.

Yan Hongyin was like a blade, with her own unique curves and temperature. Even if she changed into countless flawless faces, those familiar with her could still recognize her from her eyes and demeanor.

Nevertheless, although Yan Hongyin couldn’t achieve a thousand faces for a thousand people, she could still disguise herself as someone with Western Region features or as a cold-faced hero.

As for the second point…

Wang Lianhua handed Yan Hongyin a small jar of wine. “Ah Yin, trust your father, alcohol tolerance is something that develops with practice!”

Yan Hongyin pushed the wine jar aside and continued studying the poison formula Wang Lianhua had written down two days ago, saying indifferently, “When I was seventeen, I drank two cups of strong wine every night for a month, and later nearly failed a mission due to being disoriented.”

Wang Lianhua: “…”

He didn’t understand.

Although he and Ah Yin’s mother couldn’t be considered impervious to alcohol, as jianghu wanderers they often engaged in drinking contests under the moonlight, and both had quite good tolerance.

How had Xiao Yin’er ended up being a three-cup lightweight?

Since discovering this weakness, after deliberately training to change it without success, Yan Hongyin had become very careful about how much she drank, never exceeding two cups regardless of the occasion.

As long as she didn’t reach the third cup, she could maintain her clarity.

Wang Lianhua thus abandoned the idea of building up Yan Hongyin’s alcohol tolerance and poured himself a drink instead, saying as he drank, “What does Ah Yin think about the dual cultivation technique?”

“If it doesn’t work, father can think of other methods.”

Wang Lianhua threw back another cup.

He naturally cared only about Yan Hongyin—whether Yu Luocha could break through or go mad and die was of no concern to him.

If Yu Luocha really did die, Wang Lianhua might even have to suppress his excitement at attending the funeral.

Yan Hongyin put down what she was holding, thought for a long while, and spoke, “Regarding the Mind Capturing Technique, I have some questions I’d like to ask you.”