Chapter 5: The Promise – "His Majesty has granted your marriage to the Prince of Yan."...

In Yuan Zhaobi's blurry vision, a young woman's face appeared, and her hand was being held by her. The warmth of her palm was like the gentle spring water.

Hearing the commotion, He Yi and her senior brother came in one after the other.

Yuan Zhaobi lay on her side on the pillow, unable to hear what they were saying, her blank gaze fixed on Chaolu.

"Are you really my sister? I feel like I'm dreaming."

“It’s me, elder sister.”

She slowly awoke from her unconsciousness, looked at He Yi, and received a whispered explanation from her. Her mind finally began to clear.

“Lately, I’ve been waking up and dreaming in waves. When I’m awake, I want to see my younger sister, and when I dream, I want to see her too. I never imagined I’d actually see you. When we parted, you were so young, kidnapped by thieves…”

"Look."

Yuan Zhaobi gently held her five fingers together and raised their hands to the light. "You have a small wound on your hand, and I have one here too."

In the candlelight, two faint, almost invisible scars on the backs of their hands slowly pressed together.

“These are the marks left on you and me from the day the thieves chased us. I pulled you along and we ran, hiding in the haystack. You were terrified and curled up in my arms without crying out a sound.”

A certain meridian in the heart of the morning dew seemed to be gently stirred by a soft force.

"It's my fault for not watching over you properly. I shouldn't have left you alone to find water, causing you to be lost for so many years..."

Yuan Zhaobi's eyes, like a surging stream, gradually filled with tears.

Chaolu said, "This has nothing to do with my elder sister. It was forced by the war and caused by the bandits. I do not blame my elder sister at all."

"Really?"

Chaolu first looked at her with a smile, then reached out her fingertips and gently wiped away her tears.

This one intimate gesture was enough to stop Yuan Zhaobi's tears.

"So you've found me now."

Chao Lu raised her voice softly, took both of her wrists in her hands, pressed them against her cheeks, gently rubbed her cheeks against her palms, and called out in a coquettish tone, "Sister."

It was just like the most ordinary tone of voice between sisters.

Yuan Zhaobi's eyes welled up with tears. "I know that you have suffered a lot of injustices while you were away from home all these years. The Helan family forced you into slavery, which is really hateful. Even when I came to find you, they refused to release you. They relied on Helan Yixia to control Longxi. This place is far away from the capital, so they thought I would be helpless."

"Compared to the Helan family, I have no power, so it's like throwing an egg against a rock. Not to mention how you've lived all these years... Sister, I know everything."

Tears streamed down her beautiful eyes: "I will not let you suffer again. Before coming here, I specifically asked His Majesty for a marriage. Did you see that letter...?"

Yuan Zhaobi looked at the lotus-colored dress behind her.

Chaolu gripped her hand even tighter. "Sister Heyi has already handed it over to me. My elder sister must have spent a lot of effort on this marriage, right?"

The Xiao family is now part of the imperial family, a far cry from what it used to be.

How could she not be terrified and fearful of the Emperor's wrath when her elder sister proposed?

"But all I want is for my sister to live well and for me to be safe and sound. That's nothing."

Yuan Zhaobi spoke softly, “The current emperor is a wise ruler who has clarified the old cases of the previous dynasty and exonerated the Yuan family. Although I have not seen the emperor’s face since I entered the capital, I was fortunate enough to receive a letter from him.”

"His Majesty's letter was comforting and put my mind at ease. The case of the disaster of the past has been overturned, and the reputation of the Yuan family has been restored. He also said that my mother was kind to the late emperor. When the late emperor was alive, he wanted to find you and my sister. Therefore, I took a gamble and arranged a marriage for you."

Chao Lu said, "But I grew up in the countryside and have never even met the Prince of Yan. How could I possibly catch the eye of those imperial family members..."

Yuan Zhaobi smiled through her tears: "My sister is so beautiful, she certainly will. Since His Majesty has expressed this intention in private, it means he is almost certain to agree. Once you go to the capital to meet the Emperor, if he approves, we can discuss your marriage to the Prince of Yan..."

Yuan Zhaobi was speaking when he suddenly started coughing violently. Xiujing's eyebrows and eyes were furrowed together, and she looked as if she was coughing up her lungs in pain.

Chaolu quickly took the handkerchief from Heyi and gently stroked her back with her other hand.

Blood beads spread across the handkerchief, meandering like specks of red plum blossoms.

