Chapter 70: Opening "Your Highness's pulse is disordered, and the pulse is short and rapid like a bird's peck...

"Your Highness's pulse is irregular. When taken superficially, it's short and rapid, like a bird's peck, but when taken deeply, it's slow and long, like a worm." Tang Zhao withdrew his finger from the pulse and bowed his head respectfully. "May I ask, Your Highness, have you taken any other medications recently?"

There was silence behind the gauze curtain, and only the shadow on the ground, stretched by the light, nodded slightly.

The eunuch immediately brought a rosewood tray with dozens of blue-and-white porcelain bottles neatly arranged on it.

"Doctor Tang, these are the pills that His Highness takes on a daily basis."

Tang Zhao picked up the porcelain bottles one by one, uncorked them, and sniffed them lightly with his nose.

After placing the last porcelain bottle back on the tray, she turned to face the gauze curtain. "These elixirs do indeed contain precious nourishing ingredients like ginseng and deer antlers. However, the human body is like a boat on the sea. An appropriate amount of cargo helps the boat sail steadily and far. Overloading it can capsize and shorten one's lifespan."

"How dare you!" the eunuch beside him shrieked, "The elixir His Highness is taking is a treasure gathered from all the world, refined by the Nine Revolutions Palace for 9981 days. How dare you, a folk healer, slander this immortal treasure!"

At this point, Tang Zhao finally understood why Wei Yuanxiu was so weak - perhaps no imperial physician had ever dared to tell him the truth.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. What I said is true."

"you……"

At this moment, the seated figure on the ground gently raised its hand. A deep voice came from behind the gauze curtain: "What do you think should be done?"

"Your Highness, I believe you should stop taking these pills immediately. I will prescribe a prescription for you to dredge the blood and strengthen the Qi. After a few months of treatment, your body will slowly recover and you will live a long and peaceful life."

"Shou Nian..." The person behind the curtain slowly repeated these two words, and suddenly asked, "I heard... you can tell a person's lifespan?"

Tang Zhao's drooping eyelashes trembled, and an elusive dark light flashed in his eyes. "Yes."

"Your Highness, Lord Tuoba requests an audience."

The announcement outside the hall sounded almost simultaneously with her response.

Hearing this name, Tang Zhao's expression changed slightly. She turned slightly and looked towards the palace gate like an arrow shot from a bow.

On the left side of the palace gate, Zheng Guang stood solemnly, and Fang Buyu, wearing a mask, was hiding behind Zheng Guang with his head down.

On the other side stood a man in his fifties, dressed in a dark-patterned brocade robe and a jade belt around his waist. When Tang Zhao looked at him, the man's gaze, originally fixed on the gauze curtain, happened to shift towards him, and their gazes met unexpectedly in mid-air.

It turns out that this person is Tuoba Xuan.

During this brief period of staring at each other, the prince's deep voice came from behind the gauze curtain: "Send him in."

Tang Zhao watched the summoned maid walk towards the palace gate. Not long after, Tuoba Xuan walked in.

She turned back calmly, suppressed all the surging emotions, and returned to a respectful appearance.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."

"Get up." The prince's voice was a little tired. "Wait aside for a moment."

The eunuch had unknowingly brought a red sandalwood chair and placed it to one side. He bowed to Tuoba Xuan and whispered, "Master Tuoba, please sit for a moment. This female physician is taking your pulse and prescribing medicine for you."

Tuoba Xuan nodded silently. While waiting outside the palace, he had already learned from Zheng Guang the origins of this female healer and her unsightly brother who suffered from solitary congenital disease.

But was it just his imagination? Why did he feel that when this female healer looked at him just now, there seemed to be a hint of hostility in her eyes?

The voice, deep and yet frivolous, rang out from behind the curtain again: "Since you claim to know how to tell a person's lifespan, then after taking my pulse just now, did you determine...how long I'm going to live?"

The eunuch standing by hurried forward and said, "Your Highness! You are a man of ten thousand gold, the future emperor. You are blessed by heaven and will enjoy a long and prosperous life. Why would you believe the unfounded judgment of this country doctor?"

