Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn - Chapter 158
These few people with remarkable appearances gave Zi Nuo a lot of hope, and he couldn't wait to ask the Immortal Master to take his pulse.
Mr. Immortal took my pulse, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, and Zinuo's face darkened again.
“This young lady has been poisoned by several deadly toxins. It’s a miracle she’s still alive. Now, I’m afraid even a celestial being couldn’t save her. She can only live as long as she can.” The Immortal released his grip and looked at me with a sense of helplessness.
Looking at Zinuo, Zinuo's face was deathly pale, and the empty-handed medicine boy beside him seemed to be stiff as well, with a look of deep sorrow in his eyes. Was I seeing things? Or was he just too compassionate?
"Is there really no other way?" Zinuo asked, unwilling to give up.
The Immortal shook his head: "The Soul-Severing Pill is an incurable poison. The young lady had taken some kind of elixir before, which temporarily suppressed the poison. Later, the Imperial Preceptor used Golden Sparrow Gallbladder to fight poison with poison, which saved her life for a while. Now, the two poisons have permeated each other in her body, and the toxicity has changed. It is no longer as easy to cure as the Soul-Severing Pill or Golden Sparrow Gallbladder."
The Imperial Advisor was a god-like figure in the eyes of the people of Jinque Kingdom, and this Immortal Gentleman was a legendary healer in the martial arts world. If neither of them could solve the problem, then truly no one else in the world could. Although he was sentenced to death, it was expected, so he didn't feel particularly sad. However, seeing Zi Nuo's ashen face, his heart ached terribly. I may not care about my own life or death, but can I not care about the feelings of those who care about me?
"According to what you've said, how much longer does Qingqiu have?" I want to know the answer so I can make arrangements for my affairs after my death and avoid leaving too many regrets.
The Immortal took my pulse again and pondered, "Rest assured and recuperate. Perhaps you will have another year or two."
A year or two should be enough.
“However,” Mr. Immortal added, “there’s really no one who can’t survive under my protection, so I can’t let you ruin my reputation!”
A hint of joy appeared on Zi Nuo's face again. The Immortal Master said, "I will go back to the mountain to study whether there is a way to detoxify. I will leave my two disciples, Bu Bei Bu Xi, to take care of the young lady and tell me about her daily condition. In a year or two, even if the poison cannot be completely removed, it will not be difficult to prolong her life for a few more years."
The Immortal's words gave everyone more hope. Zi Nuo sent someone to see the Immortal off, and settled the Immortal's disciple, Bu Bei Bu Xi, in the courtyard. He instructed everyone to treat him well before hurriedly returning to the palace.
That evening, we all ate together, and that's when we learned that the one carrying the medicine box was named Bu Xi, and the one empty-handed was named Bu Bei. Neither Bu Xi nor Bu Bei spoke much, and both had very serious expressions. When the dishes were served, Bu Xi glanced at them, picked up his chopsticks, and ordered several dishes, telling Bi Yao to take them away. He said coldly, "She can't eat these." As he spoke, he turned his gaze to me.
Biyao was about to take the dishes away when Chuchen jumped off the stool and stopped the maid, saying, "Auntie doesn't want to eat, but Chenchen loves to eat." Biyao looked at Buxi with a troubled expression, but Buxi didn't even look up, focusing only on eating her own meal. Seeing this, Ganlin took the dishes from Biyao and placed them in front of Chuchen. Only then did Chuchen return to her stool and sit down, not forgetting to glare fiercely at Buxi a few times.
Bu Bei glanced at Gan Lin, then at Chu Chen, and then at me, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
Although Bu Xi had a somewhat eccentric temper, everyone was extremely tolerant of him because he was the disciple of the Divine Physician. Seeing how well he arranged my meals, and realizing he was indeed quite skilled, we became even less bothered by him. On the other hand, Bu Bei, compared to Bu Xi, was equally taciturn, but his medical skills seemed far inferior. He often only did tedious tasks under Bu Xi's guidance, such as selecting medicinal herbs and decocting medicinal soups—all handled by Bu Bei. Occasionally, I would accidentally catch Bu Bei clumsily preparing medicine, and I truly couldn't understand how the Immortal Physician could have such a disciple.
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 137
Chapter word count: 3778 Update time: 09-09-22 06:12
Under the remote control of the Immortal Master and his unwavering care, my body became noticeably stronger than before. As for the real Mu Huaien, after learning that Marquis Qiyun was out of danger, she could no longer sense his presence.
That morning, Gan Lin hadn't returned from teaching Chu Chen martial arts yet. I was alone in my room continuing my masterpiece, pondering how to phrase it, when a strong scent of ambergris wafted into my nostrils. This scent—only Zinuo among those around me possessed it. I quickly folded the finished sheets of paper and tucked them under the book. Zinuo's cool voice came through: "Sister, what have you been doing behind my back again?"
Turning around, she smiled obsequiously at Zinuo: "Why did you come so early today? Usually, you only have time to come in the afternoon."
Zinuo ignored me and reached straight for the paper under the book. I raised my arm to block her: "Don't look, it's a matter of privacy." You'll see it soon, but definitely not now.
