15
Forbidden Court, Liangyi Hall.
Several ministers who had been summoned for an audience had just left the hall. The gilded, spiral-patterned incense burner held smoldering Borneo camphor with a heavy, dense fragrance, and damp, moist smoke was rising toward the ornate caisson ceiling.
The Emperor sat at his dragon desk, his expression slightly impatient. The chief eunuch, skilled at reading faces, immediately discerned the Emperor’s thoughts and quickly ordered a palace maid to remove the incense from the burner.
The chief eunuch said respectfully, “Your Majesty, it is already the seventh watch. Which noble consort’s palace would you like to go to for the evening meal?”
The Emperor frowned and waved his hand, his mind full of what the ministers had just said—
“Your Majesty, in this battle at Beiyuan, the Marquis of Dingbei’s Wolf Cavalry suffered nearly two thousand casualties, and the Great Li’s frontier forces suffered nearly twenty thousand casualties.”
“Your Majesty, the Marquis of Dingbei and the Capital Circuit army have just returned from a great battle. Their morale is inevitably weakened. The military governor of Qianzhong Circuit in the southern borderlands has taken advantage of the chaos to illegally recruit a large number of conscripted soldiers. The prefectural troops of the other supervisory circuits may not be able to stand against them.”
At this thought, the Emperor sighed.
The chief eunuch consoled him, “Your Majesty, the Marquis of Dingbei has returned from the frontier. What is there to worry about?”
The Emperor’s eyes deepened slightly as he rubbed the jade thumb ring on his thumb.
The fact that Huo Pingxiao had not died but had returned safely made the Emperor’s emotions particularly complex—both joy and relief, but also fear and anxiety.
After a moment of silence, the Emperor said coldly, “I have been raising the Sixteen Guard Garrisons of the Southern for nothing. I don’t know what they’ve been doing. The Crown Prince was even able to be assassinated in the Eastern Palace’s household bureau!”
The chief eunuch replied, “Your Majesty, your decree was issued this morning. The commanders of the Imperial Guard and the Gate Guard have both been stripped of their positions.”
The more the Emperor thought about it, the more stifled he felt. He had originally thought the Great Li could enjoy peace for a few years, so four years ago, he had transferred Huo Pingxiao from Jiannan Circuit to Chang’an, hoping to diminish the man’s military power.
The Emperor did not want outsiders to think he mistreated meritorious officials. He had also bestowed a large mansion upon Huo Pingxiao, trying to soften the man with gold, silver, and beautiful women, and then finally grant him an honorary title with no real power, leaving him with empty authority.
He had even thought of simply making Huo Pingxiao marry a princess. Once a man became a royal consort, it meant he had to stay away from the center of power.
Who would have thought that the current situation was unstable? Within the Great Li, the political landscape was treacherous and unpredictable; beyond its borders, rival nations still surrounded it.
If they lost Huo Pingxiao, not only would their territory be at risk, but even this dragon throne might not remain steady.
Huo Lang, a hidden dragon lying in wait, had remained in his chancellor’s mansion, claiming illness and staying out of sight. During the years of Huo Pingxiao’s expedition, he had quietly and steadily seized control over part of the military power of the Southern and Northern Garrisons.
The Emperor even began to suspect whether the assassination attempt on the Crown Prince might have been a warning from Huo Lang.
Even when the Emperor was still a prince, he had never been able to fathom the deep, inscrutable thoughts of this strategist. The Emperor knew well that during the succession struggle back then, all his imperial brothers were more outstanding than him. The reason Huo Lang had chosen him was because he thought he would be easier to control.
Though the Emperor felt stifled inside, he also deeply understood that the most formidable cavalry in the Great Li was Huo Pingxiao’s Wolf Cavalry.
The Wolf Cavalry’s thirty thousand soldiers could stand against three hundred thousand troops from any other army. Yet these soldiers would not obey this Son of Heaven’s commands—they would only be loyal to their supreme general, Huo Pingxiao.
