As soon as they stepped into the inner chamber, a heavy, suffocating air of stillness and decay washed over them.
Prince Jing looked at his elder brother, who lay motionless on the bed with his eyes tightly closed, and felt a sharp ache rise in his chest. “Come here, little darling this is your father.”
Yi Yi was set down. Using both hands and feet, she scrambled nimbly up onto the bed. There before her lay a face of striking nobility and handsomeness. At last, she saw the father she had never met since she was born.
Her mother had not lied he truly was beautiful.
Yi Yi thought to herself: if she could take him back home, all the other children next door would be green with envy.
But handsome as he was, he also seemed to have a rather stern temper. Even with his eyes shut, he radiated an air of cold, unapproachable detachment.
While Yi Yi was studying her father closely, the Empress Dowager entered, accompanied by a man and a woman.
The woman in front was breathtakingly lovely, with the corners of her eyes faintly pink as if she had been crying. It was Consort Liu.
She glanced discreetly at Yi Yi sitting on the bed, then bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Prince Jing. Seeing His Majesty so gravely ill, I have been consumed with worry day and night, unable to sleep. I asked my father to search far and wide for the finest physicians. Our efforts have finally borne fruit I have brought Mister Bai from the Divine Medicine Valley.”
At the mention of those three words, both Prince Jing and the Empress Dowager looked up in surprise and delight.
There was good reason for their reaction. Legend held that the valley sheltered countless master healers, each said to be as skilled as the great physician Hua Tuo capable of bringing the dying back to life and healing the most severe injuries. To them, even the most baffling and incurable illnesses were but trivial matters.
Before this, both the Empress Dowager and Prince Jing had sent letters seeking help from the valley, only to receive no reply. They had never expected Consort Liu to succeed where they had failed.
Satisfied by their reaction, Consort Liu stepped aside to reveal the man standing behind her.
He was young, with silver hair that cascaded like a waterfall all the way to his ankles, swaying gently with every movement and lending him an otherworldly, ethereal grace. His eyes were slanted like a fox’s, giving him a strikingly alluring and unusual appearance.
He spoke in a calm, gentle tone: “I am Bai Ningbing, from the Divine Medicine Valley.”
He then produced a seal carved in the shape of a leaf as proof of his identity. Though the leaf was the recognized token of the valley, there was no easy way to verify its authenticity. The Empress Dowager did not linger on the seal, but instead observed his hands quietly.
Bai Ningbing’s face was flawless and handsome, yet his hands were rough and wrinkled, with fingertips tinged with a faint green hue the mark of someone who had spent years handling medicinal herbs.
The Empress Dowager nodded politely. “Thank you for coming to our aid, Mister Bai. For such a great kindness, the Empire of Great Xia shall reward you generously.”
Bai Ningbing’s examination did not take long. After feeling the Emperor’s pulse, he gave his diagnosis: “There is a curse-worm inside His Majesty’s body. He has been poisoned by sorcery.”
“A curse-worm?!” Consort Liu gasped. “That is something only found in the Southern Tribal lands! How could it have entered His Majesty’s body?”
The Empress Dowager and Prince Jing were equally puzzled.
The Southern Tribes were a small kingdom south of Great Xia, known for their mastery of witchcraft and sorcery. Ten years earlier, the previous Emperor had defeated their ruler in battle, and a truce had been signed: both sides would remain at peace for twenty years, and the tribes would send tribute to Great Xia every year.
Yet none among the Emperor’s closest ministers or the imperial consorts hailed from those southern lands. Where could such a worm have come from?
Unable to find an answer for the moment, Prince Jing spoke first to break the silence. “Speculation serves no purpose. We shall investigate this later. The most urgent matter now is to wake my brother.”
“Mister Bai do you have a way to cure him?”
None of the court physicians had even identified the nature of the poison, which showed just how dangerous and unusual it was. All hope now rested on this healer from the Divine Medicine Valley.
“Of course I do.”
Bai Ningbing took out his case of silver needles and began his work. His fingers moved swiftly and precisely, inserting the needles into various key points across Dongfang Mo’s body.
