Chapter 153 - Sad- crane

When the page-boy went out to guard the door, Su Shaoge didn’t immediately ask Song Yixiao why she came in disguise. Instead, he told her politely that he had to change clothes in the inner chamber.

After Song Yixiao agreed, he turned around to enter the inner chamber.

After a while, he came out of the inner chamber. He was wearing a change of dark purple one-piece clothing with a belt tied around his waist. The belt was embedded with a bright pearl, on which there was a piece of beautiful jade and an embroidered sachet. His black hair was neatly put into the golden hollow cap, fixed with a jade hairpin. The hairpin looked like a bamboo branch, made of fine jade and delicately carved, which appeared as bright as the moonlight against the light reflected by the snow from outside the window.

He looked gracefully elegant in casual wear when he was drawing in front of the desk, with his hair disheveled just now. At the moment, he became a young master of an influential family with nobility and gentlemanlike appearance. He raised his arms to welcome Song Yixiao by asking her to sit down, showing his elegancy amidst flipping his sleeves. “I didn’t know about your arrival. Please forgive me for not having gone out to welcome you and my previous indecent appearance!”

Song Yixiao shook her head and said, “I know that you will take the imperial exam soon, but I still keep you disturbed again and again. I haven’t apologized to you yet. How dare I blame you? Moreover, I came here this time in the guise of Yuedeng, which you could never know as you didn’t look back before.”

Su Shaoge couldn’t go out to welcome a maid in a hurry.

Su Shaoge didn’t continue saying pleasantries. Instead, he walked to her and renewed the tea before sitting back on the seat of honor. Then he said gently, “Madam, may I know why you are here on your own?”

Song Yixiao braced up and said. “I am here only to ask you in private how Wuying actually is.”

Su Shaoge heard her and pondered for a while. Then he said, “Since you are in Lunong Building to ask me about it, I shall not hide the truth from you anymore. I did act with studied casualness before.”

With her face turning pale, Song Yixiao subconsciously gripped her sleeves tightly, “Then Wuying?”

“Actually, the key is whether her fever can go down in time!” Su Shaoge emphasized on the words—“in time”, and then said seriously. “If the fever can go down, then supposedly, she will be fine. Even if she is still too weak, it will only take her some time to recuperate!”

“If the fever can’t go down in time…” Song Yixiao uttered so hard, “Will Wuying’s life be at risk now?”

However, Su Shaoge immediately shook his head. “No.”

He said confidently, “I’m confident to keep Miss Nie alive even if her fever cannot go down in time!”

The problem was, “but if the high fever lasts for a long time, I’m afraid that her brain will be damaged!”

Song Yixiao instantly thought of Zhuo Ping’an. She failed to hold the tea bowl well and then as a result, a little tea spilt over her skirt.

In a hurry she put the tea bowl back on the table and wanted to say something but her tears rolled down first. “If I had known this, I would never have hidden away last night. I should have gone to Ruyi Garden to leave myself at the disposal of Aunt, who couldn’t really hurt me. In that case, Wuying would never get hurt!”

Su Shaoge was slightly surprised. “The reason why you stayed over in Yaohua Venue with Miss Nie was to avoid Her Highness Grand Princess Daiguo?”

“Yesterday, Princess Consort of Wei ran into Muting around Buyue Villa and spoke daggers at her. Marquis Boling and I were discontented with it so we stepped forward and spoke for Muting.” This was not a secret. Song Yixiao said with a sob, “Afterwards, I went back to Buyue Villa and feared that Aunt Daiguo might reproach me, so I went to Yaohua Venue for a temporary shelter with Wuying. We planned to go back to the imperial capital by carriage this morning, but…”

“I learnt the medical skills from the former President of Imperial Academy of Medicine. I think Doctor Han won’t amend much about the prescription I made just now,” Su Shaoge heard her out and stayed silent for a while, saying. “If Miss Nie’s fever still cannot go down after taking the medicine, as far as I know, there will be only one solution.”

Song Yixiao shed tears before him not to force him to come up with a solution. She was merely too worried about Nie Wuying and didn’t remain defensive against Su Shaoge, so she just lost it and sobbed.

To her surprise, it turned out that there was a solution indeed.

