It was getting too late, so Su Zhenzhen stopped after copying just one stone stele.
There would be plenty of time in the future; they could always come back next time.
As the two prepared to head back, they passed by the main hall. Su Zhenzhen turned her head, saw the hall adorned with ancient lanterns, and felt it would be impolite to just leave like this.
"I want to go kowtow to Sun Simiao."
After all, she had taken his medical prescription.
Beside her, Mu Dan nodded without the slightest hint of impatience. Carrying his beautiful glazed lantern, he followed her into the main hall.
Su Zhenzhen thought to herself that she had truly married the right man.
They stepped up the stone stairs and entered the hall. In the center of the hall was a bronze statue of Sun Simiao. In front of it sat a long rectangular altar table, bearing fresh fruits and an incense burner with burning incense.
Three rush cushions were placed in the hall. Su Zhenzhen lifted her skirt, stepped forward, and knelt on the middle cushion, bowing down with great piety.
The cushion was very large; when she kowtowed, her forehead could still touch its edge.
Generally speaking, the cushion was very soft, but Su Zhenzhen felt as if her forehead had bumped into something.
She straightened up and reached out to feel it.
The edge of the cushion felt a bit strange, as if there was something protruding from it.
Su Zhenzhen pressed it with her hand. The next moment, the bronze statue of Sun Simiao in front of her made a strange noise.
Lanterns hung inside the hall. Although the lighting wasn't very bright, it wasn't so dim that they couldn't see clearly.
Su Zhenzhen watched helplessly as the bronze statue turned in a circle right in front of her, revealing its back.
Su Zhenzhen grabbed the sleeve of Mu Dan beside her and stammered, "D-did he manifest his spirit?"
"It's a mechanism. You triggered a hidden mechanism."
A mechanism?
Su Zhenzhen stood up and carefully kicked the cushion away. Sure enough, she saw that one of the floor tiles underneath was a different color.
It was a mechanism tile.
According to the TV drama plots Su Zhenzhen had seen...
"There won't be any hidden arrows, right?" she asked worriedly, gripping Mu Dan's hand even tighter.
Even though she was three years older than him, Su Zhenzhen realized she couldn't handle stressful situations at all.
On the contrary, Mu Dan, the young man who was three years her junior, didn't even change his expression upon seeing this. He was incredibly calm.
"No," Lu Hexu said. "If there were, we would be dead already."
"Phooey, phooey, phooey." Su Zhenzhen reached out and covered the young man's mouth.
[So soft.]
"You are not allowed to say such unlucky things."
[If she secretly touched it again, she wouldn't be discovered, right?]
Lu Hexu reached out and pulled the woman's hand away from his mouth.
Su Zhenzhen was still a little worried, but the young man beside her seemed intrigued by the mechanism.
Lu Hexu took two steps forward, felt his body was heavy, and turned his head to find that he was dragging along someone who didn't dare to move.
Su Zhenzhen said, somewhat embarrassed, "My legs are numb. I knelt for too long just now."
[She was scared to death, okay! Scared so much she couldn't move at all!]
Lu Hexu glanced at her. "Wait for me here."
"I want to go with you."
Troublesome.
Lu Hexu reached out, held her hand, and led her up onto the platform.
The bronze statue was massive. As the two stood there, Lu Hexu picked up the glazed lantern and illuminated the statue inch by inch.
Su Zhenzhen looked curious and imitated Mu Dan, carefully stepping around the platform to inspect it.
Finally, the young man seemed to have found something.
Lu Hexu pressed his hand against the lower back of the bronze statue and pushed down.
Surprisingly, it was soft there.
Su Zhenzhen leaned over for a look and discovered that the lower back of the statue seemed to be papered over and coated with the same paint as the bronze statue. No wonder it was unnoticeable.
The paper was punctured, revealing a small cut-out area. There was a small hole here, about the length of a baby's forearm, and something seemed to be stuffed inside.
"Be careful," Su Zhenzhen said nervously, leaning closer to Mu Dan.
Lu Hexu reached in and pulled out the contents.
Su Zhenzhen held her breath. "What is it?"
