The following day, Eunuch Ding was sent on orders to the Imperial Medical Academy, where he delivered that vial of Dragon Tiger Pills to Imperial Physician Zhang and the others for examination.

This had been the Emperor’s specific instruction.

Before the Dragon Tiger Pills were administered, Imperial Physician Wei was not to be made aware of them. Otherwise, knowing Imperial Physician Wei’s loyal and upright temperament, he would inevitably launch into another round of earnest remonstrations.

Although the Emperor had no patience for people nattering on, Imperial Physician Wei held a place in the Emperor’s heart that was vastly different from that of an ordinary court physician. His daily counsel, after all, came entirely from concern for the Emperor’s health. Deliberately going around Imperial Physician Wei this time could thus be considered a gesture of giving the man face.

Imperial Physician Zhang and the others received such an important assignment and dared not be the least bit careless. They ground three of the six delivered pills to powder and examined them with painstaking thoroughness, while the remaining three were kept in reserve for future examination whenever needed.

Toward evening, Eunuch Ding came by again.

“Imperial Physician Zhang, there are no problems with these Dragon Tiger Pills, I hope!” Eunuch Ding asked with a smile.

Imperial Physician Zhang cupped his hands and replied with a smile, “Imperial Physician Li, Imperial Physician Zhou, and I have all examined them individually. These Dragon Tiger Pills are indeed compounded from tiger bone and deer blood, and contain a great many costly medicinal herbs besides — all substances beneficial to the body, with nothing harmful. As for their efficacy, that is not something we can assess in a short time.”

Eunuch Ding was relieved to hear this and immediately returned to Zichen Palace to make his report.

The Emperor did not attach particular weight to the matter and gave a nod to show he understood. From the second day onward, he began taking the Dragon Tiger Pills.

During the first two days of use he felt nothing especially different, but by the third day he felt his spirits vigorous and his blood and vital energy flourishing, as though his whole body brimmed with inexhaustible strength.

The medicine’s effects were indeed far superior to the pills he ordinarily took.

The Emperor was rather pleasantly surprised, and the thoughts he had set aside were stirred to life once more. He feigned nonchalance and asked Eunuch Ding, “How is it that Female Official Ling has not come to wait upon me today?”

Eunuch Ding was nothing if not perceptive and immediately divined the Emperor’s intentions. He hastily replied with a smile, “She has most likely been held up by something. This servant will send someone to look into it at once.”

It seemed that today he would finally be able to pluck this fresh flower.

A gleam of pleasure shone in the Emperor’s eyes.

……

About a quarter of an hour later, Ling Jingshu arrived. “This servant came late today — please forgive this transgression, Your Majesty.”

Her voice was delicate and soft, as though even drawing breath was a struggle. When she rose to her feet, her body swayed slightly.

A brief glance was all it took to notice that Ling Jingshu’s complexion was off.

The cheeks that ordinarily glowed with a rosy flush now carried an ashen pallor; her eyes were dull, stripped of their usual brightness; her lips dry and lusterless. She looked, at a single glance, like someone who had fallen ill.

The Emperor’s tender, solicitous nature immediately asserted itself, and he asked gently, “Are you feeling unwell today?”

Ling Jingshu apologized in evident agitation, “This servant was struck by a wind-chill two days ago. Thinking it would pass quickly, I said nothing. I did not expect that when I rose this morning my limbs would be weak and aching. Having Your Majesty see this servant in such a sickly state — this servant is truly ashamed.”

As befitting a young lady of delicate sensibility, even as she spoke her eyes had already grown quietly red-rimmed.

Brimming with tears yet not quite weeping — a picture of pitiful helplessness.

If anyone else had dared come to wait upon the Emperor while ill, Eunuch Ding would have dealt with her before the Emperor even needed to speak. What if the sickness were carelessly passed on to His Majesty? But the person before them was different — anyone could see the Emperor wore an expression of utter concern. Anyone with a head on their shoulders knew exactly what to say and do at a moment like this.

