Chapter 86

Nan Yi stood tall, remaining calm despite her anxiety. Whether or not she was confident, she had learned from Xie Que Shan to always maintain composure until the very last moment.

After a pause, she slowly turned around, calmly saying, “Lord Wan Yan, you are allowed to mock me, but am I not allowed to mock you?”

Wan Yan Jun froze for a moment and raised his hand to stop the guards. “What do you mean?”

Nan Yi replied, “The pulse I felt was weak at the cun, but strong at the chi, and behind the curtain, it’s clearly a man.”

Wan Yan Jun squinted, examining this female doctor.

Nan Yi remained composed on the outside, but all she could hear was the sound of her heart pounding in her chest.

At the moment when danger was looming, her mind was working quickly. After she spoke the diagnosis, it was only then that Wanyan Jun began to suspect her, which meant her judgment was wrong—could it be that there was no way anyone in this room could have a “joy pulse”?

At that moment, she felt the curtain move slightly. She glanced down and noticed half of a boot sticking out from beneath the curtain, which seemed to be a man’s official boot. This confirmed her suspicion, so she straightened up with courage and addressed Wanyan Jun. As for the pulse readings like “chi pulse” and “cun pulse,” those were just descriptions of pulse types she had memorized earlier.

Then, a soft laugh came from behind the curtain: “This is an interesting female doctor. I believe you’re the only one in the whole Lidu Mansion who dares to mock Lord Wanyan.”

The familiar voice sounded like thunder in her ears—it was Xie Que Shan! Had he recognized her?

South Clothes’ heart skipped a beat, and she quickly thought to herself that she had disguised her voice, intentionally speaking with a rough tone. It wasn’t certain that Xie Que Shan would recognize her from behind the curtain. If he did, why hadn’t he exposed her?

He had let her go, but he wouldn’t want her to go against the Qi people. If he discovered that she was from the Bingzhu Si and pretending to be a doctor in the Wanyan mansion, wouldn’t he have her skin peeled off?

South Clothes carefully concealed her original voice and cupped her hands, replying: “I wouldn’t dare, just thought Lord Wanyan enjoyed jokes, so I thought I should go along with it.”

Her gaze was tightly fixed on the shadow behind the curtain.

Xie Que Shan couldn’t help but laugh—did she really think that changing her voice would fool him? The moment she spoke as she entered, he knew exactly who it was.

To avoid startling the child, Xie Que Shan didn’t tease her any further. Instead, he quickly gave her an out.

“Lord Wanyan, what do you think?” Xie Que Shan stopped his statement and threw the question back at Wanyan Jun.

Suspicious people tend to trust others less the more they speak. He needed to let Wanyan Jun figure it out himself.

Slowly, Wanyan Jun waved his hand, signaling for the guards to step back. He fixed his gaze on South Clothes, still feeling some suspicion toward this female doctor who hadn’t been low-key from the start. However, he also felt that she must have some skill, or how else could she have the audacity to challenge him?

Her background had been thoroughly checked, and she was clean. Wanyan Jun finally convinced himself; after all, she was under his nose—just a small woman, what could she possibly do? The most important thing right now was to have her treat Princess Xu’s illness.

“Things have been uneasy in the mansion lately, we must be cautious. Please don’t take offense, Doctor. As long as you can cure the princess, even if you are a Han, I will reward you handsomely.”

“Thank you, Lord Wanyan. I will do my utmost.”

“Follow me. — Xie Que Shan, please have some hot tea. I will return shortly.”

At this moment, two female servants stepped forward, slowly lifting the curtain.

South Clothes first saw a pair of long hands on the desk, with a cyan sleeve edge, a red thread wrapped around the wrist, and the fingers casually resting.

Lidu Mansion was so large that the two of them might never meet again. Without any prior warning, South Clothes felt a surge of emotion at this unexpected reunion. She wanted to look at him, but she knew she couldn’t risk having Xie Que Shan expose her identity here.

