The Doctor’s Three-Time Marriage - Chapter 281

Chapter 281: 281. The sudden bestowment of marriage

Translator: 549690339

Deep into the night, Situ Xie’s study room.

“No one came for that fan.” Situ Xie’s facial expression darkened, ” Su Liang seems gentle, but she’s highly calculating. Duanmu Yi might have sent her for you and the mechanical secret scroll.”

Mu Yu, sitting in a dark corner, spoke out, “If my master hasn’t shown up, could it be that the fan is not his at all? If it is his, he must be right here in Yao City. He wouldn’t wait so many days to reveal himself.”

Situ Xie’s face changed, “It couldn’t be Su Liang’s scheme…” Recalling how Su Liang, filled with smiles, had said earlier that day to find a good artisan to meet her, Situ Xie felt increasingly certain that the fan weapon was related to her! If Duanmu Yi sent Su Liang to find the descendants of the Mu Family and the mechanical secret scroll, Su Liang wouldn’t have waited until now to act!

The development of events left Situ Xie confused, still not knowing who the fan came from. He hoped it was from Mu Yu’s master, as that’s the person he is waiting for.

“Should the prince want me to meet that woman from Qian Country?” Mu Yu asked.

Situ Xie raised his hand, “No. If you meet her, you will fall into a trap. Even if she hasn’t seen you, she may guess your origin. Let’s watch and see how things unfold.”

Su Liang and Gu Ling walked deep into the pagoda forest of Qingjing Temple again on the agreed-upon day, but they didn’t encounter Old Man Mu. They didn’t linger and soon left.

Su Liang always thought Old Man Mu would abandon the ancestral teachings and take Gu Ling as his disciple. His absence doesn’t mean the matter is over; maybe he was just delayed by something else.

Not long after returning to the mansion, Situ Yao came to see Su Liang, saying that the Crown Prince Mansion will host a banquet for the baby’s full month birthday and inviting her to attend.

“Okay.” Su Liang promptly agreed, “Will your cousin also be there?”

“My aunt’s son will be there. As for whether Gu Ling will be there, I have no idea. The invitation has already been sent to Ning Xiangyuan.” Situ Yao smiled, “If Gu Ling doesn’t go, will Doctor Su also not go?”

Su Liang shook her head, “I will definitely go. Every time I go to Qingjing Temple to find him, I either end up playing chess with Master Xuanqing or take a walk in the pagoda forest. It’s not fun at all.”

Situ Yao couldn’t help smiling, “Then Doctor Su, please also persuade Gu Ling to attend the banquet tomorrow. Oh right, there’s another thing I need to ask Doctor Su, the Crown Prince wishes to see that weaponized folding fan, I wonder if Doctor Su can bring it to the banquet tomorrow?”

“This…” Su Liang held her forehead, “That’s so unfortunate.”

Situ Yao paused, “Is there any inconvenience?”

“I broke the fan.” Su Liang sighed lightly, “I only accidentally tore it a bit at first, but I couldn’t resist, I was really curious about the mechanism inside, so I disassembled it.”

Last time they met, Su Liang took back the disassembled fan from Old Man Mu. But until today, when Su Liang met Situ Xie, the fan bag around her waist contained her own fan.

Hearing this, Situ Yao proposed to take a look at what disassembled fan looks like since she was quite curious.

Su Liang directly took it out for Situ Yao and showed her. The fan face was shredded, and the fan bones were also split in half, and a delicate little mechanism could be seen inside the fan’s grip.

After Situ Yao left, Situ Xie quickly learned that Su Liang had disassembled the fan herself.

This made Situ Xie start to question whether Su Liang really knows about the descendants of the Mu Family and the secret scroll.

The next day, as Su Liang accompanied Situ Xie to the Imperial Palace to treat Situ Han, she brought up the issue of her disassembled fan on the way and asked if Situ Xie had found a skilled artisan.

“Fortunately, I don’t think I’ve damaged the interior mechanism of the fan. As long as we find a suitable craftsman, it should be able to be restored,” Su Liang said with a smile.

