Don’t Be a Kept Man

Chapter 45: Even If Even If He Falls In Love With Someone He Shouldn’t, He Can Still Pull Away Without Harm

Chen Miao Ping looked at Xie Yu Zhi and was about half a second slower than him in blinking.
He did not speak either, as if he had not come to his senses yet.
It was also at this time that the horse carriage slowed to a stop and Fu Ling’s clear and gentle voice travelled to their ears from the outside, 

“Second Master, Gu-Ye, we have arrived.”

Xie Yu Zhi sent a look at Chen Miao Ping and lifted the curtain covering the doorway to get out.
He walked straight into the estate where the maids of Qu Feng Courtyard were already waiting outside to welcome him.
Seeing him walk in, one of them quickly followed behind and said as they walked,

“Second Master, the Imperial Palace has passed on the news that Gong Ye probably will not be back for a while as His Majesty has asked most of the ministers to stay behind for a meeting, and also…… and also Palace Physician Ruan……”

Before she could finish, Xie Yu Zhi said with ridicule in his voice, 

“It will never be healed.
Day after day, who is he doing these empty and useless actions for? It’s all just to appease His Majesty’s decree.
He may have time to waste, but I do not.
Tell someone to throw him out!”

He was, after all, the only one main son.
Chang Guo Gong has never given up on Xie Yu Zhi’s condition, and even the Emperor passed a decree, ordering all doctors who reported to the Imperial Palace to put all their efforts in finding a cure.
Unfortunately, those efforts never succeeded anywhere. 

They were all too scared of the responsibility, not daring to use medicine that would be too harsh to the body and only gave out prescriptions with known and stable side effects.
Hence since then, he has been prescribed with only medicine bags of herbs and plants to warm up those unused muscles once in a while. 

All indeed an empty show.

Chen Miao Ping did not follow him, as he was more interested in something else.
When they left the Imperial Palace, the Royal Consort of Brightness had gifted them with a few presents that contained quite a few high quality items.
He followed Ren Dong who was just bringing some servants with her to check the list given with the gifts and log all records into the estate’s treasury.
The entire time he was right on the edge, excited beyond his mind, staring at the commotion with a lot of curiosity. 

Famous paintings and scrolls, jade and expensive jewelry, all these were just passing interests.
The only thing that caught his eye was a crystal that was almost clear all the way through.

Chen Miao Ping picked up that rock crystal that was about half the size of his palm and lifted it up against the sun.
He found that most of the inner surface had little air bubbles, with only one small part that could be considered perfect.
This cannot even be compared to the modern glass in the future, but here in the ancient times, it should 100% be considered as a special and rare item.

Ren Dong logged everything onto a book and seeing him mesmerized like that, smiled and said, 

“This crystal has been cut to clearness, unlike any other jewelry.
If Gu-Ye is interested, we can hire a craftsman to carve it into a pendant.
It would look very good if it’s hung by your waist to hold down your clothing.”

Chen Miao Ping was just about to agree when he remembered the system that has latched onto his body.
And so the moment they left his mouth, the words changed direction,

“I am only thinking that this item has such clarity, that it must shine with such brightness and color on a normal day.
It should suit Second Master perfectly.
Which, actually, why not do it like this? I will draw a pattern and you find a craftsman to carve it.
It should make Second Master happy and at that time, you will be rewarded for your efforts.”

He then remembered that in this time period, a calligraphy brush was the normal tool and he paused.
He scanned his surroundings and saw a chicken feather shuttlecock lying in a corner that must have been left by the maids who played with this normally.
He went over to pluck a feather out.

Ren Dong had just finished logging everything into the treasury book, and her records were not even put aside before Chen Miao Ping grabbed it.
With a piece of paper taken from the records, he used the end of the chicken feather dipped in ink to draw an image. 

He explained in detail, 

“See this……round it out to this shape, add a light green thickness in the middle…… Don’t poke the hole through the middle, do it at the top and the bottom edges.
First let the craftsmen round it to this kind of shape, and for the detailing, I will tell you how to carve the finish later.
Use only this most clear part near the middle.”

Ren Dong thought the shape was really strange, but she nodded her head in acknowledgement.
Once Chen Miao Ping finished relaying his thoughts, he headed back.
When he reached the entrance to Qu Feng Courtyard, he heard a loud commotion from inside.

“I beg Second Master, please don’t make this harder for this old man.
To heal your leg is the intention of everyone at the Palace.
If I defy this decree, His Majesty and the Royal Consort of Brightness will bestow a punishment that I cannot bear!”

