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Seeing the emperor's expression, Xiu Ru knew he was reminiscing about the past. In truth, not only the emperor found it hard to believe, but Xiu Ru himself found it utterly unbelievable. Could there really be such an extraordinary woman in the world, capable of what men could not, even revered as the daughter of the goddess Ishel? It was simply too absurd. He sighed and continued, "While the three points I just mentioned are questionable, they are not entirely untenable. Handsome men have existed throughout history; even my third brother, whom Your Majesty has seen, is no less handsome than Prime Minister Qin. Furthermore, he only married Chu Yunyan. If he were truly such a devoted man, even if his wife could not bear children, he would not abandon her, and might even remarry. While this is illogical, it is not entirely impossible. Therefore…"

He paused, then noticed the emperor staring intently at him. He quickly said, "So unless His Majesty personally sends the palace's examination specialists to check, no one can be certain..."

"Absolutely not!" Yang Yi waved his hand and said decisively, "Lin Yu is, after all, my Prime Minister Jin Yao. I will send someone to verify his identity. If it turns out he is a woman, then so be it. But if he is a man, how can you expect him to let this humiliation go unpunished?"

Xiu Ru pondered for a long time, his mind unconsciously conjuring up the image of the blue-clad youth and the green-clad man walking side by side. A glint flashed in his eyes, and he took a few steps closer, whispering, "Your Majesty, I do have a way to ascertain the Prime Minister's identity, and regardless of whether the Prime Minister is male or female, this method will be advantageous to Your Majesty. However, I'm afraid it will require some compromise..."

Xiao Yi

2007.9.13 18:06

Chapter 42: Identity Exposed.

Haha, I saw the long review! Thank you so much, yjvfhpg! ^_^ It's not that I didn't want to post it, but I hadn't finished writing this chapter yet. If I write more tomorrow, I'll post more, haha!

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Chapter 43 Survival

Chapter 43 Survival

In December of the 765th year of the Wanli reign, another winter arrived in Jinyao. Perhaps it was just an illusion, but the people of Jinyao felt that this winter was colder and more bleak than usual, just like their heavy hearts filled with snow and wind. Floods in western Hunan, the approaching threat of the Fire Arrow, and the Prime Minister's serious illness—all these things foreshadowed an extremely ominous year for Jinyao. Therefore, as the New Year approached, every temple in Luonan was crowded with people, regardless of gender or age, all sincerely praying that the goddess Ishu'er would protect her child and ensure their safe passage through this calamity, and that Jinyao would prosper for generations to come.

Everyone in the Crimson Pavilion was filled with worry, for their master, the young prime minister, had been in a coma for over ten days. During this time, no doctor had been allowed in, only to be turned away by the guard in blue robes, who insisted that any medicine prescribed by other doctors, except for the madam, would only harm the young master. Even the imperial physician specially sent by the emperor was no exception.

The Emperor was furious. Everyone in the mansion knelt on the ground, but the guard in blue remained standing coldly, guarding the door. Apart from himself, no one knew the true condition of the boy inside. Not only the Emperor, whose face had turned ashen with rage, but even his servants, who knew him intimately, began to doubt his motives. Until, the Lady returned.

Three days ago, the Emperor finally released the Lady and ordered her to return. He also decreed that the accusation of poisoning the princess was a complete fabrication, and that Lady Ningguo had been unjustly wronged. He ordered that her title of First-Class Lady be restored and that she be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold. Upon her arrival, the Lady disregarded everyone else and went straight into the room that had been sealed for more than ten days. Even today, three days later, there has been no further movement from her.

"...Yihan...Yihan..." The boy lying on the bed frowned tightly, his thin body wrapped in snow-white clothes, trembling slightly, and his chapped lips kept uttering calls.

"Young Master!" The man in blue robes beside him hurriedly bent down and picked him up, his face haggard and his expression full of worry. "Young Master, I'm here! Young Master!"

The boy coughed softly twice, his brows relaxing slightly, and leaned closer to him. Suddenly, he let out a soft cry, then murmured in his sleep, "Xu Lie... I didn't lie to you... I didn't..."

