"Does father think this has anything to do with the emperor?"
"In this world, you, Xiaoxiang, should be the one who understands his thoughts the most. Why are you asking me?"
Wang Xiaoxiang's face froze and he remained silent.
"No matter how reluctant you were to this marriage, now that all these years have passed and the person is dead, you should change your mind and go to Kangning Palace more often. You also know that His Majesty has only one son so far in order to guard against the Xu family. But if you have neither the emperor's favor nor an heir in the future, how can you continue to gain a foothold in the palace?"
In the past six months, Shang Rui has been staying overnight at Jinde Palace on time every time as usual. In fact, he has never slept with Wang Xiaoxiang once. Everything is just a show for outsiders. The entire Jinde Palace is airtight, but these things are unknown to others, but Wang Ji knows them all.
Wang Xiaoxiang turned around and said stubbornly: "My daughter already has Ran Jun."
Wang Ji was slightly annoyed: "You pointed at me when I told you something, but you pointed at me when I told you something else. You are expecting to make him your legitimate son, since he is the child of a palace maid and does not have the blood of our Wang family."
"My daughter truly treats Ran Jun as her own son and has no intention of having another child. She also advised father to give up the idea."
"Asshole!" Wang Ji said angrily, "How could the Wang family raise such an unfilial daughter like you?"
Wang Xiaoxiang retorted, "Yes, I am unfilial. If I hadn't thought about my father, mother, brothers and younger brothers, why would I have been so flattering in this palace? It would have been better for me to die with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince more than ten years ago!"
She spoke excitedly, and after the words "Your Highness the Crown Prince" came out of her mouth, not only herself, but also Wang Ji was stunned.
After a heated argument, both of them fell into silence.
The father and daughter rarely get together, but they end up parting on bad terms.
After Wang Ji left, Wang Xiaoxiang felt regretful again, so he called the eunuch to ask, "Just now, when Wang Xiang went to the Imperial Hospital to ask Li Ji for a prescription?"
"It seems that the old illness has come back. I coughed a lot at night."
"What did Li Ji say?" she asked with concern.
"Lord Li has been away these days. Prime Minister Wang has gone to look for him twice."
"Oh?" Wang Xiaoxiang was surprised. Li Ji had been on duty in the palace for more than ten years, and this was the first time. "What happened to him?"
"I heard from the Imperial Hospital that Lord Li has taken leave."
"What is it?"
"I don't know."
"Ask someone to find out if it's an urgent matter. If there's still time, I'll ask the emperor for permission to ask Li Ji to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to see my father."
"yes."
six
In a blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. Because of the war on the front line, life in the palace was extremely simple.
After the New Year, the capital became much warmer and the snow melted. Everyone said that this year was an unusually warm winter.
Some people said that God blessed David's army. Without the obstacles of wind and snow, defeating the rebels was just a matter of time.
Early in the morning, Li Ji brought an ox horn tube with a small hole ground at the tip. No one had ever seen such an instrument.
After Li Ji gave the acupuncture, the pus and blood from the place where the needle broke the skin were immediately sucked away by the ox horn tube, and then some grayish-white powder was sprinkled on the place where the pus had been sucked away.
The medicine boy asked curiously, "Sir, is this the Horn Method mentioned in the ancient books?"
Li Ji nodded, said nothing, and continued with what he was doing.
He performed every step very carefully, but he did it very quickly at the moment of sucking out the pus, because if the pus touched other places, new sores would grow tomorrow, and all the previous efforts would be wasted.
After half an hour, he put his things down and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Ji asked the medicine boy beside him: "Has Lord Yao's blood magpie not been found yet?"
"No." The medicine boy replied.
He Xiang, who was standing by, heard this and asked anxiously, "Didn't Lord Li say a few days ago that he wanted to use the bird's blood to make medicine? Why hasn't it been made yet? My uncle runs a pharmacy, so he should be able to think of a way to make any medicine. I can go ask him."
