Chapter 6
When I woke again, three days had passed. An agonizing pain pierced my leg.
Xue Mingyuan sat beside the bed, dark shadows beneath his eyes.
Seeing me awake,
he shot to his feet. “So you remembered to wake up?”
I blinked. “The child?”
He laughed in exasperation. “You nearly died, and you’re still thinking about the child?”
Since he could still joke, I let out a relieved breath.
Then his eyes reddened, and he swore at me.
“Xie Yuanzhen, are you out of your mind?”
“Why would a pacification commissioner charge in there?”
“Do you know that if that beam had fallen just a little differently, you’d be dead?”
The room fell quiet. I looked at the snow outside.
“But if I hadn’t gone in, they would have died.”
Xue Mingyuan suddenly had nothing to say.
A long while later, he spoke more softly.
“At the palace banquet… I was narrow-minded.”
On the third day after my injury, a rider arrived at speed from the capital.
Xue Mingyuan opened the letter. There was only one brief question.
“How is the injury?”
There was no signature. Everyone knew who had written it.
I glanced at it and set it aside.
I did not reply.
Three days later, the second letter came.
“An imperial physician has left the capital.”
Five days after that, a third.
“Has the snow stopped?”
Again, only a few words.
Outside, the wind and snow had not stopped.
There were still six counties under Yongzhou’s jurisdiction that I had not visited.
We were three thousand jin short of medicinal supplies, and the granaries were still a fifth below requirements.
I tucked the letters against my chest and did not open them again.
Distance made it a little easier to think clearly.
The moment Imperial Physician Du entered, his whiskers began bristling with anger.
“A broken leg, and you’re still running about!”
“Are you trying to kill yourself?”
His scolding made my head ache. I could only smile apologetically.
“Please don’t be angry, sir. The people are waiting.”
Physician Du grew angrier. “The people are waiting? There are still splinters embedded in your leg!”
“Keep this up and don’t come to me when you’re lame for life!”
He scolded ferociously, but his hands never stopped.
He sorted out chest after chest of precious medicinal herbs.
When my medicine was brought, I handed him a list I had written.
“Physician Du, would you please see these critically ill children first?”
The old man ground his teeth. “You know perfectly well that His Majesty sent these supplies for you alone.”
“Such valuable medicines, so difficult to transport. They cost a fortune.”
I sighed, took the medicine, and drank it down.
Only then did I say, “But these people are all His Majesty’s subjects.”
He pointed at me and glared for a long time before speaking.
“The two of you will be the death of me!”
He snatched the list.
And left, still muttering curses.
After spring came, the court gazettes arrived more and more often.
I read them every day.
Sometimes they carried approvals for disaster relief, sometimes transfer orders from the Six Ministries.
Physician Du teased me.
“Your leg’s broken, and you’re still thinking about the court?”
“If you’re thinking of it, why not send in a memorial?”
I knew what he meant.
I smiled and, as always, turned to the last page.
There it was, in black and white.
Lady Cui, legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites, had been invested as Consort Xian and granted residence in the consorts’ quarters.
The room fell quiet. A long time passed
before I turned the page.
The refugees in the six counties were mostly settled.
Most of the shortfall in medicines had been met, and grain was gradually reaching the granaries.
The grain officer said he could withdraw once the court’s follow-up supplies arrived.
I stood on the city wall and looked down.
The porridge kitchens were still there, but the queues were much shorter than when we first arrived.
Some people had begun turning the soil, waiting for the spring sowing.
At some point, Xue Mingyuan had come up and taken his place beside me.
He drew a memorial from his sleeve.
“His Majesty asks when the work in Yongzhou will be finished.”
In the distance, someone called that the food was ready.
The porridge kitchens bustled. Children ran about with bowls in their hands.
I considered. “Tomorrow we’ll visit the remaining counties.”
“If there are no problems, we can set off.”
He stayed where he was, clenching his jaw. “I wanted to ask you, my lord. After you return to the capital…”
“What do you intend to do?”
I did not answer. His voice hardened.
“Xie Yuanzhen, I advise you to give up those improper thoughts before it’s too late.”
“His Majesty has a beautiful woman beside him now. In time, there will be a harem full of consorts, and children to continue his line.”
“If you know what’s good for you, don’t make things difficult for him.”
He spoke quickly and harshly.
I was not angry. Gently, I brushed a few fallen petals from his shoulder.
“Rest assured, Brother Xue. I know where I stand.”
He froze. “Who said we were brothers?”
Then he turned and walked away.
His boots splashed through the rainwater, spattering his trouser legs with mud.
Fine rain fell without cease along the official road back to the capital.
At least the weather was warmer. The journey was easier than before.
At a relay station, Physician Du pushed open my door.
Seeing me reading those three sheets again, he snorted. “Still awake?”
“Not for much longer.”
He came over and set the medicine bowl beside me.
“Drink it. The last dose.”
I lifted it and drank it in one go.
“I owe you a great deal for all you’ve done these past weeks.”
He waved a hand. “Take care of yourself when you’re back. That leg still needs rest. Don’t push it.”
I nodded.
He turned to leave, then stopped with his back to me.
“When news of your injury reached the capital, His Majesty crushed his tea cup in his hand.”
“He seized a horse at once and tried to leave the city.”
“Grand Secretary Chen and the others threatened to die in remonstrance. They stopped him.”
I bowed to him, answering a different question.
“Thank you for saving my life, sir.”
He sighed heavily and left.
The convoy set off the next morning.
The closer we came to the capital, the more anxious I became.
I could not help wondering whether he would come.
In the afternoon, the city gates opened wide. The officer on guard inspected the imperial decree,
then bowed at once. “You have had a hard journey, Lord Xie.”
Officials were already waiting inside to welcome us.
Only that one man was absent.
I looked away and mounted a horse with the officials who had come to meet us.
For an instant, I thought I saw a figure in imperial yellow standing at the very top of Anding Gate.
It was too far away.
Before I could look again,
the figure had turned and descended from the tower.