Chapter 1103 Old Times
Yun Zhen withdrew his hand without leaving a trace, and a bitter taste rose in his throat.
When they first met in the Imperial Garden, the girl stumbled around holding the rabbit lantern, looking very much like his sister who died young.
Who would have thought that a moment of compassion would lead to such an entanglement today.
He suddenly remembered what Jiang Xue said half a month ago when she was playing with the Golden Sword nonchalantly: "Prince Yun is so soft-hearted, be careful not to raise a tiger to cause trouble."
"The country has four distinct seasons. When the snow falls, the red plum blossoms are reflected against the glazed tiles, which is very beautiful."
He turned around and looked at the copper bell on the eaves: "It's more to my liking than the damp sea breeze in my home country all year round."
These words were half true and half false, but Yun Yun's face turned pale instantly.
When the girl insisted on staying to accompany him, Yun Zhen keenly noticed the black iron token faintly visible on the waist of the guard behind her.
That is the mark of the East Palace Shadow Guard.
He suddenly remembered the three short and two long secret codes that Jiang Xue tapped on the carved window lattice with her fingertips when she passed through the corridor this morning wearing a silver fox fur coat.
What this eldest princess is best at is making people willingly enter the chess game she sets up.
At the same time, in the princess's mansion, Jiang Xue was trapped between layers of brocade quilts.
Fine snow drifted in from the half-opened diamond-shaped window, wetting the unfinished letter on the desk.
Jiang Xiaoan withdrew his hand from taking the patient's pulse, and glanced at the soothing incense that was about to go out in the incense burner. Suddenly, he discovered a very faint scratch engraved on the gilded cover of the incense burner - this was the emergency secret mark they agreed upon when they were young.
When Xiao Zhan rushed into the inner room with a cold aura, Jiang Xiaoan was inserting the silver needle three inches into Jiang Xue's wrist.
The usually steady imperial physician's fingertips trembled slightly, which was rare. What he detected when he took the pulse just now was clearly two conflicting poisons entangled in the meridians.
There are no more than three people in the entire mansion who have access to the princess's food, drink and medicine.
Jiang Xiaoan put the pulse pillow into the medicine box, tapping the sandalwood box cover unconsciously with his fingertips: "Your Highness has almost exhausted all his energy during this birth. It should be a good recovery after a few months of recuperation. But the pulse is like the rise and fall of the tide, which is really strange."
Xiao Zhan clenched the teacup tightly, and cracks appeared on the edge of the celadon cup: "Are you saying that someone is secretly doing something wrong?"
"Cousin, do you remember the plague in the North?"
Jiang Xiaoan suddenly changed the subject: "Back then, the witch doctor Yun Zhen could make dry bones grow flesh. If he had the will..."
Before she finished her words, the embroidery frame in Jiang Xue's hand suddenly fell to the ground, and the silver needle bounced on the blue brick and rolled away.
Xiao Zhan stood up suddenly, wearing a black cape and holding a table: "I'll go to the Imperial Hospital to get the dragon bone ginseng."
The heavy wooden door hit the stone wall, causing the beams and pillars to shake and dust to fall off.
When the footsteps completely disappeared, Jiang Xiaoan took out a glass bottle from his sleeve: "This is a pill made from thousand-year-old snow lotus. It should have taken effect half a month ago."
The pills in the bottle glowed a strange blue: "Unless..."
"Unless the medicinal properties are counteracted by something."
Jiang Xue touched the old scar on her chest and asked, "Have you really gotten rid of the blood poison left by Yun Zhen?"
The copper bell on the eaves suddenly rang without any wind. Jiang Xiaoan dipped his tea in cold water and drew a witch totem on the table:
"Since he was able to save your life with the incantation during your delivery, he might have a backup plan. Your Highness, have you been peaceful in your dreams these past few days?"
The sunlight that filtered through the window paper suddenly dimmed by three points. Jiang Xue looked at the faint red marks on her palm and recalled Yun Zhen's whisper on that moonlit night: "The day when the Wind Lord receives your grace will be the day of Nirvana."
"Do you think it's credible?"
Jiang Xue's fingertips unconsciously clenched her sleeves, and after a moment of silence, she slowly shook her head.
If she was facing Jiang Ke himself at this moment, she would trust him without hesitation. But now she hasn't even figured out his true identity, so how can she talk about trust?