Zi Nuo withdrew her hand, but then placed it on my face. Before, I wouldn't have paid much attention, but ever since I learned that Zi Nuo had fed me medicine orally, such contact made me feel uneasy. I turned my head slightly, only to hear Zi Nuo laugh, "Sister, really! Don't you have enough paper? You have to write on your own face?"
As she spoke, Zinuo held out her finger to me, the tip of which was stained with ink.
My face was burning hot, so I rushed to the mirror and saw that there was ink on my right cheek. Zinuo touched it with her finger and it spread a little more, leaving a black blob on my face, which looked rather ridiculous.
Zi Nuo took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped the ink off my face. Seeing my flushed and disheveled appearance, Zi Nuo chuckled happily. His refreshing scent enveloped me, making me even more at a loss.
"Time to take your medicine!" An awkward silence fell as a cold voice rang out from outside the door. Then, Bu Bei walked in carrying a tray with a bowl of medicine, his face appearing even more somber than usual.
"You need to take medicine at this time?" I was very puzzled. He had just taken his medicine a little over an hour ago. Had he forgotten? "It hasn't been long since I took it."
"It's different from this morning's!" Bu Bei slammed the medicine bowl down on the table, her tone quite unfriendly.
Although I was puzzled, I didn't dare to question him now. I picked up the bowl, smelled the medicine which was no different from that morning, closed my eyes and drank the whole bowl of medicine. As usual, Zinuo wiped the medicine from the corner of my mouth and stuffed a honey plum into my mouth.
Bu Bei glared at me and said, "Spit out the plum. Don't eat sweets after taking the medicine, or the medicine might interfere with your diet!"
Upon hearing this, I quickly ran outside and spat out the plum. I thought to myself, "Today, Bu Bei is almost as bad as Bu Xi. Bu Xi has learned a lot about his temper, and I wonder how much he has learned about medicine."
"Wash your hands before hand-feeding." Bu Bei said this to Zinuo, who looked quite embarrassed. But what he said made sense; Zinuo had just wiped the ink off me, and it seemed he hadn't washed his hands yet…
Bu Bei took the empty bowl out, and Zinuo sat down at the table, laughing, "People with some skills seem to have a bit of a strange temperament." I smiled awkwardly, unsure whether he was trying to comfort himself or me.
"By the way, you're here so early today, is there anything going on in court?" I asked.
“It’s nothing,” Zi Nuo shook his head, then frowned slightly. “But in the north, the Western Xia are making rapid progress in Xuan Ying. Most of Xuan Ying’s territory is now in their hands. Their strength is truly alarming.”
"What are the king's plans? Will he continue to stand by and watch, or will he take advantage of the chaos to get a share of the spoils?" The Jinque Kingdom's army is still guarding the border. Will the Jinque King just stand by and watch Western Xia swallow up Xuanying and grow stronger?
“Father is a man of great foresight. Invading Xuanying would damage the prestige that Jinque has built up over hundreds of years, so he probably won’t send troops. Even if Xixia occupies Xuanying, they won’t be able to do anything to Jinque for the time being. The next target is probably Youjing. We’ll make a decision then.” As she spoke, Zinuo looked at me again. “Right now, the most important thing is for my sister.”
After lunch, Zinuo and Ganlin played chess in the pavilion, while I watched with Chuchen. I actually learned chess around the same time as Ganlin, but Ganlin is far more talented than me. Now, I can no longer beat him and always suffer a crushing defeat.
It is now the season when all flowers are in full bloom. The garden is full of flowers and green grass, and the whole place is full of vitality.
I glanced at the chessboard, secretly yawned, and inadvertently caught a glimpse of a dark blue hem flashing along the path behind the tree. I couldn't help but call out, "Bu Bei, don't I need to take my medicine now?" They gave me new medicine not long after breakfast this morning, and now I'm a very cooperative patient, remembering exactly when to take my medicine.
A cold, uncomfortable voice came from behind the tree: "No need."
"Oh." After replying, she put Chu Chen down and stood up. "You guys take your time getting off. I'm going to take a nap."
Back in his room, he continued writing the calligraphy he had written that morning. When he got really sleepy, he curled up on the couch and fell asleep. When he woke up again, Zi Nuo had already been invited back to the palace by the palace servants.
On a night filled with the intoxicating fragrance of flowers, I was taking a bath and continuing my important business at the table with my hair still wet when Bu Bei came in carrying a bowl of medicine. Ruo Sheng took it and put it aside, saying, "Thank you!" Bu Bei left expressionlessly, and Ruo Sheng shook her head and sighed, "They are really two strange people."
I chuckled lightly, unconcerned. Anyone with a bit of talent has a few quirks.
At the end of the month, the manuscript was finally completed. That day, Zinuo arrived late, and Ganlin and I taught Chuchen to recognize characters in the courtyard. Chuchen wasn't as enthusiastic about learning characters as he was about learning martial arts; he sat on the stool, fidgeting and restless. However, under the threat that Ganlin wouldn't teach him martial arts if he didn't learn ten characters a day, Chuchen still reluctantly pouted and studied.
When Zinuo arrived, it was the height of the afternoon sun, and beads of sweat glistened on his nose and forehead. Ruosheng took a handkerchief and wiped Zinuo's face.