The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 156

“Father is here. Father has been tricked. They will say that Father is a traitor, and soon there will be a memorial presented to the Emperor.”

As soon as Xia Guangcheng entered the door, he saw his mother sitting to one side holding Panpan, and Panpan even shouted out loud.

"Panpan."

"Father, you're in trouble."

Xia Guangcheng's eyebrows twitched. This was indeed a trap, and Ye Feng had seen through it very accurately.

But in order to save his mother and daughter, he knew there were tigers in the mountains, so he still went into the tiger's den.

"General Xia, how have you been?"

The other person spoke fluent Daxia language and looked like a Daxia person.

"May I ask your esteemed name? I never strike an unknown general."

"Hahaha, how could there be a fight? I went to great lengths to invite General Xia, including your mother and daughter. Come, come, I have prepared a small feast to welcome General Xia."

"No need for wine." Xia Guangcheng's heart skipped a beat when he heard him refer to himself as "this prince": "You are the Third Prince?"

The man paused for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

"I haven't appeared in the martial world for many years. I didn't expect that my legend still exists?"

"The Third Prince is quite capable."

Xia Guangcheng was convinced. He guessed that even the emperor probably didn't expect that his third brother was still alive and well.

The late emperor had six sons, but after much infighting, only the current emperor and the third prince remained at the crucial moment.

The two also fought each other, their open and covert struggles never ceasing.

One day, the Third Prince went to Huangjue Temple to offer incense and unexpectedly disappeared. Three days later, the late Emperor passed away, and the current Emperor naturally became the final victor and sat on the throne.

Everyone knew that the disappearance of the Third Prince was a setup.

Unexpectedly, many years later, the Third Prince was standing here safely.

This is the capital city, and he had already placed people in his mother's dowry estate to prepare for this day.

How terrifying must a person be to plan ahead?

Moreover, this is definitely not an exception, but the only one.

If he wasn't mistaken, the Third Prince had spies in the residences of all the officials, big and small, in the capital—what a terrifying arrangement.

"What does the Third Prince want with my mother and daughter?"

"Haha, General Xia is indeed a smart man, with the same spirit as the old General Xia. I like to deal with smart people."

"If I were smart, the Third Prince wouldn't be able to see me."

Carelessness! Not only were we careless, but the Emperor himself was also extremely careless.

Cut the weeds but don't kill the roots, they'll grow back in the spring breeze.

It seems the visitor is up to no good; those with good intentions don't come.

In that instant, Xia Guangcheng could almost conclude that the Third Prince was also behind the Consort's fake pregnancy.

Those who were executed were all loyal ministers, especially Physician Xiao, who was also implicated, all for the purpose of taking the life of the eldest prince.

One thing leads to another; the Emperor and Empress are still searching for the murderer in the inner palace, but the real culprit is here.

"Hahaha, it's not easy for me to see General Xia. He's a smart man." The Third Prince laughed heartily. "General Xia, how about we cooperate?"

Xia Guangcheng thought to himself, "How stupid am I to even talk to a traitor like me?"

"I know your General's Mansion is loyal to the orthodox lineage, but do you know what you're loyal to now?" The Third Prince's emotions surged instantly at the mention of the past: "Incredibly treacherous, they've committed countless atrocities, killing their brothers and fathers, all to seize that position..."

Xia Guangcheng watched his performance quietly. The winner takes all, and the loser is condemned. This guy probably suffered a lot back then, so he vented his anger. Does he think he's a good person?
There is no kinship in the imperial family, and serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. These are things that Xia Guangcheng had been told to him by his father since he was a child, and he was reminded of them every day.

There isn't a single good person in the royal family!
"General Xia, how about I offer you a position second only to the emperor?"

"It's nothing." Xia Guangcheng was too lazy to chat with him. "The Xia family will always be loyal to the Emperor in the Golden Palace."

"If you pledge your loyalty to him, will he trust you?"

Xia Guangcheng, thinking of the Emperor's suspicious nature, closed his eyes slightly.

This time, this stalemate is truly unbreakable.

"Alright, since General Xia is unwilling to cooperate with me, I will not force him." The Third Prince raised his wine cup: "Drink this cup, and I will let you take your mother and daughter back."

drink wine?

"Rest assured, there is no poison in the wine, and to show you my sincerity, I will absolutely not stop you from leaving."

Xia Guangcheng suddenly remembered what Panpan had said when he first entered the room.

He instantly understood the Third Prince's intention.

When his attempt to win him over failed, he framed him, and at that moment, a memorial impeaching him appeared on the emperor's desk.

