Chapter 157

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

This northern expedition war that had lasted several years drained nearly half the national treasury, and they were ultimately forced to negotiate peace, ending it by sending a princess to marry into the Xiongnu.

The army was stationed at the Southern Camp outside the city; the commander-in-chief and the two deputy generals led a hundred subordinates into the city, along the way receiving the gazes of the common people—some dejected, some uneasy, some contemptuous.

The commander-in-chief and deputy generals entered the imperial palace, removed their waist blades, took off their helmets, and prostrated themselves in apology within the great hall.

The leading commander-in-chief Lifeng was already over fifty years old; after his helmet was removed, his head was full of disheveled white hair, while the other two deputy generals were still in their prime, yet likewise had heads of gray-white hair.

The Emperor looked at the three men apologizing in such a state, all so different from when they left the capital years ago, that for a moment no one dared recognize them.

The northern expedition against the Xiongnu years ago was a decision the Emperor insisted on making.

That winter, Ling Ke pacified Lu State and returned to court; facing the Emperor's ambition for a northern expedition, Ling Ke advised: internal chaos had just been settled, they should rest and recuperate, and should not engage in another draining war, focusing instead on defense.

At that time, the evidence accusing Ling Ke of colluding with the Xiongnu lay on the Emperor's desk, firmly pressed down by the wooden box of elixirs the Emperor took daily.

Suspicion had already grown great; any advice contradicting him was suspect. Was not being willing to lead the northern expedition for him precisely because they harbored other plots?

After Ling Ke's death, the Emperor gathered his forces, resolved to scatter the Xiongnu in one blow; he wanted to use a great victory to intimidate the traitors, shatter divided loyalties, and prove to the world that even without the Ling siblings, the Great Qian realm could still move toward strength and peace.

The ambition and blood qi propped up by countless elixirs were finally crushed by reality; the northern expedition battles failed repeatedly, and natural disasters and internal troubles arose one after another.

Before the Changling Grand Sacrifice on the third day of the third month, news of defeat came from the north; the Emperor was furious beyond restraint. Since it concerned the state and the dignity of the Son of Heaven, he still found it hard to accept retreating just like that, until he witnessed that soul-stirring Nuo Dance above the altar.

That sacrifice resonated with heaven, earth, and the human heart, granting him a long-lost calm; the turbid qi tightly knotted in his chest dispersed, reason gained the upper hand, and the Emperor finally decided to withdraw the troops, enduring this temporary humiliation, and finally admitted in his heart that his decision had been wrong—only regarding the sending of troops against the Xiongnu.

The three men kneeling in the hall at this moment were led by Commander-in-Chief Lifeng, who had been ennobled for military merit; Lifeng had previously mostly been involved in civil wars and had no experience fighting the Xiongnu, but his two deputy generals were both old subordinates preserved by Ling Ke, one named Yueyang, the other named Yan Tian.

None of the three had any words of defense; they only kowtowed to apologize.

The Emperor looked at the three haggard men and ultimately chose a light punishment.

Choosing a light punishment was because merit and fault offset each other: on their return journey with the army, the three had quelled several disorders, the most noteworthy being that Yueyang discovered the Jizhou Muzhu privately gathering troops and casting weapons.

Jizhou administered six commanderies and four states, Zhao State among them; once the Jizhou Muzhu put his treasonous actions into motion, it would surely cause great chaos in the north, with unimaginable consequences.

Guo Ye, the Yang Shou of Wei Commandery, one of the six commanderies within Jizhou, reported this matter to the court; by the time the memorial reached the capital, this disturbance had already been suppressed and quelled by the returning northern army, averting a great calamity—this was a great merit.

With such merit and fault, merely fining their salaries to atone for their crimes as a conclusion, no one in court raised any objection.

Lifeng and the two others thanked him and withdrew; court business concluded, the officials left Weiyang Palace, and someone sighed in a low voice: "……The failure of the northern expedition is a grave crime; fortunately, there is still some luck."

