Chapter 4: You’re The One Who Has Something Wrong With His Brain!

In the side hall, Mu Zhiming stood at the door taking several deep breaths, trying to calm himself. After stroking his lapel, he walked in, bowed his head and folded his hands together in a salute: “Father, Mother.”

Inside the side hall, Mu Boren and Madam Gong sat upright on the Taishi chairs1, in front of a wooden carved panel screen2. Seeing Mu Zhiming, Madam Gong smiled, while Mu Boren simply raised his eyes and glanced at him: “Are you done talking nonsense?”

“When all is said and done, Father is not to blame.” Mu Zhiming smiled.

“Humph!” Mu Boren patted the armrest of the Taishi chair.

“Alright, alright. Who hasn’t had a nightmare and then said a couple of silly things in their lives?” Madam Gong waved at Mu Zhiming and said, “Lizhu, come to Mother.”

Then, Mu Zhiming approached Madam Gong’s side. Madam Gong held his hand gently, lowered her eyebrows, and with a light smile, she said: “Lizhu, we called you here to tell you about the Spring Hunting Sacrifice taking place next month. The Noble Consort has summoned you and your father to the Palace to travel together to the Jiuqu Mountain, to receive the favor of His Majesty the Emperor. May we enjoy good health and peace this year.”

Spring Hunting Sacrifice… When those words lightly floated into Mu Zhiming’s ears, they immediately turned into invisible withered bone-like claws, fiercely pinching Mu Zhiming’s heart, making him breathless.

That was the starting point, where all of the evil misfortunes he suffered in his previous life began.

In his previous life, in the Spring Hunt Sacrifice, Mu Zhiming’s horse went crazy after being scared by wild beasts, taking Mu Zhiming deep into the forest. In the midst of the chaos, Mu Zhiming was thrown into a deep pond in the mountain stream. There, he nearly drowned and lost consciousness.

Afterwards, the Fifth Prince, Fu Yi, jumped into the deep pond to save him, despite the danger.

From that point on, Mu Zhiming wholeheartedly tried to repay Fu Yi’s kindness. But in the end, Mu Zhiming stepped into an abyss of eternal suffering.

“Lizhu, did you understand what you were instructed to do?” Mu Boren asked, after he finished telling Mu Zhiming about the Palace’s rules.

At that instant, Mu Zhiming came back from the nightmare of his past life. Breathing irregularly, he replied with a trembling voice: “Your son heard clearly.”

After bowing his head, Mu Zhiming raised his head again, his gaze as cold as the thousand-year-old polar ice, and as hard as the black iron quenched by the fire. Mu Zhiming was determined that in this life, he will stop everything with his own hands, in order to avoid making the same mistakes of the past.

After Mu Zhiming thought about it, he began to learn how to hold his breath under water.

After all, in the Spring Hunt Sacrifice, his horse will be given to him by the Emperor, so he can’t avoid the hunt.

If the calamity cannot be avoided, then he will have to survive on his own. As long as he can float and climb out of the deep pond on the mountain stream by himself, he won’t need anyone’s help. That way, he will avoid owing a life debt.

However, this Spring was a cold one, so it won’t be wise for him to go practice in the rivers and streams. Mu Zhiming then remembered that the Residence has a big bathtub, and since his young body wasn’t fully grown yet, he can practice floating in there.

“Sister Caiwei,” After returning to his wing room, Mu Zhiming hurried to summon Caiwei. “Can you do me a favor? I need you to put the largest wooden bathtub you can find in the Residence in my room and fill it with warm water.”

Although Caiwei was puzzled, she still did as she was told.

A few days later, Mu Zhiming was inside his room, practicing holding his breath while immersed in the wooden bathtub filled with water, when he suddenly heard Caiwei knocking on the door: “Young Master, Physician Kuang is here.”

With a loud ‘splash’, Mu Zhiming emerged out of the water, creating a huge splash as he coughed violently.

Caiwei, who stood outside the wing room, heard the commotion inside and said worriedly: “Young Master, did you sink in the water again? Don’t choke and hurt your throat.”

