This Favor Must Be Remembered
As a prince, even if Xuan Tian Feng did not pay attention to the court’s affairs, his information network was established. All sorts of major events and minor incidents would reach his ears. Of course, this would include the things that had happened during the Winter Hunt.
He gently sighed and temporarily stopped thinking about this residence. He stopped lamenting his inability to do the things that he liked; however, Feng Yu Heng was able to bring his hopes out into reality in such a great way. He looked toward Feng Yu Heng with a deceptive yet grateful expression. Cupping his hands, he bowed deeply: “The matter from the hunting ground a few days ago, Feng thanks younger sister for being magnanimous and preserving my mother’s life. Younger sister repaid evil with good, and Feng is exceedingly grateful. This favor will be clearly remembered in my heart. If younger sister has any requests to make in the future, Feng will definitely do everything possible to repay this favor.”
He took the initiative to bring up the matter with Noble Lady Li, and Feng Yu Heng was not surprised. She had not interacted much with this sixth prince. She had seen him once during a palace banquet two years earlier, and the sixth prince left the capital after that, never returning. It was only today that the two met for a second time; however, it was the first time that they had a conversation. In the past, she may not have formed an impression based on what Wang Chuan and the others had said about the sixth prince, but meeting him today, she could see this person truly revered literature and had a thorough understanding of righteousness. He did not have any secretive thoughts, and he did not struggle for power. He was nothing but a scholar. His gaze looked cultured, his words were modest, and he saw things from a commoner’s perspective. With his earnest hopes and ideals, conversing with this person was an extremely pleasant experience. Even now, when he brought up Noble Lady Li, her mind could not be dragged from the world of the wild mountains into the lofty court.
Feng Yu Heng began smiling and replied: “If sixth brother says it like this, A-Heng will feel conflicted. After all, Noble Lady Li was demoted because of this. For an imperial concubine of the inner palace, it’s an extremely big matter.” Status was the foundation of life in the inner palace. To be demoted all the way to noble lady from imperial concubine, it sounded like just a change in titles, but the difference was actually massive.
Xuan Tian Feng shook his head with a bitter expression, “Rather than letting her stay in the position of imperial concubine, I think the position of noble lady is better. Living in a side hall that is far from the heart of power in the palace will also allow her to calm down. It will be better than spending her days thinking about what she does and doesn’t have.” Raising his head and looking into the distance, he looked toward the mountain range and took a deep breath, continuing: “I know what she intended. She felt that she had also given birth to a prince and should not watch me do worse than any of my brothers. What others have, I should also have. But in truth, she does not know that the things she thinks of as good are not worth a single cent to me. As for what my heart truly desires, it’s something that she would never be able to understand.” Xuan Tian Feng retracted his gaze then looked at Feng Yu Heng once more, saying very sincerely: “The reason that I thank you is because I know that it was your words that preserved her life; otherwise, just the practice of witchcraft and cursing you would have been a death penalty, and that’s not mentioning the stealing of your little white tiger, which led to the little beast injuring Fei Yu. Although my birth mother and I desire different things, she is still my birth mother. This favor is one that must be remembered.”
Xuan Tian Feng was persistent, thus Feng Yu Heng did not continue to push back. She just smiled faintly and replied: “I never intended to take the initiative in suppressing anyone, as I always hope that everyone is able to be harmonious. Noble Lady Li’s knot in her heart just happened to be difficult to resolve at a moment’s notice, and Fei Yu’s matter was not something that she had intended. I heard my two maidservants say that sixth brother was a scholarly prince, and I thought that sixth brother would be able to properly console noble lady after coming back. For this matter to be handled like this is fine. Sixth brother, there’s no need to bring it up again.”
Xuan Tian Feng nodded, but his gaze was still full of gratitude; however, he did not bring it up again. The two then continued to walk around the residence a few times before Xuan Tian Feng bid farewell. It was just that after the imperial carriage had traveled quite a distance, he still could not hold back and lifted the curtain to look back. From far away, only a small shadow of the residence could be seen, and not a single person could be seen clearly; however, he still felt that there was a young girl standing there with a radiant expression, pointing at the mountain range and speaking about the medical herbs that she had planted. He could even smell the fragrance of the medical herbs…
On the night of the 29th day of the 12th month, each family and each home’s kitchen had already begun preparing dinner for the following day. The fragrance of meat filled the air, and it was filled with a celebratory atmosphere. But the left prime minister’s manor was completely different. Not only was there no fragrance of meat, but there was also a thick medicine smell.
Lu Yan lay in bed with a face that was sickly pale. Her eye sockets were sunken, and she could not even get up. At her side, her maidservant Ru Yi’s eyes were red, as she stood there, holding a newly prepared bowl of medicine and advising Lu Yan to drink it; however, Lu Yan was very resolute. No matter what was said, she was unwilling to drinking, leaving Ru Yi to anxiously cry.
Ge shi also sat beside the bed to accompany her. With her brow furrowed, she looked at her extremely ill daughter and was very confused, “How did she suddenly become this sick?” While feeling puzzled, she asked the servants in the room, “How have you been taking care of her? Was a window opened at night? Or has the brazier not been burning properly? Tomorrow is going to be New Year’s Eve, and she will need to go into the palace on the day after tomorrow. With Young Miss becoming this ill, how could this possibly be good?”
Ge shi fiercely scolded them, scaring the servants in the room to kneel on the ground. Even the bowl of medicine that Ru Yi was holding spilled on the ground. Lu Yan lay in bed and also had a belly full of anger. At this moment, she also exploded, using what little strength she had to slap her bed while screaming herself hoarse: “Damn servant! You’re all looking at how the Lu family has not been doing as well as it has in the past and harmed me to this degree. I will definitely have all of your heads chopped off. All of your heads!”