Crystalline tears slid down his cheeks, dripping onto the fingertips of the man in blue. They felt like a hot iron branding them, causing him to tighten his grip. The boy, however, seemed oblivious, continuing to murmur, his voice hoarse and sorrowful, tinged with a desperate plea that tugged at the heartstrings of everyone who heard him: "Child...don't go...child...I can't see...I can't see anything..."

"I'll use my life... to prove... I don't want... Yihan... I don't want you to die... Yihan... don't abandon me..."

"Young Master!" The cold face of the man in blue could no longer conceal the fear and pain. His voice was low and hoarse, filled with despair. "Young Master! I will not abandon you, and you must not...you must not..."

"Cough cough...cough cough..." The boy coughed incessantly until streaks of blood seeped from the corners of his mouth, highlighting his pale, snow-white face, making him appear exceptionally tragic. "Xu Lie...our love is severed in this life...I will never love you again...never..."

The boy coughed twice more, and the man in blue kept wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, but it kept flowing out. The boy frowned, still muttering in his sleep: "I can't die... Yihan will be sad... Yunyan will be heartbroken... If I die... who will help Zimo... who will end his thousand years of loneliness... I can't die... I absolutely can't die..."

"Young Master! Young Master!" The man in blue hugged him tightly, but felt the boy's body grow colder inch by inch. His eyes were filled with panic, fear, and a desperate madness. He straightened the boy and was about to channel his energy into him again when the boy suddenly smiled gently. The smile was indescribably peaceful and serene, yet so familiar it felt almost tangible. The man in blue was somewhat dazed, but then he saw the boy tilt his head and say in a hoarse voice, "My name is Qin Luo. What's yours?"

The man in blue was slightly taken aback. Looking at the boy's tightly closed eyes, his long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his chapped lips were stained with a few streaks of blood, yet he still managed a faint smile without a trace of sorrow as he said, "Feng Yihan, do you know that doing this will not only fail to help them, but will also cause them even greater harm?"

The man in blue trembled violently, staring blankly at the pale, slender, yet breathtakingly beautiful young man before him. He was still smiling, and said softly, "Only by placing oneself outside of right and wrong can one discern right from wrong; only by placing oneself outside of gain and loss can one observe the changes in gain and loss. Yi Han, are you so caught up in the situation that you can't see through the fate of Shuiwu? If you want to end the suffering of this country, a wise ruler is needed to unify the continent of Yixiu from west to east, or from east to west. If you truly want to do something for your beloved homeland, why not step out of the country of Shuiwu and choose to assist a wise ruler so that the world can be unified as soon as possible?"

A faint blush rose to the boy's face. Though his eyes were closed, the man in blue seemed to see those piercing eyes, smiling at him and speaking softly. Suddenly, the boy's face turned pale, his expression filled with grief, and his voice trembled: "Yunyan, Yunyan, I'm begging you, let me go save Kewei! No matter the cost, I'll do it! ... He's already died for me once, I will never allow him to be hurt again!"

The boy mumbled incessantly in his sleep, his face alternating between pale and flushed. The man in blue held him, feeling that he was as fragile as a porcelain doll, exquisitely beautiful yet easily broken, making him hesitant to even channel his inner energy into him. The boy coughed twice, his face turning crimson, and murmured again, "You said I was about to die, so why should I believe you?"

"Yihan—!" The boy's hand suddenly gripped the man in blue's wrist, his nails digging into his flesh, his voice sharp and panicked. The man in blue seemed oblivious to the pain in his wrist; his similarly cracked lips trembled slightly, but he could no longer utter the words "Young Master."

The boy's face suddenly calmed, tinged with a faint sadness and sorrow, yet utterly resolute: "Even if I'm truly being used by you, it doesn't matter. My mind is made up! No matter the cost, no matter... please, you must..."

"Squeak—" The door opened. A stunningly beautiful woman dressed as a young married woman rushed in. The man in blue was startled and stopped hearing the boy's increasingly faint voice. When the woman saw the boy lying in the man in blue's arms with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, her face changed drastically, and she cried out, "Lin Yu—!" and rushed over.

The woman, barely managing to calm herself, took the boy's pulse. With each passing breath, her brow furrowed more deeply, and the man in blue's heart sank further. The woman gently closed her eyes, her heart churning with agonizing anxiety; her trembling eyelashes and pale lips betrayed her fear. Three days had passed! She had tried everything, but his illness only worsened, simply because the illness had dragged on for far too long…

"How could you let her refuse medical treatment!" The woman suddenly opened her eyes and yelled at the man in blue, "This isn't the first or second time she's been so willful! Is her life more important or concealing her identity?!"