Jiang Xiaoan gently fastened the copper buckle of the medicine box: "This shows that my speculation is correct. I have sent a message to Master. He left a special contact method before he traveled."
Seeing that Jiang Xue hesitated to speak, he continued, "Although my master's whereabouts are erratic, he will go to the Lin'an Medicine King Temple on the third day of every month to get medicinal materials."
"This matter..."
Jiang Xue traced the quilt with her fingertips: "Don't let Yun Che know for now."
"Forgive me for being blunt, but considering the Prime Minister's concern for you, I'm afraid he would even check the menu of the imperial kitchen carefully these days."
Jiang Xiaoan suddenly knelt on one knee, and the jade pendant on his waist made a crisp sound when it hit the blue bricks: "I dare to ask, if Yun Zhen is really an old friend who has returned, will you let the Prime Minister..."
"Absolutely not!"
Jiang Xue suddenly stood up, the pearl hairpins on her temples shaking violently: "Yun Che is my closest relative who has drunk snow water with me."
She picked up the silver silk wristband beside the pillow. The gold thread wrapped around it shone slightly in the twilight. "The golden silk in this wristband was woven by him personally back then."
Jiang Xiaoan let out a long sigh and was about to leave when he suddenly heard a sigh from behind him: "Yun Che is lucky to have a cousin like you."
When dusk seeped through the window lattice, the figure guarding the bedside immediately leaned over.
Xiao Zhan handed the warm ginseng tea to her lips, and his other hand had already placed a soft pillow under it: "Get up slowly, you are weak in qi and blood, so you should avoid sudden movements."
As he spoke, the golden silk wristband wrapped around his wrist glowed in the candlelight.
Jiang Xue responded softly, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the dark patterns on the brocade quilt.
The body that was able to ride a horse and draw a bow in the past now needs to gather strength for a long time even to stand up, and it seems like a glass figure that cannot withstand any bumps.
"Be careful of the burns."
When Xiao Zhan handed over the jade bowl, the remaining medicinal juice at the bottom of the bowl was still swirling.
When she took it, she felt the calluses on his knuckles, and suddenly remembered how these hands held the sword and beheaded the enemy three years ago, but now they were carrying medicine every day.
The medicine entered her mouth in just a moment. Over the years, she had already developed the skill of holding her breath while swallowing - medicine would taste more bitter if it was cold. This was something she had figured out after lying in bed for half a month.
He took the plain silk handkerchief and wiped the corners of her lips. The gilded candlesticks cast shadows on the curtains, like two cranes embracing each other.
"I asked the kitchen to make some snow clam soup. How much should I use?"
"The hairpin with pearls and phoenix in it in the dressing box..."
She supported herself on the edge of the bed and tried to get up. Her brocade undershirt slipped down, revealing half of her wrist bones. "Didn't you say that there will be a palace banquet tonight..."
"The sounds of stringed instruments from the West Palace cannot reach here."
Xiao Zhan pushed her back onto the soft pillow and carefully covered her with the quilt. "How can you take the trouble to welcome a princess from a small border state?"
There was a hint of arrogance in his words, even more so than when he refused the marriage proposal to Beidi.
Jiang Xue sank into the goose feather pillow and suddenly felt a slight chill in her hair - it turned out that Xiao Zhan had taken away the jade hairpin that was holding her hair down.
When her black hair spread out like a waterfall, he picked her up again and said, "Even if you have no appetite, you still need to drink some rice milk."
"I really don't have the energy to chew right now."
She leaned on his shoulder and glanced at the memorial on the table with the red ink not yet dry: "How about you feed me? I heard that in the storyteller's story of "Yuanyang Jian" in the south of the city, the scholar took care of his sick wife in this way."
Xiao Zhan flicked her forehead with his finger, and when she turned around, her black sleeves were stained with the scent of medicine.
When he picked up the spoon inlaid with mother-of-pearl, Jiang Xue looked at the emerald rice floating in the glass cup, and suddenly remembered the time when he coaxed her to eat candied fruit when she was a child.
When I took a spoonful of warm porridge, I could taste some of the old times.
“That’s enough.”
She grabbed his sleeve and begged for mercy, the jade bracelet on her wrist jingling against the porcelain bowl: "If you keep feeding me, the Imperial Medical Bureau will have to issue a prescription."
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