Imperial Physician Ruan pushed away the servants who were trying to stop him and stood at the tightly closed door, begging loudly at Xie Yu Zhi.
His inner self was not as diligent however, as his thoughts were concentrated on swearing at him, thinking, no wonder why there’s a saying that says blinds are vicious, cripples are weird, deaf are skeptical, mutes are evil.
This bad temper of Xie Yu Zhi, hmph, he should be disabled for the rest of his life!

He seemed to be tired from all his begging and wanted to rest for a breath’s time.
But then out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw the servants of the courtyard bow in sync, 

“To see Gu-Ye.”

Imperial Physician Ruan subconsciously turned his head and saw an attractive young man dressed in a brocade robe standing beside him since who knows when.
This handsome looking man was pleasantly smiling at him, but he felt that there was nothing pleasant in the expression.
He slowly met with that man’s pair of eyes and his heart somehow seemed to drop in fear for a second.

Chen Miao Ping was very sensitive to people’s malicious or spiteful thoughts, and seeing Imperial Physician Ruan like this, he asked with a questioning look on his face, 

“And this is……?”

A maid who was assigned to keep the inner Courtyard clean smartly piped up at this time, 

“Gu-Ye, this is Imperial Physician Ruan.
Specifically sent by the Imperial Palace to help look at Second Master’s legs.
It has been at least one year or more now since he has been assigned.”

This wording was very particular in that he had been healing Xie Yu Zhi’s legs for more than a year now and it hasn’t been healed at all……

Chen Miao Ping nodded his head with a speculative look on his face.
He then turned towards Imperial Physical Ruan and smiled, 

“Please pardon my manners.
But as you are here to help with Second Master’s condition, then may I possibly overstep to ask what is your method? Acupuncture? Medicine? How long will it be until it’s healed?”

A series of questions that choked Imperial Physician Ruan’s words and he couldn’t come up with anything.
After a while he finally stuttered out, 

“Second Master’s disability in his leg is from an old wound.
Please forgive this Imperial Physician as there is no more I can do.
However, it is best to try something, and so I have specially prepared a medicine bag full of herbs and plants that could incite the unused muscles to have some activity and also rejuvenate the blood flow.
If it is applied daily on the affected leg, at least on cold or raining days, it would lessen the pain in the wounded leg.”

“I see…….”

Chen Miao Ping nodded his head and reached out a hand, 

“Second Master does not like to see outsiders.
Imperial Physician Ruan, if you could hand over the medicine bag to me, I will help him apply it on.”

Then told the little maid to reward him, while passing the medicine bag to a Mo-mo for it to be heated up.
After that, he ignored the physician and pushed the door open to head inside.

Xie Yu Zhi was just lying on the bed and reading a book.
Seeing Chen Miao Ping come in, he lifted his eyes slightly and then continued to read his book.
Without even moving his head, he said, 

“The next time you see that old bag, just toss him out.
Don’t even waste your time.”

His face was indeed a good looking face.
Especially with the sunlight hitting the patterned blinds, there was a special delicate feeling from the side of his handsome face that only a youthful boy could have.
And when his eyes looked down, there was still that coldness lying beneath, a somberness that seemed to be etched in him and can’t be removed.

 

Chen Miao Ping sat on the bed by his feet .
Seeing that Xie Yu Zhi was only concerned about his book and did not even bother to converse with him, he inquisitively looked at the book, 

“Looking at Chun Gong Tu1? Why are you so engrossed?”

Xie Yu Zhi: “……”

He finally put down his book and closed the cover.
It was “Classic of Poetry”.
Xie Yu Zhi gave him a glance, 

“Your normal literature when you were studying, is to look at these improper things, hmm?”

Chen Miao Ping said, 

“Not all, as it gets too repetitive otherwise.
I usually also read other variations like “Fei Hua Bao Jian”, “Yu Luo Chun”, “Jin Ping Xiu Ta” too.”

He has the original host’s memories and the titles he just mentioned were all explicit in their descriptions of sex.

Xie Yu Zhi was taken aback and then chuckled out loud.
He lazily leaned back on his pillow and kicked Chen Miao Ping, 

“Did you depend on those things to get the ranking of Flower Seeker? If it was ever known, how mocking would it be to you?”

Chen Miao Ping was just about to say something when there was a knock on the door.
A Mo-mo called out from outside the door, 

“Gu-Ye, the medicine has been warmed up.”

Chen Miao Ping subconsciously looked at Xie Yu Zhi and when he didn’t see Xie Yu Zhi having much of a reaction, said, 

“Come in.”