After Lu Hexu got a clear look at the item, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes.
Su Zhenzhen carefully pinched the edge with her fingers and flipped it open.
She couldn't understand it.
It was actually written in cursive script, the very archaic kind.
The world inside this book was recreated down to the tiniest details!
"Um, can you read it?"
Admitting to being illiterate in front of her crush was truly difficult, but in order to obtain this heaven-sent secret manual, Su Zhenzhen had no other choice.
The item found on the bronze statue of the King of Medicine should be something as incredible as the Compendium of Materia Medica!
Su Zhenzhen was moved by her own career ambition.
Could she be the chosen heroine of a female-oriented novel, just like the chosen heroes in male-oriented novels who fall off a cliff and find a secret manual? Did she just get a secret treasure by kowtowing?
Lu Hexu glanced at her.
Su Zhenzhen obediently stayed still, tilting her head slightly to stare at the young man.
Lu Hexu reached out and held her hand. With his other hand, he flipped through the item and asked casually, "Can you really not read it?"
[His nose is so straight.]
[His lip shape is so beautiful.]
The young man looked down at her.
[Wow, this angle is absolutely stunning.]
-
When Lu Hexu returned to the Qingliang Hall, the desk was already piled high with the memorials he needed to review today.
He placed the glazed lantern in his hand by the desk and began to handle his official duties.
Two hours later, the mountain of memorials was processed, and the horizon revealed the pale white of dawn.
It was getting light.
"Did you find it?"
Lu Hexu threw down the vermilion brush in his hand and looked up into the hall.
At some unknown point, a hidden guard had knelt there.
The hidden guard lowered his eyes. "Please punish me, Your Majesty."
It meant he hadn't found it.
Lu Hexu picked up the booklet placed next to the glazed lantern. It was clearly the same one that Su Zhenzhen had discovered in the Temple of the King of Medicine earlier.
She had wanted Mu Dan to help her translate it, so she had given the booklet to him.
Lu Hexu directly threw the booklet at the hidden guard.
The booklet landed in front of the hidden guard.
"Go give this to Wei Heng."
-
Shadow One took the booklet and found Wei Heng.
"Lord Wei."
Wei Heng opened his eyes, only to see Shadow One standing by the bed, bending over and staring at him. Shadow One's face was smeared with an unknown black pigment, making his entire face pitch-black, revealing only a bit of the whites of his eyes.
Wei Heng: ...
Wei Heng reached out and covered his eyes.
"I am getting old; I can't handle such frights."
It wasn't Wei Heng's first time interacting with this hidden guard by His Majesty's side.
Shadow One, as the head of the hidden guards, bore the title "One." Ever since the current Emperor inherited the throne, he had followed closely by his side, inseparable as a shadow.
What Shadow One protected wasn't Lu Hexu personally, but the imperial power, the person sitting on that throne.
"Could you please wipe that stuff off?"
Shadow One ignored Wei Heng and simply handed him the item in his hand.
Wei Heng reached out to take it. As he flipped through it, he continued, "Even if you can't wipe it off, could you please not stand right at the head of my bed next time?"
After handing the item to Wei Heng, Shadow One turned to leave. Before departing, he left behind a single word: "No."
Wei Heng: ... He knew this brat was doing it on purpose.
It was actually a roster booklet.
Wei Heng's expression instantly turned serious.
He immediately got up, draped a coat over his shoulders, and sat behind his desk. He made a copy of the booklet and then summoned Han Shuo.
Upon receiving the news, a handsome man dressed in a flying fish suit quickly appeared. He pushed the door open and walked in without stopping his stride. "I heard the booklet was found."
"Yes." Wei Heng nodded with a serious expression, his brows furrowed, clearly having encountered a difficult problem.
"What is it?" Han Shuo sat down across from Wei Heng.
Wei Heng picked up the tea beside him to moisten his throat. "Something major."
He pushed the booklet in front of Han Shuo.
After Han Shuo flipped through it, his expression also grew solemn.
Although there were some high-ranking officials in the first few pages, they were not too difficult to deal with.
