“Go and visit her.”When Shangguan Yan appeared in front of his residence, a trace of delight had flickered across Xue Yiqi"s eyes. It was a feeling of joy that even he had yet to register, but he was taken aback by her words.
She"s alright. She wasn"t hit by the epidemic.
“Who are you referring to?” Xue Yiqi asked hesitatingly.
Shangguan Yan"s gaze drifted downwards before she slowly uttered the words that caused her heart to throb in pain.
“The woman you love, that pregnant young lady has gotten infected with the epidemic.”
Xue Yiqi took a while to register her words and realised that the person Shangguan Yan was talking about was Qi Jianqiu. He immediately mounted his horse and galloped away.
Shangguan Yan stared at his retreating figure in a daze. She then leapt onto the roof, and ran swiftly, jumping from time to time as she trailed behind the person who was galloping full speed ahead.
Why did I have to personally come to inform him? Shangguan Yan"s eyes were riddled with doubt and agony.
Was it to appreciate his sad expression?
When Shangguan Yan arrived at Gan Qingjia"s residence, she saw Xue Yiqi"s horse trotting back and forth outside the residence. Upon entering the room, she saw him standing outside a bustling courtyard. He stood ramrod straight as usual, the same counts for his earnest, upright and obstinate temper.
Shangguan Yan folded her arms across her chest and coldly sized up the scene unfolding before her eyes. Looks like this Qi Jianqiu is also quite popular.
She has her husband worrying about her, her good friend visiting her and the consolation delivered from the imperial palace, unlike those lonely commoners who are lying on the bed, waiting for death.
“The Eldritch Physician…” Xue Yiqi suddenly turned around and stared straight at Shangguan Yan. His pair of sorrow-filled eyes still hurt her heart with a pang of bitterness.
“Can you ask the Eldritch Physician to come over?”
This was the first time…the first time she saw Xue Yiqi like this. Vulnerable and dejected, as if he was on the verge of collapsing.
Shangguan Yan sighed quietly and thought: It was about time for me to return to the Xiaoyou Sect.
“He"s on his way here.”
Shangguan Yan"s tone sounded unusually cold.
At that moment, a cold voice sounded from behind her.
“Supremo.”
Both Xue Yiqi and Shangguan Yan turned around and saw the expressionless, otherworldly Eldritch Physician, Xia Jingfeng.
Shangguan Yan"s lips curled upwards slightly and she returned to being that arrogant, gorgeous, and flamboyant Demonic Sect"s Supremo who considered herself to be unrivalled in the world. “You ought to call me Sect Leader, not Supremo.”
Xia Jingfeng didn"t immediately respond and unhurriedly walked over to their side.
“I apologise, I"m not used to it yet.”
Shangguan Yan smiled and waved her hands.
“Forget about it. Quickly go in.”
Xia Jingfeng nodded. His gaze was fixed on Xue Yiqi, emanating a cold aura as he pa.s.sed by him.
Although he was called an eccentric Eldritch Physician, his medical skills were amazing. He merely used a few needles to alleviate Qi Jianqiu"s condition. The child in her womb was also safe and sound for the time being.
When he exited the inner chamber, a crowd of people surrounded him. His eyebrows were slightly knitted and his lips slightly pursed but he didn"t make any comments.
Gan Qingjia asked, “Eldritch Physician, can Jianqiu"s illness be treated?”
His voice contained an uneasiness that emanated from the recesses of his heart. So far, all the imperial physicians and doctors were helpless about the current epidemic. Even the reputable Imperial Physician Zhou could only stabilise the condition for now. How could they not be worried?
Everyone"s gazes landed on Xia Jingfeng. Some were very anxious, some were worried while some were indifferent. They finally converged into a scorching gaze that was so intense that it almost burned a hole through his body.
Nevertheless, this didn"t affect Xia Jingfeng one bit.
“I already have a general idea for a cure, I"ll know the results in three days.”
In that instant, all the gazes turned into one of pleasant surprise.
Situ"s gaze then s.h.i.+fted from Xia Jingfeng"s indifferent face to Gan Qingjia. He sighed in his heart. This time, both Gan Qingjia and Xue Yiqi aren"t in the mood to work anymore and the situation is getting increasingly worse. That supreme person had already thought things through, right? What would be waiting for him at the morning court a.s.sembly tomorrow?
Feng Luodi let out a breath of relief and she didn"t notice the cold glint in Situ"s eyes. She also didn"t know that the covert guards were riddled with unease. In this kind of battle where they were in a pa.s.sive position, they retreated for the sake of advancing.
Outside the courtyard, Xue Yiqi was still standing there in a daze and didn"t dare to enter.
Shangguan Yan stood beside him in silence, appreciating her surroundings.
