Chapter 59
Since Lin Qingyu was promoted to the fifth-rank imperial physician, he and Chu Zhengde would go to the Emperor every day to diagnose his pulse. Though he was able to go in and out of the Emperor’s sleeping chambers, so long as he got even a little bit close to the Eastern Palace, the guards on duty would be on high alert. But as long as he and Shen Huaishi were within the palace compound, there would be chances for them to meet.
Chu Zhengde was getting old and it is inevitable that his body would not be able to keep up with everything that he wanted to do. For the past few days, he had been suffering from a cold and had taken leave to recuperate at home. Lin Qingyu was the only imperial physician serving the emperor for the time being.
That night, the Emperor’s headache returned. Lin Qingyu happened to be on duty and was invited to the Emperor’s palace.
Tonight, the one serving the emperor in bed was the same young man Lin Qingyu had seen last time. Though said to be ‘serving in bed’, with the emperor’s sick body, he couldn’t actually do anything and he simply let the young man warm his bed and pour him tea.
Lin Qingyu applied acupuncture for the emperor and the emperor’s headache eased. When he opened his eyes, he saw Lin Qingyu and his male pet standing beside the dragon bed, side by side. The male pet blushed and whispered, “Your Majesty”. Lin Qingyu, however, as calm and composed as ever said, “Autumn is fast approaching. With its coming, the yang energy will gradually shrink and the yin energy will gradually grow. The Emperor’s prescription must also be changed to match the way of yin and yang. This official will return to the Imperial Hospital to prepare a new prescription for Your Majesty.”
The emperor looked at him. Himself not knowing what muscle he’d pulled wrong, he said, “I have pen and paper here. Wou can write it here and show me when you are done.”
Lin Qingyu paused and said, “Yes.”
The emperor sat up with the help of his male pet. He looked at the beauty in official uniform writing under the lamp; long eyelashes thick like butterfly wings. Even though his temperament was cold, it was difficult to overlook the flirtatious look seen between his brows and the corners of his eyes. In particular, the tear-shaped mole under his eyes made the emperor’s heart itch.
But itch was all it did. He was old and had been sick for so long. He had not added a new person to his harem for a long time. When he gets better, maybe he can invite more beauties. It was a pity that he didn’t have enough energy now. So after Lin Qingyu finished drawing up the recipe, he allowed him to withdraw.
Lin Qingyu followed Xue Ying out of the sleeping chamblers. Looking back at the bright yellow dragon curtains, his eyes grew dark and cold.
It seemed that even without the emperor forcing a marriage upon Gu Fuzhou, sooner or later, there would have also been reason for Lin Qingyu to set his hands upon His Majesty.
Xiao Cheng heard that the emperor was ill and to show his filial piety, he came late at night and happened to run into Lin Qingyu who had been exiting the sleeping chambers. Lin Qingyu glanced at him, and his eyes fell on Shen Huaishi behind him.
Shen Huaishi also looked back at him and then Xiao Cheng said coldly, “Have you looked enough?”
Shen Huaishi quickly retracted his gaze. “This subordinates dares not.”
Xiao Cheng smiled. “Why wouldn’t you dare? Xiao Qingyu was born with a face that drives men crazy. You should look more if given the chance. You might not have the chance to see it again in the future.” Saying so, he gave a ‘hmph’ and follow Xue Ying into the sleeping chamber.
Another eunuch came with a lantern. “Imperial Physician Lin, I will take you back to the Imperial Hospital.”
Shen Huaishi could only stand watch outside. When Lin Qingyu brushed past him, he whispered, “Find time to come to my house to find me.”
Shen Huaishi was startled, and subconsciously glanced in the direction of the sleeping chamber. He then gave a low “en”.
Shen Huaishi didn’t make Lin Qingyu wait for long. And three days later, late into the night, he appeared in Lin Qingyu’s residence like a ghost. Lin Qingyu was dispensing medicine at his table and as soon as he looked up, he saw Shen Huaishi standing behind the window. “Imperial Physician Lin.”
Lin Qingyu opened the window. “Come in.”
Shen Huaishi was a little nervous. “I can’t stay for long. If His Highness finds out that I still have contact with you… Imperial Physician Lin, what have you sought me out for?”
Lin Qingyu said, “I have found the person you are looking for.”
Shen Huaishi was stunned and said excitedly, “You mean, the owner of that jade tablet?”
Lin Qingyu nodded lightly. “Come out.”
With a clack, the door to the room adjacent to the study slowly opened and Zhu Yongxin walked out. “Young Master.”
Shen Huaishi’s eyes widened and he said in disbelief, “Zhu Dage?!”
Zhu Yongxin was a double agent. Not many people in the Heavenly Prison Sect knew about it; Shen Huaishi was one of them. After Shen Huaishi entered the Tianji Camp, he also looked for Zhu Yongxin. He did not expect to be met with news of his death.
