Chapter 9 Forced Medicine

Chapter 9: The Medicine

After Jiang Yanzhou and Xiao Yunlang left the Hall of Luminous Glory, the Prince of Jin had not yet departed.

The emperor rose from behind his desk, pacing back and forth, each step seething with fury.

The Prince of Jin held his tongue for a long moment: "Your Majes—"

*Slap!*

In his towering rage, Emperor Yonghe backhanded the Prince of Jin across the face.

Because of what happened to the late emperor, he detested anyone who dared interfere with his personal eunuchs. If it weren't for the Jiang family's recent prominence, and the fact that suppressing the Prince of Jin and the Wei family would only further inflate the Jiang family's influence, the emperor would never have let today's incident slide!

"You disgraceful, useless son! What were you trying to do, huh? You just had to go after Jiang Yanzhou now, of all times? That aside, you couldn't even succeed, and instead made a mess of it, letting others turn the tables on you. What use are you!"

The slap snapped the Prince's head to the side. He licked his teeth, turned his face back, and even smiled: "I was also trying to ease Your Majesty's worries, to get some leverage on the Jiang family. You saw what Jiang Yanzhou looks like yourself. Even those who don't prefer men might have their head turned upon seeing him. What if our Crown Prince truly becomes bewitched by him and defects to the Jiang family?"

The emperor was worried, of course, but it wasn't for this Wei-aligned prince to say so. Could the emperor not know? The Prince of Jin's words were nothing but provocation and sowing discord.

Couldn't he have any ambition beyond these petty, underhanded tricks!

The emperor, furious, shouted: "Out! Get out of my sight!"

But the Prince of Jin didn't want to leave: "The Spring Examinations..."

"Get out—!"

The emperor shattered a teacup, and the Prince of Jin was driven out of the Hall of Luminous Glory. The eunuchs bowed their heads and closed the door.

He touched his swollen cheek, wincing, then turned and stormed off, his sleeves whipping behind him.

The emperor didn't like him, nor did he like the Crown Prince. Yet now, only the two of them participated in governance. The other princes of suitable age were all useless. Looking at the younger ones, there was only one infant still in swaddling clothes.

What, did His Majesty truly believe he could live for a thousand years, wait for that infant to grow up, and pass the throne to him?

What a pipe dream.

Eunuchs came and went in the courtyard, removing the flogging bench, bringing water to splash on the ground, washing away the bloodstains. The Prince of Jin tucked his hands into his sleeves and deliberately stepped through a puddle as he walked out.

Feeling the still-stinging slap on his cheek, he thought: The Jiang family is formidable—Chancellor Jiang, Vice Minister Jiang, and now a Crown Princess Consort added to their ranks. Every last one of them is a handful.

In contrast, the Wei family currently relies mainly on the older generation to hold things up. Among the younger generation, few have any real promise...

Wait, that's not entirely true.

The Prince of Jin narrowed his eyes. There was still one capable of shouldering the responsibility—

Wei Wuyou.

*

Jiang Yanzhou fell ill before even returning to the residence.

Watching him, Xiao Yunlang truly witnessed what it meant for illness to strike like a collapsing mountain.

At first, it was still manageable. Although he was burning with fever and disoriented, he could still open his eyes and sit up to be fed.

But very quickly, his vitality seemed to drain away rapidly. He threw up anything they tried to feed him, expelling all the food.

Later, with nothing left to vomit, he completely lost consciousness. Yet even in his coma, he was restless. His fine, dark brows were knitted tightly, and he struggled as if plagued by nightmares.

All the physicians in the residence were summoned. After a round of diagnosis and treatment, they all felt his condition was critical, but could only prescribe medicine with extreme caution.

Because Jiang Yanzhou's constitution was too weak. If strong, harsh medicine were administered, it was hard to say whether it would cure the illness or hasten his death.

The imperial physician wiped his sweat: "The Crown Princess Consort must not be left alone tonight. We must bring the fever down quickly. The fever is too severe. If it burns like this all night, I'm afraid he won't pull through."

Feng Lan's heart pounded with fear. A perfectly fine person went to the palace and returned in this state. The imperial physician's words clearly indicated he wasn't confident.

Xiao Yunlang had been grim-faced since returning from the palace. Hearing this, he remained silent for a long moment before saying, "...Go to the study and bring all the official documents over. I will handle affairs here in the Swallow's Return Pavilion tonight."