After hearing an approval, the Mo-mo came in holding a tray which carried a warmed up medicine packet with other helpful items like a roll of gauze and scissors on the side.
But the Mo-mo seemed to be afraid of Xie Yu Zhi’s anger as she placed the items down and bowed before quickly leaving the room.

Once she left, Xie Yu Zhi looked up at Chen Miao Ping.
Without arguing or making a fuss, he calmly explained, 

“Applying these things are useless.”

Chen Miao Ping felt the bag of medicine and it felt a little too hot on the skin.
The packet also smelled a bit weird but was very fragrant, probably only the distinct special smell that chinese herbal medicine could have. 

He said to Xie Yu Zhi, 

“With these kinds of medicine you cannot see the effects right away.
Even if it is of no use, we should apply it anyway.
Perhaps one day, it will suddenly be better.
It’s better to do something for that chance.”

Humans that are alive and living need to grasp for a chance for a future, as otherwise just living haphazardly like a dead zombie has no meaning.

Xie Yu Zhi said, 

“No, I do not need chances.”

Chen Miao Ping rolled up his sleeves to his forearms and blindly pulled out some words, 

“That Ruan is most definitely a charlatan.
Not to fool you, but I once was recruited under a wandering master, who specialized in specialty medicine.
Perhaps I would be better than him.
Second Master, would you please allow me to take a look at your leg?”

And then held his bare feet, which felt very delicate, and so fragile and thin.

Xie Yu Zhi seemed to want to kick him, but he looked at Chen Miao Ping’s weakly muscled body.
If he kicked with his strength, Chen Miao Ping might be sent flying out into the heavens.
He contemplated and then let him do as he wished.

Chen Miao Ping was paying attention to his face and relaxed a bit when he saw Xie Yu Zhi give him control.
He started by rolling Xie Yu Zhi’s pants up.

Perhaps it was because he was bedridden for two years, Xie Yu Zhi’s muscles seemed to be deteriorating, his legs much thinner than the average man’s.
His injury was centered around his knees where there was a foot long gash.
As his skin was fairly pale, the wound looked very grotesque.
Chen Miao Ping stared at it carefully, as if he was a professional at this.
He was a great pretender when he wanted to be one.

 

“Were you hurt to the bone?”

“Mhmm.”

“Did it hurt your meridians?”2

“Mhmm.”

“Why are your veins so dark? And there’s dark purple all around your knee?”

Xie Yu Zhi picked up his book to continue reading and used it to cover his face.
Chen Miao Ping couldn’t clearly see his expression before Xie Yu Zhi replied, 

“The weapon that injured me that year was poisoned.”

Chen Miao Ping paused upon hearing that, and then he kept rolling Xie Yu Zhi’s pants up to his thighs.
One inch at a time, feeling around his bones.
The room was entirely shrouded in silence and then suddenly a voice gasped out,

“Ah! Not good!”

Xie Yu Zhi was so shocked by that sudden sound his pupils dilated.
He immediately looked over and in a solemn voice asked, 

“What’s wrong?!”

Chen Miao Ping’s face was drenched in paleness, 

“Second Master…… This this this…… this poison is slowly infecting you.
It’s now moving up from your knees to your thighs.
If this keeps going, it will infect your bodily organs and you probably will not have long to live!”

Xie Yu Zhi scowled and scolded him, 

“Don’t make things up!”

But in his heart he was actually frantically panicking .

Chen Miao Ping said as if he was justified, 

“If I lie to you then I am a dog! Just now the meridian above Second Master’s knee was already blackened.
If you use force to press it down, it pressurizes underneath and you can see it very obviously.
Normally you cannot feel it out.
This is a very strong poison, being able to harm others without any forewarning!”

Xie Yu Zhi pursed his lips and did not say anything, but his face had already paled more than a degree.
Chen Miao Ping immediately placated him and said, 

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.
This poison may be strong, but I have a plan to keep Second Master alive.”

Xie Yu Zhi squeezed the book in his hand, 

“What are you thinking?”

Chen Miao Ping came closer to him and said in a serious voice, 

“That is to make sure before the poison moves up to your lungs to ……”

And he lifted his hand to chop down as he said a word that blew up Xie Yu Zhi’s mind and blackened his vision,

“Amputate–!”

“From your knee to the end, cut it off, and this way, the poison cannot spread.”

“Thump”

Xie Yu Zhi’s scroll dropped onto the floor.
His eyes were blown wide open and his face was scrunched up immensely.
Never in the world would he have thought that so-called plan would be this!