The most troublesome was the person who took up the entire latter half of the booklet.
Grand Secretary Sun.
The items Zhou Mo had gifted to Grand Secretary Sun actually accounted for half of this booklet.
"I heard that the dogs in that old geezer's house live in kennels built of Hetian jade," Han Shuo sneered. "Now that we have both human testimonies and physical evidence, I am not afraid we cannot take him down."
Just as Han Shuo finished speaking, footsteps were heard from outside. "Lord Han."
"What is it?"
"Zhou Mo committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
When Han Shuo and Wei Heng arrived at the dungeon where Zhou Mo was temporarily held, they found Zhou Mo's neck wrapped in his own belt. He was half-kneeling, hung from the dungeon's railing, his face a purplish-red, completely devoid of life.
"Is it really suicide?" Wei Heng was somewhat suspicious.
Han Shuo also had his doubts. He turned to look at the coroner beside him.
The coroner had already examined the body and nodded. "It really is suicide. If he had been strangled by someone else, the marks would not look like this." Saying this, the coroner pulled back Zhou Mo's collar, revealing the diagonal, upward-slanting purple bruises. "And look at his hands. If he were strangled, he would naturally struggle, but his hands are hanging down and his clothes are neat. He clearly hanged himself."
After finishing, the coroner shook his head and said, "To hang oneself while kneeling, he truly wanted to die."
Would a person who said he wanted to make amends suddenly commit suicide?
Impossible, at least he did not believe it.
Han Shuo's expression grew heavy.
Wei Heng stepped into the cell. He raised the lantern in his hand and saw a confession written in blood by Zhou Mo on the wall.
"He admitted to all the crimes."
Han Shuo walked up beside Wei Heng. Looking at the entire wall of blood writing, he subconsciously clenched his jaw. "What exactly happened to him? We were just one step away!"
Wei Heng rubbed the booklet with his thumb. "Relying solely on this booklet is not enough to convict Grand Secretary Sun. What a pity."
Not only could they not convict him, but because they lacked a witness, it was highly likely that he would bite back and falsely accuse imperial officials.
Wei Heng turned around, preparing to leave. As he passed Zhou Mo's body, he noticed his tightly clenched fist.
He walked over, reached out to pry open the palm, and saw a delicate little gold lock, looking like something worn by a newborn child.
Wei Heng's suspicions were aroused. "Where is Zhou Mo's family?" He turned to look at Han Shuo.
"His family is confined in their estate by the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"Did Zhou Mo have a newborn child?"
Han Shuo thought for a moment and nodded. "He had one. I heard that on the day we surrounded the estate, the wet nurse feeding the child was frightened and lost her milk. Zhou Mo's wife then cried and begged us to find a wet nurse from outside to bring into the estate. After all, it is a child not yet a month old, and Zhou Mo had not been convicted yet, so we could not just let the child starve to death..."
Speaking up to here, Han Shuo immediately understood.
Zhou Mo originally wanted to make amends to keep his family safe, but he never expected that someone would use his child's life as leverage. Left with no choice, he confessed to all the crimes and committed suicide.
"Oh no!" Wei Heng's expression suddenly changed drastically. "Come with me to Zhou Mo's estate."
When Wei Heng and Han Shuo arrived at Zhou Mo's residence, they were still too late.
The summer was hot and dry, and the fire in the estate was fierce. The Embroidered Uniform Guard was short-handed, and the casualties within the estate were disastrous.
Zhou Mo thought that his death would keep his family safe, but how could the person behind the scenes be soft-hearted?
An Embroidered Uniform Guard brought over the casualty list.
Only a sparse few had escaped, and they were now being escorted to the imperial prison.
"What about the child who was not yet a month old?"
"Choked to death by the thick smoke."
Han Shuo looked at the tragic scene before him and gently shook his head. "It is all cause and effect."
Su Zhenzhen never expected that the secret manual she and Mu Dan had casually taken from the Temple of the Medicine King was actually the list of corrupt officials the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been searching for.
