Pei Yan galloped on horseback, with An Lu and others chasing behind. Seeing that he was heading towards the manor where the infected were isolated, they anxiously caught up. “Marquis! You can’t go there!”
Pei Yan ignored them and continued riding forward. An Lu, greatly alarmed, blocked his horse. The rest of the Long Feng Guard also caught up and knelt together, pleading, “Marquis, please reconsider! Please take care of yourself!”
Forced to rein in his horse, Pei Yan’s lips were tightly pressed together. An Lu persuaded, “Marquis, although the infected civilians and brothers are pitiful, you are the commander-in-chief. The safety of the entire army depends on you. You can’t take even the slightest risk.”
“Yes, Marquis. Military Advisor Cui will find a good remedy, and our brothers will be saved. Please take care of yourself for the sake of all the brothers in the army!” Dou Zimou said.
The rest of the Long Feng Guard also urged, “Please take care, Marquis!”
The mountain breeze brushed his face, and Pei Yan’s mind gradually cleared. He gazed at the manor at the foot of the mountain, remained silent for a long time, and finally hardened his heart. He turned his horse around and galloped back to the military camp.
Cui Liang, Military Doctor Ling, Doctor Chen, and others came out of the manor. They removed their head coverings, all with grave expressions. Military Doctor Ling looked back at the main gate and sighed, “‘E Grass’ is effective for prevention, but it doesn’t work for treatment. We’ve wasted several days.”
Cui Liang pondered for a moment and said, “It seems we need to find another prescription.”
Military Doctor Ling and others nodded, and then all walked towards the small house where the doctors were staying near the manor. Cui Liang, remembering Jiang Ci’s severe condition, felt distressed and wished he could find an effective remedy immediately. He tried hard to recall the prescriptions recorded in medical books, pacing back and forth in front of the manor. Looking up, he saw a white figure standing under a willow tree in front of the manor. His heart stirred, and he walked forward, saying, “Why has Lord Wei come here? It’s very dangerous.”
Wei Zhao had his hands behind his back, looking towards the manor. He said calmly, “With the epidemic spreading in Hexi, I must investigate and report. I’ve come to inquire about the situation to report to the court.”
“Of course,” Cui Liang said. “My Lord, rest assured, the epidemic is under control. However, we still don’t have a good treatment method for those infected in the manor. My fellow doctors and I will do our utmost to find an effective medicine.”
Wei Zhao’s hands behind his back trembled slightly, but his face remained calm. “Thank you for your hard work, Zi Ming. I will certainly report to the court and request recognition for your efforts.”
“This is my duty,” Cui Liang hurriedly said. Seeing Wei Zhao about to turn away, he thought for a moment and called out, “Lord Wei.”
Wei Zhao stopped but didn’t turn around. Cui Liang walked closer, took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, and looked directly at Wei Zhao, saying, “Lord Wei, one shouldn’t approach within a hundred paces of this manor. Since you’ve already come, please take this.”
“What is this?” Wei Zhao frowned.
“These are pills that we doctors take to prevent the epidemic. Because we need to have direct contact with patients every day, we’ve temporarily made these pills with precious herbs. Although they can’t guarantee absolute immunity, they’re better than ‘E Grass’. Your status is noble, and your responsibilities are great. To be safe, please take these pills, and I ask that you don’t come here again to avoid infection.”
Wei Zhao stared at Cui Liang for a moment, the corner of his mouth slightly curving. “Thank you, Zi Ming.” He took the porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and put it in his mouth.
The manor at night was deathly silent. Even though it housed so many people, it was like a deserted city or a realm of the dead, devoid of any vitality. In the manor, one could only occasionally hear the painful groans of severely ill patients.
A white figure leaped down from the small hill behind the manor, avoiding the guarding soldiers, and climbed over the wall. He stood silently in a corner of the manor for a moment, then like a lone wild goose’s shadow, quickly circled the manor once, stopping in front of a side room in the northwest corner.
Inside the room, it was pitch dark. Jiang Ci lay on the bed, her breathing heavy. The white figure gently pushed open the door, slowly walked to the bedside, and sat down.
That night, the moonlight was like water, pouring in through the window, illuminating Jiang Ci’s sunken eyes. Her skin was snow-white, her eyes tightly closed, no longer the delicate beauty from the peach garden.
