In the brief moment Qu Dubian was communicating with the simulator, Xia Fuyang had already noticed something was wrong.
He waved a hand in front of Qu Dubian's eyes.
His breathing was weak but steady, yet there was no reaction at all, and his pupils did not react to the light as a normal person's would when their eyes were open.
"..."
Xia Fuyang suddenly felt a chill run through him.
Yang Chonghua hurried over upon hearing the news, followed by a large, bustling crowd of people.
She yanked the dumbfounded Xia Fuyang aside. Upon getting a clear look at Qu Dubian, she let out a surprised sound, "These eyes?"
Xu Jin stood on his tiptoes to look inside, while Yi Shier stood quietly to the side.
Qu Dubian had no internal energy left. It was too late to close his eyes and pretend to be asleep. The old lady had already grabbed his pulse and started peeling back his eyelids.
"There are no signs of damage to the eyes."
Her aged fingertips pressed across the bridge of his nose. A faint but precise burst of internal energy pressed down through the old lady's fingertips, causing a sudden, sharp ache inside Qu Dubian's cranial cavity.
He closed his eyes reflexively.
Yang Chonghua wiped the corner of his eye but found no reflex tears stimulated by the pressure.
"Just as I thought."
"Since there are no scars on the eyeballs, the cause must be intracranial. The sphenoid sinus is damaged, compressing the cranial cavity and resulting in blindness. Damaging the sphenoid sinus once or twice wouldn't cause such severe consequences; it would slowly recover. However, the current situation clearly indicates prolonged, continuous damage."
She was truly bewildered. "In all my years of practicing medicine, this is the first time I've seen anything like this. Little General, you must have lost your sense of smell a long time ago, haven't you?"
Qu Dubian: "..."
He remained silent for a moment before finding an excuse. "My internal energy is unique. It was caused by its impact."
Then, clearing his throat, he spoke his second sentence since waking up from his coma.
"I... am hungry."
Having just woken up, his brain was still sluggish. He needed some time to think about what to say.
Xu Jin hurriedly said, "Quick, go get some food."
He whispered into Yi Shier's ear, "This must be a fake injury too, right? No wonder Little Darling's reaction is so calm." He even used the excuse of being hungry to deflect Doctor Yang's questioning.
Yi Shier's pitch-black pupils stared at the youth on the bed, his hands resting by his sides slowly clenching into fists.
A few seconds later, under Xu Jin's increasingly tense gaze, he gave a soft hum of agreement.
Xu Jin let out half of the breath he had been holding and walked briskly to the bedside. "Little Darling, Grandpa is here."
Qu Dubian's ears twitched slightly. He tentatively grabbed Xu Jin's hand, his fingertips tapping reassuringly three times on his grandfather's aged palm, writing the character for fake. "Don't worry, Grandpa, I'm fine."
"You silly boy, are you trying to comfort your grandpa?"
Xu Jin felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. He thought that even if it was a fake injury, the methods used to deceive Doctor Yang must have been extraordinary, and he must have suffered a great deal.
Fearing he would worry, the boy had warned him in advance. The first thing he did upon waking was to be mindful of Xu Jin's hidden injuries, ensuring he wouldn't be emotionally disturbed.
His grandson had his own thoughts and ideas. Whatever he wanted to do upon returning to the capital, Xu Jin wouldn't stop him, but he truly couldn't bear to see him like this.
"Grandpa is perfectly fine now. You and Little Xia fought the battles, so Grandpa has just been resting and recovering."
Qu Dubian: "Just focus on nursing your health. Don't stress yourself over my matters."
Yang Chonghua glanced at the grandfather and grandson, one injured, the other disabled.
She didn't say anything to dampen their spirits at a time like this. After doing another check-up and confirming the patient's condition, she went out to brew some medicine.
It would be perfect timing; the little general could take his medicine after he finished eating.
Before long, a bowl of rice porridge was brought in, containing bits of minced meat and crushed salted egg yolk.
Qu Dubian felt embarrassed to have his elderly grandfather feed him. Just as a look of refusal appeared on his face, he heard Yi Shier's voice. "Let me do it."
