The maid lifted the curtain, and Lianji stepped out. She moved gracefully and slowly down from the carriage, exuding a gentle and beautiful aura.
She walked a few steps to Xiao Ling's carriage, and lifted the curtain from the inside, revealing Xiao Ling's exquisitely beautiful face. Lian Ji was stunned for a moment, then sighed softly, "So beautiful, yet his life is so short."
Xiao Ling reached out and grasped her slender wrist, pulling her up.
Renji felt a pang of sadness, as if she had returned to the day they met ten years ago, when they had also had a brief blind date.
Xiao Ling said softly, "Why are you sighing?"
"Alas, your life is short!" said Lian Ji.
Xiao Ling was somewhat tempted. "You really have to be honest."
“At this point, lying would be a waste of time.” Lianji poured a cup of tea and handed it to Xiao Ling.
Xiao Ling's eyes flickered slightly. "Indeed, in this world, we hear more lies than truths. As the days we have left are numbered, we should not listen to lies anymore. It is good to hear more truths. It is rare to meet someone who is willing to tell the truth."
"Have you rarely met people who speak the truth before?" Lianji looked up and then said, "You should go to the Baiyi tribe; there are still a few people there who are willing to speak the truth."
Xiao Ling's face showed a longing expression. "If I have the opportunity, I must go. I didn't stay there for long, but I really liked it!"
Lianji blushed slightly. She really wanted to ask whether she liked the Baiyi tribe or the women of the Baiyi tribe.
She didn't ask anything, lowering her eyes to hide the strange look in them.
The two chatted casually, passing the time during the long journey.
Xiao Ling was a great conversationalist, and Lian Ji had traveled to many places and was quite knowledgeable. When the two of them actually started talking, they got along very well.
Xiao Ling realized he had made a mistake. He had been blinded by fame, fortune, and worldly pleasures, which led him to fall for Jiang Xinwei and get caught up in such a chaotic situation. Now, looking back, he realized he had ultimately misplaced his affections.
"What are you sighing about again?" Renji asked with a smile.
"I lament that I wasted so much good time in the past. If there is an afterlife, I will definitely live a peaceful and tranquil life, hoping for a life without storms and with stable years."
From his face, Lianji saw the marks of a lifetime of hardship and struggle. She said, “I used to learn medicine from my father. At first, I treated the chickens and ducks at home, and later I treated the cattle and sheep. After many years, I began to treat people. Later, my father tested my skills and said that as long as I cured ten patients, I would be considered to have mastered the art and could graduate smoothly. I thought that this requirement was not difficult to meet, so I went to a village.”
She paused for a moment at this point.
Xiao Ling handed her his hand warmer to warm her hands and asked with a smile, "And then?"
Lianji took the exquisite hand warmer wrapped in brocade, her heart slightly warm. She forced herself to remain calm and said, "When we arrived in the village, in order to get more people to come for treatment, I promised that they would treat them first and then pay, and if they were not cured, they would not have to pay. Even the medicine was given to them first. I thought that in this way, I could quickly gather ten people. On that day, there were a great many people who came for treatment. I treated them with all my heart and soul until the moon was high in the sky before I went home to rest."
"I thought that if I came back in a few days, I would have cured many people. Who knew that when I went back a few days later..."
"I'm afraid very few people can say they've been cured," Xiao Ling sighed.
Koihime glanced at him. "You guessed it?"
“Human nature is inherently evil, and poverty corrupts people. Yu Kingdom is still too poor. In order to fill their stomachs, morality will decline considerably. In order to avoid paying for medical treatment, it is inevitable that they will say that your medical skills are not good enough.” Xiao Ling sighed as he spoke, and in the blink of an eye, he thought of his country.
Renki sighed, "Indeed. I'm not saying those people are bad, but that everyone has bad pasts. The past is what makes us who we are today. Without the me of yesterday, there would be no me of today."
Xiao Ling looked at her, his eyes filled with complex emotions. Was she trying to comfort him, telling him not to dwell on the past?
His heart skipped a beat.
He reached out his finger, wanting to touch Koihime's face.
Lianji slowly removed her veil, revealing a face that resembled a fairy, and quietly looked at Xiao Ling.
The finger reached out, but then stopped.
Xiao Ling pursed his lips tightly, afraid that he might accidentally say something emotional. After a long while, he said, "You...go!"
My heart feels broken.
The light in Koihime's eyes died out, and the vulnerability in her heart poured out through her eyes. She turned and left without saying a word.