Feng Lan snapped back to attention and hurriedly said, "Your Highness, with us guarding here, how could we let Your Highness exhaust yourself?"

But Xiao Yunlang raised a hand, signaling him to say no more. Feng Yi, however, immediately turned and went to fetch the documents.

Xiao Yunlang looked at the section of Jiang Yanzhou's arm resting on the bedside—frail and pale. A physician was using silver needles to stimulate acupoints.

The acupuncture was to rouse his spirit, so the needles were placed in painful spots. Yet Jiang Yanzhou only trembled, unable to regain consciousness no matter what.

Xiao Yunlang gazed at him heavily. A sentence echoed incessantly in his ears from beginning to end.

Jiang Yanzhou had asked if he had caused trouble.

Why would he think that?

Earlier in the palace, after Jiang Yanzhou changed clothes in the side hall and before facing the emperor, he had recounted everything that happened at the Jade Flower Terrace to Xiao Yunlang in detail.

Of course, he omitted the part where he had actually wanted to drag the Prince of Jin to his death in the water.

Faced with the Prince of Jin's sudden trap, Jiang Yanzhou's response could be described as flawless and exceptionally clever. Anyone hearing it would probably praise his adaptability.

At first glance, the matter seemed perfectly handled—except that he had completely disregarded his own health.

An ordinary person jumping into water shortly after a snowmelt would catch a severe chill, let alone Jiang Yanzhou, who was no ordinary person. Children of five or six had sturdier constitutions than him. For him to soak in water was equivalent to losing half his life.

This life-risking approach would make anyone think Jiang Yanzhou was trying to gain something for himself in front of the emperor. Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth it!

Yet from start to finish, the only one who benefited was Xiao Yunlang.

Jiang Yanzhou risked half his life just to help Xiao Yunlang.

...Why?

Was it worth it?

The man was lying there, barely breathing in and out, and he still thought he had caused trouble?

How could there be such a person in this world—

Xiao Yunlang's lips were pressed into a line as sharp as a blade. He looked at the unconscious Jiang Yanzhou, thought of many words, but in the end rejected them one by one, leaving only two:

Idiot!

Not even a "bitter flesh scheme" is played like this!

Since ancient times, conspirators willing to resort to a "bitter flesh scheme" had clear objectives and would never truly place themselves in a life-threatening situation. They wouldn't be like Jiang Yanzhou, leaving their own safety in others' hands.

When Xiao Yunlang caught Jiang Yanzhou as he fainted and fell into his arms in the sedan chair, he really wanted to crack open his skull to see what he was thinking.

Now, it was Xiao Yunlang who was full of questions he wanted to ask Jiang Yanzhou.

So then...

Xiao Yunlang stared at Jiang Yanzhou's face, his breathing as faint as a thread, and thought, you'd better not die.

"Go and prepare some ginseng soup, use the one the Emperor bestowed today," Xiao Yunlang instructed. "All medicinal herbs in the residence are available for use. If any are missing, buy them from outside immediately. I ask that the physicians do their utmost."

Although Xiao Yunlang said 'I must trouble you,' the physicians knew it actually meant 'must.' Everyone agreed that Jiang Yanzhou must not die now.

If he truly couldn't be cured, from the Emperor to the Crown Prince to the Jiang family... the physicians' backs were drenched with cold sweat.

In the room, medicine apprentices and servants came and went, hardly daring to breathe.

Feng Yi quickly brought over all the official documents.

The charcoal braziers in the room were cleared out, and the underfloor heating used in winter was fired up again. However, this only made the smell of medicine even worse. Xiao Yunlang ordered all incense to be extinguished to avoid interfering with the medicine's efficacy. He endured the bitter smell and the oppressive heat while attending to official business in the outer chamber.

He took his meals in the outer chamber too, eating little, occasionally putting down the documents to listen for any movement from the inner chamber.

Jiang Yanzhou's fever seemed to be fluctuating.

But even a brief drop in his temperature gave the physicians a glimmer of hope.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats, from day to night. When night fell and a cool breeze sprang up, the windows of the Crown Princess's bedchamber were tightly shut, for fear of letting in even a draft.

The physicians knew tonight would be the hardest to endure, and no one dared to be careless.

Feng Yi trimmed the lamp's wick for Xiao Yunlang. Xiao Yunlang gulped down strong tea to keep himself alert, rubbed his temples, agitated.

