Chapter 56 Part 2

 

Xuyu was stunned. The old palace eunuch held on to the palace door, lifted his crippled leg, stepped out of the palace threshold, and was about to go down the palace steps. She hurriedly stepped forward and supported him.

“Zhao Bandang!”

Zhao Zhongfang’s eyes were filled with relief and joy, but he said in a low voice: “Young Master, please let go. This old servant can’t take it.”

Xuyu let go of her hand and followed Zhao Zhongfang to the West Palace where she had painted. She entered the small pavilion and saw that there was no one else around. She then cried and laughed and asked him when he returned to the palace.

Zhao Zhongfang ignored her attempts to stop him and first bowed deeply to her, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing. Before he even spoke, tears had already started to fall. “After returning to the palace that year, this old servant did not immediately tell His Majesty the truth, leading to His Majesty being misled. This old servant has wronged Empress Zhaode, wronged the Princess! It’s all this old servant’ fault!”

Xuyu’s eyes turned red as she looked at the old eunuch kneeling in front of her.

“This cannot be blamed on you, Zhao Bandang. You did a good enough under the circumstances that day.” She went forward and helped the old eunuch up.

Zhao Zhongfang wiped away the wet tears in his eyes and said, “His Majesty has shown mercy and forgiven this old servant’s sins, and summoned this old servant back to the palace last night.”

That happened almost at the same time as Pei Xiaoyuan’s return last night.

Zhao Zhongfang continued: “Young Master doesn’t know yet, right? His Majesty heard that Chief Guard Guo has a son, and he had asked Master Pei Erlang to take care of the child.”

Xuyu was filled with mixed feelings. After a moment of silence, she asked, “How is His Majesty’s health today? What is he doing now? When I entered the palace yesterday, I heard from Yang Zai’en that he was not feeling well and did not want to see the imperial physician.”

Zhao Zhongfang’s eyes also showed deep worry: “His Majesty should be reviewing work in the outer hall of the vihara at this moment. After arriving last night, this old servant talked with Yang Zai;en, and also met with several imperial physicians. The imperial physicians were all worried and said…”

He hesitated and stopped.

“What did the imperial physicians say?” Xuyu asked immediately.

Zhao Zhongfang glanced at Xuyu and finally said, “The imperial physicians said… the original recipe of the elixir that His Majesty took should have come from India, and then those Taoist officials took it to make pills, adding a lot of so-called spiritual materials. The pills that were made seem to be effective, but in fact, it should be the hemp that making it works.

“His Majesty’s old injuries have accumulated over the years, and in recent years he has also developed rheumatism. On top of that, he has erratic schedule and constant worry and stress, which has damaged his Qi and blood. When the wounds flare up, the pain is unbearable, and he can’t even bend or stretch his hands and feet, unable to shift while sitting or lying down. How could the imperial physicians not know the effects of hemp? Although this medicine can relieve pain, they have never dared to use it too much. Because the medicine is extremely toxic and cannot really remove the root cause of the disease, it merely offers temporarily relieve. It can only be taken occasionally and must not be used frequently. Long-term intake will not only fail to cure the disease, but will add fuel to the fire, poisoning the five internal organs, making people more and more dependent on it, and in the end—”

The old eunuch paused and dared not say any more.

Xuyu was horrified and cried out, “Didn’t the imperial physicians tell His Majesty this before?”

Zhao Zhongfang frowned, “Yang Zai’en said that the imperial physicians had boldly told Your Majesty before, but Your Majesty would not listen. Because of the excruciating pain and suffering, he was tired of taking mild medicine and only wanted quick results. This has been going on for several months. A few days ago, the imperial physicians finally had the opportunity to consult with His Majesty again. However, as soon as the medicine was prescribed, this old servant doesn’t know why, His Majesty didn’t use it yesterday and still took the elixir to relieve the pain.”

Xuyu looked at the old eunuch and said, “Zhao Bandang, you have served His Majesty for many years. Now that you have returned to the palace, you must persuade His Majesty to stay away from those elixirs and listen to the imperial physician’s advice.”

Zhao Zhongfang was about to kneel down again: “This old servant is really useless, afraid this old servant will fail the princess’ trust. This old servant has boiled the medicine and sent it in, but His Majesty just said to put it down. This old servant doesn’t know if he drank it or not.

“Also, medication alone is not enough. The imperial physician said that His Majesty also needs to go out more often and soak up the sun, which will help dispel the cold evil in the body. He also needs to adjust his work and rest schedule, be less angry and calm his temper, and take multiple measures to slowly heal his dragon body.”

Xuyu was lost in thought for a moment, then said, “I will go see His Majesty.”

Zhao Zhongfang showed a happy expression: “This old servant will take the princess over.”

Finally, Xuyu once again stepped into that palace hall where a huge candle was burning even in the daytime. The emperor was sitting on the bed, looking down at the memorial. She saw at a glance that the medicine had not been touched and was still quietly placed on the desk, and there was not much heat left.

When the emperor heard footsteps, he raised his head slightly and glanced at Xuyu who was slowly walking in behind Zhao Zhongfang. Then he looked away as if he didn’t see her. He heard Zhao Zhongfang bending down to report that Young Master Ye wanted to see him, but still, he didn’t respond. He neither drove her away nor asked her to stay, just continued with the work at hand.

Zhao Zhongfang bent down, led the mute eunuch, and limped out, leaving only the father and daughter in the hall.