“I didn’t put forward the solution before only because it has an attached problem,” Su Shaoge said cautiously. “After all, the only one recognized doctor for being able to use Sad-crane well is Ji Qubing, a famous doctor who lived in the end of the Wei Dynasty and the beginning of the Yong Dynasty. Unfortunately, Ji Qubing’s disciple was said to be the legitimate daughter of the Duanmu Family of Jinxiu, one of the influential families at that time. Miss Duanmu was old and yet didn’t get married. Afterwards, for some reason, she was removed from the pedigree of the Duanmu Family. What happened next has not been recorded then.”

Therefore, the unique methods invented by Ji Qubing, including the usage of Sad-crane, couldn’t be passed down publicly.

“Unexpectedly, since the East Yong, the population of the Jinxiu Hall has been shrinking. A few decades ago, the lineal branch of the Duanmu Family had no offspring. Now the descendants of the side branches are scattered around. Not many of them work in court and they are not famous. I used to search for them but it turned out that the descendants I found never heard of such a secret from their ancestors. Hence, probably it has been lost!”

Here Su Shaoge noticed Song Yixiao’s confused face. Then he realized that she didn’t even know what Sad-crane was. “Just like white jade ginseng, Sad-crane originates from the north. Instead of being tonic as the white jade ginseng, it is of cold nature, which is used as a poison in the North Rong. When it came to the Central Plains, the doctors have discovered that it works effectively for curing hot diseases. However, it is hard to coordinate with other herbs. It is okay for strong men to have Sad-crane but for weak people, especially women, taking it as medicine can still work well to abate fever but yet has a side effect that severe pathogenic coldness will be accumulated within the body!”

By then, “It may cause irregular menstruation and worst of all, it can incur infertility!”

Speaking of this, he took a sip of tea and lowered his head, saying, “Miss Nie’s fever must be cooled down before midnight, or I can’t be sure that she will pull through. If you decide to adopt this method, I can immediately send my man to fetch it from the imperial capital!”

Song Yixiao buried her face into her arms, trembling all over her body. After a long while, she raised her head and stared at the nearby carpet, saying in a low voice, “Mr. Su, please make the arrangement for us.”

The consequence of being unable to abate the fever in time was too severe. Despite the side effect of Sad-crane, she could only prepare for the worst now!

Su Shaoge slightly nodded his head and summoned the page-boy, “Send one back to the mansion for a box of Sad-crane!”

After Song Yixiao left in depression, Prince of Zhao pushed open the door of the warm chamber, “Shaoge, why did you send for Sad-crane? Don’t tell me that it is for Wuying!”

Su Shaoge was reading a book now. He raised his head and glimpsed him, saying with a casual air, “What? You seem to be very concerned about this cousin who you’ve only met for twice or three times?”

Prince of Zhao couldn’t help laughing and said, “Shaoge, you’ve misunderstood me. I just can’t understand why you told Song Yixiao about Sad-crane. After all, you’ve done the favor. Sad-crane is well known for abating fever effectively, but even the President of the Imperial Academy of Medicine doesn’t dare to use it on a woman. If anything untoward happens to her, Aunt Jinguo may vent her anger on you. It is not worthwhile.”

“It is not necessarily that bad!” Su Shaoge gave a faint smile and said, “Her Highness Grand Princess Jinguo is not an unreasonable person. Even if Miss Nie gets a cold disease and cannot bear children, it is better than being a fool! Anyway, it is not difficult to acquire Sad-crane, so we may as well do Madam Song a favor. Moreover, we can tempt Jian Xubai!”

Prince of Zhao asked in surprise, “What does Sad-crane have to do with Jian Xubai?”

“I’ve told you to think more. This time I’ll not give you the answer directly. You should think about it yourself!” Su Shaoge shook his head and said, “After what happened this time, even if your cousin is fine in the end, Madam Song will hold a grudge against Daiguo Grand Princess.”

“Unless Aunt Daiguo persuades Father into letting my second brother work in court after the spring begins,” Prince of Zhao said disapprovingly. “Otherwise, the Crown Prince’s most hated person must still be me. Song Yixiao is only a woman. Even though the Crown Prince always attaches importance to Xubai, how can her personal grudge affect his decision?”

