Chapter 189: Wholeheartedness from a Thousand Miles Away

Given the current feud between Jiuling Hall and Lu Yunqi, the chances of being hacked to death outside Prince Huai's mansion were quite high.

Miss Jun clenched her medicine chest, stood for a moment, then turned and left.

Seeing her come in, Liu'er hurried over with a steaming cup of medicinal tea.

This winter was exceptionally cold, and many people suffered from colds; Miss Jun had prepared a special medicinal tea for everyone to boil and drink, especially after returning from outside.

She must not allow herself to fall ill.

Anyone else might become ill, but she could not.

"It's so cold, yet you still go out every day, and even if you do, why don't you take a carriage back?" Fang Jinxiu frowned and said, "If you get sick, there will be no one to treat you."

Liu'er immediately looked unhappy upon hearing this.

"Why curse our Miss to fall ill?" she said.

"Falling ill isn't something others curse you with; it's all on oneself," Fang Jinxiu replied unapologetically.

Listening to the two of them bickering, Miss Jun downed a large bowl of medicinal tea in one breath, her forehead broke out in sweat, and her cheeks turned rosy red.

"Fine, I know, I can handle myself," she said, looking at Fang Jinxiu.

Fang Jinxiu pursed her lips without speaking further, reached out to take the medicinal tea bowl to go inside, when someone with a chill about them barged in.

"Miss Jun, a letter from the young master," the newcomer said without any pleasantries, urgently presenting the letter he was carrying.

With thick clothing and a travel-worn appearance, his face and hands frostbitten and his accent thick, it was clear he wasn't one of the De Sheng Chang employees from the capital but someone who had come all the way from Yangcheng.

Previously, all communication had been conducted via the money business, so why was someone from home delivering it directly this time?

And it looked urgent.

"Xiao Mo," Fang Jinxiu recognized the person, a former employee of the money business chosen by Fang Chengyu as a close attendant, highly valued.

Seeing him arrive made Fang Jinxiu's expression tense up.

"Is Chengyu alright?" she blurted out.

"The young master is fine," Xiao Mo replied with a simple smile to her.

Miss Jun had already received the letter and upon opening it, just a glance caused her expression to subtly change as she quickly turned and walked briskly inside.

Fang Jinxiu and Liu'er were still trying to react when Miss Jun stopped at the doorway again.

"Liu'er, brew some tea for Xiao Mo, get him the frostbite ointment, and arrange a place for him to rest," she said, looking back.

Liu'er acknowledged with a yes, Xiao Mo hurriedly offered thanks, and Miss Jun had already gone inside.

As the closing door blocked the view, Fang Jinxiu's expression was complex.

Miss Jun sat inside the room, looking at the letter in her hand with a complicated expression herself. The letter should have been opened eagerly because she had caught a glimpse of Prince Huai's name, but for that exact reason, she was somewhat scared to continue.

How could Fang Chengyu, far away in Yangcheng, have anything to say about Prince Huai?

And at such a coincidental time?

Miss Jun took a deep breath. With things having come this far, would ignoring the letter mean it didn't exist? She opened the letter and read it attentively.

Indeed, Fang Chengyu was writing about Prince Huai.

Moreover, right from the start, it was clear that Prince Huai was ill, and it was a difficult situation.

As for how he knew, it was through examining account books.

The capital's account books, due to Miss Jun's arrival, had been required to be provided every ten days. After Miss Jun opened the medical center, Fang Chengyu added two more requests: one concerning the movements of the capital's doctors at the money business, and the other about the merchants of medicines, both demanding detailed notes.

Just ten days ago, Fang Chengyu received the usual account books from the capital and noticed several transaction records.

These were silver banknotes from several imperial physicians with very large sums, as though they had put their entire fortunes into the accounts. One of the managers was quite familiar with one of the physicians; even though their business rules did not allow inquiring about customers' affairs, this physician voluntarily lamented that he might not be able to stay in the capital any longer due to treating a particularly difficult patient. With the manager's probing and sidelong questioning, it was almost certain that the patient was Prince Huai.

Prince Huai, indeed, was a difficult entity.

What was more troubling was that Miss Jun had mentioned Prince Huai.

"Jiuling, I remember you mentioned Prince Huai's mansion,"

When Miss Jun saw this sentence in Fang Chengyu's letter, her brows furrowed slightly.

Did he remember? But she had never spoken of it to him; since her rebirth, she'd only mentioned the Prince Huai's mansion once...

"... When you were not at home, I had nothing to do and enjoyed listening to everyone talk about your past... "

"... You once asked Manager Gao about affairs in the capital, and you also mentioned Prince Huai, which scared grandmother and mother terribly... "

People don't talk about something for no reason.

