Chapter 118 [VIP]

When Song Zhao arrived, he saw Xue Yi on the sickbed. He had just finished questioning the imperial physician when Tengluo rushed over.

"Physician Jia...you...you should go and see the young master! He has fainted!" Tengluo said anxiously.

Imperial Physician Jia: "What happened... I'll go take a look right away. Wasn't Lord Lu perfectly fine just now?"

Tengluo was so anxious that tears were about to well up in her eyes. He happened to meet her gaze, and upon looking at her, he saw her red eyes that were about to burst into tears.

He couldn't help but look away and asked, "Where is Lord Lu now?"

“…In the room,” Tengluo said.

The group went to Lu Xuejin's room and found her unconscious. Fortunately, there was a soft carpet on the floor, and apart from a head injury, she had no other external injuries.

Imperial Physician Jia: "Alas! Lord Lu... You always take care of everything, and now His Majesty is ill again. Although it's not outwardly apparent, Lord Lu must be feeling guilty..."

Tengluo said from the side, "Young Master did not rest on the way. We came back from Lidu... We noticed that Young Master was not in good condition on the way. He always stayed up all night, and when we asked him, he was unwilling to talk to us about his troubles."

Song Zhao looked at the pale face of the young man on the bed. No matter what happened, he was always calm and composed... the proud son with the perfect mask. Now, the perfect mask has finally shown some cracks.

Lu Xuejin...you've finally met your match.

He asked Physician Jia, "How long will it take for him to wake up?"

Imperial Physician Jia: "Perhaps he's too tired... He'll wake up soon if things go smoothly, but he still has a fever. I'll brew a bowl of herbal medicine later, and I'll trouble Lord Song to keep an eye on Lord Lu."

"Both of them are ill... Lord Lu has fallen ill, and as for His Majesty... alas!"

Song Zhao remained silent. Both of them were dazed, one in the front yard and the other in the back yard. He would occasionally go to the front to check on Xue Yi, and occasionally go to the back to check on Lu Xuejin.

He agreed to Doctor Jia's request, and judging from the looks of it, he stayed until nightfall.

When he was beside Lu Xuejin, he saw Tengluo bustling around. In the evening, he saw a corner of a lotus skirt. He didn't know how long the person hesitated at the door before coming to his side.

Tengluo: "Lord Song, this servant has prepared dinner... Young Master, I'll come and check on things here. Would you like to eat first?"

He glanced over, and Tengluo didn't dare to look at him. He looked at the corners of Tengluo's eyes and saw that even without rouge, there were still patches of red.

"..."

Lu Xuejin fell seriously ill. His fever lasted for three days, and it only subsided on the third day. He was still very weak.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a candlelight, with Song Zhao and Teng Luo standing guard beside him.

……Mother.

He clearly saw his mother's figure, but was he hallucinating?

His head spun, and his vision blurred and then cleared. When he saw that he was awake, Tengluo immediately rushed over.

"Young master...you're awake? This servant will go and fetch Physician Jia right away."

"Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Are you hungry...? I'll prepare some soup noodles for you."

He vaguely saw Tengluo's crying face, and her voice seemed distant. He slowly realized what was happening and said, "...No need, Tengluo."

When he opened his mouth, his voice was almost hoarse. Song Zhao looked at him, put down his book, and poured him a glass of water.

The candlelight illuminated Song Zhao's profile. Song Zhao looked down at him, her expression still indifferent, revealing no emotion.

"...Thank you." He uttered the word "thank you," and only after drinking the tea did his mind clear up a little.

"How is my brother?" he asked.

He remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness, and tried to get up to check on Xue Yi's injuries. He grabbed the blanket, but then his body went limp, and he almost fell down again.

Song Zhao helped him up and said, "You don't need to worry about the Emperor, you should worry about yourself first. You had a fever yesterday, and Physician Jia and Physician Gu didn't sleep a wink all night... Now that you're awake, you don't need to worry about anything else for now, just drink your medicine."

Tengluo: "That's right... Young Master, Ziyan is watching His Majesty. His Majesty woke up yesterday and his headache is gone. Don't worry, Young Master... You must take good care of yourself... This servant will go and bring the medicine over right away."

He looked down at his wrist, which was covered in sweat.

"Lord Song... has been staying by my brother's and my side the whole time?" he asked.

Song Zhao: "I came to see His Majesty...seeing Lord Lu was merely a side trip. In my opinion, Lord Lu is a worthy successor of our Great Wei..."

After noticing his expression, Song Zhao didn't say the rest of his words. Instead, he frowned and looked away. Incense was burning in a censer on one side, and the person inside was drowsy.