Situ Xie, upon hearing this, told her he had people searching, but no one had found an artisan capable of handling this yet. Meanwhile, he began to suspect Su Liang deliberately disassembled the fan to get him to bring Mu Yu to her…

After treating Situ Han again, Su Liang suggested that his condition had improved significantly and that she should return to her country. She offered to teach her acupuncture technique to the physicians of Liang Country.

Situ Xie was surprised that Su Liang was willing to pass on her special abilities. Situ Han, now able to speak normally, insisted that Su Liang personally treat him until he was fully recovered, stating that he wouldn’t trust anyone else with this task.

However, Su Liang had already made up her mind to leave, “Emperor Liang, I will leave behind the methods of acupuncture and the prescription. If all goes well, it should return to normal by the time of the New Year.”

Situ Han still persisted, “Did Emperor Qian say when he sent Divine Doctor Su to us, to cure me and then return?”

In actuality, Duanmu Yi didn’t say that, but Su Liang could only nod, “Yes.”

Situ Han tugged at the corner of his mouth, still not daring to laugh openly. “Divine Doctor Su is such a talented person. If she could be my Liang Country’s servant, how wonderful would that be? I heard that Divine Doctor Su’s mother has an unknown origin? Perhaps she really is a woman from the Liang Country, otherwise, why would she give Su such a name?”

Upon hearing this, Su Liang realized that Situ Han seemed to want to win her over. However, if she were to stay in Liang Country and not return, it would be considered treason against Qian Country.

However, Situ Han didn’t wait for Su Liang to reply, but changed the topic,

“Divine Doctor Su has treated me, and I have always thought about what kind of thank-you gift I should give you. Gold, silver, and jewels are all too vulgar, and Divine Doctor Su doesn’t lack them. Last night, I suddenly thought of the most suitable gift.”

“Emperor Liang is too courteous. What I did was just following orders.” Su Liang said, but she was quite curious about what Situ Han was going to give her.

When she first met Situ Han, he had a twisted mouth and skewed eyes, but now his features were gradually returning to normal, and she could see that he resembled Situ Xie.

However, since they were nominally uncle and nephew, it was normal for them to look similar, and it wouldn’t make anyone suspect that they were father and son.”

After Situ Han regained the ability to speak normally in these three days, the impression he gave to Su Liang was that he was not merely a puppet of Situ Xie, even though he seemed to trust Situ Xie very much.”

At the moment, what Situ Han was saying obviously hadn’t been discussed with Situ Xie beforehand, because it was Situ Xie who asked what Situ Han was going to give Su Liang.

However, Situ Han just played coy, “I’ll keep this a secret for now, I want to give Divine Doctor Su a surprise.”

Su Liang smiled, “Thank you, Emperor Liang, I’m already looking forward to it.”

When Su Liang left the palace, Situ Xie did not accompany her, stating that he still had matters to report to Situ Han, and asked Su Liang to leave first.

According to the agreement with Situ Yao, Su Liang went to the Crown Prince’s Residence, even brought a gift which Ren Dong prepared as a matter of courtesy. There was no particular motive, She just wanted to “know” the members of the Liang royal family a bit, as she was likely to have dealings with them in the future. It was safest to know your allies and enemies well.

“Uncle Emperor, there’s no need to ask. I have plans, and you’ll know when the time comes.” Situ Han waved his hand with an indifferent expression, refusing to tell Situ Xie what he was going to give Su Liang.

Situ Xie frowned, “That woman is skilled and has deep plots. Your Majesty, you must be careful when dealing with her.”

Situ Han showed displeasure, “Is Uncle Emperor trying to teach me how to handle things? Uncle Emperor, why don’t you first tell me why General Lin, who came from Qian Country, nearly lost his life on Wolong Snow Mountain?”

Situ Xie sighed, admitting that it was due to severe negligence on Situ Min’s part.

“Uncle Emperor, there’s no need to accompany Divine Doctor Su to the palace every day. If you have time, it would be better to manage those unruly grandsons more.” After saying that, Situ Han stated that he was tired and asked Situ Xie to leave.

After leaving the palace, Situ Xie also attended the banquet at the Crown Prince’s Mansion.

Crown Prince Situ Chao was a bit disappointed when he learned that Su Liang did not bring the fan with her. He publicly declared that whoever could find Master Mu who sold fans would be generously rewarded.

