Madam Zhu would never have believed her, but she took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her granddaughter’s forehead. The elderly always feared that once a person closed their eyes, they would never open them again. Knowing full well that speaking cost her granddaughter effort, she still implored her, “Don’t faint — hold on until the physician arrives.”

Hua Zhi agreed readily. She knew better than anyone the extent of the wound she had inflicted upon herself. An injury this slight could hardly make her faint; at worst, the blood loss would leave her dizzy.

“How did you arrive so quickly?”

“I had come to bring your mother a few things, and halfway here I heard you’d been ambushed outside the city. It gave me such a fright — my heart nearly leapt out of my chest.” The old madam lowered her voice and asked, “Do you know who is behind this?”

“There are only so many people bold enough to act this way in the capital, and even fewer who hate me enough to want me dead.”

“As long as you have a sense of it.” Madam Zhu let out a sigh and swallowed the words that had risen to her lips. Some things, once spoken, amounted to nothing — how could Zhi’er not want to rest and recover properly? How could she have wanted to be injured? It was simply that there were people who could not bear to see her flourish.

Zhu Shan stood to one side watching her injured elder cousin, and the obstacle she had never been able to overcome in her heart suddenly seemed to dissolve. Her cousin’s very life could not be guaranteed, yet she herself had been torturing herself and her family over a few petty wishes of her own, relying on her family’s concern for her. Compared to her cousin, who had to shoulder everything at the front alone, she truly did not know how fortunate she was.

Nian Qiu came in carrying prepared supplies, and the room was instantly filled with the sharp smell of spirits. Madam Zhu quickly stepped aside and watched as several maids moved forward to get to work.

Out on the street, the rapid clatter of hoofbeats rang out. Pedestrians immediately pressed to either side — this was a swift horse carrying battle dispatches; if one were kicked to death blocking the way, it would simply be a meaningless death.

But once the horse had passed, everyone came back to their senses. Something was not right. War horses ran from the city gates toward the Imperial Palace; this horse was running from the Imperial Palace outward. Surely something of great consequence had happened?

Many people grew curious and began seeking whatever connections they could to make inquiries.

Shao Yao, who had set all of this in motion, rode at full gallop without a care in the world. What prohibitions, what impeachments — to her, they were utterly worthless!

As the Hua household drew near, Shao Yao leapt from her horse before it had fully stopped. Without waiting for anyone to open the gates, she vaulted directly over the wall, and using her lightness technique moved swiftly through the courtyard, kicked open the door, and flew to the bedside.

Catching the scent of spirits, Shao Yao pushed the others aside and looked at the wound, which had already been cleaned. Seeing that Hua Zhi was also alert, she finally breathed out the breath she had been holding since she first received the news. She climbed onto the bed and lay down beside Hua Zhi to calm herself for a moment, then took her pulse in that awkward position.

Hua Zhi nuzzled her head. “I’m all right. Don’t worry.”

“I’m the physician here — whether you’re all right or not is for me to determine.” Having confirmed it was only a deficiency of blood and vital energy, Shao Yao’s composure returned. One look at the depth of the wound told her something was off. She shot Hua Zhi a fierce glare, sat up, and opened her medicine chest to tend to the injury.

With Shao Yao’s arrival, everyone’s hearts settled. Whatever medicine she applied to the wound finally stopped the searing, burning pain, and Hua Zhi let out a breath of relief.

“Miss, Old Madam Sun has arrived.”

Before Hua Zhi could speak, Madam Zhu said, “I’ll go. You needn’t concern yourself with what’s happening outside.”

Hua Zhi truly did not concern herself — yet she knew well enough who had come. The Qin family had sent their First Madam; Old Madam Cai had arrived with the visibly pregnant Hua Qin; the Anguo Ducal household had sent its presiding First Madam; and even the Yu and Yuan families, with whom marriage alliances were soon to be concluded, had sent representatives.

Hua Zhi thought to herself: the people aboard this same vessel were, in the end, of one heart.