"Marquis Xu, your treatment isn't finished yet either. Please return to your tent to rest. I would like to speak with His Highness alone."
Xu Jin glanced at him, assuming the two of them had already agreed on this, and nodded. "Alright."
Xu Jin left, taking the other people in the tent with him.
Xia Fuyang wasn't there. After hearing Yang Chonghua's diagnosis, he had left without looking back. No one knew what he went to do.
Yi Shier tested the temperature of the rice porridge in the bowl.
Even though it was a simulation, his physical condition was still real. Qu Dubian truly didn't have much strength. Yi Shier scooped him up from the bed and propped pillows behind him.
His face felt a bit itchy, as if Liuliu's hair had brushed against it.
The wooden spoon clinked softly against the rim of the bowl, and a warm spoon was pressed against his lips.
Qu Dubian opened his mouth, eating bite by bite as Yi Shier fed him.
He kept his head down and ate silently, his dark hair scattered behind him. He lacked any of his usual flamboyance and was very quiet.
From the moment he woke up until now, aside from his initial confusion when he first opened his eyes, he hadn't asked a single question about his physical condition.
Let alone ask about his eyes.
It was unclear whether he was avoiding the subject or if he had completely realized his situation and felt there was no point in asking.
If his damaged meridians were a disguise, what about the damage to his sphenoid sinus?
Yi Shier was the only person who knew he had used acupuncture needles on himself.
He had remained silent the whole time. After finishing the porridge, Qu Dubian cleared his throat again. "Liuliu, um, I..."
"I helped Your Highness hide the truth from Marquis Xu. The secret hasn't been exposed."
Qu Dubian: "I could sense that."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized Liuliu had set a trap for him. The word exposed was used to describe something unknown to others, but his grandfather already knew his meridian injuries were fake, so that word shouldn't apply.
He couldn't help but rub his forehead. "Liuliu."
The last bit of insistence on believing him in Yi Shier's heart was dissipating.
"So you really can't see anymore, can you?"
Qu Dubian: "It's all part of the plan. Everything is under my control."
He quickly opened the simulator: "Start simulation!"
Qu Dubian: "After turning on the simulation and setting the realism value to zero, will my eyes be able to see?"
Simulator: "You can see without setting it to zero. To facilitate the writing of papers on blindness-related diseases, the simulator provides a visual assistance mode for the host."
Qu Dubian: "Turn it on, turn it on, turn it on."
Simulator: "Friendly reminder: Apart from the lottery and disease simulation, the simulator's other auxiliary skills are rather rudimentary."
How rudimentary could it be?
Qu Dubian pressed confirm, and the outside scene slowly appeared in his mind.
It was a 2D cartoon style with extremely crude details, looking like a bare-bones house that had been swept by a tornado.
Sitting by his bed was a chibi version of Liuliu, looking like a sad cardboard cutout with stick-figure dot eyes.
Qu Dubian: "..."
The visual impact was too strong. He struggled to hold back his almost uncontrollable emotions.
After taking a moment to recover, he finally spoke.
"I am blind, but I can see my surroundings. You are wearing a dark blue outfit today."
Yi Shier looked down at his clothes.
Then, he randomly grabbed an object in the tent and held it up in front of Qu Dubian. "What is in my hand?"
Qu Dubian stared at the cartoonish, stick-figure spherical object in his hand. "..."
Help, it's so abstract. Simulator, could you maybe draw a few more strokes?
What on earth was Liuliu holding?!
He pointed at it, hesitating for a long time. "A cuju ball?" The military camp did have those.
Yi Shier: "It's a gourd cut in half."
The youth's expression turned sheepish. "Give me another chance."
"If you were fine, one try would be enough. Since you are not fine, further testing is useless."
The last tiny, precarious shred of credibility Qu Dubian had in Yi Shier's heart completely went bankrupt.
Knowing what clothes he was wearing and being able to point at the gourd in his hand, but unable to tell exactly what it was, meant that His Highness was not completely blind.
After all, not all blind people saw a world of complete darkness.
His Highness's eyes were indeed damaged, but at most, he could only see a rough outline and perceive a bit of light and color.