The medicine boy shook his head and muttered after hearing what He Xiang said, "It's not as simple as you think. The blood magpie must be caught alive, and it only grows in the woods of the East Garden where the emperor hunts. It hides during the day and comes out at night. It has sharp ears and will be scared away by the wind within ten feet. It's hard for ordinary people to see it. In the middle of winter, only females can be used as medicine, and there are even fewer. Lord Yao said that he watched for four nights and caught three males. We can only wait a little longer."
"What should we do?" He Xiang asked anxiously.
Li Ji cleaned his hands and replied, "The blood magpie is only an ancient recipe for medicine and has never been verified. We can still find other methods."
In the Kangning Palace, Tian Yuan and He Lanxun were about to leave after reporting their affairs. He Lanxun suddenly remembered Min Xiayue and turned back and said, "Your Majesty."
"Speak." Shang Rui stared at the book without looking up.
Tian Yuan glanced at Helan Xun.
Helan Xun said, "Miss Min's condition is probably not good. Although Li Ji has tried his best these days, it can only temporarily delay the illness and prolong the time. Now there is no improvement, I am afraid it will not last much longer."
Tian Yuan said: "Didn't Li Ji say he found a new method?"
"But Yao Chuang hasn't caught the blood magpie yet. I wonder how many days Miss Min can wait. If something happens to her, how can she hinder King Yan Ping?" Helan Xun said.
"Why does the emperor need a woman to restrain Prince Ping of Yan? It is obvious that he realized the situation and repented after reading the letter from the emperor." Tian Yuan said again.
He Lanxun continued: "Should we ask General Hong to bring some people to give it a try?"
Shang Rui put down the book in his hand, looked around and said, "Do as you say."
After receiving the order, Helan Xun bowed and retreated. But before he had taken a few steps, he heard Shang Rui say, "Come back."
"emperor?"
Shang Rui stood up and said, "Speaking of the Blood Magpie in the East Garden, none of them are as familiar to me. I will go there in person tonight."
"Your Majesty," Ming said hurriedly, "It's more than 200 miles from the Imperial Capital to the East Garden. Just riding a horse would be exhausting. Moreover, if you stay up all night in the middle of winter, the birds won't come out. Wouldn't you be freezing in vain? You've barely slept for several nights because of the war in the South Territory. What if you get sick from the cold due to the fatigue this time?"
Shang Rui would not listen to the advice, instead he laughed and said: "What should I do? All you know is what should I do all day. Why don't I change your name to what should I do?"
Ming Lian lowered his face in embarrassment.
"If I don't get my Yunzhong back, how many heads do you have to pay?"
"But… "
Before Ming Lian could finish his words, Shang Rui raised his hand to stop him: "Okay, you don't have to go. You're holding us back. I'll go find Yao Chuang."
As dawn approached, two long-awaited visitors finally arrived at Li Ji's house, one was Yao Chuang and the other was Shang Rui.
At this time, Li Ji's mansion was brightly lit. Because Helan Xun had informed Li Ji in advance, everyone in the mansion had been waiting, and Helan Xun did not leave either.
As Shang Rui led Yao Chuang into the door, he nodded slightly to Li Ji and Helan Xun.
The two men knew that the matter was done.
Yao Chuang handed the cage in his hand to the medicine boy who came and said, "Take it."
The medicine boy picked up the cage and looked inside. He was immediately surprised and said, "It's a blood magpie! Master Yao is so lucky tonight. He really caught it!"
Yao Chuang looked embarrassed, and pushed the medicine boy and said, "It wasn't me, it was Master Hong who caught him."
Shang Rui took the opportunity to wink at the eight or nine-year-old medicine boy and said, "He is so stupid, how could he do it? I caught him." As he spoke, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he looked smug and childish.
The medicine boy didn't know Shang Rui and was a little shy. He only dared to glance at him and then hid behind Yao Chuang.
Yao Chuang was a little unconvinced: "How do I know that evil bird? It turns out that the male can distinguish human voices, while the female can smell human scent."
"It's not the smell, it's the heat," Shang Rui corrected.
