On the seventh night at Youzhou Posthouse, Huan Xuan's condition suddenly took a turn for the worse.
His whole body was burning hot, he curled up and twitched, his eyes were staring open, and his teeth were chattering. Guan Liu was standing beside the bed, but his gaze seemed to pass straight through him, gazing into the distant void, mumbling in his mouth, calling out a name over and over again.
In the second half of the night, he began to cough violently, and the blood he coughed up stained his clothes red.
The doctor was at a loss as to what to do, thinking that he would die in the morning sun the next day, and all he could do was to ask Guan Liu and others to prepare for his funeral.
When the news reached the Bai family's courtyard in Sushenfang, Suisui just nodded slightly, said "I know", and returned to his bedroom alone.
Tian Yuerong looked at the dim candlelight reflected from the window and sighed secretly.
Snow was falling outside. The snow fell silently, but from time to time, a branch was broken by the snow, making a soft "crackling" sound.
It was particularly cold in Youzhou that night, which reminded people of the spring nights in Chang'an. The night when two people embraced each other was always warmer, but it was a false warmth, which was as swaying as a lonely lamp and would go out in an instant.
Since I have already made a mistake, I can't make it again. Sui Sui got up, added some charcoal to the basin, put out the fire, and returned to bed, hugging the quilt tightly.
Huan Xuan finally survived.
The morning sun poured into the room from the diamond-shaped window. He slowly opened his eyes. Grief, regret, hatred and madness all burned to ashes and sank. Now there was only emptiness in his eyes.
After that night, his condition suddenly began to improve. After taking the medicine, he broke out in a sweat and his high fever finally subsided.
Even the doctors were puzzled as to how a man who had one foot on the verge of death could have survived.
Huan Xuan himself understood, perhaps it was too late for her to take revenge, or perhaps an evil star like him had a tough life and even the underworld was unwilling to take him.
The first thing he said when he woke up was to Guan Liulang: "Did you bring Sui Sui's horse back?"
Guan Liulang said, "I sent someone to check it out. The Bai family's horse servants are quite good at training horses. They took good care of Little Black Face. It's better than being in the stables of the post station. The horse is also reluctant to leave. So I took the initiative to give the family some money and asked them to take care of him for a few days."
Huan Xuan frowned after hearing this, and after pondering for a long while, he nodded: "If it is willing, let it stay for the time being. We will take it away when we leave Youzhou, and ask someone to check on it every now and then."
Sui Sui loved her little black face the most, but he even took good care of the horse she left behind.
Huan Xuan had just recovered from a serious illness and looked tired. After saying a few words, he closed his eyes tiredly.
Although the high fever had subsided, his body was still weak. After a journey of more than 2,000 miles, he had to stay in the post house to recuperate.
When he left Beijing, he asked for leave from the emperor. Although the emperor knew the situation, he only said to the public that he was infected with an epidemic and was recuperating in his palace. He had planned to find Sui Sui and rush back immediately, so that he could return to Chang'an before the New Year's Eve. But now he really caught a cold, and he must rush back before the New Year's Eve.
He holds several positions, and if he shows up at the New Year's Day court, the court will certainly be suspicious. The fact that the commander of the Divine Wing Army secretly left the capital could be a big deal or a small one. Although the emperor knew about it, there was no guarantee that someone with ulterior motives would use this as an excuse to make trouble.
The guards were extremely anxious, but Huan Xuan was not in a hurry. He stayed in the inn to recuperate and even asked the guards to collect some chess manuals and military books in the city of Youzhou.
As a prince in charge of a large army, it is inevitable that he will arouse suspicion. After taking back the Huaixi vassal state, he is even more suspected of being more powerful than his master. At this time, giving the emperor a handle that can be big or small and letting the censor report him can make the emperor feel at ease.
Before he left the capital, the crown prince had just established contact with the Duke of Wu'an. This time they would definitely join forces to take advantage of the situation, and he would retreat to advance. They thought they had won, but they didn't know that the rope was already around their necks - his second brother always lost because of the word "greed". Once he got something, he got carried away and always forgot the lesson.
After recuperating in the Youzhou City Posthouse for half a month, Huan Xuan's health recovered a little, so he asked Guan Liu to arrange a carriage and prepare to return to the capital.
They want to go back to Beijing, and of course they want to go to Bai's house to get Little Black Face back.
The black horse had been at the Bai residence for more than two days. Its coat had become more shinier and it had gained some weight. It had regained some of its former majestic demeanor.
The guard who was ordered to lead the horse untied the reins and led him out. When they reached the screen door, the little black-faced horse seemed to notice something, and let out a long neigh, then turned around and galloped inside.
The guard was nearly knocked down by the horse, but he loosened his grip on the reins and the horse ran straight into the inner courtyard.
The guard had just barged into someone else's inner courtyard and was at a loss what to do. Fortunately, a moment later, the hostess of the Bai family, whose surname was Lu, came out with a horse. She touched the horse's back and said, "This horse and I are so compatible that it is willing to leave."
As she spoke, she handed the reins back to the guard and asked, "Is your master leaving Youzhou?"
The guard thanked him and said, "We will set off early tomorrow morning."
He didn't dare to underestimate the enemy this time and held Ma Luo tightly, never letting go.
The little black-faced cat was still unwilling to leave. He backed away and looked back, neighing towards the backyard with tears in his eyes.
Fortunately, the Bai family had many servants, and the hostess called two of them to help the guards pull the horse out of the door.
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the little black-faced cat whimpered a little, and when he saw his master coming out, he had to lower his head and silently followed the guard. He would look back after taking two steps, and it kept doing this until it left the alley and could no longer see the courtyard. Only then did it walk forward listlessly.
