Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Both Qin Lelang and Zhang Jingsong were consumed by worry, their liver qi stagnant. After diagnosing them, Gao Zhen administered acupuncture, working until nearly sunset before departing.

On his way back, he made a detour to see Beauty Feng, also taking her pulse and performing acupuncture.

The Ninth Prince couldn't accompany Gao Zhen the entire time. There was an urgent matter with a patient in the west courtyard, and someone had to manage it. Since Gao Zhen was too preoccupied to break away, the Ninth Prince quietly handled everything himself.

Imperceptibly, the Ninth Prince had begun to support Gao Zhen in every endeavor, becoming his most steadfast pillar. It was this quiet, unwavering support that profoundly touched the deepest part of Gao Zhen's heart.

Night swallowed the cold palace, darkness clinging like a shadow. Gao Zhen hurried along the palace path, his heart filled with thoughts of one person.

He yearned to see him, with an urgent longing.

So, he scaled the wall, leaped into the west courtyard, and pushed open the door of the east room—

A lone lamp flickered like a bean, wisps of steam swirling in the dim light, blurring the figure's face.

“Your Highness?” Gao Zhen murmured.

But the figure waved to Gao Zhen and said, “A Zhen, come, keep me company while I wash my feet.”

Gao Zhen was momentarily stunned, then his lips curved into a smile. His raven-black eyelashes lowered, concealing the surge of emotion in his eyes. He knew the hot water had been specially prepared for him by the Ninth Prince. The Ninth Prince always offered just the right amount of care, never burdening him with even a hint of extra obligation.

They sat side by side on a wooden bench. The hot water in the wooden basin sent up plumes of white steam, like a drifting white veil entwining them, making the early spring night feel especially gentle.

The door of the west room was open. The Ninth Prince gripped the edges of the bench, supporting himself. He gazed out at the dense darkness, lost in thought.

Gao Zhen surreptitiously studied the scars on his face, his hands on his knees clenching unconsciously into fists.

He would heal his face. He told himself.

It had been a productive day. The hidden task progress had reached 8%, and six character cards had been unlocked. At this rate, Gao Zhen only needed to help 92 more key characters to fill the hidden task progress bar. What reward would it unlock? Gao Zhen was already anticipating it with excitement.

The rescue mission progress had also increased to 50%, indicating Mu Zhong was recovering quickly.

Once Mu Zhong fully recovered, Gao Zhen would gain another 10,000 Karma Points. The thought alone brought him joy.

However, Gao Zhen was now more curious about what would happen after completing the hidden task. After all, this task represented people and events beyond the original story. Completing it should have some impact on this world. What would happen? Gao Zhen had no idea yet. But precisely because he had no clue, he was even more eager. As the old saying goes, anything shrouded in mystery is building up to something big.

The sound of water brought Gao Zhen back to his senses. The Ninth Prince had finished washing and was now kneeling before him with a cloth. His rough hands lifted Gao Zhen’s delicate, jade-like feet. Gao Zhen felt the palms searingly hot, the warmth seeping straight into his heart.

His face flushed red the entire time, but he didn’t refuse. Only when Zhou Yunning helped him with his shoes did he stand up, feigning dizziness, and collapsed into the other’s arms.

Gao Zhen pressed his forehead against the Ninth Prince’s neck, his warm breath ghosting over the other’s collar. The corners of his mouth turned up despite himself, unable to be suppressed any longer.

His arms hung limp at his sides.

But Zhou Yunning slowly raised his hands and wrapped them around Gao Zhen’s waist.

…

For five consecutive days, Gao Zhen was on duty in the mornings. After the Ninth Prince woke from his sleep, Gao Zhen would go out for consultations in the afternoons. During these days, thanks to the efforts of Zhang, the Palace Examiner, Qin Lelang, and Beauty Feng, news of Gao Zhen’s free clinic in the cold palace spread like wildfire. Many people in the cold palace actively sought him out for treatment. As it happened, three more character cards for the hidden task were unlocked, and the progress reached 11%.

Wei Ling was the legitimate son of Wei Changzhi, the Taishou of Qizhou from Donghai. He had been named a secondary consort when Zhou Yundu was crown prince but was framed, falling out of favor due to conflicts with the deposed empress, eventually being imprisoned in the cold palace.

Xu Yuezhi was the second daughter of the Duke of Baoguo. In her teens, she became a fifth-rank Rongyuan for the previous emperor. Unfortunately, shortly after entering the palace, the Duke of Baoguo was implicated in the case involving sorcerers and exiled. Xu Yuezhi was also imprisoned in the cold palace, where she had been for twenty years.

If asked who left the deepest impression on Gao Zhen during these two days of free clinics, it would undoubtedly be Wu Haiqiong. When he arrived, he hesitated at the doorway for a long time before daring to enter. He stood before Gao Zhen, not daring to sit, and despite the cold weather, half of his pant leg was soaked.

Gao Zhen was startled at first, thinking it was blood.

But Wu Haiqiong blushed and said, “It’s not.” Then, he extended his wrist to Gao Zhen and said, “The moment you take my pulse, you’ll know.”

Gao Zhen was shocked by his pulse—deep, thin, and soft, almost imperceptible unless one had sensitive fingertips. It was a classic case of kidney qi leakage, typically accompanied by symptoms like emission, leakage, or incontinence.

However, although this male consort’s trousers were soaked, there was no odor, ruling out urinary incontinence. That left only obstetric diseases unique to male consorts.

“Have you… had a miscarriage?” Gao Zhen asked.

Wu Haiqiong nodded sadly and asked cautiously, “Can I still be cured?”

“First, tell me the cause.”

Wu Haiqiong mumbled listlessly, “Last year, I accidentally ate pastries sent by the empress—no, the deposed empress.”

