Everyone stared at that line of heartfelt words, stunned into silence. Even if you didn't know anything else, you could understand such direct affection!
"Looks like Emperor Song Jing truly loved Xin'er’s mother," Lucian Vane said, gazing at the woman in the portrait. From the painting, he could see her happiness, her joy, and the artist’s devotion!
He could imagine how happy and sweet Emperor Song Jing must have been when painting this portrait!
"I guess that’s why Cao Wan’er hated Mother-in-law so much!" Caleb Miles couldn’t help but say as he looked at the portrait.
Eli Crane didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached out his sleeve and gently started wiping the portrait. "Xin’er must really want to see her," he thought. After the days spent with Liam Willow, he’d learned everything about Xin’er’s past—how painful, lonely, and heartbreaking it was...
"That’s right! We have to take good care of this painting and bring it to our wife!" Butterfly Rogue said quickly, then hurried to help wipe the old, worn portrait.
"So this is where she lived?" Ethan Chu looked around. He’d stayed at the palace more than once, and every palace—even those he hadn’t lived in—was always grand and spacious. But this place was so tiny, you could see everything at a glance. The outside was just a foyer, the inside a bedroom—simple and clear.
But if Emperor Song Jing loved her so much, why did he let her live in this remote, quiet corner of the palace?!
"Hiding a beauty in a golden house?" Ethan muttered unconsciously, frowning.
"Golden house, my foot! Don’t talk nonsense. Father-in-law truly loved Mother-in-law. I remember Xin’er said her mom didn’t like crowds or noise—she only liked peace and quiet. Her one real hobby was..." Lucian suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
"What’s wrong?" Ethan Chu saw Lucian suddenly crouch down and walked over. "What are you looking at?"
Lucian flashed a mischievous smile, picked up something on the ground covered in dust and spiderwebs, and said, "She only liked studying medicines." As he spoke, he shook the dusty medicine jar in his hand. It looked old and worn—totally out of place in a palace—but after he wiped off the grime, you could tell whoever used this cherished it. The cleaned spots were still smooth and shiny.
Lucian blew the dust off the lid and opened it. Inside, a tiny wooden pestle lay quietly.
"Such a tiny medicine hammer!" Lucian picked it up for a closer look. How could anyone grind medicine with something so small?!
"Let me try," Eli Crane suddenly said, walking over. The others gathered around.
Lucian handed him the little wooden pestle. Eli gently pulled, and suddenly the pestle doubled in size, surprising everyone.
"Whoa, there’s a hidden trick?" Lucian quickly took the pestle back and started examining it. "It’s extendable?!"
"Eli, how did you know?" Butterfly Rogue asked eagerly, curiosity written all over his face.
"Grandpa Sai has a few medicine hammers just like this—super convenient for travel," Eli Crane explained with a gentle smile.
"Grandpa Sai? Who’s Grandpa Sai? Is your family in the medicine business too?" Butterfly Rogue kept asking—he just had this superpower to never let a question go!
"I don’t actually know medicine or like studying it; it’s just Grandpa Sai who’s obsessed. As for his real name, I have no idea. People outside just call him the Living Buddha Sage," Eli Crane said calmly.
"What?!" The five of them widened their eyes in shock.
"The Living Buddha Sage? Your grandpa is the Living Buddha Sage?" Lucian Vane asked nervously. For someone obsessed with medicine like him, there was only one person he’d always wanted to meet, one he truly admired. When Lucian was fifteen, he met the Sage once on a trip—he’d stumbled into a village hit by plague, with many dead and dying. Lucian didn’t trust the Sage’s prescriptions or methods, so he challenged him to a bet: who could cure the sick? But Lucian’s own attempts nearly killed several people, while the Sage’s unconventional skills controlled the plague and saved lives everyone else had given up on.
Ever since then, Lucian wanted to take him as his master—but the Sage vanished as if into thin air...
Could that mysterious old man really be Eli’s grandpa??
Is the world really this full of crazy coincidences?!
