92. Silent Contemplation Apart, Each Knows Their Own Heart

Shangguan Hao was born into the Han clan and had been stationed on the border for over a decade. It was his first time interacting with the imperial family and also his first encounter with a crown prince so personally involved in every matter. Even in the stables, Prince Fu Lanchen often tended to the horses, sometimes spending entire afternoons cleaning the stables or bathing the animals.

When not engaged in training, Fu Lanchen occasionally played cuju or polo with the soldiers. He was exceptionally skilled at cuju, rarely missing a shot. Yet, whether he won or lost, his expression remained unchanged—he never showed joy in victory nor anger in defeat. Once, when a soldier accidentally kicked the ball into his head, the young soldiers were terrified, but he simply smiled faintly and said, “It’s nothing, continue.” The prince seemed incapable of expressing any emotion.

Days passed steadily, and Fu Lanchen adapted to life in the western border camp far more swiftly than anyone had anticipated.

Then one day, a physician arrived hurriedly from afar, insisting on seeing the crown prince. At that time, Fu Lanchen had gone to the remote Qian Prefecture, and the doctor waited at the post station for ten days, growing more anxious with each passing day.

When Fu Lanchen returned to Fusu, a sandstorm filled the sky, casting a harsh, weathered hue over the prince’s face.

There existed a mysterious physician, unassuming in appearance but with unparalleled medical skill—Master Bai Bai, known as the “Doctor of the Four Seasons” among the people, named after the evergreen cypress tree. He had once lived for several years in a dilapidated temple in Guangling and was thus familiar with Fu Lanchen. It was fate that had brought them together.

Returning from travels across nations, Bai Bai purposely detoured through the western border to deliver a message to Fu Lanchen.

There was an extremely rare and precious elixir called the Azure Journey Pearl. Its effects were potent enough to revive the near-dead, earning it the name “the elixir of resurrection.” However, only his master, Cold Pine, could successfully refine it. Before passing, Cold Pine had exhausted all his precious medicinal herbs to produce three pills, giving one each to two disciples: the senior disciple Bai Bai and the junior disciple Chi Di. Both pills were exceedingly rare.

Earlier that year, Bai Bai had traveled to Mingchi Island to meet Chi Di for their five-year appointment. During their conversation, Bai Bai learned that Chi Di had already used his Azure Journey Pearl.

“Fate has a way of preserving life, Your Highness; there is a heavenly will at work,” Bai Bai said solemnly before leaving Fusu City.

Two years prior, a young boy had found Xu Guiyi, barely clinging to life by the riverbank, and brought her to Chi Di’s doorstep. Chi Di took her pulse and shook his head, signaling that her life was beyond saving.

“This young lady is beautiful, yes, but her fate is fragile,” he said.

Yet, seeing the boy’s small frame—no more than ten years old—and his determination to carry the injured woman before him, Chi Di was moved by such rare devotion.

“You are like Hua Tuo reborn! Please save her,” the boy pleaded.

Because Chi Di had spent years researching poisons, many considered him a sinister doctor, but this boy’s comparison to Hua Tuo was met with a hint of ridicule.

“Very well, for your sake, I will give it a try,” Chi Di relented.

“Thank you, sir! Your kindness means the world!” The boy’s eyes shone brightly despite his gaunt, ragged appearance from years of hunger and cold.

Chi Di wanted to say, “You are an orphan barely surviving yourself; why care so much for another’s life?” but innocence knows no bounds of wealth or strength.

“I’m not saving your life, so you need not thank me,” Chi Di said.

The boy smiled joyfully. “You have healed countless souls; consider this my gratitude to the world.” Such genuine sincerity was rare indeed.

Chi Di arranged the bedding and gestured, “Place her here.”

They were allowed inside, and Chi Di resolved to try acupuncture.

Using acupuncture, he temporarily stabilized the woman’s heart rhythm, placing ginseng in her mouth to hold. Treating her like a hopeless case, he administered medicine daily and tended to her external wounds to prevent infection.

By the third day, she showed signs of breathing. Chi Di was astonished, deeming it a miracle.

“It must be the great virtue of her ancestors. Despite the severe wounds, she still breathes. In all my years of healing, this is my first encounter with such a miracle,” Chi Di said, eyes wide in disbelief.

The boy softly asked, “Does that mean she has a chance?”

Chi Di pressed his lips together and exhaled. “Perhaps. For now, her life is merely hanging on; whether she will survive remains uncertain. Even if she awakens, the outcome is unclear.”

“Her injuries are too severe. Child, where did you find her? Such bad luck. If she were a little girl, at least she could be saved and become your bride. But this woman is clearly much older—unsuitable, unsuitable…” Chi Di pondered aloud.

“Please don’t mock me, Master; save her life!” The boy blushed, anxious and embarrassed.

“Oh? Your name is Azun?” Chi Di was surprised.

“Yes, I am Azun,” the boy whispered, eyes flickering.