“Was it Hao Yue?” Inside the room, Shao Yao had sent the others out and asked in a low voice.

“Her, or the Third Prince, or the Fourth Prince. It could be no one else.” Hua Zhi sat up slightly. With the pain less severe, her spirits had improved considerably.

Shao Yao glared at her fiercely. “Could you not have done a sloppier job of it?”

“When news spread that Sixth Prince had taken me as his tutor, it became known throughout the capital. I am now an unambiguous member of the Sixth Prince’s faction. Anyone who hears of the attempt on my life will think along these lines — including His Majesty.” Hua Zhi’s tone was mild. “So His Majesty will first want to confirm whether the attack on me was genuine or a staged performance. It won’t be long before an imperial physician is sent.”

“His Majesty doesn’t trust me?”

“If you were uninjured but needed to maintain a pretense, would you help me?”

“Of course.”

Hua Zhi smiled. “So an imperial physician will be sent. His Majesty does not distrust you — he understands you. In his eyes, you are harmless; he trusts you greatly. That is a good thing.”

Shao Yao remained displeased. “So what do we do now?”

“Wait.” Hua Zhi looked at that face, now so much more pleasing to the eye. “Wait for His Majesty’s move, and wait for the other side’s next step.”

“Just wait?”

“Chen Qing has gone to investigate. Cao Cao — you must keep this in mind: regardless of who ordered the attack, His Majesty will not move against them for my sake. I have no expectation of toppling the other side in one blow. But they will certainly have to throw out a few expendable pawns, and a man of Chen Qing’s abilities should be able to follow the vine and expose the melon. Looking at the broader picture, cutting off one of their important arms would already be a victory. As for the masterminds — I won’t let them be pleased with themselves for long.”

“This is why I always wanted to be a general — everything decided in the field, plain and straightforward. Why must things be this troublesome.”

But military men had never been a match for civil officials — so it had been throughout every dynasty and age. Hua Zhi lowered her gaze. She too had no fondness for the ways of civil officials, yet the approach she employed was exactly that.

“Miss, an imperial envoy has arrived.”

The two exchanged a glance. Shao Yao asked, “Who has come?”

“It is Eunuch Lai Fu.”

A familiar face — that was well enough. Shao Yao rose. “I’ll go and receive him. Ying Chun, help Hua Zhi tidy up a little.”

“Yes.”

In short order Shao Yao returned. Lai Fu presented his respects at the doorway and announced, “His Majesty, having learned of your injury, has specially dispatched Imperial Physician Liu, who excels in treating external wounds, to come and examine you. I wonder whether you are able to receive him.”

“Please show him in.”

Ying Chun laid a silk handkerchief over the young miss’s wrist. Imperial Physician Liu took her pulse through the cloth for a moment, then looked up and took in the young miss’s deathly pale complexion. His eyes then drifted to the blood-soaked garments that had been removed and set aside. He had a clear enough picture: the injury was real. The assassination — it was likely real as well.

“The young miss’s wound is in a delicate location. It would not be proper for this old physician to handle it directly. As Shao Yao is a disciple of the Divine Physician, may I ask whether the young miss’s heart meridian has been damaged?”

Shao Yao found her impression of him considerably improved upon hearing him speak thus, and replied, “That arrow came within half an inch of the heart meridian. Even without striking it directly, the injury is by no means light.”

Imperial Physician Liu nodded. “Shao Yao speaks rightly. The heart meridian is of the utmost vital importance. An injury even to the vicinity of it will drain one’s fundamental vitality greatly. This old physician observes that the young miss’s blood and vital energy are severely depleted — she must recuperate with great care.”

Shao Yao glanced at him, then at Lai Fu, and used her eyes to ask the silent question: Is he one of our own?

Lai Fu gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Shao Yao understood immediately. No wonder — if the heart meridian had truly been damaged, he could not have failed to detect it when taking her pulse.

“Please take Imperial Physician Liu to write out a prescription.”

Ying Chun understood the hint and escorted Imperial Physician Liu to the adjoining room.