Ning Wanwan felt more sympathetic hearing how he developed this skill. She imagined young Si Zhan, confined in the palace, looking up at freely flying birds and passing long, boring days throwing stones at them. He must have been lonely.
“Imperial Uncle, don’t be discouraged. You will definitely get better,” Ning Wanwan said seriously, her tone encouraging.
“You… hope I’ll recover?” Si Zhan asked, his clear eyes sparkling.
Ning Wanwan nodded firmly, “Yes.”
A burning smile emerged from deep within Si Zhan. For these words, he would climb out of his grave even after death. She would never know that it was she who ignited his withered heart and life.
After leaving the Great Xiangguo Temple, Rui Yi reminded Ning Wanwan that it was getting late. Concerned that her grandmother would worry, she prepared to say goodbye.
She took out a delicate fish-shaped tassel pouch in peacock blue and emerald green from her body and handed it to Si Zhan: “This is a peace charm I just prayed for my uncle at the temple. I chose an elegant pouch, hoping it can bless him with peace and long-lasting good fortune.”
Si Zhan looked at the pouch, stunned. So she had been so devout in her prayers for him?
Noticing Si Zhan’s motionless stare, Ning Wanwan wondered if he might not like carrying incense pouches, as he always dressed simply, wearing only jade and fewer accessories. “Uncle, do you not like this…?” “No.” Si Zhan quickly took the pouch and tied it to his waist belt, then looked up at Ning Wanwan and said, “I like anything you give me.”
That night, at the Yi Wang Mansion, in the Quiet Water Deep Room. Si Zhan sat alone behind the pearl curtain in a rosewood armchair, the pouch hanging from his waist. His left hand held an exquisite hand warmer, while his right arm rested on the lingzhi tea table. His long fingers unconsciously traced the edge of the Ru kiln tea cup, lost in thought. “Creak——” The door opened from outside. Yuan Bi escorted a white-haired man in a blue robe, his eyes covered with a black cloth, using the sword hilt to guide him.
This was the traveling doctor Ning Wanwan had seen. The doctor looked panicked, his hands bound behind his back. He stumbled over the threshold, stammering, “Great hero, where are you taking me?”
Yuan Bi pushed the doctor to kneel and quickly drew his sword, pressing the cold blade against the doctor’s neck. The doctor trembled, pleading, “Great hero, spare me!”
Yuan Bi threatened, “Repeat what you said before, and if there’s a lie, be careful of losing your head.” The doctor immediately responded, “Okay, okay, I’ll tell you. Today, a strange girl brought me a medical record to analyze the illness. I glanced at it and saw it was the pulse of a dying person. I didn’t want to look, but the girl stuffed me with silver notes, so I had to.”
He continued, “The pulse and symptoms were of congenital weakness, indicating a likely short lifespan, probably not living past 24.” Yuan Bi’s sword-hand trembled slightly as he looked up at Si Zhan, who sat quietly behind the pearl curtain, his expression calm.
“Continue,” Si Zhan prompted.
“But the girl didn’t believe me. She insisted her loved one was poisoned by something called ‘bone-eroding cold’ and begged me to find a way to detoxify him.”
A sudden crack echoed in the empty room — the sound of a porcelain cup breaking. Yuan Bi’s expression changed, and he quickly looked at Si Zhan, who appeared shocked, as if awakening from a dream.
“What sound?” the doctor asked, terrified.
Yuan Bi pressed the sword down. “What loved one? Stop talking nonsense.”
“I’m not talking nonsense,” the doctor retorted. “She said the person in the medical record was more important to her than her own life. If that’s not a loved one, what is?”
Yuan Bi was rendered speechless.
“Did she really say that?” Si Zhan asked, his voice trembling.
The doctor realized there were others in the room and nervously stuttered, “Ab-absolutely true.”
Si Zhan’s lips curved slightly, reassured that she held him in her heart.
Yuan Bi, somewhat angry, asked, “Why didn’t you say she was a loved one before?”
“Great hero, you didn’t ask in detail,” the doctor replied.
Yuan Bi was momentarily stunned, suppressing his anger. “And then?”
The doctor shrugged. “Then, I drove her away.”
“Drove her away?” Yuan Bi exclaimed.
“What else could I do? I don’t know anything about that ‘bone-eroding cold’ poison. Where would I solve it for her?”
Then, with a shocked expression, he said, “Maybe there’s no such thing as ‘bone-eroding cold.’ I think that girl… might have a problem.” He pointed to his head.
Yuan Bi was speechless, realizing he had brought back someone who was rambling. After questioning, Yuan Bi’s expression darkened, and he made a throat-cutting gesture to Si Zhan behind the pearl curtain, asking if he should silence the doctor. Si Zhan shook his head, indicating to let the man go.
Yuan Bi dragged the doctor up from the ground, warning him: “Leave Biandu City immediately. Don’t let me see you again, or your life will be in danger.” The doctor nodded vigorously, “Yes, yes, yes.”
After sending the doctor away, Yuan Bi returned, anxiously asking: “Master, why didn’t you let me kill that doctor? What if he’s discovered by the palace and leaks those words? It might bring disaster to you.”
Si Zhan did not answer but instead asked Yuan Bi, “Do you believe what he said?” Yuan Bi thought for a moment and replied, “I do not believe.”
Si Zhan, however, said, “I believe.” Upon hearing this, Yuan Bi was stunned.
Sihan looked at the pearl curtain, his gaze empty, as if seeing through to an unknown truth, and whispered, “But I don’t believe in him.” He believed in Ning Wanwan.
Sihan had a strange intuition that Ning Wanwan seemed to know something he didn’t, which was why her attitude towards him had changed.
Although he was unsure what Ning Wanwan knew, he believed she was helping him.
Since childhood, he had been told that he, Sihan, would not live past twenty-four. His father the emperor had issued an imperial decree to seek famous doctors for his treatment, but the results were always the same as the palace physicians’ diagnosis.
With his father planning out his entire future, Sihan had come to think of himself as a dying man. He never considered that his illness might be due to poisoning.
Looking at his pale left hand, he felt joy seep into his eyes. If it was indeed poisoning, then he had hope of survival.
Knowing he was short-lived, he had never dared to express his love for Ning Wanwan, silently protecting her in his heart. But now that he learned he might survive, he clenched his fingers into a fist, gazing ahead with unwavering determination.
Then he would never choose to silently watch her. He would fight to take Ning Wanwan back.
Yuan Bi frowned, not understanding, “If that’s the case, my lord should not have let him stay.”
Sihan curved his lips, revealing a cold smile, “My life has never needed to be exchanged for someone else’s.”
“My lord!” Yuan Bi became anxious, hoping Sihan would reconsider. He had followed his lord for eight years and knew that the situation allowed no carelessness.
The empress dowager had been probing his lord’s condition. Once the wandering doctor fell into her hands, she would likely believe what he said, whether true or false, and act against his lord.
Sihan slightly raised his hand to indicate his mind was made up. Yuan Bi had no choice but to obey and remain silent.
Sihan stood by the window, looking at the moonlight, feeling bright in his heart, and unconsciously rubbing the hand warmer, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
