Related thematic articles: Untitled Document. Shangxi smiled gently, her face tinged with a glow of reminiscence. "Each generation of the witch clan sends their adult daughters to the royal court to serve the royal family for life. The best among them will take on important roles such as court witches or witch doctors, while the rest usually become personal guards for the royal members. Your grandmother Moyan was one of the witch clan successors selected to enter the royal court and be considered as a candidate for the court witch."
"So how did grandfather meet grandmother?" asked Xiaorui curiously, imagining it must have been a romantic and legendary love story. "My family is the well-known Huangfu medical family in the capital city; my real name is Huangfu Xishang. Our Huangfu family has produced many famous doctors, and some uncles even served as imperial physicians. As the young direct grandson of the Huangfu family, I was destined from birth to deal with medicinal herbs and medical books."
"That year, the triennial medical skills competition was held in Batu, the capital city of Xixia. It was a grand gathering of medical practitioners not only from within the country but also from other nations. The most skilled doctor would not only receive the title of 'Saint Doctor' personally bestowed by the emperor but also be hired to work in the palace, with the chance to see the rare treasure of Xixia stored in the palace - the Chaotian Pearl!"
"Ah...Chaotian Pearl?" Xiaorui was surprised. "Yes!" Shangxi nodded, saying, "It's the same Chaotian Pearl you saw in the Yue Kingdom—of course, it’s the male pearl."
"That year, I represented the Huangfu family in the competition. The Huangfu family's medical skills were renowned worldwide, having won the championship for several consecutive sessions. I participated with the belief that I would surely win..."
"After several rounds of competition, I advanced without any doubt, defeating all opponents, including the then highly regarded Yanling and Sima families..." Shangxi reminisced, seemingly returning to his youthful days—Prince of the Medical Clan, elegant and compassionate, famous across the world...
"Everyone thought I would surely win the championship again for the Huangfu family and join the Imperial Medical Institute, adding another royal physician to the Huangfu family. However, after I defeated all my opponents, the emperor suddenly decided to add another match and personally designated an opponent for me."
"Is it grandmother?" Xiaorui asked. "Yes," Shangxi nodded gently, whispering, "I will never forget the first day I met your grandmother." He looked into the distance, smiling as if he had already traveled through time—"The final match was held in the palace. Because it was the emperor's sudden decision, I didn't know the topic of the final match at the time. So, I arrived early at the palace to ask my uncle for information. When I passed the cherry blossom garden in the palace, I unexpectedly encountered a woman—during the season when cherry blossoms were in full bloom, pink petals were falling from the sky, covering me all over... And Moyan, she stood quietly under a cherry blossom tree, looking up at the sky. The twisted branches and flowers covered her head. The wind blew her white palace gown, making her look like a fairy in a dream..."
"I was stunned at the sight—I had never seen such a beautiful woman! So tranquil, so perfect, so unreal... just like someone who walked out of a painting."
"She stood there deep in thought, and I stood there watching her motionlessly—until the time for the match arrived."
"At this point, I learned that my last opponent was her—the successor of the witch clan, the candidate for the next court witch—Moyan."
"Did grandmother not appear in the medical skills competition before?" Mo Xiaorui asked curiously. After all, the witch clan of Xixia was always known for its expertise in poison, and they served as witch doctors in the palace; such a competition should not have lacked their participation.
"Foolish girl, the witches in the palace are all young girls. Their every word and action are strictly trained, and they follow the rules of the harem," Shangxi shook his head and said, "Although they have special identities, they ultimately serve the royal family and must abide by the court etiquette."
"What about the men of the witch clan?"
"The men of the witch clan, throughout the generations, remain in their fiefdoms, preserving and propagating the sacred bloodline of the witch clan. Moreover, the witchcraft of the witch clan is passed down to women, not men. For example, the most respected elder position in their clan has always been held by women... In short, they are all capable and competent women."
"Oh!" Xiaorui blinked—so the witch clan was a matriarchal society! No wonder her mother always claimed to be a descendant of the witch clan... In that case, she could be considered a legitimate heir of the witch clan? Would she qualify to compete for the next elder position?