So it seems he has quite a few people in the imperial court.

"What if I, the general, don't drink?"

"If you don't drink, it means I haven't treated my honored guest well. I'll have to trouble the general and his family to stay here for a while."

The meaning is clear: if you don't drink, you won't be allowed to leave; you'll have to stay too.

Xia Guangcheng looked around and could sense that there were about a dozen experts in the room, whose martial arts skills were no less than his own.

Indeed, the Third Prince is a man who values ​​his life so much, and he has been operating among the common people for so many years. How could he dare to appear without absolute certainty?

In other words, he no longer wants to hide it and is now openly confronting the current emperor.

Wherever he appears, there are masters, both openly and secretly.

Xia Guangcheng really wasn't confident he could win.

Most importantly, his elderly mother and daughter are in the other party's hands, and no one can afford to have any accidents happen to them.

Therefore, being stubborn really won't work.

"You'll let us go if we drink?"

"Of course, I keep my word, and my promise is as good as gold."

The person whose word is law may not believe him.

Fine, now that things have come to this, I'll take a gamble. I'll bet that the Third Prince is using a divisive tactic, not that he's going to take my life right now.

After all, he might still need to use himself someday.

Of course, she would never be disloyal for him; that would be absolutely impossible in the Xia family.

"General..." Ye Lin looked at him with some concern as he picked up the wine cup.

"It's alright," Xia Guangcheng said. "If anything happens to me, you just need to protect the old lady and the young lady and get them back. You don't need to worry about me."

"General..."

Under Ye Lin's worried gaze, Xia Guangcheng picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp. He then turned the glass upside down, leaving not a drop of wine.

"I told you, General Xia is a straightforward man, he will definitely drink this cup to the brim." The Third Prince clapped his hands and laughed: "See, my judgment is good, the cooperation with General Xia will definitely be very pleasant."

Xia Guangcheng knew he was being treacherous, but he had no choice but to fall into the trap in order to save his mother and daughter.

"I hope the Third Prince will keep his word."

"Alright, alright, let's leave it at that for today. Men, escort Madam Xia, General Xia, and Miss Xia out properly."

Even after the group safely walked out of the courtyard, Ye Lin still couldn't believe it. "General, are we really going to go back?"

They only let the general drink a cup of wine, and then let them go without fighting, killing, or losing a single soldier.
Ye Lin thought to himself that none of his previous plans had been used, and the person had been rescued. It was completely unpredictable and abnormal. It was really abnormal!
"Father, go back! Father, go to the palace and take Panpan to see the Emperor, Uncle." Panpan hugged Xia Guangcheng's neck: "Father will be scolded by the Emperor, Panpan will plead for Father."

Ye Lin was taken aback: The general really spoils his child. He even dares to call the emperor his uncle. This kinship is closer than that of the imperial relatives!

The question is, will the Emperor acknowledge you as his little niece?
Should we plead for the general?
Children truly speak without any taboos.

"Ye Lin, escort the old lady back to her residence. This general will take Panpan to the palace."

"General?" Ye Lin was even more puzzled.

"Follow orders."

"Yes."

The old lady was still a little confused, mainly because she had been given too much sleeping pills and hadn't regained her senses.

She does whatever she's told to do, without even a hint of objection.

Panpan, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have been affected at all.

"Panpan, do you remember what happened last night?"

“Last night, the third daughter of the village said she wanted to burn some calming incense for my grandmother, and my grandmother agreed.” Panpan tried hard to recall: “Panpan thought the calming incense smelled very good, so good that it made it hard to sleep. So she secretly ran to the side room and fell asleep. When she woke up, she saw that my grandmother and I had been taken to that place.”

Therefore, Panpan and the old lady were not knocked unconscious in the same room by the fumes, and the drug seemed to have no effect on Panpan.

“Panpan wants to sleep, not because of the calming incense, but because she is really sleepy and can’t keep her eyes open.” Panpan sang loudly, “Mother said that if Panpan doesn’t sleep more, she won’t grow tall. Panpan wants to grow tall, as tall as Daddy, so she can beat up bad guys in the future.”

Look what you've done to the child!
How can a girl with such a big, burly appearance and a height of seven feet be married off?

“Panpan doesn’t need to grow as tall as her father. If she’s too tall, it will be hard for her to find a son-in-law.”

"What is a son-in-law? Can you eat him?"

Xia Guangcheng... I really don't know how to answer what my daughter said.

Alright, let's go to the palace to meet the Emperor first.