Half a month later, Xu Guiyi finally awoke on Chi Di’s bed, but her brain injury had erased all memories. Chi Di hoped to glean some information from her, but she remembered nothing.

After taking an Azure Journey Pearl, her external wounds healed much faster than normal, though internal injuries took another six months to improve. Chi Di tried various methods to cure her amnesia, but none worked; treatments often triggered her gout pain.

“So beautiful a woman, yet suffering such torment—it’s truly pitiful!” Seeing her writhe in pain, Chi Di shed a few tears and gradually lost hope of restoring her memory.

“For some, forgetting the past is a blessing,” Chi Di mused, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

Six months later, Xu Guiyi recovered, and they could no longer linger.

Since then, the villagers of Mingchi Island knew Azun had found a beautiful but foolish woman who couldn’t speak. Wherever Azun went, she followed, crying whenever he was out of sight. Azun himself was an orphan, and life with such a dependent beauty was even harder.

For over a year, they wandered around the eastern Mingchi Island, cold and hungry.

Chi Di thought the matter was closed until this year, when he met senior brother Bai Bai on the island for their five-year appointment.

After sharing their experiences and discussing medicine, the next day Chi Di mentioned the Azure Journey Pearl. Bai Bai revealed he had also used one.

He asked if Bai Bai remembered the person who had taken the pill. Bai Bai sighed, “I fear we shall never see her again.”

Chi Di was puzzled. “Why not? If senior brother wishes, surely he can see her.”

Bai Bai replied somberly, “She is dead. How can she be seen?”

Chi Di was incredulous. “Is there anyone the Azure Journey Pearl cannot save? That’s an exaggeration.”

Bai Bai retorted, “The pearl heals physical wounds, but if one’s spirit has given up, how can it revive the dead?”

This deepened Chi Di’s curiosity. “Who was it that wasted such a precious pill?”

Bai Bai’s lashes drooped in regret. “Ten years ago, during a battle between two armies, General Feihong was pierced through the heart by an arrow. Do you know of her?”

Chi Di exclaimed, “The female war god?”

“Exactly,” Bai Bai bowed his head.

“How could that be? Wasn’t she said to have died in Chelan City?” Chi Di asked, astonished.

“She did die, but not in Chelan City,” Bai Bai’s eyes darkened as he recalled the past.

“Senior brother? Please tell me what happened!” Impatient, Chi Di urged, wanting all the details at once.

Bai Bai sighed deeply, poured himself some tea, and began slowly, “That year, I was offering free medical consultations in the capital of Xiang State when I met Prince Mu. One day, his men abruptly came for me and hurried me to a border city in the north, pleading for me to save a life. He promised me anything within his power.”

Chi Di found the story strange. “Why would Prince Mu want to save General Feihong? They are enemies.”

Bai Bai noticed Chi Di’s furrowed brow and gently explained, “You’re unaware that Prince Mu was once a hostage in Guangling during his youth and shared a childhood bond with General Feihong.”

Chi Di began to piece things together. “When General Feihong was defeated and the entire fifty-thousand strong Pei family army wiped out, rumors said Chelan City was massacred and burned by the Great Xiang soldiers. Was it a cover-up?”

Bai Bai nodded. “Indeed. Prince Mu used a ruse to smuggle General Feihong out.”

Finally, Chi Di sighed, calling them fools. “Alas, fools all.”

The Azure Journey Pearl can save a life, but not a heart that wishes to die.

He hated that the southern ballads still sang on, flowers blooming year after year while old friends had long departed this world.

In the Tai Ning Palace, the emperor slowly closed his eyes but could not calm his restless mind. Recently, he felt his health waning, sleep shallow, and had just awoken drenched in cold sweat from a nightmare.

Nearly a decade had passed, and that person, those eyes, grew ever more blurred in his memory. He sat on the throne with justified pride, his power absolute, believing time would dull all pain. But his aging body and tonight’s nightmare reminded him that the fears and sorrows he buried so deeply had never truly vanished.

Now, as old age approached, the guilt and helplessness he hid inside surged like demons escaping the eighteen levels of hell—beyond his control.

Was he dying?

What of his throne? His crown prince, his heir, stubbornly refused to return from the western border, refused to come back to his side.

What was he to do? Could he truly pass the throne to a rebellious son who did not share his heart?

Did he have a better choice?

Prince Zhao? Weak and indecisive, lacking decisiveness.

Prince Qi? Resilient and bold, intelligent and daring, but utterly self-serving, too much like himself. Such a temperament on the throne would bring a harsh reign. Besides, he had barely suppressed the Nangong family; if Prince Qi succeeded, the threat of external relatives would persist.

Prince Wei? Married to a woman from a foreign tribe; if he ascended, the Fu bloodline would be diluted by foreign blood. Not acceptable.

The others were too young.

After much thought, only the crown prince remained.

The emperor rose, glanced at the dawn light gradually filtering through the golden silk curtains embroidered with twin dragons stirring the ocean. In about the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Yuanhe would come to summon him for court.

He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the day ahead.