The arrow was extracted. In addition to the pulmonary hemorrhage, a rib was also fractured. Due to the shape of the arrowhead, the wound was very difficult to suture completely, so they could only temporarily pack it with gauze to stop the bleeding and observe the situation.
Li Xiaoping waited for four hours. When she saw Cheng Danruo come out, she asked anxiously, “How is he?”
At that moment, something crossed through time and made Cheng Danruo feel a deep sense of familiarity. She rarely smiled, but she could not give any guarantee – she could only say, “Still alive. We’ll keep watching.”
Li Xiaoping felt as if a great weight had been lifted. Not dying right away, still able to breathe – in her eyes, that was already an enormous comfort.
Tears rolled down in streams. Choking with sobs, she said incoherently, “He’s my younger brother. We’re from the same village. Back then, disaster struck our area – the crops in the fields couldn’t be harvested, and our family couldn’t get by, so we had no choice but to do this… I’m the eldest in the family, he’s the third. The eldest has to farm, the second one is already grown, but we couldn’t bear to let him go – he was only eight…”
“It’s hard for everyone.” Only then did Cheng Danruo ask, “But where did the arrow in the palace come from?”
Li Xiaoping had been too worried earlier to even ask. “I’ll go ask around.”
When a young eunuch was injured, it really couldn’t stir up any ripple in the palace, and news spread very slowly. Only on the afternoon of the next day did Li Xiaoping learn what had happened.
When she told Cheng Danruo, her tone was full of sighs. “Being noticed by the master and given work in their presence is good, but one wrong step and you can easily lose your life. If he can survive this time, I’ll have to give him a good talking-to.”
Cheng Danruo looked at her.
Li Xiaoping avoided her gaze, as if explaining, as if talking to herself. “What can be done? This is fate. Our lives are cheap – who is there to blame?”
And so, she understood.
Everyone’s heart is made of flesh – who could not hate, who could not resent?
It was only that they dared not hate, dared not resent; could not hate, could not resent.
Cheng Danruo showed no change in expression, as if she did not understand. “He’s lucky. He might really pull through.”
Li Xiaoping revealed a sincere smile. “Thank you, Auntie. Thank you for your hard work.”
“It’s his good fortune,” Cheng Danruo said, not taking credit.
Advanced surgical knowledge could at most reduce the chance of infection and lessen blood loss. Whether the patient could survive still depended entirely on luck.
Li Youyi’s luck was truly very good.
He had a grand eunuch as his adoptive father, so he was not treated carelessly and at least had the chance to receive medical treatment. He also had a sister from the same hometown and same village who came to visit him every day during his illness. Although they could only speak through the window, it gave the patient psychological support.
Of course, the most important factor was still Cheng Danruo.
After successfully removing the arrow, she did not relax her care. She used a reed stalk as a drainage tube to drain the congested blood, and used homemade alcohol for disinfection to reduce wound infection.
Under multiple layers of good fortune, relying on his young constitution, he pulled through.
At the end of May, Li Youyi was able to get out of bed and move around. Eunuchs were not entitled to proper recuperation, and he was also eager to return to Qianyang Palace, so he took the initiative to request discharge.
Before leaving, he kowtowed to Cheng Danruo and swore an oath. “Auntie, for the grace of giving me a second life, I will repay it in this lifetime.”
Cheng Danruo frowned. “Your injury is not fully healed. Don’t move around recklessly.”
Li Youyi grinned, then got up swiftly.
Li Xiaoping reminded him. “Remember to step over a fire basin when you go back.”
“I know.”
Stepping outside, the sunlight was brilliant, and the glazed tiles glittered with golden light.
After returning to his room in Qianyang Palace, Li Youyi ignored the others’ exclamations of shock. Without even tidying his bedding, he went straight to his adoptive father Eunuch Li’s duty room.
Eunuch Li was playing with a snuff bottle. Seeing him come in, he was extremely surprised. “Oh, Youyi!”
“Godfather!” Li Youyi threw himself at his feet, hugged his legs, and wailed loudly, “I thought I would never be able to serve you in your old age again.”
Eunuch Li wore a red python robe. He was one of the great eunuchs in service at the emperor’s side, holding the post of Brush Supervisor in the Directorate of Ceremonial and, by convention, concurrently serving as director of the Eastern Depot. Although his position was not as high as that of the director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, his power was still immense. Outside the palace he had his own private residence, wife, and concubines, and there were people who handled affairs specifically for him.