Chao Lu's words caught in her throat, and what caught her eye was that delicate yet irrepressibly withering hibiscus face. She turned to look at the doctor beside her.

Is there really no other way?

Yuan Zhaobi propped herself up on the bed with her elbows, saying, "Don't force my senior brother. I am a doctor myself and know how serious my illness is... If I weren't so ill that I couldn't stay with you, I wouldn't be pinning my hopes on a marriage to protect you."

"I feel apprehensive whenever I think of the debt I owe you in my childhood. However, my sister is the most precious treasure in my heart. Therefore, I humbly request His Majesty to grant you a marriage."

May my sister be blessed with peace, wealth, and a long and healthy life.

Yuan Zhaobi's throat tightened slightly, and after several attempts, he couldn't utter a single word.

She lay helplessly on her back on the bed, looking at the canopy above her head, and closed her eyes.

The room was quiet, with only the extremely weak breathing and He Yi's low sobs being heard.

But then, Yuan Zhaobi opened her eyes and a mournful cry escaped from deep in her throat.

"How could God allow us to part after only meeting once? How could He treat me like this..."

"During my many days in Jiangnan, I could clearly feel your presence and know that you were still alive. Every time I thought of you, I had more courage to live on... My senior brother originally said that I wouldn't live for more than a few months, but I might have made it this far because of you."

The morning dew choked with emotion, unable to speak.

Why would she shed so many tears for a complete stranger she had just met? Why did she feel such suffocating pain?

Is it because they were once conceived in the same womb and nourished by the same streams of blood?

Does blood ties really exist in this world?

If not, why would her elder sister travel thousands of miles, enduring illness and hardship, to find her?

Chaolu felt a surge of pain in her chest and grasped her thin wrist: "Sister, is there any unfulfilled wish? Please tell me, and I will definitely help you fulfill it."

"Go to the capital and survive."

"Fulfill that marriage contract properly."

"And what about elder sister? Elder sister, you've only been talking about your younger sister's affairs. Is there anything else you haven't finished wishing for?"

"……I don't."

From within the bed curtains came Yuan Zhaobi's faint, almost inaudible voice: "Now that I see you back in peace before me, I have no regrets."

"Sister... the capital is a dangerous place. You must be careful when you enter the capital, especially those high-ranking officials. Don't offend them easily."

She seemed to be hiding something, as if she had something difficult to say. Chaolu glanced at Heyi beside her; Heyi was also gritting her teeth.

Yuan Zhaobi said, "Don't trust others too easily. Heyi will accompany you. After you return to the capital, ask His Majesty for an audience and arrange your marriage as soon as possible. Then no one will dare to harm you..."

"If possible, investigate the matter of Father and Mother back then, and find out who framed the Yuan family behind the scenes."

Her body trembled. "Enough. These old stories... are not worth the risk you're taking anymore."

She no longer had the strength to continue speaking.

Do I hate myself?

How could there not be? I met that man in Jiangnan...

But she really didn't want her sister to be in danger because of this.

A wave of excruciating pain washed over her, and she gripped the edge of the bed tightly with her knuckles.

The response to Yuan Zhaobi was a woman's clear words.

“I will do whatever you ask, sister.”

“I will be very careful and I will find out who harmed my mother and father back then.”

"And I will definitely fulfill that marriage agreement properly."

The words carry immense weight, their impact resounding wherever they land.

Yuan Zhaobi looked at her. Her younger sister's eyes were clear and bright, with tears welling up in them and a smile on her lips.

Unlike the people she was used to, her sister was like an untamed little beast, growing up in the wind and sand of the North, with extremely intense emotions.

“My elder sister cherishes me like a treasure, and I, in turn, regard my elder sister as a precious gem. I do not know what my elder sister desires, but whatever she asks for, if I can find it, I will gladly offer it to her, no matter the dangers.”

“If my sister wants me to be safe, I will do it.”

"younger sister……"

Yuan Zhaobi closed her eyes, and two lines of tears streamed down her face.

Years of separation and turmoil, countless changes of the world, I fear our reunion will only be in a dream.

In her fading consciousness, the last thing she saw was her younger sister's face.

On May 3, Yuan Zhaobi fell seriously ill and into a coma, with a persistent high fever.

Two days later, the bloodstains faded completely, and the person looked no different from a dead person.

The cunning Cen Xiu performed acupuncture on him, working tirelessly for several days without sleep...

That night, the moon was high and the clouds were swirling.

Morning dew stood by the window, and outside the inn was a solitary moon, with undulating mountains extending into the desolate line of moonlight.

