Chapter 13 – Zhuang Zhou’s Butterfly Dream

Editor: Ning Ning
Proofreader: Bubbles

The prince’s illness had acted up once again and it was rather severe this time around. He insisted on reasoning with the emperor and empress dowager and had no intention of backing down. This resulted in the emperor and empress dowager shouting for a doctor.

The prince roared furiously, “I’m not lying! I’m really not your son. I really am a prince!”  

Xia Han wailed, while Long Xi seemed like he had facial paralysis.

The prince got even angrier. “It’s true! I’m not actually sick!”  

Xia Han kept sobbing and Long Xi continued to have the same wooden expression.

The prince continued to cry and rolled about on his bed. “I’m really not from this world. If I had known I would end up in an asylum, I would have taken a knife and killed myself back then! Arghh! Oh heavens, why——”  

Long Junhao’s cries were very miserable and his room door was kicked open with a loud bang. Comrade Chu Jian hurriedly ran in and grabbed his hand. “Madam, please persevere. I’ll be helping Madam deliver your child now. Men, fetch some hot water quickly.”

Long Junhao fell silent for a second. He picked up whatever things he could find on his bed and threw them over. “Scram! Your prince doesn’t want to see you for the time being. Why the heck are you coming here to make a ruckus at such a time! Aarghh!”  

Chu Jian was delighted and nodded. “Yes, yes, push hard.”

Long Junhao fell silent again and pulsating veins appeared on his forehead. He glanced up at Chu Jian’s attendants and huffed. “If you don’t wish to visit the grave of your master this time next year, immediately throw him out!”

His attendants bowed at once and lifted Chu Jian, chucking him so quickly there wasn’t even time to shut the door. Long Junhao maintained the same expression as he stared at his cheap parents.  

Xia Han was stunned by the scene and no longer wailed her head off. Long Xi calmly ordered, “Call the doctor.”

Long Junhao continued rolling around. “Boohoohoo, I’m telling the truth. You all have to believe me. Even if I am not your son, this body still is!”

A nurse at his side complied with the emperor’s request and went looking for the primary doctor Gu Chen. However, there was no one in the office nor the courtyard. Just as she was getting anxious about failing and contemplating taking a robe to hang herself, she saw someone and sprinted over there immediately.

This wasn’t just anybody. This person was the previous primary doctor of the prince. The one who was beaten up and sent to the hospital for trying to get Long Junhao to take the ‘immortality pill’. However, this doctor hadn’t returned for duty. He was just about to stick a band-aid on the corner of his mouth before heading to the director’s office to meet Li Xuan and request an extended leave. He had thoroughly enjoyed his period of paid leave and wanted to continue this way. But at this time, the young nurse had approached him. Even if he wasn’t Long Junhao’s primary doctor now, the patient he was responsible for was still Long Junhao, and that fact wouldn’t change.  

The former primary doctor He Tianfan was someone with a great deal of medical ethics. He immediately nodded his head in agreement when he heard Xia Han was there. He even remembered to put on his white doctor’s coat and adjusted his appearance in front of a mirror. Finally, he felt that the band-aid at the side of his mouth wasn’t good for his image and he thus removed it. When he was done, he smiled at the extremely fidgety nurse. “Alright, let’s go.”

The young nurse had been fidgeting anxiously this whole time. She wanted to grab Dr. He’s collar and holler, “Are you going to see the patient, or are you going for a date? There is no way you can successfully seduce the empress dowager, so give up.” But as she was about to do so, Dr. He turned over and she was stunned. “Dr. He, your lip… isn’t hurt at all?”           

He Tianfan dug into his pocket and fished out the magnifying glass he had prepared for Li Xuan. He placed it at the corner of his mouth and slowly moved it further out while explaining, “See that? There’s still a bruise there.”

The nurse nodded her head in a daze as she saw the magnified little bruise that was about the size of a grain of rice. “It’s… it’s huge…”

He Tianfan nodded. “How can I come to work when my injury is so serious? I have to continue with my leave.”

