The carriage stood quietly at the foot of Baolin Mountain. A spring breeze lifted the curtain gently.
Jiang Ci felt her heart would leap out of her chest. She composed herself and realized Wei Zhao hadn’t left the carriage. She lifted the green gauze veil to see Wei Zhao staring at her, his eyes flickering as if lost in thought.
She called softly, “Third Young Master.”
Wei Zhao didn’t answer. He relaxed, leaning against the carriage wall, his right hand tapping lightly on his leg, his gaze fixed on Jiang Ci’s face.
In Jingsi Pavilion, Pei Yan smiled faintly, gazing at the carriage at the mountain’s foot. The spring sunlight made his smile indescribably gentle and warm. The wind lifted the hem of his silk robe, rustling softly.
In the carriage, Wei Zhao closed his eyes. The breeze from the curtain gently lifted his black hair, which fell gracefully on his shoulders.
Beside Wei Zhao, Jiang Ci kept her breathing very low, her right hand clutching her skirt, staring at his tightly closed eyes.
Birds flew overhead, their cries reaching the carriage. Wei Zhao suddenly opened his eyes.
The carriage slowly began to move north along the official road. Pei Yan’s smile gradually faded, his brow slightly furrowed.
In the spring breeze, flying peach blossoms were trampled into the dust by horse hooves, mixing with a line of dust, drifting northward, disappearing around the bend in the mountain valley.
An Chen didn’t dare look at Pei Yan’s somewhat stern face, carefully saying, “Prime Minister, should we pursue—”
Pei Yan shook his head, gazing in the direction the carriage had disappeared, slowly smiling, “Ah, Third Young Master, with you accompanying me in this game, my efforts won’t be in vain!”
He turned back to sit by the stone table, picking up a chess piece and tapping it lightly on the board. After a while, he placed the black piece on the board and said, “An Chen.”
“Yes.”
“Send a message to Jianyu, tell him to submit a memorial.”
An Chen listened carefully, then couldn’t help asking, “Prime Minister, since Wei Third Young Master didn’t come to see you in his true form, why are we still helping him?”
Pei Yan placed another piece, “Third Young Master has always contacted us under the name of Xiao Wuxia. He doesn’t know I’ve guessed his true identity, nor does he know I’ve been waiting for him. He’s suspicious by nature. Before the situation is clear, he still doesn’t dare let me know that Xiao Wuxia is Wei Third Young Master. Very well, let’s give him a hand to show our sincerity.”
An Chen went down the mountain. Pei Yan sat in the pavilion, leisurely playing chess against himself. As the sun moved westward, he looked at the board and chuckled, “Third Young Master, I hope you won’t keep me waiting too long this time!”
Jiang Ci heard Wei Zhao instruct Old Lin to continue forward. She widened her eyes, unable to speak for a while, her heart filled with mixed emotions, unsure whether to be happy or disappointed.
Wei Zhao glanced at her, then lay down on the couch fully clothed and closed his eyes to rest.
The wheels rolled on for several miles before Jiang Ci came to her senses. She took off her green gauze hat, sat by the couch, and nudged Wei Zhao, “Third Young Master.”
“Mm.” Wei Zhao responded lightly without opening his eyes.
Jiang Ci felt as if cat claws were scratching her heart, but as the words came to her lips, she feared Wei Zhao might order Old Lin to turn back to Changfeng Manor. She could only sit beside Wei Zhao, staring blankly.
The carriage shook slightly. Wei Zhao opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Ci’s profile. Her eyelashes trembled lightly, her gaze seemed a bit hazy, and her red lips slightly pursed. It was hard to tell if she was joyful or melancholic.
The horse hooves trod on green grass as they traveled northeast. After several days, the capital came into view.
Jiang Ci sat by the couch, carefully peeling fruit that Old Lin had bought in a small town earlier, and handed it to Wei Zhao.
