Chapter 90: Wind Passes 1 Old Friend

The rain continued that day, but Li Xuanhe remained even afterward. He sat with Xun Shu, listening to the rain and eating peanuts, occasionally chatting about recent and past anecdotes. After Xun Shu had eaten half his fill, he suddenly remembered something: "Do you remember seeing Zhao Jingrong and Fang Yan on the street during the Lantern Festival? You said you'd send a message back to Chaozhou to find out. Have you received a reply yet?"

Li Xuanhe patted his head. "I came to see you today precisely because of this. Yesterday, I received a reply from Chaozhou, saying that Fang Yan resigned from his post and left Chaozhou shortly after we left. My people went to the funeral clothing store, and the owners told me that Fang Yan resigned because of Zhao Jingrong. After Fang Yan entered the government, he had been well cared for by County Magistrate Zhao. Now, with this tragedy in County Magistrate Zhao's family, Zhao Jingrong is left all alone, seriously ill, and with not much time left. It's truly pitiful. Fang Yan said he wanted to bring her to the capital for medical treatment. If he could cure her, that would be great. If not, they could see a different scenery, which would be a way of repaying County Magistrate Zhao's kindness. When the couple heard what he said, they allowed him to leave."

Bringing Zhao Jingrong to the capital? Xun Shu was a little surprised: "I've known him for so long, but I didn't know he was so familiar with Zhao Jingrong."

Li Xuanhe raised his eyes and asked, "When did you and Fang Yan meet?"

"Not long after Uncle Jiang brought me back to the coffin shop, I met Fang Yan. Uncle Jiang told me that Fang Yan had also lost relatives in the flood. The couple who owned the coffin shop took pity on him, remembering their deceased son, and took him in. Fang Yan was quite talented in studying. After the flood receded, he enrolled at the academy south of the village, returning to the coffin shop only a few days a month to help his family run the shop. Later, County Magistrate Zhao met Fang Yan by chance, admired his talent, and hired him as a clerk in the county government. After that, Fang Yan stopped returning to the academy and lived in the coffin shop for a long time. That's how I gradually became familiar with him."

In Daliang, besides passing the imperial examination, officials could also be recommended by officials within the court. County Magistrate Zhao, if he encountered a white-collared official he admired, could recommend him to the governor's office. With the governor's approval, he could then take up an official position in the county government. Two county lieutenants in Chaozhou County both joined the government through this method: one was recommended by County Magistrate Zhao, and the other by the governor himself.

"So that's how it is." Li Xuanhe pretended to ask casually, "Since you're familiar with him, when you left Chaozhou, did he ever mention bringing Zhao Jingrong to the capital?"

Xun Shu shook her head, also feeling strange: "No. When Fang Yan sent me to the city gate, he didn't say anything, just wishing me a safe journey. It's strange to say, the day we met them at the Lantern Festival, you and I had just arrived in the capital. So it seems that they set off almost as soon as we left Chaozhou. If they had told me earlier, we could have set off together and we could have looked after each other along the way." She paused, as if realizing something, and said slowly, "Isn't this obvious? If Fang Yan had told me something, why wouldn't I tell you? Why are you asking now? Why do I feel like you have other meanings... like you have bad intentions?"

Li Xuanhe looked innocent: "Ah Shu, what are you talking about? I love you wholeheartedly! I'm not like that kid Fang Yan, who has so many secrets and won't tell you."

"You have a lot of secrets." Xun Shu rolled his eyes at him.

Xun Shu seemed slow and uninterested in everything, yet at times she could be quite perceptive. Li Xuanhe was afraid she might ask an unanswerable question, so he quickly changed the subject: "They're staying at the inn west of the city. Do you want to go meet them?"

Xun Shu was a little hesitant.