“Zhu Dage, you’re not…” Once again seeing a man you once thought dead, even a stern powerful man’s eyes would redden. “It’s really you. You’re not dead?”
In contrast, Zhu Yongxin seemed a lot more unperturbed. There was a deep look in his eyes. He said, “I am indeed not dead. How can I die before I avenge this enormous debt of blood!”
“Avenge?” Shen Huaishi was at a loss, “The Red Fang Sect, which destroyed the Heavenly Prison Sect, was wiped out by the Tianji Camp three years ago. It was by the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself.”
“The Crown Prince? Ha– Zhu Yongxin said with a grin, “How could a wicked sect in the Chiya Sect area destroy the emperor’s eagle and dog overnight! Young Master, have you never had your doubts?”
“It was a traitor to the Heavenly Prison Sect, one who had defected to the Red Fang Sect. That was how the Heavenly Prison Sect…”
Zhu Yongxin interrupted him, “The Red Fang Sect had long been secretly recruited by the Imperial court. That bloody massacre had also been deliberately set up by the Imperial court. It was not that there were traitors in the Heavenly Prison Sect but that the Imperial court had betrayed the Heavenly Prison Sect. Under the masks of those so-called Red Fang Sect members were the faces of the members of Tainji Camp!”
Shen Huaishi’s face lost all color. “The Imperial court…? Heavenly Prison Sect has always been loyal to the Imperial court, why would the Imperial court…”
Lin Qingyu said, “Was the Heavenly Prison Sect loyal to the Imperial court, or were they loyal to the Crown Prince? If it was the latter, do you think the Emperor would have stood for it?”
There was only one last hope in Shen Huaishi’s eyes and he murmured, “Then it was the Emperor. Was it the Emperor who wanted to kill us?”
“Yes, the Emperor wanted to move against us. But his good son knew very well his Imperial father’s will. Before the Emperor could, the Crown Prince dealt with us first to gain the Emperor’s favor heart, and win the crown prince that he has longed for!”
Pain coursed through Shen Huaishi’s body and he could barely stand. A light medicinal fragrance hit and he felt his arm being supported. When he raised his eyes, Lin Qingyu’s face appeared in his field of vision.
“Impossible.” Shen Huaishi grasped Lin Qingyu’s arm, “His Royal Highness wouldn’t do this, Imperial Physician Lin…”
“Are you surprised?” Lin Qingyu said in a low voice, “Is this not something Xiao Cheng could do?”
Shen Huaishi shook his head: “Evidence, I want evidence.”
Zhu Yongxin took out a half-broken mask from a sackcloth pouch and threw it on the table. “This is what I found on an assassin from the Tianji Camp after the destruction of the Heavenly Prison Sect.”
The mask has green faced and long toothed. It was a mask exclusively used by the Red Fang Sect. It was stained with old dried blood. Shen Huaishi’s eyes felt like they’d been stabbed, it was as though blood would flow from them.
“Huaishi, look at me.”
Shen Huaishi was momentarily stunned. He hasn’t heard anyone call him that for far too long and he thought of his father and brother. They used to call him that.
Lin Qingyu’s eyes had a captivating power. “You also had a lot of doubts about what had happened back then, didn’t you? How did the powerful Heavenly Prison Sect get destroyed by some sect from the Jianghu? How was Xiao Cheng able to appear immediately after the incident and manage to save you? After the Heavenly Prison Sect was destroyed, did Xiao Cheng treat you so very well, so very well that infatuation and affection was born in your heart, until the King of the North asked to marry Princess Jingchun?”
“You, do you still not understand?”
There was a dead silence in the study. A gust of wind blew through, making the windows creak. Shen Huaishi startled as though waking from a big dream. He suddenly pushed Lin Qingyu away and turned to leave.
Lin Qingyu said coldly, “Where are you going? Are you going to confront Xiao Cheng? Who do you think you are? A shadow guard whose entire sect he killed but is still willing to lay down his life for him, even willing take off his clothes for him to vent his desires on. Why would he tell you the truth? He lied to you once. Why can he not lie to you a second time? What is it that you expect to hear from him?”
Shen Huaishi froze in place, both his hands clenched into fists, shaking.
“If I were you, I wouldn’t give him a chance to argue.” Lin Qingyu slowed down, “You said that I always look down on you. It’s because I hate people who hold themselves cheap.”
Shen Huaishi flew out of the window and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Lin Qingyu had done everything he needed to do. All they could do now was wait.