Wei Zhao took it. She peeled another one and leaned out the carriage window to give it to Old Lin, who thanked her and bit into the fruit.
Wei Zhao looked at the fruits in her pocket and said flatly, “You’re quite clever, keeping the big ones for yourself.”
Jiang Ci smiled, “As expected of Lord Wei, accustomed to delicacies, you think the bigger ones are better.” She picked up a larger fruit, peeled it, and handed it to Wei Zhao, “In that case, let’s swap.”
Wei Zhao looked at her, hesitated, then slowly put the green fruit in his mouth. Jiang Ci smiled triumphantly and bit into the larger green fruit. The crisp sound made Wei Zhao snatch the fruit from her hand, bite the other side, inhale sharply, and then throw it back at Jiang Ci.
Jiang Ci laughed heartily. Wei Zhao snorted coldly and knocked on the carriage.
Old Lin stopped the carriage, jumped down from the front axle, and approached, “Master.”
“Find an inn in Ji Family Town ahead.”
In the back courtyard of the inn, the moon hung over the treetops, the lamplight was hazy.
Jiang Ci silently cursed Wei Zhao for his deliberate revenge, making her draw dozens of buckets of water from the well to fill the large bathtub in the inner room. He was injured, and the well water was cold—what was it for?
But under the circumstances, she had no choice but to obey. She could only dutifully draw bucket after bucket of water from the well and carry it to the inner room. Seeing the large wooden tub finally full, she wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled, “Third Young Master, the water is full.”
Wei Zhao walked over slowly. Jiang Ci saw him unfasten his outer robe and was startled. She tested the water temperature with her hand and gasped, “Third Young Master, what are you doing? The water is very cold.”
Wei Zhao said coldly, “Get out. Don’t come in unless I call for you.”
Seeing his words were unusually cold for the past few days, Jiang Ci became even more alarmed, but she could only leave the room. She closed the door and sat on the threshold of the main room, faintly hearing the sound of splashing water from the inner room. Then it became silent. As the moon rose to its zenith and Wei Zhao still hadn’t called for her, she finally couldn’t help but stamp her foot and rush into the room.
Wei Zhao was bare-chested, immersed in the wooden tub, his eyes tightly closed, his face somewhat pale, his wet black hair draped over his white shoulders—a heart-stopping sight. Jiang Ci rushed over to support him, calling urgently, “Third Young Master!” She struggled to pull Wei Zhao out of the wooden tub.
Wei Zhao was tall and long-legged. It took Jiang Ci several attempts to drag him out of the tub. Ignoring that he was soaking wet, she gritted her teeth and dragged him to the bed. She hurriedly grabbed a towel, about to bend down to dry him off, when she realized he was completely naked.
Her vision went black, and she jumped up like a rabbit, darting out of the room. Her heart seemed to leap to her throat, her cheeks burning hot, her legs trembling slightly.
She stood dumbfounded at the door for a while, about to call Old Lin who was guarding outside, when she remembered Wei Zhao had said that in this world, only she and Uncle Ping knew his true identity. Along the way, she had already figured out that the reason Wei Zhao only kept her by his side after being injured was that he didn’t want others to see his true face. Although she didn’t know why Wei Zhao trusted her so much, it was inappropriate to let Old Lin see Wei Zhao’s true face.
With no other choice, Jiang Ci mustered her courage, tightly closed her eyes, and groped her way into the inner room.
Stumbling to the bedside, Jiang Ci felt around with the towel to dry Wei Zhao’s body. She vaguely sensed that his body was ice-cold, and an indescribable feeling arose in her heart.
She pulled out the wet bedsheet under Wei Zhao, groped for the quilt to cover him, and then darted out to the main room like a rabbit again, finally letting out a long breath.
After a moment’s daze, she turned and went back into the room, gently lifted the quilt, and looked at the swollen, festering wound on Wei Zhao’s shoulder. She remembered that since passing Changfeng Manor, he had not allowed her to change his dress. In an instant, she suddenly understood that Wei Zhao’s refusal to change the dressing and his soaking in the cold well water was deliberately letting the wound worsen.
