Chapter 158: Cold Illness
Ye Chutang propped herself up with her right hand on the edge of the bed and slowly sat up. She glanced at the pitch-black sky outside and sighed.
"You shouldn’t have... why go to all this trouble so late at night?"
Chu Qiyuan studied her for a few moments. Seeing that her face was pale but her spirits seemed fine, the heart that had been lodged in his throat for so long finally settled.
"The Eldest Princess was worried about you and specially sent someone to summon me. If not for that, I don’t know when I would have learned of your injury." As Chu Qiyuan spoke, his brow furrowed. "How on earth did this happen? How did you get so badly hurt?"
Ye Chutang shook her head.
"Doctor Chen and Sun Taiyi are here. They’ve already checked my pulse. There was no need to trouble you."
"What do those two know?" Chu Qiyuan said with a look of disdain.
Ye Chutang cleared her throat. "The Princely Heir and the Commandery Princess are still outside."
Chu Qiyuan realized he had been too agitated and felt a little embarrassed, so he quickly lowered his voice.
"I’m just speaking the truth. Their skills are what they are. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come rushing over in such a panic, would I?"
He was the Hospital Director of the Imperial Hospital, the most senior of all the imperial physicians. He wouldn’t hesitate to scold them to their faces.
Ye Chutang grabbed a bolster and found a more comfortable position to lean against the headboard.
He’d had this temper ever since she met him three years ago. He couldn’t be persuaded otherwise, so she had simply stopped trying.
"The two imperial physicians are helping to brew the medicine," Ye Chutang said.
Chu Qiyuan’s eyes lit up with hope. "The prescription you provided?"
Ye Chutang chuckled. "I was ’unconscious’ at the time. How could I have given them a prescription?"
Chu Qiyuan’s face fell with disappointment. "Oh. In that case, I’m afraid your recovery will be delayed even longer by them."
Ye Chutang’s lips curved into a smile. "It’s not as serious as you make it sound."
’After all, those two are from the Imperial Hospital. They wouldn’t have lasted this long without some skill.’
"Isn’t it all relative? They’re fine for treating common headaches and fevers, but your case—" Chu Qiyuan’s face was full of disapproval.
"My injuries aren’t severe. A few more days of rest will be enough." Ye Chutang paused, a little exasperated. "Besides, this is the Capital City. Please don’t use honorifics with me anymore. It wouldn’t do for others to hear it."
It was pure coincidence that she had come to know Chu Qiyuan.
At the time, she was traveling south with Yan, A Feng, and Xiao Wu when they encountered a plague among disaster victims on the road. As the Hospital Director of the Imperial Hospital, Chu Qiyuan had been sent there by imperial decree.
Back then, the plague was rampant. Chu Qiyuan had tried many methods, none of which had any significant effect, and the situation was growing worse.
One day, as he was checking the pulse of a terminally ill victim by the roadside, Ye Chutang approached him and said she had a method that could help him resolve the current crisis.
Chu Qiyuan didn’t know her then. Seeing a teenage girl with a few even younger children in tow, he didn’t take her words seriously. With a grim face, he just told her to leave quickly, or no one would be able to save them if they caught the plague.
Of course, Ye Chutang didn’t leave.
She stayed there for a full half-month.
And it was during that half-month that Chu Qiyuan came to regard her as a semi-master, treating her with the utmost respect ever since.
Later, the two occasionally exchanged letters and gradually became well-acquainted.
After Ye Chutang returned to the Capital City, Chu Qiyuan had wanted to visit her several times but had always held back.
He just never expected that after waiting so long, the one opportunity he finally got would be under these circumstances.
Chu Qiyuan nodded. "You are right. That is... ahem, Second Miss Ye is right. I understand."
Ye Chutang said, "Actually, there is something I need your help with this time."
Chu Qiyuan immediately replied, "You— Second Miss Ye, please speak."
...
CREAK—
The door opened, and Chu Qiyuan walked out.
Shen Yanchuan looked over as Princess Qingyang, unable to hold back any longer, rushed forward.
"Chu Hospital Director, how is Chutang?"
Chu Qiyuan stroked his beard, his brows knitted tightly, and let out a long sigh.
Princess Qingyang’s heart pounded with unease, and she glanced worriedly at Shen Yanchuan.
’From the looks of it, this seems... not good, does it?’
Chu Qiyuan said grimly, "Second Miss Ye’s injuries this time are quite serious."
Princess Qingyang let out a small "Ah!"
"How could that be? When Doctor Chen and Sun Taiyi checked her pulse just now, they said it was a superficial wound that didn’t harm her internally. They said as long as she received timely treatment and rested well, she would be fine. This..."
"Not so," Chu Qiyuan interrupted Princess Qingyang, his expression grave. "Second Miss Ye suffered from a cold ailment in her early years. This injury has caused a great loss of her qi and blood, damaging her vital energy and triggering the old affliction. It’s only natural that she has become bedridden."
Shen Yanchuan’s brow tightened slightly.
Princess Qingyang was a bit dazed. "A cold ailment? What does that mean?"
Chu Qiyuan glanced back at the closed door and sighed heavily.
"I heard that a few years ago, Second Miss Ye went to Wuzhou with her family and later fled south into exile. Perhaps the illness was contracted back then."
The surroundings fell silent for a moment.
The story of what the four Ye Family siblings went through back then was no secret in the Capital City.
But who would have thought that Ye Chutang had also suffered such an affliction?
Princess Qingyang murmured, "...That was in the dead of winter, which was indeed the coldest time of year. But... she always seemed perfectly fine before. She never looked like she was ill, did she?"
Chu Qiyuan countered, "I hear she spent the last few years in Jiangling, correct?"
Princess Qingyang fell silent.
Jiangling was a small place, but it was part of Jiangnan, which was warm and pleasant.
’So... was it to recuperate from her illness that Ye Chutang stayed there all this time and delayed her return to the Capital City?’
Shen Yanchuan asked, "Does Chu Hospital Director have a remedy?"
Chu Qiyuan pulled a prescription from his sleeve.
"I’ve just looked at the prescription from Chen and Sun. It only treats the symptoms, not the root cause, and at best provides a warming and nourishing effect. This is another prescription I’ve written. I’ve changed a few of the herbs. Brew the medicine according to this one, and we’ll change it again in ten days."
Shen Yanchuan took it and glanced down.
The calligraphy was wild, and a few spots of ink were not yet dry. It was clear that Chu Qiyuan had just written it.
Just then, Doctor Chen arrived, carrying a bowl of medicinal soup.
Seeing the three of them standing there, he froze.
"Hospital Director, what are you doing here?"
When Chu Qiyuan saw him, he immediately waved him over.
"You’re just in time. Go on, pour that soup out and brew a new dose according to what I’ve written."
Doctor Chen: "...???"
Shen Yanchuan folded the prescription and handed it over.
"Two of the medicinal herbs on this list are not available on the mountain. I will send someone to fetch them."
...
「The monastery’s woodshed.」
The area was now heavily guarded. The captured assassin was being held here.
"Greetings, Princely Heir!"
Seeing him arrive, everyone bowed respectfully.
Lian Zhou, who was guarding the door, immediately stepped forward.
"Master."
Shen Yanchuan said, "Immediately send someone down the mountain to fetch two herbs: Danggui and Galangal."
Lian Zhou was taken aback but immediately complied. "Yes!"
Shen Yanchuan looked toward the woodshed.
Lian Zhou said, "The man is inside. He hasn’t regained consciousness yet. Would you like to go in and see him now?"
Shen Yanchuan nodded.