Yi Shier was a deeply introverted person who rarely showed his emotions.
After confirming his suspicions, it took him a long time to forcefully suppress his turbulent emotions one by one.
His Highness's hasty explanation and the actions he took to prove his eyes were fine stung him deeply.
He wondered if His Highness was afraid.
He must be afraid. No one could quickly adapt to the sensation of losing their sight.
His Highness was only seventeen. He loved vibrant colors so much and had collected such a wide variety of spices. Such a radiant person absolutely did not deserve to be cruelly stripped of his childhood passions as a reward for his achievements in conquering the Northern Frontier and defending the realm.
Yi Shier set the gourd aside. "If His Highness does not wish for Marquis Xu to know, I will absolutely not say a word."
Qu Dubian: "I know you won't."
Yi Shier remained quiet for a moment, then reached out and grasped Qu Dubian's wrist. "Your Highness, do not be afraid. If you can still perceive outlines, your eyes can be cured, and your sense of smell will also recover."
Qu Dubian, utterly screwed over by the simulator's crude 2D art style, couldn't say much else and could only nod along.
"Alright."
With the results of the gourd test laid bare, Qu Dubian was considered a person faking blindness in Xu Jin's eyes, a mostly blind person in Yi Shier's eyes, and a little blind boy in the eyes of everyone else.
Yang Chonghua was indeed a good doctor. He clearly wrote down the condition of his damaged sphenoid sinus on paper and prescribed medicine accordingly.
According to Doctor Yang, if his eyes suddenly healed, it would be nothing short of a divine miracle.
Qu Dubian: "..."
He gave up on the option of restoring his vision and began to think seriously instead.
Being both blind and crippled made him appear even more harmless; he was thoroughly incapacitated. Moreover, he could slightly adjust his physical condition for the better so that he wouldn't have to sit in a wheelchair everywhere. He could stroll around on his own without needing someone to push him.
A cartoon perspective was still a perspective; no matter how abstract, he could still see his surroundings.
He made his decision.
Following Yang Chonghua's diagnosis of Qu Dubian, news of his condition gradually spread throughout the military camp.
Initially, the soldiers thought this might just be a joke, or perhaps the military doctors were too exhausted and had made a misdiagnosis. However, Doctor Yang Chonghua arrived, and even Marquis Xu returned, neither of them bearing a single smile on their faces.
Rumors also circulated that the Little General was framed by the vicious King of the Northern Frontier while pursuing Jirgal.
At this, the soldiers completely exploded in uproar.
If Jirgal wasn't currently locked in a prison cell, he would have long been swarmed by the entire border army. With each person taking a bite of his flesh and a sip of his blood, he would have been eaten alive.
But eating him alive would be of no use.
What had happened could not be undone. The main tent was permeated with the smell of medicine, and they hadn't seen the Little General come out for a walk.
Nor had they seen those colorful braided ropes swaying through the city.
The Little General was to return to the capital. Doctor Yang had said that there might be renowned physicians in the capital, and rather than delaying at the border, it was better to return early to find a cure as soon as possible.
With the power of an entire nation to save one person, there would always be a chance.
Thus, the soldiers no longer wanted to keep him there. They wished they could grow ten pairs of legs to transport the Little General from the border to the capital overnight.
Xu Jin didn't leave. He wanted to accompany his grandson, but Yang Chonghua stopped him, saying sarcastically, "You can go if you want, but getting buried on the road will at least let you enjoy the scenery on both sides."
Although Qu Dubian's meridians were broken, his eyes were blind, and his body was weak, his condition was stable. Traveling slowly on the road wouldn't be a problem.
However, Xu Jin's hidden injuries hadn't cleared up yet. If he embarked on a long journey, his hidden injuries would flare up again, and he would definitely die on the road.
Qu Dubian also advised him from the side, and the stubborn old man immediately relented, asking resentfully, "Then when can this old man return?"
Yang Chonghua: "In two months, at the beginning of spring next year, or early summer at the latest."
And so, the entourage returning to the capital quickly packed up.
Qu Dubian moved from the military camp to a small residential courtyard in the main city. His eyes were covered with black silk, and he temporarily used a wheelchair to get around, occasionally getting up to walk and recuperating according to Yang Chonghua's instructions.