"I could not read the characters inside either, so I gave it to my godfather, hoping he could find someone to translate it for you. I did not expect it to be a roster of corrupt officials. Godfather said he wants to reward us." The pretty young eunuch looked at her with a pair of pitch-black eyes, a faint smile on his lips. He reached out a fingertip and lightly tapped the woman's nose.
Ah, system, is this not a bit inappropriate?
"Reward with what?"
The young man gently swayed in the ancient version of a rocking chair, the hem of his robe swaying. He leaned on his arm against the armrest, leaning over to speak to Su Zhenzhen. "What do you want?"
I want you.
Oh wait, she already got him.
"Can I ask for silver?"
The young man glanced at her and withdrew his fingertip.
"Is my godfather's silver not our silver?"
Ah, is it really this satisfying?
"Then, what about that waist tag?"
"What waist tag?"
"The one you took out the last time you took me into the Temple of the Medicine King, and the time before that when we left the Qingliang Palace."
It looked like it was very useful.
"That one." Lu Hexu wiped his hands, resting his chin on one hand as he lounged in the rocking chair. "Alright."
It rained often in summer, and recently there had been occasional showers.
Sometimes the perfectly fine weather would change like a child's face. One moment it was clear skies for miles, and in the blink of an eye, a torrential downpour would start.
Su Zhenzhen hurriedly brought the herbs drying in the courtyard back inside, cramming them into her room until it could barely hold them all.
She looked up at the dark, heavy sky, wondering what Mu Dan was doing right now.
Qingliang Palace.
Lu Hexu was resting with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard the sound of rain outside.
He opened his eyes and turned to look out. The windows were not completely sealed, and a fine breeze drifted in from outside. The thin curtains were blown up, and raindrops hit the curtains, soaking into dark water stains.
Lu Hexu stood up, supporting himself against the ice block, and pushed the door open.
He disliked sunlight, especially the summer sun.
But he liked the fierce winds and sudden rains of summer.
The weather was gloomy to the extreme, with oppressive dark clouds piling up in the sky. Rumbling thunder crashed down, illuminating the young man's pale, flawless face.
Lu Hexu walked out of the Qingliang Palace barefoot. Because this ancestor loved quiet, no one would come to disturb him during the day; there were only hidden guards hiding in the dark to protect him.
Fierce winds mixed with bean-sized raindrops hit his body. Lu Hexu opened his arms, allowing the rain to soak him completely.
He even felt it was not enough. He stepped onto the white jade railing, standing there unsteadily, letting the rain fall all over him.
When Wei Heng came over holding an umbrella and carrying memorials, he saw his little ancestor standing on the white jade railing, the dragon robe on his body already completely soaked by the rain.
The torrential rain fell as if someone were pouring buckets of water over his head. It was a fierce storm where one could not even hold an umbrella steady while walking, yet the young man was enjoying it.
Wei Heng sighed deeply, not knowing what came to mind. He did not step forward to disturb him, but merely stood quietly to the side waiting for the rain to stop.
After Mu Dan promised her, he brought over the waist tag that Su Zhenzhen had been coveting the very next night.
At that time, the summer rain had not stopped, falling intermittently for two days already.
When Mu Dan appeared, he was not holding an umbrella. His body was already soaked by the rain, and his fine black hair stuck wetly to his face. The glazed lantern in his hand was waterproof, and the rain fell on it, trickling down in a steady patter.
Covered by the rain, the misty glow of the lantern seemed much fainter.
"Why didn't you use an umbrella?"
Su Zhenzhen looked around, but by the time she found an umbrella and wanted to bring it to him, the young man had already walked under the eaves.
He wore a dark, understated eunuch uniform. His black hair was tied behind his head, and his cold, pale face was soaked with water. The droplets had even gathered into a small stream, sliding down into his slightly open collar.
"I like the rain."
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes. His wet eyelashes drooped, and the rainwater that had pooled on them flowed down his eye sockets.
Su Zhenzhen took out a handkerchief to wipe his face.
The single handkerchief quickly became soaked; it was simply not enough.
"Why do you like the rain?"
"Because it feels comfortable."
As he spoke, the young man took something from his waist and handed it to her.