“Then why have you agreed to come?”

He Tianfan shot her an impatient look then turned to leave. “Of course I must go. How can I not go when there are two beauties there?”

Dr. He Tianfan who specialized in psychology was suave, young, and an all-out Casanova. He would love anyone as long as they were beautiful. Regardless of whether they were male or female, and if they were… old or young. 

Back when he chose to be Long Junhao’s primary doctor, most of the staff at the institution were astonished. No matter how fine Long Junhao was, there was no way he could be more beautiful than the long-haired beauty. However, when Xia Han appeared, everyone came to an understanding—— The visuals of two beauties together would be far more intense than just one. Even if the beauty was much older than him and married and with a child close to his age, He Tianfan didn’t care. He didn’t let up any chance to fawn over Xia Han—— This had also been the reason why Long Xi hadn’t needed to fork up a single cent of medical fees even though Long Junhao’s beating had gotten He Tianfan hospitalized.

He Tianfan put on a fitting smile and strode over gracefully. All the staff that he passed nodded. What a devious beast in human skin.

As he slowly made his way over, he heard the prince’s shouts before he even entered the room. “I really retained all memories!”

He Tianfan pushed open the door and Xia Han crying into her handkerchief caught his eye right away. He immediately felt a tightness in his heart as he hurriedly made his way over. “Madam…” 

Long Xi calmly took a step forward with a warning gaze and inclined his chin to indicate his distressed son on the bed.

He Tianfan didn’t seem bothered by the obstruction and continued to console Xia Han from afar. “Don’t worry madam, I will see to the prince at once. He will be fine. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

Are you indicating your deep love for her son, fawning over her, or both? The other staff behind him glanced away in silence. How embarrassing. This immoral person is utterly disgraceful.  

Xia Han dabbed her tears away and choked, “We’ve troubled you.”

“He Tianfan leaned gracefully and walked towards the other beauty on the bed.” Long Junhao was in a horrendous mood at the moment and didn’t seem at all pleased. “What are you trying to do again? Are you asking for a beating?”    

“Your Highness, you can’t put it this way.” He Tianfan was very polite and showed great self-restraint as he sat himself down opposite Long Junhao. “I’ve roughly heard what’s been going on. It seems you said you aren’t from this world?”

Long Junhao lazily groaned in acknowledgment. “And what wise opinion does Dr. He have?”

“I wouldn’t dare have any high opinion but I do believe in space-time rifts. Furthermore, I also believe that the soul doesn’t vanish after death.” Dr. He smiled very amiably. And exceedingly so that others felt he was very charming. “That’s why I reckon that this matter isn’t totally impossible.”

Long Junhao’s eyes lit up. “And so?”

“So… I am very interested in your highness’ previous life. If possible, I would like you to recount it to me in detail, including the ‘general’ you always seem to mention.”

“Alright.” Naturally, Long Junhao was pleased that someone was willing to listen to him.

He Tianfan was very patient throughout the whole process. Although he spent most of his time in a daze, staring at the gorgeous person, it didn’t stop him from giving his verdict, “How miraculous!”

Long Junhao grabbed his hand excitedly. “So, you believe me?”

He Tianfan gripped that hand and nodded sincerely. “I do, I really do. There have always been miraculous events that cannot be explained by science. For example, the German chemist Kekule.”

Long Junhao stared blankly. He didn’t understand why the topic suddenly turned towards a chemist. “What’s up with him?”

He Tianfan patiently explained, “He was vexed over being unable to determine the structure of a certain substance. Then, one night, he dreamed of a snake biting its own tail and thus discovered the chemical structure of benzene.”  

“Ben?”

“A type of chemical compound.” He Tianfan explained. “But he was enlightened through a dream. The cerebral cortex of a human brain isn’t completely inhibited when a person sleeps. Dreams are when all sorts of fantastical scenes appear in the brain and it is a very normal phenomenon for humans.”

“Oh.”

