s

  Li Chengkun, the third prince, exchanged a secret look with the state preceptor when the discussion was over. After they had parted, they met again in a secluded palace in the suburbs. Li Chengkun looked composed and deep in his 40s. No smile or frown on his face could reveal a hint of his thoughts.

  The state preceptor kept his eyeballs rolling as if his mind was crammed full of countless tales of intrigue.

  Li Chengkun poured the tea into two cups and handed one to the state preceptor. “Where do you think Xiao Baoshan might be?”


  The state preceptor replied, “He might be hiding in mountains or he could have slipped back here, waiting for others to vindicate him.”


  Li Chengkun said, “Please organize more people in the capital. Kill him if he shows up.”


  The state preceptor smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Everything is in place.”


  Li Chengkun asked, “Why don’t we kill Xiao Baoshan’s family?”


  “If we kill them, I’m afraid we’ll be suspected. Now people all think that Xiao Baoshan is fleeing to avoid punishment, and this is exactly what we want. I’ve sent my people to investigate his family. It’s been discovered that he doesn’t have much affection for his family. He did not want to marry his current wife, who was once his departed brother’s wife.”


  Hearing that, Li Chengkun felt somewhat relieved.

  Tentatively, the state preceptor asked, “Your Highness, when shall we begin our plan?”


  Li Chengkun remained silent, showing neither objection nor approval to the state preceptor.

  The state preceptor ventured, “Your Highness, we can’t delay any longer. His Majesty is now seriously ill, but he hasn’t decided who should be the crown prince yet. If we don’t take the initiative, we will find it difficult to excel in the fierce competition later. After all, we’ve made full preparation to achieve our aim.”


  Li Chengkun took a sip of his tea. After a while, he finally nodded in approval. “Time to do it.”
……

  Baoning city, the northwest of Daqi fief.

  This was a remote, undeveloped place, the fief for Li Chengyi, the sixth prince. Most inhabitants here were aborigines who looked unhealthy and dejected because of a scarcity of materials.

  Li Chengyi was exiled here for some misconduct, though few people knew what it was. But since coming here, he had done much to improve people’s living standards. He led the locals in cultivating the land and introduced many plants and vegetables. As a result, people lived a much better life here.

  Rather than closing the borders, Li Chengyi encouraged the locals to go out while attracting the businessmen in. With more commodity exchanges, the place could gradually prosper.

  One day, a stranger wearing a loose robe and a bamboo hat stepped into the fief. His face half covered, he looked like a wanderer who had been roving for days. After entering the fief, he soon disappeared among the crowd……

  When Li Chengyi came back after a tour of inspection, he was scared by an arrow which was shot into his carriage. Calming himself down, he found a letter pinned on the arrow.

  It was not an attempted murder. After a second, he took the arrow and the letter down. Then, he was stunned by the name on the envelope.

  It’s him!……

  At dusk.

  The guard in the palace was much weaker than usual for some reason. Instead of going to sleep early, Li Chengyi sent away his servants and sat alone in front of a desk.

  When it was late at night, a figure leaped in from outside the window and landed steadily in front of Li Chengyi. Respectfully, he cupped his hands at the sixth prince. “I’m Xiao Baoshan. Your Highness, thank you for meeting me.”


  Li Chengyi was lean and in his 30s. He was sitting in an upright position. Judging by his appearance, he was an honest and righteous man.

  He glared at Xiao Baoshan and said, “Xiao Baoshan, you betrayed our country. How dare you come to meet me after committing such a heinous crime! Aren’t you afraid that I will arrest you?”


  Xiao Baoshan looked firmly at Li Chengyi and said, “If you really consider me a betrayer, you wouldn’t have let me in or be meeting me alone.”


  “I let you in only because you once saved my life!”


  “No. You let me in because you know who I am and who the fourth prince is. Your Highness, I was framed.”


  Li Chengyi asked, “Tens of thousands of people were sacrificed at that time. Why did you survive?”


  “When I fainted from being heavily wounded, my people protected me at the cost of their lives. After I regained consciousness, I found all my comrades lying dead across the bloody battlefield. I wanted to die with them, but I thought of my mother and brother. So I decided to visit them before killing myself and didn’t report that I was alive. Since the fourth prince died, I’ve been already a lifeless man.”


  Li Chengyi asked, “Well now, since you planned to kill yourself, why are you still alive?”


