Chapter 17: A dark future
He was pinched again by the old cow.
The old man said that whoever’s feet he wanted, he would chop them off and give them to his son. Mrs. Niu, who had kind eyes and a kind face, was also eager to try it. In a hurry, she took an axe for the old man and kept asking if he wanted to be fully dressed.
It was only with difficulty that they stopped the two madmen. The calf’s eyes were red, and even if he were to be asked to chop someone’s foot off in the middle of Zhuque Street, he would do it without hesitation. He wouldn’t even feel sorry for the person he was chopping off.
“Uncle Niu’s chopped off foot is useless, only little nephew can make one for brother Jianhu to put on.”
The bad thing is this sentence. Yun Ye would have the urge to hit his head against the wall when he remembered this. Old Niu heard this sentence and grabbed Yun Ye’s arm and shook it hard. Niu Jianhu was still hugging his legs on the ground and wouldn’t let him run. If Mrs. Niu hadn’t seen Yun Ye’s painful expression, it wouldn’t be surprising if his arm was broken.
When he went, he was dressed in fresh clothes and rode a horse, but when he came back, he was carried back in a cart. This was going to kill the old lady. Seeing her grandson’s arms turn black and purple and cry and faint twice, the little girls kept crying, and Xiaobei even kicked the old cow twice.
Old Niu was embarrassed, rubbing his hands and standing in the courtyard without saying a word. Mrs. Niu kept apologizing to the old lady, and Yun Ye also said that it was fine, that a little injury would not damage the bones and muscles, and that it would be fine in a few days. It was only after much persuasion that the old lady was persuaded not to faint.
“Uncle Niu, my nephew’s hands won’t be able to move for a while, so we’ll have to wait a bit before we can make the foot for Brother Jianhu. This is something that no one else can do, so only my nephew can do it. As soon as my nephew’s arm is better, we’ll get started. Don’t worry, in a few days we’ll give you a lively Niu Jianhu.”
Old Niu’s mouth trembled, and his eyes were red as he tried to come up and pat Yun Ye’s shoulder, but he was stopped by Mrs. Niu: “If it weren’t for your lack of attention, Yun Geer would not be lying in bed, and he would have already made Tiger’s feet. If anything happens to Yun Geer, I will not let you go, my poor son, how could you have such a father!
This remark is ambiguous. I call Lao Niu “Uncle” and not “Dad.” Yun Ye thought with extreme depression.
Lao Niu stamped his feet and said, “I’m going to the palace to ask His Majesty to let the old palace priest come out and use the fastest method to cure Xiao Ye.” After that, he ran away.
Yun Ye comforted Mrs. Niu: “Auntie, don’t worry. It will take more than a day or two to fix Tiger’s leg. First, we need to prepare the materials and carefully measure Tiger’s leg. This is all meticulous work. Tiger’s left leg is gone, and he usually uses his right leg to exert force, which causes a difference in the strength of the two legs. legs are different. During the days when your nephew is recovering, you should urge him to use his left leg more. I will draw a picture for you to make a pair of crutches. Ask him to walk more, and tie a two-catty sandbag to his left leg to prevent uneven force.
Mrs. Niu repeated the instructions twice, and when she saw Yun Ye draw the diagram with a brush in his mouth, she took the sketch and thanked her profusely before going back to make a crutch for her son.
As soon as Mrs. Niu left, the house was like a weasel’s chicken coop, in a complete mess. The aunt looked at Yun Ye’s arm and shed a few tears, cursing Lao Niu for being so cruel. The aunt carefully touched Yun Ye’s bruised arm and cried out in pain. If Yun Ye had not been fifteen years old, she would have hugged him and fed him milk.
Yun Ye enjoyed the treatment very much. The shrill voices of the women in the family had never sounded so appealing. With a piece of maltose in his mouth, Xiao Xi and Xiao Bei carefully blew on his arm, as if doing so would alleviate the pain. The old grandmother shed tears at the sight of Yun Ye, and she didn’t know where they came from. In short, he was in pain and happy.
Li Er heard Lao Niu say that Yun Ye was going to make a leg for Lao Niu’s son, and he spat out a mouthful of tea. The eunuch combed Li Er’s back, and he was so busy that he coughed for a long time before he recovered.
