Xizi didn’t know how much hardship she had endured in the mountains. Occupying an entire table of dishes by herself, her eating manners were extremely unseemly. Watching her practically swallow a large piece of braised pork whole, Yun Ye couldn’t help but worry about her fragile heart. Eating such greasy food would raise blood lipid levels and burden the heart.
Yet Xizi specifically chose dishes like roast duck, braised pork, fried meatballs, and braised ribs to attack, while not even touching the light vegetable dishes.
After eating her fill, she grabbed the teapot and gulped it down ferociously, then wiped her mouth and asked Yun Ye with bold confidence: “Brother-in-law, why is there no wine?”
What the hell? Was this still that gentle and lovely little Xizi? Was this still the Xizi who was always quiet and peaceful, wearing a serene smile while painstakingly copying Li Er’s terrible flying white calligraphy?
Yun Ye decided not to take her back to the imperial palace first. The person this child most needed to see right now was Sun Simiao!
“Change out of those clothes. Who gave you permission to wear that outfit? Na Rimu has plenty of new clothes. Pick one and put it on. How could your master feel comfortable letting you come back alone?”
“Don’t think I don’t know you’re the notorious Enchanter. Di Renjie is the next generation’s Enchanter, Little Wu is a fox seductress, and we Jade Maidens exist specifically to deal with you people.”
A vaguely ominous thought arose in Yun Ye’s heart. The term “Jade Maiden” was too terrifying. This strengthened his resolve to take Xizi to see Sun Simiao.
“We’re leaving right now. We’re going to the medicine hermitage.” Yun Ye ordered Old Qian to prepare the horses and carriage. It would be better for him and Xinyue to make the trip personally…
“I’m not going, I’m not going! My illness is cured!”
Unexpectedly, Xizi actually didn’t want to go, which made the cloud of doubt over Yun Ye’s head even denser.
“Master Sun is an elder. Now that you’re back, going to pay your respects is surely appropriate, right? Hurry and change your clothes. If you dare not go, I’ll have Xiao Miao carry you there. There’s still rule of law here!”
Xizi knew she couldn’t win against Yun Ye, so she had no choice but to follow Xinyue to Yun Mu’s place to change clothes. Liu Jinbao had already galloped off to the medicine hermitage on horseback according to Yun Ye’s instructions, while Old Qian needed to personally make a trip to the Eastern Palace to tell Li Chengqian that his little sister had returned, and have him inform the Emperor and Empress.
After Xizi changed into a lake-green long dress, her whole person became much more beautiful. Only that small face remained pale, lacking color, but her overall condition was vastly different from two years ago. At least her spirit and energy showed no problems.
Xizi had a good relationship with Yun Mu. The two sat in the carriage chattering endlessly. That red scorpion seemed somewhat anxious. The familiar environment and familiar scents made it appear a bit menacing, its two large pincers constantly snapping open and shut without stopping. Having been away from home for over two years, it very much wanted to return to the maze forest.
Xinyue and Yun Ye sat in the carriage behind. After hearing Xinyue explain the reason why Xizi was unwilling to go see Sun Simiao for treatment, Yun Ye couldn’t help but smile knowingly. She had truly grown into a young lady, knowing it wasn’t quite proper for men to touch her body. But to even reject Sun Simiao was going too far, wasn’t it? Passing by the academy gates, through the courtyard wall, Xizi threw the scorpion into the maze forest behind the high wall, dusted off her hands, got back in the carriage, and continued chatting and laughing with Yun Mu.
Who could cure a congenital heart disease patient in two years? In this era, Yun Ye didn’t believe such a method existed. Yet Xizi, who had nearly died, was indeed alive and well. Not only could she run, jump, and practice swordplay, she could even chase Old Qian and Old Zhao. All these incidents indicated her illness had healed, though her personality had changed somewhat. However, a willful temperament was a Li family trait. Gao Yang was like this too, so there was nothing strange about it. This child was one he had watched grow up since she was small. If she were a different person, he would have no reason not to notice. That kind of intimacy emanating from the bones couldn’t be faked.
Sun Simiao stood before the medicine hermitage anxiously gazing toward the small path. Even the divine physician had his anxious moments. He too was extremely eager to know how Xizi had recovered, wanting to see what method that master had used.
Xizi respectfully greeted Sun Simiao. At this moment, that gentle, good child had returned. Sun Simiao took Xizi into the inner room, with Yun Mu accompanying them. Yun Ye and Xinyue waited outside.
After a long while, Sun Simiao still hadn’t emerged. Just as they were about to have Xinyue go in to check, they saw Li Er and Zhangsun walk in from outside. Clearly, they had ridden horses here, but this speed was too fast, wasn’t it? Liu Jinbao probably hadn’t even reached Chang’an yet.
“What does Master Sun say?” Li Er removed his cloak and threw it on the ground, asking about the result as soon as he entered.
“I don’t know. They’ve been inside for a while now, but there’s no news yet.”
“What do you think?”
“She can run, jump, practice swordplay, and eating is no problem, but this subject always feels something isn’t quite right, which is why I came to Master Sun to verify.”
After hearing Yun Ye’s words, Zhangsun said nothing but lifted the curtain and walked into the room. After hesitating briefly, Xinyue also entered.
“What could be not quite right? You are also Xizi’s family member. Speak freely.”
