Baihe City was not very large. It was not a highly-trafficked stronghold, but because Baihe Mountain Village was here, it was still very lively and prosperous. Merchants all over the country came here to do business  – the value of the shops was even higher than the land they were built on, and the degree of cultural blending in the splendid decorations was comparable to the capital city of Wangcheng.

It was almost time for dinner. The business in the restaurants was just right, and the teahouse storyteller was also preparing for a night show. The streets were bustling with people, and there was a large group of scholars sitting on a flower terrace and laughing with a group of singers, composing new songs and poems and guessing which one would be popular all over the city, becoming the new trend. The wine was hot and amber-bright.

Recently in Baihe City, similar scenes occurred every day, but this day was a little different when someone shouted: “Second Young Master Liu is here!”

“Ya!” The group of beautiful singers were the first to cheer. They tossed down their wine cups and stepped barefoot over the brocade veil on the ground, holding the railing with hands adorned with painted nails as they drunkenly leaned over to peer out. Other people also squeezed to the ralling, even a few big, burly men – they likely didn’t intend to appreciate the beauty of Dayan’s number one handsome man, and only wanted to join in on the fun. In any case, everyone was full and had nothing better to do.

Under the eyes of the crowd, Liu Xian’an entered the wine shop. The owner of the shop was quite business-minded. From the moment Second Young Master Liu stepped into the store, he knew that his chance to make a fortune had come! Thus, he immediately ordered the little workers to half-close the door, blocking all the curious eyes from outside. Concentrating on serving one person, he took out eighteen jugs of fine wine in one go.

The rich aroma rushed straight to the brain, and Liu Xian’an was already half drunk before drinking it. He tasted and selected carefully, and finally selected two kinds. One jug was as fierce as the scorching sun in the northwest, charging violently into the throat, while the other jug was slightly softer and sweeter. The boss quickly sealed them: “There is no need for Second Young Master Liu to take them away personally. I will send someone to Baihe Mountain Village straightaway.”

A-Ning asked in wonder: “Two small jugs of wine can be delivered to the door?”

The boss smiled and said: “I was going to deliver rice wine for medicinal use, so I happen to be going there.”

A-Ning no longer persisted, and after paying the money, he left with Liu Xian’an: “Young Master, shall we go home now?”

“No.”

“Ah?”

“Let’s stroll around more.”

Second Young Master Liu waved his jade fan, walking from east to west and north to south of the city with great interest.

A-Ning was stunned. He had already arrived in Baihe City and didn’t have to work hard to practice medicine anymore, so why was he so diligent? Shouldn’t he immediately turn back into the lazy young master who was too weary to walk to the front hall to eat?

But in fact, Liu Xian’an really didn’t feel tired. He wanted to see what Baihe City had become during these years his mind had been wandering, so that he could take His Royal Highness Xiao Wang around in the future as a host.

The sky was growing darker, and lights lit up one by one. The entire city became warmer and full of life. If you squinted your eyes, it looked like a river full of light and splintered gold.

Liu Xian’an slowly made a list in his mind, where to eat, where to appreciate scenery, and even outlined the circumstances of the two traveling together.

At the same time, the owner of the wine shop also ordered five carts full of wine to be pulled, squeaking all the way to Baihe Mountain Village – four of the carts were old rice wine, and the other held eighteen jugs of expensive fine wine. Although Second Young Master Liu only picked two jugs, one might as well buy two and get sixteen free.

People crowded around and asked: “These are the wines that Second Young Master Liu likes?”

The young man had received the boss’s orders, and replied eloquently: “Yes, ah, these eighteen jugs of wine were all tasted by Second Young Master Liu, and he paid for them on the spot.”

This was not a lie. He did taste them, and he did buy them. As for the ratio of tasting to buying, it could be appropriately ignored.

Everyone rushed to the wine shop to snap up the same kinds.

The new popular poems and songs in the city had not been decided, but the new popular wines in the city seemed to be a certainty.

The wine carts entered the gate of Baihe Mountain Village just in time for Master Liu to return from abroad. He looked at the last cart with its gaudy jars and asked with a frown: “Are these medicinal wines as well?”

The young man replied with a smile on his face: “No, Master Liu. This cart is all the wine that Second Young Master Liu of your noble home just ordered.”

Liu Fushu first asked his wife: “Xian’an is back?” Immediately afterward, he flew into a rage again. “He went out and made no other progress, and obtained an alcoholism problem! Where is he?”

Liu-furen: “……Still out.”

A flurry of adjectives immediately appeared in Master Liu’s mind, for example, idle layabout, cockfighting dog-raiser,^[1] hedonistic son of rich parents, unworthy descendant! As for Liu Xian’an, it was a coincidence that he came home drunk at this time – It couldn’t be helped, although he drank the wine more than half an hour ago, it went to his head slowly.

“Unfilial son!”

A-Ning’s eyes were sharp. Seeing that the Master was looking for a stick again, he hastily dragged his weak-legged and dizzy young master and ran away.

Liu Fushu: “You come back!”

Liu Xian’an quickly slipped into his waterside pavilion.

The entire village was full of chickens flying and dogs jumping,^[2] and the servants were all snickering.

But Liang Shu seemed to be in another world.

From Chixia City to Wanli City where the Wanli Escort Bureau was located, he followed the official road all the way. The group encountered two batches of refugees in succession. Although there were not many, according to their words, the impact of this year’s floods was truly not small. Even if the Imperial court allocated food to each person, resources were always tight, and everyone had to find their own ways to live.

“Is there any way to survive?” Cheng Suyue said, “Those who have relatives can seek refuge with them, and those who have no relatives can move to another place to make a living, but more than three to five cities have been impacted by the floods and thousands of miles of fertile fields are devastated. How far can people go with only their legs?”

Gao Lin sighed to himself. Everyone knew that the Imperial court had to take action in the end to divert the river completely. It was a big project, ah. If it was done in a prosperous age, the people would still have to shed a layer of skin. What’s more, Dayan had only just breathed a sigh of relief – but not complete relief. Eighty percent of the national treasury floor was not paved with silver.

“Your Highness!” The team marched outside Wanli City, and two guards from Xiao Wang Palace returned on horseback. They had been sent to the Wanli Escort Bureau previously in order to keep an eye on He Rao. They had thought it was an ordinary task, but in the end were forcibly shown an emotional drama that included both moral principles and conspiracy. The sight was so frightening that these young fellows didn’t even dare to get married in the future.

Liang Shu asked: “What is going on?”

“Answering Your Highness, on the first day we arrived in the city, it happened that He Rao had a tryst with the hall master of Hansong Hall.” The guard said, “They were discussing how to swallow the Wanli Escort Bureau step by step.”

Hansong Hall was considered a prestigious sect in the jianghu. The master of the hall was called Han Sanyan, and he was truly ugly. Hair would not grow in the places it should grow, and the places it should not grow were lush. The whole person looked like a round purple eggplant with only the head peeled off. Gao Lin had a toothache: “That He-furen is really not picky.”

It was honestly too easy to bring down an escort agency. Han Sanyan first prepared a batch of jewels that were said to be priceless and handed them over to the Wanli Escort Bureau for escort. According to regulations, if the goods were damaged, the customer must be compensated according to the price. Chang Wanli couldn’t afford so much money at this time, so Han Sanyan became entangled with a group of people who came to the door every day to shout, throwing the entire escort agency into disorder.

“Where is He Rao?”

“She has been blowing pillow wind,^[3] asking Chang Wanli to mortgage the escort agency to Hansong Hall,” the guard said. “Chang Wanli’s internal strength is not low, and we dared not get too close, so we didn’t hear very much.”

The guards who could follow Liang Shu were all first-class masters. If even they couldn’t get close, that was enough to prove that Chang Wanli’s martial arts could be ranked first among the central plains martial artists. This time, he was transporting a serious delivery, and he must have brought a lot of escorts along. Cheng Suyue was curious to know how he could still fall into the trap and lose his delivery in this way: “Were you there at that time? Who robbed him?”

“I’ve been following Chang Wanli, but the one who robbed him was a man in a mask. That man’s moves were very strange and wicked, and extremely fast. The mask fell off for a moment in the middle. His face was pale, and his eyes tilted up like a fox demon in a painting. He was about……sixteen or seventeen years old.”

Cheng Suyue marveled. Was it possible to have this level of skill at the age of sixteen or seventeen?

“What about after the robbery?”

“We lost the masked man, but the valuables were not taken away by him. Instead, Han Sanyan hid them in a dangerous cave.”

“Who hired the masked man?”

“He Rao. At the beginning, when she proposed the strategy of robbing the escorts, Han Sanyan said that it was not easy to rob Wanli. He Rao then said that she had an old friend who was extremely skilled, to the point that he could defeat Chang Wanli. This person happened to owe her a favor, and although the favor was not great enough to have him kill someone, it was enough for robbery.”

“Over and over, we can’t escape this escort lady.” Cheng Suyue asked, “Your Highness, what shall we do next?”

“There is no need to investigate secretly. Just take her to prison.” Liang Shu tightened the reins. “Where are those valuables hidden?”

“Not far from here, it is called Lingyun Peak.”

There were many mountains here, and Lingyun Peak was the highest of the high and the most perilous of them all. After considerable thought, Han Sanyan chose this place to hide the valuables. According to the guards, those people used dozens of wheelbarrows and went up and down dozens of times before everything could be transported to a cave on the cliff – unless Chang Wanli opened a psychic eye, even if he mobilized all the people in the jianghu, he might not be able to find the lost items.

Many disciples of Hansong Hall were guarding inside and outside the cave, and were presently yawning. There was truly no entertainment to be found on the mountain, and not even a sound to be heard. The birds fluttered their wings and flew away, and the emptiness was terrifyingly silent. They had nothing else to do except sleep.

“Ai, do you think a fox fairy or a succubus will come suddenly in the middle of the night and take turns having fun with us brothers?”

The others roared with laughter. They all joked, you’re not a scholar, why are you starting to learn from those pedantic bookworms with their red sleeves and perfume? As they spoke, the topic rushed wildly toward the path of obscenity, vividly depicting matters that went on between the legs. It was as if a few peerless demons would descend from the sky in the next moment, leaving princes and generals behind to love only them, who had no money, no power, and mediocre looks, and insist on marrying them. From then on, nephrite jade would be warm in their arms, and the great beauties would have babies and cook for them.

“Even if they are not so beautiful, ah,” some people tutted, “apricot eyes, cherry lips, smooth skin, and a good figure are just fine.”

Everyone laughed again, laughing and laughing, and suddenly there was thunder outside.

“See, the fox fairy is here, why don’t you hurry up and greet her?”

As this was said, a black shadow appeared at the entrance of the cave. The group’s smiles froze on their faces and they drew their swords out of their sheathes, standing up from the ground.

Liang Shu stepped out of the shadows slowly, his expression as cold as frost. Cheng Suyue followed behind him, gripping a sword in both hands: “I’ll give you two choices. One, you immediately pack up your things and scurry down the mountain. Two, you die.”

“Presumptuous!” Everyone gathered together vigilantly, staring at the unexpected guests who had suddenly appeared before them like ghosts. “Who are you!”

“I’ll count to three,” said Cheng Suyue. “One. Two. Three.”

Nobody moved.

Cheng Suyue took a step back: “It’s hard to persuade death-seeking ghosts. I have already said it patiently.”

“Grab them!” Someone among the Hansong Hall disciples ordered loudly.

Everyone raised their swords and rushed forward. Although they had been startled, they were not very frightened. With many against two, they wouldn’t lose…..would they?

They stared blankly at the blood splattered before them.

Liang Shu’s sword was half-unsheathed.

Cheng Suyue looked at the people lying all over the ground, and said to the other half who could still stand: “Want me to count again?”

“…..Spare us, s-s-s-spare our lives.” They were terrified. With one move, or half a move, dozens of people were killed silently and invisibly. He was really a demon, or maybe a ghost. In any case, he was definitely not an ordinary person, nor was he a compassionate immortal.

“Go down the mountain,” Cheng Suyue said. “Carry these things and follow me to the Wanli Escort Bureau to meet your Hall Master Han.”

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[1] ‘Cockfighting and raising dogs’ is an idiom that describes the pointless leisure activities of privileged children. ⮐

[2] “Chickens flying and dogs jumping” (鸡飞狗跳) refers to everything being in chaos/disarray. ⮐

[3] To “blow pillow wind” (吹枕头风), is to whisper ideas to one’s lover in bed. ⮐

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Chapter Twenty-Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Four

With how big the carriage was, even if another bed was moved inside, it would probably fit. Liu Xian’an had never seen such a large carriage before, so he boarded it to take a look around. Old was old, but the old interior faintly revealed a sincere decoration technique of “trying to appear new.” It could be seen that Shi-daren had indeed done his best with the limited resources.

A-Ning walked over with the luggage in his arms: “What is Young Master smiling at?”

Liu Xian’an wasn’t smiling at anything. He just felt from this carriage that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang cherished their friendship. Then he thought of the poets’ descriptions of friendship. For example, “How many times can you laugh heartily in your life, when you first meet to drink wine, you must get drunk.”^[1]

Another example was, “When we meet, we drink happily in the same mood, and the horse is tied to the willow tree under the restaurant.”^[2] They were all beautiful and chivalrous scenes, so the regret of saying goodbye was diluted by poetry. Sitting in the soft carriage, he planned to carefully calculate and investigate where in Baihe City he could find good wine for a drunken reunion.

It would take a while to pack the carriage and horses, and Liu Xian’an was bored waiting, so he took A-Ning to visit Xiao Taohua. She had recovered very well and was sitting in the courtyard, basking in the sun and helping her mother tidy up some silk threads. When she saw Liu Xian’an come through the door, she was so happy that she dropped the basket and stood up: “Miracle Doctor Liu.”

The silk threads that Taohua’s mother had finally finished dying were in a mess again. She laughed and scolded the girl, then rushed to the kitchen to prepare tea and roast chicken, saying that it had just come out of the pot. The guards from Xiao Wang Palace also followed from afar. Seeing Taohua only leaning toward Liu Xian’an, smiling so hard that her round eyes turned into crescent moons, they couldn’t help but sigh with emotion. It was fortunate that Second Young Master Liu did not usually like to go out. Otherwise, if he got up diligently and rode a horse from east to west, it was likely that everyone from a four-year-old milk baby to a forty-year-old aunt would be unable to escape. There was no way out for other people.

But in fact, Taohua was not thinking about marrying a beautiful man, but was chatting about practicing medicine.

“You want to be a doctor in the future, that’s great, ah.” A-Ning said with a smile, “Baihe Medical Center has a branch in Chang’an City, and there will be a selection in three months. They are all children about the same age as you. If you sign up, you will have a chance to be selected, but studying medicine is very difficult.”

“I’m not afraid of hard work,” Taohua said. “I just want to cure diseases and save lives like Miracle Doctor Liu and Brother A-Ning.”

Liu Xian’an felt that he was actually not a doctor, let alone a Miracle Doctor, but he didn’t correct her, since he was lazy and couldn’t be bothered to explain. As for titles, they were vain, empty things. Humanity-Saving Miracle Doctor or Bloodthirsty Demon, it didn’t matter what people called him.

He didn’t know anything about the selection process of the Baihe Medical Center, and was even unaware until after A-Ning spoke just now that a process existed. This level of knowledge would certainly be of no assistance to Taohua, so it was all up to A-Ning. Thus, Second Young Master Liu began to wander off again. He took out a big, boundless piece of paper in the dreamland and planned to draw a castle of the same size and boundlessness so that he could give it to his Royal Highness Xiao Wang in the future.

Exhausting all of his unrestrained imagination, he made the first careful stroke. Following his movements, a continuous flow of golden bricks and clear jade tiles fell from the sky, fitting together like a seamless garment. The high dome blocked the passage of birds, a deep fragrance diffused across the land, and dragons dove and circled around the pillars. This gorgeous palace was built far away on the top of a mountain, and there was even a very big hot spring inside, like the boundless sea. If His Royal Highness Xiao Wang wanted to, he could even bathe with Kun and swim with Peng.^[3]

Liu Xian’an was quite satisfied with this prototype. He put his hands behind his back, but before he could take two steps, there was a bang in his ear!

“Miracle Doctor Liu!”

A-Ning quickly stood up and opened his arms to shield his young master. “Who are you!”

The Xiao Wang Palace guards also rushed over quickly.

“Miracle Doctor Liu!” The person who came was a woman in her twenties or thirties, holding a baby in her arms. She knelt down and cried, “Begging the miracle doctor to raise his hand high and give my brother and husband a way to survive!”

Liu Xian’an had just stepped back into the real world from the palace when he suddenly heard this sentence, and didn’t quite understand. He felt that his hand didn’t seem to be on the head of the other party’s family for him to “lift it high”, so he asked A-Ning to help him up first. 

Taohua moved a bench over for the woman. Seeing that Liu Xian’an seemed confused and ignorant, she explained in a low voice: “Her husband and brother were also treated on Dakan Mountain because of Gu poison. They are called Song Ma and Zhou Yuqian. But later, for some reason, they were sent down the mountain before they were cured by the soldiers and sent to prison. In the past two days, I heard that they were sent to a quarry for hard labor.”

Song Ma and Zhou Yuqian. A-Ning had an impression of these two names, and said to Liu Xian’an: “Young Master, that group is the group of smirking ruffians who followed us to the hot springs a while ago. I also wondered why those people disappeared and asked Brother Qiu, but he said he didn’t know.”