The courtyard was filled with Camellias. The fully blooming Bella Rossa stood tall adjacent the pink and alluring Chidan, Snow Flurry and Purple Dawn. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Amongst these flowers, the most prevalent one was the pure and immaculate Snow Flurry Camellias.
Shangguan Yan lowered her head to look at her red clothes. There was also a camellia flower embroidered at the upper part of her clothing. She suddenly felt that it was such an irony.
“Xue Yiqi.”
This was the first time Shangguan Yan addressed Xue Yiqi with his full name. The many firsts she had experienced today had made her extremely exhausted.
Xue Yiqi turned around to look at her but didn"t speak. His eyes were slightly drooped, making it hard for others to discern his mood.
“I"ll be leaving Chang"an in three days. I might as well bid you farewell now as I"m not sure if we"ll see each other again after this.”
Upon hearing this, Xue Yiqi"s mouth squirmed. It took him quite a while to utter the next few words, “Have a safe trip back.”
Shangguan Yan"s lips curled upwards into a mocking yet beautiful smile.
“That"s a given.”
As he looked at this familiar smile before him, Xue Yiqi was a little startled. It felt as if this woman had made a domineering declaration just yesterday.
Does renunciation ensue after the declaration?
Annoyance surged in Xue Yiqi"s heart for no apparent reason. After the feeling of annoyance faded, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. He had yet to think clearly when Xia Jingfeng walked out.
“Eldritch Physician, how is she?”
At this moment, his mind was instantly occupied by Qi Jianqiu again. Xia Jingfeng"s gaze darted across Shangguan Yan, noticing the mockery in her eyes before he looked at Xue Yiqi, his tone cold and distant as he said, “Go in to check on her.”
He then walked to Shangguan Yan"s side and softly called, “Supremo.”
The smile tugged at Shangguan Yan"s lips froze for a moment before she turned around and headed outside.
“Stay in Chang"an for a while longer, I"m going back first.”
“Alright.” Xia Jingfeng followed after her as they walked out.
Xue Yiqi watched as the figures donned in white and red disappeared into the distance, their departing figures looked so harmonious that it stung his eyes. Suddenly, the sunlight stung his eyes and the flowers irked his eyes. Basically, everything in sight was irritating in his eyes.
He restrained his legs which wanted to follow. He clearly knew that this was their last meeting, yet he turned around and walked into the courtyard instead.
Shangguan Yan and Xia Jingfeng were standing outside the main entrance of the Gan Residence.
“Tsk, such a heartless man. He didn"t even follow us out here to say anything.”
When Shangguan Yan said this, a few streaks of red silks fluttered along and there was a faint trace of disappointment on her beautiful countenance.
“Didn"t you say you have a lot of patience? Xia Jingfeng unhurriedly stated. His white robes fluttered along with the wind, making him appear nonchalant and care-free.
“It isn"t like you to leave just like this.”
“Don"t think that I don"t know…you"re secretly laughing at me, hmph!” Shangguan Yan flung her sleeves, her beautiful eyes bright and dazzling.
“You look down on me too much.”
Xia Jingfeng shook his head. His cold visage seemed to be wrapped with a tinge of gentleness under the warm glow of the sunset.
Shangguan Yan suddenly sighed.
“Are you not going to tell her? You have searched for so many years and finally found that child. As soon as you heard news about her, you immediately came to Chang"an, the place you swore to never step foot in again. Are you just going to give up like this?”
There was finally a slight change in Xia Jingfeng" expression. His tone carried a trace of coldness as he said, “She"s her yet not her.”
“Huh, what do you mean?”
Shangguan Yan"s eyes widened in bewilderment. “You have been a recluse for a long time, but it"s not to the extent that you can"t speak the human language anymore, right?”
Xia Jingfeng shook his head. He seemed to have thought of something and smiled, leaving Shangguan Yan stunned.
After recovering, she sighed sadly. The two of them no longer spoke as they stood there unmoving, only leaving after the Xiaoyao Sect"s disciples came looking for them.
At the court a.s.sembly the next day.
As usual, His Majesty enquired about the progress of the matters he had entrusted to the First Prince, on which the latter had methodically reported about one by one. The calmness and respect in his tone didn"t make the others feel displeased at all. He didn"t exaggerate when expressing his views, obtaining many gazes of appreciation from the officials present.
Regardless of which matter it was, the Emperor"s response remained indifferent and his expression was also unexpectedly calm. He seemed like an entirely different person unlike the previous him, who used to fly into a rage from time to time.
This kind of behaviour made the officials feel perplexed. They were unsure how to act as no one could fathom the Emperor"s thoughts.