Wei Zhao sat by the bed, gazing at her for a long time. Jiang Ci stirred slightly, followed by a bout of violent coughing.
Wei Zhao quickly helped her sit up, gently patting her back. A bit of white foam appeared at the corners of Jiang Ci’s mouth, but she didn’t open her eyes and fell unconscious again. Her military cap had long since fallen to the ground, her hair in disarray.
Wei Zhao laid Jiang Ci down, and with a soft “tch” sound, lit a small candle. He strode out of the room, found a well, drew some cool water, wrung out a cloth, and cradling Jiang Ci in his arms, wiped the white foam from the corners of her mouth.
He threw the cloth back into the copper basin and suddenly noticed the small wooden comb by the pillow. He paused for a moment, slowly picked up the comb, and began gently combing Jiang Ci’s tangled long hair as he held her in his arms.
In the snowy wilderness, she had taken out her hairpin to secure his black hair.
On the rope bridge, she had risked herself to warn him, her wooden hairpin falling as he carried her to Luo Feng Beach, her long hair brushing against his cheek.
In the peach garden, with petals fluttering everywhere, his hand had gently tidied her beautiful hair.
In the military camp, she had combed her wet hair, smiling charmingly: “Third Young Master, you owe me something.”
The room was as quiet as still water, with only the sound of her labored breathing, like turbulent waves crashing against the crumbling banks of his heart.
Suddenly, Jiang Ci let out a low moan. Wei Zhao was startled back to awareness. Looking down, he saw her eyes tightly shut, her waist slightly arched as if in extreme pain. In his urgency, he held her tighter and called out, “Xiao Ci!”
This unprecedented call was like a huge wave, shattering the banks of his heart—
Wei Zhao held Jiang Ci in a daze, unable to believe that name had just come from his mouth. But, but, hadn’t he called this name countless times already? In his heart, in his dreams— But why, when he called it out loud, was it so heart-stirring—
In the dim candlelight, Wei Zhao held the trembling Jiang Ci against his chest, his right hand tightly gripping her right wrist, channeling all his inner energy through the three yin meridians of her hand into her body.
Jiang Ci gradually calmed down, her breathing becoming more steady. Wei Zhao continued to hold her in his arms, and even after the candle went out, he still didn’t let go of her wrist.
Outside the window, the sky changed from darkness to a hazy fish-belly white.
Wei Zhao finally released Jiang Ci’s wrist and laid her flat on the bed. After gazing at her for a moment, he flashed out of the room. At the front of the manor, human voices could faintly be heard. He leaped over the high wall with a light step, ran to the woods behind the manor, untied his horse’s reins, and rode back to the military camp.
In the military camp, the bugle for morning training sounded clear. Zong Sheng saw Wei Zhao approaching and was about to step forward to salute, but Wei Zhao’s sleeve swept past forcefully, making Zong Sheng step back. Wei Zhao entered the tent, and his cold voice came out: “I won’t see anyone for the next few days.”
Cui Liang had been poring over medical books all night, also worried about Jiang Ci. Before dawn, he entered the manor and walked to the corridor. Hearing Jiang Ci coughing softly inside the room, and what seemed to be light footsteps, his heart leaped with joy, and he called out, “Xiao Ci.”
Jiang Ci quickly said, “Brother Cui, you’d better not come in.” She had just woken up and found that her spirits were better today, even able to get out of bed and walk slowly, which surprised her.
Cui Liang stopped at the door and smiled, saying, “Brother Cui has thought of a prescription, but it’s so bitter it might make you vomit, and it might cause abdominal pain. Are you willing to help with this?”
Jiang Ci was staring blankly at the water basin by the bed but quickly replied, “I love bitter things. Brother Cui, go ahead and try it.”
Despite being prepared, after drinking the medicinal soup, Jiang Ci was still tortured by the abdominal pain, feeling like she was dying. Cui Liang, hearing her painful groans, kicked open the door and rushed in to apply acupuncture. Jiang Ci managed to describe her feelings after taking the medicine before vomiting a mouthful of black blood and fainting.
Cui Liang looked at Jiang Ci lying pale on the bed, feeling very discouraged. Military Doctor Ling came over and said it seemed they needed to change the prescription, as this medicine was too strong and might not be targeting the right symptoms.
