XH 160
Everyone pleaded the Emperor to reconsider, pleaded the Second Prince to reconsider, and even pleaded the Empress to reconsider for the Emperor!
Needless to say, that minister that uttered the last sentence had been hauled out and punished.
After that, the protest calmed down slightly but the fire in their heart could not be extinguished!
Everyone has their own interest and thoughts, but the direction of their thoughts could be separated into four fractions.
The first was the Second Prince supporters, claiming that they had been treated by Miss Liu and they had not suffered any side effects! They plead for the Emperor to seek justice for Miss Liu being wronged!
Miss Liu is a beauty with brains and talents, a rare combination! She would do no wrong or else the Second Prince would not love her this much!
The second fraction naturally belonged to the Crown Prince supporters, always clashing with the Second Prince and his fans. They drive in the fact that Great Doctor Bai himself claimed that only two people have the surname Bai and both of them were right here! So who was that teacher that Liu Chu Chu had sworn to? It must be a fake person that wanted to ride the tailcoat of Doctor Bai's success! Who knows if the techniques she learned from the crook were real or not?
They are talking about human life here!
The third fraction was the neutral party. But they were not without their own thoughts but preferred to remain silent for fear that they accidentally angered people that they could not effort to offend. It would be better to stay out of the problem that has nothing to do with them.
Sigh... why do they like to push their own views onto others?
The fourth fraction was just newly formed, exclusively for Doctor Bai! This party mostly consisted of doctors and the fangirls that had fallen for the doctor's charisma. Their heart had never calmed down a moment since his arrival!
Who cares about politics? Look at his charming smile aaaaahhhh~
The Crown Prince, who was supposed to be leading the second fraction, seems to have one of his legs climbed onto the fourth fraction boat. His eyes were practically glued onto Xiao Hua's small form!
Finally, Long Lian noticed her eldest brother's immoral gaze on her best friend and discreetly picked up a peanut, flicked it with the aid of her inner energy, hitting right at his forehead.
"Ah!"
Long Lian quickly shifted away, trying her best to look innocent and only to meet Xiao Hua's shocked gaze. Her guilty look quickly disappeared to be replaced with a wounded look directed to Xiao Hua.
Xiao Hua: ?
Naturally, Long Lian felt angry and hurt that her good friend that she treated as her own sister would hide such a big secret from her! It was one thing to refuse to let her know about the truth behind her brewing talent as it was her third brother's secret, but it was another when this was Xiao Hua's own secret!
The Emperor stood up, followed by the Empress and everyone quickly went quiet and followed suit except for the 19th Emperor.
"We have this banquet to welcome Doctor Bai. Miss Liu is Second Prince's intended, and We will give her a chance to speak for herself."
The second fraction grumbled in dissatisfaction, but they also want to see what Liu Chu Chu will say for herself. They hope that she will further dig into her grave, saving their effort!
Liu Chu Chu stepped forward and gave the Emperor a deep curtsy. "Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty. This humble one will give a good explanation." She had stepped to the center so that everyone could hear her voice.
With a nod, the Emperor sat back down and allowed others to take their own seat again.
"This humble one met my teacher when I'm just a little girl. He told me his name is Bai and healed my injuries. Before he leaves, he taught me some healing techniques. I had never lied or claim myself to be the Legendary Doctor's student, for I only said what I've experienced in the past."
None of the guests had attended the meeting that annulled the Second Prince and Madam Ping Shui's engagement so they were not clear what Miss Liu had spoken that day. Today, Madam Ping Shui and her family had excused from attending due to family matters. Knowing what his most outstanding son had done to General Tang and his precious wife, the Emperor did not make things difficult and accepted the excuse for their absence.
As for the others that had attended that day, they remember exactly who was the one that jumped to the conclusion that Liu Chu Chu was Legendary Doctor Bai's student but they choose to remain silent and pretend ignorance.
That was because the Emperor himself was the first one that jumped into the conclusion and had totally forgot about his own declaration!
The Second Prince stood up from his seat and stepped up next to Liu Chu Chu. "Doctor Bai, surely it's an exaggeration to claim that there are only two people with Bai surname. Just like our royal family 'Long' surname, we would not dare to claim it is only the royal family that could use that surname."
In other words, you are too arrogant to claim that Bai surname only belonged to you!