Now, the Emperor still could not do without Huo Pingxiao. Seeing that the southern borderlands were about to fall into chaos again, the Emperor sighed once more.
If he didn’t give Huo Pingxiao some real benefits soon, and the man developed rebellious intentions, that would be disastrous.
The next day.
The Zichen Grand Hall was majestic and imposing in form, its atmosphere solemn and formidable.
After the court session ended, the civil and military officials filed out of the outer court one by one through the gate pavilions.
It was said that the Emperor had not held a large-scale court assembly in the outer court for a long time. That morning, the guards of the Imperial Guard had searched each minister’s person and also inspected their tally slips.
The Emperor symbolically allowed the ministers to present some matters, but few in the hall actually listened attentively. Everyone was simply stunned by the news that the Marquis of Dingbei, Huo Pingxiao, had been appointed Grand Marshal that very day.
The position of Grand Marshal carried a salary equivalent to that of the Chancellor, was bestowed with a gold seal and purple ribbon, and ranked above the Three Excellencies. However, it was not merely an impressive-sounding honorary title, but a substantive position with real authority over the nation’s military affairs. Within the court, it also controlled the government’s central mechanisms.
Of course, the Emperor was not foolish, and the Huo family was not the only military-meritocratic clan in Chang’an. Yet the military power allocated to the other garrison forces could not significantly affect the authority that Huo Pingxiao wielded.
Ministers who already had sons and grandchildren all marveled: How did Huo Lang raise his sons? How could he be so fortunate in producing offspring?
With a prodigy like Huo Pingxiao, no matter how hard other families’ sons tried, they could never match him. In comparison to him, they all paled.
They all felt that perhaps, with Huo Pingxiao’s generation, the Huo family’s glory had reached its peak. Once Huo Pingxiao’s son was born, their family would inevitably decline.
The Huo family surely could not produce any descendants more outstanding than Huo Lang and Huo Pingxiao. They would wait and see just how long this noble family, with its two marquises and tasseled official caps, could continue its arrogance.
Huo Pingxiao had always adhered to the military rites of Chu in his campaigns. Every spring and winter, if no enemies were invading, he would halt battles, cultivate fields, and allow his troops to rest and recuperate.
Thus, a saying circulated in Chang’an—
In May, Chang’an has two sights to behold.
First, watch the newly green locust and poplar trees lining the official roads.
Second, watch the vibrant, splendidly dressed Marquis of Dingbei riding his horse down the imperial avenue.
Outside the Vermilion Bird Gate, the willows were delicately beautiful, and the sound of barbarian flutes, with their exotic flavor, lingered in the air.
Huo Pingxiao generally disliked riding in carriages. The Emperor had bestowed countless fine horses upon him over the years, but in battle, the man still preferred to ride that wild, untamable golden-black steed.
Huo Pingxiao had ordered the golden-black horse to be kept in the stable. If it were to travel on the official roads, it could easily injure innocent civilians. Therefore, the stable master of the chancellor’s mansion had long prepared a blood-red Ferghana horse outside the high walls of the imperial palace.
The man wore a black brocade robe. His figure was tall and imposing—wasp-waisted, long-legged, with broad shoulders and a wide back. His powerful, narrow waist was bound by a cold-glinting leather belt. His entire being exuded the pride and cold arrogance of a marquis, his bearing also carrying the craggy, hardy toughness of a military general. He strode with long, powerful steps toward the Ferghana horse.
“Greetings, Marquis.”
The stable master bowed respectfully to him.
Huo Pingxiao’s dark brows and eyes were somewhat indifferent. He vaulted onto the horse’s back with agile skill. As his gloved, distinct knuckles took hold of the reins, the man gave a low command: “To the Duke of Pei’s mansion.”
The Duke of Pei’s Mansion.
The day before, Ruan An had had a servant of the Li family deliver medicine to He Xinyuan at the agreed-upon time. He Xinyuan’s biological mother, Concubine Fang, had accompanied her there, and she also asked the Li family servant to implore Ruan An to treat an ailing patient.