“Xizi told me that their Jade Maidens exist specifically to deal with Enchanters like this subject. It’s not curiosity about the sect she belongs to, but I just feel the two characters ‘Jade Maiden’ are greatly inappropriate.”
After hearing Yun Ye’s explanation, he stopped talking and instead stood up to pace around the room. No expression showed on his face, but Yun Ye understood that when Li Er was calm, it was best not to disturb him, because this was when he was most irritable.
Sun Simiao emerged and invited Li Er and Yun Ye to talk in his study. Just after sitting down, Sun Simiao said with difficulty: “Regarding Xizi’s heart, this old Daoist has discovered no signs of improvement. Yet this child’s vital energy and blood are extremely abundant, which is truly strange.”
“The heart is the mother of life. To live long, this hurdle cannot be avoided. But this old Daoist has also discovered that while Xizi’s blood vessels are full, her breathing is extremely long and drawn out, and moreover her heartbeat is more than twice as slow as normal people.”
“This old Daoist asked Xizi about it. No one has used blood transfusion methods on her, which means her abundant vital energy and blood come from within herself, unrelated to external forces.”
“I don’t ask how Xizi’s body recovered. I only ask whether Xizi’s illness has healed. As long as Xizi’s illness is cured, I will grant a general amnesty across the realm. If her illness hasn’t healed, I will summon even more brilliant physicians for her.”
“In response to Your Majesty, this subject doesn’t know. The abundant vital energy and blood make no sense, and Princess Xizi’s health also makes no sense. This is my first time seeing the method of moving blood with vital energy, so I cannot know the consequences. However, there is one point this subject is absolutely certain of: Princess Xizi should not marry!”
Li Er nodded and said to Sun Simiao: “You’ve said before that she shouldn’t marry. Now at worst it’s merely a situation of no gain and no loss. As long as Xizi’s body recovers, if she doesn’t marry and accompanies me for life, that will suffice.”
Zhangsun led Xizi by the hand out from the inner room. After once again thanking Sun Simiao, she took Xizi back to the palace.
After Sun Simiao closed his eyes and contemplated for a long while, he suddenly opened them and said loudly: “It makes no sense, her recovery makes no sense. Daoism emphasizes cultivating vital energy, but this old Daoist has never seen anyone succeed in cultivating it. Moreover, the way of cultivating vital energy requires time. For Xizi to move blood with vital energy in just two years is simply impossible.”
The Yun family of three looked fearfully at the enraged Sun Simiao. Sun Simiao, who never got angry or lost his temper, turned out to be so terrifying when he did fly into a rage. Without even looking at the Yun family of three, he pushed open the room where corpses were stored and never came out again.
Li Er was somewhat self-deceiving. He only wanted to see a healthy Xizi, even if this method was dangerous. But this was the emotion a living person should have.
As Xizi’s father, Li Er was qualified.
The next day at the Ministry of War, Yun Ye received the Emperor’s decree for a general amnesty across the realm. Actually, Yun Ye thought such unprincipled pardoning was inappropriate. Except for the crime of high treason, all others were included in the amnesty.
Since the Zhenguan era began, the realm had become greatly prosperous, and popular customs gradually became luxurious. All sorts of strange and bizarre crimes occurred throughout the realm. Only crimes like high treason and rebellion were rarely seen. Even if they existed, compared to the vast Great Tang, they were truly insignificant. Now all the prisons across the realm would be emptied. Was it really appropriate to do this?
A memorial of protest was submitted upward, but it sank like a stone without any response. Those who also submitted protest memorials included Fang Xuanling, Ma Zhou, and others. Even Zhangsun Wuji thought this approach was very inappropriate. The prisoners currently held in prisons were all people confirmed guilty. Their crimes hadn’t been thoroughly punished, yet they were easily released. Many more tragedies would likely occur in the human world.
However, Li Er remained unmoved. Three days later, after the review procedure was completed, all prisoners throughout the Great Tang territory happily walked out of prison, including murderers and deadly bandits…
After finishing work and leaving the imperial city, he saw Qu Zhuo standing by the roadside. But he didn’t speak with Yun Ye, only pointed to himself, then pointed south once, and hurriedly disappeared into the crowd.
He currently worked at the Directorate of Waterways and was already considered upper management there. Seeing the strange gesture he gave, Yun Ye’s heart became completely at ease. For such a rigid person to help him pass on information was truly precious.
The Directorate of Waterways personnel went south, stretching their necks to make a gazing gesture, which indicated that the people going this time would travel to a very distant place. Such charades posed no difficulty for Yun Ye. He guessed it very easily.
A southern tour. Li Er had been persuaded after all. As for whether he wanted Directorate of Waterways personnel to monitor the south where he would be going, or sent people to the distant remote island, these weren’t major problems. As long as his gaze turned toward the empire’s south, it was a good omen.
After writing the letter to Hou Jie, Yun Ye burned it over the candle flame. Not because this matter couldn’t be known, but because there was no need. Even if Directorate of Waterways personnel set foot on the remote island, they would be isolated and powerless, having no effect. The only message they could convey to Li Er was their observations of the remote island.
Fear originates from ignorance, worry also originates from ignorance, and suspicion arises even more from ignorance. Letting Li Er see a real remote island with his own eyes would be far better than Yun Ye describing it to him ten thousand times.