There's Something Wrong With My Little White Flower - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Princess of a Weak Nation in a Peace Marriage X Barbarian General

All nine hundred and ninety lotus lamps in front of the altar were lit. The Great Witch Doctor handed the tallied medicine register to an attendant. Since he was advanced in age, the elaborate ceremony had taken a toll on him.

“Are all the medicines for the capital households fully prepared?” he asked while cleansing his hands.

The medical officials standing nearby all nodded. The Great Witch Doctor looked around and suddenly noticed one person was missing.

“Is Official Langji not here?” he asked the attendant.

The attendant replied with a troubled expression: “Official Langji sent someone to request leave a few days ago, saying that the Daxi prairie has had many patients recently, and he is too busy to personally attend the prayer ceremony at the Witch Hospital…“

“Absurd!” The Great Witch Doctor’s beard trembled. He pondered for a moment, but ultimately saved face for his disciple in front of the others. “No matter how tricky the ailments, one cannot be so busy as to neglect the Witch God’s prayer. Send someone to tell him… he must attend the Grand Ceremony the day after tomorrow, no matter what.“

After clearly allocating the various tasks for the day-after-tomorrow’s Grand Ceremony, he dismissed the crowd: “I’ll return home for a while.“

A few days ago, his daughter came to him for help. His own grandson had also contracted the evil spirit possession illness. He had worked with several medical officials to try various prescriptions and prayer methods, but the boy’s condition still hadn’t improved. Worrying about him, he seized the opportunity to rush home as soon as the hospital’s affairs were settled.

Unexpectedly, as he stepped into the back courtyard, he heard a flurry of shouting. The Great Witch Doctor’s heart sank, and he quickened his pace into the courtyard.

“Did something happen to Jiar?” he stopped a maidservant who was running out and asked in a low voice.

The maidservant looked up, hurriedly bowed to the Great Witch Doctor, but her voice was filled with unconcealed joy: “Great Elder! The young master is awake! He is making a fuss about wanting chicken congee, and this servant is just going to the kitchen!”

The Great Witch Doctor’s heart settled back into place. He stepped more briskly into the room, where he indeed saw his wife and daughter gathered around the bed, talking.

“I heard Jiar is better?” he stroked his beard and walked over confidently. “It seems my grandson is still blessed by the Great Witch God…”

His wife, the First Lady, smiled upon seeing him return: “This time, I must contradict you. Jiar’s recovery is not due to the Witch Hospital’s efforts, but for another reason.”

“That’s nonsense. If he wasn’t blessed by the Witch God, how could Jiar recover so quickly?” the Great Witch Doctor said disdainfully while checking his grandson’s condition.

“It is truly someone else who saved Jiar,” his daughter chimed in. “We heard that the Great Jing Princess was dispensing medicine on the Daxi prairie and had already cured several cases of evil spirit possession, so we rushed over to seek help. Jiar only took two doses of the Princess’s medicine, and his fever broke. He was just now asking for food!”

The Great Witch Doctor’s hand froze in mid-air: “You said the Great Jing Princess? Dispensing medicine?”

“That’s right, right next to the Witch Doctor Post on the Daxi prairie. When we went to ask for medicine, the line was incredibly long, and I even saw that boy Langji helping out…”

The First Lady spoke cheerfully, then seemed to recall something: “I heard them say the Princess intends to submit the prescription to the Witch Hospital, but because of the Winter Festival prayers, she hasn’t received a reply yet. If you have time now, you should arrange for someone to promptly deal with this matter…”

The Great Witch Doctor’s mouth hung open, unable to utter a single word. Only after his wife called him several times did he come back to his senses in a daze.

“You say Langji told you a long time ago? And you intentionally delayed this matter?” After dismissing the others, the First Lady looked at the Great Witch Doctor in disbelief. “Are you insane?”

“How was I supposed to know that a foreigner’s medicine could actually be effective? I thought Langji was young and overzealous, exaggerating the facts.”

The First Lady looked at her husband’s forced defense and suddenly laughed.

“You, you…” she laughed. “I always thought you were a bit petty, but now I know you are truly senile! She clearly sent the prescription to you immediately, without any selfishness, but you were suspicious and deliberately obstructed and delayed it…”

She grew angrier as she spoke, grabbing the horsehair bed-whisk from the bedside: “If it weren’t for the Princess’s medicine, who knows what would have happened to Jiar! Your selfishness nearly killed your own grandson…”

The Great Witch Doctor was suddenly struck on the back by the bed-whisk, and his old face stiffened with pain: “Wife… hit me gently! How was I supposed to know her medicine would actually work? Young people… if I don’t keep them in check… they’ll turn the world upside down! Ah—Wife, please stop…”

“Stop the nonsense! Today, I must thoroughly loosen the joints of you old stubborn mule!”

The domestic dispute at the Great Witch Doctor’s residence ended quickly. When the Great Witch Doctor returned to the Witch Hospital that afternoon, he instructed an attendant to send a message to the Daxi prairie, inviting the Great Jing Princess to visit.

He had just sat down in his chair when he immediately winced and shifted his back slightly off the backrest. He sighed and instructed: “First, find Official Langji and ask him to intercede for me. Make sure your attitude is respectful.”

Soon, a piece of good news spread among the people of the Royal Capital during the Witch God Prayer Ceremony for the Winter Festival: the Princess from the Great Jing Dynasty had discovered a miraculous medicine on the prairie that could cure the ailment of evil spirit possession.

“The Great Witch Doctor of the Witch Hospital personally vouched for the Princess and ordered the widespread promotion of the prescription to all regional Witch Doctor Posts!”

“Great Witch God above, the Princess has brought blessings to our Xiji!”