While Fang Yan's decision to take Zhao Jingrong away from Chaozhou without telling her was understandable, their decision not to seek out her and Li Xuanhe after arriving in the capital was truly bizarre. Fang Yan had come to the capital to repay Magistrate Zhao's kindness, bringing Zhao Jingrong to seek medical treatment. So why didn't they seek out Li Xuanhe? Li Xuanhe was born and raised here, a son of the Marquis of Pingyang and the eldest princess. Li Xuanhe could find any renowned physician Fang Yan could find, and he also had connections to those Fang Yan couldn't find.

But Fang Yan still didn't come to find Li Xuanhe.

Does he not want her and Li Xuanhe to know about this matter and know about his relationship with Zhao Jingrong?

But why is this?

Xun Shu told Li Xuanhe about her doubts. Li Xuanhe paused and said tentatively, "Brother Fang, since you came to the capital, you must have heard about what happened at the Pingyang Marquis' Mansion a few days ago. With a little inquiry, you would have known that you were living there with me. Ah Shu, I don't think Brother Fang wanted to keep me in the house, but he wanted to keep you from knowing and causing misunderstandings. Brother Fang has always liked you, do you know that?"

"What's the misunderstanding?"

"Misunderstanding the relationship between him and Zhao Jingrong."

"I don't like him, so why would I misunderstand the relationship between him and Zhao Jingrong?" Xun Shu finished speaking, then realized what Li Xuanhe meant and quickly waved his hand, "You misunderstood. Fang Yan doesn't like me—at least not in a love relationship between a man and a woman."

Li Xuanhe sighed, feeling that Xun Shu was being too slow on this matter. Xun Shu noticed his expression and explained earnestly, "Don't treat me like a fool. You can tell who's treating me well and who's not if you pay attention. Fang Yan treats me well, but it's just like an ordinary brother and sister. There's absolutely no romantic connection."

In Chaozhou, he was constantly watching you and following you. Who would believe him if he said there wasn't any romantic connection? Li Xuanhe didn't want to argue with Xun Shu over such an insignificant person. He dipped his hand in the rain and wrote the words "Fushou Inn" on the bench. He said aggrievedly, "He and Zhao Jingrong are staying in this inn now. If you don't want to go with me, you can go find him on your own."

Li Xuanhe turned away angrily. Xun Shu made up her mind in an instant: "Since they're going, of course I'll go with you. You're familiar with the capital, maybe you can help them." She looked up and saw that the dark clouds were almost dispersing. She then looked at the surface of the fish tank in the courtyard and saw that the ripples were becoming sparser. "The rain is almost stopping. Why don't we wait until it stops and then go look for them? The weather is bad today, so I guess they haven't left the inn."

-

The Fushou Inn was tucked away in a corner of the western city, usually not seeing many guests. The wooden table in the lobby was ageless, its surface caked with black greasy stains. The stools beside it were rickety, as if they could fall apart at any moment.

There was only one waiter in the shop, who was dozing off. He glanced at Xun Shu and Li Xuanhe as they entered the shop. They were dressed elegantly and followed by several guards. They didn't look like the kind of people who would patronize their small shop. He hurried over with an ingratiating smile on his face, "Sir, are you looking for someone?"

Xun Shu was about to ask the waiter about Fang Yan when she looked up and saw Fang Yan standing on the stairs, looking a little surprised. She pointed at Fang Yan and said, "Let's go find him."

Fang Yan didn't expect to see them here. He paused for a moment, his smile a little awkward: "Brother He, Ah Shu, long time no see. Let's go to the room and talk."

The Fushou Inn had three floors, and Fang Yan's quarters were on the second floor, a ground-level room. The room was extremely cramped, a table and a bed so tightly packed that there was barely room to stand. The three of them sat around the table, knees touching. Xun Shu felt slightly uneasy, leaning slightly toward Li Xuanhe, stepping around their knees and carefully exhaling.

After not seeing him for over a month, Fang Yan looked the same, his clothes meticulously dressed, his words and actions formal, but his expression had lost a bit of his scholarly air and instead had a touch of melancholy. He flipped the cups on the table and poured a few cups of tea for the two of them.

