Chapter 49
The news that Gu Fuzhou was about to return to the capital was passed from Xiao Songzi’s mouth to Lin Qingyu’s ears. Lin Qingyu and Xiao Cheng both had the same doubts; they both thought there were too many strange things about this matter.
From the conversations of several people, it wasn’t difficult to figure out that Gu Fuzhou was allowed to return to capital because of the Sky Spider poisoning. Now that the emperor was ill and delirious, whether Gu Fuzhou could return to the capital depended on what Xiao Cheng thought.
For the past few months, Gu Fuzhou has been sending letters requesting to return to the capital, all of which were ignored by the emperor. But this time, the situation was completely different. Gu Fuzhou was the heart of the army. No matter how much the imperial court was afraid of the military power he wielded, he must not be allowed to be poisoned to death at this critical juncture. If they did not allow Gu Fuzhou to return to the capital when they clearly had a way to detoxify him, simply letting the poison run rampant and kill him, Gu Fuzhou’s army of 300,000 men would lose confidence in the court. It wasn’t an inconceivable possibility that they might even defect.
But why was it the Sky Spider Poison? If like last time, this was the Xixia’s doing, why did the Xixia use slow-acting poison from the central north. Why not use a highly-toxic poison instead? Was it, in the vernacular of Jiang’s hometown, ‘ not more appetizing than a pork cutlet for that kind of money‘?
What he could think of, Xiao Cheng could definitely work out as well. However, matters having reached this point, in order to take care of the overall situation, even though Xiao Cheng knew there was an ulterior motive to all of it, he had to issue the order to allow Gu Fuzhou to return to the capital.
In any case, Gu Fuzhou’s return wasn’t a bad thing for Lin Qingyu. When Gu Fuzhou comes back, his father would definitely accompany him. It has been half a year since his father left and now their family of four could finally be reunited.
Gu Fuzhou’s return to capital this time was not a return in triumph. Rather, he was coming back to get detoxified. In order to stabilize the situation, the imperial court decided to keep it secret. They conducted Gu Fuzhou’s return to the capital covertly. Except for the important ministers in the cabinet, only the Imperial Hospital knew about it.
It would take ten days for the message to reach Yongliang 800 li away. Adding in Gu Fuzhou’s journey to the capital, it would take about half a month still for Gu Fuzhou to arrive. During this half-month, the Imperial Hospital had to prepare the antidote for the Sky Spider Poison.
Since Lin Qingyu returned from the Eastern Palace that day, he developed a sudden high fever. He used all his willpower to prescribe a prescription for himself. He had Hua Lu make the medicine according to the prescription and ordered Huan Tong to go to the Imperial Medical Office to apply for leave on his behalf. He then fell asleep.
The illness came down heavy like a mountain. Lin Qingyu slept, all the while feeling dizzy. He couldn’t tell whether it was even day or night. In a daze, he heard someone calling his name: “Qingyu, Qingyu…”
The tone was leisurely. It carried a smile. It was pleasing to his ears.
Lin Qingyu wanted to respond to him, but he couldn’t even open his eyes. It felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on his body. It took enormous effort to even move his fingers. His throat was parched and he was unable to make a sound.
Strangely, even with his eyes closed, he could still see a vague figure. Then the voice calling “Qingyu” suddenly changed its tone, becoming the voice of another man: “Imperial Physician Lin.”
Lin Qingyu finally forced himself to open his eyes. He saw the person standing beside his bed and said, voice hoarse, “Imperial Guard Shen?”
“It’s me.” Shen Huaishi handed to him a cup of tea. “Are you alright? You look very bad.”
The herbal tea went down his throat and Lin Qingyu gradually came to full wakefulness. Dreams at night are made of thoughts from the day. He was dreaming.
Lin Qingyu probed his forehead with the back of his hand. His high fever had gone down, becoming into a low-grade one. He had regained some strength. “Why did you appear in my house?”
“I heard from the Imperial Hospital that you were on leave due to illness…” Shen Huaishi said hurriedly, “I’m here to visit.”
“In the middle of the night, standing wordlessly by the patient’s bed? Do all shadow guards visit patients like this?”
Shen Huaishi’s mood turned low. “I can’t let others find out that I’m here. This is the only course of action possible, unwise as it is.”
With Shen Huaishi’s skills, let alone a mere Lin Residence, he wouldn’t be discovered even if he entered the palace at night. Lin Qingyu sneered, “It’s certainly true that you can’t be discovered by the Crown Prince. Otherwise he might feel he hasn’t been feeding you enough so you force your way into my house for a good time.”