“…I understand, brother.” He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then realized that he was currently suffering from an illness, and if he went to infect Xue Yi… he would have to stay in the hospital bed now.

Song Zhao: "His Majesty is doing well, thanks to you. But Lord Lu... how did he fall ill on his way to Lidu? I originally thought that Lord Lu would not return, and even if he did... His Majesty and I would have to wait three to five years."

"Judging from Lord Lu's current appearance, did he encounter a setback on his journey?"

“Young men’s hearts are fickle. Just yesterday they were happy, but today they may have forgotten their feelings. Not to mention whether they have mistaken kindness for love, you are both men, and a year can change a lot... Perhaps he will soon marry and have children, just like the late emperor when he went to the capital and met Consort Li Xin... The fickleness of fate is unpredictable.”

Tengluo brought over the medicine and overheard Song Zhao's words. She immediately knew who he was talking about and couldn't help but feel unhappy.

“Lord Song… His Highness is not that kind of person. My Highness would never change his mind, and would never betray the young master.”

Upon hearing this, Song Zhao glanced coldly at the wisteria, without saying a word.

Lu Xuejin recalled the flower-patterned window in the capital and the maid's words, and her heart ached.

Now that things have come to this... he has no idea what His Highness is thinking.

It was he who caused His Highness to encounter danger time and time again... If it weren't for him, if it had been that snowy day and he hadn't held an umbrella for His Highness... given His Highness's patient nature, he might have already escaped his predicament.

Given his nature... he should be able to handle everything calmly and shouldn't have lost his composure like this.

Song Zhao then asked Tengluo, "How can you be so sure he won't change his mind?"

Tengluo: "Lord Song has never had any contact with His Highness... To draw such a conclusion, especially such a bad one, is something I don't think is appropriate. I spend every day with His Highness the Ninth Prince, so I understand his character better, don't I? Now it's already proven... Even if I admire Lord Song, and Lord Song slanders His Highness the Ninth Prince, I won't have any doubts... Doesn't this demonstrate His Highness the Ninth Prince's character?"

He listened to the two arguing, and saw his own pale face reflected in the soup bowl, his dark brown eyes devoid of any color.

After finishing the bowl of medicine, a thousand thoughts churned in his mind. He looked at the hole that had appeared in his chest cavity, from which countless versions of himself emerged. These countless versions of himself were about to leave his body and go to the capital to see His Highness.

He retrieved all of them from the void, pulling them back into his arms one by one, preventing them from escaping.

“Song Zhao…I have a favor to ask of you,” he said.

"I'm still worried about my brother's illness... I'd like to trouble you to go to the library and find some medical books. What do you say?"

Song Zhao looked at him and saw the light emanating from the candlelight, the bright and clear moonlight, and himself as a child reading in the library.

“…Okay.” After a long silence, Song Zhao finally agreed.

late at night.

He and Song Zhao were sitting on the bedside and at the desk, respectively, each reading a book.

The candlelight burned, and the candle wax dripped down, piling up into large clumps of amber. The shadows of him and Song Zhao were reflected in the window; they were each reading a book, and occasionally, when they paused, they caught sight of each other.

The next day, he and Song Zhao were about to visit Xue Yi.

Xue Yi had already woken up. Hearing that he was ill, he insisted on coming to see him. When he came in, he had just moved the desk, which was covered with medical books that Song Zhao had found in the library.

Now he has abandoned literature for medicine, and he will personally pay for all the sins he has committed.

“…Changyou?” Xue Yi pushed the door open and entered from the outside.

He had a wound on his forehead, which was wrapped in gauze, and he put down the book in his hand.

Xue Yi's figure appeared through the translucent gauze. Upon hearing this, Song Zhao stood up. Sunlight refracted into Fangze Palace, and the red plum tree growing in the flower bed in front of the window stretched out its branches, which fell on the window and formed a reflection.

"...Brother?"

Xue Yi: "Song Zhao is here too... Changyou, how are you feeling? I heard you fainted the day before yesterday... It's all my fault, I made Changyou worry."

"Not yet..." he said, then asked Xue Yi, "But brother... are you feeling any better? I traveled a long way and perhaps caught a chill on the way, but I'm fine now. Does brother still have a headache?"

"I am the same... Perhaps I caught a chill in the winter, which is why I had a headache. It doesn't hurt at all now."

"Changyou, don't worry... I'm perfectly fine."

Xue Yi noticed the medical books and looked at the young man in front of him. In just three days, Lu Xuejin had lost a lot of weight.