Su Zhenzhen reached out to take it and saw that it was a token.
She couldn't tell what material it was made of. Engraved on it were the four characters for Special Pass, looking very much like the one Mu Dan had held last time.
"How do I use this?" Su Zhenzhen looked the token up and down. Imitating Mu Dan's previous gesture, she presented the token in front of him. "Is this how?"
The young man nodded with a lazy expression. "Mm."
"What exactly is this token?"
"A waist token specially granted by the Emperor. It allows entry and exit through multiple gates of the imperial city and key areas of the inner court. It is the highest level of pass. In the entire royal court, no more than ten people possess this token."
It was actually so high-end!
After Su Zhenzhen finished her shocked sigh, she suddenly noticed that the corners of the young man's eyes were red and his complexion did not look very good. Thinking back to a moment ago, he even seemed a bit breathless when he spoke.
Although Mu Dan's face always looked extremely pale, today it carried a faint, unnatural flush.
"How long were you out in the rain?"
How long?
Lu Hexu thought for a moment.
From yesterday until now.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Su Zhenzhen reached out to touch his forehead.
So hot.
Hot enough to roast a suckling pig!
He didn't want to eat roast suckling pig.
Lu Hexu opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
Lu Hexu was very familiar with this feeling.
Generally speaking, after he fainted, Shadow One would take him back.
Lu Hexu lifted his foot to walk forward, but before he could take two steps, his body tilted and he planted straight forward.
Su Zhenzhen grabbed him with quick reflexes. The two of them fell backward together, crashing into the door behind them.
It hurt so much.
Su Zhenzhen was in so much pain that tears welled up in her eyes.
Lu Hexu pressed down on Su Zhenzhen's body, only feeling as if he were resting on a soft cushion beneath him, incredibly soft and gentle.
He turned his head to look over. The woman's face was pale, and she had bitten her lip until it bled.
Lu Hexu subconsciously frowned. He propped up his body with one hand, his thumb brushing past the corner of the woman's lips, staining his fingertip with a bit of blood.
"I'm fine." Su Zhenzhen took a moment to recover, slowly standing up from the ground. She struggled to catch her breath as she spoke, "Go into the room and change into some clean clothes. I will go brew some medicine for you. A persistent high fever is very dangerous."
After Su Zhenzhen finished speaking, she saw the young man still standing there unmoving. She immediately felt a bit angry, but more than that, her heart ached for him.
Just what kind of life had he lived in the past, to actually like drenching himself in the rain like this, running such a high fever that he couldn't even stand steady.
"Hurry up and go." She reached out and pushed Mu Dan into the room, then quickly went to her own room to get the herbs.
Lu Hexu stood at the doorway of the room. He shifted his gaze away from the door where the woman had disappeared and looked down at his fingertip.
The woman's blood was still on it.
Lu Hexu remembered how she looked wearing the wedding dress. He didn't like the color red, but she didn't look bad in it, nor was it repulsive.
He raised his hand and licked his fingertip, licking away that spot of crimson.
Tasteless.
-
Herbs were abundant on Mount Qingliang, and Su Zhenzhen had gathered a lot. At a glance, her room was already piled high with herbs, leaving almost no place to step.
The bedroom window had been blown open by the wind at some unknown time, and raindrops were pattering in. Su Zhenzhen hurried over to close the window, then carefully checked the Sun Simiao medical prescription she had obtained to see if it was damaged.
The edge of the paper was slightly wet.
Su Zhenzhen blew on it, pressed her handkerchief against the copied prescription, and then took the herbs to brew medicine for Mu Dan.
There was a small stove in the little kitchen. Su Zhenzhen skillfully chopped the herbs and threw them in, added water, and lit the fire. She then took out a small fan and began to fan the flames to make the fire bigger.
The bitter smell of the herbs slowly permeated the air. Su Zhenzhen sat in the small kitchen, yawning as she rubbed her back.
It was probably bruised, but no bones were broken. She would apply some ointment for bruises later.
After resting for a while, she reached for the jade pendant at her waist.
What kind of jade was this? It felt warm, heavy, smooth, and delicate to the touch. It had an obvious weight in her hand and looked very valuable.