Long Yuen's frown deepens and was about to open his mouth to scold this grandson of his when Doctor Bai answered. "Unfortunately, Bai surname is not a name that anyone could take as a surname."
Long Yuen resisted the urge to roll his eyes at how his old friend answered. He could see his second grandson getting irritated at his answer. Least things would get out of hand, as well as letting his second grandson save some of his face, Long Yuen decided to explain some things.
"For the Bai family, every generation had followed the path to be doctors. To give them respect, no one in the Four Kingdom is allowed to use Bai as their surname. Unless Miss Liu's teacher is from outside the Four Kingdoms, it is unlikely her teacher to have the surname Bai."
"Thank Imperial Grandfather for the information," the Second Prince saluted. "However, this prince believes that Chu Chu is an innocent party and her teacher does not wish to reveal his true identity and borrowed Doctor Bai's name. Doctor Bai, please accept our apology for being ignorant and wrongly used your name to heal the sick."
The Second Prince could say that the teacher perhaps has 'Bai' letter in his name but not his surname, or that the teacher of Liu Chu Chu could be from outside the Four Kingdoms, but that would make others view it as if he was clutching straws to argue back to life.
Someone whispered a bit too loudly from the guest's seat. "But Miss Liu had cured many people with her medical skill and as of yet, no one had complained but praised her instead. Surely what the Second Prince said must be the truth."
That person was quickly chastised by an older man beside him to remain quiet, but everyone had heard what that person said. Indeed, Miss Liu had healed a lot of people and there was never a complaint about her unable to perform well.
"Since it's a misunderstanding, there is no need for an apology. Miss Liu seems to know what she is doing and the patients are well, so we will let it be. It is good that the Guilin Kingdom has another good doctor," Doctor Bai said good-naturedly.
Xiao Hua: But you sound like an unhappy uncle that had to give way to the youngster.
"This one will make Guilin proud and help those in need," Liu Chu Chu curtsied.
"Thank you for your understanding, Doctor Bai." With a polite salute, the Second Prince helped Liu Chu Chu to return to their seats.
The head of the physician of the royal court stood up and saluted politely. "It is also our mistake. Doctor Bai, may we inquire who your apprentice is?"
The Empress turned to look at Xiao Hua, which caught the Emperor's attention. When the Emperor saw Xiao Hua, he immediately knew what his Empress wanted her to do.
However, the 19th Emperor saw through the husband and wife's intention and huffed. Having Xiao Hua to admit who her 'master' was would indeed have everyone look at Long Zhu in a new light. To have the daughter of Doctor Bai to serve her father's apprentice was a great deal, as it also meant that Long Zhu was not an ordinary apprentice with an ordinary talent.
Using his silver chopsticks to pick a piece of dim sum, Doctor Bai placed it on Xiao Hua's plate. "You need to eat more to speed up your healing."
Long Yuen grinned when his good friend's actions indirectly told him that he would not let Xiao Hua be used and for Long Yuen to deal with it.
Xiao Hua naturally does not know the underneath meaning of the Emperor and Empress' gaze. She only thought they were just looking at her before announcing the Third Prince as Doctor Bai's student.
"Obviously it would be my favorite grandson. Or else why would my friend accept him as his student?" Long Yuen's voice could be clearly heard by everyone. "Without my recommendation, how would it be easy for my little grandson to be my friend's apprentice?"
Everyone's expression was controlled into a picture of perfect neutrality, but their thoughts were like horses, galloping fiercely to process their newfound information. But they also felt as if being played around!
Who is the 19th Emperor's favorite grandson? They wanted to ask yet do not know how to ask! This feeling was so uncomfortable!
As for Liu Chu Chu, the storm in her calmed down and peaceful silence reins her inner mind.
From the way the 19th Emperor had spoken, Doctor Bai only accepted the Third Prince as his student to give face to his longtime friend. The Third Prince's medical knowledge must be ordinary, or else he would not be afraid to announce his apprenticeship under Doctor Bai.
The Third Prince might be the Miracle Doctor Bai's apprentice, but his skills must be a whole lot worse than her spring water! In no time, everyone's trust in her skill will return and firmed, while everyone would mock the useless apprentice of Doctor Bai that used family connections to buy the title!
Liu Chu Chu's smile was especially bright as she finally felt things were going her way now.