"Heat?" The medicine boy poked his head out curiously, "Do you want to freeze yourself?"
Yao Chuang explained: "The snow in the grass next to us hasn't melted yet. Just grab a handful and put it in your mouth to keep quiet."
"Has the snow melted?"
“Let it dissolve before you take it in your mouth.” Yao Chuang replied.
Li Ji and Helan Xun were both startled when they heard this and looked up at Shang Rui.
Afterwards, Yao Chuang urged Li Ji to decoct the medicine and he went to help as well, leaving only Helan Xun and Shang Rui.
Helan Xun suddenly asked: "Is the emperor doing this for Yunzhong or for someone else?"
Shang Rui restrained his expression and smiled coldly: "It was you who asked me to save people, and now it is you who is questioning me. Helan Xun, I am afraid you are too bold."
"Your Majesty! The sage once said, 'If you don't give up something, you can't gain the power of the world; if you don't endure something, you can't get all the benefits of the world.'"
"That's about the saint, what does it have to do with me?"
Helan Xun stubbornly did not move.
The two were silent for a moment.
Then, Shang Rui glanced at him and said, "If you have the time, you might as well think about Xu Jingye's batch of food and grass."
Helan Xun sighed slightly.
"You should go back first. After all, it is not appropriate for you, the Chief Censor, to stay in Li Ji's mansion."
"Then Your Majesty..."
Shang Rui frowned: "Are you still worried about me?"
After Helan Xun left, Shang Rui stood there for a moment and then walked towards the east wing where Xia Yue lived.
He walked to the front of the house and was about to push the door open when he looked down and saw his robe. He had been guarding in the woods for most of the night and had rushed to bring the blood magpie home after catching it, so he didn't notice that it was dirty.
Although he has always been a casual person, he has been used to a life of luxury since childhood. He subconsciously wanted to call Ming Lian, but when he turned around, he remembered that he did not bring him.
Shang Rui lowered his head and examined himself, then returned to the hall in the front yard. He brushed the dirt off his body, asked a servant to get him a basin of hot water, wiped his hands and face, and then sat in the hall to drink tea.
Li Ji was very efficient. He prepared the medicine in half an hour and came to reply to Shang Rui.
Shang Rui glanced at the bowl of hot medicine and said, "Let her drink it." He said, "However, the blood magpie feeds on poisonous snakes, and its blood is also highly poisonous. Can it really cure black sha? Don't torture me all night in vain."
"Strong medicine can cure a serious illness. Now is the only way to try it."
Shang Rui nodded and asked him to deliver the medicine, while he quietly sat in the hall drinking tea. After a while, He Xiang came hurriedly, walked to Shang Rui, knelt on both knees, kowtowed heavily, and said with tears in her eyes: "Thank you for your kindness, Master Hong. I am willing to work like a cow and a horse to repay you."
Shang Rui did not stand up to support her, but remained sitting, looking at her calmly and asked, "Is he awake?"
"No, the young lady has been in a coma. I just fed her some medicine and she looks much better now. However, Master Li said we need to wait another two hours to know the result."
After saying this, He Xiang kowtowed again, and then followed the medicine boy to decoct the second dose of medicine.
Seeing that the sky was getting brighter, Shang Rui put down the teacup and went to Xia Yue's room.
The last time he saw her was the day he sent her to Li's residence, which had been over a month.
Xia Yue was lying on the bed, eyes tightly closed, only her face was exposed. Her face was so thin that it was not even as big as his palm, and as white as silk.
He felt a little tired, so he saw a stool beside the bed and sat down.
The room was very warm and filled with the smell of medicine. Accompanied by her shallow and steady breathing, he felt very peaceful all of a sudden. He didn't think about any family or national affairs. He hadn't slept well for several nights and had traveled back and forth from the East Garden. He rested his head gently on the railing in front of the bed and fell asleep in an instant.
Li Ji came in and saw the situation, but he didn't dare to disturb her. He checked Xia Yue's pulse and then quietly left.
Of the two, Xia Yue woke up first.