Many people came to see him, but Xia Fuyang was nowhere to be seen—
Until the night before his departure.
Xia Fuyang pushed open the door to his courtyard.
It was a rare windless night. Qu Dubian was in the courtyard, lying in a rocking chair, looking at the cartoon versions of the moon and stars.
Having gotten used to it, he found it quite charming in its own way.
The blindfolded young man rocked in the chair. Because he no longer had internal energy to protect his body, he not only wore clothes with a fur collar but also had a thick blanket draped over him to ward off the wind.
Xia Fuyang stared for a moment, then slowly walked to his side.
He said, "These past two days, I've constantly been wondering how things ended up like this."
Qu Dubian didn't move, his tone light. "I'm leaving tomorrow, and you only just came. Do you have a farewell gift?"
He reached out, his pale palm facing up, and rubbed his fingers together.
Xia Fuyang knew that by acting this way, he didn't want to continue talking about this topic.
He didn't play along with Qu Dubian, continuing on his own, "You said your loss of vision and smell was also caused by Jirgal, but I don't believe it."
When they were in Le'an County, Xiao Qi tested medicine on himself. Because they needed to test blood and he couldn't stand the smell of blood, Imperial Physician Yang pierced his sphenoid sinus, temporarily blocking his sense of smell for a few days.
"That day on the city tower, I brought you a duck leg," Xia Fuyang said slowly.
Qu Dubian's foot-rocking motion paused slightly.
Xia Fuyang: "I jokingly asked if you didn't smell the meat, and you just told me to hurry up and say what I brought. So at that time, you weren't too lazy to guess; you truly couldn't smell it."
"You never got used to the smell of blood at all. You merely took the acupuncture technique you learned from Imperial Physician Yang and repeatedly used it on yourself. For as long as the war between the Great Zhou and the Northern Frontier lasted, that was how long you pierced your acupoints."
"That is the root cause of your blindness."
Not exactly, Qu Dubian thought to himself.
In truth, the blindness was because his internal energy was completely gone. The vanishing of the true qi from the Mianshou Art affected his sphenoid sinus, causing him to wake up suddenly like this.
It was merely a domino effect, a series of chain reactions.
Xia Fuyang said in a low voice, "I'm not an idiot. Don't lie to me."
Others didn't know about Xiao Qi's extreme reaction to the smell of blood, but those of them who had experienced the dead body in the food cart case at the First Prince's mansion-building banquet back then all knew.
Others knew even less about the medicine testing process in Le'an County, but he knew.
Putting the two together, inferring the truth was not difficult.
The young man in the rocking chair tapped his toes on the ground and began to rock gently again.
Qu Dubian said, "I couldn't exactly be a general who vomits at the smell of blood on the battlefield. If I were like that, there's no way I could uphold the soldiers' trust."
It was PTSD triggered by smell. What could he do? When a soldier was injured, could he, their general, vomit uncontrollably at the sight of their wounds?
"Even if you know, don't say it out loud. It's very embarrassing. Just blame it all on my injuries. General Xia, please save me some face." His tone softened on the last sentence. "Please."
He still had quite an image to maintain in front of the soldiers, alright?
Xia Fuyang: "Then what is the matter with the poisoning?"
Qu Dubian fell silent for two seconds. "What poison?"
"The poison you were inflicted with."
-
One day ago.
Late at night.
The dungeon.
Jirgal licked the water melted from the ice on the ground, his whole body shivering from the cold.
He was still bound in the exact same manner as when he was brought in.
No one untied him, and no one treated his wounds. The Great Zhou soldiers treated him even worse than they did the Left Worthy King.
When Xia Fuyang came to the dungeon, this wretched state was what he saw.
He stepped right into the small puddle Jirgal was licking.
"..." Jirgal looked up.
He slowly sat up straight, shifting himself against the wall. Then, he picked at his teeth with his tongue and spat out a speck of dirt.
"I thought everyone had forgotten about this king."
Xia Fuyang clapped his hands. The jailers outside carried in a table and chairs, along with fine wine and good meat. They placed it all in front of Jirgal and untied his hands.