Watching him, Su Liang thought that compared to Situ Xie’s eldest grandson, Situ Jing, this Situ Chao was more prone to show his emotions and seemed rather unintelligent.

Gu Ling did not attend the banquet, and Situ Chao made a few snide remarks about him.

When Su Liang left the Crown Prince’s Mansion, it was still early, and she went to the Qingjing Temple on the way.

When she saw Master Xuanqing, he was sitting alone drinking tea, and Gu Ling was not there.

“Master, has the Marquis Gu already left?” Su Liang asked.

Master Xuanqing laughed heartily and said, “Benefactor Gu has gone for a stroll in the Pagoda Forest. Would Benefactor Su like to play a few rounds of chess with this old monk?”

Quickly waving her hand Su Liang responded, “I’m not skilled at chess, I won’t make a fool of myself.”

Yet Master Xuanqing insisted on inviting her again, seemingly believing Su Liang was being modest.

Hence, Su Liang ended up playing a round of chess with Master Xuanqing, and it ended quickly.

“Does Benefactor Su find playing chess boring?” asked Master Xuanqing.

Su Liang nodded, “In real life, one cannot avoid scheming and jostling for power. I don’t have any interest in also fighting these battles on the chessboard.”

Master Xuanqing responded with a slight smile, “Benefactor Su, you are indeed a thoughtful person.”

Noticing this old monk had a good impression of her, Su Liang didn’t hurry to leave and began chatting about Master Pu Hui in the Huguo Temple of Qian Country, and the little monk Cheng Yun she knew.

When Gu Ling returned from the Pagoda Forest, he saw Master Xuanqing giving Su Liang the strand of Buddha beads he was wearing on his hand.

You should know that Gu Ling played chess with this old monk for several days and Master Xuanqing didn’t give him anything.

After returning to the mansion of King Yue, Su Liang chased Gu Ling to Ningxiang Residence again.

“Why did Master Xuanqing give you the Buddha beads?” Gu Ling asked.

“Because he likes me.” Su Liang said, as she removed them from her hand and studied the tiny beads inscribed with scriptures; she quite liked them.

Gu Ling glanced at Su Liang and asked, “Can we leave now?”

Su Liang shook her head, “Emperor Liang isn’t letting me leave, he wants me to cure him first.”

The plan sure to leave the city after she entered the palace, had been discussed with Gu Ling. They were certain that all Situ Xie had, was half a piece of waste paper and there was no need to snatch it. There was no point in staying in Liang Country anymore, so they decided to leave. Even though it was too late to return to the capital city of Qian Country to celebrate the New Year, Gu Ling was tired of his life in Yao City. Once they left Yao City, they could live more freely.

However, Situ Han did not agree, and Su Liang could not leave her patient halfway through his treatment.

“Situ Han said he wanted to give me a big gift and kept it a secret. I wonder what it could be.” Su Liang said, “It should be within a day or two. I’ll ask to leave after I get the gift.”

Gu Ling wanted Master Xuanqing’s Buddha Beads. Su Liang readily agreed to give them to him, “Wear them, but don’t let others see them. After all, you refused to accept my proposal, so how can you accept my gift? You agreed to eat late-night snacks only after I pretended that Nian Jincheng asked me to take care of you.”

With that said, Su Liang waved her hand and returned to Han Xiangyuan.

Situ Xie had been unable to grasp any of the events that occurred since the appearance of that weaponized fan.

“Prince, why don’t I go see Su Liang? Let’s see how she reacts. Maybe only when I show up will the master come out.” Mu Yu proposed this again. He clearly understood that without the other half of the secret scroll, the scroll in Situ

Xie’s hand was worthless and his alleged identity as the descendant of the Mu Family also had no value.

After a long silence, Situ Xie coldly said, “Very well. I will arrange an identity for you, to meet Su Liang and help her fix her fan. Your name will be Zhao Yu.” The surname was a common one.

“Yes.” Mu Yu respectfully responded.

The next day, Su Liang went shopping with Situ Yao, and they visited the Treasure Pavilion in Yao City.

Su Liang took a fancy to a delicate mask; it was light in her hand and she stated she would buy it for Gu Ling.

