Chapter 210: The Trump Card Appeared
Chapter 210: The Trump Card Appeared
Fang… Ji… Fan…
These three words seemed to have a magical power.
Imperial Physician Huang looked shocked, and then… his expression became complicated.
He did not say a word.
Imperial Physicians were not like the eunuchs in the palace. Eunuchs had no family or friends and had little connection with the outside world.
Although Imperial Physicians served in the palace, they had social ties.
So…
He was more worried about being ambushed on the street.
Or having his house suddenly catch fire.
Or having his door smeared with feces.
Of course, as a doctor dedicated to healing the world with medicine, he would not give in because of such trivial matters. That would not fit the saying of a doctor’s benevolent heart.
What Imperial Physician Huang feared more was his entire family being kidnapped to a rundown City God Temple outside the city, where, by mishap, he might lose that part of himself. Wouldn’t that be terrible?
Well, Imperial Physician Huang still chickened out.
He immediately picked up his medicine box, quickly bowed to Fang Jifan, and said, “My apologies, my apologies.”
The other Imperial Physicians, sensing the situation, also quietly took their leave without a word.
Being invincible… was truly lonely.
Fang Jifan sighed inwardly.
That scoundrel of a prodigal son had unexpectedly left him a precious life lesson, something even he himself would never have imagined.
Well, now it was time to focus and start treating the illness.
So Fang Jifan slowly approached the bed.
He lowered his head and looked steadily. Emperor Hongzhi appeared weak, with poor spirits and a pale face.
Fang Jifan saluted and said, “Your Majesty, how are you?”
“…”
Fang Jifan continued, “I have brought a gift for Your Majesty.”
Emperor Hongzhi finally let out a weak voice, “You may leave.”
His voice was cold and detached.
This time, he had been hit too hard.
It felt as if life had lost all hope.
But Fang Jifan did not leave.
I, Fang Jifan, am defying the imperial decree. Hmph, what can you do about it?
Of course, Fang Jifan did not show any arrogance on his face.
Fang Jifan smiled and said, “After I present the gift, I will naturally take my leave.”
Without waiting for Emperor Hongzhi’s next words, he directly pulled out a stack of… letters from his sleeve.
Letters?
But… Emperor Hongzhi’s eyes remained dull, clearly showing no interest in anything Fang Jifan had.
Fang Jifan merely smiled, took out one of the letters, waved it, and said, “Does Your Majesty want to see it?”
“Leave!”
This time, his voice was sterner.
Fang Jifan’s next move was to reluctantly open the letter and say, “If Your Majesty does not want to see it, then I will read it aloud.”
“…” Emperor Hongzhi was, after all, kind-hearted, so at least Fang Jifan did not have to worry about being castrated.
Fang Jifan acted quite boldly, opening the letter and then reading aloud, “Emperor: OOXX…”
“…” Emperor Hongzhi felt he was going mad.
OOXX?
What did that mean?
Fang Jifan felt embarrassed and said, “That’s what’s written in the letter… I think the OOXX must be because the writer didn’t know how to write. Probably, it means ‘May Your Majesty be well’ or ‘Long Live the Emperor’.”
Fang Jifan’s face turned slightly red as he stammered to explain.
Emperor Hongzhi responded with a cold sneer.
Fang Jifan continued, “How are you?”
“…” Emperor Hongzhi remained silent!
“If the Emperor is sick, you must pay attention to XXOO… Uh… Your Majesty, I think this XXOO must mean to take good care of the imperial body…”
“I, Zhang Xiaohu, sometimes get sick too, but when I’m sick, I want to eat steamed buns. Steamed buns are very tasty, very XXX… Your Majesty, you should also eat more steamed buns, and you will get better.”
Emperor Hongzhi’s expression turned extremely strange.
It was as if he were possessed by a ghost.
After finishing the first letter!
Fang Jifan put the letter away and said with a smile, “Your Majesty, these letters were written by the children from Western Hills after hearing that Your Majesty was unwell. Like me, they are just children, so their letters may contain some nonsense. Your Majesty… would you like to hear more?”
Emperor Hongzhi squinted, looking at Fang Jifan with a complicated expression.
Children…
From Western Hills?
A group of children…
This time, he did not tell Fang Jifan to leave.
In the silence, Fang Jifan had already taken out the second letter and began reading, “Emperor, I know you are sick. When you’re sick, you need to take medicine… I’m afraid of taking medicine, but if Your Majesty recovers, please help me. Xu Jie bullies me every day, calls me ugly. So what if I’m ugly? Don’t mock a young person for being ugly. Your Majesty must punish such a villain and stand up for me…”
“…” Uh, Emperor Hongzhi felt like dying.
What was all this…
But…
At least, Emperor Hongzhi began to listen carefully.
He was a person who had never known what fun was, but these children… inexplicably made him feel quite amused.
Of course… what mattered was not just their innocence.
But… children speak without restraint. Such candid words could only come from these children.
