Chapter 48 Returning to the Palace Your Highness, you've finally returned.
The next morning, a ray of sunlight shone through the small window, and Su Panyue, who had been sitting idly all night, finally stood up, patted her somewhat numb legs, and stretched.
I went downstairs and greeted Uncle Gui: "Good morning."
Gui Bo looked up at her in surprise: "Up so early today? Are you in such a hurry to leave?"
This time, Su Panyue answered decisively: "No, I'm not leaving."
The old man reminded him, "It's no use for you to stay; you don't know anything about medicine."
Su Panyue nodded. "I don't understand, but you do. Could you go into the palace and take a look?"
Uncle Gui rolled his eyes: "I already said yesterday, no."
This was the answer Su Panyue had expected. She said seriously, "I know you don't care about any reward, so what would it take for you to agree?"
Uncle Gui waved his hand: "I'm just an old man, I don't need anything."
Su Panyue was still unwilling to give up and said, "As long as you are willing to save him, I will stay and serve you like a slave."
Gui Bo scoffed, "With your skinny arms and legs, I wouldn't even think you're strong enough to be a beast of burden."
Su Panyue pursed her lips and muttered under her breath, "I know a lot more than that, so don't underestimate me."
Uncle Gui closed his eyes, too lazy to pay attention to her.
Su Panyue went out by herself and went to the place where the wanted poster was posted yesterday. She found that the wanted poster was still posted there, but no one was watching anymore. People on the street were in a hurry and no one cared.
She sighed softly, went to her usual breakfast shop, ate two steamed buns, and casually asked the proprietress, "I heard there was a great victory at the border last time, is your son coming back soon?"
Upon hearing this, the proprietress sighed, "That's what was originally said, but since the person above hasn't given the order, the army will have to wait at the border, and we don't know when they'll be able to return."
Su Panyue nodded and comforted him, "His Majesty must have his own plans. Just wait for your son to come back and receive his reward."
"Then I'll take your kind words." The proprietress said, and then busied herself attending to the other customers.
After finishing her meal, Su Panyue packed another tray of steamed buns to take back to Uncle Gui.
Uncle Gui ate with relish, but still only said "No." Su Panyue was not discouraged. She left with the words, "Then I'll come back and ask again later," and went back to her room.
When it was lunchtime, Su Panyue ran to the east of the city to buy the most popular osmanthus cake to bring to Uncle Gui.
Gui Bo looked at the oil paper package in his hand and asked, "Why do you think I like to eat these?"
Su Panyue smiled but did not answer, only saying, "You'll know once you try it. I queued for an hour."
Actually, when she first met Uncle Ghost in the Ghost Market, she smelled the scent of osmanthus sugar on him. During the few days she stayed there, although she never saw him eat any pastries, she could smell the sweet aroma of pastries whenever she came back.
Uncle Gui picked up a piece of pastry and put it in his mouth. It melted in his mouth, and his brows relaxed. He glanced at Su Panyue again, but said nothing else.
Su Panyue then chatted with him about what she had seen and heard that day. When she mentioned that the border war was dragging on because Xie Lanzhou was still unconscious, Gui Bo raised an eyebrow and said:
"That tyrant was only somewhat skilled in military strategy."
Su Panyue couldn't help but bring up his efforts to punish corrupt officials and save money, showering him with compliments. Uncle Gui only asked one question:
"If he's so good, why did you run away?"
Su Panyue fell silent. If she said she was a spy, Gui Bo would probably kick her out the next second.
Fortunately, Uncle Gui didn't press the matter, and just waved her off, telling her not to waste her energy.
Since Su Panyue had already decided to stay, she would not give up easily. For three consecutive days, she stayed by Gui Bo's side, thinking of various ways to help him.
But Gui Bo remained unmoved until news of war breaking out in the south arrived.
The officials in the capital were well aware of Xie Lanzhou's methods. Even though he was unconscious for a week and did not show his face, no one dared to make any rash moves. However, in the south, far from the capital, some young and fearless people started a rebellion, marching north under the pretext of overthrowing the tyrant.
When the news reached the capital, two cities had already fallen. The rebels burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities wherever they went.
Perhaps because of this, Gui Bo finally relented: "I can go to the palace to treat him, but you have to come with me."
Su Panyue was taken aback, not expecting him to make this request, and couldn't help but ask, "But you also said that I'm not of any use going back, so why do you want me to come along?"
Gui Bo didn't explain the reason, only saying, "If you don't want to, then forget it."
Su Panyue quickly replied, "Yes, that's fine, as long as you're willing to make the trip."
Su Panyue chose to stay, prepared for Xie Lanzhou to find her; it was only a matter of time. If she could truly cure Gui Bo by taking him back, she might be able to make amends and get him to be lenient with her.
Su Panyue said impatiently, "Then let's go quickly."
Ghost Uncle was speechless: "Aren't you going to pack your things?"
Su Panyue waved her hand and said, "No need to pack. I don't know if I'll be able to come back alive."
Uncle Gui shook his head with a half-smile, turned around, picked up a worn-out medicine box, and went out with Su Panyue.
The two took the bounty and headed straight for the capital.
Holding the bounty notice, the two entered the palace smoothly, where a eunuch led them to a side hall to rest.
"How is His Majesty? Could you please tell Eunuch Fu quickly so we can go in and see him?"
Su Panyue's tone was somewhat anxious, which made the young eunuch glance at her a few more times.
Gui Bo sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and said jokingly, "You're such a noble concubine, yet not a single person here recognizes you."
