Seeing that Xuan Yuanhao remained silent for a long time, his face solemn, as if he was getting impatient, Yi Shangyun got up, wanting to go outside the hall to breathe and adjust his state, easing his own extremely heavy mood.
Just as she reached the entrance of the bedchamber and was about to step over the threshold, she suddenly heard Xuan Yuanhao behind her ask, "What's your name?"
Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun immediately turned around and looked at the somewhat stubborn child in front of her with joy. Heaven rewards those who persevere; finally, he was willing to let go of his resentment and speak to her properly.
She hurriedly returned to him, smiling gently, and said, "This servant is a pharmacist from the Imperial Pharmacy, Yi Shangyun..."
"The cloud on the robe... I will remember it," Xuan Yuanhao murmured to himself.
Yi Shangyun nodded, still smiling happily. Because she believed that no matter how difficult the days ahead, no matter how serious Xuanyuan Hao's illness, as long as he was willing to open his heart and face it positively, there would definitely be a good outcome.
At this moment, the Qin Prince's Mansion in the east of the city was solemn and quiet.
Xuanyuan Han sat upright in Chenghua Hall, holding an elegant and serene sachet made of royal blue silk, adorned with several sprigs of white plum blossoms. He examined it closely with great interest, looking at it from left to right, a handsome smile occasionally curving his lips...
Deputy General Cheng Liang rushed in from outside the hall, his expression immediately showing panic.
Your Highness
Xuanyuan Han noticed his unusual expression and asked him, "What happened?"
Cheng Liang seemed to be concealing something, or perhaps he wanted to lay the groundwork first. After thinking for a moment, he simply reported, "News just came from the palace that His Highness the Crown Prince and Grand Tutor Wen have returned to the palace today."
"I already knew about this," said Xuan Yuanhan, who had always maintained a close relationship with the Crown Prince and Grand Tutor Wen. He had naturally received news that they would be returning to the palace at the end of the year, so he was not surprised at all. He was somewhat annoyed by Cheng Liang's overreaction, as he believed that Cheng Liang, who was by his side every day, should have known about this matter.
However, Cheng Liang then reported, "His Highness the Crown Prince has just been diagnosed with smallpox, and the entire Donghua Palace has now been sealed off and quarantined."
"What? Didn't you say it was chickenpox?" Xuan Yuanhan seemed somewhat surprised when he heard this.
“It was probably misdiagnosed in the early stages of the illness…” Cheng Liang wanted to continue, but he still didn’t know how to start. His eyes were downcast and kept darting left and right as he struggled internally.
"Is there anything else?" Xuan Yuanhan could tell that he had something else to say, so he raised his eyes again and asked him sternly.
"Your Highness, please don't be in such a hurry," Cheng Liang said, but he was still laying the groundwork. He was afraid that what he was saying and doing was just to tell his master something, just a sentence. But he didn't know how his master would react when he finally said what he needed to say most.
Xuan Yuanhan was even more puzzled by Cheng Liang's inexplicable words. "When have I ever been anxious? Besides, being anxious now won't help. Fortunately, the Crown Prince has returned to the palace, where conditions are naturally the best. Now, we can only wait and see what fate has in store."
Cheng Liang finally couldn't bear it any longer and could no longer hold back these words in his heart. So he puffed out his cheeks, took a deep breath, and then lowered his head to report clearly and loudly to Xuan Yuanhan, "Your Highness, in addition to His Highness the Crown Prince, there are also...and Yi Yao Nu who have been isolated in Donghua Palace."
"What?" Sure enough, the usually calm and collected Xuan Yuanhan immediately stood up from his seat upon hearing this, his eyes widening as if he couldn't believe his ears. He stared at Cheng Liang in astonishment, then clenched his fists tightly.
"Isn't she still recovering from her leg ailment at the Imperial Pharmacy? Didn't you already convey my order that the Imperial Hospital was not to assign her any tasks? Who on earth is so bold as to disobey my orders? And why is she isolated in Donghua Palace?"
Xuanyuan Han was extremely excited. For the first time, he lost his composure, went crazy, and lost all sense of propriety for a woman.
Hearing Xuan Yuanhan's barrage of questions, Cheng Liang knew his master was extremely anxious. He answered each question earnestly, "The Imperial Medical Academy certainly wouldn't dare to disobey His Highness's orders. It's said that the female medicine practitioner discovered something amiss while the other medicine practitioner was preparing the medicine, and thus insisted on going to Donghua Palace to verify her suspicions. Fortunately, the female medicine practitioner went, and only then did she carefully discover some clues in the Crown Prince's diagnosis. Later, after Zhang Zhiyuan re-examined him, they discovered he had contracted smallpox."
"Then why was she isolated in Donghua Palace?" Xuanyuan Han listened carefully and asked eagerly.
"When Her Majesty the Empress learned that the Crown Prince had contracted smallpox and needed to be isolated, she insisted on personally attending to his illness and caring for him. As the mother of the nation, the Empress's status was extremely high, and the royal family and the imperial physicians naturally refused. Everyone avoided her like the plague, but the female physician volunteered to take care of the Crown Prince. The Emperor, upon hearing this, said that the female physician liked to show off and be in the limelight, so he agreed to her request, and thus she was isolated along with the Crown Prince," Cheng Liang reported with great seriousness and detail.
"She doesn't like to show off or be assertive; she's just too kind-hearted and can't bear to do anything for anyone," Xuan Yuanhan said with a helpless yet affectionate expression, as such scenes came to mind.