The servant who had been diligently waiting outside was somewhat taken aback. He hurriedly stopped the carriage and helped Lianji down. Looking at Lianji's flustered figure, he felt that something was wrong.
"Di Qing, what's wrong? Sister Lian Ji was not feeling well just now."
Xiao Ling was exhausted and extremely sleepy. He looked at his fingers; heaven knows how much strength he had used to control himself from touching Lian Ji. "It's nothing! It's all... over!"
The servant couldn't help but speak up. "Sister Lianji is loyal and devoted to you, and she also possesses medical skills. Why doesn't Your Majesty grant her wish?"
"And then, let her spend the rest of her life guarding my memorial tablet?" Xiao Ling's voice turned cold.
He was no saint after all. When he invited Koihime to his carriage, he thought he could calm his mind, set aside his lustful desires, and have a pleasant conversation with her. Later, without realizing it, things spiraled out of control. What could he do but pull back from the brink?
Life is short, so let's avoid creating bad karma!
The servant lowered his head.
He also knew the Baiyi tribe's custom of monogamy. According to Lianji's personality, if Diqing died, she would definitely stay by his side. Such a brilliant person would indeed be wasted if he spent the rest of his life alone.
"Your Majesty, I was wrong. I didn't realize what I was doing. I thought I was just an ordinary woman from the Yu Kingdom, capable of serving three emperors and four concubines..."
The servant tried his best to explain.
Xiao Ling waved his hand. "Go down, I need to rest!"
His voice was weak; emotions and travel are both very mentally taxing.
In the days that followed.
Lianji returned to her position as a physician, while Xiaoling became a respectable imperial minister.
They faced each other, but their eyes never met.
The greatest distance in the world is the distance between hearts.
After a month, they finally arrived in Yongzhou.
Xiao Ling's residence was not called the Imperial Minister's Mansion, but the Ming Mansion, which was the former residence of Ming Qifan, a famous figure from the previous dynasty. After arriving in Yongzhou, Xiao Ling bought it and did not change the name for the convenience of his neighbors.
It feels so good to be home, that was Xiao Ling’s first thought.
Koihime moved into the side room next to Xiaoling Pavilion.
Xiao Ling originally wanted to arrange for her to stay in a separate courtyard and a side room, but he felt that it would be unfair to her.
Koihime said calmly, "In the future, you will need me more and more often. If we are far apart, I'm afraid it will be too late."
"..." Xiao Ling's eyes dimmed. "In that case, thank you for your trouble."
The remaining days were just waiting to die, so one must live life to the fullest. Feasts, songs and dances, operas, acrobatics, storytelling—there were so many things in this world that could bring joy, and the Ming Mansion immediately became the most lively place.
The servant's most frequent task each day was to open the gate, call in the performers waiting outside, and loudly announce that whoever could please his master, the Emperor, would be richly rewarded.
The performers put in their utmost effort to win a smile from Xiao Ling.
Lianji looked at Xiao Ling's increasingly thin body and his gradually turning pale face, but she couldn't bring herself to smile.
No one knew better than her that Xiao Ling's body was completely ruined.
She was so anxious that she felt as if she had been seriously ill.
Xiao Ling spent his days playing the zither, painting, watching plays, and listening to music. Despite his illness, he did not become despondent in the slightest. Instead, he did all the things he had wanted to do but hadn't done before.
The day I fainted came too suddenly.
Xiao Ling suddenly said that he wanted to go for a walk outside.
No one refused his request; everyone wanted him to be happy.
So, the group set off into the street in a grand procession. Xiao Ling's handsome appearance naturally attracted attention, not to mention that he had Lian Ji by his side. The scene of the two of them going out, even though there was no grand procession, was as lively as a wedding ceremony.
After walking two streets, Xiao Ling suddenly felt dizzy. He instinctively reached out to grab something, but ended up grasping nothing and collapsed.
The bustling crowd instantly turned into chaos.
In a daze, Xiao Ling seemed to hear a familiar voice calling anxiously in his ear. "Di Qing!"
The voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Even in his unconscious state, Xiao Ling was still trying to figure out who that voice belonged to. The voice didn't belong to the servant, nor to Lian Ji, but seemed to belong to... He Yue?
He Yue arrived in Yongzhou, the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
This was something the servant never expected.
He glared at He Yue, his beard bristling.
He Yue looked blank.
That day, she received the house and gold from Xiao Ling. She thought she would be happy, but she wasn't. The news that Xiao Ling was about to die was like a knife stuck in her heart.
When she opened the letter Xiao Ling had given her, her previous belief in revenge shattered.