Liu Xian’an looked at the guards of Xiao Wang Palace.

A guard whispered: “It was the prince’s order.”

The woman continued to cry. She didn’t expect the government to release the men from the quarry, but she begged for the Gu worms to at least be taken out of them, otherwise they may not survive past three months.

The guard stepped forward and asked: “Does the young master want us to send him back to the government office first?”

Liu Xian’an stood up.

Seeing that he appeared to be leaving, the woman suddenly became anxious. Perhaps because of her despair, or perhaps because of anger, she shouted: “In the eyes of princes and miracle doctors, are the lives of the common people really as cheap as ants?”

Liu Xian’an didn’t look back. He only stepped past the threshold and said to A-Ning: “Take two disciples from Dakan Mountain and go to the quarry to fetch the Gu worms from those people.”

A-Ning made a sound of agreement and ran back to the government office to find people.

The guards of Xiao Wang Palace exchanged glances, unsure of Liu Xian’an’s mood at this time. But they figured that the doctor was always kind-hearted and could not bear to see bloody slaughter, so they took the initiative to excuse their prince: “On the battlefield, the life of a military doctor is equivalent to the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and everyone respects them very much. Second Young Master Liu is to Chixia City what a military doctor is to the Northwest Military Camp. Those people dared to mock and offend you. If they were in the army, they would have been dealt with by military law and would not have the chance to work in a quarry.”

“The sight of that woman was really pitiful.” Liu Xian’an walked slowly. “Since she begged me, I will help her. But now that I have saved her brother and husband, whether her future will be better or worse because of it is anyone’s guess. I think it will probably be the latter.”

A guard asked: “How so?”

“She has old scars on her face, hands, and neck.” Liu Xian’an said, “The colors are different shades, so she should have been beaten many times.”

The guard shook his head: “What is the point in saving such a man? The right thing to do would be to set off cannons in celebration.”

“Everyone’s wishes are different.” Liu Xian’an gazed at the white clouds in the sky. “She thinks this is best, so it is her version of the best. Some silver should be sent to the orphan and widow.”

The guard took out a piece of silver and tossed it over to Taohua’s mother and beckoned for her to hand it to the woman.

Liu Xian’an hurriedly said: “I meant that I’ll have A-Ning deliver it later.”

“Second Young Master Liu, there is no need for politeness.” The guard said, “The prince has ordered that whatever the young master needs on the journey, the prince’s Xiao Wang Palace will settle the bill.”

Liu Xian’an: “……That’s also fine.”

In the afternoon, Shi Hanhai personally sent them out of the city.

Due to the large size of the carriage, they could not take the mountain road and could only travel on the official road, which included some detours. Second Young Master Liu didn’t care about such things. In the end, he could lie down at home or lie down in the carriage. Although the latter was indeed more laborious and prone to causing backaches, there was fortunately no father with a stick scolding people now and then. Comparing the two, a backache was better than a beating.

Wrapped in a blanket, he turned over comfortably and continued to sleep.

He slept for the whole journey, all the way back to Baihe City.

Everything in the village was as before. Liu Fushu had taken First Young Master Liu to practice medicine elsewhere, and no other cousins were at home either. Only Liu-furen and Liu Nanyuan greeted him beamingly and dragged him over to have a look. Good, he wasn’t thin and his body seemed to be stronger.

Liu-furen glanced around: “Where are the people who escorted you back? Why didn’t you ask them to take a rest?”

A-Ning had offered at least three times, but they still said that they needed to rush to join up with His Royal Highness Xiao Wang without a moment’s delay, so they unloaded the luggage and left in a hurry.

“It doesn’t matter.” Liu Xian’an stretched his waist and walked to his small waterside pavilion. “When the prince finishes dealing with the trouble at hand, he will come to Baihe Mountain Village again. It won’t be too late to invite them to drink and rest at that time.”

“Wait a second!” Liu Nanyuan grabbed him. “Didn’t you say that the prince doesn’t want to marry me? Why would he still come here?”

“Not to marry you.” Liu Xian’an pulled his sleeve back from his younger sister’s hand and patted her on the head with a secretive expression on his face.

Liu Nanyuan looked at his calmly retreating back, then turned her head and said to her mother: “Has my ge been bewitched?”

Liu-furen: “……A-Ning!”

The servant who was about to rub the soles of his feet with oil had no choice but to stand up straight: “Ai!”

He stood on the spot and followed Liu Xian’an’s instructions, telling of all the things that had happened during the trip. It was actually fine, they just went down to Chixia City with His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. There happened to be a Gu disaster there, so the young master dispatched more than a hundred disciples from the medical hall in Chang’an City to treat the illness, and it vanished.

Liu-furen complained: “Who asked you about the Gu, I’m asking why the prince suddenly called off the marriage with A-Yuan. How did Xian’an persuade him?”

“It didn’t take much persuasion,” A-Ning said. “The young master said that there must be many beautiful girls in Wangcheng, and that our Third Young Lady has a lively personality. The prince doesn’t like too much noise. He refused the marriage of the Fei country’s princess because he thought the other party was too noisy.”

“Okay, that’s good.” Liu-furen was relieved, and let the boy go. 

A-Ning ran all the way back to the waterside pavilion and saw that his young master was lying in bed again, so he shook him awake: “I said it just like we discussed.”

Liu Xian’an yawned: “Very good.”

The boy sat on the ground beside him: “But there is one thing I don’t understand, Young Master. Why didn’t you say that you also cured many people, and even discovered the poison? The Master, the Madam, and the First Young Master would be very happy if they knew the truth.”

“Because it’s troublesome.” Liu Xian’an narrowed his eyes and said, “It would require explaining a lot of things that they might not be able to understand, so it would be very tiring to answer all their questions.”

A-Ning propped up his cheeks and sighed: “Fine, ba, but I still feel it’s a pity.”

Liu Xian’an did not feel that it was a pity. He got up from his slump: “Let’s go.”

“Go?” A-Ning was puzzled. “We just came back, where are we going?”

Liu Xian’an picked up a jade fan on the table, opened it with a snap, and said in high spirits: “We’re going to get some good wine.”

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[1] This is part of a poem by Cen Shen of the Tang dynasty. ⮐

[2] This is taken from “Four Poems for the Youth” by Wang Wei of the Tang dynasty. ⮐

[3] Peng (鹏) is a legendary bird. ⮐

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Chapter Twenty-One << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Three

Ever since he became Zhao Yelan, he had no habit of celebrating birthdays. The only person who knew his birthday was Zhao Xuan, but the other party was busy pursuing a great cause, so how could he have time to celebrate the birthdays of his staff members? It was thoughtful enough to send some small things once in a while.

In addition, he didn’t think about celebrating his birthday at all. Birthdays were to be spent with family, and he was alone, so he just wanted to keep himself busy on this day.

But this year was different from previous years. He wanted to tell Yan Mingting what day it was today. He didn’t need rare and expensive gifts or a grand occasion. He just wanted to have a meal with his family as he had done when he was young, and hear a few words of blessing with his own ears.

Unexpectedly, Yan Mingting had already noted this in advance. He thought about the bowl of noodles just now. No wonder he was asked to eat some at such a late hour, and everyone’s eyes were full of anticipation…..

Just as he was lost in thought, a ball of snow hit him again.

He reacted and glanced at Li Yucheng, who was giggling and showing off his mightiness. Zhao Yelan took the snowball from Yan Mingting’s hand and threw it at Li Yucheng.

“Hey, hey, you can’t hit me, you can’t hit me!” Li Yucheng quickly moved away and dug up a large handful of snow, turning to look at the others. “What are you all doing in a daze, why don’t you hurry up and attack together?”

The status of the other people was lower, after all, so they dared not keep throwing. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yelan missed and hit Yin Pinglu. She smiled and hid beside Zuo Ran, who also smiled and threw a snowball at Zhao Yelan.

Seeing that it was about to hit Zhao Yelan in the face, a fist suddenly stretched out from the side and scattered the snowball to land in front of him in fluttering pieces.

“Take note of how I do it.” After Yan Mingting spoke, he picked up a snowball and looked around with a smile on his face. Everyone was frightened into running away, looking for opportunities to fight back as they fled.

Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan gave pointers, and then everyone else gave pointers.

Housekeeper Qin was passing by with Xiao Gao. Seeing the people in the courtyard jumping up and down and making a mess with snowflakes flying everywhere, he couldn’t see the movements of these people at all, and only felt that his old eyes were blurry.

Xiao Gao was excited to see this, and flew in to join them. He Cuizhang’s team added another strong general, and everyone besieged Yan Mingting together, which gave Zhao Yelan the opportunity to throw snowballs from the side. It turned into a scuffle. Nobody could see each other at all, and just targeted people at random.

“Ah! Zhao Yelan, you smashed Yan Mingting hahaha!” Li Yucheng laughed until he was rolling on the ground.

Zhao Yelan was taken aback and stopped to take a closer look. The person standing in front of him was indeed Yan Minting. He stepped forward and wiped the snow off Yan Mingting’s face, then burst out laughing. The others also laughed out loud one after another.

At last, the group of people were tired from their playing and didn’t want to move anymore, so they lay down in the snow without a care.

Zhao Yelan was panting as he looked up at the sky. His eyes were completely relaxed, and his mind and body were both very happy.

At this time, Yan Mingting held his hand and brought it to his mouth, breathing onto it and holding it in both hands. He asked, “Is it cold?”

“It’s not cold.” Zhao Yelan said, “You made me play in the snow, and now you ask me if it’s cold?”

“Snow is for playing. It’s good to move your body around, you can’t stay still.” After Yan Mingting spoke, he pulled him up and patted the snow from his body. “But you must not catch a cold. Go change your clothes first.”

“Did you all often have snowball fights?” Zhao Yelan was led by him back to the bedroom.

“Not often. It rarely snows at the border. There is only a strong wind that can crack your face open.” Yan Mingting unbuttoned his cloak and poured a basin of hot water for him to soak his hands. They were already completely red from the snow, and he couldn’t help but feel a little worried. “You probably won’t catch a cold, right?”

“It’s fine.” Zhao Yelan comforted him, “Even if I catch a cold this time, I’m willing.”

“You’re not allowed to talk nonsense, how inauspicious.”

Zhao Yelan smiled and gazed down at his hands soaking in the hot water, fiddling with the water again and again: “How do you know what today is?”

“Don’t be angry.”

“Did you investigate?”

Yan Mingting nodded guiltily. “Yes, after you said those things, I went to investigate the matter of Zhao Mengting myself, but I only looked for the birth date.”

“It’s all right, if you want to investigate other things, you can.” Zhao Yelan gave a light smile. When he heard the noise outside, he asked, “You told them too?”

“En, I asked them over to discuss your birthday, and they even prepared gifts for you.” Yan Mingting said furtively, “What do you think? Are you looking forward to it?”

“I can probably guess what they’ll give me.” Zhao Yelan paused, and suddenly smiled. “But there are still some expectations.”

Yan Mingting patted him on the shoulder with a grin: “Yes, ah, Zhao-daren, you are much more honest than before.”

After Zhao Yelan changed his clothes, the two went back to the front hall. The group of people were cooking around the charcoal brazier. The food was ready, and the servants began to serve it.

Everyone sat down together, and one or two couldn’t help it anymore and wanted to present the gifts.

“I started the fire to boil water for your bowl of noodles in the morning,” Li Yucheng said gallantly.

“You?” Zhao Yelan hadn’t expected this, and couldn’t help revealing a surprised expression.

“And me, I put in the seasonings!” He Cuizhang said.

Zuo Ran: “I did the noodles, and chopped the green onions.”

Xiao Gao also interjected: “I did the dishes.”

Zhao Yelan’s face was calm and unruffled, but his heart was like a calm sea without waves until it was lightly stirred up by them, causing layers of ripples to spread out.

He looked at Yan Mingting, pretending to be calm: “What about you?”

“I was in charge of calling them to work and supervising them, ah,” Yan Mingting said confidently.

“Look at how lazy he is, why don’t you kick him out and be with me, ba,” Li Yucheng joked.

“Eat your meal.” Yan Mingting pressed his head into the bowl.

Zhao Yelan couldn’t help but laugh. He knew that Yan Mingting wasn’t lazy. Lazy people wouldn’t just go to the kitchen and make stuffed steamed buns, even though they hadn’t been successful yet. Yan Mingting gave up such a good performance opportunity to others, likely to let him know that he still had a group of friends.

Friends. He had never had them before.

He didn’t even dare to say that he was Zhao Xuan’s friend. The relationship between two people who helped each other and took advantage of each other could not be considered sincere.

Kan Chuan and Gu Niaoniao were people he was able to let down his guard around, but because of their identities, they couldn’t communicate in public.

Contrary to expectations, after entering the General’s Mansion, he first met a group of simple-minded but passionate lieutenants. Then he was inexplicably regarded as a friend by Li Yucheng, and also became acquainted with two girls with very different personalities. Everyone had different identities, but they could sit at the same table now and celebrate his birthday together. This scene was something he had never imagined.

“Thank you, the noodles this morning were delicious,” Zhao Yelan said sincerely.

Li Yucheng patted the table: “I just said that I boiled the water well! This young master had never even entered his own kitchen!”

“Obviously I put in the seasoning well!” He Cuizhang said, “The seasoning is the soul!”

“If it weren’t for me and Pinglu, could the noodles be so soft but firm?” Zuo Ran said, unconvinced.

Xiao Gao: “I’m……I’m good at washing dishes!”

Zhao Yelan lowered his head and smiled. He turned his head and found that Yan Mingting was watching him with a smile. He quietly stretched out his hand, and the two held hands under the table.

“I say, why don’t you eat first,” Housekeeper Qin said. “It is cold out, and the dishes will cool down quickly.”

“Uncle Qin, don’t be so busy, sit down and eat with Xiao Gao,” Yan Mingting said.

“Ah? I can too?”

“You can.” Zhao Yelan nodded.

“Aiyo, then I won’t be polite.” Housekeeper Qin sat down with a smile on his face.

There was a large table of good dishes, all of them Zhao Yelan’s favorite foods. Today, no one said that he was extravagant or wasteful, and they kept adding vegetables to his bowl as if they were afraid he would not be full.

Li Yucheng finished eating quickly, and then began to present gifts in a serious manner. He took out a sachet and ten ingots of gold, blinding everyone’s eyes.

“I made this sachet according to the recipe my sister used before, and there are more than a dozen kinds of spices in it. As for the gold, I know you promised before that as long as I persuaded my uncle to help with the disaster, I would be free of debt. But both my father and I feel that we should return it to you. A real man is willing to gamble and admit defeat, and it should be taken as a lesson. In any case, I really have quit gambling since then. This is not enough to pay you back. I will pay back the rest when I earn some money in the future. Moreover, our joint shop with the Jiangnan merchants has already opened, and the business has been really good recently. I’ll be able to pay it off soon!” Li Yucheng said.

He Cuizhang took out a short, sharp blade. According to Zhao Yelan’s preferences, three gemstones that had been rewarded by the Emperor were specially inlaid into it. He said: “Although mine is not as satisfactory as the crossbow made by Zhong Yuehong, it can still be used somewhat. Alas, it is mainly because I can’t do anything else.”

Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu were not as wealthy as the rest, so they could only do some manual work. They had sewn two small dolls with needle and thread. At first glance, they looked like Zhao Yelan and Yan Mingting. Yan Mingting liked them very much, and hugged them fondly after taking them.

“Thank you all.” Zhao Yelan accepted these things, and although he guessed what they would give, there were still some surprises. For example, he didn’t expect that Li Yucheng would give gold, or that He Cuizhang would specially set gems into the knife…..

Wait, was it possible that his love for money was so deeply rooted in people’s hearts?

After lunch, Zhao Yelan went to catch up on sleep again, and when he awoke, he didn’t see Yan Mingting. The others had also dispersed.

“Where did they go?” Zhao Yelan asked Housekeeper Qin.

“They seem to have gone out, ba.” 

Zhao Yelan put on a big cloak and took Xiao Gao with him to go out, but as soon as he reached the door, he saw Jinxuan’s proprietress coming along with a string of maids, all holding brand new clothes in their hands.

“What is this?” Zhao Yelan regarded them blankly. “Wasn’t the clothing for this month already delivered?”

“Yes, but these are congratulatory gifts for you from the General.” The proprietress covered her mouth with a smile. “There are a total of twelve pieces, each a different color. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter are all available.”

Zhao Yelan was astonished, and asked the maids in the mansion to come and pick up these things.

“Then we will take our leave first. By the way, Zhao-daren, I wish you a happy birthday and open avenues of wealth.” The proprietress smiled. “Please take care of our business in the future.”

Zhao Yelan nodded. He didn’t expect the proprietress to know his date of birth, but with Yan Mingting buying so much clothing in one go, it was understandable to give a reason.

“Did you see him?” Zhao Yelan asked casually.

“He asked for you to find him yourself.” Smiling mysteriously, the proprietress led the people away.

Zhao Yelan glanced at Xiao Gao, who shook his head: “I don’t know, ah, the General didn’t tell me anything, he said I was a big colander.”

The snow had stopped, and although there were fewer pedestrians on the street, some people were still out and about. Zhao Yelan walked across the snow, which made creaking noises step by step, but he couldn’t find Yan Mingting’s footprints.