“I’m fine, cough, why is Physician Kuang here? Cough.” Mu Zhiming spat out the water from his mouth and touched his face. Then he hurried to climb out of the bathtub, wiped the water off his body, and put on his undergarments. At that moment, Caiwei entered the wing room. She helped Mu Zhiming tie his hair, put on his outer robe and ornaments one by one.

After he was done dressing, Mu Zhiming hurried to the main hall to see Physician Kuang.

Physician Kuang was an Imperial Physician, but was also Mu Zhiming’s father’s old friend. The two families were very close, and when Mu Zhiming suffered from headaches in his childhood, the Mu family relied on Physician Kuang to treat him. Mu Zhiming had always respected his teachers and elders, so he didn’t dare to make Physician Kuang wait. After trotting to the main hall, he saw Physician Kuang sitting there, carrying a small medicine wooden box decorated with carvings of birds and pears. Mu Zhiming hurried to greet him: “Physician Kuang, why are you here? Didn’t you enter the Palace to work in the ‘Imperial Physician Office3’ today?”

“Aiyah!” When Physician Kuang saw Mu Zhiming coming, he stood up with a worried look on his face and grabbed Mu Zhiming’s wrist to check on his pulse. “Lizhu, what happened to you recently?”

“I’m fine, what could have happened to me?” Mu Zhiming replied in confusion.

“The young bodyguard by your side came to me.” Physician Kuang pointed anxiously to Mu Zhiming’s forehead and said. “He said that there’s something wrong with your brain!”

Mu Zhiming: “….”

Physician Kuang: “He said that you went crazy, that you’re soaking in a bathtub every day!”

Mu Zhiming: “….”

Half an hour later, Mu Zhiming ran up and down the courtyard, chasing after Wen Heyin, determined to beat him up: “Wen! He! Yin! Stop right there! You’re the one who has something wrong with his brain!”

Wen Heyin’s feet tapped lightly, leaping onto the roof of a four-corner pavilion inside the bamboo garden. As Wen Heyin held onto the top of the pavilion to stabilize himself, he shouted downwards: “I’m not wrong! You’re immersed in that bathtub all day, every day! Who would do something like that if they weren’t ill?!”

Mu Zhiming couldn’t do Qinggong4, so he had to stand in front of the pavilion. As he raised his head, Mu Zhiming shouted angrily: “Get down here!”

Wen Heyin shook his head and shouted: “Can’t hear you, can’t hear you!”

Mu Zhiming stroked his sleeve and said: “Alright, since you have the ability, stay up there for the rest of your life! Don’t you dare come down!”

The two of them were making a fuss when all of a sudden, Spring rain fluttered down from the sky. Only then did Mu Zhiming raise his arms to cover his head, while Caiwei hurried over with an oil-paper umbrella: “Alright, alright, alright. The Heavens can’t stand all the noise anymore, so they send rain to pour down on you two.” As she held up the umbrella to shield Mu Zhiming from the rain, she shouted at the top of the pavilion: “A-Yin, why don’t you come down? You look like a drenched chicken5. If you catch a cold, I won’t take care of you.”

Wen Heyin decided to jump down the pavilion. However, the moment he got down, Wen Heyin saw Mu Zhiming smiling at him with pity. Right the next moment, Mu Zhiming rushed to catch Wen Heyin.

“Aah! Sister Caiwei! Help!” Wen Heyin hid behind Caiwei, as he reached out to clutch her sleeve, pulling her to block Mu Zhiming.

“Not to mention Sister Caiwei, even if the Heavenly Emperor were to come, no one would save you!” Mu Zhiming shouted angrily as he pointed at Wen Heyin.

One after the other, both young boys chased each other around Caiwei. As Caiwei was being dragged around, she said helplessly: “Young Master, those vulgar words cannot be said in front of the Master. Aiyah, you two are really tossing me around. Listen to me, since Physician Kuang has visited the Residence today, the Duke will hold a banquet. Young Master, you can’t be late, please go back with me to change your clothes. Everyone will be waiting for you at the banquet hall.”

The rain moistened the peach and apricot flowers, bringing the sweet fragrance of the awakening of Spring. That day, the Residence of the Duke of Yan was filled with harmony and joy.

However, in the twinkling of an eye, the day Mu Zhiming had to enter the Palace finally arrived.