She also liked a beautiful antique fan pendant and decided to gift that to him as well.

When Su Liang and Situ Yao left the Treasure Pavilion, Ren Dong and Situ Yao’s maid were carrying so many gift boxes they could hardly manage.

A piece of news quickly spread through Yao City: the Divine Doctor Su spent lavishly just to see a smile on the beauty, Gu Ling.

After returning to King Yue’s mansion, Su Liang sent a bunch of rare and antique treasures she’d bought to Ning Xiangyuan, placing them all in his room while Gu Ling was absent.

When Situ Yao mentioned this to Situ Xie, Situ Xie began to suspect that Su Liang’s pursuit of Gu Ling was not a pretense. After all, he only knew that these two had known each other for a long time and had lived together, but given Gu Ling’s temperament, he might indeed regard Su Liang just as a friend.

In the evening, Situ Xie took Mu Yu, who was dressed simply, to Han Xiangyuan.

“This is the craftsman I found, surnamed Zhao, who might be able to help Divine Doctor Su restore that fan,” Situ Xie said with a smile.

“That’s excellent!” Su Liang’s eyes fell on Mu Yu; his appearance and demeanor were very similar to what Old Mu had described. There was no doubt that this was the errant son Old Mu had mentioned, and he was indeed with Situ Xie.

Actually, Su Liang was a little surprised that Situ Xie would bring Mu Yu to see her. All she could say was that things were going more smoothly than she had anticipated.

Su Liang produced the dismantled fan, “Master Zhao, see if you can repair or replicate it.”

Mu Yu held it in his hand and examined it closely, then nodded, “The mechanism is not complicated, but it’s very intricate. I’ll do my best.” “So, do you have confidence, Master Zhao?” Su Liang asked.

Mu Yu nodded again, “I’m seventy percent sure I can make a similar one.”

“That’s excellent,” Su Liang smiled, “If you really can make it, I will certainly reward you handsomely.”

Situ Xie said cheerfully, “Divine Doctor Su, you don’t need to be so formal. He has agreed to work in King Yue’s mansion, so he is not an outsider.”

When Mu Yu proposed to take the fan away, Su Liang readily agreed, being so agreeable that Situ Xie suspected something was up.

At nightfall, Ren Dong informed Su Liang that Mu Yu was staying in a guesthouse in King Yue’s Mansion.

When Su Liang went to deliver late-night snacks to Gu Ling and mentioned it, Gu Ling said to do nothing for now. How to deal with Mu Yu was Old Mu’s business.

When Su Liang left, she took with her the heap of gifts she had given to Gu Ling. Though, in fact, Gu Ling had already accepted them; they were simply being stored at her place for the time being.

The next day, as Su Liang was preparing to go to the palace to give Situ Han an acupuncture treatment, someone from Liang Country’s Imperial Palace arrived.

Then, Su Liang finally found out what the “surprise” Situ Han had for her was…

“The emperor issued a decree during this morning’s early court, designating Gu Ling, the son of Princess Ning Yu, as Prince Ning, adopting Divine Doctor Su as his adopted daughter, conferred the title Princess Yu Heng, and granted a matrimonial decree for them.

Su Liang was a bit taken aback, never expecting that Situ Han would grant a matrimonial decree to her and Gu Ling. Was this his gift to them?

On the other hand, although she and Gu Ling were both nominally from Qian Country, Gu Ling’s mother was Situ Han’s cousin. If he made Gu Ling a prince and didn’t force him to stay in Liang Country, it would be acceptable in name.

And outsiders didn’t know what illness Situ Han had. Maybe they all thought that Su Liang was his lifesaver. So, on the pretext of repaying a kindness, Situ Han adopting Su Liang as his adopted daughter and conferring her as princess would be acceptable.

Although Duanmu Yi would certainly be furious, he couldn’t do much about it publicly.

“Divine Doctor Su? Divine Doctor Su?” Situ Jing called out twice before Su Liang came back to her senses.

“What?” Su Liang was a bit confused.

“The imperial matrimonial decree… Will you accept it?” Situ Jing asked.

Su Liang’s expression became serious, “Of course I will accept it! Give it to me quickly!”