She had been sent in by Bingzhu Si after much effort behind the scenes. Although disguising herself as a doctor was a risky move, the current political situation was special, and the defenses at Wanyan’s mansion were tight. This was the fastest way to approach Princess Xu. She couldn’t afford to fail now.

Before the curtain was completely lifted, South Clothes turned and followed Wanyan Jun without looking back.

Inside, South Clothes finally saw the feverish and unconscious Xu Kouyue.

Compared to their last meeting, South Clothes thought she had lost more weight. Every time she saw her, a feeling of melancholy would rise in her heart. She often couldn’t help but imagine how a princess of a dynasty, raised in luxury and adored by many, could become the most beautiful flower, now reduced to this lonely state. Compared to her former glory, it was truly powerless.

She didn’t dare to show too much emotion under Wanyan Jun’s watchful eye. Setting down her medical kit, she kneeled by the bed and skillfully began the routine of looking, smelling, asking, and feeling. While checking Xu Kouyue’s tongue, she quietly slipped a pill into her mouth.

Wanyan Jun stood anxiously behind South Clothes. After watching her complete her set of actions, he couldn’t help but ask, “How is the princess?”

South Clothes had initially prepared a “joy pulse” diagnosis, but it no longer seemed appropriate to use that, so she began to recite her second option with a somber expression: “The princess has suffered from liver stagnation for a long time, with evil heat obstructing her. This is truly a case of chronic illness leading to a deficiency. I can only provide her with tonic treatment, much like how a candle’s flame grows weak and requires extra oil, but we must be patient. Also…”

Although Xie Que Shan was drinking tea outside, his ears were carefully tuned to catch every sound inside. Hearing South Clothes’ flawless response, his heart slowly relaxed. Today’s situation had been very dangerous, but it seemed she had the ability to memorize things perfectly. It seemed she had quickly studied the necessary phrases, and when acting as a doctor, she was convincing. He was glad he hadn’t misjudged her from the beginning.

Wanyan Jun noticed South Clothes pause for a moment and urged, “Speak plainly.”

South Clothes shook her head heavily: “The princess’s qi and blood cannot circulate, her yang is insufficient. Lord Wanyan, you must not engage in relations with her in the next month.”

Xie Que Shan couldn’t help but spit out his tea, followed by a violent cough.

Who told her to come up with that? Song Mucuan? How could she, a young woman, speak so seriously and with such conviction about bed matters?

Xie Que Shan coughed, his face turning red and looking quite embarrassed.

Wanyan Jun gave a strange look at the disturbance outside, feeling inexplicably flustered. He quickly said, “I understand. Go ahead and prepare the medicine. You will stay in the mansion until the princess is well. Give the prescription to the female servants, and someone will go out to fetch the medicine.”

South Clothes stood up and bowed, saying, “Yes, my lord.”

She knew that even though Wanyan Jun was relaxing his guard, he wouldn’t allow anyone to come and go from the mansion freely every day, which was something they had anticipated.

Since she was here, she would make the most of the opportunity to investigate the layout and defenses of Wanyan Jun’s mansion. Although she had to be blindfolded every time she walked in the yard, after taking the same route several times, she had a rough idea of the place. By listening to the footsteps from different positions, she could also deduce the strength of the defenses.

From the outside, the place seemed like an ironclad fortress, but within, Nan Yi could faintly sense a slackening—some subtle and strange noises no longer caused any uproar, and the guards chatted casually among themselves, boasting of their strength and mocking the incompetence of the Yu Dynasty’s military and civilians, claiming they could easily break through.

It seemed that Nan Yi’s repeated interference had played some role. The enemy had yet to appear, and the unchanging tranquility made the guards feel that there was no issue at all. They began to think that Lord Wan Yan Jun’s excessive vigilance was merely an overreaction.

Every day, Nan Yi had to check Xu Kouyue’s pulse three times. The illness itself was designed in advance, and as long as the remedy was taken, she would recover. The other prescriptions were all pre-prepared, and Nan Yi had memorized them and could quickly jot them down. Most of them were gentle tonics, and aside from the somewhat ugly handwriting, there was no noticeable flaw—after all, a doctor’s writing is often ugly, and it was not necessary for anyone to understand it.