Her voice became hoarse, as she continued to scream. She looked just like a crazy lady. Ge shi desperately tried to hold her down to prevent her from moving wildly and to have her calm down, repeatedly consoling her: “Yan’er, calm down, calm down. The angrier you get, the harder it will be to fully treat this illness. Let’s recover properly, and maybe it will be better by new year’s day!”
“How could it possibly get better.” Lu Yan had practically begun to despair, “I know my own body. Although I can’t feel anything seriously wrong, my entire body feels weak, and even getting out of bed is exhausting. How can I go into the palace?”
“Yan’er is right!” Outside the door, Left Prime Minister Lu Song stomped inside. While walking in, he said: “There are many rules inside the palace, and bringing in someone who is sick must not be done to keep them from bumping into the noble people present. If it’s seen that Yan’er was brought into the palace while being sick, perhaps our entire manor will be even more… Forget it, forget it, let’s not talk about this. The most pressing matter at this moment is to think of a way to have Yan’er treated.”
Ge shi had some doubts in her mind and began to ponder: “Exactly what would cause Yan’er to fall ill? Looking at the symptoms, it doesn’t look like a cold? The doctor that came to examine her also did not say that it was a cold, only saying that her body was weak. It’s as though something has eaten away at her from the inside, and everything needs to be supplemented from the outside. But we did supplement it, and Yan’er ate all of the nice things that the eighth prince gave her; however, it did not appear to have been effective. How could this possibly be handled?”
Lu Song was also curious, but it was Lu Yan that said: “It’s definitely not a cold. Daughter thinks that it’s most likely that someone has poisoned me.”
“What?” Lu Song and Ge shi were extremely shocked, and even the servants in the room trembled. Ru Yi said: “The things that Young Miss ate and drank, we all kept a close eye on. This servant would always go to the kitchen to keep an eye on things and personally brought them to Young Miss. This servant has been taking care of Young Miss from a young age and would definitely not hurt Young Miss!”
Ge shi also said: “At present, there are still some people in the kitchens that have not left, and they are all servants loyal to the manor. They are able to go through hard times with the family. They definitely would not harm Yan’er.”
Lu Yan spoke from the bed: “That’s right, it’s not possible that they would harm me, but it’s not so certain with others. Father, mother, you must support daughter!”
Lu Song nodded, “Don’t worry, father definitely will not let this matter go. The truth must be found. But these are all things for later. The most important matter right now is to have your illness treated.”
At this time, the kneeling Ru Yi suddenly said: “This servant has an idea.”
Ge shi nodded to her, “Speak.”
Ru Yi quickly said: “Let’s go to Hundred Herb Hall for a doctor! Regardless of who runs Hundred Herb Hall, that is a place that treats the sick. This servant heard that as long as the examination fee can be paid, Hundred Herb Hall’s doctors are miracle workers that can bring people back to life! Also, their medicine is also good. It’s not this sort of bitter medical soup. Instead, it’s little medical pills and tablets that are immediately effective.”
With Ru Yi bringing this up, the members of the Lu family finally reacted. Of course, the best doctors in the capital were now in Hundred Herb Hall. The doctors that they had been accustomed to calling in the past were now falling out of favor. Now, anyone with power or wealth would go to Hundred Herb Hall whenever their family members fell ill, but the problem was… “I fear that our manor is unable to afford this examination fee.” Ge shi helplessly sighed, “The salary that husband brought back last time was given to Aunty Fang Yi.”
“Mother!” Lu Yan suddenly called out, “Go and grab an accessory that His Highness the eighth prince gave. Those are nice things worth money. Just any piece will be enough for the examination fee!”
“But those were given by His Highness.” Ge shi was a bit reluctant.
Lu Song, however, gave the order, “Ru Yi, go and bring the young miss’ accessory box!” He then scolded Ge shi: “Woman that values wealth over life, Yan’er is already sick to such a degree. Of course, seeing a doctor is most important. Those things that were sold can just be bought back later on. Even if they can’t be bought back, as long as Yan’er gets better and is able to go into the palace, what is there that can’t be obtained. Why bother worrying about one or two small things.”
Ge shi also knew that she had been short-sighted, thus she nodded fervently, no longer distressing over those things. In truth, she was not distressed over the items. Instead, she felt that they were things that the eighth prince had given her own daughter. If these gifts from the first time could be kept, in the future, the feelings between her and the eighth prince might be a bit deeper. But now was not the time to worry about such things. Lu Song was right. Getting the illness treated first was the most important thing.
Ge shi held Lu Yan and had her rest for a while and to ensure that she did not get angry once again. Like this, she had people go and invite a doctor from Hundred Herb Hall. As long as someone from that side came, this illness could be treated. Lu Yan closed her eyes and slept lightly; however, Ge shi gave Lu Song a look, and the two exited Lu Yan’s room. Standing in the middle of the yard, Ge shi began to say: “If it really was a poison, Yan’er becoming poisoned really is strange. This concubine thought about all of the possibilities, and they have all been excluded, except…”
“Except what?” Lu Song stared at Ge shi with a solemn expression.
“Husband has also thought about it, right?” Ge shi looked at Lu Song. Having been a married couple for many years, she immediately guessed Lu Song’s thoughts, thus she did not continue to drag it out, quickly saying: “Those bird nests, this concubine feels that there was something wrong with the bird nests sent by the palace!”