Chapter 289

The horse carriage made its way through the twisted alley and stopped outside Jingxiang Gates. All that could be seen outside was a dense, forested area which seemingly covered half the sky, along with the sunlight. There was only a tall, red brick wall, which appeared mottled as time passed. With a slight touch of a finger, sections of the wall would peel off.

A pale hand grabbed at a cloak and pulled the doors of the horse carriage open. The sunlight shone on her forehead as the wind blew across her hair. She raised her eyebrows slowly as she covered her face with an umbrella made of bamboo, leaving only her frail chin visible. Bei’er followed behind, holding a medicine box in her hand. Seeing the eunuch exchange words with the sentry guards, she lowered her voice and exclaimed excitedly, “Master, this is the palace!”

She did not answer as she continued to look down towards the stone pavement.

After a day of rainfall, the sun had not appeared. The raindrops flew with the wind. The rays of light appeared red, forming dim circles on her snowy-white outfit. Seeing that she remained silent, Bei’er stuck out her tongue and stood at the side obediently. The eunuch walked over and laughed, saying, “Master Shuixiang, follow me.”

Shuixiang nodded and replied, “Thanks for the trouble.” Her voice was low and hoarse, which startled even the wheeler. He did not expect the woman to possess such an eerie voice. The old eunuch could not resist discreetly sizing her up again. Her clothes were thin and her hair was jet black, while she wore a veil, which covered large parts of her face, except her eyes. The look in her eyes was deep. Although she looked downwards, a classy aura emanated from her eyes, making her appear sharp and stern.

“Eunuch?” she raised her eyebrows and called out.

The old eunuch snapped out of his trance and said, “This way.”

Despite the comprehensive drainage system that this palace had adopted, it was unable to prevent big puddles of water from accumulating as it had rained non-stop for a few days. The old eunuch, now aware of Shuixiang’s identity, did not dare to look her in the eye. He stooped his back and offered to carry her umbrella for her. Shuixiang did not object, lowering her head to walk at the side. Upon reaching a corridor, she turned left to the surprise of the old eunuch.

“Master Shuixiang, you’ve only entered the palace for the third time. You remember your way already? Back then, when I entered the palace, I couldn’t find my way around for two to three years.”

Shuixiang answered with a smile, “My memory is relatively better.”

The old eunuch smiled. “You’re indeed a divine healer. When Lady Yang took the medicine you prescribed, she recovered the very next day.”

Shuixiang laughed, “You’re too kind.” She then took half a step backward and followed behind the eunuch, lowering her head and continuing to walk.

When she arrived at the internal supervising office, routine checks were conducted on her. The head eunuch gave her a few instructions and handed her over to Ganan Temple’s head eunuch. Bei’er could not follow anymore. She handed the medicine box over to Shuixiang and said as she laughed, “I’ll wait for Master here.”

As she finished her words, she saw Shuixiang turn around to look at her deeply and quietly. Bei’er had followed Shuixiang for three years since the epidemic in the capital claimed her father’s life. Luckily, she was adopted by Shuixiang. Although she appeared cold and did not speak much, she treated Bei’er well. Faced with Shuixiang’s cold gaze, Bei’er whispered in fear, “Master?”

Shuixiang broke eye contact and raised her hand to tidy up her hair. Gently, she remarked, “Are you hungry?”

Bei’er replied, “No.”

“Didn’t we bring some snacks? If you’re hungry, eat some first.” This was unlike Shuixiang. Bei’er was pleasantly surprised. Unable to contain her joy, she smiled and said, “I’m not hungry. I’ll wait for Master to eat together.”

Shuixiang did not say anything else and left with the eunuch. When she stepped into the courtyard, she turned around to see Bei’er standing by the gate, all smiles. Her face appeared red as if she had put on some makeup.

How old is Bei’er this year? 15? A small thought flashed across her mind, causing her to frown. The rain had stopped, but the air turned colder. The head eunuch briefed her on the formalities upon seeing the emperor as she took note of his words. After walking for an hour, they reached the entrance of Ganan Palace. The servant went in to report as she waited outside the palace. She felt a little nervous as her heart beat fast. She took a few deep breaths but was unable to suppress the emotions she felt. She clenched her lips tightly behind her veil, adopting a stern expression. In truth, since she entered the palace for the first time three months ago, even when she re-entered the city again five years ago, these emotions had bugged her. She felt nervous, agitated, passionate, and even a few elements of expectancy. Shuixiang knew that she was not supposed to feel this way; even a slight distraction would cause her plan to fail. However, she was still unable to suppress her feelings, especially today and at this moment!