Sure enough, as soon as he arrived at the palace gate to report, a palace attendant came forward to serve him.

"Your Majesty has been waiting for the general for some time. Please follow this old servant."

"Thank you, sir." This was a man who knew how to speak. Xia Guangcheng understood the meaning behind his words and rewarded the eunuch with a few taels of silver.

The eunuch was naturally pleased.

"His Majesty is very angry to hear that the First Prince has fallen ill again. General, be careful."

See, this is the difference between giving money and not giving money.

"Thank you, father-in-law."

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

The eldest prince has fallen ill again, and the empress is at a loss.

He kept asking if there was any news from the Xia family.

The news came that the old lady had been rescued, but the young lady had not been seen returning home.

This greatly worried the Empress.

I kept praying that nothing bad would happen.

What will happen to Che'er otherwise?
"Father, let's meet eldest brother first." Panpan kept calling the eldest prince her brother.

"Daughter, this time listen to your father and see the Emperor first, then the Crown Prince." Xia Guangcheng thought that children are still children, and it was normal for them not to be able to distinguish between the princes.

Arriving at the palace and not seeing the Emperor would be unacceptable, especially since the Emperor was waiting for his report.

"Alright, then I guess I'll just have to let the eldest prince suffer a bit more."

In the imperial study, Xia Guangcheng put Panpan down and respectfully kowtowed to express his gratitude.

The emperor had given him permission to leave the city, which meant that everything he did was under the emperor's control.

However, the matter concerning the Third Prince must be truthfully reported.

"What did you say?"

"Your Majesty, I am certain that the person I saw was the Third Prince."

The emperor's face turned very ugly. He hadn't expected that the man was still alive, and that after so many years he still harbored illusions and wanted to seize the throne.
But when he thought about his health over the past two years, and also about the health of the eldest prince, Che'er, the emperor felt a sense of danger.

"What deal did you make with him?"

The emperor was furious.

Because there were five memorials impeaching him on his desk.

Unexpectedly, the contents of the memorial were true: the Third Prince was still alive, and General Xia had a close personal relationship with the Third Prince, drinking and making merry together...

"Your Majesty, I can explain."

Xia Guangcheng was filled with a strong will to survive, but his heart was filled with bitterness. What happened to the promised respect? In reality, he didn't believe in himself at all.

“Uncle, great-uncle, Panpan knows, Panpan will tell you.” Panpan ran straight to the Emperor with her little legs: “Your Majesty, great-uncle, that third prince is a bad guy. He drugged Grandmother and kidnapped Panpan. He made Father cooperate, made Father drink alcohol, and then sent Father out.”

"What did your father say to him?"

"Father said..."

"Father also said..."

Panpan's words were so soft and sweet that the emperor actually listened to them.

“Your Majesty, at that time, the Third Prince was surrounded by many skilled fighters. I knew I was no match for them, so in order to protect my mother and daughter, I chose to drink.” Xia Guangcheng said, “I have no ulterior motives. Please see this clearly, Your Majesty.”

"Alright, you may go now. Find out the details about that group of people, and then atone for your sins by arresting them all."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

This change stunned Xia Guangcheng. How could she have believed him so easily?
"You can leave the palace now. Leave your child in Kunning Palace and come back to pick him up in a few days."

"what?"

Xia Guangcheng was a little dumbfounded: "Your Majesty, the child is still young. If he stays in Kunning Palace, he might anger the Empress and disturb her rest."

"You don't need to worry about that. Panpan has everything she needs in Kunning Palace. It's my idea as well as the Empress's."

Then Xia Guangcheng was "chased" out of the palace gate.

Back at the Xia family home, Xiao Chunyu quickly looked behind him, but there was no one there, and no one was holding a child.

"General, where is Panpan?"

Xiao Chunyu's voice was trembling.

“I brought her into the palace, but the Emperor and Empress kept her there,” Xia Guangcheng said. “Don’t worry, the sleeping potion Mother was given didn’t affect Panpan. Panpan said she felt uncomfortable just smelling that fragrance, and then she went to her room to sleep…”

Xiao Chunyu was shocked when she heard what had happened.

"So, it seems our Panpan has brought me good luck, as she didn't even punish me today," Xia Guangcheng said. "Others support their daughters, but I'm getting worse and worse, and I need my daughter to support me now."

The emperor didn't punish them but even gave them a reward?

This news also frustrated the Third Prince's faction: their plan to sow discord had failed.

"That can't be right, how come he's become a completely different person?"

(End of this chapter)