An hour later, his movements slowed. He gently withdrew the needle placed over the Emperor’s heart.
When they saw what clung to it, the Empress Dowager and the others drew in a sharp breath.
Wrapped around the tip was an extremely fine black thread, and at its end wriggled a tiny shadow no larger than a grain of rice.
It was the curse-worm itself!
Bai Ningbing quickly produced a small green porcelain jar and deftly flicked the creature inside. “The worm has been removed. In time, His Majesty will awaken.”
“Excellent, excellent!” The Empress Dowager was overjoyed. “Thank you, Mister Bai.” She then turned to Consort Liu with a look of approval. “And to you as well, Consort Liu you shall be richly rewarded for this.”
Consort Liu could barely suppress a smile. “It is my duty to share His Majesty’s burdens. I ask for nothing more than to one day bear an heir for him.”
If she could give birth to the eldest prince, every woman in the harem would bow to her authority.
The Empress Dowager smiled awkwardly. She had tried many times to encourage her son to be closer to his consorts, but without success. If not for the guidance of the Divine Beast Ancestral Glutton leading her to Yi Yi, who knew how long it would have taken before there was even one grandchild in the palace? Still, she gave her word. “Very well. I shall speak to him on your behalf.”
While the adults were lost in their relief, a soft, childish voice piped up unexpectedly: “Uncle, why did you only catch the baby worm? Why not catch the mother worm too?”
Yi Yi had not only noticed her father’s handsome face she had also seen the thick, dark energy surrounding him, and within his body two worms: one large, one small.
Her father was in pain, and she wanted to help him. She had hoped this uncle would take both worms out, but he had stopped after removing only one.
Taking just the baby worm was no good; the mother worm would keep producing more babies forever!
Prince Jing understood what the little girl meant and repeated her words. “Yi Yi, are you saying there are two worms inside your father? That this was only the smaller one, and there is still a larger one remaining?”
Yi Yi nodded firmly. “Yes! You have to take away the mother worm too don’t let her make more babies!”
Prince Jing and the Empress Dowager exchanged uneasy glances.
If what Yi Yi said was true, then the “mother worm” must be the queen of the curse. Without removing the source, the poison would continue to spread, and Emperor Jing would never truly wake up.
This was far from good news.
Consort Liu shot Yi Yi a sharp, angry glare. Everything had been going perfectly, until this little brat opened her mouth and started spouting nonsense.
Though inwardly furious, she kept her tone soft and gentle. “Children should not tell tales. How could you possibly know what is inside His Majesty’s body?”
Her glance had been swift, but to Yi Yi it seemed to move in slow motion she saw it clearly.
Her trust in this beautiful lady vanished instantly. She planted her chubby hands on her hips and puffed out her cheeks, looking fierce in her tiny way. “Baby saw it with her own eyes!”
Startled by the child’s boldness, Consort Liu snapped back: “You you! No wonder you speak so rudely, coming from such a remote place! Is this how your mother taught you to behave?”
Turning to the Empress Dowager, she began to weep. “Your Majesty, this princess was raised in the countryside and has clearly learned bad manners from those around her. If she acts this way in the palace, it will surely bring shame upon the imperial family!”
But the Empress Dowager remained unmoved.
She might not know others well, but she knew her own precious granddaughter. Yi Yi was sometimes mischievous, but she would never act out without reason. Consort Liu must have done something to upset her.
“Yi Yi, why did you speak sharply to Consort Liu?”
“Because she glared at baby!”
The cold, sharp gaze of Prince Jing and the Empress Dowager fell upon Consort Liu like needles. She had never imagined such a small gesture would be noticed, let alone reported by the child. This little creature was far more perceptive than she seemed!
Consort Liu pressed her handkerchief to her eyes, feigning hurt. “I have been crying so much these past days that my eyes are dry and sore. I never meant to glare surely it was only a misunderstanding.”
Since she had put it that way, the Empress Dowager could not easily blame her. Besides, the more pressing concern was the mother worm still dwelling inside Dongfang Mo.