After being out for so long, the footprints had been covered up by others.

He wandered around mindlessly, and when he passed the gambling house, the guards at the door called him in to play a few games. After a moment of thought, he went in.

Even in the twelfth lunar month of winter, the gambling house was still booming. Many people had seen him there before, and they all called for him to play together.

Zhao Yelan located a table and randomly guessed amounts, winning every time. 

He intentionally made unreasonable bets and still won.

“Congratulations, Zhao-daren, you have won our biggest bet, which is —” The dealer paused, and suddenly raised his hands up, “Blessings from everyone!”

There was an orderly shout in the gambling house: “Happy birthday, Zhao-daren! Every bet is guaranteed to win!”

It was ear-splitting.

The combined voices of so many big men almost caused Zhao Yelan to go deaf. He pressed his ears, and a small smile escaped from the corners of his mouth: “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome!” Everyone laughed.

“Where is he?” Zhao Yelan asked the dealer.

The dealer: “He’s not here.”

Zhao Yelan immediately became interested and searched for other places. When he came to Huichun Tower, he stopped in his tracks but did not go inside.

All the envoys and vassals resided there now, and they didn’t accept outsiders in it, so he shouldn’t be hiding inside.

At this moment, a waiter came out and handed over a dozen packaged meals to him: “Zhao-daren, remember to patronize our business more in the future, ah. We wish you a happy birthday, delicious food, and good health!”

Xiao Gao continued to follow him with the things in his hands, and asked: “My lord, where are we going, ah?”

“I don’t know.” Zhao Yelan’s tone was buoyant. When he passed Hongxiu House, he didn’t expect that the other party had arrangements there. 

Plum blossoms suddenly fell profusely on top of his head. He looked up and saw Gu Niaoniao with Qingyan and a group of girls, leaning against the window and smiling happily.

“Zhao-daren, happy birthday, ah. The General says for you to stop looking for girls in the future, otherwise my small establishment will be shut down,” Gu Niaoniao said. The girls all giggled, and people passing by all around laughed.

Zhao Yelan gave them a helpless and amused look, and continued on his way. He met Ruan Xian’s family, who were buying Jiangnan tea. After seeing him, Ruan Xian handed all the tea to him abruptly: “All right, you, don’t tell me about such an important day. I wish you a happy birthday and a prosperous official career.”

Zhao Yelan smiled, and just as he passed them, he turned a corner and saw Li Niang holding the child.

“This is the peace talisman I asked for last time when I went to Lingyun Temple. I specially asked for one for you, my lord. I wish you a happy birthday and a long life.”

“Thank you.” Zhao Yelan took it and looked down at the smiling child.

“Kan Chuan asked me to give this to you, and said you should like it.” Li Niang handed him another calligraphy painting, which was the posthumous work of a master of calligraphy in the previous dynasty. It was very precious.

Zhao Yelan looked at the calligraphy painting, then at Li Niang and the child, and said: “If you have time, let’s have a meal together, ba. Aboveboard.”

“Really?” Li Niang’s eyes were filled with a smile. “Okay, I’ll tell him when I get back.”

After Zhao Yelan walked along the street for a certain distance, he had received countless words of congratulations and various gifts. Xiao Gao couldn’t handle it anymore, so he had to call Yu Dali and others to carry the things.

Suddenly, he thought of the training grounds and strode over there.

Even though it was a snowy day, the soldiers were still training. When they saw him coming, they shouted in unison: “Zhao-daren, happy birthday!”

Zhao Yelan searched around inside carefully, but not only did he fail to find anyone, he started to answer the soldiers’ questions.

“My lord, is your birthday today happy?”

“Happy.”

“My lord, how old are you this year?”

“Twenty-five.”

“My lord, do you think it’s cold today?”

“It’s not bad.”

“My lord, are you looking for the General, ah?” 

“Nonsense.” Zhao Yelan turned more than half a circle and looked everyone over carefully, but Yan Mingting was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that he wasn’t here.

The sky had already darkened, and in the blink of an eye, the streets were lit up with candlelight.

Xiao Gao was worried about his physical strength and suggested: “My lord, are you tired? Why don’t we take a rest.”

“Not tired.”

How could Zhao Yelan be tired? So many familiar and unfamiliar people wished him a happy birthday. Although he didn’t show it on the surface, this was like a tsunami that shook the world.

It was only that he wanted to share this joy and gratitude with Yan Mingting in person.

So, where could he be?

Having traversed most of the city, when he glimpsed a vendor selling tanghulu, Zhao Yelan couldn’t help but stop and buy a few bunches. He didn’t even know when he had developed the habit.

“Zhao-daren, come back to buy tanghulu again, ah.” The vendor already knew him, and smiled. “I heard that today is your birthday, so I won’t charge you. I wish you a happy birthday. May you have today’s glory forever.”

The words were very familiar. He immediately raised his head and asked: “Where is he?”

The vendor smiled and said: “You are amazing, but if you are so clever, you should be able to guess where the General will be waiting for you, right?”

Zhao Yelan stood by the river, staring at the water in a daze. Bits and pieces of the relationship between the two of them unconsciously appeared in his mind. Suddenly, he smiled and said to Xiao Gao: “Come, let’s go home.

“Aren’t you looking for the General?”

“Not looking, let’s go home.”

Go home. What a simple sentence. However, he had no home before. It was only that after getting acquainted with Yan Mingting, the other party always seemed to be saying “let’s go home” to him.

A birthday must be celebrated at home.

The General’s Mansion was brightly lit, and as soon as they saw him returning, the servants rushed to get the food.

“Where is Yan Mingting?” Zhao Yelan asked Housekeeper Qin again.

“Ah? He didn’t come back, ah, isn’t he with you?” Housekeeper Qin asked blankly.

Zhao Yelan frowned slightly, thinking of something. He stood in the courtyard without moving, and after a while, Yan Mingting appeared at the gate.

“What are you doing standing there, be careful of catching a cold.” Yan Mingting headed straight towards him.

Zhao Yelan frowned and raised his head to look at him: “I know where you went.”

“Where did I go?” Yan Mingting smiled and waited for his answer.

“You never left at all, you were always right behind me, right?”

Yan Mingting raised his eyebrows, but finally couldn’t hold back, and smiled: “Right.”

“Then what if I didn’t go home, and went to other places, such as the city gate?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Then I would appear at the city gate. Wherever you stopped, I would appear there. I don’t need you to look for me. I’ll just follow you, always.”

Zhao Yelan reached out his arms to hug him, and after a long silence, he said in a low voice: “Thank you, Fangli.”

“As long as you like it.” Yan Mingting hugged him back. “Actually, I was a little nervous. I didn’t know what gift to get at all.”

“It’s enough. This is enough.” Zhao Yelan’s voice was slightly hoarse.

He had received blessings and gifts from friends and other people. These were already generous gifts that he could have never even imagined.

“No, there is another gift,” Yan Mingting said. He let go of his hand and lifted a fire paper into the air.

“Okay, okay, get ready!” He Cuizhang shouted. Li Yucheng cautiously approached the fire wire, and finally He Cuizhang stepped forward to light it.

With a “bang,” huge fireworks exploded in the sky, and the dark night was dotted with fiery trees and silver flowers, attracting everyone’s attention. They all looked up to admire the sudden beautiful scenery. The children cheered, the adults talked and laughed, and everyone seemed to know who the fireworks were for.

Even the people in the palace heard the commotion. Zhao Xuan walked to the door of the hall and looked around: “Who is setting off fireworks?”

“Answering Your Majesty, it is General Yan,” Eunuch Gao said.

“What day is it today?” Zhao Xuan had just finished asking when he realized. He sighed heavily. “I was actually so busy that I forgot, today is his birthday, ah……”

Zhao Yelan raised his head with his lips slightly parted, unable to speak. The bright, colorful fireworks were clearly reflected in his eyes, vivid and charming. When he turned his head, his eyes sparkled: “You prepared this too?”

“En, do you like it?” Yan Mingting asked with a smile.

Zhao Yelan nodded: “I like it.”

He thought he didn’t like grand and complicated ceremonies, but at the end of this day, no matter if it was ordinary and warm or grand and magnificent, he experienced it all and joy came again and again. He would definitely remember this birthday for a long, long time.

Zhao Yelan’s eyes reddened inexplicably, and he suddenly felt a trace of regret. He used to think that meeting now was the best moment for the two of them, but now he felt that it would be great if they had met earlier, and it would be best if they met in a previous life.

The fireworks in the night sky vanished, and just when everyone thought it was over, new ones rose into the sky again. Cheers echoed one after another outside, and even the servants in the mansion quickly put down their work and ran to the front hall to watch.

Zhao Yelan leaned his head on the other’s shoulder, the smile at the corners of his mouth never disappearing. Then, in an impassioned voice, he heard Yan Mingting say in his ear: “In fact, there is one more gift. I will give you the rest of my life, and I hope you will take responsibility. I wonder if you dare to accept it?”

Zhao Yelan immediately stood up straight and turned around, putting his arms around his neck and leaning in to kiss him: “How could I not dare?”

---

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Chapter Seventy-Nine <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty-One

Liu Xian’an didn’t travel much, because he was lazy and it was unnecessary. He had read hundreds of thousands of volumes of thick local chronicles, from north to south, east to west, and was familiar with all the scenery and customs. He could wander freely upon closing his eyes, so he didn’t need to travel by boat or carriage to visit.

From Baihe City to Yueya City, even if he rode a lightning-fast horse, it would take nearly two months. Moreover, Second Young Master Liu might not be able to handle “lightning-fast” speed, and topple over in panic. This person hadn’t left yet, but his nasal cavity seemed to have been filled with wind mixed with gravel, so hot that it hurt his throat. 

So why did he just blurt out that he was going to visit the northwest?

Probably from too much wine, ba. Liu Xian’an’s current state was between slightly inebriated and drunk. It was true that he was not very sober, and upon thinking upon the problem, he felt even more dizzy. So he stood up unsteadily and was about to make a slow march to the bedroom – completely forgetting that he was standing on the roof.

He didn’t panic when he stepped on air, just falling calmly straight down, and did not rejoice when he was picked up by Liang Shu. With wandering eyes looking towards the deepest parts of the stars and clouds, he sighed. The blue sky, was it righteous or evil?

Liang Shu could not understand how this man had survived until now,  falling to the ground or jumping off houses all day long despite having no lack of arms or legs. At this time, Liu Xian’an was still immersed in the majesty of nature. He put his hands behind his back as if standing on top of the world, closing his eyes to listen to the wind and opening his eyes to see……His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

Liang Shu asked: “Why do you even get drunk slower than others?”

Liu Xian’an denied: “Not drunk.”

Then he slipped limply to the ground. Liang Shu didn’t pull him up this time, wanting to see what he would do. As a result, Second Young Master Liu lay on the ground for a while. Maybe because he felt cold or uncomfortable, he got up again and looked around in a daze, then slowly started to walk unsteadily. When he was tired from walking, he sat down on the ground with a plop and began to discuss the dao with Liang Shu.

From the state of emptiness and nothing in the universe before the creation of all things, to the various contradictions and oppositions after the creation of all things. Is existence really existence, and is nothing really nothing? Now I have something to say, but do my words have meaning?

Liang Shu tapped his head: “Call someone who can speak the human language.”

Liu Xian’an muttered, a blind man cannot tell the color of his eyebrows.

Meaning, you don’t know how to appreciate it anyway, so we have nothing to talk about.

Liang Shu said: “Then I’m leaving.”

Second Young Master Liu went to grab his sleeve. At normal times, he could always find a friend from the Three Thousand Worlds instead of Liang Shu. But now that he was somewhat drunk, the worlds were drunk with him, and had turned into a colorful halo. He honestly couldn’t grab hold of it or get in, so he had to forcefully hold onto someone – His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. He even clenched his fingers until the joints were bluish-white.

“Don’t go.”

Liang Shu was pulled by him to sit on the ground.

Liu Xian’an gave a long sigh, adopting the posture of someone preparing to give a long speech.

Liang Shu ordered: “Speak a few words that are understandable.”

Liu Xian’an nodded. Of course.

Then he said: “Daoists may not necessarily be conferred a title. There was permanence before the beginning of the world, and everyone only drew many boundaries to fight for the word “meaning.” Outside the universe, the sage exists but does not care; within the universe, the sage talks but does not discuss. The sage does not care about arguments, but the world likes to boast pridefully. Why does the prince think this is?”

Liang Shu seemed to have returned to the days when he was a child and listened to those old white-bearded men. He didn’t understand at the time how someone could speak so unlike a human, opening their mouths as if reciting a hypnotic mantra, and never thought that he would relive the nightmare now.

Liu Xian’an revealed the answer: “It is entirely because they have not seen the vastness of the dao!”

Liang Shu pressed his shoulder: “The dao asked me to take you back to your room to rest.”

After speaking, he relied on his own strength to carry the man back to the room without any explanation. A-Ning hurriedly took his young master into his hands, but Liu Xian’an still gripped half an inch of Liang Shu’s sleeve, pulling that piece of fabric loose. His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was careless and extravagant when he went out, unusually luxurious, but at this time, it seemed as if a wild cat had scratched his entire body. The fabric on his shoulders was askew, and the gold thread stitched into the cuffs was even messier.

A-Ning was embarrassed and shocked, wondering why the young master was making such a scene. He desperately wanted to break Liu Xian’an’s hand away, but with a rip, His Highness Xiao Wang’s sleeve was broken in half.

Liu Xian’an took the piece of fabric into his arms, climbed into bed, and fell asleep.

A-Ning was about to cry: “Your Highness, this……my family’s young master rarely gets drunk, so tonight he was exceedingly impolite.”

Liang Shu was also sweating from the torment. The private goods hoarded by the ninety-year-old man had more stamina than all the spirits in the northwest combined. It could be seen that an uncle was always an uncle, and should not be underestimated by younger people.

Liu Xian’an was so affected by this jug of wine that he talked nonsense for most of the night. The next morning, he had a severe headache and lay on the bed for a long time. He only recalled the phrase “go to the northwest to play.” As for what happened after and when His Royal Highness Xiao Wang left, he had no memory at all, his brain as clean as if it had been washed by water.

A-Ning stood beside the bed with a downcast face: “The young master was drunk last night, tore the prince’s clothes, put the rags into his arms, and insisted on sleeping together.”

“Wait.” Liu Xian’an turned over and sat up. “Who did I want to sleep with, the rags or the prince?”

“Of course it was the rags!” A-Ning’s eyes widened like a cat’s, and he said in shock, “Young  Master wants to sleep with the prince?”

“I don’t.” Liu Xian’an breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down again. “Dizzy.”

“If the Master of the Village finds out about this, he will use a stick to teach the young master a lesson.” A-Ning placed a wet cloth on his forehead. “The prince and Cheng-guniang are going to the Wanli Escort Bureau tomorrow. The young master should rest for a while, we also must go down the mountain today. Firstly, to bid them farewell, and secondly, the young master must apologize to the prince and pay for the clothes. Although the prince likely won’t ask for it, the proper etiquette must not be overlooked.”

Liu Xian’an ignored his nagging and took the rags out from under the pillow, looking at them for a long time. He didn’t know where this divine power had come from. His head was still humming and aching, so he didn’t try to think about it any more and just wrapped up in the blanket and fell asleep again. A-Ning sighed at his young master’s heartless appearance. Fortunately His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was easy-going, otherwise he didn’t know how last night would have ended.

Outside the window, the disciples of Baihe Medical Hall were still busy. The constant noise was heard by Second Young Master Liu, and he did not sleep soundly. If he was not at ease, it was easy to dream and encounter that pool below the waterfall. But somehow, this section of the avenue had become particularly long at the moment. Halfway through, there was still heavy fog in the surrounding area, and he stood there in the middle, becoming more and more at a loss as to which direction to go.

The more he slept, the dizzier he became.

In the afternoon, A-Ning made his family’s young master stand by the bed, forced him into a newer and better-looking robe, and combed his hair neatly. Although he didn’t bring any new clothes when he came out this time, Second Young Master Liu was fortunate to be very good-looking. As long as he was not wearing tattered and disheveled clothing, he was still pleasing enough to the eye. This was suitable enough for an apology.

The carriage moved forward briskly on the mountain road. Liu Xian’an drank the Yindan tea in the water bag and finally regained his senses, but when he woke up, he couldn’t remember what had happened the night before. He only remembered that he seemed to have discussed the dao and the way of humanity with His Royal Highness Xiao Wang for a while. Wasn’t that pretty decent? Thus, he didn’t think there was anything wrong.

A-Ning: “Oh, you prefer not to speak.”

The situation in Chixia City was quite different from when everyone first arrived. The gloomy silence had long been swept away. There was stall after stall on the sides of the street, the restaurants were frying and cooking in a lively manner, and a few little tots were playing in the streets. They discussed buying a sugar figurine for Taohua, who had already come down the mountain and was recuperating at home.

Liu Xian’an leaned on the carriage window and looked out. From the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a team galloping past in the distance on the other end of the street in the direction out of the city.

A-Ning saw: “Young Master, it seems to be the prince and the others! Uncle, can I trouble you to hurry up? Be careful not to hit the common people.”

The coachman agreed and swung his whip to urge the horses to go faster, but no matter how fast they went, it could not match the speed of those other horses. When they arrived at the city gates, even the billowing dust had dispersed.

“Second Young Master Liu?” Shi Hanhai was also standing there, and upon seeing Liu Xian’an, he hurried to meet him. 