Shangxi continued, "We two finalists accidentally met beforehand—we both arrived early at the venue, which was located in the cherry blossom garden of the palace; and the topic of the competition was the use of poison."
"Poison?" Xiaorui exclaimed in surprise—the final showdown of the medical skills competition was actually about poison? She stuck out her tongue—no wonder it was rumored that most strange poisons in the world originated from Xixia, it turned out that the doctors in Xixia loved to concoct poison the most?
"Yes!" Shangxi nodded, seeing her astonished face, and earnestly said, "All things in heaven and earth coexist and counteract each other, with advantages and disadvantages. Although poison is terrifying, if one understands its medical principles and comprehends its properties, it can also be transformed into life-saving medicine."
"Um!" Xiaorui obediently nodded. "After receiving the emperor's decree, we immediately engaged in the competition—actually, although the Huangfu family is a great medical family, they have always adhered to the ancestral precept of 'saving lives and healing the wounded', and have not delved too much into poisons; when it comes to mixing and using poison, no one can surpass the witch clan."
"But to secure victory, I decided to take a risky move—I concocted a secret drug on the spot, an ancient legendary poison whose recipe had long been lost to the world. I only obtained half of the recipe by chance..."
"Originally, in the Huangfu family, poisons without antidotes are absolutely forbidden from being spread outside. If used improperly, it would be equivalent to indirectly killing people... However, the competition rules only required us to show the power of our poisons, and no one would inquire about the antidote, so I took it as my secret weapon for the final battle."
"Did you win?" Xiaorui asked. "No, I lost... At the last moment, I gave up the competition, deliberately reducing the ingredients in the decoction, turning it into an ordinary poison."
"Why?"
"Because I saw the flustered expression on your grandmother's face... She was very nervous while preparing the poison, even trembling slightly while holding the medicine bowl... Seeing her flustered eyes, I guessed that this match was extremely important to her, so I..."
He laughed and shook his head. "Oh~ So grandfather abandoned the prize for beauty..." Xiaorui playfully blinked and said, "But although you lost the competition, you won the heart of a beauty, you're not losing anything!"
Shangxi affectionately patted her head and scolded, "You naughty girl, teasing your grandfather!" He continued, "Although I lost the competition, I was not reprimanded by the family—losing to the witch clan, who specializes in poison, was expected; and the emperor, considering me as the direct grandson of the Huangfu family, exceptionally promoted me, allowing me to join the Imperial Medical Institute as I wished. Later, I often had the opportunity to enter the palace to manage medicines, and soon found out about your grandmother's situation—but by then, she was almost about to become the next court witch!"
"Court witch?"
"Yes," Shangxi explained, "The court witch has always been appointed from the witch clan, responsible for palace rituals, serving as the guardian deity of the entire nation, revered in Xixia with the highest status—even the royal family bows respectfully to her."
"Every year, the witch clan sends many girls into the palace, but only those with the most proficient witchcraft, medical skills, and virtue can stand out and become the esteemed witch. Your grandmother's duel with me that time was actually a test of her abilities by the royal family—her victory quickly earned her the nomination for the next witch, which meant that if nominated successfully, she would forever serve the royal family in the palace, unable to marry me."
"Why?"
"Because the witch holds a high status. She is the inviolable goddess of Xixia, representing the sacred and untouchable heavens."
"Ah?" Mo Xiaorui sighed—"Goddess? Heaven? Could Blood Lady also be such a witch?"
"But once the seed of love sprouts, even if all things in heaven and earth vanish, it cannot compare to the tremor of two souls meeting... It was under such circumstances that I came to know and love your grandmother..."
"We secretly met in the palace, leaving traces in the cherry blossom garden and the Imperial Medical Institute..."
"To commemorate our love, I even gave her the broken half of the recipe, and she once smiled and said she would definitely find the antidote to this poison..."
"However, everything changed completely due to an unexpected accident."
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