That was a letter that my brother wrote to Xiao Ling years ago.
The letter clearly stated that the elder brother had known Xiao Ling's identity for a long time. Over the years, he had tried to get information out of Xiao Ling, though he hadn't succeeded. However, he had ulterior motives. It was only because Xiao Ling was grateful for saving his life that he didn't harm He Shi.
This time, Xiao Ling traveled a long way to rescue people because he regarded his brother as an old friend and remembered their past friendship.
Xiao Ling owes the He family nothing; on the contrary, it was his brother who had long since exhausted the past favors by frequently testing Xiao Ling.
After reading the letter, He Yue felt uneasy and restless. The letter felt hot to the touch, as things were not quite what she had imagined.
On the day Xiao Ling left, she saw Huo Jiaying of the City Lord's Mansion in the crowd. She was afraid that others would not know that she had powerful connections. Although she did not make it public, everyone in Chunfeng City knew that Pingnan Diqing was a guest at the City Lord's Mansion.
Therefore, the day Xiao Ling left was a great sensation.
She hid in the crowd, watching Xiao Ling's carriage drive out of the city gate, her heart seemingly following along.
She immediately packed her things, sold the house at a low price, hired a carriage, and left. After all, she had never seen the world before, so this time, she would go and see it for herself.
We arrived in Yongzhou.
She set up a stall selling things only found in the Yu Kingdom, and business was surprisingly good. She originally planned to wait until Xiao Ling died so she could pay her respects and end their fate. However, Xiao Ling, who had finally come out, suddenly fainted in front of her stall, exposing her as she had been hiding in a corner trying to remain invisible.
How cruel fate can be.
Standing in the Ming Mansion, she felt even more uncomfortable than in the City Lord's Mansion, her gaze darting back and forth across Lian Ji Su Bai's hands.
Koihime's face turned deathly pale, and she shook her head. "I can extend his life by three months."
The time was several years shorter than she had expected. She had thought she could save his life for fifteen years, but now, just over ten years had passed, and he was no longer able to. How had he ruined his body all these years?
The servant's eyes reddened. "Sister Lianji, don't be sad. It's because Diqing has been traveling back and forth all these years that his health has deteriorated. Even if your medicine is divine, it can't withstand Diqing's abuse. I should have advised Diqing more often, otherwise, how could things have come to this?"
Dragon's Breath Grass!
If we can find the Dragon Ling Grass, we can definitely save Xiao Ling's life.
Koihime clenched her fists in despair, her knuckles turning white.
A chilling wind and rain raged through the room.
Xiao murmured softly and slowly woke up.
He Yue suddenly said, "I know where to find Dragon Ling Grass."
Dragon's Breath Grass.
In the Wushui language, it is called Tengjiabuer.
That day, after leaving Lianji, He Yue thought for a long time before she understood what Lianji meant by the Dragon Ling Grass.
The people of Wushui never use the name "Dragon Ling Grass." It's a name translated by the people of Yu. If you were to ask someone from Wushui what Dragon Ling Grass is, nine and a half out of ten would not know.
On the contrary, many people know about Tengabur.
That was a treasure in the palace of the Wushui Kingdom. There was only one in the palace. It was said to be a dragon-shaped object, and the emperor used it to make tea every day.
These are all folk tales and should not be believed.
The common people's imagination of the imperial palace is like a farmer's idea that the emperor also farms.
Their emperors relied on drinking Tengjiabuer (a type of herbal tea) to prolong their lives.
He Yue believed that Tengjiabur once existed in the palace of the former Wushui Kingdom purely because of word of mouth; in fact, he himself was not sure.
The servant disagreed with He Yue's opinion, thinking that He Yue was talking nonsense.
Lianji carefully inquired about the folk descriptions of the Dragon Ling Grass. After learning that the Dragon Ling Grass in the palace really did look like a dragon, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Perhaps this is Dragon Ling Grass. Ancient texts describe it as having the shape of a dragon. Could it be in the royal palace of the Wushui Kingdom?"
He Yue shook her head. "I'm afraid it's in Hugo's palace."
After the defeat of the Wushui Kingdom, its former palace was ransacked, and countless treasures were moved to the Yu Kingdom as spoils of war and brought to the Yu Kingdom's palace.
If they really want to find Tenggabur, this is the only way; there will never be another place in the world where Dragon's Breath Grass exists.
Lianji silently gazed at Xiao Ling, who remained unconscious, her fingers twirling a few times in his hair. "We can only go and ask, just in case."
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