Please, Don’t Die - Chapter 25

After a while, all the guests had arrived and taken their seats.

Ying Yuanqi followed behind General Ying into the banquet hall, his demeanor poised and dignified. At a glance, he carried the spirited air of a young general.

Ying Yuanqi would soon reach the age of twenty, yet he remained unmarried. The wives of the officials attending the banquet with their husbands began to entertain certain thoughts.

“Young General Ying is both handsome and accomplished at such a tender age. Madam Su is truly blessed.”

“Indeed! If only my own unruly son had half the ambition of Young General Ying, I’d be at ease.” The speaker, a lady, playfully swatted her husband’s arm.

The official in question was a subordinate of General Ying, several ranks below, and rarely had the chance to shine. “General Ying has always been strict with Young General Ying, setting high standards. As for my own wayward son, before I even get a chance to discipline him, you’re already shielding him. Now, seeing Young General Ying, you’re envious?” He seized the moment to flatter General Ying further.

Madam Su couldn’t stop smiling.

But not everyone was won over.

The nearby Minister of Revenue smiled faintly and remarked, “Since this banquet is to welcome the eldest legitimate son of the general, why has the young master yet to appear?”

He deliberately emphasized the word “legitimate.” In these times, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children was no longer strictly observed, so his comment was purely meant to provoke.

Madam Su had been elevated from concubine to principal wife. After years of painstaking effort in the capital, she had only recently improved her reputation slightly. Hearing this, her expression stiffened, and she nearly lost her composure.

General Ying, however, didn’t notice Madam Su’s discomfort. He had long held grievances against Ying Qujie and snorted coldly. “He certainly knows how to put on airs.”

Madam Su quickly interjected, “Qujie has been away for many years and hasn’t attended many banquets. He’s likely still adjusting. I’ll send someone to fetch him.”

Her words subtly implied that Ying Qujie was inexperienced and unsophisticated.

“The banquet hasn’t even begun yet. Why the hurry, General Ying and Madam Su?”

A lavishly dressed lady seated opposite spoke with deliberate indifference, and the room’s disparaging remarks about Ying Qujie instantly dwindled.

The lady, named Han Yu, was strikingly beautiful yet cold as ice. She was the wife of the Prime Minister and the elder sister of Lady Ling Yu. Years ago, the fame of the two peerless sisters had shaken the capital, and ballads about them still circulated today.

Rumors in the capital claimed that Ling Yu and her elder sister were estranged and had not interacted for years.

Yet for Ying Qujie’s welcoming banquet, this reclusive mistress of the Prime Minister’s residence had accepted the invitation and graced the Ying household with her presence.

The truth of the rumors remained unverified, but her intervention here was undeniable.

The guests immediately ceased their earlier mockery, each harboring their own thoughts as they maintained the banquet’s facade of harmony.

“Honored guests, your presence is this old woman’s greatest honor.” The matriarch’s voice was strong and clear as she entered the hall, supported by Su Lan.

But the attention of the crowd wasn’t on the matriarch, who had miraculously recovered from her illness, it was on the tall, jade-like young man in moon-white robes following behind her.

His face was as flawless as carved jade, his eyes bright like stars, his brows as if painted with ink, his grace was unparalleled.

Lady Ling Yu’s beauty had once toppled cities, but this young man surpassed her by three parts. Yet these three parts didn’t make him seem feminine; instead, they struck the perfect balance of androgyny, leaving onlookers endlessly captivated.

Even General Ying was momentarily dazed, murmuring “Ling Yu” a name that fell on Madam Su’s ears like a curse.

The matriarch observed the crowd’s reactions with satisfaction. She had anticipated Madam Su’s schemes and merely delayed Ying Qujie’s entrance by a moment, achieving an effect far beyond expectations.

Ying Qujie bowed gracefully with an air of noble elegance and exchanged a few polite words, snapping the crowd out of their daze as murmurs erupted like a boiling pot.

The matriarch then “unintentionally” revealed Ying Qujie’s reputation as a divine physician.

At this point, the wives of various officials, weighing the situation, dared not show the slightest disrespect.

Madam Su, seeing that Ying Yuanqi, seated beside Ying Qujie was suddenly ignored, clenched her teeth in resentment.

Two ladies seated further away had already begun whispering under her watchful gaze.

“The eldest son of the general’s household outshines the young general just by appearance alone.”