After delivering the items, they didn't dare linger for even a moment. They exited the cell and even called away the guards on duty.
Only the two of them were left in this section of the dungeon.
Jirgal immediately sat at the table and began to eat, wolfing down the food.
Xia Fuyang sat opposite him. He poured himself a cup of wine but didn't drink it, merely placing it by his hand.
Waiting until Jirgal had almost finished eating, he said indifferently, "Aren't you afraid I poisoned it?"
Jirgal sneered. "You're waiting to escort me to the Great Zhou capital; you won't kill me now. If you wanted to kill me, you wouldn't have given me such fine wine and meat."
"Just say what you want with this posture of yours. I'm in a good mood, so I might reward you with a few words of truth."
Xia Fuyang raised his eyes. "I want to know the process and details of the night the Seventh Prince captured you. All the details."
Jirgal: "I heard your Seventh Prince's meridians are broken? And he's become blind. Tsk, if he had been crippled a bit earlier, perhaps the situation between the Northern Frontier and Great Zhou wouldn't be like this—ugh!"
Xia Fuyang grabbed him by the throat.
"Speak properly."
Jirgal frantically slapped his hand.
Xia Fuyang released him. "Start from the beginning."
"I can tell you," Jirgal bent over and coughed for a long time, "but you must guarantee that on the journey to Great Zhou, I will have fine wine and good food."
"This king knows I won't survive, but even if I die, I want to die comfortably."
Xia Fuyang: "I promise you."
Jirgal: "Why should I believe you?"
Xia Fuyang: "I swear upon my ancestors."
"Fine."
The people of Great Zhou's reverence for their ancestors was second only to the Emperor. Jirgal raised an eyebrow and detailed the night he fought Qu Dubian.
"...The moment his inner energy erupted, my ribs shattered. I have never seen such powerful inner energy. However, after he tied me up, he began to vomit blood."
Jirgal recalled the scene from that time.
"The first mouthful of blood he spat was black. That blood dripped onto the sinew-grass flowers of the Northern Frontier. Sinew-grass flowers are small white flowers that bloom in the winter here. Aside from causing red welts on people who touch its sap for the first time, the flowers have another function: detecting poison."
"Of course, not many people know this, but not a few either. Many doctors specifically cultivate sinew-grass flowers to test for toxins."
"I saw with my own eyes that your Seventh Prince's blood splashed onto the petals, and the flower turned blackish-purple starting from the stem. It was clearly a symptom of poisoning."
"There are poisons that sinew-grass flowers cannot detect, such as the ones we Northern Frontier people commonly use," Jirgal said, glancing at Xia Fuyang's face. "So, if it were someone from the Northern Frontier who poisoned your Seventh Prince, the sinew-grass flower definitely wouldn't react to his blood."
"Unless the poison came from Great Zhou."
The dungeon fell quiet for a moment.
Jirgal began gnawing on a chicken leg.
Xia Fuyang: "Just like you said, you don't trust me, and I don't trust you."
Jirgal mocked, "This king has told you all I know. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. Anyway, sinew-grass flowers are hardy. Go look under that tree by the Moshen River, and you'll know if they're there or not."
Xia Fuyang returned to the grassland border alone.
Under the tree by the Moshen River, he brushed away the covering snow and saw the bloodstains at the roots, as well as those few small blackish-purple flowers.
The moment he saw those flowers, he couldn't describe what he felt.
He just felt as if a hole had been torn in his heart, with the biting cold wind from outside scraping against his warm internal organs, slicing away his flesh piece by piece.
He picked the flowers, brought them back to the city, and sought out Yang Chonghua to ask about them.
Yang Chonghua told him that sinew-grass flowers could indeed detect poison, but there was no way to deduce the specific poison based on the discolored flower.
He only roughly informed him that, judging from the color reaction of the sinew-grass flower, it was undoubtedly a chronic, highly lethal poison. The poisoned person would have obvious reactions during the period from ingesting the poison to its full onset.
-
Xia Fuyang recounted everything he knew.
"...Obvious reactions. I thought to myself, you must have known you were poisoned, but you never said anything. I never saw you seek out a military doctor, which means you never intended to have yourself treated."