A powerful eunuch like this had adopted no fewer than eight or nine foster sons, if not ten or twenty. It was just that Li Youyi’s ancestors had also been surnamed Li – five hundred years ago they were one family – so he had usually been shown considerable favor.
But this favor was not fatherly love – he was no more than a cat or a dog to him.
Seeing him alive, Eunuch Li was more surprised than delighted, and clicked his tongue in wonder. “You brat, your luck is good enough. What connections did you use?”
A great eunuch like him would ordinarily get medicine from the Imperial Pharmacy when ill, so he naturally knew the level of medical skill there. He did not believe at all that they could treat an arrow wound, and assumed instead that connections had been made to get into the Imperial Medical Institute.
“It was my adoptive sister. She sent me to the Inner Hall of Peace and Joy,” Li Youyi said honestly, not daring to conceal anything. “There is a new female official who entered this year. She understands medical principles, and the palace servants all like to go to her for treatment.”
Eunuch Li nodded slowly and thought for a while, then said, “You brat, you’re lucky. Very well, these next few days, don’t run around. There’ll be benefits for you.”
Li Youyi was overjoyed and kowtowed firmly. “Thank you, adoptive father. Thank you, adoptive father.”
“Good son.” Eunuch Li’s tone was affectionate, his face full of fatherly love.
The next day, around the afternoon.
Eunuch Li sent word for Li Youyi to bring tea over.
“Thank you, brother.” Li Youyi pressed a piece of silver into the hand of the runner and dusted off his robe sleeves. He wore the blue tieli of a low-ranking eunuch and a blue silk pingjin cap, with no ornaments to speak of, but his face and neck were clean, and against his round face he was especially endearing.
He carried the tea in steadily.
Eunuch Li took one cup and personally handed it to the emperor, then shot a glance at his adoptive son.
Li Youyi understood and carried tea to Xie Xuanying, who was seated below. “Young Master Xie, please have some tea.”
Xie Xuanying took the teacup, and his gaze swept over him along the way. Suddenly he paused slightly. He glanced at Li Youyi, then at Eunuch Li. Something stirred in his heart, and he suddenly gave a clear “Eh?” in a tone full of surprise.
Sure enough, the emperor asked, “What is it? Is the tea no good?”
“Is this from the day we broke the willow?” Xie Xuanying asked hesitantly.
The emperor looked over accordingly.
Eunuch Li hurriedly said, “Exactly so. This boy serves at Your Majesty’s side and has been touched by your dragon aura. Although he was hit by an arrow in the chest, it did not strike any vital point, and now here he is, lively as can be.”
This flattery landed comfortably, and the emperor immediately laughed. He could not help looking Li Youyi over more carefully, and seeing that he was obedient and endearing, rather liked him. More importantly, being hit by an arrow and not dying – such good fortune made people somewhat superstitious.
“He is a lucky one,” he said in praise.
Xie Xuanying nodded, but a thought flitted through his mind: when eunuchs fell ill, there were few places they could go for treatment. To survive even an arrow wound to the chest did not seem like the skill of the Imperial Pharmacy, yet given this little eunuch’s status, he certainly could not have summoned the Imperial Medical Institute.
Could it be… His gaze flickered slightly, and he asked as if casually, “Was the wound on the right side of the chest?”
Li Youyi said, “Yes, this servant was wounded on the right side of the chest. Auntie Cheng said it was far from the heart and had not touched the liver either, only that there was blood in the lungs.” He said flatteringly, “Thank you for Your Majesty’s protection!”
Several more vigorous kowtows.
The emperor laughed in amusement. “Such a sweet mouth. Bao’er, did he learn that from you?”
Eunuch Li’s full name was Li Bao’er, also an auspicious name. He said with a smile, “This servant does not have this boy’s good fortune.” As he spoke, he glanced at Xie Xuanying out of the corner of his eye.
Xie Xuanying looked back at him.
“He,” Eunuch Li said without even pausing for breath, naturally and smoothly, “has truly met a good person.”
Prompted by his words, the emperor naturally asked, “By the way, who is Auntie Cheng?”
Li Youyi quickly explained, “She is Lady Cheng, a female scribe of the Bureau of Food, on duty at the Inner Hall of Peace and Joy, and quite skilled in medicine. It was she who removed the arrow for this servant, so I did not suffer too much.”
Xie Xuanying asked, “Is it Cheng of the He-Cheng surname?”
“Yes.”
The emperor turned his gaze. “You know her?”