He had just given Lao Qin a blood transfusion to prolong his life, and now he was going to give Niu Jianhu a new limb. What kind of skill was this? In the myth, the immortal Taoyi was able to use lotus roots to recreate the body of Nezha and allow him to be reborn. Could it be that this kid Yun Ye also had this kind of skill? This aroused Li Er’s strong curiosity. Although he warned himself in his heart that using human life to test the authenticity of Yun Ye’s words was already out of line, no other emperor had done this except King Yin Zhou, and the news had to be blocked so that the ministers would not know. But the strong curiosity in his heart still could not be suppressed.
When he heard Lao Niu say that he wanted to invite several old imperial doctors who had never left the palace to treat people, he asked, “According to my observation, the medical skills of the Marquis of Lantian are not inferior to any famous doctor of the day. Why do you seek the distant when you could seek the nearby?”
Lao Niu was embarrassed and quickly told Li Er about how he had accidentally hurt Yun Ye, which made Li Er laugh and laugh. He ordered the eunuch to go to the shrine and ask the old priest to make a house call. He dragged Lao Niu to the back hall and invited the empress to come out. The two of them talked to Lao Niu about Yun Ye.
In the Tang Dynasty, the concubines in the harem did not meet with officials, except for the empress. She ruled the harem and the imperial household, and all the noble ladies respected her. If Li Er was a golden dragon in Chang’an, then the empress, Changsun, was the golden phoenix of wealth and splendor.
“I heard that the son of the Marquis of Langya is expected to recover from his leg injury. Is that true?” As soon as she arrived, she asked Lao Niu to confirm the authenticity of the incident.
When the subject was brought up, Lao Niu’s face lit up with joy: “Your Majesty, it is true. Today, the Marquis of Lantian came to visit me at my residence and saw that my son’s leg was injured and difficult to walk on, so he examined it. He said that since the knee was fine, he was confident that he could make a leg for the boy, and that after it was attached, he would be able to walk, sit, and lie down like a normal person. The old minister was so excited that he pinched the arms of the Lord of Lantian. He was really sorry for the boy. This was the second time the old minister had pinched him. The boy was kind-hearted and did not hold a grudge. He could not move his arms, but he was still concerned about the boy’s injured leg and comforted the old minister. This really made the old minister both grateful and ashamed.
“So this means that this matter is true?” Empress Changsun once again confirmed.
“Absolutely true, I have no doubt!” Lao Niu was sure of it.
“What do you think of the Blue Field Marquis? What do you think of White Jade Capital?” Li Er interjected.
“Baiyu Jing is a place of mystery, and even Lantian Hou can’t say for sure. He can only judge from his master’s words and deeds that it must be a place that ordinary people can’t know. Perhaps there are people who can get a glimpse of it, such as the bearded guest. This old minister and Li Jing have been friends for a long time, but I’ve never heard him mention it. How did Lantian Hou know about it? It can be seen that he has indeed met this person. By extension, I think that White Jade Capital may really exist, but we mortals cannot reach it. As for Lord Lantian, my verdict is that he is a good boy and a true disciple of a great man.
“How can you tell?”
“I have seen many evil people, but Yun Ye is definitely not one of them. I dare to guarantee with my life. In the old minister’s opinion, being able to tell the court that there will be a major disaster next year is enough to prove that the child’s heart is pure. Even if he has some petty thoughts, it is because of his nature. He is a young man who is spoiled by his master and cannot bear to be wronged. He is a bit proud, but that’s okay. It is because of these flaws that the old minister likes this child even more.”
As he watched Niu Jinda leave, Li Er thought to himself. His eldest daughter, Yanyan, smiled and said to Li Er, “Brother, we may have asked the wrong person. The Marquis of Langya has received great kindness from the Marquis of Lantian, so of course he won’t say anything bad about him.”
“Your Majesty! From the tone of your voice, I find that you don’t even suspect that Yun Ye can make human feet. Why?”
“Brother, you are a persistent person who won’t give up until you get what you want. Since he entered the world, everything he has done has been unexpected. The Marquis of Lantian has repeatedly exceeded your expectations, making you think that he is a character that even you cannot control, and naturally he is suspicious everywhere. Just now, I realized that Lantian Hou is not someone that our Tang Dynasty can educate. His behavior is very different from that of ordinary young people in our Tang Dynasty. His thoughts and concerns are really strange, but they also conform to the laws of nature. I admire his teacher very much. What kind of great talent can educate such a child? But it doesn’t matter. Isn’t he going to enter the palace in a few years? Leave him to me. I don’t believe he can escape from our grasp. As Changsun said this, he gritted his teeth. Seeing the queen’s expression, Li Er couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Only Yun Ye, who was covered in a thick quilt, sneezed violently and shivered. The old lady thought that her grandson had caught a cold and added a thick fur blanket.