"This is because the national fortune and qi mechanism of Great Qian has not yet dissipated."

A solemn voice sounded; several officials hurriedly raised their hands in salute: "Xiang Gong."

Yan Mian's feet did not stop; he took several senior ministers to discuss matters, while those few officials in their original place echoed in a low voice: "If the disturbance in Jizhou had not been quelled first, through the blessing of our ancestors, heaven protects Great Qian."

Now was the time to employ people; His Majesty was not one to vent anger recklessly, and in his heart how could he want to heavily punish the soldiers? But not punishing heavily would not suffice to convince the masses; fortunately, this merit encountered on the return journey paved a step between ruler and ministers, solving a major problem.

This problem was solved, but there were still many problems; those few officials each returned to their offices, saying in low voices on the way: "I heard that several commoners outside the city have fallen ill; I hope it is not a plague……"

The next day, several physicians and pharmacists of the Taiyi Shu were ordered to go to the Shen Ci to discuss epidemic prevention and medicine distribution; the Spider Woman was among them.

After the matters were roughly settled, Shaowei found a pretext and had the Spider Woman come alone to the study where the Tai Puzhe usually handled official business; there was no third person present. Before Shaowei could speak, the Spider Woman spoke first: "Tai Puzhe, I found it!"

The Spider Woman said, holding out a scroll of silk she had hidden in her sleeve with both hands to Huali: "This is what I secretly copied; Tai Puzhe, please look."

This matter had to start from seven days ago; the Spider Woman had been wholeheartedly analyzing the prescription behind the medicine juice, and had also found an excuse to ask A Yan for help. The two secretly spent many days, starting from the nature, color, and taste of the medicine, barely piecing together three reference prescriptions, but each lacked one most important ingredient.

This medicine was unseen by either, but both were certain it must exist. The Taiyi Shu had an ice room and medicine storage utensils for storing some special medicines. The Spider Woman carefully stored that pitifully small amount of medicine juice; after many days, only to see several pieces of golden moss film congealed on its surface—a phenomenon no known medicine could cause.

Upon learning of this, Shaowei looked over those several speculated prescriptions and was also certain that the medicine that congealed golden moss must be the most important miraculous ingredient.

But she had never heard of such a miraculous medicine existing; still holding a mindset of giving it a try, Shaowei entrusted the Spider Woman to search the medical books and ancient texts in the Taiyi Shu, to see if there were records of medicine for treating "White Hair Ghost Disease," inferring the cause from the result and comparing it with this medicine.

Shaowei would read medical books when she had leisure, but in terms of the richness of the collection, it was naturally the Yidiancang in the Taiyi Shu.

For these seven days, whenever the Spider Woman had a chance, she would dive into the Yidiancang; her rate of advancement made her colleagues feel somewhat uneasy.

Finally, the Spider Woman actually found a clue in an ancient book. This book was named "Shiyi Ji," and it contained a record, which Shaowei was now reading in a low voice: "……Golden Moss Immortal Herb, as large as a palm, colorless and scentless, grows within JintingXianshan, guarded by fierce beasts, rarely seen in a hundred years; after entering water for several days, golden moss appears; decocted and taken, it can suppress White Hair Ghost Disease."

Shaowei knew well that some things recorded in these ancient classics were not seen by the authors themselves, but heard from others, thus containing much mythological color, making it hard to distinguish truth from falsehood.

But Shaowei, who had read all sorts of miscellaneous books over the years, also knew that many records that seemed strange at first glance had reasonable truths behind them, and the truth often lay hidden within those exaggerated words.

Moreover, the medicinal functions and properties recorded in this book matched; it could be seen that this Golden Moss Immortal Herb existed eighty or ninety percent for sure. But where was JintingXianshan? It was only known that Penglai was called an immortal island; whether it was related was unknown.