"Is it because it can't be cured, or because you didn't dare to be cured?"
"Xia Fuyang," Qu Dubian's voice deepened slightly. "Speak cautiously. Do you know what you are saying?"
"Of course I know what I'm saying." Xia Fuyang pressed both hands on the armrests of the rocking chair, leaning in close to look at Qu Dubian's face and observing his expression. "Earlier, I felt it was strange. When you detained the Supervisory Department without a valid reason, the impeachment from the court officials was quite a spectacle. Even His Majesty personally issued an order for you to release the Supervisory Department."
"You defied him. Before that, you refused Marquis Xu's return to the capital."
"Defying imperial orders twice shocked the entire court and the public. Yet you only submitted a single memorial, and His Majesty forcefully suppressed all voices of impeachment. It wasn't until the Supervisory Department was exposed that His Majesty dispatched Cui Rong over, gifting you an imperially bestowed dagger and the authority to execute first and report later."
"If it was merely bestowing a dagger, why make you go to the main city alone? Unless there was something else..." Xia Fuyang's voice began to tremble. "My father told me some things about the Xu family. He also said that His Majesty easily grows wary of meritorious officials, particularly tabooing the concentration of power in the hands of one person or one faction."
"Little Uncle Tingfeng commands troops at the Zhennan Pass, and you have repeatedly achieved great military merits in the Northern Frontier. Upon your return this time, you will surely be heavily rewarded, and the political landscape of the court will instantly change."
"His Majesty doesn't want to see such a scene. So, he—"
Qu Dubian: "Enough!"
"Do you know that if your words just now were to spread, His Majesty could instantly exterminate the Xia family's nine generations?!" This was the first time he spoke to Xia Fuyang in such a cold tone. "If you still want to live and not implicate the family behind you, stop making wild guesses."
The atmosphere in the small courtyard instantly froze.
After a long time, Qu Dubian softened his tone.
"I was never poisoned, and things between His Majesty and me are not as you guess."
He did not want to drag Xia Fuyang into this.
He was a prince; no matter how much he stirred things up upon returning to the capital, he would still keep his life.
But Xia Fuyang was a subject, and a powerful minister holding heavy military authority at that.
The same was true for the entire Xia family.
They were the new nobles propped up by Emperor Chongzhao to divide the Xu family's power. They had only enjoyed glory for a little over a decade, and their foundation was too shallow. As long as Emperor Chongzhao was alive, they could only ever side with him.
If they harbored any disloyalty, the Xia family would be smashed to pieces even faster than they were rapidly promoted in the first place.
The low night wind swept across the snow particles on the ground of the courtyard.
The cold moon hung heavy, and the frigid stars gleamed.
"Qu Dubian, can you still wield a sword? Can you still lightly leap onto a roof? Are you really willing to let a lifetime of talent be buried in schemes?"
Xia Fuyang's eyes were red.
"My father is my father, and I am me. He is loyal to His Majesty, but I am not." He took something out of his chest pocket and placed it in Qu Dubian's palm.
The object was somewhat hot, warmed by his body heat.
"From our youth, when you blocked the whip of the Nanning Imperial Uncle to protect the people of the Great Zhou, from when I ranked third in the military examinations and rode my horse through the streets, to the Xiang River floods, the bandit suppression in Qingzhou, and fighting shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield. From beginning to end, the only person I, Xia Fuyang, have ever wanted to follow and serve is you."
"I never said this before, treating you only as a friend, because I knew your ambitions did not lie in the court. You dislike scheming and only want to live like an idle cloud and wild crane, to be a recluse."
"But if the crushing weight of imperial power has reached this point, why should you still care about familial ties?"
He gripped Qu Dubian's hand, pressing tightly around that hard object. "The other half of the military power in the Northern Frontier, this tiger tally is my gift to you."
Qu Dubian was speechless.
"I stand by what I said. I wasn't poisoned, and it has nothing to do with His Majesty."
Xia Fuyang had absolutely no evidence; he had merely found traces of poison and conjured up all these guesses out of thin air.