“I know of her,” Xie Xuanying explained plainly. “My teacher’s adopted daughter.”
“From Grand Tutor Yan’s household?” The emperor’s interest was piqued, and he casually ordered, “Since that is so, summon her here. I would like to take a look as well.”
Xie Xuanying waited for half an hour before he saw Cheng Danruo.
She was not deliberately late, nor did she dramatically go to see patients first before accepting the summons. On the contrary, the moment she received the eunuch’s oral order, she immediately sprang into action.
Unless it was a matter of extreme urgency, appearing before the emperor required a sense of ceremony.
Cheng Danruo immediately returned to the Ganxi Office to change into her official robes.
The weather was gradually growing hotter. The official robes were made of gauze, greenish-blue, lighter and brighter in color than those of early spring. Compared with the plain everyday clothes, the more formal official robes had subtle patterns. The pattern could not be seen in the shade, but when sunlight fell on them, there was a hidden sheen.
If it were the ceremonial attire required for ritual occasions, it would be even more splendid: a robe of gauze with squared floral patterns in gold, a gauze cap with flowers pinned to it, a silver-gilt belt with peony clusters, and black boots.
This was still only the rank of an ungraded female scribe, equivalent to a clerical official in the outer bureaucracy.
If she could be promoted to the eighth rank, her ceremonial attire would directly equal that of titled ladies – she could use a xiapei with intertwined branch flowers, silver-gilt earrings, and a beizi with clustered floral patterns. Even though common people outside might already wear such things, that was overstepping, and it was absolutely not permitted within the palace.
“This humble official Cheng Danruo pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor.” Meeting the emperor for the first time, she certainly had to perform the grand rite. Cheng Danruo closed her eyes and slowly kowtowed.
Her knees knelt on the golden bricks so polished they reflected light, cold enough to pierce to the bone.
The emperor did not tell her to rise, but asked, “You are Yan Hongzhi’s adopted daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you from?” The emperor was more amiable than Cheng Danruo had imagined, asking as if making casual conversation. “I remember Grand Tutor Yan’s family is from Zhejiang?”
“My adoptive father’s ancestral home is Haining. I am from Shanxi.”
Only because she answered fluently did the emperor have the interest to chat. “Distant relatives?”
Cheng Danruo said, “I lost her parents young and was fostered in the household of Vice Commissioner Chen of Songjiang Prefecture. By chance I came to know my adoptive father. We are not blood relatives.”
Xie Xuanying secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had truly been afraid that Cheng Danruo would mention the Cold Dew Rebellion.
The emperor nodded, then began asking again, “From whom did you learn your medical skills?”
“My father was a physician. When I was young, I learned some from him, and later I looked for medical books on my own and verified what I learned through free consultations.” Cheng Danruo remained prostrate on the ground the whole time, her tone calm, answering whatever she was asked, neither flattering nor evading and trying to be clever.
The emperor did not press further. Most medical books, after all, were passed down within families.
What concerned him was another matter. “What are you skilled in?”
“I can treat some general internal medicine and arrow wounds. As for other things…” Cheng Danruo hesitated slightly, but still said, “And also the prevention and treatment of epidemic diseases.”
The emperor asked, “You are a woman. Do you not treat women’s illnesses?”
Cheng Danruo said, “I am ashamed to say I am not proficient in that specialty.”
The emperor looked disappointed. It was Eunuch Li who said softly, “Lady Cheng is not yet married, so perhaps…”
“Ah!” The emperor was immediately rendered speechless. He had also been mistaken –was that not so? How could an unmarried woman know about women’s childbirth matters?
So he immediately lost interest. “Never mind.”
After pondering for a moment, considering that she was the adopted daughter of the Yan family, that she answered fluently and neither groveled nor showed arrogance, and had quite a dignified bearing, and that like the Wang family girl she was a daughter of an official family yet willing to enter the palace to serve, he decided to give her some face.
“Promote her one rank.” Then he thought, sparing a life in the palace was always an act of accumulating virtue and doing good. “Reward her with twenty taels of silver.”
“Thank you for Your Majesty’s great grace.”
She kowtowed.
And so, having entered the palace in March as a female official, by the end of May Cheng Danruo had been promoted one rank, to the proper eighth rank. Although it was only the lowest of ranks, it was still official status.
Even if she did not belong to the outer court and could not touch political affairs, since the court recognized her rank and paid her salary, then no matter what, this was a recognized official post.
She had truly crossed the vast gulf between commoner and official, and her status had undergone a qualitative leap.