Su Shaoge said, “Do you forget what kind of person your Aunt is? She supported Prince of Wei to seize the throne only because she didn’t want to yield to Noble Consort Cui! Noble Consort Cui is His Majesty’s woman, who is not your Aunt’s legitimate sister-in-law. However, they are of the same generation. Moreover, Madam Song, the wife of her nephew disgraced her daughter and son-in-law in her niece’s villa for an outsider. After this, Daiguo Grand Princess will surely try her best to help let Prince of Wei work in court!”

Prince of Zhao obviously didn’t like Daiguo Grand Princess and sneered. “No matter how hard she tries, her effort will be in vain if Father disapproves!”

“If His Majesty doesn’t intend to let go, you won’t be able to work in court,” Su Shaoge shook his head and said, “Descendants born by a legitimate wife and concubines are treated differently, but you are all children of His Majesty. Since His Majesty can give you a chance impulsively because the matter of Changxing’s marriage, he may be badgered by Daiguo Grand Princess into giving Prince of Wei a chance too. However, it is not a bad thing for you. With Prince of Wei distracting the Crown Prince, it will be easier for you no matter what you are assigned to do!”

Prince of Zhao said smilingly, “Despite that, the birth mother of my second elder brother is of humble birth origin, and because of Miss Jiang, he holds a grudge against his foster mother. I think he who will be targeted and guarded against by the Crown Prince must be me!”

Su Shaoge didn’t deny his saying. “Being a legitimate son of the Empress contains advantages and disadvantages. On the contrary, you have your own advantages. You are always reputed as a resolute and clever man among the officials. When you work in court, as long as you maintain the reputation and not let others belittle you for your age, you will succeed in the end!”

After Prince of Zhao agreed seriously, Su Shaoge raised his book to show that conversation was ended. “Review and comment on those files I sent to your study yesterday, and then bring them back to me. The end of the year is approaching. I cannot show you the ropes for long!”

That Prince of Zhao arranged such a quiet place in Zhanchun Venue for study was only a disguise. They were here only for Su Shaoge to teach Prince of Zhao how to handle the situation after going to court.

After all, Empress Su who specialized in the fight among imperial concubines couldn’t teach him. Duke of Ji was of noble position. Even though he had resigned from all his posts and kept the dukedom only, his behaviors were still very eye-catching. Therefore, he had no time to give any guidance to his nephew at the end of the year.

Luckily, Prince of Zhao had Su Shaoge, who was young and yet adept at political tactics.

“The Crown Prince is not exceptionally talented but he has two advantages. One is that he is the eldest, and the other advantage is that he and His Majesty are close.” After Prince of Zhao left, Su Shaoge put down the book and started to ponder. “Actually, the first advantage has no longer existed. After all, Prince of Wei and Prince of Liang have grown up. Prince of Zhao is only 12 years old, but his temperament is the most favored by His Majesty. The only one hindrance is that as the Crown Prince is brought up by His Majesty and His Majesty has made too much effort in him, the position of the Crown Prince won’t be easily replaced even if Prince of Zhao is more excellent than him!”

As to this problem, he had a solution. “His Majesty made his eldest legitimate son the crown prince because he thought that he would die soon and a young successor would incur national instability. Unexpectedly, His Majesty has been on the throne for 20 years despite his illness!”

Moreover, judging from Emperor Xianjia’s appearance, he wouldn’t die for the recent years.

This was the fundamental reason why Duke of Ji failed in the conspiracy. However, the factor that caused Duke of Ji’s failure to make his legitimate nephew capture the throne would be of help for the Su Family to set against the Crown Prince!

“His Majesty is not only a father but an emperor!” Su Shaoge gave a faint smile. “When His Majesty was worried that he wouldn’t live long, he would spare no effort to support the Crown Prince! However, if His Majesty can live long, his eldest son, the Crown Prince entitled in the early years is gradually becoming a mortal malady!”

On the contrary, Prince of Zhao who failed to be the crown prince because being too young took the upper hand then!

After all, he was only 12 years old. It was too early for him to become a threat on Emperor Xianjia.

“In this case, it will be rather important to tempt Jian Xubai through Madam Song,” Su Shaoge pondered over his plan again and again and then mumbled. “After all, it is not six years ago. Currently, the longer His Majesty lives, the more favorable it will be for the Su Family, Aunt and Prince of Zhao!”

Once Emperor Xianjia was dying, Duke of Ji, Su Nianyi would be killed first, which was not only known by Daiguo Grand Princess!