He said nothing, but in truth, he could hardly focus on anything anymore.

This was very rare for him.

It had been some time since an attendant last brought in hot water, and there had been no movement since.

After a while, Liu Hexuan requested an audience.

This advisor was still up late at night, naturally on account of important business.

"Commissioner Sui has arrived in Shuntao County. He discovered that a merchant caravan passed through Shuntao County some time ago, but its final whereabouts are unknown. Tracing the clues, the Commissioner suspects the County Magistrate may have hidden the caravan."

Xiao Yunlang: "What kind of person is the County Magistrate?"

Liu Hexuan understood; Xiao Yunlang wasn't asking for a name. He replied: "Entered official service in the third year of Yonghe, a protégé of the Jiang family."

Xiao Yunlang understood.

If the Shuntao County Magistrate was also colluding with the Jiang and Shangguan families, having the merchant caravan meant having manpower to transport the grain.

They indeed had everything ready, only lacking the east wind.

"The disaster relief team may arrive in Shuntao County today or tomorrow. If they really intend to act, word should reach us soon."

Speaking of this, they had to mention the one who contributed most to this. Liu Hexuan paused briefly before saying softly: "How is Young Master Jiang?"

Just as Xiao Yunlang was about to speak, a cry of alarm suddenly came from the inner chamber, followed by a series of heart-wrenching, violent coughs.

The coughing came fiercely, could be heard clearly both inside the room and out, continuous and resonant, yet it sounded as if it could stop at any moment, sending a jolt of fear through anyone who heard it.

Xiao Yunlang abruptly stood up.

A moment later, the unsettling coughing subsided, and a physician stumbled out from the inner chamber.

He truly stumbled out, and immediately threw himself to the ground in a prostration. Liu Hexuan was shocked into silence by the scene.

"Y-Your Highness, although the Crown Princess's fever has been fluctuating, it seemed to be improving each time. But just now, the Crown Princess suddenly developed a severe high fever again. Acupuncture is no longer effective. The medicine taken earlier and the medicine just fed have all been vomited out. If medicine cannot be administered again... I fear we are at our wits' end!"

With a *thud*, the physician kowtowed heavily on the ground.

The physician was an old imperial doctor with excellent medical skills. If he said this, it meant several physicians had no solution.

Xiao Yunlang strode abruptly forward, lifting the curtain and entering the inner chamber.

In the room, Jiang Yanzhou's chest rose and fell. He had stopped coughing, only breathing in broken gasps. The medicine boy was so frightened he was on the verge of tears, tentatively trying to feed another small sip of medicine. But as soon as it touched his lips before he could swallow, Jiang Yanzhou vomited instead.

After vomiting, he was already at death's door.

A few more rounds of vomiting, and his intermittent breath might never come back up.

Feeding the medicine was torturing him, hastening his death. But not feeding it meant the Crown Princess could only wait to die.

The medicine boy held the bowl, utterly bewildered.

Seeing Xiao Yunlang enter, all the physicians immediately prepared to kneel, but Xiao Yunlang stopped them: "If the medicine can be taken, is there still a chance?"

A physician immediately replied: "Yes, if he can drink it and not vomit again, he will definitely improve!"

The difficulty lay precisely in that. The sick person couldn't control their bodily reactions. Today, Jiang Yanzhou had vomited countless times; his throat and stomach could no longer withstand the irritation. If he could regain a bit of consciousness and endure it, there might still be a chance.

But Jiang Yanzhou's eyes were half-open, his pupils unfocused, reflecting no light. They had exhausted all methods but failed to make him more alert.

They truly had no more options.

If the Young Miracle Doctor were still in the residence, the situation might be different. Unfortunately, he had been away during this period, and Jiang Yanzhou had fallen ill repeatedly.

Then one could only say Jiang Yanzhou's fate was not good.

Fate was not good.

Xiao Yunlang hated these three words the most.

He lifted his robe and sat down on the edge of the bed. Disregarding the filth, he raised his hand to support Jiang Yanzhou's limp head.

"Give me the medicine. I'll do it."

Jiang Yanzhou's eyes were half-closed, unconscious. His snow-white neck was soft, his jet-black hair cascading like a waterfall. Xiao Yunlang pressed the medicine bowl against his pale lips and called: "Jiang Yanzhou."

