Lu Qiqi left in a hurry yesterday, and gave Lu Xiangxiang two bottles of medicine. One bottle was to reduce the swelling on Lu Xiangxiang's face, and the other bottle was to apply to Xiao Lingyue's fractured bone.
After returning home, she picked out a few useful medicines from the bundle of medicines given to her by Song Yanqing, and after mixing them in the correct proportions, she made a better medicine for her injuries before handing it over to Lu Xiangxiang.
After learning that Lu Xiangxiang was alright, Lu Qiqi did not linger and returned to the military camp after putting down the medicine.
...
The main tent of the military camp.
After a period of investigation, An Jiu meticulously checked and categorized the destinations of the salt transport bureau's draft orders.
While investigating the whereabouts of the draft invoices, the Shadow Guards discovered that the salt merchant whose entire family had been wiped out had only made his fortune two years prior.
Initially, they were just merchants from the north who came to the border town to do business.
The fact that he was able to build his fortune and amass such a substantial wealth in just two years demonstrates his considerable strength.
Song Yanqing flipped through the records and asked, "The salt merchant's entire family died. Who took over his businesses?"
After a moment's thought, a name immediately came to mind, and he said, "The Rong Mansion in Lingyun Lane, Biancheng."
"The Rong family?" Song Yanqing murmured.
An Jiu nodded in response, "It is Rong Binglun, the second son of the Rong family. The eldest son of the Rong family is the Grand Secretary, and his name is Rong Bingkun."
Upon hearing the name Rong Bingkun, Song Yanqing suddenly looked up at An Jiu.
Song Yanqing was naturally familiar with the name Rong Bingkun, and he also knew that Rong Bingkun, as a second-rank official, had long since sided with the Second Prince.
So, could it be that the Second Prince was also behind the rise of these salt merchants?
On the surface, the salt merchants are making a fortune, but perhaps all that money has already ended up in the Second Prince's pocket.
“There is one more thing,” An Jiu said in a low voice, “The salt merchant’s surname is Cen. The Cen family once adopted a goddaughter who, for some reason, became General Wu’s concubine.”
A year ago, the baby died in the womb, resulting in the loss of both mother and child.
This matter surprised Song Yanqing; he hadn't expected it to have such a wide-ranging impact, even involving a regional general.
General Wu was guarding the east gate, and the battle situation was unpredictable. However, according to the Shadow Guard, most of the Tatars who infiltrated the city entered through the west gate.
The more reasonable something seemed, the more suspicious he became. He knew that arbitrarily doubting the generals might shake the morale of the army, but under these special circumstances, he couldn't afford to be too cautious.
No clue, however small, should be overlooked!
He said, "We'll send more men to the East Gate, and also have someone keep an eye on things from General Wu's side. Report any unusual activity immediately."
An Jiu bowed and accepted the order, "Yes!"
"Step down."
After An Jiu left, Song Yanqing put the closed book aside, put his right index finger and thumb together, and rubbed his eyes.
This method was taught to him by Lu Qiqi, who said it could relieve eye fatigue.
He massaged it a few times each day and it provided some relief. He tried it several times and it worked very well.
But for some reason today, not only did it not work, I even felt extremely tired.
Song Yanqing fell ill, and the illness came on suddenly, catching everyone off guard.
Lu Qiqi returned to the military camp and was preparing to go back to her tent for a good rest.
An Yi called out to her, "Princess, the young master... please come with me to see him."
An Yi hesitated, realizing that the general's illness was no small matter, and if the news leaked, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Although Lu Qiqi didn't understand why, she saw that even An Bai Nian's unchanging expression showed some anxiety, so she didn't care about anything else and hurriedly rushed to Song Yanqing's courtyard.
Lifting the curtain of the large tent, Lu Qiqi saw Nineteen standing by the bed, while Song Yanqing, whose face was somewhat pale, lay on the bed.
With no outsiders present and no fear of being overheard, Lu Qiqi asked, "What's wrong with him?"
An Yi recalled the symptoms of the prince's illness: "The prince had a persistent high fever and was talking nonsense."
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi quickened her pace, walked to the bedside, took a handkerchief from Shijiu's hand, and wiped the sweat from Song Yanqing's forehead.
Seeing the black cloak with white fox fur trim covering Song Yanqing, Lu Qiqi was genuinely worried for him.
She yanked off the cloak, saying, "It's the height of summer right now. Covering him with the cloak will raise his body temperature. It would be a miracle if his fever didn't just stay high, let alone continue to rise."
An Yi never expected that altering a cloak could lead to such a grave mistake.
On the contrary, it was the nineteenth person who said, "We didn't know it would be like this. In the past, when the young master had a high fever, he would cover himself with a cloak and get better after drinking the medicine prescribed by Physician Ren."
Lu Qiqi didn't have time to explain to them that a persistent high fever could damage brain stem cells. After wiping Song Yanqing's face with a handkerchief, she wiped the sweat from his neck.
She asked, "Was Song Yanqing injured today?"
An Yi thought for a moment and said seriously, "No, the Tatars have ceased hostilities today, and the Crown Prince has not suffered any new wounds."
Lu Qiqi took Song Yanqing's pulse and found that the situation was not as serious as she had thought.
It was just normal heat generation; the temperature only increased slightly due to the reverse operation of An Yi.
So she got up, went to her desk, and, using the ink she had ground earlier, wrote down a prescription. She then asked Nineteen to take the prescription to the pharmacy to get the medicine, and to have the medicine decocted and brought into the pharmacy.
After Shijiu left with the prescription, Lu Qiqi returned to the bedside.
Looking at Song Yanqing lying quietly on the couch with her eyes closed, she couldn't help but recall the time she rescued Song Yanqing in the old forest a year ago when they were fleeing famine.
At that time, Song Yanqing had fair skin and looked like a pale-faced scholar who had stepped out of a book.
Now that he has been leading troops in battle in this city for a long time, his fair skin has turned into a healthy wheat color, and his chiseled face has become more angular, as if he has shed his boyish appearance and quickly grown into a resolute man.
An Yi, unaware of Song Yanqing's condition, was anxious and finally couldn't help but ask, "Princess, the young master has always been in good health, why has he suddenly become like this?"
Lu Qiqi sighed almost imperceptibly and said, "Everyone has a string in their heart. If it's kept taut for too long, it will eventually snap."
Your prince has been in the border town for nearly a year, bearing countless burdens. Even the hardest heart will eventually be tempered.
The more softly she spoke those words, the more pain she felt in An Yi's heart.
The Tatars' iron hooves trampled the border town, and the crown prince was ordered to rush to the border town in a time of crisis. A year later, the border town was recaptured, and the Tatars retreated to the outside of the pass.
But now the Great Jin Dynasty is unstable, and even the army's food and medicine are a trivial matter in front of those high-ranking officials and nobles.
The emperor blatantly delayed paying wages and providing medicine. What was most infuriating was that while he wanted the crown prince to work hard, he was also wary of the crown prince's achievements and feared that the crown prince's merits would overshadow the emperor.
Before the expedition, he was so stingy that he refused to bestow even the title of General Who Guards the Garrison.
Seeing that the Crown Prince's health has deteriorated to the point of exhaustion, I feel sorry for him.
Lu Qiqi stayed by Song Yanqing's side until Shijiu finished decocting the medicine and fed it to him, and taught Shijiu how to use alcohol to cool him down.
Only then did he lift the curtain of the main tent and step out.
She looked up and saw a sky full of stars, and her previous tension and worry suddenly eased.
It feels like something inside me is starting to change, yet it also feels like nothing has changed at all.
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