She sat down by the bed, gently brushed aside the strands of long hair sticking to Wei Zhao’s forehead, gazed at his colorless face, and sighed softly, “Why do you do this to yourself?”
Thinking of Danxue Meiying and the days in Yueluo Mountain, Jiang Ci became lost in thought until she was startled awake by an ice-cold hand gripping her right hand tightly.
Wei Zhao’s face was like frost, “Who told you to come in?!”
Jiang Ci’s wrist was gripped painfully, but she endured it, looking at him calmly, “Third Young Master, you’re risking your life too much. If something were to happen—”
Wei Zhao said coldly, “Don’t worry about that. I’m a cat with nine lives, I won’t die!”
He lifted the quilt, froze for a moment, and then quickly covered himself again, his gaze sharp as a knife as he looked at Jiang Ci. Jiang Ci’s face immediately turned bright red. She wanted to jump up but her feet felt weak.
Wei Zhao snorted angrily, suddenly reached out, and pressed several of Jiang Ci’s acupoints. Seeing her collapse softly at the head of the bed, he couldn’t help but push her forcefully to the ground.
Old Lin was guarding outside the courtyard, feeling a bit drowsy, when he suddenly heard his master call. He hurriedly opened the courtyard door and entered.
Wei Zhao had already put on his mask and wide-brimmed green gauze hat. He said coldly, “Take her to the Tianzi Room of Hongfu Inn on West Straight Street in the capital, then go back.”
“Yes.”
Wei Zhao looked back at Jiang Ci lying on the ground, pressed his hand to the wound on his waist, and vanished into the night with a flash.
In Honghui Hall, the Emperor’s face was ashen, his gaze like knives, cutting the Minister of Revenue Xu Duan to the core as he trembled prostrate on the ground.
Prince Zhuang had no choice but to step forward and advise, “Father Emperor, please calm your anger. Executing him now would be useless. We need to think of another solution.”
Prince Jing was secretly delighted but maintained his expression, “Father Emperor, Second Brother is right. Such a large discrepancy in the granary stores was unexpected. We need to find a way to transfer grain from elsewhere.”
The Emperor threw down the memorial in his hand, “Transfer grain? From where? We thought the granaries were full enough to last through this spring, but now over twenty prefectures have rat infestations in their granaries, and over ten prefectures have water damage. Does Your Majesty expect me to transfer grain from Chengjun and Changle to the capital region?!”
Academic Dong frowned deeply, also finding it quite thorny. With such a large leak in the granary stores, it was uncertain if they could get through this year’s spring shortage, let alone the urgent military situation at the front lines where supplies couldn’t be delayed for a moment. Now, apart from the granaries in Chengjun and Changle that could meet part of the demand, they would have to transfer grain from elsewhere to the Loushan and Xiaojing Rivers.
He thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty, it seems we’ll have to requisition grain from the people.”
The Emperor laughed coldly, “Requisitioning from the people is certainly necessary, but now I must find out who is Bo’s spy in the court. How come this never happened in previous years, but this year we suddenly have a grain shortage?!”
Hearing him speak through gritted teeth, all the officials bowed their heads deeply, not daring to breathe. Xu Duan had already collapsed on the ground.
Jiang Yuan hurried into the hall. The Emperor was about to rebuke him when Jiang Yuan knelt and reported, “Your Majesty, Lord Wei has returned!”
All the officials in the hall exclaimed softly. The Emperor stood up abruptly, “Summon him quickly!”
Jiang Yuan hurriedly said, “Lord Wei—”
The Emperor quickly walked down from the throne. Jiang Yuan hurriedly followed, “Lord Wei fainted at the palace gate. His injuries are quite severe. Before fainting, he said he needed to see Your Majesty alone, so this servant carried Lord Wei to Juyang Pavilion and had trusted guards watch over him.”