During every consultation, someone would monitor from outside. Nan Yi couldn’t speak much to Xu Kouyue and could only slip notes into her hands to gradually communicate the plan.

Xu Kouyue dared not show too many emotions. She wasn’t good at disguising herself and feared that showing too much nervousness would reveal everything. Most of the time, she pretended to be unconscious. But only she knew that at the moment Nan Yi arrived and slipped the note into her hand, the long-awaited support she had been searching for, someone she could rely on, finally arrived.

When they departed from the capital of Da Qi, her father had entrusted her with something important, telling her to find a reliable person to pass it on—apart from that, she had no useful information.

Who was she supposed to hand it to? Who could she trust? She had waited, searched, and even felt hopeless, thinking perhaps her mission would fail. Even though she lived with great humiliation, she had brought no benefit to the decaying dynasty, only adding to its ridicule.

The arrival of this female doctor was like a crack in the darkness, a ray of light shining in. She could finally relax her troubled heart, thinking that she could die now.

She wanted to give the item to this spy and have her leave, but Nan Yi insisted, “Princess, I want to take you with me.”

Xu Kouyue didn’t think she needed saving, but Nan Yi was very insistent. Xu Kouyue silently shook her head but firmly held Nan Yi’s hand.

Both of their hands were cold, and they tried hard to transmit warmth to each other. Nan Yi wrote her name in Xu Kouyue’s palm, telling her that she was called Nan Yi.

Nan Yi—difficult to rely on. A name that sounded fragile. Xu Kouyue didn’t know how much hardship Nan Yi had endured to reach this point. She didn’t look strong, but Xu Kouyue wanted to rely on her tightly and hoped that the thing she brought could offer these spies some support.

Thus, in the silent exchange, three days passed, and the appointed day arrived.

Everything was proceeding according to plan. Just as Nan Yi was about to check Xu Kouyue’s pulse, before she could even enter the room, an assassin, taking advantage of the guards’ fatigue, broke into Xu Kouyue’s room, stabbed her, and wreaked havoc, finally disappearing into the distance, like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water, from the eaves of a far-off building.

When Nan Yi entered, she saw the princess already lying in a pool of blood. Their eyes met, Xu Kouyue closed her eyes, and Nan Yi shouted loudly, “There’s an assassin!”

Chaos erupted in the manor, and Wan Yan Jun rushed over. Seeing Xu Kouyue stabbed and unconscious, he furiously ordered Nan Yi, “Save her! If not, I’ll have you all accompany her in death!”

Nan Yi cursed inwardly, thinking, “You should go die instead.” But she dared not voice it, only nodding obediently.

Wan Yan Jun calmed down slightly, surveying the scene in the room. His worst fears had come true.

Had the assassin found something important that he hadn’t discovered? Was it someone from the Bingchu Si? Had they killed Xu Kouyue to silence her after taking the succession decree?

“My lord, the assassin is heading south!” His close guard quickly reported in a trembling voice.

To the south lay the river. Was the assassin trying to flee by boat? For safety’s sake, Wan Yan Jun had to personally pursue him, keeping the person firmly under his control. The succession decree was far too important, and it related to his fate. He could not let anyone else have it.

Meanwhile, Nan Yi waited for Wan Yan Jun to fall into their trap, taking most of the guards with him, so that she could send the signal and have those waiting outside assist her and the princess in leaving the manor.

Just as Wan Yan Jun was about to leave, a voice came from outside the door: “Lord Wan Yan, I was just passing by and noticed the assassin, so I hurried here to see if there’s anything I can help with.”

The voice… was Zhang Yuehui!

Why was it so difficult for her to get something done? Was everyone coming to meddle? Nan Yi felt anxious, hoping nothing would go wrong and that Wan Yan Jun would leave quickly.