Eunuch Ding smiled and pleaded on Ling Jingshu’s behalf, “Female Official Ling, even in her illness, has not forgotten to come and perform her duties — that truly shows her absolute devotion to Your Majesty. Yet in her current state, she could barely remain standing, let alone wait upon Your Majesty. This servant presumes to beg Your Majesty’s indulgence and permit her to rest for a few days, and to come before Your Majesty again once she has recovered.”

No matter how captivating a beauty, she could not be called to the bedchamber when ill.

Very well — let her recover first.

The Emperor nodded his assent quickly.

Ling Jingshu thanked the Emperor for his grace with an expression of deep gratitude, then departed, swaying like a slender willow in the wind.

The Emperor watched Ling Jingshu’s slender, graceful retreating figure, a faint flicker of regret passing through his eyes.

……

That very evening, the Emperor summoned Consort Wang to attend him in the bedchamber.

The following day, he favored Wei Jieyu.

The day after, it was Noble Lady Zhang……

The Emperor was in vigorous health, and the consorts and ladies of the harem, who had endured a long period of neglect, were naturally overjoyed. The one summoned most frequently was the young Consort Wang — even Wei Jieyu fell a notch below her.

Consort Wang received a string of imperial favors and gifts, and held her head high throughout the palace, even eclipsing Wei Jieyu’s standing.

The rivalries among women seldom drew blood — they were waged more often with sharp tongues and veiled barbs.

Wei Jieyu was occupied with managing palace affairs and also had to contend with Consort Wang’s near-incessant, provocative showing-off. It gave her quite a headache, though she could not let any of it show in front of others.

In private, when she met with Wei Yan, Wei Jieyu gave quiet voice to a few grievances, “That Consort Wang has truly grown brazen lately. Every time she has attended His Majesty, she comes to Lingbo Palace the very next day just to show off.”

A flash of cold, contemptuous amusement crossed Wei Yan’s eyes. “Elder Sister, rest assured — she will not be prancing about much longer.”

Since the day they had spoken frankly to each other, Wei Yan had ceased to conceal what he intended to do.

Wei Jieyu also understood clearly enough where the Emperor’s newfound “vigor” these past days had come from, and could not help but murmur in quiet worry, “A’Yan, are you truly certain there will be no problem with this?”

The Emperor had summoned consorts to his bedchamber continuously for half a month — all of it the effect of the Dragon Tiger Pills.

That vial of Dragon Tiger Pills had indeed passed through the hands of a renowned physician from the common world.

However, the prescription had been subtly adjusted by Wei Yan.

“Elder Sister, rest easy — the Dragon Tiger Pills themselves are absolutely without fault.” Wei Yan gave a slight smile, his eyes full of quiet confidence. “This is genuinely a medicine of superb efficacy. Taken continuously, it causes no harm to the body whatsoever. No matter who examines them, they will find nothing amiss.”

The true problem lay with the Emperor himself.

The Emperor was nearly sixty years of age.

Carnal desire is a blade that scrapes the bone clean. An aged Emperor who, having taken the medicine, abandoned all restraint in matters of pleasure, and hollowed out his own vitality until he was left entirely spent — who was there to blame for that?

As for Wei Yan himself, he had always been Wei the Imperial Physician, who “earnestly counseled” and “spoke without concealment.” The Emperor had refused to heed his advice to abstain from wine and women. When the consequences came, no anger would be able to touch him.

The only drawback was that it would inevitably be bitter for Wei Jieyu.

Wei Yan looked at Wei Jieyu with a flicker of remorse. “Elder Sister, knowing what I am doing — do you truly hold no grudge against me at all?”

Once the Emperor became a spent man, Wei Jieyu’s life in the palace would be no different from widowhood.

Wei Jieyu composed every trace of emotion from her face and replied earnestly, “A’Yan, I already have An Ya to keep me company through my days. The Emperor’s favor, whether more or less of it, makes no difference to me.”

She paused, then sighed softly, “My fate is sealed — I am to remain within these palace walls until I grow old and die. I only hope that A’Shu can escape this ordeal and be with you in the end, hand in hand through life.”

Wei Yan was moved to the very depths of his heart.

At a moment like this, any words of gratitude would be superfluous.