“Indeed. If not for the rumors that the general dislikes his eldest son and has been diligently grooming the young general all these years, I’d have considered proposing a match for my daughter.”

“Ah, sister, you don’t understand. There are plenty of young generals paved by others, but a divine physician who heals and saves lives, that’s a talent even the nobility in the palace would seek.”

“That’s true.”

Madam Su struggled to maintain a smile on her face, her handkerchief twisting tightly in her sleeve.

As she watched the crowd shower Ying Qujie with flattery and praise, the malice in her heart nearly overflowed.

She exchanged a glance with Ying Hongfeng.

Ying Hongfeng quietly withdrew.

He Qingsheng, noticing Madam Su’s resentful gaze, followed Ying Hongfeng.

A few days prior, she had discovered a sinister rune on Ying Wen’s partially broken spine, a mark of the Zhenyuan Sect.

Using an exceptionally cruel method to reverse a person’s fortune, it was a forbidden art even within the Twelve Walls, defying the heavens to alter fate.

Coincidentally, according to Ying Qujie’s investigations, Ying Yuanqi had nearly suffered shattered meridians five years ago due to a misjudgment in battle, timing that aligned perfectly with Ying Wen’s misfortune.

It was after that crisis that Ying Yuanqi narrowly escaped death and rose to fame, shaking off the scorn of the capital’s noble families who had once deemed him useless.

Someone like Madam Su, who harbored twisted expectations for her son, could never accept his mediocrity, let alone someone overshadowing her son’s glory.

No doubt she was plotting some underhanded scheme.

Ying Qujie moved effortlessly among the crowd, and during a brief respite, noticed He Qingsheng drifting away. He excused himself and followed.

To welcome the guests, the Ying residence had left its gates wide open that day.

Now, the household guards were struggling to hold back a dozen wailing commoners, all gaunt and demanding justice.

The crowd of onlookers at the entrance grew larger by the minute.

Ying Hongfeng, seeing that the situation had reached its peak, prepared to return and report, only to run into Ying Qujie behind him.

Truly, an effortless opportunity.

“Eldest Young Master,” Ying Hongfeng greeted loudly.

At his words, the crowd at the gate fell silent for a moment before erupting into even louder curses.

One accusation after another rose like waves.

“He really is in the general’s residence! General Ying has been deceived!”

“The general’s household shelters a scourge!”

“Everyone, come quick! The fraud is right here-”

The guards at the gate, outnumbered, were shoved aside as the mob pressed forward.

“You damned fraud, give me back my family’s lives!”

“General Ying, you mustn’t believe this swindler’s lies!”

He Qingsheng, seeing Ying Qujie approach, floated to his side with a tone of barely concealed amusement. “Oh, poor Cinderella, your framing has arrived.”

Ying Qujie didn’t know what “Cinderella” meant, but seeing her expression, as if to say “the storybooks didn’t lie” and considering his own situation, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Back at the banquet.

“Trouble, General! Matriarch!”

A servant rushed forward to report.

The matriarch frowned and scolded sharply, “Don’t disturb the esteemed guests with your recklessness!”

The implied meaning was clear: don’t embarrass me in front of everyone.

The servant broke out in a cold sweat and looked pleadingly at Madam Su.

Everyone present was sharp-witted, and those with keen hearing had already caught the commotion outside.

They all turned their curious gazes toward Madam Su, wondering what drama she was about to stage.

Under the pressure of the Old Madam, Madam Su steeled herself and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Madam, there’s a crowd gathered at the gate causing trouble. They’re saying… saying the Eldest Young Master killed someone.”

The guests erupted in murmurs.

“Preposterous!” The Old Madam was furious. She shot a glare at Madam Su, but worried about Ying Qujie getting hurt, she didn’t bother with the others and hurried outside.

“Old Madam, slow down, don’t rush.” Madam Su anxiously followed, and General Ying had no choice but to rise as well, leading the crowd behind them.

Madam Su subtly nodded at Ying Hongfeng.

The gatekeepers, seeing they couldn’t hold the crowd back, had already let some slip past, charging straight toward Ying Qujie.

“It’s all your fault, you quack! Give me back my mother’s life!”

A gleaming blade slashed directly at Ying Qujie’s face.

“Ningning!”

The Old Madam, who happened to witness this, nearly fainted on the spot, but thankfully, Su Lan held her tightly.