Liu Xian’an jumped off the carriage and gazed at the official road outside the city gates: “This……”

Shi Hanhai explained: “His Highness received an urgent letter this morning. It seems there was some trouble at an escort agency, so he rushed over to investigate. Cheng-guniang asked that I tell the young master that you will meet again someday. Oh, by the way, the prince also left a team behind to escort Second Young Master Liu back to Baihe Mountain Village. He can leave at any time.”

Liu Xian’an was extremely depressed upon hearing these words. Even though he had known Liang Shu would leave soon, there was still a big difference between leaving tomorrow and leaving now. Not to mention that he was drunk last night and had no idea if in those drunken words there was a treasured word or two of farewell…..he was eighty percent sure there was not.

He turned around and boarded the carriage, saying to A-Ning: “Let’s go home today too, ba.”

Shi Hanhai wanted to persuade him to stay, but he felt that Second Young Master Liu seemed to be in a bad mood, so he wisely didn’t speak up. He only rushed back to the government office and ordered the servants to prepare the best and largest carriage. How big was it? It was said that it used to be a cart used by carpenters to pull wardrobes.

Even so, Shi-daren felt very guilty and apologized again and again, saying that it should have been bigger, but time and commodities were limited. In addition, the carpenter was still living on Dakan Mountain, so he could only clean the ready-made one well and lay down the softest mat.

A-Ning quickly said: “It doesn’t need to be so big!” This is too big!

Shi Hanhai insisted: “No, it has to be this big, this is the prince’s request. When he came here, Second Young Master Liu rode a horse all the way and had to lie down when he arrived. In addition, there are melons and fruit snacks as well as some wine, which I have already prepared. They will be delivered soon.”

Liu Xian’an, who had locked himself in a room all this time, heard these words and silently stuck his head out the window. 

Yes, look how big it is.

---

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Chapter Twenty << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Two

When Gao Lin went to the Baihe branch in Chang’an City, he didn’t know that it was poison that caused this disturbance, so he still followed the order of “controlling the plague” and directed the medical clinic to lend nearly a hundred disciples – more than the number of patients left on Dakan Mountain. All these disciples went up the mountain overnight and Second Young Master Liu immediately turned back into a lazy rice weevil, lying flat in bed and refusing to move his precious fingers any more.

He was really too tired the past few days, and now that the heavy burden on his shoulders had been lifted, the accumulated exhaustion surged up. It was as if his limbs were pressed down by a steel plate, so heavy that he couldn’t move. He rested when it was dark, and did not wake up until the next evening. His dreams were also chaotic and vague. He couldn’t pick out a complete plot, and only remembered the empty pool beneath the waterfall.

It seemed that His Royal Highness Xiao Wang did not come today.

In the dream, he thought, oh, it seems that he went to the escort bureau.

The first guest in the Three Thousand Worlds did not say hello when he arrived, and did not say goodbye when he left. Second Young Master Liu sighed slightly. Although he was used to being alone, he still felt that his incident was quite regrettable.

A gust of wind blew, and thousands of petals fluttered down from the heights. Liu Xian’an didn’t remember that there were flowering trees here. He raised his head in surprise, and was blinded by a golden light.

Liang Shu lit the oil lamp on the table, and the bedroom immediately became brighter. Liu Xian’an in the dream was also dazed and helpless in this bright light, until there was an itch at the tip of his nose: “Achoo!”

The Three Thousand Worlds became butterflies again, flapping their wings and flying in all directions. Liu Xian’an sat up wrapped in the blanket, looked at the person before him with some surprise, and first thought dazedly, didn’t the prince go to the escort bureau? But he soon realized that dreams and reality were not completely connected. In this world, the two had time to say goodbye.

Thus, his mood suddenly improved.

Liang Shu was puzzled: “What are you smiling about?”

Liu Xian’an replied solemnly, “I’m not, ah.” As he spoke, he was still wearing the pajamas he wore to sleep. They were thin and draped over his shoulders, covered in a layer of gold by the candlelight. He originally transcended worldly affairs, but when he smiled, it added a bit of warmth and liveliness.

Liang Shu stayed in the northwest all year round, where even the flowers and plants grew thicker and stronger than in other places, and everything took survival as its first priority. So he rarely noticed all the kinds of people and things that existed in the world purely for beauty, but at this moment, he felt that beauty was not without value.

Liu Xian’an said: “I didn’t smile.”

“Get up, I’ve got some good wine, it’s next door.” Liang Shu bent his fingers and tapped his head. “Ask this friend to join us.”

His Royal Highness Xiao Wang in the dream was actually not here today, but Liu Xian’an thought, I don’t have to say it. As long as I don’t say it, then His Royal Highness Xiao Wang in reality won’t know, and everyone can still pretend that the three people are having a drink.

He casually wrapped himself in a big gray robe and went to the banquet without even combing his hair neatly. Liang Shu didn’t find it impolite either, and could almost understand the other party’s world. In the book《Xiaoyao You》there was a record of an immortal whose skin was like ice and snow, slender and graceful as a maiden. They ate no food, but absorbed the wind and drank the dew, rode the white clouds and flew with dragons, and finally swam beyond the four seas. And such an immortal should not care if his own hair was neat or not.

This time it was Liu Xian’an’s turn to ask: “What is the prince smiling at?”

Liang Shu poured the wine: “When I was a child in Yueya City, I lived and ate with the disciples of Baihe Mountain Village for a period of time. There were frequent battles, and other than the soldiers, the doctors were the busiest. But no matter how busy they were, their clothing was always neat and clean, and even if it was covered in patches, there was not a single piece of extra thread in sight.”

“That is my dad’s requirement.” Liu Xian’an explained, “He often says that as a doctor, one should be clean. Clean in appearance, clean in hygiene, and clean in heart. If one is sloppy or unkempt and doesn’t even tidy oneself up, it will be difficult to gain the trust of patients at first sight.”

Liang Shu nodded: “Master Liu is correct.”

“But I am not a doctor, and I am not diagnosing the prince tonight.” Liu Xian’an picked up the wine cup. “Naturally, there is no reason not to be comfortable.

Liang Shu smiled and asked: “Are you comfortable now?”

“Comfortable.” Liu Xian’an leaned back again. Although the wine was a bit stronger, it had an endless aftertaste. There was a breeze blowing flowers outside the window, the air was fresh, and the surrounding fields were silent. It was the best summer night in his memory.

And His Royal Highness Xiao Wang, his new friend, was sitting opposite him. He was different from other friends in the Three Thousand Worlds. He did not value the dao of doing nothing. On the contrary, he seemed to have been going against the way of heaven and changing the course of events with his own power. Second Young Master Liu pondered over whether he should build a palace for him alone or open up a new world for him. One without bamboo forests, clear springs, and plain white tiled houses, but something resplendent and magnificent, just like the other party’s clothes tonight, intricately detailed and gorgeously extravagant.

Liang Shu asked: “What are you looking at?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “The prince’s clothes.”

He planned to take a second look and try to dream them up next time.

The two drank half a jug of wine. Liu Xian’an was not drunk. His drinking capacity was better than what Liang Shu had estimated, and he could at most be called a little inebriated. He was even more lazy and didn’t want to sit, so Liang Shu took him to the roof, where he could lie down and drink while watching the stars.

In Baihe Mountain Village, nobody would do this. Firstly, nobody would just casually go to his room, and secondly, they would usually just tell Second Young Master Liu to stop lying about and get up to move around.

After lying down for a while, Liu Xian’an asked: “Will it be dangerous for the prince to go to the Wanli Escort Bureau?”

Liang Shu: “It won’t.”

Liu Xian’an said: “Oh.”

No danger, no injuries. No injuries, no need for a doctor.

Liu Xian’an first felt that it should be a little dangerous to be involved in the old case of the previous court where several families were slaughtered, but soon he inwardly condemned himself. Just because he didn’t want to be separated from his new friend, he secretly hoped that the other party would be in danger. What kind of despicable villain’s idea was this?

Noticing that he hadn’t spoken in a long time, Liang Shu asked: “Are you chatting with that friend of yours?”

“……En.” Liu Xian’an came back to his senses.

Liang Shu asked again: “Is he still bathing now?”

“More or less.” Liu Xian’an sat up. “He did kill many people, but I thought he didn’t care, and the world also thought he didn’t care.”

“Then stop trying to persuade him,” Liang Shu said. “At least in that world, he should be able to wash the blood off his body. He doesn’t need to care about the eyes of the world, and doesn’t need the world to understand.”

Liu Xian’an said: “That is also good.”

“It seems that you don’t know him very well,” Liang Shu said. “Why did you become friends?”

Liu Xian’an thought for a moment: “I don’t know either. He didn’t say hello when he came, he just appeared suddenly and I couldn’t drive him away.”

Shaking his head with a smile, Liang Shu tapped the other’s forehead with the backs of his fingers: “Did you hear that? You are not welcome.”

“That’s not it.” Liu Xian’an dodged, not wanting His Royal Highness Xiao Wang in the dream to hear this sentence, otherwise, what would happen if he didn’t come again? 

Liang Shu wanted to chase the person away: “Leave quickly.”

Liu Xian’an had no choice but to cover his ears.

The two were drinking and having fun on the roof. From a distance, Lieutenant General Gao and Cheng-guniang were stunned. Of course, Lieutenant General Gao had it the worst. He had followed along secretly, wanting to see who could be worthy of the prince showing off and spreading his tail like a peacock. He even questioned his sister repeatedly, is she really a girl? Is there someone among the patients who looks like an immortal and shook the prince’s soul at a glance?

Cheng Suyue was very troubled. Among the remaining people on the mountain, the youngest woman was forty-three.

“That is also possible,” Gao Lin analyzed. “You see, the princess of Fei is young and good-looking, right? But the prince just didn’t want her, maybe he likes an older lady who still has charm.”

Cheng Suyue: “……”

You really make people speechless.

Gao Lin was puzzled at this moment: “Didn’t he say there were three people drinking?”

Cheng Suyue said: “That’s right, there are three.”

Gao Lin: “Ah?”

He rubbed his eyes and observed carefully for a long time: “Where are there three? Isn’t it just the prince and Second Young Master Liu?”

Cheng Suyue looked shocked: “There is another person, can you really not see them?”

I really can’t see them! Gao Lin was even more shocked than her!

Cheng Suyue held her brother’s shoulders with both hands: “Don’t scare me, there is another girl in red with hibiscus in her hair, sitting between the prince and Second Young Master Liu. She is quite beautiful, you……really can’t see her?”

Gao Lin gasped: “Where did this girl come from in the deep mountains and old forests, no, where did you see the girl?”

At this moment, Liang Shu and Liu Xian’an just happened to raise their wine cups and bump them into something mid-air, as if there really was a third person there with a third hand and a third glass of wine. Gao Lin’s soul almost flew away. Was this his problem, or when he left Chixia City, did something unclean entangle the other three people?

Cheng Suyue held back her laughter and patted him on the shoulder with a serious expression: “Ge, keep watching, I’m going back to sleep.”

“Why are you going to sleep?” Gao Lin grabbed her. “Tell me again carefully everything that happened in the city these days…..don’t go! Come back!”

Cheng Suyue stepped on the blades of grass, light as a bird, and disappeared into the mountains in an instant.

Gao Lin couldn’t hold his sister back, so he had to turn his head and continue to watch his prince talk to the air. He had difficulty breathing and doubted life.

Liu Xian’an said: “There seems to be movement in the front.”

“It’s A-Yue,” Liang Shu said. “Don’t worry about her.”

Liu Xian’an originally thought that he should have a drink with Cheng-guniang and Lieutenant General Gao since they were going to be separated soon, but the wine jar was already empty. Even when it was turned upside down, there was not a single drop left.

Liang Shu asked: “Are you drunk?”

Liu Xian’an replied: “I’m okay.”

“You can drink well,” said Liang Shu. “If you come to the northwest, I’ll treat you to a stronger drink.”

After speaking, he frowned: “Forget it.”

The interval between the invitation and the refusal was so short that Liu Xian’an didn’t even have time to picture the vast desert in his mind. He asked unhappily, “Why?”

Liang Shu replied: “If people from Baihe Mountain Village come to the northwest, it must be because of chaos on the border, not a good thing.”

Liu Xian’an felt that this sentence was really unreasonable: “Then why do I have to be with Baihe Mountain Village? Couldn’t I come to play alone as a guest?”

Liang Shu moved closer: “What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”

Liu Xian’an raised his voice a bit: “I said, I can visit the northwest as a guest.”

Liang Shu looked at him and smiled: “Okay, when?”

Liu Xian’an: “…….”

He didn’t think this through.

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Chapter Nineteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-One

There was a moment of silence in the hall.

When the King of Nanjiang proposed to marry the Princess to Yan Mingting in front of the main wife, everyone was a little shocked. They looked over one after another and saw these two people eating tanghulu together, not at all appearing like people of high status.

But after Zhao Yelan responded, the tanghulu in his mouth creaked as he chewed. He obviously had no expression on his face, but others felt that he was suddenly a bit hostile. However, he sat idly and said nonchalantly: “When did the Princess fall in love with Yan Mingting?”

“I heard you all proclaim that he is the most capable fighter. Only such a man can be worthy of me.” The Princess of Nanjiang stood up and looked over with pride and confidence.

“Ah, I see. Then I will break his hands and legs, and he will be paralyzed in bed for the rest of his life. Will you still like him then?” Zhao Yelan asked.

Everyone was horrified upon hearing this, and subconsciously glanced at Yan Mingting. But they saw that the other party didn’t care at all, and was even propping up his head. He looked at Zhao Yelan leisurely and didn’t forget to explain in a low voice to Li Jinyu beside him: “You don’t know, but in our family, he is the first in status, the rabbit is second, and I am third.”

“You!” The Princess wore an ugly expression. “How can you do this? Do you dare to make decisions for him without authorization?”

“Since you want to marry him, haven’t you looked into who I am?” Zhao Yelan smiled slightly.

“You are…..” The Princess of Nanjiang thought, and then hesitated. “You are Zhao Yelan?”

“That’s right. Since you know my name, you should also know how I am, right?” Zhao Yelan restrained his expression and looked around coldly. “It happens that I, Zhao Yelan, will make a definite statement here today. If anyone wants to marry their daughters or sons into the General’s Mansion, I will certainly kill them with my own hands. I have no relatives or friends, so if you really want to shed all pretense of cordiality, you will not have good results. If you don’t believe me, you can give it a try.”

Everyone’s expressions shifted. They did not expect him to dare go crazy on such an occasion.

“Don’t worry. If they dare, I will not marry anyone, and I will beat whoever comes.” Yan Mingting poured him a cup of tea.

Tsk, tsk, the General is completely under his control, ah!

Zhao Yelan turned his head and looked firmly at the person on the golden throne. He must get a positive answer from Zhao Xuan today.

And he also knew that Zhao Xuan would definitely reject this marriage. He just wanted to use him as an excuse, so he pretended to ask his opinion.

Yan Mingting had a lot of soldiers in his hands. Zhao Xuan feared him, so he ordained a marriage in order to restrain him. How could he allow the Princess of Nanjiang to marry him?

Zhao Yelan could also just take advantage of the situation to threaten the other people present, and get a promise from Zhao Xuan by the way before the situation changed unfavorably.

The last time he heard that Fu Qian’s family was discussing whether to send him into the General’s Mansion as the second wife, he knew that there was more than one person in Beijing who would set their eyes on Yan Mingting.

The rumors about Yan Mingting’s hideous appearance had long been dispelled, and as for his fate as an evil star, they could see that Zhao Yelan had been married to him for half a year. Not only was he unscathed, but his body was getting better and better, and gradually no one mentioned the matter of this evil star anymore.

Moreover, Yan Mingting’s character was apparent to all. Coupled with his status as a high-ranking and powerful person, he was simply the most ideal choice.

As time passed, it was hard to guarantee that no one would be tempted, especially those with sons and daughters who wanted to send their people into the Yan family.

“The Princess doesn’t know, but the marriage of these two people is related to state affairs. Now General Yan and Zhao-qing are deeply in love, and no one else can intervene. So even if it is me, I cannot arrange a marriage for them casually, otherwise, wouldn’t I be condemned by history?”

Zhao Xuan spoke half sincerely and half jokingly, knowing in his heart that what he said was the truth.

Seeing Zhao Yelan’s appearance of being willing to fight to the death, it could be seen that he was not bluffing. If anyone wanted to send a person to the General’s Mansion in the future, he feared that this man was capable of any crazy thing.

The princess had lost face, and said furiously: “If you have the ability, let us compare and see who is better.”

Zhao Yelan was about to speak when Yan Mingting suddenly pressed his hand and stood up. He said: “Then let me fight the princess, ba.”

“I’m talking about him,” the princess said, pointing at Zhao Yelan.

“What is the difference between him and me? We are one. Since the princess wants to loosen her muscles and bones, I will accompany you.” Yan Mingting rubbed his wrist and walked up, telling He Cuizhang without looking back, “Go get my Imperial Sword.”

There was an uproar in the hall. No one had expected that he would use the Chisa Sword, but the opponent was the Princess of Nanjiang after all, so they couldn’t’ help but speak out to stop it.

After being reminded by the King of Nanjiang, the princess knew what the Imperial Sword was. It could let someone take action without consultation or approval. Her face turned pale: “Are you a great general for naught, treating a weak woman like this? You are shameless!”

