After Breaking Free From The System's Control - Chapter 15

The hall grew even quieter.

The old imperial physician knelt on the cold golden floor tiles. Beads of sweat seeped from his temples, slid along the deep wrinkles of his face, and fell onto the dark embroidered rank badge at his chest, spreading into small damp stains.

The fingers with which Shen Jiren had just taken the emperor’s pulse were still trembling unconsciously where they rested upon his knees, as though he were trying to conceal the instinctive helplessness and panic of a physician confronted with an illness beyond his ability.

“His Majesty’s pulse…” Shen Jiren swallowed, his voice dry. “It is faint, floating, and chaotic. His vital energy is severely depleted, like the last flame of a candle in the wind. Compared with when I examined him last month, he is even weaker…”

“This time, the harmful influence entered his body with extraordinary force. His fever remains high, and what it is consuming is the very foundation of his life…”

He did not dare raise his head to look at the figure in purple standing beside the bed.

He only felt that gaze pressing down upon him, more suffocating than even the Late Emperor’s scrutiny had been.

Xiao Li stood upright beside the bed like a pine tree.

Only the hand held behind his back betrayed him, its fingers clenched so tightly that the knuckles had turned white.

His gaze remained fixed upon the bloodless face on the dragon bed.

Jin Tang lay quietly with his eyes closed. His long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath them, and his breathing was so light that it was nearly imperceptible, as though he might dissolve completely into the silence filling the hall in the next instant.

“Director Shen.”

Xiao Li’s voice revealed no emotion, yet Shen Jiren’s spine stiffened at once.

“You and I both understand His Majesty’s condition. There is no need to repeat it. I am asking only this: what medicine should be used now?”

Shen Jiren immediately knocked his forehead against the cold floor.

“Your Highness, His Majesty’s vital energy has suffered severe damage. His body is so weak that it may not withstand tonics. Ordinary warming and nourishing medicines may prove ineffective and could even increase the burden upon his internal organs.”

“But if we do not use a stronger medicine, then I fear… I fear the fever will not subside, and His Majesty may…”

His voice caught.

He did not dare finish the sentence.

“Continue,” Xiao Li said.

His voice remained steady, but the pressure within it was overwhelming.

Shen Jiren drew a deep breath as though staking everything upon his answer.

“At present, we might use ginseng to restore his vital energy, prevent collapse, and replenish his fluids. However, His Majesty’s health is extremely frail, and ginseng is powerful in nature. Both the amount and method of administration must be considered with the utmost caution.”

“This humble physician… does not dare make the decision alone.”

“Should we perhaps prepare a concentrated ginseng decoction using aged mountain ginseng?”

He finally threw out the most difficult question and lowered his head even further, nearly wishing he could bury it in the floor tiles.

A concentrated ginseng decoction was intensely potent.

Using it to save someone already barely clinging to life was nothing less than a desperate gamble.

If it succeeded, it might preserve his final breath.

If it failed, the flame of his life could be extinguished in an instant.

Xiao Li’s gaze moved away from Jin Tang’s face and slowly swept across the flickering candles in the hall.

Their shifting light reflected within his unfathomable eyes, brightening and dimming in turn.

He remembered the astonishing lightness of Jin Tang’s body when he had lifted him earlier.

He remembered the cold, damp sensation beneath his fingertips when he touched his skin.

The Late Emperor’s hand tightly gripping his own before death, the trust and expectation in those clouded eyes, remained vivid before him.

“Use it.”

That single decisive word shattered the suffocating silence.

Xiao Li turned toward Shen Jiren, his gaze sharp as a blade.

“Director Shen, I do not care what method you use. Consider the dosage carefully and proceed with the utmost caution.”

“But there is one thing you must do.”

“Exhaust every possible means and preserve His Majesty’s life.”

Shen Jiren trembled from head to toe.

How could he possibly guarantee such a thing?

This strange illness had recurred again and again. The entire Imperial Medical Office had remained helpless before it for a long time, and now His Majesty’s condition had deteriorated so suddenly…

Yet he could only bow again, his voice shaking.