Back at the inn, the guard wiped the sweat from his forehead, tied Little Black Face to the stable, and fed it hay, but it walked away without even looking at him.
The guards knew that the black horse had always been like this and did not take it seriously.
The next morning, the group set out on a journey. The King of Qi had not yet recovered, so he took a carriage back to the capital. No one dared to ride the little black-faced horse, so it followed behind with an empty horse.
When they reached the city gate, a guard suddenly pointed at one of the front legs of Little Black Face and said to his companion, "Why is this horse lame?"
The guards all knew whose horse this was and no one dared to take it lightly. Someone immediately stepped forward to tell Guan Liulang.
Guan Liulang hurriedly reported to Huanxuan, who immediately asked the driver to stop the car and got off to check. Sure enough, he saw that the little black-faced boy had a severe limp in his right front foot.
He immediately called the guard who had gone to the Bai family to get the horse yesterday.
The guard replied, "Your Highness, when I went to fetch the horse yesterday, it was fine."
Another guard testified for him: "The horse was fine when it left the post house this morning. I checked it carefully."
Huan Xuan was very indiscriminate and criticized the guards harshly. He checked the horse's legs and found external injuries, so he ordered the horse to stop and sent someone to go to the city to invite a horse doctor immediately.
After a while, the guards came with the panting horse doctor.
The horse doctor carefully examined the injured leg of Little Black Face and touched its joints, but could not find any abnormality. He could only frown and said in embarrassment: "There are many causes of lameness. Judging from the horse's appearance, it seems that it has not suffered any external injuries, and there are no abnormalities in its joints. There are no mosquitoes and insects in winter. Maybe it has suffered internal injuries from running thousands of miles before."
Guan Liulang explained, "But we arrived nearly a month ago. The horse has been resting since arriving in Youzhou, and we didn't see anything unusual before."
The horse doctor thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps the injury is in the tendons and bones, so it has not yet shown. In my humble opinion, we should let the horse rest for another day and see how it performs. In its current condition, if we force the horse to travel thousands of miles, I'm afraid the leg will be crippled halfway through the journey."
Guan Liulang asked: "When will it be restored?"
The horse doctor said, "The horse can talk, so we know exactly how badly it's injured. It could take a few days at the least, several months, or even a year or two. It's accurate."
Guan Liulang's thick brows were twisted into a knot. It would have been fine if any other horse was injured, but it had to be the horse left behind by Lady Lu. How could so many people stay to wait for one horse, and no one knew when its legs would recover.
Then we could only leave a guard at the inn to look after the horses.
But the King of Qi left the capital this time with a small entourage, with only a few guards in total. He is now very sick, and the journey back to the capital is 2,000 miles. One less guard means an increase in risk. It seems a bit too wise to leave behind a guard with high martial arts skills just for a horse.
Since it is Lady Lu’s horse, the decision can only be made by His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi himself.
Huan Xuan took a look at the black horse and saw that its fur was as smooth as black satin and its body was covered with fat. It was completely different from the horse that came here.
It seems that it has lived a very comfortable life in the Bai family for the past half month.
He looked at the black horse's eyes suspiciously, and suddenly suspected that it was pretending.
Huan Xuan immediately felt that he was overthinking it. If a horse could have such a mind, it would have become a spirit.
He imitated Sui Sui and touched its ears: "You want to go back to Chang'an with me?"
The little black-faced boy turned away and let him touch him.
Huan Xuan withdrew his hand, feeling bored. How about traveling across mountains and rivers to follow him back to Chang'an? Its owner was no longer there.
Does it still remember its master Sui Sui? The guard said it listens to the Bai family mistress very much.
After all, horses and humans are the same.
Huan Xuan said to Guan Liu, "Send someone to the Bai family to ask if they can foster the horse for a while. When its injury is healed, send someone to take it back."
Guan Liu was shocked. This horse was considered to be Lady Lu's relic. How could His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi be willing to keep it
Huan Xuan patted the horse's back and said, "If you like Youzhou, then stay." If Sui Sui was still here, he probably wouldn't be able to bear to see its withered hair and emaciated appearance.
The person is already dead, so what about keeping the horse
He patted the horse lightly and said, "Don't forget her even if you have recognized her as your master."
Of course the horse understood what he said, it just raised its head and neighed confidently.
Huan Xuan handed the reins to the guard who went to the Bai family to take the horse yesterday: "Go."
He climbed back onto the carriage. The wheels of the carriage rolled over the snow, making a "crunching" sound. The gate of Youzhou City gradually fell behind them.
The guard led the horse back to the Bai family, and Tian Yuerong happened to be at home. The guard embarrassedly said that he would come, and Tian Yuerong would not refuse. She accepted the gold cake, signed a document with him, and agreed on how to return it. She promised that when the horse's injury healed, she would send someone to deliver a letter to Chang'an.
After obtaining the deed, the guard took leave of his master and rode at full speed to catch up with the King of Qi who had already left the city.
Tian Yuerong had often played with Little Black Face over the past half month and had become very familiar with it. When she heard that it had injured its leg, she became very nervous. After the guard left, she asked it to walk quickly twice, and sure enough, it had a limp in one leg.
She immediately led it to the inner courtyard. No one here knew horses better than General Xiao.
When Sui Sui heard that Xiao Heimian was injured, he hurried out of the secret room.
When the little black-faced dog saw its owner, it immediately raised its head, whinnied happily, and ran towards her with its hooves spread out, without any sign of limping.
Tian Yuerong was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses: "General, your horse has become a spirit, right?"