“Princess, you are being polite. How can a princess be considered a weak woman? A weak woman would not provoke a dignified fourth-rank official, let alone civil servants who are powerless.”

In a few sentences, Yan Mingting pointed out the contradiction in the dispute. The civil servants also gradually realized that the princess was so unreasonable that she wanted to casually compete with them. Wasn’t this clearly bullying?

Immediately, the crowd became angry and criticized the princess.

Seeing that the situation was not good, the King of Nanjiang quickly grabbed his daughter and smiled, trying to smooth things over: “My daughter has been stubborn and mischievous since she was a child. I hope the General and the Emperor will forgive her, and I will definitely teach her a good lesson later. Since the General is unwilling to agree to this marriage, let’s let this matter go.”

“All right. Then please don’t mind General Yan’s recklessness, King of Nanjiang. He is straightforward by nature and has no malicious intentions,” Zhao Xuan said.

The two exchanged a few courteous words with one another and then put the matter to rest.

Zhao Xuan announced the start of the banquet, and the maids filed out to serve delicacies.

Yan Mingting returned to his seat. Zhao Yelan handed over the last skewer of tanghulu, and he smiled as he leaned over to take a bite.

Musicians and dancers performed in the hall, and chatter and laughter gradually became louder as everyone mingled.

It was already xushi^[1] when the banquet ended. Yan Mingting had already explained the follow-up matters to He Cuizhang and others, so he followed Zhao Yelan back to the mansion first.

When passing Huichun Tower, and seeing that the inside and outside was heavily guarded by soldiers, Zhao Yelan asked in a low voice: “The envoys and vassal kings are staying here?”

“En, Huichen Tower cannot accept outside guests these days,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan suddenly noticed Zuo Ran’s figure in maid’s clothes, carrying food and following the Nanjiang Princess upstairs.

After returning home, he asked: “Did you arrange for Zuo Ran to gather information?”

“I really can’t hide anything from you.” Yan Mingting smiled. “There is no news about Yao Muze’s master so far, so we will have to wait. It happened that the people from Nanjiang came, so I arranged for Zuo Ran to act as a maid in the restaurant to see if she can find something out.”

“She won’t reveal herself, will she?”

“Don’t worry, ba. She said that she has been serving people since childhood, and there will be no problem being a maid.”

Zhao Yelan nodded.

After taking a bath, the two of them lay in bed, unable to fall asleep. Yan Mingting was still thinking about what had happened tonight, and couldn’t help but embrace him: “Today you really……looked gorgeous.”

Zhao Yelan sneered: “You’re rather impressive, being loved by others so easily.”

“How did I offend you, she obviously just took a fancy to my identity. Even if it was He Cuizhang who was the general today, she would certainly say she wanted to marry him,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan asked: “Then did you really intend to compete with her?”

“It depended on the situation, ba. If she was sensible, she would know that enough was enough. If she really wanted to be provocative, then I wouldn’t have minded exchanging a few moves with her.”

Zhao Yelan pondered for a moment when his body suddenly felt ticklish. The other’s hand reached into his clothes, and wherever it went, it aroused a shivering tingle.

“Do you even know how to write the word restraint?” He spoke solemnly, but couldn’t stop trembling, so he reached out with a smile on his face to push him away.

“I have restrained myself for two days.”

In order to not affect today’s banquet, Zhao Yelan had not allowed him to do anything for two whole days. After making it to tonight, the words Zhao Yelan said for him in the hall would come to mind at all times. How could he not be moved?

The heavens knew how shocked and touched he was. At that time, he wished he could drag that person into a corner to bully him, and now he had endured so long that his whole body was on fire, wanting to touch that cool skin.

The throbbing in his heart turned into action, like magma breaking through the snow. Not only was the fire not put out, but it instead slowly melted the snow into a puddle of water.

The cold wind was howling outside, but Zhao Yelan didn’t feel the cold. It was as if he was being scorched by a stove, his whole body sweating and sticky. He wanted to take a bath, but just as he moved to get up, he was caught and dragged back.

“Where are you running to?” Yan Mingting showed a rare wicked smile. Only at this time would he show Zhao Yelan a completely different Yan Mingting away from the eyes of outsiders. He would say in the daytime that he didn’t want him to suffer even a little bit, but at night he would torture him in all sorts of different ways, and would not stop until he saw his eyes redden with tears. Occasionally, he would deliberately torment him. Seeing that he was about to find release, he would refuse to allow it. Zhao Yelan had to hoarsely cry, “I want it, hurry up,” as he suffered, feeling the joy of being overwhelmed.

The wind outside was unceasing, and the rustling sound accompanied their panting breaths as they spent this cold night together.

When Zhao Yelan woke up the next day, Yan Mingting was no longer in the room. He looked at the sky outside, and it seemed that it was almost noon.

Since the substantial development with Yan Mingting, he had become a lot more self-reliant, and clothed himself so that Xiao Gao would not see the marks on his body again.

After opening the door, he was stunned by the scene outside.

It had begun to snow at some point, and there was already a layer over everything. The white, snow-capped scenery was vast and beautiful.

He walked down the steps and had just set foot on the snow when he heard Yan Mingting’s footsteps.

“You’re up? Come and eat something to pad your stomach.” Yan Mingting stretched out his hand.

Zhao Yelan took it and followed him to the front hall, where he found that He Cuizhang, Li Yucheng, Zuo Ran, Yin Pinglu, and several lieutenants had all arrived.

Upon seeing him, the group immediately greeted him with smiles.

“I have something to discuss with them, and it’s snowing outside, so I thought they could come and have lunch together,” Yan Mingting said.

Zhao Yelan nodded.

“You got up late, so there is only a bowl of noodles left. You eat some first, and lunch will be ready soon.” Yan Mingting handed him the bowl of noodles on the table.

He happened to be a little hungry, so he took two bites with his chopsticks and suddenly noticed that the others were staring at him. When he raised his head, everyone turned their eyes away and glanced around.

Zhao Yelan subconsciously thought that the traces on his body were not covered, so while he lowered his head to eat the noodles, he covertly glanced at his exposed skin. But even his neck was tightly covered by the collar of his cloak, so there was nothing unusual to be seen.

“How is it? How does it taste?” Yan Mingting turned his head to ask.

The others also looked over curiously.

“En, it’s delicious.” As soon as Zhao Yelan spoke, he saw that these people were a little excited, and asked in confusion, “What are you looking at?”

“We’re looking at you,” Li Yucheng said with a playful smile. “We haven’t seen you for a few days, and you are really more and more charming.”

“Speak like a human.” Zhao Yelan’s expression turned serious, and he looked at Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu, who were not very good at lying. “You tell me.”

Zuo Ran rubbed her hands and immediately strayed from the topic: “Pinglu, I recited a poem yesterday, do you want to hear it?”

“All right, let’s recite poetry over there.” Yin Pinglu took her to a corner.

Zhao Yelan then looked at He Cuizhang, and he immediately ran to the courtyard: “My lord, I heard that you like watching sword dances, so I’ll perform one for you.”

As soon as he kicked up some snow, Yan Mingting pulled him back: “Don’t sword dance for him.”

“Okay, okay, I won’t dance, I’ll let the General dance,” He Cuizhang said reluctantly.

The others all laughed, teasing He Cuizhang for his ignorance, and they all began quarreling and roughhousing. In the end, they had a snowball fight without knowing who started it.

Zhao Yelan took a sip of soup as they threw snowballs back and forth, walking to the front of the hall to watch. Yan Mingting stood beside him and looked at him with a smile: “Have you finished eating the noodles?”

“En.”

“Don’t you usually eat only half a bowl? Why do you have such a good appetite today?”

“Who is to blame for that?” Zhao Yelan cast a glance at him. Not to mention getting up late, today was still……

Zhao Yelan paused suddenly, realizing that he hadn’t mentioned the matter to Yan Mingting. He hesitated to speak, and when he  turned his head, he found that the other party was gazing at him the whole time.

“Fangli.”

“En?” Yan Mingting’s eyes lit up. “What is it?”

“Actually, today……” Zhao Yelan moved two steps to the side to get closer to him, hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice, “It’s my birthday. Zhao Mengting’s birthday.”

After speaking, he raised his head to look at the other party, but saw no expression of surprise or bewilderment on his face. There was only a slow, spreading smile, like a red plum blossom on a snowy night, clear and delightful.

“I know, ah,” Yan Mingting said.

“You know?” Zhao Yelan was taken aback. “How do you know?”

At this time, the group of snowball fighters suddenly turned around. All together, they threw the snowballs in their hands. They hit him and rolled down his robe to the ground.

“Zhao-daren, happy birthday! Hurrah!” Everyone shouted in unison.

“You……” Seeing them laughing non-stop, Zhao Yelan looked at the chuckling Yan Mingting and said in disbelief, “You all know?”

“Naturally. How could I not know your birthday? But I’m very happy that you finally took the initiative to mention it to me.” Yan Mingting bent down and formed a ball of snow. He handed it to him and patted his shoulder, whispering to him, “They dared to hit the birthday star. Fight back, I will help you.”

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[1] Xushi is 7pm-9pm. ⮐

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Chapter Seventy-Eight <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighty

After a while, A-Ning came out of the room and everyone present hurriedly surrounded him and asked him how Taohua was doing. 

“The prince’s method was very useful. Taohua’s pulse condition has stabilized a lot now,” A-Ning said. “If all goes well, she may be able to wake up tonight.”

“Thank goodness, thank goodness.” Auntie Hua wiped away tears of joy. “I just knew that little girl would be lucky.”

The rest of the people were also very happy. The boulder that had been pressing on their hearts for the past two days was finally lifted, and they immediately said that when they all went down the mountain this time, they must set up banquets in the city for a few days. When there was a lot of noise, Auntie Hua began to wave people away, telling them to go outside to discuss it, so as not to disturb the patient here.

Everyone dispersed, leaving only Sang Yannian standing there stupidly.

“Doctor Sang, just in time,” A-Ning said. “My young master invites you in.”

“Me?” Panicking, Sang Yannian pretended to be calm and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

“Taohua’s condition is much more stable now, can Doctor Sang take care of her for a while? My young master and I have to go see other people and Cheng-guniang and Taohua’s mother also stayed up all night. They are really tired and need to rest for a while.”

“Of course, of course I can.” Sang Yannian hurriedly nodded, then said hesitantly: “Is Taohua really waking up soon? But her pulse yesterday was extremely dangerous, and she even stopped breathing several times.”

“En, she’s about to wake up.” A-Ning was very certain. “My family’s young master said so, he can’t be wrong.”

Sang Yannian didn’t ask any more questions, and only followed him to the door. He saw Taohua’s mother talking to Cheng Suyue, and her expression looked much more relaxed than before. Liu Xian’an moved away from his seat beside the bed and said to Sang Yannian: “She doesn’t need any special care at the moment. Just keep an eye out for any further convulsions. Also, don’t let her catch cold, otherwise, I fear that all previous efforts will be wasted. These are the things to pay attention to, so I will leave it to Doctor Sang.”

“All right, Miracle Doctor Liu, go get busy,” Sang Yannian said. “I will take good care of her.”

After Liu Xian’an and A-Ning left, Cheng Suyue also supported Taohua’s mother and the two went to the next room together to rest.

The surroundings became quiet again. The windows were in disorder, with a few thick towels hung to keep out the wind. However, this also kept the light out, and only a few thin rays of sunlight penetrated through the gaps, swathing the dust that danced in the air.

Taohua was stuck in bed, looking pitifully thin and fragile. Like a butterfly in early spring, she only needed a gust of wind to irreversibly blow her life to its end.

Sang Yannian took her hand out of the bed and felt her pulse tremblingly. It was indeed more soothed and stable than yesterday, and beat more vigorously. A-Ning had not lied. Taohua was gradually improving, and it was very likely that she would awaken soon.

After she woke up, she would tell the truth, that she was poisoned and nearly died due to drinking his own medicine, and then……

A chill ran down Sang Yannian’s spine. No, he couldn’t let this happen.

There was no one else in the room besides himself.

And Liu Xian’an said just now that if Taohua was blown by the wind and filled with cold, it was very likely that her condition would be aggravated.

He looked out the window with a pale face. It happened that it was windy outside. The treetops shook, blades of grass rustled, and the clouds in the sky were also dark.

It was about to rain.

Sang Yannian stared at the unconscious Taohua, his chest heaving slightly. After a long time, he inwardly gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind. He stood abruptly and hastened to the window, lifting the cloth towel hanging on it. The wind immediately rushed in. 

“Cough.” Taohua coughed a few times after it blew on her, and then called softly, “Mother.”

The milky voice was kitten-like, and grabbed the hearts of adults like a beast’s claws. Sang Yannian’s face paled further, and he thought to himself, what am I doing? He had already harmed her once, then concealed it once, and now he really wanted to harm her a third time?

The cloth towel was put down again. Perhaps Sang Yannian himself hadn’t figured out yet why he put it down, but his hand loosened uncontrollably. He knew that he couldn’t do such a thing. It seemed that harming someone passively due to ignorance and cowardice was already the limit of his evil in this life, and he really couldn’t take a larger step into the abyss.

Taohua’s breathing gradually calmed down again.

Sang Yannian’s eyes burned. He couldn’t bear her telling the truth after waking up, but really didn’t have the courage to kill. He didn’t know whether it was cowardice or the remnants of a doctor’s conscience, but it didn’t seem to matter anymore. Between murder and imprisonment, there was actually a third choice, and that was to go far away, leave here forever, and go to the ends of the world with anonymity. Anway, he was alone, so why should he worry about staying in Chixia City?

After making up his mind, Sang Yannian ran out, but stopped when he reached the door and turned back to the table to write down the dosage of the medicine Taohua took that day. He specially circled the words “black beetle,” then folded it and stuffed it into her hand before leaving the room.

After he walked away, Cheng Suyue jumped off the roof beam and Taohua’s mother also rushed over from next door, asking hurriedly: “I saw Doctor Sang leave, is it really him?”

“You go and watch Taohua, I’ll find Second Young Master Liu.” Cheng Suyue held the prescription. “Maybe this time, she can really be saved.”

. . . . 

Sang Yannian rode his horse toward Chixia City, dust billowing all the way. The wind blew his throat dry, and his face seemed to be slashed by sand and grit, but he didn’t dare to stop for fear that someone would chase after him – after the note in Taohua’s hand was found, surely they would come after him. Thinking of this, he flicked his horse whip again and fled at a faster speed.

He rushed through the city gates, ignoring the startled eyes of the people on both sides, and scrambled back home to pack his luggage. He had just rolled up all his valuables, but when he went out, he saw that an official from the government office was already guarding the door.

Sang Yannian’s knees gave way and he sat on the ground dejectedly.

Everything is over.

This was the only thought he had left.

. . . . 

It took Liu Xian’an three days to finally save Taohua. Her parents held his hand and cried, thanking him so much that they almost knelt down to kowtow to the miracle doctor. Liang Shu entered the courtyard with a package of snacks, and came upon this touching scene. Second Young Master Liu seemed to be less than clear-headed, standing on the spot with his eyes out of focus. Overwhelmed with gratitude, the patient’s relatives held his hands and said words of thanks such as “Taohua is alive” and “Number one in the world.”

Liu Xian’an: “En, en, en. It’s true, it’s true, indeed.”

It could be said that his perfunctory methods had been brought to their extreme.

Liang Shu sent the couple away and waved his hand in front of him: “Wake up.”

Second Young Master Liu didn’t want to wake up.

Liang Shu said: “There are sugar cakes.”

He didn’t want to eat sweets either. Liu Xian’an was so sleepy that he could ignore his rumbling stomach, and just wanted to go back to sleep quickly. So His Royal Highness Xiao Wang once again experienced his ability to “step on his left foot with his right foot and fall while walking.” He grabbed the other’s collar and pulled him back before the Sleeping Immortal could fall on the ground.

Liu Xian’an shrank his neck and was about to squat on the ground like a loach and close his eyes tightly.

Others might be surprised when witnessing this scene and wonder why the noble son of Baihe Mountain Village was so persistent in wanting to sleep in the wild, but Liang Shu accepted this well. After all, in the Three Thousand Worlds, this person should lie down wherever he walked.

Liu Xian’an couldn’t remember how he got back to the room or how he got to bed. In any case, it was completely dark when he woke up, and only a thin candle was lit in the room. A-Ning was using this light to check the book list he had written just now.

“Young Master, you’re awake?” He stood and poured a cup of warm tea, bringing it to the bed. “There are sugar cakes, steamed buns, and the meal left by Auntie Hua in the kitchen. She purposely stewed a pot of old hen soup and gave it to us and Taohua, no one else.”

“You go and drink it, ba.” Liu Xian’an stretched his waist, but still hadn’t recovered from his exhaustion. “I’ll just eat snacks.”

“Okay.” A-Ning spoke again, “I have already made a list of medical books, and the money for buying the books will also be handed over to Shi-daren. But will Sang Yannian really study hard in prison? He was so incompetent even when he was innocent, and I’m afraid he will disappoint the young master’s good intentions again.”

“He won’t sit in prison for a lifetime. He’ll come out in the future.” Liu Xian’an lifted the blanket and got out of bed. “It’s up to me to send them or not, and up to him to read them or not. Didn’t he leave the prescription including the black beetle in the end? When all is said and done, he is not a heinous sinner.”