Rare miraculous herbs often grew only in specific places. If the origin of this Golden Moss Immortal Herb could be found, perhaps it could be learned where Chiyang went during the three years he left his sect, and whom he met—

Furthermore, even adding this colorless and tasteless Golden Moss Immortal Herb, the medicines Chiyang used could not form a bloody aura. Since it did not come from long-term medicine-taking, where did the faint blood qi on his body, as if seeping into his muscles and bones, come from?

This secret miraculous herb and strange aura might hide an unspeakable secret. Shaowei would not let go of any possibility now; while she was quickly calculating in her mind, she saw the Spider Woman kneeling at the desk with an expectant gaze. Seeing her look over, she asked softly: "I don't know if it is useful?"

Shaowei was not stingy with praise and affirmation, nodding: "It is of great use!"

She also sincerely thanked her: "This matter is thanks to your help. In the future, if there is anything I can help you with, you must tell me; I will definitely not refuse."

Receiving praise from Huali, the Spider Woman was already overjoyed, and then heard Huali say: "By the way, knowing you would come today, I brought the spiders."

Zhan Zhan on the desk jumped onto a hollowed-out box and stomped a few times with a single claw.

The Spider Woman hurriedly opened the box, and the large spider crawled out.

Zhan Zhan folded its wings behind its back, like a teacher with hands behind its back, watching the child and its parent reunite and act coquettishly.

Shaowei felt she had quite the air of holding a young master to command an immortal spider.

But seeing that plump spider indeed acting coquettishly on the Spider Woman's shoulder, as intimate as mother and daughter, Shaowei's thoughts took a small detour, and she couldn't help but ask the Spider Woman about the recent illness of the daughter of the Lu Hou Fu.

The Spider Woman replied: "With her emotions gradually stabilizing, she can sleep soundly and eat, her body is also better, and she can even write some characters with her left hand."

Shaowei felt both relieved and filled with an admiration she could not fathom. Mother was truly amazing; she could even write with her left hand.

Such an amazing and resilient Mother—how outstanding must she have been in the past? Thinking of this, Shaowei felt melancholy in her heart, lowered her eyes, and suddenly could not face her own existence.

Then she heard the Spider Woman say: "But there is always an unresolved knot in her heart. In the end, only a heart medicine can cure it, and only then can she fully recover her senses."

Shaowei nodded slightly, but in her heart she thought that perhaps this was enough—to eat, to sleep, to write, always dwelling in the memories of her youth was not a bad thing; there was no need to remember what was unwanted anymore.

With Shen Tu Furen and Lu Hou guarding Mother, Shaowei could largely rest easy. As for Ming Dan's movements, Shaowei knew she was still recuperating from illness; since seeing her once in the Imperial streamer that day, the other had not left Xian Tai Gong a single step.

What Shaowei now worried about most was the remaining forty days.

A plan arose in her heart, hoping to finish her shift soon and return to discuss carefully with her household servants.

But not everything was under her control; as she was finishing her shift, trouble suddenly blocked her path.

Rui Hou's mother, Lady Huang, was critically ill, and in recent days medicine and stone could no longer cure her. Rui Hou left the palace to visit her and requested an imperial edict from the Emperor for Jiang Tai Zhu to enter the residence to treat her, attempting to use the power of the great shaman god to try to exchange for a sliver of survival chance.

The Empress's mother was critically ill, and the Emperor's edict was before them; this was a trouble that could not be avoided. To fail to recognize the favor and stubbornly avoid it would only bring greater trouble next time.

Inside Rui Fu, the Empress, eyes brimming with tears, knelt by the sickbed, clutching her mother's withered old hand, choking as she said: "Mother, you cannot go, cannot go... If you leave, who will I be able to blame and hate from now on?"