Ruan An had already arranged with Li Yifang that he would escort her and her son back to Jiazhou in five days. As the Junior Magistrate of the Capital, Li Yifang had command over a portion of the Imperial Guard street patrollers. Li Shuying’s people could not find her, and the safety of her and her child was assured.
Though Ruan An was more concerned about Ruan Xi’s safety, she still remembered the deep emotion she had felt as a child when she first read the Thousand Gold Formulas.
The first chapter of the Thousand Gold Formulas discussed the “Great Physician’s Sincerity” advocated by Sun Simiao. Two sentences remained deeply engraved in her mind, and Ruan An regarded them as her guiding principle—
“One must not hesitate, nor consider personal fortune or misfortune, nor be overly protective of one’s own life.”
“Do not avoid dangerous places, night or day, heat or cold, hunger or thirst, or fatigue—single-mindedly rush to the rescue.”
Back when there was cholera in Lingnan, Ruan An had not abandoned her patients out of fear for her own life. After some deliberation, she still accepted Concubine Fang’s invitation to go to the Duke of Pei’s mansion to treat a young lady.
Before entering the mansion, she had also learned from Li Yifang about the connection between the duke’s mansion and the Huo family. It turned out that the old duke’s eldest daughter, the late Madam Fang, was Huo Pingxiao’s biological mother and the deceased primary wife of Huo Lang.
He Xinyuan’s mother, Concubine Fang, was a legitimate daughter of the Duke of Pei’s mansion. The Fang family was also a prominent clan in the Great Li. Though Concubine Fang was a concubine, she held a high position in the He household.
Concubine Fang had also become suspicious of He Xinyuan’s persistently incurable pockmarks and sores. After He Xinyuan returned to the mansion that day, she told Concubine Fang about her conversation with Ruan An. It was only then that Concubine Fang realized that the medicines He Xinyuan was drinking and the food she was eating had all been tampered with by people from the primary wife’s courtyard.
But such dark inner-chamber affairs were not convenient for Concubine Fang to mention to Ruan An.
After inviting Ruan An into the inner chamber, Concubine Fang said gently, “My niece also came from Jiannan. She doesn’t like embroidery—she loves studying medicine and formulas. When I told her that Healer Ruan of Jiazhou was coming to treat her, she was overjoyed.”
Ruan An smiled helplessly. The patient she was about to see was named Fang Ran. According to Concubine Fang, she had just turned nineteen and was not yet married.
Fang Ran belonged to a collateral branch of the Fang family. She had lost her father at a young age, and half a year ago, her devoutly Buddhist mother had also passed away. She had no older or younger siblings to care for her.
Concubine Fang felt sorry for her, so she begged the Duke of Pei to bring Fang Ran from Jiannan to Chang’an, thinking that after she settled down, she would find a family with upright customs for her to marry into.
Unexpectedly, not long after arriving in Chang’an, Fang Ran fell seriously ill. She languished in bed all day, and many physicians were useless in treating her.
Fang Ran was young, in the prime of her life. Concubine Fang naturally did not want her to die so early. Though many physicians said she would not last much longer, she still decided to let Ruan An try.
When Ruan An entered the room, she saw that the young lady lying on the four-poster bed had a pale face with sunken cheeks—she had already lost some of her original appearance.
When Fang Ran saw her, her expression lit up with excitement. She propped herself up into a half-sitting position with great effort. After leaning weakly against the headboard with the help of a maidservant, she asked clearly, “Is it Healer Ruan?”
Ruan An nodded to Fang Ran, sensing that the young lady seemed to have much she wanted to say, but diagnosing the illness came first. She first took Fang Ran’s pulse.
After her slender fingers rested on the young lady’s thin wrist, Ruan An’s expression grew increasingly grave. She lifted her eyes and asked calmly, trying to maintain her composure, “Have you had any symptoms of coughing up blood recently?”
Fang Ran’s eyes were slightly narrow in shape. Though ill, they still had luster when looking at people. She answered truthfully, “Yes… this morning, I coughed up blood.”
