Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 620 Flower Appreciation Banquet

In early summer, the capital city is full of flowers, which is a good time to hold a flower-viewing banquet. Shortly after visiting the Wang family, Song Ying received an invitation to the flower-viewing banquet in the palace.

Doctor Lin took her to buy clothes and jewelry and dressed her up carefully. This action made not only the uninformed families, but even families like the Ruan family who knew that Song Ying was engaged, feel uneasy and secretly wondered whether Doctor Lin really wanted to take advantage of the situation to find a better marriage for his apprentice.

Just after the fifth watch that day, when the sky was just beginning to turn a crab-shell blue, Doctor Lin took Song Ying, who was dressed in his best clothes, out.

In front of the palace gate, the red walls are towering, and the eaves are like swords, pointing straight to the sky.

Song Ying looked up at the endless palace wall, his throat tightened unconsciously, and the morning breeze blew past his ears, bringing with it a hint of early summer dryness.

She took a breath, success or failure depended on today.

"Doctor Lin." A young eunuch in an indigo robe bowed and waited at the palace gate. "Please follow me."

Doctor Lin nodded slightly, said politely, "Thank you, eunuch", and took Song Ying to the palace.

The palace corridor was deep and dark, the bluestone slabs shimmering with the dampness of morning dew. Towering red walls flanked either side, slicing the sky into a narrow strip. Song Ying lowered her eyes to stare at her toes, yet she could still sense the vague gazes around her. From beneath the eaves and behind the columns, countless pairs of eyes were secretly observing her.

Doctor Lin had served the late Empress Dowager in the palace for many years. Many palace maids and eunuchs knew her and were naturally very curious about her, Doctor Lin's formal apprentice.

When we arrived at the Imperial Garden, we saw the flaming pomegranate flowers, scorching in the sun and against the backdrop of the red walls and golden tiles, it looked even more royal.

Beneath the blossoming trees, there were jade tables lined with glass cups filled with freshly brewed pomegranate juice. Fine water droplets condensed on the rims of the cups, glistening like tears in the light.

A breeze blew by, and the pomegranate petals fell down, landing on the lapels of clothes, like a few splashes of blood.

By this time, many ladies and young ladies had arrived, gathered in groups of three or four, with their round fans half-closed and their faces full of smiles.

Seeing the arrival of Doctor Lin and his disciples, many people cast curious glances at them, especially towards today's "protagonist" Song Ying, who were extremely curious.

Everyone knew that Doctor Lin was worried about his beloved disciple's marriage, so he specially asked the Queen's sister to hold this flower-viewing banquet.

Today, Song Ying was wearing a lilac silk dress made of soft smoke silk newly imported from Jiangnan, which shone with a lustrous luster like mother-of-pearl under the light.

The hem of her skirt was folded like a water lily blooming in early summer, and the moon-white gauze lining could be vaguely seen when she moved. A silver silk belt was tied around her waist, with thin tassels hanging down, swaying slightly with her steps, like morning dew about to fall.

There is only a silver needle with kingfisher feathers in her hair, and the needle is holding a pearl the size of a grain of rice. Her plainness reveals a restrained nobility.

A pair of jade pendants on her earlobes were bright green, making the skin on her neck look as white as fresh snow.

Many ladies stared with their eyes wide open. This dress was of great value and they were reluctant to wear it, especially the soft silk gauze, which could not be bought with money. They thought it must be a special reward from the Queen Mother.

Everyone couldn't help but sigh at Dr. Lin's love for this disciple, and he was willing to spend so much to find a good marriage for her.

"The Empress has arrived, the Consort Shu and the Consort De have arrived..."

The eunuch's unique shrill voice cut through the noise in the imperial garden, and everyone suddenly fell silent and knelt on the ground.

Song Ying glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw two teams of maids in crimson palace attire file in through the vermilion-painted palace gate, holding golden whisks and clearing the way. Following them came eight eunuchs slowly carrying a phoenix chariot. The pearl tassels dangling from the chariot's canopy shone delicately in the sunlight.

The Empress sat upright in the palanquin, clad in a crimson court gown embroidered with gold phoenixes. A nine-phoenix hairpin, held in its chin, held pearls, motionless, radiating the Empress's majesty. The imperial concubines to her left wore a lake blue gilded ruqun, while those to her right wore a lilac-colored skirt embroidered with hundreds of butterflies. They lagged behind her half a step, perfectly emphasizing the Empress's dignity. They were presumably the Consort Shu and the Consort De.

The gorgeous skirt dragged across the ground, bringing with it wisps of pleasant fragrance.

The Queen's gentle voice sounded above her head, "Everyone, get up."

Song Ying stood up with everyone else, but saw that the Queen's gaze, which was all over the beautiful flowers in the garden, fell on his master.