Shen Huaishi’s face flushed with shame. “His Highness turns impulsive after drinking, I…I apologize to you on his behalf.”
It was like Lin Qingyu had heard some shockingly funny joke. He laughed out loud. “Apologize on his behalf? Who are you, why are you apologizing for him? Because you climbed into his bed?”
The expression on Shen Huaishi’s face stiffened. “Stop-stop talking.”
“Go away if you don’t want to hear this.” Lin Qingyu’s eyes showed a bit of coldness, “I have no interest in looking at people who hold themselves cheap.”
If Shen Huaizhi refuses to come to his senses and debases himself all the time, if he was dead set on Xiao Cheng, how was Shen Huaishi going to do things for him?
It had been a waste of his time to detoxify and heal Shen Huaishi. Good-for-nothing.
Shen Huaishi was silent for a long time. He said softly, “Jingchun, His Highness and I, the three of us have known each other since we were children. Jingchun had an innocent and artless temperament. She was unworldly and naive. Although she was a ‘palace maid’, she was delicate. She would cry whenever she felt wronged and whenever she cried, His Highness would go coax her. I don’t know how to coax people. I could only diligently practice martial arts at the Heavenly Prison Sect. I thought that that way I could protect Jingchun and His Highness forever. Later… …Jingchun was favored by the King of the North. She didn’t want to be married off so she cried and begged His Highness to save her. But the imperial decree had been issued, and even His Highness could do nothing. This has always been a thorn in His Highness’ heart. Ever since then, whenever His Highness encounters anything related to Jingchun, he would become violent and moody.” Shen Huaishi looked up at Lin Qingyu’s eyes, “Imperial Physician Lin, your eyes really look like Jingchun’s. That’s why His Highness lost control for a bit.”
Lin Qingyu found the important point among this bunch of nonsense. “Heavenly Prison Sect? Don’t the Imperial family’s shadow guards come from the Tianji Camp?”
Shen Huaishi hesitated for a moment, then said, “Tianji Camp and the Heavenly Prison Sect are the claws and teeth of the Son of Heaven. Tianji camp is bathed in light and the Heavenly Prison Sect is shrouded in darkness. The world only knows about Tianji Camp, they are ignoratnt of Heavenly Prison Sect. The two are bright and dark and they complement each other. Three years ago, the Heavenly Prison Sect was destroyed. Among the hundreds of people, I was the only one left alive.”
What Shen Huaishi had said it simply but a lot of details had been hidden. Lin Qingyu asked, “Who destroyed the Heavenly Prison Sect?”
Shen Huaishi shook his head, as if he didn’t want to mention the matter anymore. “In short, it was His Highness who saved me. After that, I switched to Tianji Camp and continued to serve His Highness. I thought that there were no other survivors of the Heavenly Prison Sect except me. I didn’t expect to see a jade plaque of the Heavenly Prison Sect with you.” A light moved in Shen Huaishi’s eyes. “Xuzhou, Suicheng… I must go and see for myself.”
Lin Qingyu asked, “When are you going to leave?”
Shen Huaishi sighed: “General Gu is coming back to the capital. I can’t leave for the time being.”
“Why?”
“General Gu is surrounded by people from the Tianji Camp. From Yongliang to the capital, his every move, every word and deed is under His Highness’s control.”
Lin Qingyu found it a little strange. “You telling me this, aren’t you afraid I would leak this information?”
Shen Huaishi smiled and said, “General Gu is a wise man. How could he not know that he’s being watched by the Tianji Camp? But this is the condition for him to return to the capital. If he wants to come back, he can only accept it.”
“Listening to your tone, it seems you admire General Gu very much.”
“I am a man of the Dayu. Is there any among us who doesn’t admire the country’s god of war? Although he has displayed some outrageous behavior recently…” Shen Huaishi paused. “Someone’s coming.”
Lin Qingyu looked towards the door, but saw no one. When he turned back around, Shen Huaishi had disappeared. After a while, Hua Lu pushed open the door and saw Lin Qingyu sitting up in bed. She said in surprise, “Young Master, you’re awake!”
The window had opened at some point. The leaves rustled from the wind. It was as if no one had come.
Lin Qingyu couldn’t help but think, given this skill of Shen Huaishi’s, could Xiao Cheng be able to beat him?
Recovering from illness was like reeling off raw silk from a cocoon. Lin Qingyu’s illness dragged on for half a month before he got better. He had lost a lot of weight and he looked rather like a weak willow. A single look could arouse a man’s protective instincts.