On that day, after everyone discovered that the medicine box had been tampered with, the first suspect was Sang Yannian. After all, Taohua’s family was kind to others, and the possibility of her being intentionally poisoned was unlikely, so the only possibility was that the poison was taken by mistake. Naturally, people would not casually take medicine, but what if it was taken from a doctor?

Combined with the fact that Taohua had actually been sick at the time, this inference was reasonable. Liang Shu said: “Perhaps he tried to cure the summer heat, but because of his poor medical skills, he made a bowl of poison. You might as well release the news that Taohua is about to wake up, so that the mastermind behind the scenes will take the next step for fear of his crime being exposed.”

Liu Xian’an nodded: “All right.”

Sure enough, Sang Yannian was drawn out.

A-Ning asked: “After this incident, will he continue to practice medicine in the future?”

“I don’t know.” Liu Xian’an took a bite of sugar cake. “If you are really curious, wait a few years until he is released from prison, and then send someone to the city to inquire.”

“I don’t have so much free time.” A-Ning remembered another thing. “Oh, by the way, the prince said he is leaving.”

Liu Xian’an: “Cough cough cough.”

A-Ning quickly patted his back, slow down, slow down.

“Going?” Liu Xian’an coughed until his eyes were red. “When?”

“In two days, ba,” A-Ning said. “Cheng-guniang said that Lieutenant General Gao would escort the food into the city today. He also brought many disciples from the Baihe branch in Chang’an City. After the young master explains matters on the mountain, we can go home.”

Liu Xian’an: “Oh.”

He took another absent bite of sugar cake, feeling that he had lost his appetite.

Not tasty, not sweet.

In Chixia City, Gao Lin entered the manor in a hurry, and upon opening the door, he saw his prince standing in the room with his arms spread open lazily and leisurely, surrounded by a group of servants as he tried on new clothes.

Lieutenant General Gao: “……”

Cheng Suyue stood next to him with her sword in her arms, and turned her head to explain: “My lord is going to have a drink tomorrow.”

What sort of friend was worthy of wearing such a grand outfit? Gao Lin asked: “Male or female?”

Cheng Suyue said: “I asked, and the prince said he doesn’t know.”

Gao Lin: “How can he not know if they are male or female, this is too perfunctory, ba!”

Cheng Suyue: “Then you go ask.”

While the two were talking, Shi Hanhai also entered the door with a wine jar in his arms.

His face was mournful, and he was about to cry at the sight: “Your Highness, don’t set this as a precedent, ah.”

Gao Lin was taken aback: “What is going on?”

Cheng Suyue explained in a low voice: “The prince used his power to suppress people and forced Shi-daren to blackmail a ninety-year-old alcoholic in this city. I saw it and my heart trembled. You didn’t see, the old man was really old. His beard was nearly mopping the floor, and the prince wanted to grab other people’s wine. I was afraid that he would completely faint due to anger and agitation.”

Gao Lin silently gave a thumbs up. It was wicked, but indeed something their prince could do.

The wine was strong, and one could smell a throat-piercing spicy scent through the seal. Liang Shu didn’t know how high that friend’s drinking capacity was, but thought that Liu Xian’an might be able to down three drinks.

However, they couldn’t find any better wine at this time, so they could only make do with it first. When they met again in Baihe City or Wangcheng in the future, it wouldn’t be too late to make up for it with another jar of fragrant fine wine.

---

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Chapter Eighteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty

Zhao Yelan was slightly relieved to hear that he was in the mood to joke around, and led him out of the cave, but heard him say another sentence: “Ah, I haven’t grabbed the tiger skin yet.”

“At this time, what need is there for a tiger skin?” Zhao Yelan quickly called some servants over.

“But it’s for you.” Yan Mingting turned around and was about to go back to get it.

“You wait here, I’ll get it.” Zhao Yelan ordered someone to take care of him and then turned back to get the tiger skin. He just happened to run into Zhao Xuan, who was being helped outside, and asked, “Is His Majesty injured?”

“I’m all right, I……” Before Zhao Xuan finished speaking, he watched him walk out with the tiger skin. “……”

Once they returned to the General’s Mansion, several Imperial physicians and some gifts from the palace arrived soon after. After the Imperial physician treated Yan Mingting’s wounds, he gave some instructions before leaving.

Fortunately, they were only small flesh wounds, and he would be fine after a period of recuperation.

Zhao Yelan still frowned. He changed his clothes and helped him to bed, then stared at his wounds for a long time.

“It’s okay, it’s only a little skin trauma.” Yan Mingting rubbed his head.

“Let’s rest, you’ve had a tiring day,” Zhao Yelan said.

“Okay.” Yan Mingting closed his eyes, and after a long time, he felt someone touch his arm lightly as if to test if he was asleep.

He simply pretended to be asleep.

Immediately afterward, the person next to him touched his arm repeatedly, lingering around the wound but never daring to approach it.

After a while of this, Yan Mingting couldn’t take it anymore and hugged him into his arms with his other hand: “What are you doing so sneakily?”

“You’re awake?” Zhao Yelan asked in belated surprise. “Did I wake you?”

“No, I didn’t fall asleep at all.”

“What is the matter?” Zhao Yelan touched his cheek in the dark, then pressed his fingers to the center of his brow. He found that it was smooth and was relieved. “Did today’s events scare you? Is there something on your mind?”

“This incident was not enough to scare me, but it might have scared the Emperor,” Yan Mingting said gloatingly. “He almost lost his life. Let’s see if he dares to fight a tiger next time.”

“That’s something to worry about.” Seeing that he had fallen silent, Zhao Yelan said, “You two stayed in the cave for so long, did you talk a lot?”

“En.”

“Did you talk about me?” Zhao Yelan asked tentatively.

“En.”

“Did he bring up the past with you?”

“En.”

Zhao Yelan became anxious and propped up half his body, saying: “Did he tell you about my previous visit to the brothel?”

Huh? This?

Yan Mingting took advantage of the hazy moonlight to clearly see the expression on his face, and didn’t say a word. Zhao Yelan mistakenly thought this was a silent affirmation, and took the initiative to explain: “I went to see Gu Niaoniao. I had bumped into her on the street, and only then did I know she had gone to Hongxiu House.”

At the age of sixteen, Zhao Yelan had gone out to run errands for Zhao Xuan, but ran into Gu Niaoniao, who was being dragged by the madam to buy a dress. She was lecturing her to treat the guests well, and that if she dared to show her temper, she would be stripped naked and thrown in the moat.

That was their reunion after the few years since they had left the dungeons. At first, he only thought she looked familiar. After all, the girl’s attire was very different from how she looked in the dungeon a few years ago. But upon closer inspection, those eyes were still full of hatred, the same as his, but different.

He had learned to hide the hatred in his heart, not in his eyes.

That night, he took some money and went to Hongxiu House to pick up a few girls. Among them was Gu Niaoniao. Zhao Yelan stunned the others by asking her: “Do you want to stay or run away?”

“I want to stay,” Gu Niaoniao said in a heavy voice, and rolled up her sleeves to show him some red rashes on her hands. “If I’m disobedient, the madam will poison me and make my life worse than death. There will be no scars, just some red rashes that disappear in a couple of days. I want to let her have a taste of this. Please help me.”

Zhao Yelan: “What can you do for me?”

Gu Niaoniao: “I can do anything. Money, looks, body……you can have whatever you want.”

Zhao Yelan heard a lord’s voice from upstairs, talking about court secrets to the woman in his bed, and curled his lower lip silently: “Good. I don’t need anything else, I just need you to be my ears.”

That night, Gu Niaoniao handed him the knife: “I don’t want to pick up any more customers, please do me another favor.”

Zhao Yelan was silent for a moment, then said: “Do it yourself, ba. If you can’t be cruel to yourself, what revenge can you take?”

“You’re right.” Gu Niaoniao laughed for a long time. Then, facing the mirror, she made a long, slanted slash from the top of her eyebrow. Blood flowed down, obscuring her face.

Afterwards, Zhao Xuan heard that Zhao Yelan had quarreled with a brothel girl and cut her face apart, so he hurried over to bring Zhao Yelan back and paid a large amount of money to the brothel madam and Gu Niaoniao to settle the matter.

Yan Mingting listened to his detailed explanation. After thinking it over, it was no wonder why Gu Niaoniao’ scar was a bit strange. There would be differences in the details between injuries caused at other people’s hands and those caused by your own. It was just that he hadn’t examined the woman’s face carefully, so he didn’t notice these details. While hugging Zhao Yelan tightly, he felt that just a few sentences about his past were enough to frighten people.

Noticing his silence, Zhao Yelan began to ponder again: “Could it be he spoke of something else? Did he say that I defrauded him of money? Or that I wore a red shirt and was knocked unconscious by a cow?”

Huh??

“What cow?” Yan Mingting became interested.

As soon as Zhao Yelan heard this tone, he knew that the other didn’t know, so he kept silent.

“How did it hit you? Tell me about it.” Yan Mingting couldn’t hold back, and chuckled a bit.

Zhao Yelan: “Stop talking, go to bed!”

Yan Mingting failed to learn from him how he was knocked unconscious by a cow, but he was not in a hurry to know the answer for a while. Anyway, the future would be long, and sooner or later he would learn bit by bit from him.

The lingering gloom in his heart also dissipated.

Even if Zhao Xuan grew up with him, what he had was Zhao Yelan’s present and future.

Because of his injuries, the Emperor specially spared him from going to early court, and asked Yan Mingting to fully recover before returning.

This made Yan Mingting very comfortable.

Every morning, he stayed in bed until Zhao Yelan opened his eyes, and then got up with him. After breakfast, he sent him to the Imperial Academy in a sedan chair. At dusk, he went to pick him up in a sedan chair.

And because of his inconvenient legs and feet, Zhao Yelan showed the greatest care to him. He wouldn’t get angry easily, and would chant the Diamond Sutra silently, then go to the study to calm down.

Yan Mingting lived a comfortable life, wandering around the courtyard with a walking stick all day long. Once Zhao Yelan returned home, he circled him like a puppy, asking him if he was tired from work, if his hand was sore from writing, and if his clothes were warm enough……

Usually, Zhao Yelan would answer all his questions, but if he had business to do, he would just be asked to sit farther away. If he was still disobedient, Zhao Yelan would simply give him a firm kiss and he would behave himself, thinking shyly and timidly about when he would be able to get another kiss.

After more than ten days of comfortable living, Yan Mingting felt dissatisfied again at night. He took Zhao Yelan’s hand and stretched it down: “Mengting……”

“Your leg is broken, why are you still thinking about that?” Zhao Yelan said coolly.

“It’s not broken, it’s almost healed.” Yan Mingtin arched his head flatteringly. “Mengting……”

“You can’t hurt your legs again at a critical moment, you had best lie down and recuperate.”

Yan Mingting turned over and pressed him down, saying: “In fact, my legs have recovered early. If you don’t believe me, do you want to try?”

“Of course I know your legs recovered early,” Zhao Yelan said unhappily. “Aren’t you tired of putting fake gauze on every day?”

“Ah, you saw that?” Yan Mingting smiled, and was stopped by Zhao Yelan when he started tugging on his clothes.

“Go away.” Zhao Yelan kicked him to the end of the bed. “Did you forget what you said at dinner?”

Yan Mingting’s smile froze.

A group of military lieutenants, along with Zuo Ran and Yin Pinglu, were specially invited over for dinner today. Because today was He Cuizhang’s birthday, drinks were continuously refilled during the banquet.

Yan Mingting had stared at Zhao Yelan intently, and Zhao Yelan wondered: “What are you doing?”

“I want to eat a dumpling, you feed it to me.”

“You don’t have hands, ah?”

“It hurts, and I can’t lift it up.”

Zhao Yelan looked at him silently. With a slight smile, he picked up a dumpling and stuffed it into his mouth with gritted teeth.

Yan Mingting was so proud. He raised his eyebrows at his subordinates, making everyone’s teeth sore.

“You can’t even lift your hands, and it’s even more impossible for you to lift your feet, so you should just stay there,” Zhao Yelan said.

As long as you committed evil, you would be punished, ah. Yan Mingting could only crawl back and lie down obediently.

Winter started early this year, and in the blink of an eye, the cold wind picked up and blew into people’s faces with bone-piercing pain.

When Zhao Yelan walked out of the Imperial Academy, his hair was tossed up by the wind. He gathered the collar of his cloak, walked outside, and saw Yan Mingting standing in front of the sedan chair some distance away.

The other party also noticed his figure and walked up to him in a few steps, reaching out his hands to hold his cold face.

Those palms were very warm. Zhao Yelan exhaled: “Didn’t I tell you not to come?”

He came to the Imperial Academy to pick him up and drop him off every day, and his colleagues in the courtyard laughed at him. It was fine once or twice, but if it happened too often, even if he pretended not to hear, it was inevitable that he would feel a little embarrassed.

“The weather has changed today, I was afraid you would catch a cold. I really won’t come tomorrow.”

“You said the same thing yesterday.”

Yan Mingting smiled, then glanced behind him at the approaching Ruan Xian.

“My lord left in a hurry and left something behind. I just came to give it to you.” Ruan Xian smiled in embarrassment. He felt that he had found the reason why Yan Mingting hated him. It must be because he spoiled their happy occasions!

When passing by them, Ruan Xian saw that Yan Mingting was still holding Zhao Yelan’s face. He bowed his head and pretended not to see anything, handed the book in his hands to Zhao Yelan, then turned around and ran away.

Mother, he hadn’t done such a sweet thing in his life, but now that he had learned it, he would put it to use when he went home!

Zhao Yelan sat in the sedan chair and rubbed his hands. It was much warmer inside.

Yan Mingting placed the hot water bottle prepared in advance into his hands and asked with a smile: “Why were you in such a hurry that you left things behind?”

Zhao Yelan put his hands on the hot water bottle to keep warm, but didn’t answer him.

Smiling, Yan Mingting asked: “Were you rushing out to see me?”

Zhao Yelan still didn’t say a word, just raised his eyes to glance at him lightly with a hint of hesitation. Yan Mingting’s heart swayed, and he turned his head and kissed the ends of his eyes.

The General’s Mansion was already lit up. As soon as he went to the bedroom, Zhao Yelan removed his cloak and looked at the tiger skin on the bed. It was truly unsightly.

“Can it be changed for another?” Zhao Yelan asked.

“Another won’t be as nice and warm.”

“It’s too ugly.”

“It’s warm.”

“…….”

Soon, Yan Mingting also felt that the tiger skin had to be replaced. After the two of them sweated profusely at night, some tiger hairs were stuck to their bodies. He took a bath with the man in his arms and threw the tiger skin aside, then changed the bed to a simple blanket and fell asleep with that person in his arms.

In the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month of winter, and the vassal kings and envoys all over the country came to Beijing one after another. The capital was bustling again for a while.

Yan Mingting was in charge of defense at this time. The commander of the Imperial Army had been dismissed due to his laziness and dereliction of duty in the hunting grounds last time.

On New Year’s Day, the emperor held a grand banquet and invited guests from all over the nation to share a feast. Only officials of the fourth rank and above could participate.

Xiao Gao changed Zhao Yelan’s clothes, dressing him thickly and adding an apricot-colored cloak, saying: “The General said to have my lord go over early, and he will join you soon.”

Yan Mingting had gone out to court before dawn. He was busy all afternoon and hadn’t returned.

“I understand.” Zhao Yelan was traveling toward the palace in a sedan chair, and when he heard the bustling voices outside, he raised the curtain to take a look. Some family’s lady was sitting in a carriage, grandly pulling out a few boxes of things as people around stopped to watch.

The carriage and sedan chair drew close, and it happened that the owner of that carriage lifted the curtain, revealing a haughty face.

It was the Eighth Princess of Southern Nanjiang.

Just as Zhao Yelan was about to look away, he suddenly noticed a peddler on the side of the road. He ordered Xiao Gao to go shopping, and stopped the sedan chair to wait for the princess to leave first.

After entering the palace gate, many colleagues had already arrived. Kan Chuan approached him unobtrusively and murmured in a low voice: “I saw the Princess of Nanjiang just now, did she come to make peace through marriage?”

“It is possible, just wait and see.”

“En.” Kan Chuan turned around and greeted other colleagues naturally.

Seats had been arranged in the main hall, and everyone sat according to their positions. Zhao Yelan stopped at the entrance and sought out Yan Mingting’s figure in the vast crowd. His back was turned to him as he talked with several people.

The other party seemed to sense it and looked back, smiling upon seeing him. He pointed him to a certain table and motioned for him to sit down first.

Logically speaking, as a fourth-rank official, Zhao Yelan could not sit in the front row. But this table was obviously arranged by Yan Mingting and could only seat two people, so he sat down with poise.

At the next table was the Prime Minister. Li Jinyu turned his head with a smile and spoke to him in a low voice: “I haven’t had time to thank Zhao-daren face-to-face. My son has finally become sensible these days.”

Zhao Yelan nodded: “You can rest assured and let him do it, ba. Even if he suffers a loss, he will be fine.”

“Yes, yes, yes, I protected him too well.” Li Jinyu sighed.

While the two were talking, the princess and king of Southern Nanjiang passed by them and sat down at the table in front, followed by the Mongolian Kingdom, envoys from the Western Regions, and vassals from all over the world.

Everyone had arrived, and Zhao Xuan led the Empress and Sun Muyun out.

