Chapter 321: Chapter 321: Making a Fool of Oneself
321 Humiliation
After the princess gestured to dispense with the courtesies, she laughed and looked at Zhuo An, scoffing, "Dr. Zhuo, how dare you still come to my Princess Mansion? Sometimes I truly wonder what your face is made of, to be so incredibly thick-skinned."
Zhuo An’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he quickly feigned foolishness and laughed, "Your Highness, you jest. What could my face be made of? Isn’t it just flesh and skin? HAHAHA."
Seeing this, the others also joined in the laughter.
Princess Anping, however, showed him no respect and continued her humiliation, "Dr. Zhuo, you once claimed that if the Imperial Physician Bureau couldn’t cure an illness, then no one could. Now, my daughter is alive and very well. You once promised that if Divine Healer Zhao could cure the young princess’s illness, you... you wouldn’t need these healing hands of yours anymore. So, tell me, will you cut them off yourself, or shall this princess have it done for you?"
Zhuo An knew Princess Anping was humiliating him. He had already lost all face; he might as well give up his dignity entirely.
However, he resolved to show everyone that even if he, Zhuo An, couldn’t cure the illness and had offended the princess, he was still highly sought after.
He immediately laughed and said, "Oh, how could I trouble Your Highness? I can manage it myself."
Princess Anping sneered and gestured. "Very well. Proceed. Chop them off. This princess will personally watch you sever your own hands."
With that, she ordered a servant to bring a knife.
Zhuo An glanced at the knife, then chuckled. "Alright, alright. I’ll chop, I’ll chop."
He took the knife, hesitated with his actions, but after a moment, made no real move to cut. Then he looked around and asked the princess, "Your Highness, do you truly desire these hands of this subordinate?"
Princess Anping merely watched Zhuo An act the buffoon before her, saying nothing.
Zhuo An, still smiling at the princess, continued, "Your Highness, these hands of this subordinate are quite useless. If Your Highness would just consider them chicken feet or dog paws and allow this subordinate to keep them."
Princess Anping didn’t truly intend to have Zhuo An’s hands cut off. After all, it would be difficult to explain to the Empress Dowager. However, she was determined to humiliate him.
She scoffed, "True enough. Those hands of yours are no better than chicken feet or dog paws. Since you wish to keep them, then keep them."
A flicker in his eyes, Zhuo An bowed his head. "Many thanks to Your Highness for sparing these paws of mine."
The surrounding crowd of onlookers roared with laughter at the spectacle.
Wei Zijian was also amused by Zhuo An’s foolish self-deprecation. Just as he started to laugh, Qiao Muchen pulled him back.
"Shh! Don’t laugh."
Wei Zijian looked bewildered. "What’s wrong? Don’t you think Zhuo An looks utterly foolish? It’s hilarious!"
Qiao Muchen said, "He’s humbling himself to the extreme. The more humiliated he is now, the more intensely he will resent your master. If you laugh now, aren’t you just inviting more enmity for your master? Do you want your master to be hunted down?"
"No, no, I don’t!" Hearing this, Wei Zijian quickly clapped a hand over his mouth, daring not to laugh anymore.
After Princess Anping spared Zhuo An, she called Zhao Zhitong over to introduce her to everyone.
The princess announced, "This is Divine Healer Zhao."
Zhao Zhitong smiled. "Your Highness, you flatter me."
With Zhuo An present, no one else dared to show excessive enthusiasm towards Zhao Zhitong, merely offering a polite compliment or two.
Nearby, Zhuo An affected an air of great magnanimity, praising, "Miss Zhao, to possess such ability at your young age truly shows great promise for the younger generation!"
"Ah, seeing such capable juniors, we of the older generation should indeed consider retiring and ceding the stage to them. HAHAHA."
Others quickly chimed in with flattery.
"Dr. Zhuo, you are far too modest! You are not old in the slightest. You mustn’t speak of retirement!"
"Indeed, indeed! I’ve heard that when the emperor is ill, he insists on being treated only by Dr. Zhuo. If you were to retire, His Majesty himself would not permit it."
"Exactly! The juniors are still inexperienced. How could they be expected to take over immediately? That would be a great disrespect to their elders and the proper order of things!"
At the table, the continuous flattery directed at Zhuo An allowed him to finally recover a shred of his dignity.
After a while, He felt he had endured enough. Zhuo An, growing restless, said, "Please, continue eating. I need to step out for a moment."
With that, he excused himself from the others and rose from his seat.
The moment Zhuo An departed, the awkward tension at the table vanished. The guests began to approach the imperial son-in-law and the princess, congratulating them on the young princess’s recovery, and then turned to offer praises to Zhao Zhitong.
Standing under a nearby corridor, Zhuo An and his sycophantic underling watched the lively banquet.
Both wore expressions of extreme displeasure.
Zhuo An’s face was dark. "This is infuriating! I’ve been thoroughly disgraced this time!"
The underling said, "Master, we’ve managed to recover some standing. Didn’t you see? Just now at the banquet, many people were still watching your expression. We have nothing to fear. Master, you are deeply favored by the emperor. Look, who among them would dare to so much as snicker at you?"
Zhuo An, hands clasped behind his back, still looked furious. "Hmph! I never want to see that damned girl again! The sight of her makes my chest tighten!"
His underling immediately lowered his voice, whispering, "That’s simple. We just find an opportune moment and... dispose of her. She’s merely a village girl from the countryside. If she dies, it will be quiet; no one will pay any mind."
Zhuo An shook his head. "No. That wretched girl has now appeared before the princess, General Feng, and the others. Eliminating her would surely be discovered."
The underling said, "Master, we won’t act within Capital City. She won’t remain in the capital indefinitely. She’ll have to return home eventually. On her journey back, encountering bandits or marauders would be perfectly ordinary."
Just then, a serving girl carrying a tray of wine happened to pass by. Hearing their words, she was so frightened her hand trembled, and the wine cups on the tray clinked together with a distinct sound.
The terrified serving girl quickly steadied her tray and departed, feigning composure as if nothing were amiss.
"Who’s there?!"
Zhuo An heard the clinking from the tray and shouted, looking sharply towards the corridor. He only caught a glimpse of a skirt hem vanishing around the corner.
His underling glanced back and saw a serving girl descending with a tray. "Master, it was merely a servant delivering wine."
Zhuo An’s eyes grew cold. "She didn’t overhear our conversation, did she?"
The underling shook his head. "Likely not. We were speaking very softly."
Zhuo An remained vigilant. "Let’s go. We shouldn’t speak here. Also, keep an eye on that serving girl. Find a chance and... eliminate her."
The underling responded, "Yes, Master. This humble one will see to it at once."
「——」
The targeted serving girl remained oblivious. Her heart pounded like a drum, and she was overcome with panic. Should I warn Divine Healer Zhao? she agonized.
This serving girl was none other than the young princess’s attendant, the very same one whose illness Wei Zijian had treated previously.
And indeed, she had overheard the conversation between Zhuo An and his underling. Although she hadn’t caught every word, she knew Zhuo An intended to harm Divine Healer Zhao.
Consequently, throughout the banquet, she desperately sought an opportunity to warn Zhao Zhitong, to tell her to be careful.