The effect of this single sentence was like clouds parting to reveal a bright full moon or the snows melting with the advent of spring. Wanyan Xu had become so frozen that he had lost almost all sensation in his face, but even so, a stiff rictus of ecstasy formed on his face, making him look extremely weird. In great excitement, he stood up but with a "pu tong" sound, he sank back down into a kneel. The pain in his knees was akin to having countless silver needles piercing the flesh of that area. Both numb and pained, that singular feeling was beyond his ability to describe. With Zi Nan supporting him, he managed to slowly regain his feet, but once again, his body sank down and he fell heavily onto the frozen ground.
At this, Zi Nan became so scared that her flower-like face lost its colour. Although she was not learned in the field of medicine, she understood that Wanyan Xu was unlikely to retain function in his legs. In panic, she hurriedly tried to help him up again, only to see that Wanyan Xu appeared to be even more terrified than she was. Leaning on her arm, he tried to struggle up as if his life depended on it.
Wanyan Xia gave a cold laugh and said: “What? Are you afraid now? Afraid that your legs will become disabled? Why then, did you put on an att.i.tude of "love is more immutable than gold" and kneel for the whole day? I can tell you right now, I will not feel guilty, I did not beg you to kneel to me after all.” Just as he finished speaking, Wanyan Xu, suppressing his anger and putting on a smile, said: “I [1] know, I can still walk, let us go now.” So saying, he braced his body with a monumental effort and managed to stand up.
Zi Nan could tolerate it no more and shouted loudly at Wanyan Xia: “Second Prince, you can’t seem to understand, His Majesty is... His Majesty is afraid that if he delays in showing you the way, you will refuse to treat Young Master, you... do you really think that he’s concerned about his legs?” She tearfully rebuked Wanyan Xia; at once, he froze on the spot, stumped. Wanyan Xu was afraid that he would be shamed into reacting with anger and quickly gave Zi Nan a few admonishments before turning back to Wanyan Xia, saying with a smile: “Oh, worthy little brother... there’s no need to pay any mind to this girl’s... nonsensical words, I... will lecture her when we get back. It’s is all my fault, I have indulged them too much.” Hope had been written all over his face, and at this juncture, it even revealed a hint of entreaty. For Su Yi"s sake, this powerful conqueror who had single-handedly forged a mighty nation had just about abandoned all ego.
Wanyan Xia scrutinised him for a moment before giving a soft sigh. He retrieved a small bottle of medicine from the front of his robes, after pouring some of the ointment it contained into his hands, he walked to Wanyan Xu and applied it to his knees. He said blandly: “A moment"s delay would not affect the situation; we can have a rest before we go. Don"t worry, I have another reason for going to save your Empress. I have now become very curious as to what type of person would be worthy of being treated with such whole-hearted devotion by you.” As he said the last line, his usually dispa.s.sionate face unconsciously revealed a trace of loneliness.
Wanyan Xu"s felt a pang in his heart, suddenly he felt that this little brother, who he had felt was insufferably arrogant, was actually quite pitiful. Upon reflection, he really had nothing to do with his parents" crime. Turning his head to look back at the lonely little wooden house, so removed from the rest of the palace, he thought: There"s is no need to treat him like this in future. Twenty years of a solitary life must have been difficult to endure.
As he was meditating on these thoughts, he began to feel threads of warmth begin to slowly seep through his trousers, penetrating right to his bone marrow, producing a tingling feeling that was indescribably comfortable. At once, the chills and agony in the vicinity of his knees disappeared without a trace. Shocked by the sudden improvement, he tried moving around, to find that he could now stand up effortlessly, as if the day he had spent kneeling in the snow was nothing but a dream. At this, he rejoiced even more and said: “To think that worthy little brother possesses such skills, Su Su... Su Su will definitely be saved.” So saying, he was overwhelmed with emotion. Unable to contain himself any longer, he actually did not care about maintaining his image and allowed his tears to fall as he choked on his emotions.