Gao Zhen: …

He suddenly felt the current emperor was a truly world-class scumbag. The prince was gone, but punishing the culprit wasn’t enough—why implicate innocent victims? He couldn’t understand it, so he asked Wu Haiqiong, “Weren’t you a victim? Why did he imprison you in the cold palace too?”

“His Majesty blamed me for being gluttonous and causing trouble, saying the prince’s loss was all because I was too greedy. Moreover, Physician Liu said my illness was incurable, and the emperor found me filthy and a disgrace to the royal family, so he discarded me.” Wu Haiqiong spoke lightly, without showing any trace of sadness. It was clear he had a resilient heart.

Gao Zhen wasn’t sure if he even needed comfort, but in the end, he patted his shoulder and said, “It’s alright. I’m better than Physician Liu. I can cure your illness. But don’t tell anyone else. If it reaches Physician Liu’s ears, he might cause trouble for you.”

“I understand.”

…

For several days, Gao Zhen left early and returned late, busy to the point of barely touching the ground. In the Ninth Prince’s words, he left every day full of energy but returned like a pitiful soul drained by a demon. If the Ninth Prince hadn’t held him tightly, he felt Gao Zhen might collapse at any moment.

Gao Zhen leaned against him, his eyelids heavy with sleep, but he still mumbled, “It’s not that exaggerated… I’m really capable…”

Unfortunately, before he could finish, he hummed softly and fell asleep.

The Ninth Prince could only sigh helplessly. He couldn’t just discard him, so he had to indulge him.

During these days, Gao Zhen was indeed busy outside all the time. He knew his freedom was entirely thanks to the Ninth Prince’s indulgence and pampering. If it were someone else, they probably wouldn’t allow him to fuss around day and night like this.

Of course, effort always brings reward. Gao Zhen’s free clinics for the people in the cold palace earned him their respect.

Now, no matter where Gao Zhen went in the cold palace or whom he met, whether he knew them or not, everyone would affectionately call him ‘Little Dr. Gao’. This made Gao Zhen very pleased.

However, after all these busy days, characters 5 and 6 on the character cards still hadn’t appeared. Gao Zhen suspected character 6 was likely Consort Ning, so he decided to set that aside for now and focus on character 5.

Character 5 was remarkably patient. Despite Gao Zhen’s high-profile free clinics in the cold palace all these days, this person hadn’t even shown a hint of interest. This made Gao Zhen wonder, especially since the prompt clearly stated he was covered in sores and very ill. Unless he had no will to live, Gao Zhen couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t seek treatment.

Could he be too ill to move, ready to give up?!

At this thought, Gao Zhen couldn’t even sit still. Since Qin Lelang was nearby, he asked, “I heard there’s a former crown prince attendant in the cold palace who has festering sores. Why hasn’t he come for treatment?”

“Are you talking about Qi Shangren?” Qin Lelang sighed, clearly knowing the inside story. He sat down beside Gao Zhen and said, “Qi Shangren has suffered the most.”

“How so?”

“Alas,” Qin Lelang sighed again. “Actually, back then, he wasn’t just an attendant to the crown prince. He grew up in the East Palace alongside the crown prince. As a male consort, his bond with the crown prince wasn’t ordinary master-servant relations. Back then, everyone who saw him said he would surely be betrothed to the crown prince. But unexpectedly, the previous emperor took him and even granted him the title of Shangren. From then on, he grew self-loathing and resentful of the world. You could say his illness was self-inflicted, just to avoid being favored by the previous emperor. Somehow, the previous emperor found out and banished him to the cold palace, never inquiring about him again.”

Gao Zhen was silent for a long time after hearing this. He felt this royal secret was no less than a bowl of melodrama splashed in his face. Moreover, the last two emperors of Great Zhou were truly inhuman, each worse than the other.

“Can you take me to see him?” Gao Zhen asked.

"Of course," Qin Lelang smiled. "But he has deep emotional baggage. Even if we go, he may not be willing to accept treatment."

"Why wouldn’t he want treatment? The people he cared about are gone, the dangers have passed—he should cut himself some slack." As Gao Zhen spoke, he followed Qin Lelang out.

The two arrived at the entrance of a run-down compound. Qin Lelang called out twice but received no response, so he led Gao Zhen straight in. As they approached the door, a foul stench hit them. They paused briefly. Qin Lelang took out a handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth, then asked Gao Zhen, "Do you have one?"

"Yes." Gao Zhen took out a smoke-gray handkerchief and covered his face with it. The faint scent of the Ninth Prince still lingered on it—indeed, it was given to him by the Ninth Prince.

With their faces covered, Qin Lelang pushed open the door. The room was completely dark; despite it being broad daylight, not a single ray of sunlight entered. The windows were boarded up with planks, and the stench was suffocating.

This environment was unfit for human habitation—Gao Zhen didn’t want to stay even a second longer. He couldn’t imagine how anyone could live in such a place for years without developing mental health problems.

"Who let you in?"

The voice came from behind the bed curtains, filled with anger yet strained and weak.

Qin Lelang quickly replied, "Qi Shangren, it’s me. I came to see how you're doing. I called out several times, but you didn’t answer. I was worried something had happened, so I came in."

"Now that you know I’m fine, you can leave."

"Is that any way to talk?" Gao Zhen couldn’t hold back. "He came here out of concern. Even if you don’t thank him, there’s no need to kick him out."

"Who are you?"

"I’m here to treat your illness," Gao Zhen said matter-of-factly.

"Who sent you?"

Gao Zhen heard the tension and hope in the speaker’s voice. He sighed inwardly and said, "Don’t overthink it. No one sent me. I came on my own."