Fang Chengyu sat in front of his desk, looking out at the night view from the window, the room warm as spring; the spot he occupied was Miss Jun's former study, now used by him as his own.

Of course, it was only temporary. When she returned, he would give it back to her.

If she was ever coming back, that is.

Fang Chengyu stroked the blooming Gold Cup Jade Chalice flowers placed on the desk head, a precious variety from Zhangzhou, blossoming with a clear fragrance indoors during winter.

He recalled that time in the bathroom when she suddenly turned around.

"Chengyu, I remembered something."

She began, but then swallowed her words back down, she did not continue.

Perhaps because it couldn't be said or saying it would be pointless.

She wanted to go to the capital, she had always wanted to.

The place one always longs to visit must be because there are people or things there that one cares about.

She opened a medical clinic, she did not treat the commoners' illnesses, instead she preferred to teach her skills to other doctors and did not offer treatments for the public, her heart set on serving only the distinguished, her attention solely fixed on that most esteemed place.

Fang Chengyu picked up his pen.

"…The imperial physician said Prince Huai's illness is thorny, they have all converted their family fortunes into silver banknotes, to facilitate withdrawal and transfer…"

He stopped writing there.

He wanted to write, "Do not get involved," but felt it would be unreasonable to say that. Jiuling Hall might be famous, but Prince Huai's condition was the responsibility of the Imperial Hospital, and they certainly wouldn't seek a folk doctor, let alone a young female doctor whose reputation was somewhat sensationalist.

But what if she wanted to intervene?

Fang Chengyu sighed lightly and put his pen to paper.

"…According to the imperial physician, Prince Huai is ill; originally it wasn't serious, but repeated complications have turned it into a severe sickness…"

His pen paused at this sentence but after a moment, with some decisiveness, he continued.

"…Jiuling, it is easier to treat diseases than to treat fate, be careful…"

After reading the last line, Miss Jun felt a mix of complex emotions inside.

How can there be children in the world so keenly perceptive, almost to the point of eeriness? Or rather, was what she considered secure actually full of holes and doubts in the eyes of someone astute?

She picked up the letter and threw it into the fire basin, watching it slowly turn to ashes.

How terrifying it is to provoke Lu Yunqi, everyone knows, yet he sent her the imperial decree that protected the Fang Family's lives.

How dangerous it is to approach Prince Huai's mansion, everyone knows, yet he informed her of the illness, only telling her to be careful.

Is it because this originated from you, so dying for it holds no fear for you?

This winter is very cold, yet it feels so warm.

...............

The imperial palace seemed even more solemn in winter.

A sharp crackling sound.

Made the eunuchs standing outside on the porch lower their heads once again.

Lu Yunqi listened without emotion to the angry chastisement coming from inside where the emperor was.

"…How has it become difficult to treat? Isn't it just a cold? Are you all so incompetent that you can't even cure a cold? Aren't you ashamed to call yourselves imperial physicians?"

The emperor was always graceful and courteous, esteemed the learned and respected the virtuous, so speaking like this showed how truly angry and anxious he had become.

"Your Majesty," Imperial Physician Jiang's tired voice came from inside, "The prince's condition is no longer just a cold, the illness has lingered too long and has now become difficult to treat."

"Repeated, and whom do we blame for it? Isn't it because of you? If you had treated him properly from the start, it wouldn't have turned into a serious illness," the emperor rebuked.

"Emperor, you can't blame the doctors entirely," an elderly female voice rose.

This was the Empress Dowager.

Lu Yunqi still looked ahead, listening as the Empress Dowager continued.

"…Children are prone to getting sick, and like adults when sick, they dislike taking medicine. As soon as they feel a bit better, they run about carelessly, not knowing any better. This winter is also cold, so many people have fallen ill, including several in our palace."

"These servants of Prince Huai's mansion are all useless. How have they taken care of Prince Huai? They should all be punished," the emperor spoke again.

"Let's not talk about punishment for now. We should concentrate on curing the illness," the Empress Dowager advised, "Losing your temper is futile; what doctor doesn't want to cure their patient, but sometimes the sickness does not obey us, emperor you are being too harsh."

Meaning, it's not justifiable to blame the imperial physicians if the treatment fails.

The room filled with the rustle of robes as people knelt.

"We are at fault," the voices of the imperial physicians rang out in unison.

The emperor was benevolent and filial, and naturally would not argue with the Empress Dowager's words. The room was silent for a moment, followed by a long sigh.

"You all must remember, Prince Huai is the only surviving descendant of the former Crown Prince. You must devote yourselves; otherwise, I would feel shame before the former emperor and the Crown Prince."

Lu Yunqi wondered if it was just his illusion, but after that sentence was spoken, it seemed as if the world had quieted for a moment before everything returned to normal.

The sound of kowtowing echoed.

"We will spare no effort."

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Adding an update.