Late at night, Imperial Physician Jia was in his guest chamber preparing to retire when a servant came knocking, saying they had brought hot water for his feet. Imperial Physician Jia opened the door. Two boys carried in a steaming basin, with a third servant following behind, head bowed under his cap.
The two boys set the basin by the bed. Imperial Physician Jia thanked them. Then the third servant softly called to him, “Imperial Physician Jia.”
The two boys withdrew, closing the door from outside. The old physician fixed his bleary eyes on the newcomer, studying for a moment before recognition struck. Startled, he dropped to his knees. “Shizi.”
It was in fact Wu Ze. He quickly stepped forward, lifting the old man with both hands. “Please rise, venerable physician.”
“To see you safe and sound, young lord, this old one’s heart is at peace.” Imperial Physician Jia stood, gazing with relief at the son of the Second Prince, long rumored missing.
For Imperial Physician Jia was a man of the Second Prince’s household. In fact, he had ties to the prince’s birth mother, who once served in the Imperial Medical Bureau as a dispensing maid, and had taken Imperial Physician Jia as her foster father. Thanks to Imperial Physician Jia’s aid, the Second Prince had been safely born. But after his mother’s death, Imperial Physician Jia no longer openly associated with him, and over time this bond was forgotten. This time, the emperor’s original choice had been Physician Chen, but Imperial Physician Jia deliberately slipped medicine into Imperial Physician Chen’s wine, leaving him bedridden, and volunteered to take his place.
“My thanks to you, old physician. Thanks to you, Marquis Xing escaped calamity, and I may remain here in Yuzhou in peace.” Wu Ze saluted. “Great kindness needs no words of thanks.”
Imperial Physician Jia had always regarded the Second Prince’s mother as a daughter; seeing Wu Ze now was like seeing a grandson. He sighed. “Your words are too heavy, young lord. The Second Prince suffers such calamity, yet this old one is powerless—my heart grieves. And though Marquis Xing now lies ill, it is merely a delay. If, after two years, the throne still chooses to make a move against him—then what?”
Wu Ze smiled. “At present, Marquis Xing’s wings are not yet full. He can only retreat to the strategy of ‘delay.’”
At this, Imperial Physician Jia was stunned. After a moment’s chewing over the words, his expression changed in alarm. “Could it be… Marquis Xing intends…”
Wu Ze’s face turned solemn. “Imperial Physician, you have seen the state of affairs yourself. The new emperor is no wise ruler—suspicious and narrow-minded. He has confined my father the prince and my mother the consort. Who knows when he might bestow poisoned wine and end every life in the prince’s household? For us and for Marquis Xing, if we do not resist, we are but fish laid on the chopping board, waiting to be carved. We act only because necessity leaves us no other choice.”
Imperial Physician Jia’s heart trembled; he knew he was already caught within the whirlpool. Wu Ze was keen in reading faces—seeing the old man’s fear, he quickly reassured him: “Old physician, you are one of us. That is why I have spoken these words to you. You need only continue your duties as usual, nothing more. When our great undertaking succeeds, there will certainly be rich reward.”
Imperial Physician Jia, after hearing this, let out a faint sigh. “This old man is but a sack of old bones, half my body already buried in yellow earth, so I’ve little to fear. It’s only that my children at home are disappointing, and I still must take them into account somewhat. Once I return to the palace this time, I, too, should count my service complete, retire, and return home.”
Wu Ze pondered a little, then said, “It’s also good if the old physician leaves the palace. The new emperor is suspicious and fears death—should his body fall unwell, the Imperial Infirmary would be the first to bear the blame. Still, it would be best if the old physician stays a while longer, until the emperor forgets this matter, and then departs.”
Imperial Physician Jia gave a deferential assent.
Meanwhile, because Emperor Yongtai had sent this group of men, Qian Jiaoniang, acting cautiously, did not go to find Zhao Yaoqian. Instead, she had Ah Da dispatch several hidden guards to keep watch around her courtyard.
Zhaohui, the eunuch, sent medicine over, and even had an imperial physician examine the patient, but he himself feigned deafness and dumbness, lingering in the Marquis’s residence without leaving. XIng Muzheng thus sent Xie Zhang, a few local officials, and Li Qingquan together to entertain him, letting him go wherever he pleased—even showing him around their military garrison.
Zhaohui made both open and secret inquiries throughout Yuzhou City and the garrison grounds, and his heart grew more at ease: Marquis Xing truly had no extra troops hidden away. The number of men in his garrison was exactly by the regulations. Only, with sharp eyes, he noticed one thing: it seemed that in Yuzhou City, nearly every household kept horses. For the Xie Dynasty, accustomed to raising cattle and donkeys, this was rather unusual.
When drinking with local officials at a tavern, Zhaohui casually raised the question. Li Qingquan waved a big hand and laughed: “Eunuch, you wouldn’t know. They raise horses only for playing polo! Our lady loves polo, so the Marquis often has people organize matches, just to delight her.”
Xie Zhang added, “I heard Gonggong himself is extremely skilled at polo. Why not, after we eat, go to the polo grounds for a match?”
Now, Zhaohui was a eunuch who greatly loved polo. Hearing this, his hands itched. The first two times he declined, saying duty called, but the third time he half-refused, half-agreed. That afternoon, Zhaohui led his men with Li Qingquan and the others to play a match. Not only did he win, he even gained one hundred gold from bets. Feeling pleased, he put the earlier suspicions behind him.
Seven days later, news came from Yongan—an edict from Emperor Yongkang.
This time, it commanded Xing Pingchun to go to Yongan as a study companion to the princes.
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