“This humble physician obeys. I will do everything within my power!”

Shen Jiren practically scrambled to his feet on all fours and staggered from the room, hurrying toward the Imperial Medical Office to prepare the medicine.

Xiao Li watched him leave.

The calm he had forcibly maintained finally cracked slightly, and deep fatigue and gloom settled between his brows.

He raised a hand and very gently brushed aside the damp hair clinging to Jin Tang’s forehead.

The heat beneath his fingertips remained alarmingly intense.

“Wang Zhong,” he called.

The elderly attendant, who had been struggling to hold back his tears, hurried forward.

“This old servant is here.”

“News that His Majesty has lost consciousness again cannot be concealed. I will shortly return to the Imperial Study and discuss the arrangements for court affairs during His Majesty’s recovery with the Grand Secretaries.”

Xiao Li’s thoughts remained clear and methodical.

“Before I return, remain here personally. No one is to disturb His Majesty.”

“Yes, Your Highness. This old servant understands.”

Wang Zhong answered through a choked voice.

He looked at Jin Tang’s weak figure upon the dragon bed, his aged eyes filled with pain.

Xiao Li gave Jin Tang one final, lingering look before turning away.

His purple robes swept through the air in a clean arc as he strode from the hall.

Several Grand Secretaries were waiting inside the Imperial Study, their faces grave.

The emperor had suddenly fallen critically ill and remained unconscious. The news would surely stir dangerous undercurrents both inside and beyond the palace walls.

Xiao Li entered without wasting time on formalities.

“Grand Secretaries, I presume you have already heard of His Majesty’s condition. His health has deteriorated, and he requires complete rest. It is unlikely that he will be able to attend court in the immediate future.”

The Grand Secretaries exchanged glances.

Grand Secretary Sun, the Chancellor of the Secretariat, stepped forward and said solemnly,

“Your Highness, His Majesty’s health concerns the foundation of the realm. At present, is his condition…?”

“Director Shen is doing everything possible to save him,” Xiao Li interrupted.

“The affairs of the nation are numerous and cannot be neglected for even a day. His Majesty previously issued a clear decree appointing me Regent and entrusting me with the government.”

“Now that His Majesty must recuperate, the matters of court will require the combined efforts of you Grand Secretaries and myself.”

His gaze swept across them, carrying both scrutiny and trust.

“For the ordinary business of the ministries and offices, follow the established procedures. You will draft the preliminary decisions, and they will be sent to me for final approval.”

“For military and national affairs of great importance, or matters upon which our opinions differ, we will discuss them before reaching a decision.”

“When I must personally attend to His Majesty and cannot divide my attention, Grand Secretary Sun will temporarily take the lead and oversee daily affairs.”

The Grand Secretaries had all served through two reigns and had been deeply trusted by the Late Emperor.

Hearing this, they felt somewhat reassured.

Prince Xuan might hold immense authority, but from the manner in which he acted, he clearly had no intention of ruling by unilateral decree.

Grand Secretary Sun bowed first.

“This old minister and the others obey Your Highness’s instructions. We will devote every effort to stabilizing the court and easing His Majesty’s burdens.”

The other two Grand Secretaries echoed him.

Xiao Li nodded, his tone easing slightly.

“I will trouble you all. Until His Majesty awakens, I will spend more time attending him personally. I leave the affairs of court in your hands.”

After making the arrangements, Xiao Li did not remain any longer.

He immediately returned to Jin Tang’s bedchamber.

His thoughts remained fixed on the young emperor, and he was unwilling to spend even one unnecessary moment away.

By the time he returned, Wang Zhong had already followed Shen Jiren’s earlier instructions and prepared warm water along with clean, soft cotton cloths.

Seeing Xiao Li enter, he hurried forward.

“Your Highness, Imperial Physician Shen said His Majesty has perspired excessively. His body must be wiped with warm water to prevent another invasion of harmful wind.”

“I will do it.”

Xiao Li walked directly to the washstand, rolled up his sleeves, tested the water temperature with one hand, and dipped a cloth into the basin.