In the dark and windy valley, Yi Shangyun faced Xuan Yuanhan, a stranger who was seriously injured. Despite being dressed in black and wielding a sword, he still fearlessly offered a helping hand.
In the bustling market, he promptly detoxified an elderly woman who was also a complete stranger and was suffering from severe poisoning, saving her life and giving her all the money she had with her to help her through the crisis.
In the Western Qin palace, in order to find the best Dendrobium officinale to atone for her father's sins for the Empress Dowager whom she was meeting for the first time, she risked falling and losing her life while climbing a steep valley in a torrential rain.
Later, because of this incident, her father was implicated. A perfectly fine and carefree young lady was punished by the emperor and sent to the palace to become a lowly medicine girl who had to be subservient to him all day long, suffering all kinds of bullying.
What did it matter to her if the princess was politically married to a foreign power? The princess angered the emperor, and in an attempt to appease him and extricate the princess from her predicament, she risked her life to try and gain a way out, but to no avail. This angered the emperor again, and she was forced to kneel in the freezing cold for twelve hours. The emperor's anger subsided, but she was left with a severe leg ailment that remains incurable to this day.
When she first met the Crown Prince, he was already afflicted with a major plague. What did that have to do with her? In the end, she was simply trying her best to ignite his will to live and fight against the disease because she saw that he was young.
......
Everything, all the past, all of this, had long since become a deep imprint, etched into Xuan Yuanhan's heart.
All of this is gradually melting his heart, which has been cold and dormant for thousands of years.
"Your Highness," Cheng Liang said softly, trying to wake Xuan Yuanhan from his deep thoughts.
Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Han immediately stepped down from his seat and said, "Prepare the horses...enter the palace."
"What? Enter the palace? Your Highness..." Cheng Liang couldn't believe his ears. The Crown Prince had contracted smallpox, and everyone was avoiding him like the plague. Yet his master wanted him to go to the palace himself.
Before he could finish speaking, Xuan Yuanhan had already disappeared. Cheng Liang hurriedly followed his departing figure and ran out of the main hall, thinking as he went.
At this time, Mei Xiyuan of Shaohua Pavilion also heard the rumors circulating throughout the palace that the Crown Prince had contracted smallpox and that Donghua Palace had been sealed off and isolated. She hurriedly crossed the corridor to Chenghua Hall, wanting to remind Xuanyuan Han to be careful and avoid certain taboos when he went to the palace for the morning court every day.
To her surprise, as soon as she arrived at the entrance of Chenghua Palace, she saw Xuanyuan Han and his servant hurrying past her, one after the other.
Xuanyuan Han had already strode off towards the main gate of the Prince's mansion and was quite a distance away. She could only hurriedly stop the deputy general Cheng Liang, who was following behind, and say, "General Cheng, please wait."
Upon hearing Mei Xiyuan call him, Cheng Liang immediately stopped and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, what are your orders?"
"General Cheng, His Highness seems to be in a hurry. What happened? Where is His Highness going?" Mei Xiyuan asked Cheng Liang after glancing at Xuan Yuanhan's departing figure.
"Your Highness may not know this, but the Crown Prince just returned to the palace today. The imperial physician diagnosed him with smallpox, and Donghua Palace has been quarantined. Your Highness is on his way to visit him," Cheng Liang explained.
"What? Could it be that the rumors circulating in the Prince's mansion are true? The Crown Prince really has smallpox?" Mei Xiyuan asked in extreme fear, and Cheng Liang nodded in agreement.
"Then why does Your Highness not know to avoid the danger, but instead still want to enter the palace and risk your life?" Mei Xiyuan asked with great concern and confusion.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince is the sole heir to the Western Qin Kingdom, and His Highness is the Crown Prince's only uncle. It is only right and proper that His Highness should visit him at this time. Moreover, Donghua Palace is currently under quarantine, and His Highness would likely not be able to enter its gates. This trip is merely to do one's duty; otherwise, what will His Majesty and the entire world say about His Highness?"
Hearing Cheng Liang's words, Mei Xiyuan felt much relieved. "Yes, General Cheng's analysis is quite reasonable. Then I will trouble General Cheng to take good care of His Highness."
Cheng Liang: "Your Highness, please rest assured. Protecting His Highness is my duty. I will do my utmost, even at the cost of my life, to ensure that His Highness suffers no harm whatsoever."
After saying that, Cheng Liang hurriedly excused himself and left. Mei Xiyuan stood alone in the empty courtyard, watching the two figures leave with a worried expression.
"Why did you take so long to come out?" Xuan Yuanhan had been out for a long time, and Cheng Liang hadn't followed. As soon as he came out, Xuan Yuanhan mounted his horse and said angrily to him.
"Your Highness, actually the Princess Consort cares about you quite a bit. Just now she even..." Cheng Liang hesitated for a long time before deciding to tell Xuan Yuanhan about his conversation with Mei Xiyuan. However, he was immediately silenced by the cold and chilling gaze Xuan Yuanhan gave him. Helpless, he could only obediently spur his horse and gallop away.
In the Western Qin imperial palace, Xuan Yuan Yue was comforting and keeping the Empress company in her Chaohua Palace.
"Mother, things have come to this, and you should prioritize the health of the Emperor. My brother is a lucky man and will be protected by Heaven. He will be safe and sound." Ever since the Empress left the gates of Donghua Palace, she has been spending her days in tears, sighing, and unable to eat or drink.
Xuanyuan Yue spends most of her time by her side every day comforting her, and now she has become a mature and composed adult.
"Yue'er, your mother has long advised your father..."
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