This was her last night before she set off for Jingluo.

Someone approached from behind; it was Cen Xiu, the senior brother of her elder sister.

“I used acupuncture to force the poison in her body to one place. Although I kept her alive, she is now no different from a corpse. I thought she wouldn’t last more than three days, but your sister practiced medicine in her early years and tasted all kinds of herbs. The remaining medicinal properties in her body can actually resist the poison.”

Cen Xiu's tone was slightly somber, "But it's only a little over a month's time. You've already delayed for too long. Tomorrow you will set off with He Yi, and I will stay here to take care of your sister."

The strong wind whipped her long hair into the air, and in the darkness of night, the girl's figure almost blended into the endless, desolate wilderness outside the window.

From the three days they spent together, Chaolu had figured out Heyi's relationship with him and her sister.

He Yi was an orphan girl that her elder sister met in Jiangnan, and they became close friends. Many years ago, after her elder sister's teacher's wife passed away, her elder sister took over the medicinal herb field. From then on, He Yi stayed by her elder sister's side and managed the medicinal herb field with her.

As for this Senior Brother Cen, although he and his sister were from the same master, he left the master's school early on and went out into the world to practice medicine and help people.

My elder sister fell seriously ill on her journey to the West. In desperation, she sought help from this fellow disciple with whom she had no prior dealings.

The two had been traveling together for several months.

Before her death, her elder sister did not dismiss him, which shows that she trusted this senior brother very much.

Now his eyes are pale and bloodshot, and his handsome, aloof face is sunken, the result of several sleepless nights.

Cen Xiu said, "After you leave, I will also take your elder sister to a safe place. As for your elder sister's condition, she can only stay in the Northwest for the time being."

Chaolu turned to look at him. "You said that the poison my sister was afflicted with was extremely rare, but it might not be incurable. It's just that we lack a precious medicinal ingredient. Please write down my sister's symptoms and the prescription for me. After I enter the capital, I will do my best to find it."

Cen Xiu looked into her resolute eyes and said, "What your elder sister meant before she passed away was that you should no longer care about the past and should not be troubled or saddened by her."

Chaolu said, "I will remember my elder sister's words. As long as she has a breath left, I will save her. No matter how much gold, silver and jewels are needed, please tell me, and I will find a way to raise the money after I enter the capital."

"It's not about the treasure; she's my junior sister, so of course I'll save her."

Chao Lu's hands tightened around the railing, turning white from gripping them. After a long while, she finally exhaled.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Cen."

Cen Xiu nodded. "By the way, my teacher's wife has many disciples. There is also a female official in the Imperial Medical Bureau in the palace who is from the same school as me. She is most skilled in detoxification. When you are in the capital, you can ask her for help."

"good."

After Cen Xiu left, the room fell silent.

The road ahead is fraught with hidden currents, much like the ever-shifting clouds at the edge of the night.

She can't even read properly, so how can she pretend to be a noble lady of excellent character and talent, catch the emperor's eye, and get his permission to marry her?

Will the Prince of Yan accept this marriage proposal?

Putting all that aside, what was more important was that she had heard about Helan Zhen's marriage when she was at the Helan family home. Three months later, Helan Zhen would be going to the capital to await her marriage to a member of the royal family, and she would soon become a princess consort.

When the two meet in the capital, they will inevitably be like fire and water.

The Helan family will not let me off the hook.

Yuan Chaolu once said she didn't believe in gods or ghosts, but on the eve of her departure, she knelt before a Buddha statue and prayed to God to bless her sister.

The next day, the first rays of dawn pierced through the clouds.

The surrounding fields were ablaze with the vibrant colors of dawn, and the beautiful glow of the sunset reflected in the mountain mists.

A strong wind blew across the grassy slope, and the green sleeves of his clothes fluttered in the morning dew. His gaze shifted from the northwest sky to the direction of Luoyang. He stared for a moment, then turned away without looking back, and set off on his eastward journey amidst the golden light.

**

The Book of Qi records: Empress Yuan, whose childhood name was Aju, was born in Chang'an. She experienced chaos and displacement in her youth and wandered in Longyou. She was taken in and rescued by a merchant. At the age of fourteen, she was forced into the service of Helan's household as a maid. At the age of seventeen, she killed a servant in the household and escaped, hiding her past in Luoyang.

The osprey is a fierce bird, known for its aggressive nature and skill in fighting.

A note from the author:

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King of Yan: Zao Hou (meaning "dryness").

Emperor: Marquis Jing.