"Hmm..." The person behind the curtain snorted in displeasure and interrupted the dissuasion, "Let her speak."

Tang Zhao put on an expression of panic at the right moment and knelt hurriedly on the ground: "I... I dare not judge the emperor's body."

"You can speak freely. No matter what you say, I will forgive you."

"This... If you want to predict a person's lifespan, besides the pulse, you also need to carefully observe the facial complexion, body shape, and other signs to infer the length of lifespan."

Soon after she finished speaking, she heard the sound of the gauze curtain in front of her being slowly drawn open.

"You, raise your head." Wei Yuanxiu's voice was filled with unquestionable pressure. "Look at me and tell me, how long can I live?"

Tang Zhao looked up slowly, seemingly timidly.

When her eyes met the face behind the veil, she couldn't help but clench her teeth. However, this reaction did not arouse the suspicion of others, who simply thought she was frightened by the might of heaven.

Her gaze swept up the prince's face and figure, and suddenly, with an expression of extreme panic, she kowtowed repeatedly, her whole body shaking like a sieve, and she spoke incoherently: "I... I am not very knowledgeable and can't tell... I can't tell the age of your Highness..."

"Heh... can't you see?" Wei Yuanxiu's gaze was like an icy hook, firmly fixed on the trembling figure below the stage. "If you really can't see, why would you react like this? Are you deceiving the emperor?!"

The drawn-out ending tone, wrapped in the wrath of thunder, pressed down on Tang Zhao.

"I dare not..."

"Since you dare not, then tell the truth! Whatever you conclude, tell me and I will forgive you. Otherwise, I will have you dragged out and beheaded right now!"

Tang Zhao kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Highness, please spare my life! Your Highness, please spare my life!..."

"explain!"

She was silent for a moment, still kneeling on the ground with her forehead touching the ground, and her muffled voice spread throughout the hall:

"Your Highness, while not suffering from any acute or critical illness, suffers from a chronic illness that is as difficult to recover as floating wood... Even with meticulous care in the future, it may be difficult to completely reverse the situation. In my humble opinion... Your Highness's lifespan... is unlikely to exceed seventy."

As soon as the words fell, the entire hall fell into deathly silence.

Then, the sharp sound of a chair leg scraping against the floor shattered the silence, accompanied by a stern rebuke from behind: "Bold witch! How dare you speak such outrageous words and curse the body of the Emperor! Your Highness, I beg you to immediately drag this witch out of the hall and execute her on the spot!"

Tang Zhao knelt very close to the gauze curtain. Even though his head was touching the ground, he could still clearly hear the breathing coming from above becoming heavier and heavier. It was obvious that the person was extremely angry.

But the heavy breathing soon subsided, and the prince's voice sounded again, with a degree of deliberate calmness: "My dear Tuoba, there is no need to be angry. It is just a nonsense from the market. How could I take it seriously?"

He paused briefly and said loudly, "Come here, take her away and keep her under guard for the time being."

Two maids came in, one on each side, and helped Tang Zhao up, leading her out of the hall.

*

With a "click", the door was slammed shut, and Tang Zhao and Fang Buyu were pushed into a simply furnished room.

After Tang Zhao stood firmly, he looked around calmly, then walked to the wooden table in the room, put down the medical box and opened it, and began to sort out the silver needles, medicine bottles and other items that had been messed up during the inspection.

Her movements were unhurried, as if she was just returning from an ordinary medical visit.

While tidying up, she suddenly remembered something and turned around and quickly walked over to Fang Buyu who was standing quietly beside her: "How do you feel now? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?"

Fang Bu was surprised to see her in such a state.

How could she still care about his health at this moment? Was that terrified and cautious look she had just shown in the hall also an act?

However, he no longer wanted to delve into the mystery surrounding her, because...

Seeing he didn't answer, Tang Zhao simply pulled his wrist over to examine it. Seeing that the rash had mostly subsided, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Thankfully... the medicine took effect quickly, and the symptoms have eased considerably."