Sun Muyun’s belly had grown a lot, and now that she had been promoted to a new position, her status was different from in the past. She could even attend this kind of event with the Emperor and Empress.

She sat down and looked around with a smile, and after spotting Zhao Yelan, she smiled sincerely with shining white teeth.

At this moment, Yan Mingting also returned and sat down beside him, ignoring the Emperor, who was greeting others. He took out a bag of peanuts from his bosom and asked quietly: “Are you hungry?”

“I’m fine.” Zhao Yelan was worried that he would not have a chance to eat at such a time, so he came here after eating some snacks. But as soon as he finished speaking, Yan Mingting handed over the shelled peanuts.

The two of them were sneaking peanuts here, and Zhao Yelan turned to see that Li Jinyu was looking at them eagerly, so he kindly gave him a handful.

Not long after, Li Jinyu’s table mate also looked over eagerly.

Zhao Yelan: “…….”

In total, Yan Mingting had hidden three bags of peanuts. He divided up two bags among the people behind and left only one bag, saying that he would not give it to anyone else.

He cracked the peanuts with skill, controlling his strength and not making a sound, but the others couldn’t. Seeing that he had already cracked his, they immediately cracked theirs.

The Emperor and the envoys of the vassal kings in front heard the sounds of peanuts being eaten, and the people who were talking stopped awkwardly.

Sitting at the top, Sun Muyun had already noticed Yan Mingting and Zhao Yelan’s small movements, and wished she could sit with them and eat peanuts. But then she felt that just looking at the two of them was very fascinating, especially watching them head to head, secretly talking and making small gestures. It was too sweet, even sweeter than the sweet soup she drank today!

Zhao Xuan coughed, and everyone seemed to have been caught in the act. They immediately stopped and looked straight ahead, remaining silent as they continued to listen to their conversation.

After Yan Mingting fed the last peanut to Zhao Yelan, he sighed. He hadn’t expected this group of people to be so useless!

Zhao Yelan tugged his sleeve at this time, and when he looked to the side, he saw Zhao Yelan staring straight ahead while he took out bright tanghulu from his sleeve and passed it to him under the table.

Yan Mingting’s eyes lit up. He took it and tore off the candy wrapper, lowering his head to bite into one. He put his right hand on the table, propped up his forehead, and covered half his face so as not to alert the Emperor. He secretly took a bite and asked Zhao Yelan with his eyes.

Zhao Yelan glanced at the golden throne and nodded, indicating that no one had noticed his movements.

Yan Mingting took another bite. It was sweet and delicious.

After eating one, he tugged Zhao Yelan’s sleeve again, motioning for him to eat one too.

Seeing his expectant eyes, Zhao Yelan lowered his head to take a bite. Yan Mingting immediately took another one, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled. They didn’t even hear Zhao Xuan call, “Yan-qing, Zhao-qing.”

Everyone looked at them one after another. Zhao Yelan was taken aback for a moment, and then looked up belatedly.

Zhao Xuan asked: “Just now, the King of Nanjiang proposed to marry the Princess to Yan-qing in order to form a good relationship. What do you think?”

“Ah, this matter……” Zhao Yelan looked over as if nothing had happened, and simply stopped pretending. First he blatantly bit the tanghulu in his mouth and then replied leisurely, “I don’t agree.”

Yan Mingting was incredibly attracted by his handsomeness and perfectly imitated his actions, chewing the tanghulu dashingly: “I also don’t agree.”

---

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Chapter Seventy-Seven <<Table of Contents >> Chapter Seventy-Nine

Taohua lay motionless on the bed. Her face was pale and her breath was like gossamer.

Her mother had already reached the mountain and was sitting next to her, wiping away tears.

Auntie Hua was also at a loss: “She looked fine this morning, but in the afternoon she seemed a little hot and lethargic. I thought it was heatstroke, so I told her to go back to sleep first, thinking that when Doctor A-Ning was free, he could take time to have a look…..ai!”

“Poison.” Liu Xian’an placed her hand back under the blanket. “What did she have to eat today?”

“A big pot of rice, everyone eats the same thing. But there was also a bag of rice cakes. Could there be a problem with the rice cakes?”

Liu Xian’an shook his head: “Many people ate them, including me. It isn’t the rice cakes or the big pot of rice. Think about it, was there anything else?”

“There really wasn’t anything else.” The other chattered, “This is just a mountain. There are no snacks to coax the little ones, and no one has the ability to find extra food. Could it be that Taohua was playing on her own and picked some poisonous fruits or mushrooms outside?”

Indeed, there was such a possibility.

Only Taohua’s mother said urgently: “My girl doesn’t have the habit of eating indiscriminately outside. She has been spoiled by her father and I. She didn’t even want to eat the fruit I brought her, and loves cleanliness, so why would she suddenly pick wild things and stuff them into her mouth?”

“But she was indeed poisoned,” Liu Xian’an said, “And very seriously.”

“Ah?” Taohua’s mother’s whole body went limp, and she almost slipped to the ground. Auntie Hua hurriedly supported her and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Liu Xian’an continued: “To cure the poison, we must first identify the poison that caused this. Otherwise, I can’t tell just based on the pulse.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Qiu Daxing called, “I will take some strong men with torches and search the mountain overnight to see what looks beautiful and edible, and bring them all back for the doctor to check. The rest will enter the mountain in batches tomorrow.”

That was all that could be done for now.

A group of concerned people stood in the room, unable to help. They were only blocking the way and adding to the confusion, so they left one after another. In the end, only Auntie Hua and A-Ning were left to care for Taohua.

Liu Xian’an went out to stop Qiu Daxing and pulled him to a secluded place to tell him separately: “Ten days at most. If she doesn’t wake up within ten days, even if she can be saved, Taohua is very likely to be paralyzed in bed for the rest of her life. Just based on the condition of her pulse, I really can’t guess what poison it is. The appearance is too common – there are at least a thousand different poisons in the world that can cause the same pulse, so it is up to you.”

“Is it so serious?” Qiu Daxing was worried upon hearing this. “Okay, everyone has watched Taohua grow up, and love her very much. We will do our best and start now.”

Liu Xian’an nodded and turned to go back, but out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark figure in the shadows. He was startled, and upon looking closely, he found that it was Sang Yannian.

“Doctor Sang?” he asked, nonplussed. “Why are you standing there without saying a word?”

“I saw that Miracle Doctor Liu was talking to someone, so I didn’t want to disturb him.” Doctor Sang walked into the light. “How is Taohua?”

“Not good,” Liu Xian’an said truthfully. “She was poisoned and is dying. Everyone guessed that she might have eaten wild fruits or mushrooms outside. Doctor Sang is a local, do you know what kinds of poison can be found in Dakan Mountain?”

“No,” Doctor Sang said, “I rarely come here.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t expect to get anything useful from him, so he casually changed the subject: “Doctor Sang said in the morning that he would learn to detoxify Gu, why didn’t he come in the afternoon?”

Sang Yannian lowered his eyes. “Oh, I was a little tired in the morning, so I went back to my room and took a nap.”

When he said this, he unknowingly clenched the hand hanging by his side. The accident happened after Taohua drank her bowl of medicine. Her limbs twitched and she foamed at the mouth, which was obviously a symptom of poisoning. Sang Yannian was frightened out of his wits. After reading her pulse for a long time, he saw that Taohua had stopped struggling and put his hand tremblingly in front of her nose, but she had already stopped breathing. He suddenly felt as if he had been struck by lightning and staggered, falling several steps toward the door and finally leaving the mess behind as he fled without hesitation.

Sang Yannian asked: “How long can Taohua last?”

“If we can’t find out what kind of poison it is, ten days at most,” Liu Xian’an said. “If we can pinpoint the poison, maybe we can save her. The longer the delay, the more damage to the organs and brain.”

Sang Yannian nodded and said nothing.

He had prepared the medicine, so he naturally knew what was in it, but it was nothing more than some common medicinal herbs to clear away heat and dispel fire. How could that be like drinking poison? Sang Yannian was anxious, and after parting with Liu Xian’an, he took advantage of everyone’s inattention and snuck into the pharmacy again after dark. According to his memory of the day, he used the weak candlelight to go through everything one by one – goldthread, bupleurum, gentian, green-red root, black beetle, liquor cane…..wait!

Sang Yannian felt that there seemed to be something wrong. When procuring medicine during the day, the black beetle seemed to have been placed not here, but in the southeast corner, so high up that ordinary people couldn’t touch it. At that time, he wondered why it was placed so far apart from the medicinal herbs that were clearly used together with gentian.

Relying on this memory, he found that cabinet from earlier in the day – ant wings, snake saliva, centipede hooks, black……black beetle?

Sang Yannian rubbed his eyes and took another, closer look. It was indeed black beetle.

Highly toxic things such as snakes, centipedes, and scorpions, were used by Liu Xian’an to dip the needles in and extract Gu. He had just heard the lecture this morning. Each time, one could only use the thinnest needle and quickly dip it in. A slightly larger amount would paralyze half of the patient’s body and cause unbearable pain.

But he treated it as a heat-clearing black beetle and let Taohua drink a full cup.

Sang Yannian was so distraught that he tidied up the things left in his hands and left the pharmacy in a hurry. He was very upset now, upset at himself for not looking a little more carefully when taking the medicine. Why did he not notice the out-of-place medicinal materials and investigate it carefully? He even regretted sitting on the side of the path in the afternoon and meeting Taohua, and prescribing her medicine.

He also considered that he could tell Liu Xian’an the truth. In this way, Taohua might be saved. He actually loved that little girl very much, not to mention that Taohua’s parents were some of the few people in Chixia City who had never quarreled with him.

But before he took two steps, another voice in his head said, it’s useless, it’s hopeless.

Even a strong adult man couldn’t handle the highly toxic black beetle, let alone a little girl. If he told the truth and Taohua still died, wouldn’t he carry this sin for the rest of his life and be cursed behind his back forever?

Sang Yannian stopped and hesitated again. After thinking for a long time, he gritted his teeth and slapped himself. He stomped his feet fiercely and crouched on the ground with his head in his arms, whimpering, but didn’t have the courage to go to Liu Xian’an in the end.

On the other side, Liang Shu had already brought some people up the mountain, firstly to maintain order there, and secondly to help search nearby.

“A-Yue will reside on the mountain these few days,” Liang Shu said. “You and A-Ning have to remove Gu for the common people, so you can’t busy yourself with this many things. It just so happens that she has been a military doctor, so she understands general medical theory, and it is more convenient for her to take care of the girl personally.”

Liu Xian’an sat at the table, rubbing his throbbing temples: “En.”

Liang Shu poured him a cup of water: “I have one more thing to confirm with you.”

“I know what the prince is worried about,” Liu Xian’an said, “but don’t be worried. Although Taohua has symptoms of fever, malaise, and vomiting, she is definitely not infected with the plague. Her illness is caused by poisoning. This is not the beginning of a new round of disaster, and has nothing to do with Chixia City. It is her own misfortune.”

Liang Shu breathed a sigh of relief: “All right.”

He added: “It’s not that I don’t have faith in you, but it concerns the common people, so of course I wanted to inquire more clearly.”

Liu Xian’an set down the empty teacup and sighed again: “I hope Qiu Daxing and the others can find the source of the poison soon.”

Outside, the whole mountain was illuminated by fire. 

There were not many people in the first half of the night, but in the second half, more and more people from the city rushed over, and everyone spontaneously formed teams to divide Dakan Mountain into search areas. In the beginning, they looked for brightly colored edible things, but then they thought, who knows what a curious little girl would put into her mouth? When they saw new kinds of grass, leaves, and wild fruits, they plucked them and took them all back to show Doctor Liu. When the table was full, they were placed on the ground; when the ground was full, they were spread out to dry in the yard. In the end, when Liu Xian’an got up the next day, he was almost blocked in and couldn’t move.

Although A-Ning could understand the kindness of the people, he still felt that there was no need to work hard to carry back the branch as tall as a person that was in front of him.

Liang Shu had also spent the night on the mountain. He looked at the messy pile of things in front of him and scolded: “What a farce!”

“They also care about Taohua.” Liu Xian’an put on gloves and rummaged through everything. 

Liang Shu said: “If the consequence of caring is causing chaos, then it is better not to care, so that people can live a more peaceful life.”

Liu Xian’an also agreed with this point of view, but now that everything had been moved over, he only looked through it all and directed Qiu Daxing to throw it out like A-Ning was doing, and finally sifted out just one bright red fruit.

“Is this it?” Liang Shu asked.

“Snakehead beads are poisonous, but they taste sour and bitter. People would normally never eat them.” Liu Xian’an picked up the red fruit. “And the toxicity is not high. Even if Taohua really ate some, it would take five or six catties to cause her current symptoms, so this cannot be it.”

Qiu Daxing watched him toss the red fruit out, and said anxiously: “There is nothing else on the mountain.”

Liu Xian’an said: “But it is really not any of these.”

The surrounding people looked at each other in blank dismay. If these were all wrong, then what exactly did Taohua eat?

Qiu Daxing probed: “Then, then shall I expand the search?”

“No need,” Liang Shu said. “A seven or eight-year-old girl couldn’t have run too far. Since nothing outside fits, that means that the thing that poisoned her is not outside.”

If not outside, then it was inside. Liu Xian’an suddenly remembered the pharmacy.

He hadn’t thought about it before because he was fully aware of what was in there. It was true that there were poisonous substances, but they were sealed and stored properly, placed high where Taohua could never reach them. And she was not stupid, how could she pick a poisonous insect for no reason and stuff it into her mouth?

But now all other possibilities had been ruled out, and only this one was left. So no matter how unbelievable it was, this must be it.

Liu Xian’an and Liang Shu went to the pharmacy together. The poisonous insects were taken out by A-Ning every day. He climbed to the top shelf with the ladder and after careful inspection, he said in shock: “Young Master, this place has really been disturbed!”

“What is missing?” Liu Xian’an asked.

“This……I can’t tell.” A-Ning was puzzled. “The medicine boxes are connected together. When one is moved, the whole three rows and five layers will be moved. And the remaining amount of medicinal materials is about the same as before. If a little bit is missing, I really can’t tell.”

Liu Xian’an could only pick out all the poisons that might cause Taohua’s symptoms. There were eight kinds in total.

Going down the list, it was impossible to filter them out or try all the antidotes for the poisons. Firstly, Taohua’s body couldn’t handle so many medicines, secondly, antidote A was very likely to be poison B, and thirdly, no one knew if she ate one kind or several kinds. No matter how clever Second Young Master Liu was, he really couldn’t guess this many answers.

A-Ning came down from the ladder: “But why was she suddenly given poison? Everyone here likes Taohua, and her parents are honest and hardworking people. They’re very popular.”

“There is no telling what is in a person’s heart.” Liu Xian’an stood by the table, looking at the pile of poisons in front of him.

Liang Shu said: “I have a solution.”

“En?” Liu Xian’an turned to look at him. “The prince has a solution?”

“Make Taohua wake up first.”

“…….”

Liu Xian’an deflated. He didn’t understand what the other party meant. Wasn’t the problem now that Taohua couldn’t wake up?

Liang Shu leaned closer to his ear and whispered a few words.

Liui Xian’an’s eyelid twitched: “Is that so?”

Liang Shu nodded: “Just so.”

Liu Xian’an said: “All right, then I’ll try this method.”

He didn’t have time for lunch, so he asked A-Ning to take the medicine box and went to Taohua’s room.

The little girl lying on the bed looked worse than yesterday, and half of the blood was gone from her face. Cheng Suyue stood up: “She convulsed twice in the middle of the night. It happened that Sang Yannian was here, so he gave her two needles and now the fever has subsided a bit.”

“Cheng-guniang worked hard all night. Go back and rest first, ba,” Liu Xian’an said. “Leave this to me. The prince just taught me a folk remedy. We’ll try and see if it works.”

Hearing this, Auntie Hua on the side cheered up and became energetic at once: “Really? It turns out that the prince also has medical skills?”

Cheng Suyue’s face said, “I don’t understand, I’m shocked.” When did my family’s prince learn folk remedies for toxins? He can even take the wrong cold medicine by mistake, can he really heal others?

“En,” Liu Xian’an said, “Let’s give it a try.”

He pushed back the others, leaving only A-Ning and Taohua’s mother, and began to give acupuncture.

Auntie Hua was a fast-talking person, and also blindly worshiped His Royal Highness Xiao Wang. She felt that since it was the prince’s recipe, it was guaranteed to work. Maybe the Imperial doctor in the palace treated the empress like this. Thus, she celebrated in advance and talked about it with everyone.

“Really?” 

“Of course it’s true.”

The common people gathered at the door of Taohua’s room one after another, craned their necks to look in the door, and dared not even breathe loudly.

After waiting for an unknown amount of time, A-Ning’s voice suddenly came from the room: “Ah, she really seems to be waking up soon!”

Sang Yannian’s face in the crowd turned pale in an instant, and he almost fell to the ground.

…….Waking up?

T/N: I know I said I wouldn’t update this story as often, but I can’t stop. Although it is by far the least popular of my translations, it is also my favorite.

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Chapter Seventeen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Nineteen

Everyone who entered the door was a guest. Although His Royal Highness Xiao Wang came here every time without an invitation, every time without clothes, every time not wanting to talk about the dao, and always wanting to drive all his friends into troubled times, Second Young Master Liu still didn’t regard him as a dangerous person. He even thought that it was okay to be like this now – because if he wasn’t bathing, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang would definitely run around with his very long sword, stirring up trouble in all directions, and maybe even beat people. So it was better to take a bath.

