The Imperial Physician came to the side hall. All sorts of expensive medicines were used, and the room was filled with the thick, bitter scent of herbal tea.
However, the young man’s high fever would not break.
Every day, several bowls of medicine were poured down his throat, yet Mu Jue’s face grew paler and paler. His body, which had never carried much weight to begin with, became even thinner because he could barely eat. His thin clothes hung loosely off his frame.
The physician sighed. While checking Mu Jue’s pulse, he looked at the young man’s gaunt cheeks and shook his head repeatedly.
“The Sixth Prince’s illness, a disease of the heart requires medicine for the heart. I am truly powerless.”
On the third day, still ill, Mu Jue was placed into a carriage to begin the journey to Northern Di.
The Emperor, accompanied by the Empress and various concubines, stood atop the palace walls to see him off.
Mu Jue had not seen the Emperor in a long time.
The Emperor was obsessed with alchemy and Taoism, seeking eternal life. He spent his days with Taoist priests or summoning young, beautiful new concubines. It was said that even the Empress did not see him often.
But the man now standing on the palace wall had an unhealthy, grayish-black complexion. His face was sharp, his cheekbones sunken, and his hair was turning silver at the temples. It seemed the “immortal pills” offered by the priests had not extended his life, but were instead draining his body dry.
This was likely Lu Shiting’s handiwork as well.
The Emperor looked relaxed, laughing and talking with the concubines beside him. By sending a hostage to Northern Di, the threat to the northern border was removed, and he could continue to sit peacefully on his dragon throne.
The only sacrifice was a prince of “questionable blood.” To him, this bargain was a great deal.
Mu Jue sat in the carriage. Xia Ming insisted on accompanying him to the border before leaving.
Mu Jue knew he looked frightening as if he might not survive the trip and would die on the road.
But he truly wanted to live.
He wanted to stay alive in Northern Di long enough to see the Crown Prince and the Ninth Prince destroy each other in their fight for the throne.
He also wanted to see Lu Shiting’s final end.
Would the man get his wish and wipe out the Mu royal family to become Emperor himself? Or would he end up like the powerful eunuchs of history—executed by the most painful means, cut into a thousand pieces?
As the convoy left the capital and passed through the countryside, an Imperial Guard suddenly pulled back the carriage curtain.
“The Crown Prince is outside and asks the Sixth Prince to come speak with him.”
Xia Ming hurried to roll up the curtain. Mu Jue remained leaning against the carriage without getting up, only turning his head to look at the woods beside the road.
The Crown Prince sat atop a tall horse, wearing apricot-yellow robes and expensive accessories. He was followed by a squad of Imperial Guards, showing the prestige of the heir to the throne.
He appeared to be out hunting; he held a longbow, and the guards behind him carried prey like wild pheasants and chickens.
The Crown Prince rode closer, wearing his usual gentle smile.
“Sixth Brother is unwell and still sick. There is no need to leave the carriage to bow or speak with me.”
Mu Jue looked at him calmly. “It is just as well. I have something to return to Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What is it?”
Mu Jue took a sandalwood box from his bundle and handed it over.
The Crown Prince did not reach for it directly. He let an Imperial Guard take it and open it first.
“Reporting to the Crown Prince, the box contains a white jade ring.”
A look of confusion crossed the Crown Prince’s face. He didn’t seem to understand why Mu Jue was giving him this. Only when he saw the style of the ring did he suddenly remember—he had indeed given this little trinket to Mu Jue once.
The Crown Prince waved his hand for the guard to put the item away.
“I actually came today to see you off. Once you go to Northern Di, I’m afraid we brothers may never see each other again in this life.”
Mu Jue listened expressionlessly.
“I have nothing else for you to take, so I had someone paint a map of the capital’s grand scenery for you. If you miss your homeland in the bitter cold of Northern Di, you can open it and look at it anytime.”
Xia Ming took the painting for him. Mu Jue felt the material of the scroll, calculating how much silver it might be worth at a pawn shop.
“Does Your Highness have anything else to say?”
“Take care of yourself on the road, Sixth Brother.”
The Crown Prince turned his horse around, but then turned back to say one last thing in a low voice. His smile was like that of a kind older brother pitying a younger brother who had gone astray.
“I told you long ago, Sixth Brother: princes who submit to powerful eunuchs never come to a good end. Why didn’t you believe me? If you had listened to my advice and been a good, obedient brother, perhaps the one sitting in that carriage today would be Heng’er, not you.”
Mu Jue’s lips curved into a sarcastic smile.
The young man’s eyes were dark and dim from the high fever. The corners of his eyes and his nose were flushed red, while his lips were bloodless and white. His voice was hoarse.
“A good brother?” he thought. Something the Crown Prince threw away like trash was something Mu Jue had never even been allowed to have.
“Your Highness has finished speaking. It is time for me to depart.”
Mu Jue looked away. After the carriage moved a few steps, he lowered his head and coughed, his throat feeling as if it were tearing apart.
Xia Ming hurriedly poured him some water. “You must have caught a chill while talking to the Crown Prince. The doctor said you must not get cold again.”
He drank the water, and later, his medicine.
The carriage was bumpy, making it extremely hard to sleep.
By evening, as the sky turned completely dark, the convoy showed no signs of stopping to set up camp and rest.
Mu Jue leaned his head back, his thin neck tensed. The dark veins on the side of his neck were clearly visible beneath his pale skin.
Outside, Xia Ming was arguing with the guards.
“The Sixth Prince still has a high fever! How can he endure such a long, rough journey? He vomited up most of the medicine he drank today because of the bumps. If you refuse to stop and rest, are you trying to kill him?!”
The guard replied, “The Emperor has decreed that our arrival in Northern Di cannot be delayed. As a prince, the Sixth Prince should understand this.”
“If something happens to him on the road, can you take responsibility for such a crime?!”
The guard roughly brushed aside the curtain and looked inside.
Seeing the pale, weak young man, a look of disdain flashed across his face.
“He has good food and expensive medicine. What could happen? We have orders from the Emperor; I do not dare disobey. The Sixth Prince will just have to endure for a few more days. You can rest once we reach Northern Di.”
It wasn’t until the following night that the convoy finally stopped to rest.
Mu Jue endured the nausea in his stomach and stepped off the carriage to rest on the ground while eating some food.
He could only swallow porridge. Anything greasy made him vomit.
Fortunately, the medicine kept him going. For the time being, he felt he wouldn’t die just yet.
Several guards gathered around the campfire for warmth, drinking wine and talking about the northern border.
“What bad luck, getting this job. We can’t stay in the capital; we have to go suffer in that godforsaken northern wasteland.”
“Tell me about it. I heard Northern Di captured three or four of our cities just two months ago. They killed the men or made them slaves… the handsome ones were even kidnapped by Northern Di nobles to be male playthings.”
“There are still many refugees fleeing the war in the north. Who knows how chaotic it will be when we get there.”
“Northern Di is full of uncivilized savages, so of course they do all sorts of filthy things. But then again, plenty of nobles in our capital like pretty boys, too.”
One guard glanced sideways at Mu Jue. “Honestly, brothers, some men are born prettier than women. I wonder if they’d be more fun to play with than the singers in a brothel.”