The rain outside continued to fall in a steady patter, making the air feel sticky. Everything everywhere was wet.
Su Zhenzhen's medicine was done brewing, hot enough to burn the mouth. She didn't immediately take it to Mu Dan. Instead, she turned and left the small kitchen, holding an umbrella as she went to the corner of the courtyard. There grew the wild grapes that Mu Dan had discovered last time.
Washed by the rain, each grape looked crystal clear and incredibly beautiful.
Su Zhenzhen picked some, then returned to the small kitchen to boil some syrup, making two skewers of candied grapes for Mu Dan.
Seeing a few fresh peaches in a basket nearby, she peeled the peaches and made two skewers of candied peaches as well.
Su Zhenzhen first ate a peach skewer herself. The fragrance of the fresh peach was wrapped in the crispy syrup, while the peach flesh inside was soft and tender.
Su Zhenzhen only ate one peach skewer and didn't try the remaining grapes.
She still remembered the taste of being so sour it made her want to vomit last time.
Placing the candied fruit skewers on a tray, and then adding the cooled medicine, Su Zhenzhen walked along the eaves to avoid the rain and carried them into Mu Dan's room.
The young man hadn't closed the door; he was inside changing his clothes.
He had probably been looking for clothes for a while, as the wardrobe was a mess. Inside, there was only a set of wedding clothes bought last time, a folded wedding quilt, and some herb boxes that Su Zhenzhen had temporarily stuffed inside.
The little eunuch had no everyday clothes left here.
His wet eunuch uniform lay on the floor. He was currently putting on the wedding clothes. The front of the garment hadn't been pulled up yet, revealing half of his slender back, which was covered with various old scars.
Su Zhenzhen frowned subconsciously.
The young man pulled the wedding clothes up, covering his back. Only a section of his neck remained visible, pale and damp with water stains.
His hair wasn't dry yet and was still dripping water.
Su Zhenzhen set down the things in her hands and went to her own room to find a towel for him.
When she returned, she saw the young man sitting on a round stool eating the candied fruit.
He had picked a skewer of grapes, eating two in one bite, crunching loudly on the sugar coating.
"Take your medicine first."
The sweets were meant to wash away the bitter taste of the medicine.
Lu Hexu picked up the medicine bowl and brought it to his mouth. As he took the first sip, his expression clearly paused.
Bitterness.
His sense of taste was extremely dull; he could normally only taste the most extreme sweet or salty flavors. Yet now, he could actually taste the bitterness.
"What's wrong? Did it burn you? It shouldn't be that hot anymore." Seeing him pause, Su Zhenzhen thought the medicine was too hot.
She reached out to touch the medicine bowl. It wasn't hot at all.
Lu Hexu lowered his eyes, finished off the liquid medicine, and reached out to continue eating his candied fruit skewer.
Su Zhenzhen handed him a towel. "Dry your hair first."
The young man minded his own business and kept eating the candied fruit, completely ignoring her.
Su Zhenzhen narrowed her eyes. In one swift motion, she brought the towel down and completely wrapped up his head.
Little cats never liked taking baths, especially the one she had at home, which would always howl frantically from start to finish.
Left with no other choice, Su Zhenzhen could only reduce the frequency and bathe it just once a year.
Whenever she bathed her disobedient little cat, her preparation involved wrapping it entirely in a towel and carrying it into the bathroom. No matter what kind of heaven-defying abilities it had, it could never escape from a bathroom with tightly shut doors and windows.
After the bath, Su Zhenzhen would wrap it up again in a towel like a tightly bound rice dumpling and stuff it into the pet drying box.
Lu Hexu still maintained his posture of holding the candied fruit skewer.
The towel wasn't thick, and Su Zhenzhen could actually make out the faint outline of the grape-shaped candied fruit bulging against the young man's cheek.
She really wanted to poke it.
Forget it, she shouldn't bully a patient.
"I'll kill you."
What was he mumbling about?
"Dry your hair. After you dry your hair, I'll make you a sweet ice treat."
What a good boy, such a good boy.