But then another worry welled up in her mind. She asked bluntly, "The rash will gradually fade. If they get suspicious and check again, how will you hide the truth?"

Worried that he might do something extreme again, Tang Zhao looked at his neck, which was faintly visible under his collar, and said comfortingly, "But they are targeting me now. They probably won't pay attention to you anymore, let alone check your face again. You must not..."

"No more." His deep voice came from above his head, "Everything... will end this night."

Tang Zhao's heart tightened.

Before she could think about it, he had already pulled her back to the inner room farther from the door. Fang Buyu leaned close to her ear and whispered in a very low voice:

"Listen carefully. Tonight at three quarters past midnight, you leave here and follow the fork in the road to the left of the rockery at the entrance. Keep running towards the tallest cedar tree in the distance until you reach the end. Someone will come to take you away."

Tang Zhao's eyes suddenly widened: "You...when did you come up with this plan?"

"On the way here, I had already memorized the route."

"But the gate is heavily guarded. How can I get out?"

"Don't worry about that. I have my own way to clear the obstacles for you."

Clear the obstacles? How are you going to clear them? Tang Zhao tilted his head, his peripheral vision falling on the sharply defined earlobes of the person next to him. "What exactly do you want to do?"

"That's all for you to worry about." Fang Buyu straightened up and took a half step back. "After you leave, the person who will pick you up will provide enough money to help you leave. These days... I've disrupted your peaceful life. I can only say, sorry."

Tang Zhao silently stared at the back of the person who had turned around and was standing quietly in front of the window, and stopped talking.

As the night deepened, the bell in the palace rang, announcing the hour of Yin.

Tang Zhao, who had been sitting upright at the head of the bed, saw the figure sitting at the table with his forehead supported slowly put down his hands, then put his hands behind his back and untied the mask straps behind his head.

When the mask was removed, the bright moonlight pouring in from the window flowed across the long-lost face like mercury.

Tang Zhao's heart trembled, as if the clear light also flowed into his heart, illuminating the softest corner hidden deep in his heart.

The next moment, she saw his fingers gently stroking the edge of the mask a few times. With a slight mechanical sound, the mask actually split apart, revealing the inner and outer layers.

Tang Zhao involuntarily walked closer, and only then did he see the mystery of the mask - the inner side of the bottom layer was inlaid with several curved thin strips, which had a special texture and glowed faintly in the moonlight.

Fang Buyu no longer avoided her gaze. He calmly took out the thin strips and whispered, "I'll use these incense sticks to deal with the guard outside the window. Once I've dealt with the people outside, I'll open the door for you."

As he spoke, he continued to carefully explore the bottom layer of the mask. Tang Zhao saw him peel off another very thin layer from the bottom, revealing the light blue material underneath.

This smell...

Then he picked up the teapot on the table and poured the water onto his sleeves, soaking a piece of cloth.

When alum comes into contact with water, it can corrode everything!

She finally understood what he was going to do!

Fang Buyu reached out to put the mask back on, but Tang Zhao grabbed his wrist first.

In fear, her fingertips trembled slightly, and her voice trembled: "You..."

Fang Buyu interrupted her, his expression as calm as if he was talking about an ordinary matter: "Don't worry, not now. After I kill him, I will destroy this face and no one will recognize my identity."

"You're trying to kill yourself!" Tang Zhao cried out in shock and pain.

This time, she looked straight into his eyes. But Fang Buyu's attention was completely focused on the mask, and he didn't see the pain overflowing in her eyes.

"Let go!" His other sleeve was soaked with water, and he could only use one hand to try to break free from her grip.

He was stronger than she was after all. Seeing his fingertips about to touch the mask, Tang Zhao rushed forward in a hurry and knocked the mask to the ground.

"You!..." Fang Buyu was shocked and angry, and the scolding was on the tip of his tongue.

The next moment, a soft figure threw himself into his arms.

"Ayu..."