The tea is translucent, a light amber in color, and has a refreshing aroma. It is a rare good tea.

Li Xuanhe stared at the tea for a long while, picked up the cup and took a sip, sighing, "It's really good tea."

After taking a sip, Xun Shu said in surprise, "The capital city is really strange. When I first walked into the lobby, I thought this inn was about to close, but I didn't expect that they could actually serve guests such good tea."

Fang Yan was surprised and said, "I just thought this tea was very refreshing, but I didn't know it was a good tea. The capital really is very expensive, and there are so many things I have never seen or tasted."

Back in Chaozhou, while this man was somewhat pedantic, he hadn't been so pretentious. Li Xuanhe raised an eyebrow, tired of continuing the small talk. "I heard Brother Fang resigned from his post and brought Miss Zhao Er to the capital to visit a patient. I hadn't known Brother Fang and Miss Zhao Er were so familiar with each other."

"No, no. I didn't interact much with Brother He in the past. It's normal for Brother He not to know that I know Miss Zhao Er, just like I didn't know that Brother He was the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple and the son of the Marquis of Pingyang." Fang Yan smiled subtly, "Oh, right, I can't call you Brother He now. You should call me Brother Li."

"Yes. Ah Shu and I are not familiar with Brother Fang, otherwise Brother Fang would not have left Chaozhou without even saying goodbye to Ah Shu." Li Xuanhe was not annoyed. His eyes swept across the palm-sized room, his movements particularly noticeable. "Since you brought Miss Zhao Er to see a doctor, why can't I see her? Is her illness okay?"

"Miss Zhao Er hasn't married yet, so how can she live with me?" Fang Yan pointed in the direction of the next door and said, "She lives next door. Her health has been getting worse in the past few days, and she's been sleeping more and more during the day. She should be resting now. If you two want to see her, I'll go and wake her up right away."

Fang Yan made a move to stand, but Xun Shu quickly waved her off, "No need. I saw you at the Qiqiao Festival last time, so I asked my third brother to check on you." She turned her head to look at Li Xuanhe and said seriously, "I heard that the imperial physicians in the palace are very capable. Can you ask them to treat Miss Zhao Er?"

This matter was a bit difficult to handle, but Li Xuanhe still agreed: "I will ask Yu Chang to find out which imperial physician is free to come here to see Miss Zhao Er after finishing his duty today."

"No need." Fang Yan declined the offer on Zhao Jingrong's behalf. Seeing their puzzled expressions, he explained with a wry smile, "We've seen many doctors along the way. Every time a new doctor came to see Miss Zhao, she was full of anticipation, but every time she heard the doctor's words that there was no cure, she would be sad for several days. Now her body is at the end of its life. Even if there is good medicine, I'm afraid she won't be able to hold on until the day of recovery. If the imperial physician can't treat her, and she suffers another blow, I'm afraid she will just -"

Fang Yan's voice was soft, and if you listened closely, you could hear a slight tremor. He didn't finish his words, as if by not saying them out loud, he could avoid facing that sad ending.

Xun Shu frowned slightly, feeling that Fang Yan's attitude was a little strange, completely different from the Fang Yan from Chaozhou. She carefully examined Fang Yan's facial features, but didn't see any changes, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that she was overthinking it, but after being separated for more than a month, what could have changed?

Li Xuanhe kept a close eye on Xun Shu, and seeing her worried expression, his heart ached like aged vinegar. He thought bitterly, how could Xun Shu not see that this man was hiding something? It seemed he should find an imperial physician to take a look; who knows, maybe they could uncover Fang Yan's hidden secret.

The room suddenly became quiet and no one spoke for a long time until a loud noise came from the next room, as if something was pushed to the ground, shattering the silence. Fang Yan suddenly stood up.

"She's awake."