Chapter 41: Seize the Bloom While It Lasts (Part Two)

It was as if she were dreaming—a dream in which Chuxiu once again found herself on the night the Drunken Blossom Pavilion caught fire. But this time, there was no Qiner to take her place, no Shen Yu to come to her aid. She alone was chained to the bed’s wooden beam, enduring the agony of the flames.

Her entire body burned as if aflame, thick smoke suffocating her. The pain on her skin and the pressure in her chest made it impossible to breathe or break free. No one would come to save her; she could only await death.

Yunci placed his hand on Chuxiu’s fevered forehead, took her pulse, studied her face, and finally concluded, “Her symptoms are very much like those of the refugees who have contracted the epidemic.”

“Epidemic? How is that possible!” Danxin was the first to cry out in shock. “She hasn’t even left the house, while we who come and go are all perfectly fine. How could she be the one to catch it?”

Yunci had clearly considered this as well; his brows knitted. “Perhaps someone inadvertently brought the contagion home. Those with strong constitutions resisted it, but she…”

At this, his tone shifted abruptly and he decided at once: “Chuxiu cannot stay in the residence any longer. Zhuying, arrange for her to be sent to the other estate. I have medicines prepared there—let her try two doses first.”

Zhuying accepted the order and, ignoring propriety, lifted Chuxiu in his arms. As he hurried out, he instructed the guards, “Prepare a carriage. We’re going to the other estate.”

After a moment’s thought, Yunci told Danxin, “Start with Zhiyan Pavilion—sprinkle medicine everywhere, and all maids and servants must cover their faces with white cloth, changed three times a day. The cloths are to be boiled and then dried in the sun.”

Danxin bowed in acknowledgment, ready to turn away, but Yunci added, “This can’t be kept secret. Once Zhiyan Pavilion is secured, inform all the other courtyards so the entire household follows suit.”

Danxin assented repeatedly, not daring to delay, and ran off.

Now, only Qianyun remained in the room.

Quiet, reticent, unassuming, and reserved—these were the impressions Yunci had always had of Qianyun. It was precisely because of this temperament, so similar to his own, that his mother had transferred her from Rongjin Hall to Zhiyan Pavilion.

“Qianyun,” Yunci called to her, “this can’t be kept from my mother. Go and report to her, so she can make proper preparations.”

“You’re not going?” Qianyun’s usually calm voice held a rare note of fluctuation, her face tinged with doubt and surprise.

“Chuxiu’s life hangs by a thread. I must go to the other estate,” Yunci replied resolutely.

Qianyun was taken aback. “You would risk yourself for Chuxiu? Master, if she truly has the epidemic, you should be avoiding her, not—”

“Qianyun.” Yunci’s brows drew together, his tone tinged with displeasure. “For the sake of the refugees outside the city, I went beyond the city walls. For her—why should I not?”

“That is not the same,” Qianyun said, speaking more than she ever had in one breath. “There are thousands, tens of thousands of refugees outside the city. Your compassion led you to seek a cure for the epidemic, as is your duty as Marquis Lixin. But Chuxiu—she is just one person. Is she truly worth such risk?”

“She is,” Yunci replied without hesitation. “She is my responsibility as well.”

At these words, Qianyun felt a chill in her heart. “Master, the Lady sent me here to serve you well. I cannot let you risk your safety for a mere maid.”

“Who says she’s a maid?” Yunci’s expression had already darkened. “Qianyun, you speak too much today.”

No sooner had Yunci finished speaking than there was a soft thud—Qianyun had already knelt down. She was determined to dissuade him, her voice ringing clear: “Punish me as you will, Master, but I cannot let you go to the other estate.”

She gave him no chance to interrupt, hastily continuing, “Danxin doesn’t know why you favor Chuxiu, but Zhuying and I do. The year Danxin’s father died, she returned home for the funeral and so missed—”

“Qianyun!” Yunci cut her off sharply, his face darker than ever.

“Forgive my boldness,” Qianyun bowed her head again, but her words did not cease. “I cannot bear to see you deceive yourself. When I first saw Chuxiu at Chasing Rain Court, I already knew she—”

A sudden gust stirred the strands of hair at Qianyun’s brow. She looked up to see Yunci standing, having risen from his wheelchair in anger, his face stern as he looked down at her. “Do you know what you’re saying? Criticizing your master? Is this what you learned in Rongjin Hall?”

At this, Qianyun finally panicked. She crawled forward on her knees, reaching out to support Yunci, but he stood unmoved, his posture firm. “Even the Lady has never said a word—who are you to lecture?”

In all her years of serving Yunci, Qianyun had never seen him so furious. Tears welled in her eyes—whether from pain for her master, or shame for herself, she could not tell.