Ying Qujie deftly sidestepped the blade. It was unclear how he moved, but the assailant let out a sharp cry, his hands trembling and legs buckling as he immediately knelt before him.

The long blade clattered to the ground with a resounding clang, silencing the restless crowd.

His swift and decisive moves drew cheers from the onlookers.

Madam Su certainly didn’t miss the look of admiration in General Ying’s eyes. She coughed lightly.

Ying Hongfeng discreetly signaled to a few men at the gate.

Suddenly, the guards seemed to lose their strength, all pushed down by the rioters, breaking the defensive line in an instant.

Their target was simple and clear: Ying Qujie.

“Guards, protect our guests!” General Ying commanded loudly.

The Old Madam slapped him. “Go protect Ningning!”

General Ying remained unmoved. To the untrained eye, Ying Qujie’s evasive move might have seemed like luck, but he saw it clearly, Ying Qujie had some skill.

The Ying family had been border generals since his great-grandfather’s time, known for their unyielding courage and prowess in battle. His previous dislike for Ying Qujie had partly stemmed from the eldest son’s delicate health and frailty.

Now, after all these years, Ying Qujie’s features, so like his late wife’s, and the unintentionally revealed martial prowess reminiscent of his own, stirred a rare pang of guilt in this cold man.

The attackers wailed accusations of Ying Qujie’s medical malpractice while striking with ruthless precision, some even displaying trained skills.

Ying Qujie was entangled in the fray. At first, they aimed to cripple him, but when that failed, they turned to viciously targeting his face.

Ying Qujie was thoroughly annoyed but didn’t want to waste his knockout powder on these people. Patiently, he knocked out one rioter after another.

He Qingsheng hovered in the air, surveying the scene, when he noticed something amiss on the rooftop.

A sword of baleful energy formed, its crimson light striking directly at the anomaly.

The figure dodged awkwardly, slipping into a tear in the void just before the baleful energy hit. Before disappearing, they shot a fierce arrow at Ying Qujie.

The baleful energy shattered the arrow mid-flight, but the sharp tip, propelled by a surge of spiritual energy, continued forward.

Ying Qujie was still dealing with the last few rioters, unaware if he had noticed the danger behind him.

In a moment of desperation, He Qingsheng pulled the small wooden puppet from Ying Qujie’s sleeve and forcefully slammed it into the arrow’s tip.

The arrow pierced deep into the puppet, finally losing all momentum before clattering to the ground.

At the same time, the last troublemaker collapsed.

Ying Qujie spun around abruptly, locating He Qingsheng first to confirm she was unharmed before letting out a relieved sigh and turning his attention to the puppet on the ground.

“Be careful, the arrow might have a hidden mechanism,” He Qingsheng stopped him from picking it up. “It’s useless now, completely broken.”

Ying Qujie pressed his lips together and withdrew his hand, though he had still wanted to examine whether the puppet, carved by the wood demon, contained any other intricate designs.

“Ningning, are you alright?” The elderly madam hurried forward, grasping Ying Qujie’s arm.

“I’m fine, Grandmother.” The old woman, still shaken, turned to the guards behind her and ordered, “Someone, tie them up and interrogate them thoroughly! I want to know exactly who’s behind this mischief!”

“Hey, isn’t the General’s Manor just bullying others with its power?”

A voice from the crowd outside the gate shouted this, sparking murmurs among the onlookers.

People often preferred to believe the story they saw unfolding before them. Explanations mattered little unless the situation took an even more dramatic turn.

The scheme to slander Ying Qujie had two possible outcomes: at best, it would cripple him in the chaos, and at worst, it would tarnish his reputation in front of the public.

And once a reputation was stained, it was hard to cleanse.

A proud man like General Ying would never allow his disgraced eldest son to appear frequently in the capital.

Both the elderly madam and the officials watching from behind understood this well.

Worried, she asked Ying Qujie, “Ningning, I’ll send someone to verify the medical records. Don’t worry, someone must have impersonated you to spread these lies.”

He Qingsheng quickly scanned the bound troublemakers and noticed that a few had indeed accompanied relatives to Xinglin Residence for consultations with Ying Qujie.

Ying Qujie noticed it too. He shook his head. “Some of these people are family members of patients I’ve treated.”

This revelation stunned even the officials and noblewomen standing behind them.