"The Living Buddha Sage—does he look like this?" Ethan Chu quickly described the Sage’s appearance. After all, the Sage had saved his life! He’d always wanted to thank him properly.
"Yeah," Eli Crane replied, as calm as ever, totally unfazed by their excitement.
"Little Seven—hehe—Little Seven, can you introduce me to your grandpa?" Lucian Vane quickly sidled up, eager to curry favor.
"Me too!" Butterfly Rogue and Ethan Chu chimed in. One loved disguises, the other loved medicine. To them, the Living Buddha Sage was a kindred spirit!
Seeing this, Eli Crane smiled gently. "Once we rescue Xin’er and things settle down, I’ll take you all to visit my valley."
Everyone nodded and returned to the moment at hand.
"Wait, don’t move!" Suddenly, Adrian Night snapped out of it first, grabbed the stub of candle from the candlestick and lit it. He took the medicine jar from Lucian and tipped it toward the flame, squinting at the awkward characters: "Jing & Xin." Adrian frowned, reading the odd inscription. What did it mean?!
"Jing & Xin? Oh, right—Emperor Song Jing’s name has a ‘Jing,’ and ‘Xin’—Xinrou—is Mother-in-law’s name," Ethan Chu blurted out, quickly drawing the others back over.
Lucian propped his chin in his hand. "So you mean this medicine jar was a gift from Emperor Song Jing to Mother-in-law? That’s why, even though it’s old and shabby, she couldn’t bear to throw it away?"
"Exactly, that must be it," Ethan Chu confirmed, running his fingers over the jar and imagining those happy days they had together.
Just then, moonlight suddenly shone on the freshly cleaned portrait. Through the silvery glow, a scene seemed to quietly appear...
"Xinrou, I know you don’t like gold or jewels, and I don’t want to give you something so tacky. But I still want to give you something!" Emperor Song Jing’s handsome face was lit up with a blissful smile.
"Huh? What is it?" The beautiful woman pouted, curiously asking, her face eager to know the secret.
"Here, this!" Suddenly, Emperor Song Jing acted like a kid, pulling out a medicine jar from behind his back, opening the lid to reveal a tiny hammer inside.
"What a delicate little medicine jar!" Xinrou gazed at it curiously, amazed at how such a small pestle could fit inside. But...
"How am I supposed to grind medicine with such a tiny hammer?" She pouted in mock annoyance, but even so, she couldn’t hide her smile—she clearly loved the gift.
Seeing her reaction, Emperor Song Jing quickly leaned in and pecked her lips, laughing. "Silly girl, look." He picked up the tiny hammer and pulled—it suddenly doubled in size.
"Ah! There’s a hidden trick?" Xinrou looked all around, her face full of disbelief and wonder.
"I had it made just for you. Now you can carry it around easily! Otherwise, you’d be lugging a huge jar and a big hammer everywhere—so tiring!" Emperor Song Jing stroked her hair as he spoke.
"Mm-hmm, I really love it!" Xinrou smiled contentedly, still exploring the gift. "Hey, there’s writing on the bottom—‘Jing & Xin’?"
"Jing & Xin, together in heart, never to part," Emperor Song Jing lifted her chin and spoke with deep affection.
Hearing this, Xinrou blushed and turned away, muttering, "Such ugly handwriting!"
"Hey, I carved those myself, stroke by stroke! It’s my masterpiece, you know. How could it be ugly? There are tons of people who’d kill for my calligraphy, but none of them are lucky enough—only you are, and you still call it ugly? Huh?" Emperor Song Jing raised his eyebrows, pretending to be offended.
"It is ugly, it is! Just look, it’s like chicken scratch!" Xinrou laughed.
"Wow, you’ve got guts, daring to insult me like that. I’ll teach you a lesson!" Emperor Song Jing laughed and lunged at her, while Xinrou giggled and dodged away.
"Hehehe, hehehe..." Their laughter gradually faded into the distance...
The six men snapped back to reality, glancing at each other. How did that scene just appear in their minds? It was like they’d glimpsed their father- and mother-in-law’s past...
What on earth just happened?!