With the idea of letting Lin Qingyu have a good rest, Hu Ji took the initiative to take care of everything whenever he was on duty with him. But Chu Zhengde couldn’t bear seeing him being idle, so he sent him to the Imperial Medical Office to prepare the antidote for the Sky Spider Poison.
It was the Sanfu of June, the heat was beating down on them and wind from the valley blew. It was dusk when Gu Fuzhou quietly entered the capital.
The reason why the Sky Spider Poison had to be detoxified at the capital was because of its medical supplement— the snow lotus from the north needed to be ground into powder using the warm jade mortar. After the medicine was prepared, it needed to be taken within an hour. Warm jade mortars were extremely rare and there were only three in the entire Dayu. One was located at the Northern border and the remaining two were in the Thousand Herb Hall of the Imperial Medical Office.
As soon as news of Gu Fuzhou’s arrival in the capital reached the Imperial Medical Office, the Imperial Medical Office became very busy.
Everything was ready, only the last ingredient was missing — the medical supplement.
“Where’s the medical supplement? Get the medical supplement over here!”
“Imperial Physician Lin is in charge of the medical supplement, go and find Imperial Physician Lin.”
“At this important moment, where did Imperial Physician Lin go!”
Everyone finally found Lin Qingyu in the library. When Lin Qingyu learned why they’d come, he frowned. “Isn’t General Gu supposed to arrive tomorrow?”
“Who told you? General Gu returned to his mansion an hour ago!”
Lin Qingyu’s eyes fell on the sixth-grade medical officer who had specially come to inform him early that morning.
The medical officer also seemed to feel guilty and didn’t dare look at Lin Qingyu. Lin Qingyu had no time to deal with him for the time being. He said, “Give me an hour. It’ll be done right away.”
The leading medical officer’s eyes widened. “Are you only just starting to prepare the medicine now?”
“If you keep talking nonsense, it will take longer.”
After the medicine was completed, Lin Qingyu did not delay for even a second and he personally delivered the antidote to the General’s mansion.
The housekeeper of the general’s mansion was waiting for the medicine. He was so worried, his brows were beaded with sweat. Finally seeing Lin Qingyu arrive, he hurriedly took him to the inner courtyard. “General, the medicine is here!”
Without permission, Lin Qingyu could only wait outside the door.
A deep and low male voice came from within. With undisguised mockery, he said, “They certainly got here early. Why don’t they just come back next year? That way they can also cut down the three-meter-high tree on my burial mound.”
Lin Qingyu was taken aback.
This is… Gu Fuzhou? Their god of war? General Gu, an independent man of thirty?
This……
Chu Zhengde’s voice could then be heard. “General, begging for your forgiveness. It was this official’s negligence, entrusting this matter to a seventh-grade newcomer. When this official returns to the office, I shall make sure that he’s severely punished.”
“General, let us get him in here first.”
Lin Qingyu’s heart moved. This was his father’s voice. His father’s voice sounded a little tired. He mustn’t have had much rest on the way to the capital.
Lin Qingyu calmed down and walked in with the antidote. He saw his father and Chu Zhengde both standing in front of a wooden armchair. A tall and imposing man was sitting in it, dressed in the black military uniform of a general. He had dashing brows and bright eyes. His face, which could not be considered fair and clear, at first glance, appeared grave and stern, with the bloodthirsty aura of a warrior. But when matched with his eyes, a greater part of his ferocity was washed away. Instead, he gave off the feeling of an undisciplined teenager.
Sky Spider Poison was a slow-acting poisons. Gu Fuzhou had yet to reached the point when the poison has entered his internal organs. Therefore, he looked much like an ordinary person. At this moment, he was holding up his teacup, having some refreshments.
Father Lin has always been reserved but he was unprepared to see his eldest son who he hadn’t seen for half a year. He couldn’t hide his surprise and blurted out, “Qingyu?”
Gu Fuzhou’s hand suddenly froze and he looked up. When the general’s eyes met Lin Qingyu’s, his eyes suddenly brightened as though dark clouds had been pushed aside to reveal the sun. There was now vigor in them. Immediately afterwards, the general seemed a little nervous again and he hurriedly looked away.
Lin Qingyu smiled lightly at his father and then bowed to Gu Fuzhou, saying, “This official is named Lin Qingyu. Allow me to pay my respects to the general.”
Gu Fuzhou: “…”
For a long time, Gu Fuzhou did not speak. Afraid that he was blaming him for being late, Lin Qingyu added, “I have made the general wait for so long. Please forgive me.”
Gu Fuzhou didn’t look at him. Finally, he was able to get something out.
“It’s alright,” he said with a low chuckle, “I like waiting.”
