"Isn't he afraid that the world will point fingers at his back and scold him as a traitor?"
Hearing this, Biwu hesitated for a moment, then whispered in Shen Lingyun's ear, "Indeed, many court officials scolded Prince Mu for his wolfish ambition, for disrupting the order and being utterly immoral. But Prince Mu had all those who opposed him killed."
"I also heard that after Prince Mu broke into the palace and the emperor fled and disappeared, some rebels proposed taking the young lady out of the Cold Palace as a hostage to force the emperor to show up and then eliminate him once and for all. That person..."
"was beheaded on the spot by Prince Mu. His brains and blood splattered all over the ground. Prince Mu also declared that Shen Lingyun of the Shen family would always be the queen of the Great Sheng Dynasty. Anyone who dared to oppose him would end up the same way."
"Now there are no more court officials daring to oppose him in the court. That's why he was able to lead his men to the Cold Palace, rescue the young lady, and send you back to the Pepper Chamber Palace."
Shen Lingyun's heart trembled violently. She looked up in the direction where Xiao Tianchi had just left, and her fingers began to tremble uncontrollably.
...Had Xiao Tianchi really gone to such great lengths for her?
[Shen Lingyun of the Shen family will always be the queen of the Great Sheng Dynasty.]
She could even envision the look on his face when he said those words.
A teardrop fell on the back of her hand with a soft sound. Biwu stared at Shen Lingyun, who had suddenly burst into tears, in astonishment and asked in a soft voice, "Are you okay, young lady?"
Shen Lingyun shook her head gently.
She was just thinking about the past, about that high-spirited young man who always liked to wear a bright red belt around his waist and brandish a red-tasseled spear.
She had a great deal of coursework to do every day. She had to learn to play the zither, make incense, do embroidery, and manage the household. She was so busy that she had no time for anything else. But he would always climb onto the wall of her courtyard and, with a big smile on his face, offer her the fresh fruits he had just picked and flower wreaths using his red-tasseled spear.
Because of him, she had been scolded by her teachers many times. She was a bit angry and went to him, telling him coldly not to cause any more trouble.
He smiled on the surface, but his eyes were extremely serious and held a burning passion that made her heart flutter. "Lingji is the wife destined for me. I just want to be good to you so that you won't find life difficult after marrying me."
Her face was completely soaked with tears. Shen Lingyun buried her head in Biwu's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
She had never reacted like this when Xiao Tianye had questioned her loyalty and had her banished to the Cold Palace, ignoring her completely. But now, she broke down in tears because of Biwu's words.
Xiao Tianchi, how could you do this?
How could you still be so, so selfish?
She was Xiao Tianye's wife, officially recorded in the Xiao family genealogy as Xiao Tianye's wife!
He had intimidated those people with his thunderous means, but how would those people view her in the future?
There had already been rumors in the capital about the origin of her son Cheng'er. With what he had done, how would the world view Cheng'er in the future?
What should she do?
The broken sobs of the woman came faintly from inside the room. Xiao Tianchi stood outside the door, listening. The hot wind blew his wide sleeves high up. His body, which was a bit too thin compared to Xiao Tianye's, seemed on the verge of collapse in the wind.
He finally couldn't hold back and coughed twice softly. Eunuch Wang stepped forward to put a robe on him. Doctor Wang reminded him, "The wind is strong here. Given your physical condition, you shouldn't stay in the wind for too long."
The imperial carriage was already waiting outside the Pepper Chamber Palace. Xiao Tianchi got into it, and the sedan chair was steadily lifted up. Doctor Wang and Eunuch Wang followed on either side of the procession as it slowly left.
The palace was still the same palace, but after a nearly overwhelming victory in the war, it had become even more dilapidated. There were still half-arrows stuck in some of the walls, or bloodstains on them.
Xiao Tianchi's gaze skimmed over them lightly, and his expression remained unchanged.
The imperial procession quickly returned to the Purple Forbidden Palace. The imperial carriage stopped outside the palace hall. Xiao Tianchi got out of the sedan chair and led Eunuch Wang into the hall. Doctor Wang was a few steps behind and followed in as well.
Xiao Tianchi sat down on a chair and naturally stretched out his hand towards Doctor Wang. Doctor Wang also naturally placed his fingers on it. After feeling the pulse, he said,
"Thankfully, there's nothing serious."
Xiao Tianchi withdrew his hand, straightened his bright yellow sleeves, and looked at Doctor Wang. "In the future, I'd like to trouble Doctor Wang to take good care of the queen."
Doctor Wang replied, "Understood."
"In a couple of days, I'll start drafting the imperial edict to reward people according to their merits. How about I make you a third-rank medical official in the Imperial Medical Bureau?" Xiao Tianchi asked in a consultative tone.
Doctor Wang couldn't help but roll his eyes and said, "If I say I don't want to be an official, will you let me go back to Dongli Town and reunite with my silly apprentice?"
Xiao Tianchi's smile remained unchanged. "No."
"Then there you go," Doctor Wang said. "You've already planned everything. Why do you still need to ask me?"
Xiao Tianchi said, "If you really miss her, how about I send a team of men to Dongli Town to bring her to the capital to reunite with you? She used to be the daughter of the Ye family and grew up in the capital. This place should be quite familiar to her."
Doctor Wang's expression turned strange, and he couldn't help but look at Xiao Tianchi. "I didn't even know she used to be the daughter of the Ye family. How did you figure it out?"
Xiao Tianchi propped up his cheek with his hand and said something that left Doctor Wang puzzled. "Her eyes are really unforgettable."
Doctor Wang picked up his medicine box and said stiffly, "Well, now that everything has settled down, I'm going back to rest. I haven't had a good sleep for many days. Even iron would be worn out."
Xiao Tianchi didn't stop him. Just as Doctor Wang was about to step out, he said, "You should still write a letter to your apprentice to let her know you're safe. It's been so long. Don't let her worry."
Doctor Wang paused for a moment but didn't look back and just left.
To take care of Xiao Tianchi more conveniently, Doctor Wang was arranged to stay in a side hall not far from the Purple Forbidden Palace. This used to be a place to accommodate the young ladies who had been selected for the imperial harem. But after this rebellion, a number of the former palace servants had been killed or imprisoned, and this place had been brought under control.
Entering the room, Doctor Wang put down his medicine box, quickly found some paper and a writing brush, and sat down on a chair.
He picked up the brush and wrote on the paper:
"Jiang Mian, my apprentice: I'm your master. I've arrived in the capital. How are you doing now? After arriving in the capital, I just found out that you used to live here too..."
At this point, Doctor Wang crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it at his feet. He took another piece of paper and wrote again:
"Jiang Mian, my apprentice: I've come to the capital with Prince Mu. Don't worry about me. I'm doing fine in the capital. I wonder how you're doing in Dongli Town. It's been so many days. I think your uncle has also arrived in Dongli Town. His medical skills are no worse than mine. If there's anything you don't understand, you can ask him..."
After the ink had dried, Doctor Wang put the letter into an envelope, went out, found the guard on duty, and said expressionlessly,
"Excuse me. Could you please send this letter back to the Huichun Hall in Dongli Town and give it to Doctor Jiang, the young doctor there?"
The guard agreed and took the letter away.
It wasn't until the guard's figure disappeared from sight that Doctor Wang turned around and went back into the room.
An hour later, the letter he had written appeared on Xiao Tianchi's desk.