  Xiao Baoshan replied, “When I went home, I found my mother was living a poor life, so I wanted to fulfill my duty as a son before I left. But during that period, my mother drugged me and forced me to marry a girl. I fell in love with that girl and was given hope for life again. Once, in order to save my wife, I exposed my identity, but I didn’t expect what awaited me was such a slander.”


  “Who slandered you?” Li Chengyi questioned.

  “According to my investigation, it was the state preceptor,” said Xiao Baoshan.

  Li Chengyi fell into silence. He was exiled to Baoning city just because of the state preceptor’s smear. Therefore, he was not surprised at the result. “Why did he do this?” he asked.

  Xiao Baoshan said, “The way we were defeated was quite strange, so I suspect that there’s a traitor among us and he may be the state preceptor. The fourth prince had the best forces and was supported by most ministers. If he and his forces died, the state preceptor and the one he supported would be the biggest beneficiaries.”


  “Who does he support?” Li Chengyi asked.

  After staring at the man briefly, Xiao Baoshan finally said, “I suppose it’s the third prince.”


  Li Chengyi was astonished……

  Qinghe county.

  When Ye Xiaoxian had sold out of the snacks, Fengsheng rushed over to her.

  “Mrs. Ye!”


  Embarrassment written on his face, he seemed to have a favor to ask of her.

  Noticing his awkwardness, she broke the ice, “What?”


  Hesitating for a while, he finally said, “Mrs. Ye, my young master is seriously ill. I’ve sent many doctors over, but he’s still in a coma. Could you please help him?”


  Ye Xiaoxian couldn’t help smiling and said, “I’m not even a doctor. Why come to me for help?”


  He looked very anxious. “I don’t know. You’re always so capable. Maybe you know some good doctors?”


  She shook her head softly. “I’m just an ordinary woman. Oh yes, doesn’t your master know Squire Liu? He knows many more people than me. Perhaps he can help.”


  He gave her a wry smile. “They just barely knew each other but were not real friends.”


  Feeling that she was not helping, Fengsheng didn’t insist anymore. “As you can’t help us, I think I should leave now. Sorry to bother you.”


  Ye Xiaoxian felt a surge of compassion. Although Li Chengru wasn’t her friend, she didn’t have the heart to leave him in suffering.

  “Fengsheng!” She stopped him. “All right, I can go with you. But I’m not sure whether I can help him or not. Let me check his condition first.”


  Fengsheng suddenly beamed with joy. During these days, he had asked numerous doctors for help, but none of them could bring his young master back to health. Now, Ye Xiaoxian became his last hope. If she couldn’t offer any help, he might have to watch his master die in this strange land……

  Li Chengru was still living in the inn. It would be better to rent a house if he wanted to stay long in this county. But it didn’t seem a problem for this rich man. As long as he could pay, the waiters would provide perfect services for him.

  Gravely ill, Li Chengru lay motionless on his bed. Standing a meter away from him, Ye Xiaoxian could feel the heat from his body.

  She covered her nose and mouth before approaching him, in case the disease was infectious. His forehead was awfully burning.

  She turned to Fengsheng and asked, “How long has the fever been?”


  “Three days.”


  “Which doctor has he met? What medicine has he taken?”


  He replied, “All the doctors in the county. They diagnosed it as typhoid and also prescribed some medicinal herbs. But my master isn’t getting any better.”


  Ye Xiaoxian didn’t know much about traditional Chinese medicine. She only knew that she must do something to reduce the fever first. Since there were no anti-inflammatory drugs in this era, she had to try the physical way.

  She said, “Don’t bundle him up. Cool him down first and let a waiter get some warm water. He needs a warm bath. I’ll help you find a doctor now.”


  He was confused. “Take a warm bath? No need to put anything else in the water?”


  “No. Take a bath for a quarter of an hour. Don’t dress him too much or cover him with a thick quilt. Just let him wear something light and simple.”


  She remembered when she was small and caught a fever, she would have a cold shower and had an antipyretic patch on her forehead. If the fever was too serious, she would take some febrifuges, which would be impossible in ancient times.

  Then, Ye Xiaoxian went back to ask Li Hongmei for help. Doctors indeed knew how to cure diseases, but some folk remedies were also useful. When Xiao Baofeng once had a high fever, Li Hongmei used some method to cure him immediately……

  “What? You want to save him?” Li Hongmei was rather surprised. “Little Ye, don’t you remember he pressed a knife against your neck?”