The Emperor nodded, “You did well. Quickly summon the Imperial Physician.”
The eunuch Tao following behind hurriedly ordered someone to summon the Imperial Physician. The Emperor turned back, “Convey my order to close the palace gates immediately. No one is to enter or leave.”
The Emperor strode quickly into Juyang Pavilion. Jiang Yuan made a gesture, and everyone else retreated.
The face amidst the purple silk brocade quilt was pale, the usually charming eyes tightly closed, the ink-like eyebrows slightly furrowed. The Emperor’s heart tightened. He felt Wei Zhao’s pulse and embraced his ice-cold body, calling softly, “Third Young Master!”
Wei Zhao moved slightly but still didn’t open his eyes. The Emperor unfastened his clothes, carefully examining the arrow wound on his shoulder and the sword wound on his ribs. His heart ached, and he called urgently, “Imperial Physician!”
The Imperial Physicians waiting outside the pavilion hurried in, taking Wei Zhao from the Emperor’s arms. After a round of diagnoses, they applied medicine and acupuncture. The Emperor stood to the side with his hands behind his back throughout.
Chief Physician Zhang came to report, “Your Majesty, Lord Wei’s injuries are quite severe, and he has been soaked in river water. From the look of the wounds, they haven’t been properly treated these days and have started to fester. Although his life is not in danger, it will take a long time to recover.”
The Emperor nodded, “Go prepare the medicine and bring it here.”
Wei Zhao suddenly opened his eyes and called weakly, “Your Majesty.”
The Emperor hurried to the bedside and embraced him. Everyone else scrambled out of the pavilion. The Emperor stroked Wei Zhao’s ice-cold cheek. Wei Zhao seemed a bit confused, calling “Your Majesty” several times before fainting again.
The Emperor had to lay him down flat, sitting by the bed and holding his left hand, which was cold as ice, slowly transferring his internal energy to him. After a quarter of an hour, Wei Zhao slowly opened his eyes and smiled weakly, “Your Majesty.”
The Emperor was overjoyed. He tucked the quilt around Wei Zhao and said gently, “It’s good that you’re back. I was really afraid—”
Wei Zhao coughed lightly several times. The Emperor said reproachfully, “I’ve been sending people to search for you along the Xiaojing River. Since you escaped with your life, why didn’t you let them bring you back to the capital? Why did you let your injuries become so severe?”
Wei Zhao’s expression changed slightly. He glanced outside the pavilion. The Emperor understood and said coldly, “Speak. No one dares to eavesdrop.”
Wei Zhao breathed heavily and said, “Your Majesty, there’s one of Bo’s people in the court. When I fell into the river, I was swept downstream and barely survived. I feared this person knew I had overheard his dealings with Bo and would send people to assassinate me on the way back to the capital, so I secretly snuck back—”
The Emperor snorted coldly, “Who is it? I want to execute his entire clan to vent my anger!”
Wei Zhao was somewhat short of breath, his gaze gradually becoming hazy. The Emperor hurriedly supported him. Wei Zhao leaned against the Emperor’s ear and whispered a few words.
The Emperor’s expression changed. He laid Wei Zhao down and strode quickly out of Juyang Pavilion, calling, “Jiang Yuan.”
Jiang Yuan hurried over and knelt. “Your Majesty.”
“Convey my decree immediately: arrest Liu Ziyu on the spot and seal his Scholar’s Residence. Also, from this moment on, implement a curfew in the capital and conduct strict inspections of everyone entering or leaving the city.”
Wei Zhao calmly gazed at the carved wooden beams of the pavilion and gently closed his eyes.
The Emperor turned back into the pavilion and saw Wei Zhao slightly hunched over, groaning softly as if in pain. He hurried over and gently held Wei Zhao’s somewhat rigid body. “Sanlang!”