Xiuying

After reading the emperor's chart, Xiuying and Jin Hai were sent home to gather their things. They agreed to meet up tomorrow near the imperial palace gates at dawn. She made her way home and wondered how her brother was doing. She's been gone for two days. Her brother must have been terribly worried when he found the letter she left before she went to the palace.

Xiuying felt silly for hiding behind the tall méihuā (Plum blossom) tree in their front garden. Their house looks empty. Her brother Jianyu is nowhere to be seen.

She hesitantly walked inside her room to change her clothes. No one must know what she did for the past two days. Jianyu must be out helping Madam Hsu in her place. She felt bad for leaving her sick brother all alone.

‘Poor Jianyu, he must've had a hard time.’

After changing her clothes, she made some warm soup, dinner, Jianyu's herbal decoction and herbal pills. She carefully arranged them in a small basket and put labels so that Jianyu would know when to take them. She packed some of his old clothes and went to the market.

She knows that Jianyu might see her there but she took the risk. She must visit the clinic and ask Dr. Shen for medical advice. Xiuying reached Dr. Shen's clinic but Dr. Shen wasn't inside.

“Where could he be?” Xiuying looked around. She saw the bed made of straw with clean white sheets covering it and smelled the familiar herbs at one corner.

“Are you looking for someone, Miss?” a male voice asked.

“Yes. Actually, I was looking for—

“Young Miss! It is you! Do you remember me?”

“Yichen?! What are you doing here? Of course, I remember you. How is Baobao?”

“I am so glad that you remember my name. Baobao is now fine. His body is still weak but he is getting better each day. Thanks to you and Dr. Shen. I came here because I am so grateful for what you did for my younger brother. I'm trying to repay the kindness you've shown me. That's why I've been looking after the clinic while Dr. Shen is out getting new herbs from the neighboring province in the south.”

“That is really good to hear.”

“Where have you been, Young Miss? Do you need help with anything?”

“I've been taking care of something lately and I won't be able to look after the clinic for a while. Will you be able to look after it for me while I'm gone?” Xiuying replied. “And yes, I need to borrow some books about medicine.”

“Surely, Young Miss. Here are Dr. Shen's books and some of the notes he left.” Yichen carefully placed the stacked books on a table and Xiuying unwrapped them hurriedly.

She scanned the books one by one. She took out her small brush and small notebook and took some notes. She opened a small booklet she had never seen before. A booklet about rare poisons.

Xiuying tried to remember the things she read in the emperor's chart. She tried her best to remember the initial observation they had of the emperor. She made a mental note on his general appearance, his pulse, breathing, and color based on what she had read and something unusual struck her.

“The emperor's case seems consistent with a case of poisoning. But how is it that none of the royal physicians were not able to notice it? It looks exactly the same with what happened to Baobao.” Xiuying pondered.

“I must step out for a while. There's something I need to check.” Xiuying told Yichen.

“But you just arrived, young miss! Where will you go? Can I help? Please don't hesitate to tell me if you need something. I will gladly get it for you.”

“Actually, there is something I'd like to know about Baobao. Do you live nearby? Can I speak to him?”

“I'm afraid he went near the port with some of his friends to help catch some fish. He will be back by evening. If there's anything you need to know, you can ask me. I'll try my best to be of help.”

“Remember when Baobao was hurt? Can you tell me the details of how it happened?” Xiuying sat at Dr. Shen's chair and she motioned to Yichen to sit in front of her.

“Err. . .sure. When Baobao regained consciousness, I asked him if he could remember what happened,

“He told me he was running around trying to catch the bully who took his friends' money from the fish they sold in the market. He got lost in the woods while trying to catch them. He lost his way and he reached the Forbidden Dungeon near the imperial palace. He saw a man talking to a court lady. He saw the court lady throw something to the ground and when they were gone, he looked closer and saw what it was. They were candied plums and peaches, he thought it was a waste. . .

“He grabbed all of it and ate some along the way. He though why would they throw something delicious? It isn't even spoiled. It was freshly made. He told me he tried not to eat everything because he was saving some for me. Then he felt dizzy but he ignored it. He thought it was just because of hunger from all the running from earlier. Then when he was almost at the port, he felt an arrow graze his side. He tried his best to crawl to the port and that's where people saw him.

“He told me he felt pain but he also felt numb and sleepy.”

“Poor Baobao, what he had gone through.”

“But he told me something strange and I've been thinking about it since.” Yichen frowned.

“What was it?”

“Remember the man who treated Baobao? The huge man with a deep scar on his cheek? Baobao told me about the guy that he saw talking to the court lady. All he remembers is that he saw a huge man with a deep scar on his right cheek. He couldn't even recall how he got to the port with a wounded abdomen and paralyzed limbs. It couldn't be just a coincidence right?” he asked her.

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