No matter how Xiao Cheng looked down on Shen Huaishi, he trusted him very much. There was lots of ways for Shen Huaishi to assassinate Xiao Cheng and get away unscathed. How could strike Xiao Cheng while he was sleeping and slash directly at his neck; or while Xiao Cheng is reading reports, he could come from behind, cover his mouth and strangle his neck. Lin Qingyu could help as well. If Shen Huashi were to seek out his help, he could get a poison to put in Xiao Cheng’s tea – Lin Qingyu would choose the most suitable poison for Xiao Cheng.
Just imagining these scenes made Lin Qingyu feel extremely happy.
Shen Huaishi… don’t let me down.
Another night on shift, when Hu Ji came back from a doctor’s visit, he saw Lin Qingyu playing with a urn. He leaned over curiously and looked at it, asking, “Imperial Physician Lin, what is this?”
“Golden Silkworm Gu.”
Hu Ji saw the golden multi-legged bugs in the urn and quickly backed away. “Why are you raising such things?”
Lin Qingyu put the lid on the urn and said, downplaying the matter, “Its wings can be used as medicine.”
Hu Ji forced out a laugh. “I see.”
“Did you just come from Sili Jian?” Lin Qingyu asked, “Did you get any news?”
“News?” Hu Ji thought for a while, “Oh, I heard from the eunuch who delivers flowers to the Eastern Palace that His Highness the Crown Prince has been moody and short-tempered these past two days. It seems the shadow guard who often follows him around has suddenly disappeared.”
As expected. Someone as stubborn as Shen Hauishi would need time to fully accept this matter. No one knows though what conclusions he has come to after these past two days of thinking.
In “Huai’s Refusal of the Monarch”, Shen Huaishi will put a knife to Xiao Cheng’s neck after knowing the truth. Now that the “truth” he has learned was even more cruel, shouldn’t his actions be even more pleasing to the eye?
That night, the palace was surprisingly calm. During the second half of the night, the imperial physicians on duty in the Imperial Hospital all dozed off.
Under the moonlight, a palace maid stumbled into the Imperial Hospital, breaking the tranquility. She was almost crying as she said, “Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician to the Eastern Palace!”
Everyone was startled awak and they all stood up one after another. Lin Qingyu though remained sitting, his eyebrows slightly raised.
——Why were they still calling for an Imperial Physician? Could it be that Xiao Cheng could still be saved?
Everyone knew that His Highness the Crown Prince has always been in good health. So urgently calling for a doctor in the middle of the night, he must be suffering from a sudden illness. The palace maid was so flustered, presumably, his condition must be serious.
Hu Ji was the chief physician for the Eastern Palace and he did not dare to slack off at this moment. Medicine box on his back and turned to leave. Lin Qingyu stopped him. “Imperial Physician Hu.”
Hu Ji said anxiously, “Is there something the matter, Imperial Physician Lin?”
Lin Qingyu hesitated for a moment and said, “It’s fine. You should go.”
In addition to Hu Ji, many of the imperial physicians went with him as well. Lin Qingyu was the imperial physician personally assigned to the emperor and he had to remain in the Imperial Hospital on standby in case the Emperor needed him.
Hu Ji and the others were out all night and even though it was already dawn, none of them had come back. The Eastern Palace remained brightly lit through out the night. People could only be seen entering, but no one was coming out. The Eastern Palace seemed to be blocked and Lin Qingyu could not wait for any news.
At Chen Shi, Lin Qingyu ended his shift with a heavy feeling. As soon as he went through the palace gate, he heard someone calling him, “Imperial Physician Lin.”
Gu Fuzhou was wearing his official military uniform. His appearance at the gate of the palace at this hour, he must be heading to court.
Lin Qingyu walked quickly to him. “General.”
Gu Fuzhou appeared careless and sloppy. He didn’t seem to be fully awake. “You must be hungry after spending all night on duty. I’ve prepared some food for you. Once we’re in the carriage, you should eat it while its hot.”
Lin Qingyu took the food box handed over by Gu Fuzhou. “Thank you, general, for your consideration.”
Seeing that Lin Qingyu’s expression wasn’t good, Gu Fuzhou’s remaining sleepiness disappeared at once. He lowered his voice and asked, “What’s wrong? Did Shen Huaishi make a move already?”
“He did but he must still have had reservations. Otherwise, with his skills, how could Xiao Cheng not have been killed with one hit?” Lin Qingyu closed his eyes and endured, holding the food box Gu Fuzhou gave him tightly in his arms , “If Xiao Cheng is lucky enough to make it out alive…”
Gu Fuzhou pondered for a moment. Then his brows smoothed out and he smiled. “Let’s not talk about whether Xiao Cheng made it out alive or not. We don’t know that yet. Even if he is lucky enough to survive, then we’ll just have to work hard. I’ll help you think of a better way.” Gu Fuzhou Raising his hand, using his broad palm to cover the back of Lin Qingyu’s head, “Don’t worry, it’s no big deal. Go back quickly and head to bed. Remember to eat something first. I’ll go to you after morning court.”