As the palace doors opened slowly, a person stepped out, but it was not the head eunuch. Instead, it was a seductive beauty wearing a bluish-purple palace outfit, which looked flamboyant. She looked upwards slightly towards Shuixiang and asked, “Who are you?”

“This is Master Shuixiang, recommended by Lady Yang to attend to His Majesty’s illness.” The head eunuch happened to step outside. As he finished his sentence, he turned to Shuixiang and said, “Master Shuixiang, pay your respects to Lady Cheng.”

Shuixiang looked at Lady Cheng’s face, bowed and said, “Greetings, Madam.” Her voice was calm; the action in which she bowed was well-rehearsed. She did not look like a person who had just entered the palace. Lady Cheng, unable to find fault with anything, appeared even more frustrated as she remarked in a low voice, “She looks like a thoughtful person, but why is she still wearing a veil? Who allowed her to wear such a thing in the palace?”

The head eunuch replied, “Madam, Master Shuixiang is a non-secular person. It is inappropriate for her to see outsiders. Hence, she covers her face with a veil whenever she enters the palace.”

Lady Cheng sneered. “Are the people from the physicians’ center all dead? Lady Yang is too muddle-headed as well. Why would she recommend an outsider to enter the palace? If something happens, who is accountable?”

The conflict between Lady Cheng and Lady Yang was well-known; it was no longer a secret. Lady Cheng’s elder brother, Cheng Yuan, was a key military figure who had followed the emperor through countless conflicts. Lady Yang was from Song; her family was well-off and she had the backing of the old Song officials. In particular, after Empress Nalan’s demise, the emperor had not announced a new empress yet. Hence, the two of them had even more reasons to dislike each other.

The head eunuch, sensing that Lady Cheng wanted to spoil the party, gathered his courage and spoke out, “Madam, Master Shuixiang is from Taiji Convent. She is the disciple of Grand-teacher Jingyue. She is skilled in medicine. His Majesty himself has agreed to today’s consultation.”

Lady Cheng turned around and stared at the head eunuch coldly. She gave a cold laugh and said, “In this case, bring her in.” After finishing her words, she left hurriedly with her men.

The head eunuch wiped the cold sweat off his face and said to Shuixiang, “Master Shuixiang, follow me.”

The palace doors opened with a creak as tiny specks of dust flew in the air. Shuixiang stood outside the door, feeling like she was in a dream. She thought that as long as she walked in, she would be brought back in time to that day in her memories. Then, her father was still around; she would still be that naive, innocent kid.

However, that was just a dream. Although the layout of the palace was familiar, everything else appeared foreign to her. There were no longer extravagant spices, flashy sleeves, nor any women that paid compliments to him as they served drinks. The palace was empty; only the palace lights hung high up in the air, with a few plainly-dressed servants standing below. The black curtains hung low, with golden koi patterns and large roses embroidered over them. The sight was slightly blinding as the curtains reflected the light. Beyond the thick curtains, a shadow sat there, with his head lowered. The shadow was seemingly reading something; upon hearing the sounds, it did not look up. Shuixiang could not make out the shadow’s face.

Shuixiang followed behind the head eunuch and bowed to that person, as the head eunuch said, “Your Majesty, Master Shuixiang is here.”

“Please rise.” A low voice boomed out from the inner reaches of the palace. It was not gentle nor cold but sounded calm instead. Although it was just a few simple words, it caused Shuixiang’s back to tighten and goosebumps to appear. She lowered her head and stood behind the head eunuch, putting her hands to the side. However, her thumbnail pressed tightly against her index finger, causing sensations of acute pain to her hand.

“Your Majesty, this is Master Shuixiang from Taiji Convent.”

Yan Xun looked up slowly, visibly fatigued from toiling through the day. He put down his brush and pressed his left thumb against his temple, rubbing it with his eyes half-squinted. His gaze swept across Shuixiang’s shadow as he nodded and remarked, “Come over here.”