Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lu Wuyou had been home for only a moment when the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, Quan Meng, hurried over to visit—though "hurried" was relative, as he arrived at the gate in a rush, only to dawdle and knock hesitantly.

Lu Wuyou saw it all. He was sitting on the rooftop, holding a jug of "Spring Drunk in the Borderlands" brought back from the frontier.

Seeing Quan Meng standing at the door, sweating and sighing in frustration, Lu Wuyou finally spoke up with a laugh, "Brother Wenting, how is it that you've lost your way right at my doorstep?"

Quan Meng startled at the sudden sound. Looking up, he caught sight of one of Lu Wuyou's legs and blurted out, "His Majesty had prepared plenty of medicine for your leg back then!"

Lu Wuyou was stunned for a moment, then leaped down from the roof. He stood upright, narrowing his eyes slightly at Quan Meng. "My leg was injured in the twelfth month of the first year of Fang Dynasty... To avoid affecting morale, I forbade any military officer from revealing this, and I also forbade any mention of it in the battle reports sent back to the capital. How did Fang Zhihe find out?"

Quan Meng was taken aback, then suddenly wiped the cold sweat from his brow. The chilly wind made him seem almost unsteady as he carefully said, "His Majesty was busy at the time, spending every day in the Imperial Study with the newborn Crown Prince. He had no time to know much. It was Lord Qi."

He paused, glanced at Lu Wuyou's expression, and continued, "Lord Qi suddenly appeared at His Majesty's side. Everyone was naturally uneasy about an extra person in the palace, but His Majesty said he was a divine physician from the frontier frontlines..."

Lu Wuyou frowned. "I never heard of such a man in the army."

Quan Meng sighed softly. "Lord Qi said that General Lu had injured his leg in battle and that conditions there were poor. He asked His Majesty to grant you some medicine... and so His Majesty found out."

Lu Wuyou glanced thoughtfully at Quan Meng's hand, which was slightly curled, betraying his nervousness.

Moreover, the logic was flawed. Fang Zhihe was someone used to scheming—how could he so easily trust a divine physician from nowhere? It sounded absurd.

Lu Wuyou didn't voice his thoughts. Instead, he said with a smile, "So His Majesty was gracious to me after all. Brother Wenting, do you have something important today?"

His tone was perfunctory, but he was used to being perfunctory with the emperor, and even the rule-abiding Minister of Judicial Review didn't seem to mind.

Quan Meng merely bowed slightly and said in a low voice, "I beg Lord Lu not to provoke His Majesty anymore."

Lu Wuyou raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Quan Meng lowered his eyes. "His Majesty's meaning in court was that those who commit evil deeds in his name to bully others need to be punished—it’s not what Lord Lu interpreted it as... From ancient times, robbing the rich to help the poor has been sung by scholars as a virtue. How could that be right? It's absurd."

Lu Wuyou lifted his eyelids and said flatly, "Isn't it a blessing for a wealthy person who does evil to share some of his fortune to help the poor?"

"...Not all wealthy people do evil. Those who were robbed this time were honest merchants who have worked hard for years. His Majesty had already sent me and the Vice Minister of Justice to investigate privately." Quan Meng blinked in distress and said helplessly, "His Majesty knows exactly who deserves punishment and who is poor and suffering. Since he ascended the throne, he has reduced taxes every year, provided good land to the people, and set up relief bureaus in prefectures to aid orphans and the homeless. There are countless such measures! Why do you have to anger him? To accuse him of not loving the people?"

The air grew stagnant. After a long silence, Lu Wuyou chuckled. "I didn't realize that from a single joke in court, Brother Wenting could detect my accusation."

Quan Meng fell silent, then let out a long sigh. "Why must you treat him so badly... He, he values you so much."

Lu Wuyou shook his head and said softly, "That's not value. It's imprisonment, it's drawing a circle to trap me, it's forcing me to stay within these tiny palace walls. He forced me."

"..." Quan Meng shook his head. "Don't anger him anymore. He truly... doesn't have many years left. Several chief ministers are so worried they've even come to discuss with me, the Minister of Judicial Review, how to petition for His Majesty to rest more. Just stop making him spit blood. It's... heartbreaking to see."

He patted Lu Wuyou on the shoulder. "Brother Lu, the vast sky might not need a bird that flies, but that man—he needs a flower to calm his heart."

---

Qi Guan jabbed a needle into Fang Zhihe's upper arm, making the man whimper, "Didn't we agree you wouldn't needle me anymore?"

Qi Guan gave a cold smile. "I only said I wouldn't kill you with a needle."

Fang Zhihe's mouth twitched. "Why is it numb?"

Qi Guan held a short knife over a candle flame, and at this, he smiled faintly. "Anesthetic. I need to take some blood to test the effect of the pill I gave you last night."

"...Lord Qi, why have you become so ferocious toward me?" Fang Zhihe muttered softly.

Qi Guan paused in his movements, a smile lingering on his face. "Your Majesty, wasn't it you who asked me to treat you like a 'brother'?"

"..."

"Then this is how I treat my brothers—ferociously." He jabbed a needle into the top of Fang Zhihe's head.

Fang Zhihe was speechless.

"Your headaches are frequent. Acupuncturing the Baihui point helps." Qi Guan made an incision on Fang Zhihe's arm, collected the blood into a small bottle, then carefully cleaned and applied medicine.

"But don't let anyone touch this spot often," Qi Guan said in a low voice. "It's a major acupoint. In ancient times, people used to kill by repeatedly striking this point."

Fang Zhihe nodded, the needle still in his head, causing him to wobble slightly. Qi Guan couldn't help but smile. "Huaishu, is Xiaoyuan your childhood replica?"

Lively, restless, and a bit silly.

Fang Zhihe froze for a few seconds, then fell silent. After a while, as Qi Guan removed the needle, he finally spoke quietly, "I wasn't lively as a child, nor was I always grinning... Lu Wuyou likes his younger brother, probably because of his personality. When I was sixteen or seventeen, I often observed my brother and imitated his personality completely. But in the end, a fake is a fake—it doesn't count."

Qi Guan also fell silent, momentarily unable to find words to comfort the man before him.

"Never mind, never mind. Why talk about this? Still, I want you to know... I'm not naturally lively or likable. Whatever good you see in me is mostly an act, imitating someone else." Fang Zhihe looked around, searching for words in his mind, letting them spill out slowly. "I have a rather dull temperament. In Lu Yuntai's words, I'm gloomy and heavy with resentment, and my temper is even worse... He despises people like me the most."

"Well, so be it. If he accepts me, we'll make do. If not, I'll force him to make do. I have to leave a real father for my son." Fang Zhihe smiled, brushed off his clothes, and stood up somewhat deliberately, walking around.

He circled twice, then slowed his steps.

"Lanning, Lanning."

Qi Guan quickly responded.

Fang Zhihe sighed. "Am I... too greedy?"

To want a child, to want him. And to want his heart.