That he suspected the old geezer surprised him, but it was not unexpected. After all, Cui Rong was Emperor Chongzhao's confidant, and Xia Fuyang was completely unaware of the hidden matters regarding the rations and fodder.
He returned the tiger tally.
"Don't overthink it. Stay at the border and wait for your orders. The Xia family must not take sides."
Xia Fuyang straightened up and took a step back.
Qu Dubian said, "Look at it from another angle. Returning to the capital like this, no one will dare to mess with me. If they do, I'll just lie down at their front door, and they'll have to respectfully carry me back."
Xia Fuyang looked around. There were no chairs, so he simply sat directly on the ground.
His tone returned to its previous teasing and relaxed state, as if the cold argument and rejection from moments ago had never happened.
"Then the family whose door you lie at would be scared to death."
Qu Dubian said, "Maybe I could even extort some dog food money for Yidianbai... I haven't seen Yidianbai in a year, I wonder if it has given me more doggy grandchildren."
Xia Fuyang chuckled, lowering his head as scalding tears smashed into the snow.
He scraped away the small holes his tears had melted into the snow.
He looked like a little chibi bean figure shedding tears.
Qu Dubian watched for a moment, his fingertips twitching, but ultimately he said nothing.
Uncle Xia and Aunt Xia were both in the capital.
Old Xia had to stay safe and well at the border.
The next day.
Qu Dubian bid farewell to his grandfather, the others, and the soldiers of the border.
He embarked on the journey back to the capital.
And the news, which had been suppressed at the border for three days due to uncertainty about the severity of his injuries, also flew toward the capital.
A carrier pigeon flew to Marquis Chijian's Manor.
Plum blossoms bloomed leisurely by the window. Wu Siwan unfolded the slip of paper, which bore six words: I am fine, do not worry.
At the same time.
Spies throughout the capital also began to move, passing the news from the border to various manors, revealing the first signs of an undercurrent.
The Imperial Palace.
Zichen Hall.
A eunuch trotted over holding the dispatch, kneeling to report the news, his voice trembling slightly:
"Reporting to Your Majesty! A great victory at the Northern Frontier! The Northern Royal Court has been destroyed. The Seventh Prince captured Jirgal, and General Xia captured the Left Worthy King alive. From now on, there is no more Royal Court in the Northern Frontier!"
Emperor Chongzhao abruptly turned around. An excited smile appeared on his usually stoic face. He had lost his appetite and sleep, waiting for news from the Northern Frontier for over a month!
Ever since Zhi Yi returned, the entire capital had been waiting.
Now, the wait was finally over.
"Good, good, good! My good imperial son! The little rascal really did us proud, and that child from the Xia family isn't bad either!" Emperor Chongzhao said "good" several times in a row, his joy palpable. He laughed heartily. "With such merits, he deserves to be enfeoffed as a Prince of the First Rank early!"
With a grand wave of his hand, he called out, "Yu Decai!"
Eunuch Yu, also beaming with smiles, replied, "This servant is here."
He could tell that no matter what happened in the future, His Majesty was genuinely happy right now.
Emperor Chongzhao tapped his forehead with his right index finger a few times. "Let me think... Right, right, right, have the Imperial Kitchen prepare the Seventh Prince's favorite ingredients these next few days. When he arrives, he can eat whatever he wants."
"And from my private treasury..."
Before he could finish, he noticed the trembling messenger eunuch.
Emperor Chongzhao frowned. "Why haven't you left yet?"
The young eunuch's teeth were chattering. "This servant... this servant has not finished delivering the report."
"Speak, then."
"The S-Seventh Prince, after pursuing the enemy, engaged in combat with Jirgal and was severely wounded. Now... now... his meridians are severed, and he has gone blind!"
Having said that, the young eunuch squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his forehead against the floor.
Eunuch Yu's smile froze on his face.
The atmosphere in Zichen Hall instantly turned deathly silent.
Only Emperor Chongzhao's increasingly heavy breathing could be heard. His face flushed red, and then, flying into a sudden rage, he violently overturned the table.
"You dare curse the Seventh Prince?! What absolute nonsense! Preposterous! Get out of my sight!"