Upon hearing this, Ruan An’s heart suddenly sank.
Given her symptoms, if she is coughing up blood, a tight and forceful pulse indicates death, while a slippery pulse indicates life.
And Fang Ran’s pulse was of the tight and forceful type…
In an instant, a flicker of gloom passed through Ruan An’s gentle eyes.
Even though she herself had died once, even though she had experienced war and cholera, and considered herself to have seen countless dead, she still could not take life and death lightly.
She felt great fondness for this young lady of the Fang family, yet she knew deeply that Fang Ran did not have much time left.
The so-called art of resurrection was not that a physician could bring a dead patient back to life, but rather to do their utmost to save a dying patient who still had a chance of survival from the hands of the King of Hell.
But Fang Ran’s signs of impending death were beyond even miraculous intervention.
“Elder Physician Ruan, don’t be sad. Many physicians have already told me this… I am already prepared.”
Ruan An suddenly looked up and saw Fang Ran looking at her with concern. She couldn’t help but blame herself repeatedly in her heart.
Divine Healer Sun had once criticized her, saying she was prone to showing sadness and vulnerability in front of patients suffering from severe illnesses or on the verge of death. For a physician, this was an inexcusable mistake.
Displaying such an expression would only make Fang Ran sadder.
But this young lady’s nature was too kind-hearted. Ruan An rarely encountered patients who, upon learning they had little time left to live, could remain so optimistic and strong, and even have the presence of mind to comfort the physician’s emotions.
Just then, a maidservant had suddenly come in and whispered a few words to Concubine Fang. So, when Ruan An was examining Fang Ran, Concubine Fang was not in the inner chamber.
After concluding her diagnosis, Ruan An still prescribed a formula for Fang Ran based on her condition, hoping to prolong her life as much as possible.
Ruan An was about to say a few more words of advice to Fang Ran when a conversation from outside the room suddenly made her expression change drastically—
“Tell me, coming to the duke’s mansion all of a sudden, why didn’t you let your aunt know in advance?”
“Aunt, are you not welcoming me?”
“What are you saying? Oh my, Zhongxun, you’ve lost so much weight.”
The male voice was cool in texture, deep and very magnetic. Though it sounded a bit hoarser than it had a few years ago, Ruan An could still recognize who the owner of this voice was.
Her hand trembled, her heartbeat suddenly quickened, and her breathing became uncontrollably disordered. In her mind gradually appeared the scene from her previous life, just before her death, of the man covering her body.
In truth, Ruan An had always thought that Huo Pingxiao might have forgotten her long ago, since the time they had spent together had not been long.
But unexpectedly, even though her face had been destroyed and she had become gaunt and withered, that proud, unrestrained man who called her his benefactor could still remember who she was.
Ruan An’s eyes gradually reddened.
She had never imagined that even though she had lived an entire new life, when she heard Huo Pingxiao’s voice again, her emotions would still spiral out of control.
Ruan An could no longer hear what Concubine Fang was saying to Huo Pingxiao. She only felt that the man’s voice, for once, carried a relaxed and open quality.
He gave a low, amused laugh, his tone confident and defiant: “Just a bunch of bluffing rabble. If it really came to a fight, it would only take a month.”
Fang Ran remembered Concubine Fang’s instructions. Before Ruan An arrived, they had agreed to her request not to reveal her identity.
Seeing Ruan An’s abnormal expression, Fang Ran lowered her voice and explained, “That person seems to be the Marquis of Dingbei. I’ve never met him. Every time he returns to Chang’an from an expedition, he seems to come to the duke’s mansion to visit my aunt.”
Ruan An forcibly calmed her emotions and nodded to Fang Ran.
Just then, Concubine Fang asked, “By the way, you have a distant cousin inside the room. She’s still ill. Would you like to see her?”
Ruan An’s heartbeat suddenly stopped for a moment. She could also sense the sound of their footsteps drawing closer and closer.
She could clearly feel, through the nearly transparent gauze screen, Huo Pingxiao’s sharp gaze already falling on her back.
**