The First Prince was already used to this kind of att.i.tude displayed by the Emperor. After he finished reporting in sequence, he returned to his own spot. However, as soon as he raised his head, he saw the Eleventh Prince cast a meaningful smile at him.
His Imperial Father attended the court a.s.sembly today despite being severely ill. Even though the Eleventh Prince had been given the cold shoulder, he didn"t appear one bit anxious and the Eighth Prince was still able to manipulate the situation in Chang"an despite being all the way in the North. Moreover, Situ, who was clearly in the face of imminent danger, didn"t appear panic-stricken at all…
As he contemplated all of this, the First Prince was left perplexed.
“Your Majesty, the number of commoners in Chang"an City who died from the plague this time is no less than 300, and the imperial physicians still haven"t found a cure to date. In order to prevent more innocent people from being implicated, may I be so bold as to request for Your Majesty to issue commands for Emergency Mitigation Measures.”
Emergency Mitigation Measures entailed chasing those who were ill to a desolate place, leaving them to fend for themselves and perish. As for the objects they have come into contact with, all of them would need to be burned and the people they have come into contact with would have to be quarantined for a month before deciding on how they would be handled.
As soon as the First Prince heard such words, his rage surged forth. Leaving aside that Imperial Physician Zhou"s method could generally stabilise the epidemic, he has heard from Situ that the Eldritch Physician would be able to provide a cure very soon. How could they execute the Emergency Mitigation Measures now?
With such thoughts, the First Prince stepped forward once again. He was about to speak when the Emperor stopped him.
The First Prince"s heart immediately turned cold. He dared not guess what his Imperial Father had to say next.
Unexpectedly, the Emperor waved his hand and told that official, “You dared to bring up a small issue like this? The First Prince can settle all of it later.”
The whole court was in an uproar upon hearing this. They dared not believe that this was something the Emperor would say.
As for the Emperor, he"d completely missed everyone"s strange gazes. Instead, he looked downwards at Situ, who"d remained silent all this time and his lips curled upwards to form a cruel smile.
“Duke of Anping, are you aware of your crimes?”
Here it comes… Situ inwardly murmured as he stepped forward and knelt on one knee with his fists cupped.
“I"m afraid that I don"t. May I know what Your Majesty is referring to?”
The Emperor coldly sneered.
“Hmph! You and that young lady from the Feng Residence clearly have feelings for each other, yet you still deliberately asked me for an empty imperial decree. After that, you even returned it with the reason that that young lady did not consent. Do you treat my imperial decree as a joke?”
Many officials didn"t know the entire story, but it was clear to them that the Emperor was intentionally finding fault with Situ by choosing to only mention this matter now. He was the one who gave the imperial decree and he also didn"t say anything when he took it back. He simply wanted to label a crime on the Duke of Anping now for showing great disrespect.
Many officials who understood this fact chose to stay silent.
Situ clenched his fists tightly in his sleeves. The only thing he hadn"t expected is the fact that the Emperor would make an issue out of the matter regarding Feng Luodi and use their love to threaten him. It looks like the Emperor had been driven into a corner out of anxiety and pressure. It seemed that his covert guards did a rather good job.
The Emperor didn"t give Situ a chance to take a breather and continued, “If your heart didn"t contain that young lady, then I should indeed take back that imperial decree. It"s just that you have been alone for many years. Although my Fifth Princess has married far away, the Tenth Princess is still waiting to get married. Why don"t you be her prince consort?”
Situ lowered his head. For a moment, no one could see his expression clearly.
As this scene unfolded, the First Prince and Gan Qingjia felt anxiety bubble up in their heart. They have clearly seen the affection between Situ and Feng Luodi. The Emperor was currently forcing Situ to choose between Feng Luodi and the crime of showing great disrespect. He was really despicable.
However, the next moment, Chamberlain Feng"s voice sounded.
“Your Majesty, I"m afraid that this can"t be done.”
“Oh?” The Emperor cast him an indifferent glance.
“What does Chamberlain Feng mean by this?”
Chamberlain Feng looked at the Emperor and answered respectfully, “The Duke of Anping already has an engagement with my humble daughter. They were betrothed recently. The marriage certificate has already been drawn up. According to the rules of the Xuan Kingdom, the one who has a marriage certificate will become the wife while those after her will become a concubine. The Tenth Princess has an honourable status so how can she be a concubine?”
“As for the matter regarding the imperial decree that Your Majesty has mentioned, I"m at fault for not explaining this matter to Your Majesty all along. That day, the Duke of Anping had sent the imperial decree back precisely because he didn"t wish for Your Majesty"s endowment to go to waste. At that time, my humble daughter had already willingly decided to observe a mourning period of one year for her maternal grandmother. If she had accepted Your Majesty"s imperial decree, what would the people comment about Your Majesty?”