His movements were smooth and carried no hesitation.

Wang Zhong froze for a moment before instinctively saying,

“Your Highness, this kind of minor task should be left to this old servant—”

“It is fine.”

Xiao Li interrupted him, wringing out the cloth with meticulous and steady movements.

“Go and attend to what you should. Now that news of His Majesty’s unconsciousness has spread, the palace and the court must be guarded against anyone attempting to take advantage of the situation.”

“The direction of public discussion must also be managed carefully. See to those matters.”

Wang Zhong looked at Xiao Li’s back as he carried the cloth toward the dragon bed.

The concern and concentration in his manner could not be false.

After hesitating for a moment, he lowered his head.

“Yes. This old servant obeys.”

He withdrew silently, leaving the quiet chamber to Xiao Li and Jin Tang.

The candlelight inside the hall glowed warm yellow, illuminating Xiao Li’s tall figure.

He sat at the edge of the bed and looked at Jin Tang’s brows, which remained tightly furrowed even in unconsciousness.

His movements unconsciously became exceedingly light and slow.

He carefully untied Jin Tang’s sleeping robe.

The cool air touched the young man’s skin.

The dampness that had not yet completely dried upon his thin chest caused Xiao Li’s brows to tighten.

With the warm cloth, he began wiping Jin Tang’s forehead, neck, and collarbones little by little, with extreme care.

He avoided the more sensitive areas and focused only on removing the sticky perspiration, leaving behind clean and soothing freshness.

Even through the warm cloth, his fingertips could clearly feel the smoothness of the skin beneath them—and the far too distinct outlines of bone.

He was too thin.

Xiao Li’s touch became gentler still, as though a fraction more force might shatter the fragile person before him.

When he reached Jin Tang’s arm, he saw the narrow wrist.

The wrist bone protruded sharply, and the skin was so thin it appeared almost translucent, with faint blue veins visible beneath it.

Xiao Li’s movements stopped.

He wrapped the cloth around that cold hand, trying to transfer some of his own warmth into it.

What kind of strange illness was this?

Xiao Li studied Jin Tang’s pale face, the doubts in his heart growing heavier.

Everyone in the Imperial Medical Office gave the same answer.

They all claimed the pulse was strange, seeming both weak and substantial at once. They could locate no definite source of illness, yet time and again it tortured him into such a condition.

If it was not an unusual disease, then could it be as certain secret records described—

A gu poison from the Miao territories of the southwest?

Or some unknown form of folk sorcery?

Xiao Li remembered rumors of witchcraft and gu he had once heard among the soldiers at the northern frontier.

They had seemed bizarre and absurd, and in the past, he had dismissed them as nonsense.

Yet now, seeing Jin Tang in such a state, those ridiculous possibilities surfaced in his mind without restraint.

If it truly was gu poison, where could he find someone capable of removing it?

The world was vast and filled with extraordinary people.

Could there be some method of treatment he had never heard of?

While his thoughts churned, Xiao Li finished wiping Jin Tang’s body and changed him into another clean, dry sleeping robe.

Throughout the entire process, Jin Tang remained unaware.

Only when the cloth passed over certain joints did he release an extremely faint, unconscious whimper, as though still enduring some hidden pain.

Xiao Li tucked the quilt securely around him and gently slipped the still-cold hand back beneath the brocade covers.

Then he sat upon the footstool beside the bed, leaning forward, and remained motionless for a long time.

The candlelight cast their shadows across the bed curtains until Xiao Li’s silhouette nearly overlapped Jin Tang’s.

Outside the hall, the night was deep and utterly silent.

Inside, only Jin Tang’s faint breathing and the endless dripping of the water clock could be heard.

Xiao Li extended one hand.

His fingertips hovered above the tight crease between Jin Tang’s brows.

In the end, he could not bring himself to touch him.

He merely traced that young yet tormented face with his gaze, while complicated emotions surged indistinctly through the depths of his eyes.

Worry.

Determination.

And a tenderness that went beyond the proper duty of a subject.