In truth, when Zhu Houzhao was young, he had also done many amusing things. But in Emperor Hongzhi’s eyes, Zhu Houzhao had been the Crown Prince, the Heir Apparent, from birth. So Emperor Hongzhi had placed too many expectations on him, and gradually, his view of Zhu Houzhao became mostly strict.
As for these childish words…
He admitted that in his over ten years as the Son of Heaven, no one had ever truly evaluated him like this.
Emperor Hongzhi was a very clever man. How could he not know that the flatterers around him, like Fang Jifan, were insincere in their praises? Although he had seen through the nature of these flatterers before, he still had some confidence.
He believed… that he had governed diligently, and the world had entered an era of peace and prosperity, though not as exaggerated as what those flatterers said.
But only after encountering many people like Wang San did his previous beliefs begin to crumble, plunging him into deep depression.
And now…
Fang Jifan continued reading aloud: “They all say the Emperor is a good ruler who cares about the people’s suffering, so please let the Emperor recover quickly. My father said if the Emperor is wise and virtuous, we can have rice to eat every day…”
“This one is good, has potential,” Fang Jifan commented after finishing the letter. The second letter had fewer scribbles and was more logically structured, showing it was written by a studious child.
“…”
Emperor Hongzhi felt a slight stir in his heart. That phrase—”if the Emperor is wise and virtuous, we can have rice to eat every day”—lingered in his mind for a long time.
In the world of children, it wasn’t so different from Wang San and others. It was just… they were more sincere and direct.
The so-called prayers for a Sage Monarch to appear weren’t really about hoping for peace in the world—they were simply about not going to bed hungry.
Emperor Hongzhi’s eyes reddened again.
Fang Jifan, however, kept smiling cheerfully at Emperor Hongzhi.
In Emperor Hongzhi’s eyes, that expression seemed utterly shameless.
Fang Jifan said, “Your Majesty, would you like to hear more?”
Emperor Hongzhi didn’t respond, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Fang Jifan shivered and decided not to push his luck. He quickly took out the third letter.
As he read the third letter, Fang Jifan’s eyes widened. After a pause, he forced out, “Scribble scribble, scribble scribble scribble scribble…”
“…” Which brat wrote this?
Fang Jifan gritted his teeth in frustration, quickly skipped over the countless scribbles, and went straight to the signature at the end.
The final signature shocked Fang Jifan—it was still three characters: scribble scribble…
“Heh…” Fang Jifan gave a dry laugh, inwardly seething. A scoundrel like this, what’s the point of studying? In the world I, Fang, came from, someone like him would have been zapped by Teacher Yang Xxin.
Taking a deep breath, Fang Jifan pulled out the fourth letter, all the while stealing a glance at Emperor Hongzhi.
Emperor Hongzhi was a tolerant emperor, but he was also deeply perceptive.
Because of this, Fang Jifan hadn’t falsified anything. He hadn’t selected the letters but had gone straight to the school and told the students to write a letter as if the Emperor were ill.
After they finished writing, he collected them without even looking, because any selection would leave traces.
What he wanted to show Emperor Hongzhi was the most genuine work of the students.
Because in this world, nothing is more moving than the truth.
No matter how flashy a fake might be, it lacks vitality.
Just like Fang Jifan’s noble character, standing tall like a pine tree, his most genuine quality was his authenticity.
Emperor Hongzhi’s gaze shifted from vacant to gradually intense. He remained perfectly still, as if listening intently.
Fang Jifan also focused his attention on the fourth letter. This one carried an air of unbridled confidence; even before reading it, Fang Jifan could feel its domineering aura.
Fang Jifan shuddered, and his voice unconsciously rose: “So you’re the Emperor? My name is Xu Jie, blah blah… As the Emperor, you must be troubled by border issues, right? No worries. If you appoint me as a general, I’ll bring back victory in three days. My name is Xu Jie—Xu as in Xu Jie, Jie as in Xu Jie. Remember it well. If you forget my name, you’ll regret it for life.”
Fang Jifan blushed.
Please, have some shame!
“Ahem…” Emperor Hongzhi coughed.
Startled, Fang Jifan quickly dropped the letter, helped Emperor Hongzhi sit up from the bed, and gently patted his back.
“Your Majesty… this, this Xu Jie has nothing to do with me. I don’t even know him,” Fang Jifan hurriedly explained.
Emperor Hongzhi closed his eyes, sat on the bed leaning against a soft cushion, his face flushed red. Finally, he weakly spat out a single word: “Read!”
“Still read?” Fang Jifan began to feel nervous.
He had only thought about children’s innocent honesty, about using the world’s most sincere feelings to move the Son of Heaven.
But what were these students writing?
Taking a deep breath, Fang Jifan said uncertainly, “Your Majesty, I’ll read it now, but they really have nothing to do with me… I…”
“Keep reading…”
Emperor Hongzhi’s tone intensified. Though he seemed utterly exhausted…
He wanted to hear more.