Chapter 21

The Ice Vault

Seeing the worried look on Li Jiancheng’s face, he reassured him, “Don’t worry, as long as your father still cares about the Li family, he’ll definitely choose that path.” After a pause, he asked, “Have you still not found the assassin?”

At the mention of the matter, Li Jiancheng’s gaze darkened. “The assassin is very cunning and has been circling around us, so we haven’t found her yet. But now that she’s entered the trap, she won’t be able to escape.”

Xia Houduan nodded and said, “She has been in the mansion for days, listening to who knows how many secrets. She absolutely cannot be allowed to stay.”

While they were discussing this, Yun Yi and Shen Moping were hiding in the ice vault. Every noble family would have an ice vault in their house to store ice during the winter, which could be used to cool off during the summer. Now that the summer had passed and no new ice had been delivered, only a small amount remained. Even so, the cold was enough to make people shiver.

Shen Moping carefully closed the door and rubbed his hands together. “It’s late autumn, early winter now. No one will need ice, so we should be safe here.” After waiting for a while without hearing Yun Yi speak, he turned around and saw her huddling in the corner, trembling uncontrollably. He hurriedly draped all the clothes he had brought over her, saying, “Master, please bear with it for a while. Once the danger passes, I’ll take you out immediately.”

Yun Yi weakly shook her head. “I’m fine, it’s just... a little cold.”

“Cold?” Shen Moping glanced around. They had already given Yun Yi all the clothes they brought, and there was nothing else to wrap her in. Gritting his teeth, he took off his outer coat and draped it over her. When his fingers accidentally brushed against her face, he was surprised to find her cheek burning with heat. He immediately reached to touch her forehead and found it just as hot. Panicking, he said, “This is bad, Master. You’re running a fever.”

As he spoke, Shen Moping quickly began to untie the cloth wrapped around Yun Yi’s shoulder. Although the bleeding had stopped, the wound was in poor condition, and the fever was likely caused by an infection.

“What... what should we do? There’s no doctor or medicine here; what are we going to do?” Shen Moping paced anxiously, knowing that many soldiers on the battlefield had died from fever caused by infected wounds. After Yun Yi was injured, his biggest worry had been the fever, and now it had become a reality.

Yun Yi weakly waved her hand, trying to reassure him. “I told you I’m fine. Why are you so nervous? I’ll be okay after resting for a while.”

Shen Moping blurted out, “I’m afraid resting won’t help!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he quickly spat on the ground, clasped his hands together, and knelt in panic, bowing several times. He nervously said, “I was just talking nonsense. Buddha, please don’t take it seriously. Please bless my master and let her recover quickly. I promise I will eat only vegetables and offer my prayers to you from now on.”

Hearing his words, Yun Yi forced a smile and said, “You’re deceiving the Buddha again. You can’t go a day without eating meat; how could you eat only vegetables? I still remember that many years ago, you worked all day without getting any meat, so...” After saying so much in one breath, she began to wheeze. Shen Moping quickly stood up, supporting her, and continued, “So I secretly went to the imperial kitchen to steal some meat. I didn’t expect to be caught red-handed by Steward Zhao, who nearly had me beaten to death. Fortunately, you interceded on my behalf, and I was spared. You even received a few lashes from the steward. From that moment on, I swore that my life belonged to you. Even if you told me to die, I would never hesitate.”

Yun Yi smiled bitterly. “Steward Zhao never took me, a fallen princess, seriously. It was only thanks to my mother that you were saved in the end.”

Shen Moping’s eyes reddened as he said, “I will never forget the life-saving grace of you and Her Majesty, the Empress. Before I repay that favor, you must... you must not have any accidents!” By the end of his sentence, his voice cracked with emotion.

Yun Yi shook her head. “You’ve come this far with me, that’s all the repayment I need. Moping... do you think I’ll be able to see my mother again?”

Shen Moping wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes and nodded vigorously. “Yes, you will definitely be able to. I’ll risk my life to get you back to Luoyang to see the Empress!”

“I hope... that it really happens,” Yun Yi whispered before finally losing consciousness.

Shen Moping, frantic and uneasy, wanted nothing more than to rush out and find a doctor for her. However, they were surrounded and hunted by the guards. If they left the ice vault, they would likely be caught. Unable to suppress his anxiety, he used the dagger he carried to break off a piece of ice, wrapped it in cloth, and placed it on Yun Yi’s forehead, hoping to lower her fever. He muttered repeatedly, “It will be fine, it will be fine!”

But things rarely go as wished. Yun Yi’s temperature didn’t drop; it only kept rising, and she continued to tremble. The situation was becoming critical.

After another piece of ice failed to reduce her fever, Shen Moping muttered to himself, “No, this won’t work. If it continues like this, my master will die. I must go out and get some medicine!” Though he had never ventured out before, he knew that the guards at the governor’s mansion would be strict, and they were searching everywhere for them. Going out now would be as good as signing his death warrant, but for Yun Yi, he had to take that risk.

Resolved, Shen Moping carefully laid Yun Yi on the ground and whispered, “Master, wait here. I’ll find some medicine to save you.”

With that, he silently pushed open the iron door of the ice vault and slipped outside. It was already dark, but the guards could still be seen patrolling.

He moved carefully, avoiding the guards, heading toward the back courtyard. He knew there was a pharmacy there, where the mansion staff usually got their supplies. The medicine cabinet was well-stocked.

When he was in the palace, he had seen the imperial physician prescribe medicine for a high fever. Though he couldn’t remember it perfectly, he recalled most of the ingredients. He knew that adjusting the ingredients could alter the effectiveness, but in this case, he had no choice but to take a gamble.

As he walked and hid, it took him half an hour to approach the back courtyard. Unfortunately, there were also guards posted there, and sneaking in was impossible!

Just as Shen Moping was struggling in the shadows, two guards approached. The guards responsible for watching the back courtyard let out a sigh of relief and said, “Finally, it’s our turn off duty. We can go back and sleep.”

The tall, thin guard yawned and said, “We only get two hours of sleep before we have to go back out to patrol. These past couple of days have been exhausting.”

The other guard replied, “Tell me about it. An assassin suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, neither the governor nor the third young master were hurt, or things would be a lot worse right now.”