“But it doesn’t mean that all dreams are good. When we frequently ridicule others for delusional thinking, putting it more harshly is that they must be dreaming,” He Tianfan explained slowly. “Sometimes when an individual encounters problems he is unable to resolve, he separates himself from reality and situates himself in an imaginary world. This uses fictional means to deal with the setback and achieve satisfaction. Daydreams are also another sort of fantasy. An individual tends to transcend reality and break the boundaries of space and time to meet certain needs. If these daydreams replace meaningful action, it would become escaping reality. This might be an omen of mental perversion which can progress to delusion.”     

“Oh…” Long Junhao nodded then spoke, “Why do I feel that this topic is a little strange…”

“Not at all.” He Tianfan was beaming. “I only have general knowledge regarding this. There’s even a fable or scripture from ancient times about dream realms. It says that if man can break the boundary of life and death, they would achieve happiness in the material world. I always reckoned that it meant freedom.”

Long Junhao didn’t understand why the topic had shifted to scriptures and fables. He was utterly confused and groaned. “Ohhh…”

“One day, Zhuang Zhou¹ an ancient Chinese philosopher had a dream where he became a fluttering butterfly and was very content. He slowly felt that he wasn’t Zhuang Zhou and found that it was strange when he woke up as Zhuang Zhou. So, did Zhuang Zhou become a butterfly in his dreams, or did a butterfly become Zhuang Zhou in its dream?” He Tianfan smiled at Long Junhao. “Your highness has probably heard the story of Zhuang Zhou becoming a butterfly, I presume.”

Long Junhao nodded blankly. “I have but I still feel that this topic is a little weird…”

“How can it be?” He Tianfan continued smiling. “Aren’t we investigating the mysteries of this world? Your Highness fainted after seeing Dr. Gu and was unconscious for three days. During this time, you became the prince of a certain dynasty and Dr. Gu became a general of that dynasty. A series of events occurred between Your Highness and the general. When Your Highness finally woke up, Dr. Gu was still Dr. Gu.”  

Long Junhao gaped and clutched at his heart. Feebly, he muttered, “Why does it sound like I have had a very long dream…”

He Tianfan smiled at him before getting up to look at Xia Han. “Look, Madam, I have made the Young Master understand.”

Long Junhao’s expression immediately froze. He had originally thought that someone finally understood him. Who knew…

Xia Han flashed him a smile of gratitude. “Dr. He is a renowned psychologist indeed. You have managed to steer my darling son’s line of thought back.”

Long Junhao turned his head over rigidly and suddenly felt as though he had been played.

He Tianfan was oblivious to Long Junhao and continued fawning over Xia Han, “It’s my pleasure to serve, madam.”

Long Junhao squinted as he heard something snap in his head. The surrounding staff started to break out in cold sweat and eventually rushed over. “Your Highness, calm down ah ah ahh!”

When Gu Chen and Li Xuan rushed over after being informed, Long Junhao was gasping for breath on the bed. The surrounding doctors and nurses were patting his back to help him breathe. And beside the bed, a corpse was lying on the ward floor. Furthermore, this corpse seemed rather familiar.

Li Xuan nodded silently. He Tianfan’s wish to have an extended holiday seemed to have come true. Gu Chen gestured for the others to take the body out and sat down on the bed. Rubbing Long Junhao’s head, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Long Junhao pouted and climbed into Gu Chen’s embrace. “Boohoohoo, they bullied me…”

Gu Chen hugged him tighter and consoled, “It’s alright, be good. I’m here.”

Long Junhao continued to indulge himself in his embrace. “Boohoo…”

“That’s right, I actually have good news and bad news for you.” Gu Chen patted his head. “We’ve had a discussion. To stop you from sleepwalking at night and giving the security guards increased pressure, I have decided to stay here from now on.”

Long Junhao was stunned and immediately raised his head up from the embrace.

Gu Chen smiled kindly and stretched his index finger out. “You, me, in this room, on this bed, understand?”

Long Junhao couldn’t close his mouth. “…Ah?”

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  an ancient Chinese philosopher ↩︎