She raised the corners of her lips slightly and said to Concubine Shu and Concubine De beside her: "This person is having so much fun in Jinchuan that he doesn't want to leave. He is finally willing to return to the capital."

Upon hearing this, Doctor Lin raised his lips slightly, folded his hands at his waist, and bowed in a standard way: "I am so fond of the beautiful scenery of Jinchuan, and I am sorry to have caused you ladies to worry."

The fine lines at the corners of her eyes smoothed out, and her tone carried a hint of the intimacy of reuniting with old friends.

The Empress's gaze fell on Song Ying again. "Is this your beloved disciple? She is truly a beauty."

Song Ying stepped forward to greet him.

Concubine De chuckled softly, "No wonder Lu Xi is so concerned. His expression and bearing are indeed somewhat like your youthful demeanor."

After a few more words, the Empress offered her a seat and had Doctor Lin's desk moved closer. She said with a smile, "Tell us quickly, what kind of magical mountains and rivers are hidden in Jinchuan that would make even an old man like you, who grew up in the capital, so happy that he doesn't want to return home?"

Doctor Lin stepped forward, only half of the embroidered cushion was empty. "My Daqian is a land of magnificent mountains and rivers. To the north are towering peaks, to the south are vast mists and waves. Each has its own beauty..."

She talked on and on, calmly changing the subject to various surprising cases.

The noble ladies had never seen such things before, and they were all so absorbed in listening that they even forgot to wave their fans.

The palace maids and eunuchs moved quietly and quietly around, adding tea or fanning, all in an orderly manner.

When Doctor Lin saw a eunuch placing a pot of gardenias on a nearby flower stand, she smiled and followed a lady's praise, saying, "There is no doctor in this world who can cure all diseases. I also have many diseases that cannot be cured.

Just last August, a wealthy businessman from Fushun, Xuzhou, was transporting salt to Chengdu when he encountered a group of robbers who killed and robbed him.

Doctor Lin raised his hand and pointed slightly behind the top of his head. "He was cut here."

Everyone gasped. One young lady even forgot the rules and asked, "How can you survive a head injury?"

Doctor Lin nodded. "That's right. We were also surprised..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard footsteps outside the Imperial Garden, followed by the eunuch's shrill voice: "Your Majesty—Here you are—"

Everyone didn't bother to listen to the story and knelt down to pay their respects.

Soon, the emperor sat down at the head of the table and ordered everyone to stand up. "This is really strange! This is the first time in my life that I've seen a flower viewing banquet so quiet."

His voice was hoarse and dry, like the rubbing of dead leaves.

Song Ying took a quick look and saw that the emperor was very old, with loose skin covered with brown spots, cloudy whites of his eyes that were yellow, and even his beard was very sparse. He was already an old man who was about to die.

It was hard for her to imagine that there was such a person who killed his brothers and sisters, slandered loyal people, and cruelly wanted to kill them all.

The Queen smiled and said, "Doctor Lin was telling us about the strange disease he encountered in Jinchuan, and we were just getting into it when you arrived."

"Oh~" the old emperor stroked his beard, "In that case, it is I who have interrupted your story."

Everyone hurriedly said they didn't dare.

The emperor waved his hand, signaling them to stand up, and said, "Doctor Lin, please continue. I am listening too."

Doctor Lin agreed and repeated the story from the beginning, "...This wealthy businessman was very lucky and had a long life. The robbers saw his head covered in blood and thought he was dead, so they left him alone.

Later, someone found him and consulted a doctor, who cured him.

But he never expected that after his injury healed, the rich businessman would start behaving strangely. He would unbutton his shirt with one hand and button it up with the other; his left hand would even strangle him..."

Everyone's hearts tightened when they heard this, and someone said, "Isn't this a case of being possessed by evil spirits?"

Doctor Lin nodded, "That's right, he also thinks so. He has sought help from many eminent monks and masters to exorcise the evil spirit, but he never succeeded.

Later, he learned that there was a Qingfeng Taoist Temple in Qingshui County, where the Taoist priest had extraordinary skills, so he went there with the mentality of giving it a try.

Unexpectedly, the Taoist priest said that he had survived a great disaster and was a blessed man, and that he was not possessed by evil spirits, but was just sick.

"Impossible? This is clearly a case of being possessed by an evil spirit!"

Doctor Lin smiled. "There are indeed some illnesses in this world that appear to be caused by evil spirits, but are actually not. This wealthy businessman came to our clinic. I've seen similar cases in medical books. I can only conclude that his condition is caused by brain damage, but I'm unsure how to treat it."

The queen consoled him, "This kind of illness is unheard of. It's normal that you're unsure."

Doctor Lin nodded and continued, "I'm telling you the truth. I can only try to treat it, but I can't guarantee its success."