The man in blue robes' expression darkened, his icy face revealing a desolate despair and sorrow: "Young Master insists that only in this way will the Emperor release Madam and bring her back. He doesn't want Madam to stay in that place any longer... not even for a day."

"You idiot!" Crystalline tears slid down her cheeks as the woman choked back a sob and yelled at the unconscious boy on the bed, "Lin Yu! You worry so much about me, but don't you know I worry about you too? You've gotten yourself into this state, you willful and reckless bastard!"

"Madam..." The man in blue suddenly calmed down, his expression cold and indifferent, but if you looked closely, you would find a deathly resolve in his eyes. "Is there any hope for the young master?"

The woman fiercely wiped away her tears, muttering, "What's the use of crying? I'm not that willful fool." Then she abruptly raised her head and said, "There's only one way to save Lin Yu's life now. But if it fails, not only will she die instantly, but you and I may also be implicated, either dead or seriously injured. Are you willing to try?"

=================================

The man in blue remained calm and composed, saying, "Madam knows perfectly well that this is a redundant question." He lowered his eyes to look at the boy in his arms, his expression softening unconsciously, and a fleeting glint of dark green light flashed in his black eyes.

A relieved smile appeared in the woman's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by solemnity. She said in a deep voice, "This method is called 'Survival After Calamity.' I will first feed Lin Yu the highly poisonous Qu Sang Powder, then use golden needles to stimulate her potential, followed by bloodletting treatment with silver needles. During this time, you must constantly channel your internal energy into her to gather the Qu Sang Powder in her dantian to prevent the poison from spreading. At the same time, you must also wipe away the sweat caused by the pain to prevent the silver needles inserted into the acupoints from being interfered with by external objects."

"You must be careful when transferring internal energy. Too much will cause her already fragile meridians to burst and kill her. Too little will cause the poison to spread and even backfire on you and me, leaving us all with a slim chance of survival. You must remember these things clearly."

The man in blue nodded and asked, "When will it begin?"

“We can’t delay a moment longer,” the woman said resolutely. “But…” She paused, turning to glance at the boy nestled in the arms of the man in blue, her gaze filled with a complex and indescribable ambiguity: “The method of ‘surviving a calamity’ requires the recipient to be freed from all restraints, which means… I must remove Lin Yu’s clothes. And you, in the final moments, must slowly draw the poison from Lin Yu’s body into your own, and then expel it, so naturally you cannot wear clothes either…”

The woman looked up and met the man in blue's unusually pale face and bewildered, panicked eyes. Even in this distressing situation, she couldn't help but smile and say, "If you are determined to help me, you must abide by two rules. First, you must not be distracted when administering the acupuncture, lest you suffer a qi deviation. Second, you and she are of different genders, yet you are naked together; you will have to take responsibility for her in the future. If you can agree to these two rules, let's begin."

―――――――――――――First-person perspective separator―――――――――――――――

I felt like I had a very, very long dream. In it were Yi Han, Zi Mo, Yun Yan, Xu Lie and my unborn child, and many other people I didn't know yet felt extremely familiar with. But the strangest thing was that Lin Yu was also in my dream. I've long forgotten the details of those dreams, but I clearly remember that Lin Yu existed in that chaotic and bewildering world. And in the dream, I was Lin Yu.

When I woke up, it was already bright daylight. My first thought was, how many days had I been unconscious? I hadn't had time to activate the water chain, so was Xiantian already in a coma? Wouldn't my brother be very worried?

"It's the eighth day." A deep and familiar double voice sounded from above. I looked up and saw Zi Mo looking at me with a hint of weariness and pity. "Don't worry, you've only been unconscious for one day. You should be able to go back tonight."

I let out a long sigh and was about to speak when I saw Zimo staring intently at me. How to describe his gaze? It was like a thousand threads tangled together in a knot, a knot that was impossible to untie. Therefore, the more I struggled and became confused, the more I sank into a downward spiral.

"Zimo?" I called to him silently, "What's wrong?"