Su Panyue pursed her lips and didn't reply. How long had she been a concubine? She hadn't even enjoyed a few good days before she had to run for her life. How miserable she was.
The two stared at each other for a while, until it was about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Then, a young eunuch entered and knelt down the moment he saw Su Panyue.
She cried out, "Your Highness, you've finally returned!"
Su Panyue was startled by his entourage, and only after seeing clearly did she realize that the person who came was actually Shouxi.
She quickly helped him up, anxiously asking, "Why are you crying! How is His Majesty?"
Shouxi stammered for a long time without getting anything out of it, so Su Panyue said directly, "Take me to His Majesty first."
Shouxi was supposed to lead the way, but Su Panyue walked very fast, leaving Shouxi and Gui Bo behind, and would stop from time to time to urge them: "Hurry up!"
"Running around inside the palace is not allowed..." Suki whispered a reminder, but still quickened her pace.
After walking through half of the palace, we finally arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Upon seeing the familiar golden plaque, Su Panyue stopped in her tracks, momentarily tense.
The guards at the gate bowed to her, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness, Imperial Concubine."
Hearing the commotion, Eunuch Fu came out. The moment he saw Su Panyue, it was as if he had seen a savior; his reaction was exactly the same as Shouxi's.
"This old servant greets Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine. You've finally returned."
Su Panyue didn't know why these people still called her Imperial Concubine, but she didn't have time to dwell on it now. She hurriedly led Gui Bo into the palace.
"Eunuch Fu, this doctor is highly skilled. Please let him in to take a look."
Without further ado, Eunuch Fu led the two into the inner hall.
There were several imperial physicians, including Imperial Physician Gao, in the hall, but Su Panyue paid them no heed and walked unsteadily toward the bedside.
On the bed lay Xie Lanzhou, whom I hadn't seen for nearly half a month. She lay there quietly, her face pale, and even her lips were bloodless.
His handsome face had become even thinner, and he lay there like a mannequin carved from white jade, as if he would ascend to heaven at any moment.
Su Panyue hesitated before reaching out and gently placing her hand on his face. The man's warm body temperature brought her a little peace of mind.
Suddenly a voice came from behind, "Old Gao, I see you're not doing so well these days, you're so worried your hair has turned white."
"That's still better than you, you one-eyed old man."
"How dare you say that? If it weren't for you, how could I have lost an eye?"
"He blames others for his own incompetence."
"If you're so capable, why don't you treat it yourself? Instead, you're posting reward notices all over the streets. Aren't you ashamed?"
The argument between Physician Gao and Uncle Gui interrupted Su Panyue's sadness. She turned to look at the two arguing and Eunuch Fu, who looked troubled.
Clearing her throat, Su Panyue interrupted, "Alright, alright, Uncle Gui, please come and take a look at him."
"Just you wait and see." Ghost Uncle gave Doctor Gao a cold sneer and strode to the bedside.
He glanced at Xie Lanzhou and teased Su Panyue with a smile, "So this tyrant is this good-looking. No wonder you're reluctant to leave."
Su Panyue was speechless for a moment, not expecting him to still be in the mood for jokes, but her ears turned red without her noticing.
He urged, "Stop talking, just take a look."
Gui Bo raised his hand to take his pulse, his playful expression vanishing, replaced by a growing seriousness.
His withered hand traced the pulse along the wrist, moving upwards along the veins, and finally pressed several acupoints on the head before stopping.
Everyone present held their breath in anticipation, and the Imperial Physician Gao's expression changed upon seeing those acupoints.
"How is it?" Su Panyue asked.
Gui Bo succinctly stated, "He's been bewitched."
Imperial Physician Gao couldn't help but ask, "Is it the Mandarin Duck Gu?"
But Gui Bo rolled his eyes at him, saying, "You didn't understand it back then. This is clearly a mother-child gu."
Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Gao fell silent, muttering, "How could this be..." Then he suddenly looked up at Su Panyue, "Then wouldn't that mean..."
Su Panyue didn't understand what they were talking about, but she knew that Gu worms were very mysterious, so she asked, "Then why did he fall into a coma? Is there an antidote for this Gu?"
Gui Bo said, "Mother-Child Gu generally consists of two Gu worms, one child Gu and one mother Gu. Like the Mandarin Duck Gu, the two Gu worms depend on each other for survival, sharing life and death. The difference is that the child Gu will gradually grow. When the child Gu grows to a certain size, it will break free from the control of the mother Gu, and even reverse its control. At this point, the mother Gu can no longer leave the child Gu, otherwise..."
"What will happen then?"
"Otherwise, the mother Gu will explode and kill the host."
Gui Bo stroked his beard and continued, "As for his headache, it should be a pre-existing chronic condition that was aggravated by the restlessness of the Gu worms, which pressed down on this area, causing him to faint." He pointed to his head as he spoke.
Su Panyue frowned, her voice involuntarily trembling with a hint of tears: "What should we do?"
"Luckily, that old guy used acupuncture to seal his acupoints, otherwise he would have been dead long ago."
Su Panyue pressed further, "Can it remove the curse?"
Uncle Gui shook his head. "This Gu can be cured, but it won't be easy. The fastest way now is to find the offspring Gu and appease the mother Gu before we can save its life."
"But where can we find the 'child-rearing gu'?" Su Panyue was so anxious that tears were about to come out, but she saw that the Imperial Physician Gao pointed at her.
Then he said, "The Zi Gu is on you."
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Author's Note: We finally met (or so I guess?).
The imprisonment play described in the text will begin later, so stay tuned! [doge head with rose in hand]
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