Xuyu stood for a moment, then slowly walked forward: “Your Majesty still doesn’t take the medicine? It’s getting cold!”

The emperor stopped writing, looked up at her, and said nothing.

Xuyu immediately thought of yesterday, when she had called him “Father” when she barged in to plead for Pei Xiaoyuan. She bit her lip and changed her words: “Father, why don’t you take your medicine?”

The emperor then frowned and said, “What kind of useless medicine did the imperial physician prescribe? It doesn’t cure anything. It’s bitter and astringent, can’t drink it at all!”

Father had always hated the taste of medicine. No matter how unwell he was, he would rather endure it than take the medicine on his own initiative. He always needed her mother or her to coax him before he would reluctantly take the medicine.

She picked up the medicine, walked to the emperor, and raised her hands straight under his nose: “Drink it!”

The emperor looked up, stared at her for a moment, and finally, slowly took it and drank it. Then, he lowered his head and continued to review memorials.

Xuyu took the empty bowl and put it down gently.

“Also, don’t take the pills as regular medicine anymore. The imperial physician said that the more pills you take, the more damage it will do to your body.”

The emperor did not respond.

Xuyu could only give up for the time being and strolled around the hall. Finally, she came to the heavy curtains hanging to the ground, opened them with a rustle, gathered them aside, and put them up with the curtain hook.

As the curtains were drawn up, sunlight suddenly streamed in, filling the entire hall with light.

The emperor was caught off guard, narrowed his eyes, raised his sleeves to cover his eyes, and shouted unhappily: “What are you doing? Put it down!”

Xuyu did not let go, but continued to walk, pushing open the windows one by one, letting the wind outside the palace and the sound of birds singing into the room, and said: “The imperial physician also said that Your Majesty should get more sunlight. Your Majesty will not leave the palace, so this is the only way.”

The emperor’s face showed a hint of irritation. He paused for a moment, and after a while, as his eyes gradually adjusted to the light, he frowned, turned his back, and resumed his work.

Xuyu looked at the emperor’s back, then walked back, hesitated for a moment, and said, “Sister Wei, can’t you just let her go?”

The emperor raised his eyes and with a “pa” threw the memorial he had just read onto the desk in front of the bed.

“Don’t you think Zhen doesn’t know? She helped Li Yan escape! Giving her a small punishment is already out of consideration for our old relationship! Otherwise, do you think she would still be alive today?”

Xuyu was silent, standing motionless with her head down before the emperor’s bed.

After a moment, the emperor raised his head and called out “Zhao Zhongfang” with a cold face.

Zhao Zhongfang walked in and heard the emperor’s order to remove Wei Yinniang’s status as a slave, restore her freedom, and allow her to stay or go as she pleases. He was pleasantly surprised and glanced at Xuyu, answered yes, and hurriedly retreated.

“Are you satisfied now?” the emperor said after Zhao Zhongfang left.

Xuyu resisted the urge to hug her father and cry like she did when she was a child. With red eyes, she knelt down and said, “Hao’er thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness on behalf of my sister.”

The emperor looked at Xuyu kneeling down to thank him, and a trace of disappointment flashed across his face. After a moment of silence, he said, “Did Pei Er convey Zhen’s intention to you when he returned last night?”

Xuyu stood up from the ground and answered yes softly.

“The people that were sent over, not a single one can be missing. If you’re unwilling, then return to the palace.”

Xuyu hung her head and said nothing.

The emperor looked at her and frowned imperceptibly: “Is the Pei family’s house so good? Do you want to live there so much?”

“He is my sworn brother and has always taken good care of me. Besides, I just moved in a few days ago and don’t want to go through the hassle again.” Xuyu defended in a low voice.

The emperor stared at her and said calmly, “You can live there if you want. Zhen can’t control you.”

Xuyu did not say anymore and just stood for a while. Seeing that the emperor no longer paid attention to her and continued to write memorials, she said, “Father can’t disobey the imperial physician’s advice. For father’s own health, as well as the people of the holy dynasty, you can’t take the pills anymore!

“Father, if there’s nothing else here, I’ll go to the West Hall first to finish the mural.”

The emperor did not respond.

Xuyu had no choice but to leave. At this time, she heard the emperor say, “The young servant of the Pei family named Qingtou, he has a pure heart and is well-behaved. Zhen like him very much. Don’t make things difficult for him. When you go back, bring him some cakes and say they are Zhen’s reward.”

Xuyu glanced at the emperor, seeing he didn’t raise his head, she said yes. Then she went to the West Hall, put aside all distracting thoughts, and began to outline the murals.

After Zhao Zhongfang delivered the emperor’s order, he came back to report and saw that Xuyu had disappeared. The emperor was standing alone in front of the lattice window, looking outside, his back still, as if he was thinking about something. Zhao Zhongfang did not dare to disturb him and was about to leave when the emperor called him.

“Pei family’s Erlang, do you know?” The old eunuch overheard the emperor asking.

He stepped forward, thought for a moment, and said respectfully, “This old servant has been away for a long time, so doesn’t know much about the young master of the Pei family. But this old servant heard Yang Zai’en mention him a few times, saying that he is a rare and upright gentleman, distinguished and outstanding, highly favored by Your Majesty, and promoted beyond the norm with limitless prospects. Although he has not been in the capital for long, it seems that many families have already taken a liking to him and are interested in marrying him.”

The emperor was silent for a moment, then turned around and said, “Summon Prince Ning to the palace. Zhen have something to discuss.”

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