Yunci was truly angry now. “You and Chuxiu have little acquaintance, and all you do is for my sake. I’ll overlook it this time. But if you say another word against her, you’ll return to Rongjin Hall and serve the Lady—you won’t stay here at Zhiyan Pavilion!”

“Master!” Qianyun’s face turned ashen and she pleaded anxiously, “I was wrong, forgive me. Punish me as you wish. Just… please, for your own sake, don’t keep standing… May I help you back to your seat?”

Seeing her remorse, Yunci’s expression softened and he sighed gently. “I only hate these legs of mine…” The rest of his words were so soft Qianyun could not catch them.

“If you know your error, you should also know what to say and what not to say before the Lady.” In the next instant, Yunci was stern again, allowing Qianyun to help him back into his wheelchair. “Go and wash your face and change your clothes before seeing the Lady. Don’t let her worry.”

“I understand.” Qianyun dared not say more. She settled Yunci, prepared the carriage as instructed, then hurried to change before making her way to Rongjin Hall.

While Qianyun went to report to the Lady, Yunci boarded the carriage to the other estate. Before leaving, he instructed the steward Yunzhong, “Tell Danxin to stay at Zhiyan Pavilion and report any unusual occurrences to me immediately!”

The carriage quietly left the Marquis Lixin’s residence through a side gate, speeding away. The head of the Yun family, capable of stirring clouds and rain in the world, now deeply felt the wonder and powerlessness of fate…

*****

Chuxiu’s condition was grave—not quite at death’s door, but not far. Yunci, after examining her again at the other estate, realized his medical skills could do nothing more. After a pause, he ordered Zhuying, “Send word to the shadow guards in every region—have the banks issue search tokens and find the three greatest physicians of our time.”

He named several, including Shen Yu’s master, Qu Fang.

Zhuying accepted the order but voiced his worry: “It’s not hard to find them, but even if we do, distant water can’t put out a nearby fire.”

What Zhuying feared, Yunci feared as well, but they had no other choice. “All we can do is hope one of them is near Yanlan City.”

Zhuying hurried off at once.

By now, Chuxiu was burning up even more than when she was at the Yun estate—her situation more perilous still. Yunci instructed the staff at the other estate to boil medicine and give her another dose, then kept watch by her side without rest, his thoughts sinking to their lowest ebb.

“Chuxiu,” he murmured, knowing she could not hear, yet still holding her delicate hand, “there were things I never got the chance to say…”

He gripped her hand firmly, utterly unconcerned about catching the epidemic, patiently wiping the sweat from her brow, and tirelessly feeding her medicine and water himself, unwilling to trust servants with such care.

When Zhuying returned, Yunci said, “Two days ago I gave the epidemic prevention formula to Prince Mu and asked him to have his doctors improve it. Write a letter in my name and go to Prince Mu’s residence yourself. Whether the formula is improved or not, bring his doctors here at once.”

“You want a consultation for Miss Chuxiu?” Zhuying blurted out.

“There’s nothing else to be done,” Yunci replied gravely, almost with a hint of fear. “Alone, I fear I am powerless.”

Zhuying had never seen his master like this. To him, Yunci was always calm in crisis. Only twice had he seen such worry and helplessness: once, when the Ming family caused trouble at Chasing Rain Court and Chuxiu went missing; and now, today.

Both times were for Chuxiu. What more could he say? Zhuying glanced at their clasped hands on the bed, sighed inwardly, and left to carry out the order.

The room finally quieted. Yunci dismissed all unrelated servants and kept vigil alone.

Chuxiu lay on the bed, brows knitted, cheeks flushed. If not for her pale lips and the sweat on her brow, one could almost believe she was only sleeping—dreaming perhaps of some sorrowful event, stirring boundless pity in any onlooker.

During his days away from the Yun estate, Yunci had visited Prince Mu’s residence and heard of Prince Mu’s entanglement with a woman named Luan Su. Both Nan Han and Luan Su were legendary courtesans, famed throughout the land, and yet, by a twist of fate, each belonged to the two most powerful men in Fangzhou—Luan Su at Prince Mu’s residence, Han Chu at Marquis Lixin’s.

Yunci heard Prince Mu say that, after the plague, he would go to the capital to ask the Emperor for a marriage—not to wed Luan Su, but to marry the daughter of his savior. Prince Mu’s words, “I was a step too late,” left Yunci deeply moved.

He had once thought he would spend his life alone, not wishing to burden any woman with his crippled body. He had always thought this was best—to come and go with nothing, free from attachments, as if those of ill-fated fortune should live thus.

But after witnessing Prince Mu’s silent devotion, after seeing the refugees dying in misery beyond the city walls, he changed his mind.

Life is short, flowers bloom but briefly. When the time comes, one should not hesitate to pluck them.

Yet, both of them bore heavy chains—she, an unforgotten love; he, responsibilities he could not abandon. Perhaps it was fate, that they were destined to support each other in this cycle of time…