Cui Liang walked out of the manor gate, lifting the cloth covering his head. Looking up at the blue sky and white clouds, he felt his legs weaken, experiencing a sense of powerlessness he hadn’t felt since leaving Xuan Tian Pavilion.
The plague in the city was under control, but patients in the manor were still dying painfully. After much consideration, Pei Yan decided not to lift the lockdown in Hexi Prefecture.
The military supplies in the Qing Mao Valley camp were running low, but fortunately, the villagers near Hexi Prefecture and Dai Mei Ridge showed great patriotic enthusiasm, voluntarily saving their rations to donate a batch of food, which solved the urgent problem.
The few Huan army prisoners sent by Ning Jian Yu were quite stubborn. Even under torture, they refused to reveal the true situation of the Huan army. When Pei Yan learned of this during his camp inspection, he didn’t say much but directly cut off the inner eight meridians of one of them. Watching his companion writhe and die in agony on the ground, with all the blood draining from his body after death and his muscles atrophying, leaving him like a dried-up person, the other three were so frightened their faces turned ashen, and they confessed everything.
Learning that the Huan army was also facing a supply crisis, that there had been a civilian uprising in Dong Lai which had burned some of the Huan army’s warships left on the Juan River, and that Yu Wen Jing Lun, fearing attacks from both front and rear, had withdrawn some troops to suppress Dong Lai, Pei Yan felt somewhat relieved. On the Hui Yan Pass front, strict defense orders had been issued, and there would be no southern attack for the time being.
With newly recruited soldiers in Hexi and other places still needing training, court supplies not yet in place, and the Huan army at Hui Yan Pass defending strictly, Pei Yan had no choice but to order Ning Jian Yu not to rashly attack the pass, maintaining the siege posture.
In these days, he had ridden south several times, looking at the manor from the mountain path, but ultimately returned to the military camp dejectedly.
Jiang Ci drifted in and out of consciousness. In the mornings, her spirits were good, and she could get out of bed and walk around, but by afternoon she would be completely exhausted and could only lie in bed. At night, she would fall into a coma.
When she felt better, she continuously drank the medicinal soups prescribed by Cui Liang. Cui Liang changed the prescription several times, still causing her abdominal pain, but the blood Jiang Ci vomited was no longer black, gradually turning dark red. Cui Liang, Military Doctor Ling, and others were overjoyed, knowing there was a glimmer of hope. They slightly reduced the amount of some potent ingredients and tried giving it to other patients in the manor, finally seeing some initial effects, with the number of deaths gradually decreasing.
However, Jiang Ci felt something strange. Every morning when she woke up, her face was clean, her clothes were neat, and her hair wasn’t as messy as when she went to sleep the night before. She tried hard to recall what happened during the night, but she only had some vague feelings, as if she was lying in her master’s arms as a child, safe and comfortable.
After taking the medicinal soup for two more days, with Cui Liang applying acupuncture morning and evening, Jiang Ci’s spirits gradually improved, and she could wash up on her own. Even by dusk, she still had the energy to walk slowly around the room.
One night, after having some rice porridge, Jiang Ci accidentally noticed the copper basin by the bed. Something stirred in her heart, and she gently kicked the basin to the bedpost.
She tried hard to stay awake, but before long, the effects of the evening medicine set in, and she fell into a deep sleep. In her dream, she vaguely felt a hand stroking her forehead. She seemed to be held in someone’s arms, and she could faintly smell that person’s cloud-like scent and hear their suppressed, occasional soft calls.
The next morning when she woke up, it was raining heavily outside. Raindrops were hitting the banana leaves, making a “pitter-patter” sound.
Jiang Ci opened her eyes, then closed them, and finally slowly sat up. She looked towards the bedside. The copper basin was indeed no longer in its original place but had been moved slightly to the left.
Jiang Ci looked at the copper basin tenderly, a smile spreading across her lips, followed by a hint of worry.
Cui Liang pushed open the door and looked at Jiang Ci’s complexion. Jiang Ci quickly extended her right wrist. Cui Liang felt her pulse and after a moment exclaimed happily that it seemed they had finally found the right medicine. He was so excited that he ran out. Jiang Ci also felt in good spirits and walked outside, looking at the lush banana leaves and slowly extending both hands.
Raindrops fell into her palms, cool and refreshing on her skin. Jiang Ci licked the rainwater with her tongue, unable to suppress a beaming smile.