Having been addled for many years, at this moment she lay straight on the bed; Lady Huang, whose muddy eyes were like covered by a layer of spider silk, suddenly became somewhat clear upon hearing the words. She turned her body with effort, glared at her daughter, withdrew her hand and struck toward her daughter's body: "You white-eyed wolf... still want to blame and hate me? Without me, where would you come from? Where would your days of wealth and honor come from!"

"See if I don't beat you to death... you debt-collecting ghost!" Lady Huang's movements were weak, but her gaze was fierce; her trembling hand fell upon Rui Hou, tearing at her luxurious clothes.

Lady Huang came from the market; her husband died early, and she raised a pair of children alone. Her son was swept away by water when young, and she only relied on her daughter to survive.

When her daughter grew older, she arranged for her to marry the son of a wealthy household, but afterward the wealthy household declined. The son-in-law, in a desperate effort to protect the daughter from being seized by the powerful, was left crippled. Lady Huang began to dislike her son-in-law as useless, cursing and berating him every day. The son-in-law, unwilling to endure the humiliation, one day committed suicide at home.

Lady Huang felt no pity, only saying he still had some conscience and no longer burdened the living. At that time the realm was already settled; Lady Huang then offered her daughter to the powerful, never expecting that many years later she would become the mother of a nation.

"Without me, you would have died thousands and tens of thousands of times!" Lady Huang panted for breath, still berating her daughter.

Rui Hou never struck back nor talked back, only shedding tears.

She resented her mother for always treating her like an object to be exchanged for advantage, sent here and there, yet her mother's words were clearly not wrong. In chaotic times, her mother protected her with a fierce spirit; her mother had many lovers, but when one of them showed intent to harm her, her mother immediately smashed that person's head and dragged her away to escape.

She and her former husband were also well suited, but when her husband fell ill, there was no rice or grain at home; it was entirely thanks to her mother going out to find a livelihood.

Her mother loved money as her life, was coarse and vulgar from the market, and never cared for face. But how could she have only resentment and hatred without dependence and gratitude?

Grace and resentment were entangled for a lifetime and could never be calculated clearly. The strong and ruthless mother raised her, weak and wandering; now she would abandon her and leave.

Rui Hou's tears would not stop, but seeing her mother breathing painfully, she hurriedly rubbed her mother's back.

When Shaowei was invited in, she saw Rui Hou's eyes red and swollen. Though she had wiped away her tears, her eyes still held tears. The old woman on the bed muttered something and then murmured: "I have suffered all the bitterness of this life and enjoyed all the blessings. What is there to cure? Leave it to heaven. If I should die, let me die. You take care of yourselves; don't bother with me anymore..."

Rui Hou's voice was hoarse: "Jiang Tai Zhu is sent by heaven. Let her treat you! If she says she cannot cure you, I will no longer care for you either..."

After Shaowei stepped forward to examine her, the pulse was clearly that of one dying. At most she could not last two days; no matter who came, they could not keep this life.

So she faced Rui Hou: "This subject's medical skill is shallow. Your Majesty should seek someone more skilled."

Rui Hou's face was ashen; only with the support of a Palace Maid did she barely stand steady.

Everything before her was too real. For a moment Shaowei even suspected she was overthinking. Perhaps this journey had her come here truly only out of the heart to save her mother because there was no other choice.

But when she spoke to take her leave, Rui Hou's voice, still choking, sounded: "Not in a hurry. This palace wants you to think of another method... Come with this palace."

Rui Hou reached out to help Shaowei up, holding Shaowei's hand with a few points of impropriety and a few points of closeness, leading her out: "Come with this palace to the side hall to speak."

Shaowei kept her head down, pulled forward by her. All the way she smelled the fragrance on her body, felt the thin sweat on her palm, and heard a few words of low, confused muttering, seemingly from excessive grief: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..."

Forced to walk through this vast corridor of power, Shaowei, at the mercy of others, did not know who she was speaking to, nor could she ever discern her intentions. But Shaowei's vigilance was undoubtedly raised to the highest, like a bow drawn full, like a beast bracing its spine.

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