"Whether you hate the Jiang family for marrying you off and want revenge, or you want to find a way out in this chaos and seize power for yourself, you've only just begun. Are you willing to die like this, huh?"

Willing?

Jiang Yanzhou... truly had nothing he was unwilling about.

He was in a daze, feeling pain everywhere. It hurt so much he felt extremely uncomfortable. He wanted to cry out in pain, but what he wanted most was simply to sleep. He was so tired. Let him sleep. Once asleep, he would know nothing.

And wouldn't feel pain anymore.

But he just couldn't sleep.

Every so often, bitter liquid would be poured into his mouth. It was too bitter. His stomach and throat screamed in rejection. Jiang Yanzhou heard chaotic noises in his head. He didn't know they were his own vomiting sounds; he only knew he could find no peace.

Tears welled up in the corners of Jiang Yanzhou's eyes, his vision blurred, and he had no strength left at all.

The noise in his ears seemed to quiet down for a moment.

Jiang Yanzhou instinctively wanted to hide, his drifting consciousness murmured: Just let me be...

The clamor returned. His vision went dark, a bobbing up and down sensation as if he were soaking in a pool of pitch-black water, heavy and viscous, dragging him downward.

The sounds in his ears were completely indistinct, yet they clung on relentlessly, refusing to go away, determined to disturb his peace, stubbornly keeping him from sleep.

Jiang Yanzhou didn't want to bother with it.

But an assault of bitterness, along with something forcefully clamping his chin and squeezing his lips, forced him to hear a few blurred words before he could sink completely.

...Are... you... content?

The voice repeated over and over, less like an accusation and more like a probing inquiry and a vehement shout.

Jiang Yanzhou couldn't help but drift along with these words: Though I was born unlucky, I've done my best to live each day. I have no grand ambitions, no expectations—so there's nothing to feel unwilling about. As for after crossing over...

Suddenly, a tremor ran through Jiang Yanzhou's entire being; his drifting thoughts froze for an instant—

Oh right, I've crossed over.

I've arrived in Daqi and even met Xiao Yunlang.

Xiao Yunlang, entering the palace, the Prince of Jin, falling into the water... Did I... maybe cause trouble for Xiao Yunlang?

Jiang Yanzhou, who had only wanted to sleep, abruptly grew frantic.

Did I really cause trouble for him or not?

After floating in the heavy, dark water for what felt like ages, he finally couldn't help but struggle. Yet his limbs were weak, unable to break free, and his vision remained pitch black, seeing nothing.

No, he had to at least ask, to ask for clarity!

Jiang Yanzhou...

Jiang Yanzhou!

A voice!

Was that... cough... was that Xiao Yunlang calling him?

Jiang Yanzhou felt like there was a faint glimmer of light within the chaotic fog shrouding his vision.

"Jiang Yanzhou, open your mouth!"

His mind was still hazy, but realizing it might be Xiao Yunlang, he unconsciously parted his lips. With that movement, a bitter liquid immediately flooded in.

Jiang Yanzhou's throat ached, the pain threatening to make him vomit again, but his mouth was forcibly closed once more.

Xiao Yunlang gripped Jiang Yanzhou's chin, tilting it upward to arch his neck, sealing his lips shut, and commanded loudly, "Don't vomit! Swallow it! Don't vomit!"

Jiang Yanzhou let out a low whimper, the corners of his eyes flushed red. A few tears of physical distress trickled down from the corners of his eyes. His pale throat moved slightly as he swallowed the mouthful of medicine with immense difficulty.

Xiao Yunlang held his chin firmly, not daring to let go. Everyone held their breath, watching intently, not even daring to exhale loudly.

After a moment, Xiao Yunlang cautiously, ever so slightly, loosened his grip.

Jiang Yanzhou's head drooped weakly, his breathing still faint, but leaning against Xiao Yunlang's embrace, he truly didn't vomit again.

The young medicine apprentice, witnessing this, was so moved he nearly burst into tears. The physician, equally exhilarated, trembled with excitement, his beard quivering. "It went down! It's working, it can still work!"

Xiao Yunlang felt that even on the battlefield, navigating through mountains of blades and seas of fire, he had never been so on edge or so exhausted.

He released his grip, closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and upon opening them, ordered to the side, "Give me the medicine! Again!"

Once more, he used his fingers to part Jiang Yanzhou's lips.

Don't die, Jiang Yanzhou.