The good news added to the festive atmosphere of the entire Winter Festival ceremony. People took to the streets, singing and dancing to celebrate the most important year-end festival.

Because there were still several precautions regarding the Chaihu prescription that needed to be explained, Ruan Jiyun stayed at the Witch Hospital for half a day, answering the questions of the various Witch Doctor Officials. When Ashinuo smilingly invited her to watch the celebration, she suddenly realized: “I don’t think I’ve seen General Peifeng today?”

Ashinuo pursed her lips and smiled: “Doesn’t the Princess know? Our General is the Chief Priestess for this year’s Rite of Praising the Gods during the Winter Festival Grand Ceremony!”

The Rite of Praising the Gods was a grand ceremony involving five hundred carefully selected boys and girls performing a communal dance to pray for peace during the Winter Month and the blessing of the Witch God.

The person leading this ritual was the Chief Priestess of the Rite of Praising the Gods.

The Chief Priestess was chosen annually through a popular vote, representing the most respected and capable young person in all of Xiji. This year, the chosen one was Jiang Peifeng.

The most bustling Huayang Street in the Royal Capital had long been cordoned off to form a passage for the sacrificial carriage. People in festive attire, holding fragrant flowers, crowded the roadside, filling the entire street.

Ashinuo and the others brought Ruan Jiyun to a restaurant where the second floor had over ten private rooms facing the street, perfect for viewing the procession of the sacrificial carriage.

Xiji men and women were naturally passionate. Ruan Jiyun noticed that even the highly adorned noble ladies were leaning out of the windows, unconcerned about propriety. They held fragrant flowers and occasionally tossed bouquets toward the street below.

Ashinuo explained with a smile: “This is called ‘Tossing Fragrance.’ If you meet someone you fancy, you toss a fragrant flower onto them. If they are also interested, they will pin the flower to their lapel, which means ‘Cherishing Fragrance.’ If the two are mutually attracted, they can naturally be together.”

Just as she spoke, a handsome Xiji youth rode past below. A young lady wrapped a flower branch in her handkerchief and tossed it toward him. The youth, with excellent agility, leapt up on his horse, catching the flower perfectly.

He looked back at the girl, gave a shy smile, and pinned the flower branch to his lapel.

His companions erupted in cheers, shoving and shouting for the youth to go upstairs and meet the lady.

Ruan Jiyun found the sight very entertaining and was about to see if the youth successfully went upstairs to meet his beloved when she heard the sound of drums approaching from afar at the end of the long street.

“The sacrificial carriage is coming!” The crowd let out waves of cheers.

This was Ruan Jiyun’s first time seeing such a magnificent sacrificial carriage. Leading the procession were four neat rows of cavalry, with boys and girls dressed in splendid attire on horseback. Behind them, the tall, towering Witch God altar was pulled by four white elephants, surrounded by fresh flowers. Dancers wearing golden masks, resembling celestial beings, stood on the altar, singing and dancing.

She leaned over the railing and immediately saw the person standing on the very top of the sacrificial carriage.

Jiang Peifeng, dressed in white, stood gracefully against the wind. She also wore a golden mask, through which only her elegantly contoured jawline and her rosy, thin lips could be seen.

She lowered her eyes to observe the surrounding crowd, then reached for the gold dagger tucked at her waist—the hilt was inlaid with several rubies, glittering brightly, reflecting the light of her beautiful red lips.

Boom—Boom-Boom!

The drums started.

Jiang Peifeng’s lips curled slightly, and she suddenly moved with the rhythm of the drums. The long dagger in her hand cut a bright, snowy arc, and her body swept along, her arm stretching out gracefully, as if bending down to caress a blooming branch.

The heavy long dagger seemed incredibly light in her grasp. The blade’s light resembled moonlight spilling onto the ground, creating layer upon layer of cascading snow-waves.

And the person danced lightly within the blade’s light.

Her movements were as light as a butterfly fluttering through a field of blades. The fiercer the blade’s edge, the more thrilling and beautiful her flight became.

The drums intensified, and the dance quickened.

Her ankles, adorned with gold bells, were delicate and slender, her toes touching down only in a precise space. Jiang Peifeng held the dagger in both hands, spinning with the passionate drumbeats, weaving the dagger’s light into an impenetrable curtain.

A long breeze swept by, catching the gold-embroidered white skirt, outlining her resiliently slender waist. It was like a flower branch entwined in a fierce wind, or a butterfly kissing the tip of a blade, blossoming into a dazzling flower amidst breathtaking beauty.

The audience involuntarily held their breath.

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash, the drumming abruptly stopped.

Jiang Peifeng sheathed her dagger and stopped. Her long hair formed a heart-stopping silhouette in the air before gracefully settling.

The fierce intent of the blade still seemed to resonate in the wind. The crowd was silent for a few breaths, then someone finally snapped out of their trance, covering their mouth and gasping softly: “Ah—”

This sound was like the first crack in the winter ice. Cheers immediately drowned the crowd. People shouted and surged forward, tossing their fragrant flowers toward the sacrificial carriage, creating a shower of colorful petals.

And the dancer on the high platform now reached up and removed her mask, revealing her peerlessly exquisite face.

She had handsome long eyebrows, a straight nose, and her phoenix eyes were particularly striking, dark and brimming, as if containing a clear, deep night sky.

The next moment, Jiang Peifeng raised her head and smiled faintly toward the distance. The smile was so captivating that the viewers’ hearts skipped a beat, nearly falling into the gentle affection of that expression.

Ruan Jiyun subconsciously gripped the railing. Ashinuo and the others were saying something nearby, but her heart was pounding like thunder, and she couldn’t hear anything clearly.

Although they were still more than ten meters apart, she clearly felt that the direction that person was looking was precisely where she was standing.

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