Liang Shu asked: “What are you laughing at?”

In any case, he could be more informal and presumptuous in a dream. Liu Xian’an sat cross-legged on the shore, propped up his head with his hands, and said: “I’m laughing at how the prince came out without any clothes.”

Liang Shu was not stumped by this answer. He held a silver cup in his hand and raised his head to drink the fine liquid: “All the flowers and trees in the Three Thousand Ways were created with your spirit. There are lofty buildings in the east where one can catch the stars and embrace the moon, and in the west, there are big ships with wings that can travel with Kun.^[1] That glass hall at the peak of Taihang Mountain is even more beautiful than the residence of Emperor Brother, and ten suns rise in the sky at the same time, illuminating everything in the world. Since Second Young Master Liu can recreate all the records in these ancient books one by one with no trouble at all, why doesn’t he want to give this lord a spare piece of clothing?”

Liu Xian’an was instantly and accurately hit in the heart.

Liang Shu looked at him with a smile. In reality, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang rarely smiled like this. There was no killing intent in this smile, no mocking or ridicule. Just a smile, as if he was completely relaxed in this beautiful world. He opened his mouth and asked: “Is there any more wine?”

Liu Xian’an stood up: “There is another jar, which I hid a long time ago.”

On the way to get the wine, he thought hard, ‘put on clothes, put on clothes.’ He thought all the way to the wine cellar, and came out with the jar in his arms, still thinking that he must put on clothes. But before he got to the waterfall, the world shook violently. 

Not good! Liu Xian’an quickened his pace, wanting to deliver the wine to Liang Shu before he awoke from the dream, but A-Ning’s strength was too great. He lay down next to his ear and shouted loudly: “Young — Master — Get — Up — La!”

The sound rushed into the dream like a typhoon and scattered all the scenery. The fragments were like thousands of butterflies, fluttering in all directions.

In the end, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang still didn’t get to drink that good wine.

A-Ning pushed him up from the bed: “It’s almost noon.”

Liu Xian’an sat on the bed with sleep-mussed hair and refused to move. After a long time, he let out a long sigh and went to fall back again, but A-Ning was on guard and held his shoulders tightly with both hands: “Young Master cannot go on a mental journey anymore, people waiting for medical treatment have already formed a long line, and everyone finished bathing half an hour ago.”

Second Young Master Liu could no longer hear the word “bathing” without his brain hurting. He sat on the edge of the bed and stepped into his soft shoes, still looking like he wasn’t awake. While staring at A-Ning bustling back and forth, he asked in a hoarse voice: “Show me that dream-interpretation book you read a while ago.”

“I didn’t bring it out, it’s at home.” A-Ning wrung out a handkerchief. “Did the young master dream?”

Second Young Master Liu asked: “If I always dream of a person bathing, what does that mean?”

“Ah?” A-Ning also felt that this dream was very strange, but there was no such thing in the dream interpretation book, so he analyzed it himself. “That may mean that the young master really wants to see them take a bath. He thinks about it every day and dreams about it every night. Who is that person bathing? Do I know them?”

Liu Xian’an replied quietly: “It’s His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.”

A-Ning’s wrists softened, and he almost dropped the basin.

Liu Xian’an asked: “I want to watch him bathe?”

“You don’t want to.” A-Ning shook his head firmly. “I will cook another pot of soothing soup for you before going to bed.” Before, Xiao Hong in the village always dreamt of ghosts, and used this soup to exorcize demons. Similarly, it should be able to exorcize His Royal Highness Xiao Wang.

After Liu Xian’an washed up, A-Ning brought breakfast, which was the red bean pastries newly delivered to the mountain. More and more people were returning home after recovery, and the reputation of Miracle Doctor Liu became better and better. Although there was nothing in Chixia City recently, everyone insisted on sending a bowl of rice or a pot of honey, and it was different every day.

“I also sent some to the person lying next door,” A-Ning said. “He looks much better today, at least he can get up.”

The person lying next door was Doctor Sang Yannian. He was truly frightened by Du Jing’s corpse, having nightmares and vomiting after eating. In the words of the people on the mountain, he was like a woman who was pregnant with a demon’s child. A-Ning didn’t want to bother with him at first, but seeing how pitiful he was later, he took the time to prescribe a few decoctions to cure his fits of panic.

Liu Xian’an didn’t understand how a doctor could be afraid of corpses, and did not want to understand. After breakfast, he went to see patients again. The common people were lined up neatly in the open space, talking, laughing, and basking in the sun. It was very orderly.

Taohua was also there. The Gu worms in her body had been removed, but because of her young age, Liu Xian’an purposely had her stay on the mountain for a while and then go down after she fully recuperated. Taohua’s parents were grateful to the miracle doctor, so they naturally had no objections to this proposal, and would take the initiative to go up the mountain to help when they had the time. The little girl dashed to and fro among the crowd, and when she was tired from running, she went to go hide in a cool room, but bumped into someone.

“Ouch!” She was knocked back.

“Be careful.” The man steadied her.

Taohua staggered before standing up straight. When she looked up, it turned out to be Doctor Sang from the city. She knew this from when she went with her father once to the shop to get medicine.

“Doctor Sang,” she took the initiative to greet, “Are you cured?”

Sang Yannian’s face turned red when the girl asked this: “Yes.” Then he lowered his voice. “Everyone knows I was sick?”

“En, we all know,” Taohua said. “Everyone is talking about it.”

“What are they……” Sang Yannian originally wanted to ask what they were saying, but knew in his heart that it would definitely not be good, so he cut short the conversation. “Go and play, I’ll go have a look.”

He tidied up his clothes before going to the open area. The people would definitely not make fun of him in plain view. Everyone knew that Sang Yannian wanted to save face. He was small-minded and prone to retaliation, so in order not to come to grief, they were all friendly: “Doctor Sang is here.”

Sang Yannian stood beside Liu Xian’an and said in a small voice: “I’m here to help.”

Liu Xian’an asked him to move a chair closer: “Just sit and watch for a while, Doctor Sang. I will explain it to you while removing the worms.”

Sang Yannian nodded repeatedly: “Okay.”

He inwardly made up his mind to save face this time.

. . . . 

At the government office at the foot of the mountain.

Taohua’s mother sent another basket of yam rice cakes made in the shape of rabbits and decorated with red dots of plum blossoms. Each of them looked very cute, and she urged the miracle doctor to eat more so as to strengthen the spleen and nourish the stomach.

After Cheng Suyue finished testing them for toxins, she was about to have someone send them up the mountain, but was cut off by His Royal Highness Xiao Wang on the way. While preparing the horse, she asked: “Why does the prince always go to Dakan Mountain recently?”

Liang Shu replied: “Because the scenery is beautiful.”

Cheng Suyue didn’t understand. It was just a bare green mountain. Although it was true that all kinds of flowers were blooming in summer, eight of ten mountains were just like this. How beautiful could the scenery be that it was worth going to see it again and again? She saw before that even Xuan Jiao recognized the path. The horse would flick its head at the fork in the road and rumble like wind and thunder around the turn without even the slightest hesitation.

It was the same this time. Cheng Suyue hadn’t yet saddled it, and the horse was stomping on the spot, shaking its head and snorting. The words “can’t wait” could be vividly interpreted as it even sprayed the girl with saliva.

Cheng Suyue patted the horse’s rump and scolded with a smile: “Shameful thing, you don’t have a wife on the mountain, so why are you in a hurry every day?”

She turned around after scolding and met the prince’s half-smile. A sudden coldness penetrated her brain and goose bumps popped up all over her body.

She didn’t speak, and didn’t dare move.

Liang Shu took the box of snacks from her hands. “Ten days’ pay will be deducted.”

“Ah?” Cheng Suyue cried, “I won’t scold it next time, okay?”

“No good.” Liang Shu mounted his horse. “This will let you improve your memory so that you can save yourself from talking nonsense later.”

“But…..” Cheng Suyue watched Xuan Jiao all the way as it left, and muttered with heartache for her ten days of pay, “But I’m not wrong.”

There was indeed no wife on that mountain, ah!

Only Second Young Master Liu’s little red horse had not been in a good mood recently, because A-Ning wanted it to lose weight and cut down on its snack food. It was chewing the tasteless hay in the stable at this time, and when it heard Xuan Jiao neighing in the distance, it didn’t even blink an eye.

Liu Xian’an also heard Xuan Jiao’s cry. He stood up and stretched, telling the people in line to go back and eat first before returning in the afternoon. He went back to the house, and sure enough, he saw a snack box on the table. After washing his hands, he opened it and saw the cute bunnies.

Liang Shu came through the door, carrying a small jug of wine with a strong aroma and a red seal.

Liu Xian’an asked: “Is there anyone in the city getting married?”

“Who would choose to get married at such a time? The restaurants can’t even seat ten tables,” Liang Shu said. “This is the wine that Shi Hanhai buried under a tree. His niece used some when she got married, and this is the rest of it.”

“It turns out to be Daughter Red,^[2] ah.” Liu Xian’an poured a small cup. “To happiness.”

Liang Shu frowned: “Why is your voice so hoarse?”

Liu Xian’an took a sip of wine: “I talked all morning. A-Ning cured Sang Yannian’s panic disorder. He offered to come and help this morning, so I let him sit aside and watch while I talked about the things that should be paid attention to when fetching Gu worms.”

“Did he understand?” 

“No,” Liu Xian’an said, “I didn’t ask, but judging from his expression, he probably didn’t understand half a sentence.”

Liang Shu internally shook his head, and poured himself a glass of wine.

After Liu Xian’an ate two or three rice cakes, his stomach was full, and he remembered the dream from last night.

Liang Shu asked: “What are you thinking about?”

“Ah?” Liu Xian’an returned to his senses with a guilty conscience. “Nothing.”

Liang Shu said: “It doesn’t look like nothing.”

Liu Xian’an said stiffly: “It’s really nothing.”

But it was something, unfortunately.

After some deliberation, he picked up another piece of rice cake and pretended to be casual, saying: “I have a friend.”

Liang Shu smiled: “Okay, you have a friend. Then what?”

“This person is always taking a bath and washes for a long time.” Liu Xian’an asked, “What does the prince think is the cause of this?”

Liang Shu looked at the wine cup in his hand: “Perhaps he feels that he carries too many sins and murderous intentions, so he wants to wash some of it off.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t expect this answer, and was stunned for a moment.

“Is that wrong?” Liang Shu looked at him. “It may be because of other reasons. After all, if a person thinks he is clean, he would not bathe all the time.”

Liu Xian’an didn’t speak again.

After a while, Liang Shu suddenly stretched out a finger and, as if knocking on a door, knocked on his head three times.

Liu Xian’an was puzzled: “What is the prince doing?”

Liang Shu said: “Tell your friend to come out and stop bathing. Some things cannot be washed off, and it will just add to their troubles. Why not have a drink with us?”

Liu Xian’an said: “How does the prince know –” He originally wanted to ask the prince how he knew that it was a friend from the dao, but after thinking about it, he had no friends in reality.

Liang Shu smiled and asked: “Has he come out yet?”

The Second Young Master Liu in the Three Thousand Ways closed his eyes, pulled His Wet Royal Highness Xiao Wang out of the pool, and made him wear a big robe.

“He’s out.”

Not only did he come out, but he was also stuffed with a small pot of Daughter Red and a sweet rabbit rice cake. The hospitality was extremely thoughtful.

Liang Shu raised his cup in the air: “Then drink to him.”

Liu Xian’an also followed suit.

The two each had a cup, as well as His Royal Highness Xiao Wang in another world. It was only that Second Young Master Liu was more tired and had to work from both ends.

The flagon was soon empty, and A-Ning reminded him from outside that the common people had lined up again.

“Go, ba.” Liang Shu stood up. “If you have time, ask your friend what kind of wine he likes to drink. Next time, I will give you a jug.”

Liu Xian’an agreed: “Okay.”

He opened the door and watched as Liang Shu left. A-Ning asked softly: “Young Master, what were you talking about with the prince? Why are you both so happy?”

“It’s nothing.” Liu Xian’an waved his hands in a posturing way. 

A-Ning said disbelievingly: “But Young Master, you are smiling like this.”

“Oh, so I am.” Liu Xian’an leaned against the door frame and thought for a moment. “It was the first time someone had a drink with my friend.” Although strictly speaking, His Royal Highness Xiao Wang was actually accompanying himself, he was unaware and was still willing to drink with them, which was something that had never happened before.

A-Ning immediately volunteered: “Then I will drink with Young Master’s friend next time.”

Liu Xian’an pinched a bit of his cheek: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

A-Ning was very wronged. Who would have thought that the sages who only existed in spirit had the same need for drink as people in reality? But having said that, the world today is getting more and more complicated, Young Master. In another ten or twenty years, there is no telling what it will turn into.

Oh, what a headache.

Liu Xian’an was in a good mood, and patted his face: “Go, keep working.”

“Ai!” A-Ning carried the medicine box on his back and urged, “Young Master, try not to talk any more in the afternoon. Listen to what your voice sounds like. No matter how detailed your explanation was, Doctor Sang couldn’t understand it. Even the common people noticed. Several people were secretly laughing at him.”

“I’ll still talk. Anyway, it’s not tiring, and only makes me a little hoarse,” Liu Xian’an said. “Wanting to learn is always a good thing.”

In the end, he went to the front yard to see, and that person had not come at all.

If he didn’t come, he didn’t come, ba. Anyway, this Doctor Sang was not very important to the people present. Liu Xian’an made himself a pot of malva nut tea and then continued to remove Gu from the common people. Taohua also brought a bag full of rice cakes to distribute to everyone. After being assigned to the last place in the line, an auntie took her into her arms: “Why do you look so weary?”

“Dizziness,” Taohua said carefully.

“Yo, I fear it is heatstroke.” The auntie wiped the fine sweat from her brow. “You listen when I tell you not to run under the sun. It’s too hot to play at noon, why not go to a shady room where it is cool?”

Taohua was embarrassed by her words: “En, I won’t do it next time.”

“Next time, next time. I know that next time you will play more wildly than anyone else.” The auntie smiled and gave her a smack. “Go back to your room and lie down. When I get to the front of the line, I will ask Doctor A-Ning to prescribe some heat-reducing medicine for you. You will be fine tomorrow.”

Taohua agreed and walked toward the house alone. By chance, she came upon Sang Yannian, who was sitting on the side of the path in a daze.

“Doctor Sang.” She asked in bafflement, “Why are you sitting on the ground?”

“It’s cool here.” Doctor Sang raised his hand and called her to his side. “Your face is so yellow, are you sick?”

“En, Auntie Hua said it is heatstroke and made me go back to sleep.”

“Then let me take a look for you,” Sang Yannian said, “This is not a serious illness, and will be cured after taking a couple of medications.”

Taohua obediently offered him her wrist.

Sang Yannian tested it for a while, and his brows furrowed. This didn’t seem like the pulse of a person with ordinary heatstroke.

He carefully distinguished and inquired about various symptoms, and almost exhausted the entirety of his life’s knowledge. Finally, he came to the conclusion that in addition to the heat, “phlegm stagnates in the lungs and restricts the qi and blood.” Greatly relieved, he let Taohua go back to the room to rest first while he went to the pharmacy to get the medicine for decoction.

While decocting the medicine, he thought indignantly, which doctor can just casually detoxify Gu poison? Don’t they all treat these common diseases seriously?

He took the medicine and personally delivered it to Taohua’s room.

Liu Xian’an and A-Ning at the front were still busy, unknowing of what was going on behind them. Auntie Hua was at the end of the line, and when it was her turn, it was nearly dark.

“Taohua has heat stroke?” Liu Xian’an took a cloth bag and said to A-Ning, “You go and take a look at her. There is only Auntie left, I’ll remove her Gu worms.”

“All right.” A-Ning removed his apron. “After that, I’ll go to the kitchen and boil a pot of water so that you can soak your hands when you come back.”

It was quiet in the backyard since people had been going down the mountain in batches and there were not many of them left. And it was dinner time now, so it was even more empty.

A-Ning knocked on the door a few times, but seeing as no one answered, he pushed it open himself: “Taohua, are you sleeping?”

There was no movement on the bed.

“Taohua?” A-Ning called again. For some reason, he suddenly felt that this dark room was a bit strange, as if something wasn’t right.

“Taohua!”

. . . .

Down the mountain, Liang Shu was shaking Shi Hanhai down for good wine.

Poor Shi-daren was about to cry. It wasn’t that the official refused to give it, but that there really wasn’t any more. Even if wine was brewed immediately on the spot, wouldn’t it have to wait a year or two?

His Royal Highness Xiao Wang said slowly: “But this lord wants to treat guests.”

Shi Hanhai had heard this sentence more than ten times, and his ears were growing calluses. He thought, then the prince might as well cook me up, ba, and see if that can entertain this distinguished guest. 

While the two were talking, Cheng Suyue suddenly rushed in.

“Your Highness, Shi-daren.” She said in a low voice, “Something has happened on the mountain.”

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[1] Kun (鲲) is a legendary giant fish that could transform into a giant bird. ⮐

[2] This type of wine was traditionally brewed and buried when a daughter was born and taken out when she got married. ⮐

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Chapter Sixteen << Table of Contents >> Chapter Eighteen