Xie Yu Zhi’s chest was heaving out of control, his face a pale white.
He stuttered out a few words with great difficulty, 

“Fool! …… Why don’t you just kill me right off!”

So easily deceived.

Chen Miao Ping suddenly smiled and straightened up his body.
He reached out to hold the bag of medicine in his hands and felt the temperature was just about right. 

In a voice that sounded like he was conceding to him, Chen Miao Ping said, 

“How about this then? Compared to chopping your leg off, Second Master, have you not realized that this situation you are in is not that bad after all?”

Humans will always consider themselves as pitiful, as having the worst experience out of everyone else.
But that is only because they have not met someone worse off than them.

Seeing his teasing eyes, Xie Yu Zhi only realized now that he had been played.
His face instantly turned menacing and he grabbed onto Chen Miao Ping’s shirt collar, eyes blazing with rage, 

“Your courage is pretty damn high –“

Chen Miao Ping pulled down his hand and said without flustering, 

“Doesn’t Second Master like me being this bold?”

And then dragged Xie Yu Zhi’s legs over.
The other was struggling, but his wiggling was held down with force. 

“Let’s just apply this.
It will be winter soon and the air will be frigidly cold.
You will be in pain then.”

Chen Miao Ping took the pack of medicine and applied it over Xie Yu Zhi’s knee.
With delicacy and gentleness, he used some gauze to wrap around the injured area.
He was in such a state of seriousness and focus that although the packet was warm, Xie Yu Zhi weirdly felt a burning heat.
He stared at Chen Miao Ping and his hand twitched in the air, but in the end, he only picked his book back up from the ground.

 

He had just read up to the poem of “Betrayed” and Xie Yu Zhi, wanting to take his mind off things, continued reading from where he had left off,

Ah, for thee, thou little dove! Eat not fruit upon that tree.

Ah for thee, thou tender maid! Dally not with gentlemen.

Gentlemen may do rash deeds, Yet be pardoned even then;

Maidens, if they do the same, Never can escape the blame.3

Xie Yu Zhi couldn’t help but read it out loud.
He thought that the wording was not exactly correct and so changed a few words, 

“Maidens, if they do the same, never can escape the blame.
Gentleman may do rash deeds …… yet hard to be pardoned then.”

Click here to bypass footnotes!

Notes:

*1 Chun Gong Tu: basically a book of pictures of sex/erotica.
Depending on when, it has been used to “teach” girls about sex

 

*2 meridians: part of acupuncture, the points of a body system that energy flow through (kind of like… if you have seen Naruto and if I remember correctly, the points of where chakra builds up in the body? Plum says it’s “Tenketsu”… (ok Plum…)) If you search meridians of acupuncture, you can see many diagrams that indicate all the points in the body.

*3 Poem “BETRAYED” quoted from the Online Library of Liberty, Section I.
V.
4: BETRAYED, from “The Shi King, the Old “Poetry Classic” of the Chinese [1891]”, translated by Williams Jennings (Title and the 4 lines of the poem were quoted from that english translation, but it is a little different from the chinese title and the wording of the poetry lines, so if you were to search that to look at the original text, it won’t necessarily pop up.
You will need to search “卫风·氓”).

The entire poem, which fairly long, is about a woman who had been abandoned by her abusive husband, from the beginning of her love to marriage to her weary eyes looking at maidens who would soon be discovering the imbalance between men and women to the abusive relationship and mocking laughter from her family and then to her separation.

In particular those lines that Xie Yu Zhi quoted out loud: The first line is saying that the fruit (which is referenced as mulberry in Chinese) is very sweet, but birds who eat too much can be easily drunk from it.
The second is how love can be so perfect and glamourous and it can so easily blind people to give everything and be deceived.
Third is that men can easily pull away with no consequences after falling in love, while (fourth line) maidens who, once fallen into the river of love, can never escape or get out clean.

The overall message in this particular section of the poem that is conveyed by the woman is to say how women have a limited time of their beauty, and once their looks have diminished, men who were in love became tired and loathsome of them.
After they married, their relationship will break apart, and then finally be separated and women will have no choice but to go back to their home they grew up in and be ridiculed/mocked for whatever they had done to make their husbands forsake them.
And the woman laments that as much as she could think about what mistakes she has done, which is nothing really, that man will always be in the right.
She cries that after everything she has done, she could only receive this lesson that with a patriarchal society that holds men to such high regard, only women in love can ever be wrong/blamed.

Another interesting tidbit: “Classic of Poetry” is the oldest collection of chinese poetry (to date).