The queen sighed, nodded, then shook her head and left as well.
Xie Lian asked for one of the imperial doctors to tend to Feng Xin’s right arm, and he apologized.
“Feng Xin, I’m sorry.”
Once the others had gone, Feng Xin immediately changed face and clicked his tongue. “This is nothing. I dared to hit him, so why would I be scared of his revenge?” After a pause, he advised, “Your Highness, of course it’s right for you to discipline Qi Rong, but don’t be angry with His Majesty. His Majesty is the king, and a figurehead of the older generation, so he thinks differently than we do. Seeing the two of you fight makes the queen unhappy. She has her troubles too.”
And how could Xie Lian not know his mother had her own troubles?
Qi Rong’s mother was the younger blood sister of the queen, and they shared deep sisterly affections. When this sister was young and immature, at the first bloom of romance, she thirsted for freedom and broke off a good engagement to elope with a bodyguard from her palace, lured by his sweet, honeyed words. Who knew that the one she had chosen was a villain? This daughter of nobility was stuffed into a shack barely better than a doghouse, and not half a year later, the villain revealed his true nature and his taste for debauchery. Once Qi Rong was born, he became even more abusive, beating and kicking his wife and child. Finally, the mother couldn’t endure it any longer, and when Qi Rong turned five, she dejectedly took him and ran away from home. Because she had long since been disgraced through that royal scandal, she closed the door and no longer stepped foot outside, spending the rest of her life in grim depression, only showing particular love and devotion to her only son.
During an upheaval, Qi Rong’s mother lost her life saving the queen. Before she passed, she asked Xie Lian’s mother to look after Qi Rong.
Of course, the queen did her utmost. However, it was still awkward raising someone else’s son. Discipline was difficult—too strict and it would appear to be abuse, and considering familial affections, she could hardly be so harsh. But too lax, and it would lead to the kind of behavior seen today, and without restraints it would only worsen in the future. The queen often wondered—she raised Xie Lian and Qi Rong almost the same, so why were their characters so different?
Just then, Xie Lian suddenly remembered there was a small child still lying on the bed here in the medical office. He raised the bedside curtain to check, and that child had been sitting up since who knows when, looking like he’d been trying to peer out of a crack in the curtains. When Xie Lian raised the curtain, he lay down again obediently.
Xie Lian said, “Did we scare you with that quarrel just now? Don’t let it bother you; it has nothing to do with you.”
“Your Highness, this child’s wounds have been tended to. Now he needs quiet rest,” one of the imperial doctors said.
Xie Lian dipped his head slightly. “Thank you.”
He then bent down again to ask, “Where do you live? I’ll take you home.”
That child shook his head. “No home.”
Feng Xin approached, holding the arm that was now in a sling. “No home? So, he really is a little beggar?”
Seeing that this child was so emaciated and small, his clothes filthy and unkempt, it wasn’t impossible to believe. If he had no home to return to, they couldn’t possibly leave him at the palace or throw him out on the streets.
Xie Lian pondered for a moment, then said, “If that’s the case, then let’s bring him with us back to Mount Taicang.”
Unexpectedly, Mu Qing suddenly spoke up. “He’s lying.”
Chapter 27:
To Ascend Is Human, to Fall Is Also Human
XIE LIAN TURNED HIS HEAD and asked, “What do you mean?”
“The homeless street urchins of the imperial capital all run together in a gang, and they come to my neighborhood frequently to beg for food. I know all of them, but I’ve never seen this child before.”
That young child peered at Mu Qing and didn’t say a word. Feng Xin was doubtful.
“Who do they beg for food from? You? And you’d give it to them?”
Mu Qing glared at him. “If they pester relentlessly, there’s no other way.”
Feng Xin still thought the notion rather unbelievable but didn’t make any further commentary. “Oh.”
Watching their exchange, Xie Lian wanted to laugh.
“Besides, there are sewn patches on his clothes,” Mu Qing added. “Judging by the needlework, it must have been done by a grown-up sometime recently, so there’s at least someone of age in his household. His family situation might not be the best, but he’s definitely not a beggar.”