The cold rage which had manifested itself in his glacial eyes having been spent, Wanyan Xia now looked at Wanyan Xu evenly. He gave a "humph" and said: “Isn"t it a bit too premature to be crying tears of joy.” So saying, he went ahead and started to walk away. Embarra.s.sed, Wanyan Xu wiped away his tears before hurrying forward to lead the way.
Going back to the Garden of Merriment, Su Yi could not continue to lie down any longer. Between spitting up mouthfuls of blood, he had fallen unconscious a few more times. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was getting late in the day but Wanyan Xu had still not returned. When he thought of how Wanyan Xu must be enduring untold humiliation at the hands of the Second Prince, all for Su Yi"s sake, his heart felt like it was being fried in oil over a fire. He couldn"t stand it anymore. After struggling to sit up in the bed, he had to stop and pant for breath before he said in a weak voice: “Zi Nong, help... help me over to that... Second Prince’s... residence, I... I cannot let him suffer humiliation for me anymore... I... I cannot again let him... He... because of me he has... already... suffered too much.” So saying, he started to struggle out of the bed. Zi Nong hurried over to restrain him, crying out: “Young Master, if you know of His Majesty’s pains, then you should put all your energies into recovering from your illness. He has made such a great sacrifice, but it was for you. If you disregard that and leave anyway, you... do you wish to have his life?”
Wanyan Shuo couldn"t stop staring at Su Yi. The boy had a temperament that was as staunch as iron, and in his heart he thought: Mother Empress’s condition has already reached this stage, and who knows what sort of difficulties Imperial Father is being put through right now. Even if that physician possesses surpa.s.sing ability in the healing arts, does he have the power to reverse the will of Heaven? Wouldn’t it be better to let Mother Empress and Imperial Father be together; n.o.body would have to suffer any more grievances, we can travel the path to the underworld as a family and in the next life, we can be reincarnated to become a real family. He was still a small child; naturally his thought processes were still somewhat deficient in maturity. But because he still held on to a faint glimmer of hope, he did not give voice to his morbid thoughts as he supported Su Yi"s body.
Zi Nong saw that he could not be dissuaded and also that Su Yi"s condition had deteriorated still further because of worry over Wanyan Xu. Even though Zi Liu had also joined her in advising Su Yi against making such an injurious move, they were helpless in the face of this crisis.
As they were getting ever more anxious, suddenly the Empress Dowager admonished: “Quiet down, all of you.” After that, she turned towards Su Yi and said: “Do you think that I [2] don’t know that Imperial Son is in very difficult straits now? But he is doing it willingly for you and since he is being driven by his feelings, it is useless to try and stop him. Moreover, by this time he has already spent half the day on this quest, there is no logic in giving up halfway at this point. I want you to lie down and concentrate on recovering. Don"t let it happen that after he successfully begs that person to come here by suffering untold hardships, he comes back to find that you cannot hold on anymore. Lie down.”
The Empress Dowager usually carried herself with grace and elegance, but who knew that once she demonstrated her displeasure, even Su Yi would be shamed into feeling guilty. Also, he knew that there was logic behind her words, therefore he could only lie down again. Only, how could he possibly calm his heart and mind? His bloodless lips were blood-stained because he could not stop biting them in his anxiety. Just as he was at his wits end, he suddenly heard a high-pitched voice call out in a sing-song: “The Emperor has arrived.”
As the sound of that voice faded, Wanyan Xu, Wanyan Xia and Zi Nan walked into the room, and everybody was exceptionally delighted at the sight of them. Su Yi felt even more moved, and with his pair of beautiful eyes, he cared only to look at Wanyan Xu. Within a split second, his gaze expressed a thousand types of grat.i.tude and ten-thousand forms of tenderness. As he was luxuriating silently in his feelings of love, he suddenly heard a surprised exclamation: “Oh, so you are the Empress?” He turned his head in that direction and was also summarily startled at the sight that met his eyes.