Bang--

Bang--

Bang--

He heard a tremendous noise from the horizon. The sound of hammers struck the back of his head, shattering his outer shell and penetrating through the silent shadows to smash Lu Xuejin's body.

"Changyou... what are you reading these books for? Have you recently become interested in medical theory?" he asked.

Lu Xuejin: "I just suddenly wanted to take a look... I don't know much about these things, so if my brother has a headache again in the future, I will know how to deal with it... It would be best if it could cure my brother's weakness."

"...It's alright."

“I still have to take care of my elder brother for a hundred years. If I learn something now, my brother’s life can be extended because of me… In this way, I will not fail my parents’ wishes, and I can rest easy and not be ashamed of the people of my Great Wei.”

Sunlight fell on Song Zhao's eyebrows and eyes, and Song Zhao looked intently at the young man in front of him.

...This was clearly the ending they all wanted to see, yet he felt as if something had disappeared.

The Lu Xuejin before him was no longer the complete Lu Xuejin; the flawless mask had been repaired, becoming even more indestructible.

Thus, he once again bent over his books... day and night, candlelight always shone in Fangze Palace.

Song Zhao often passed by and could see Lu Xuejin sitting at his desk. He stared at her for who knows how long, until he saw snow fall again in the Great Wei, the frost and snow melt, and a second spring begin... The seasons continued to cycle, the characters on the plaque of Zhizhang Hall were still fresh, and many students were still reading the articles written by Lu Xuejin.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

One day after court, Xue Yi heard a faint noise under the eaves.

The commotion attracted him, and he went to the flower bed, where he saw a bird lying among the peony branches and leaves. The bird was entirely golden, with soft and beautiful feathers, and its deep brown eyes shone like jewels. Now, injured and fallen into the flower bed, it was making a dying cry.

Looking at the bird's injured wing, he seemed to think of someone, and gently picked it up with both hands and brought it to Fangze Palace.

The bird chirped weakly in his palm. As he passed by Lu Xuejin Palace, he saw that the red plum tree had grown to the height of a flower bed. A figure was faintly visible by the window; the person must still be reading. He often stopped there, always worried that his presence would disturb them.

Although Lu Xuejin cared about him a lot and would always ask him if he had a headache... he often thought of the snowy night four years ago, and all the symptoms that had appeared in him were now appearing in the young man.

...Changyou is sick.

There was something between them. He stared intently at the grove of peonies blooming in the flower bed... What could it be?

He had no idea, so he could only look down at the injured bird.

...Many things in this world are like this, and cannot be explained in just a few words. His illness was physical, but Changyou's was psychological. They were like infants connected by an umbilical cord; when one was weak, the other also became ill, and they could only hope that the other would get better.

If only one of them had such a thought, perhaps one of them could have survived. But the two of them were of one mind and gave their pity to each other, and lived on for each other... With such a similar will, an extremely complicated situation was created.

He bandaged the injured bird, which lay obediently in his palm. He fed the bird some more food, and the bird opened its eyes to look at him. He looked down and carefully examined its dark brown eyes.

...Should we put it in a cage?

"Your Majesty, Lord Song requests an audience," the guard said.

"Let him in."

Song Zhao stepped into the hall and said to him, "The war in the southwest is tense now... The Golden Crow Sect has been hiding its tracks for two years and has transformed into the Liang Army. Under the pretext of 'overthrowing Liang and Wei,' it is active in the southwest and has occupied several cities of our Great Wei... Judging from the current situation, it will be at Shengjing in less than three months."

"Your Majesty...should we send General Xiao?"

"As long as you give the order... I will personally go to Wuling."

He gazed at Song Zhao's features. According to the palace servants, he had known Song Zhao for a long time... perhaps almost twenty years. He had never looked closely at Song Zhao's features before, but Song Zhao's appearance should be what women preferred... He was never short of women fawning over him.

After he refused the marriage proposal that had been brought up earlier, Song Zhao never mentioned it again.

Where was Song Zhao's attention... what was he doing now? He thought about it over and over, and belatedly realized that Song Zhao's mind was on him.

If it were a different ruler, would Song Zhao have devoted such attention to him?

It shouldn't be... He is the only monarch of Song Zhao.

He had lost nearly twenty years of his memory, but relying solely on his intuition... he discovered that his talent, due to his physical disability, must be an extra ability bestowed upon him by heaven. In every game... he always glimpsed the outcome before it even began.

Ten years ago... could he have foreseen the current situation when he made his plans?

"Song Zhao... I have a favor to ask of you."

A note from the author: