On the third day after Xia Lanshi regained consciousness, he was finally allowed to get out of bed and walk around. He was beginning to think he had become a cripple.
Of course, he was only allowed to walk around.
Xiao Yuan and the military physician unanimously believed that in his current condition, he would need at least another ten days to half a month before he could resume handling official affairs.
Xia Lanshi had quite a few complaints about this, but unfortunately, no one paid him any attention.
When the morning light filtered through the tent curtains, he was sitting beside the desk wearing a thick cloak, holding a scroll of testimony in his hand.
It contained the new information Zhao Ling had confessed the previous night.
The testimony was densely filled with names, locations, and transaction records. It looked complicated, but in reality, there was not much truly useful information.
The Eastern Palace had always operated this way.
The people below knew what they were supposed to do, but did not know why they were doing it.
When something finally went wrong, even if they were captured, they could not reveal much of value.
Xia Lanshi read for a while before suddenly realizing that he had been staring at the same page for a long time.
Because his thoughts were not on the testimony at all.
They were on another person.
Xiao.
The name circled around in his heart and lingered there, refusing to leave.
In the end, Xia Lanshi slightly furrowed his brows and sighed as he put down the testimony.
These past few days, he had actually been thinking about that person constantly.
At first, it was because of what Chi Banyue had said.
But after calming down, he discovered that what truly concerned him was not Chi Banyue’s speculation, but Xiao himself.
He had always been good at observing people and at piecing together the truth from the smallest details.
So when he carefully recalled what had happened that day, he always felt that there were some things that did not make sense.
Why would a complete stranger be willing to save him?
Although Xiao Yuan had not said it explicitly, Xia Lanshi could tell that Xiao was not free to come and go. Traveling between the two worlds carried risks, so seeing him again would not be easy.
And then there was that final sentence before Xiao left.
—Treasure the life you worked so hard to get back.
At the time, Xia Lanshi had thought it was merely a casual admonition.
But now that he thought about it again, he always felt that there was something else hidden within those words.
It was as though someone had finally seen, after many years had passed, that something they had always worried about had not happened.
Xia Lanshi lowered his long white lashes.
Ridiculous.
It was truly too ridiculous.
He had actually begun seriously considering Chi Banyue’s wild speculation.
Although he could simply follow Chi Banyue’s suggestion and ask Su Muchen to confirm whether Xiao had a flower-shaped birthmark on his back, thereby discovering whether he was truly the benefactor who had saved his life all those years ago.
Yet when reality was actually placed before him, he became cowardly…
What he feared was having his hopes dashed once again.
What he feared even more was that Xiao actually did not care much about him at all, and everything was merely wishful thinking on his part…
Otherwise, why would Xiao not tell him the truth and acknowledge him?
Just then, the tent curtain was lifted.
Xiao Yuan walked in.
Xia Lanshi immediately gathered his thoughts.
“Your Highness.”
Xiao Yuan glanced at the testimony on the table.
“How is it?”
Xia Lanshi said, “Zhao Ling doesn’t know much, but I don’t think he was lying.”
Xiao Yuan nodded.
This was consistent with his own judgment.
He sat beside the table and placed another dossier in front of Xia Lanshi.
“News sent from the capital.”
Xia Lanshi took it.
A moment later, his expression became slightly solemn.
The Eastern Palace had been unusually quiet recently.
Zhou Jin was dead.
The situation in Linzhou had also been broken.
By all rights, the Crown Prince should not have remained completely inactive.
Yet it was precisely because he was too quiet that it made people uneasy.
Xiao Yuan said indifferently, “The quieter he is, the more it means he is investigating.”
Xia Lanshi looked up.
“Investigating who ruined his plans.”
Xiao Yuan’s gaze fell into the distance.
There was a moment of silence inside the tent.
Both of them understood that the Crown Prince would not believe that everything had suddenly gone smoothly for Prince Su.
Nor would he believe that those epidemic-prevention methods had appeared out of nowhere.
Therefore, he would certainly investigate thoroughly and search for the person hiding behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, Xia Lanshi spoke.
“Only a very small number of people know about Doctor Su, among those who know him and can be trusted. The matter of Your Highness being able to open the door to another world is also known only to a very small number of people.”
They had known from the beginning that these matters could not be allowed to become public knowledge, but ultimately, it was impossible to guard against everything.
If the Crown Prince truly investigated deeply, he might uncover some clues.
Xiao Yuan’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Fortunately, even if they discover the existence of ‘Doctor Su,’ they won’t be able to learn much more.”
He secretly felt fortunate that Su Muchen was in another world, somewhere beyond Xiao Sheng’s reach.
“We must be even more careful from now on.”
In the end, the two reached this agreement.
“Your Highness.”
“?”
Xia Lanshi pondered for a moment.
“What kind of person do you think Xiao is?”
Xiao Yuan’s hand paused while he was flipping through the official documents.
He raised his eyes toward Xia Lanshi.
His gaze was calm, yet for some reason, it made Xia Lanshi feel as though he had been seen through.
After a long moment, Xiao Yuan finally said, “What else did Chi Banyue tell you?”
Xiao Yuan felt a headache coming on because of her behavior.
Although Xiao had saved Xia Lanshi, he was still someone they needed to be wary of. That man was hiding too many secrets and was not suitable for Xia Lanshi.
Moreover, the two of them were separated by different worlds.
Xia Lanshi coughed lightly.
“We were just chatting.”
Xiao Yuan sneered.
“If she was merely chatting, the sun could rise from the west.”
For once, Xia Lanshi was rendered speechless.
Xiao Yuan did not continue questioning him.
After remaining silent for a moment, he merely said, “He’s not a particularly bad person, but neither is he a simple one.”
Xia Lanshi froze.
This evaluation was truly contradictory. Xiao Yuan rarely described anyone this way.
After hesitating for a moment, Xia Lanshi took out a letter.
“Please deliver this letter to Young Master Xiao on my behalf. I heard that he does not lack gold or silver and has nothing he wants, so I can only use this letter to express my gratitude.”
Xiao Yuan accepted the letter.
“I’ll give it to him the next time I go over.”
Although he did not want Xia Lanshi to have too much involvement with Xiao, the proper courtesy still had to be observed.
◆◇◆◇◆
Inside Returning Dust Pavilion, Su Muchen was staring blankly at the ancient text.
The second translation was spread across the table.
Xiao Yuan had brought it over the previous night.
Compared with the clear and straightforward contents of the first section, the second section was much more obscure.
It did not even seem like a record.
It was more like some kind of warning.
Su Muchen stared at one sentence for a long time.
—The door chooses its master.
Only four short characters.
Yet they made him deeply uncomfortable.
What did it mean for the door to choose its master?
Wasn’t a door an inanimate object?
How could an inanimate object choose a person?
He picked up his pen and drew several arrows beside it.
The more he drew, the more confused it became.
In the end, he simply threw down the pen.
“I don’t understand it.”
Ding-ling—!
The bronze bell beside the door rang softly.
Xiao had just pushed the door open.
Seeing him return, Su Muchen casually picked up a letter from the side and waved it in the air.
“You have a letter.”
Xiao’s footsteps paused, a trace of confusion flashing through his eyes.
A letter?
He did not remember having any friends who would write letters to him.
When he saw the style of the envelope clearly, he understood.
The envelope was made from Dasheng’s xuan paper, with faint cloud patterns pressed into its corners.
It was clearly not something from the modern world.
“From that side?”
Su Muchen nodded.
Xiao reached out and accepted it.
When his fingertips touched the envelope, his movements unconsciously became gentler.
The moment he opened the letter, an extremely faint fragrance of ink and paper slowly spread through the air, mixed with an almost imperceptible scent of plum blossoms.
Like a branch of winter plum broken off after a snowfall.
Very faint.
Yet impossible to ignore.
Xiao lowered his eyes.
The handwriting on the letter was neat and elegant, every stroke carrying the refined air of a scholar.
It was Xia Lanshi’s handwriting.
There were no elaborate words in the letter.
He had simply and solemnly written down his gratitude for saving his life.
From Su Muchen’s efforts in treating him to Xiao’s kindness in rushing about to deliver medicine, every word was filled with utmost sincerity.
At the end, he specifically explained that because he was stationed with the military, he could not prepare a generous gift and could only personally write this letter to express his gratitude.
Xiao had thought he would not care.
After all, over all these years, he had done countless things and saved many people. He had never expected anything in return.
Yet when he truly saw this letter, a long-lost warmth still surfaced in his chest.
Like a branch buried beneath deep snow for many years finally receiving a ray of spring sunlight, melting the ice and snow.
He lowered his head and looked at the letter.
The corners of his lips unconsciously lifted slightly.
It was an extremely faint smile.
Even he himself did not notice it.
Su Muchen was calculating the accounts with his head lowered.
He inadvertently looked up and immediately froze.
“In such a good mood?”
Xiao came back to himself and calmly put away the letter.
“It’s all right.”
Su Muchen raised an eyebrow.
After knowing him for so long, this was the first time he had seen Xiao show such an expression.
There was also a bookmark tucked inside the letter.
Xiao gently pulled it out.
It was a pressed-flower bookmark.
Two plum blossoms had been carefully pressed inside, their petals intact and their colors elegant.
In the corner, two lines of poetry had been written in small regular script.
The ink was warm and lustrous, the handwriting elegant.
“When the snow is gone, the cold branch still bears the moon,
When the plum blossoms open, one petal thanks the spring breeze.”
Xiao stared at those two lines for a long time without speaking.
After a while, he gently brushed his fingertip over the plum blossom.
The coldness in his eyes had faded somewhat without him realizing it.
It was as though those years known to no one, those past events buried beneath wind and snow, had finally been gently remembered by someone.
And that response he had never once dared hope for—
At this moment, it quietly rested in his palm.
Xiao turned his head and saw Su Muchen still struggling with the translation Xiao Yuan had brought over.
Seeing his furrowed brows, he found it amusing.
After all, Xiao Yuan was also an ancient person. Some of his wording was not necessarily understandable to Su Muchen.
“It’s normal that you don’t understand it.”
Su Muchen raised his head and narrowed his eyes.
“You know?”
Xiao laughed.
“I know a little.”
“Then tell me.”
“Can’t.”
Su Muchen took a deep breath.
He knew it.
This person was always like this.
He clearly knew so much, yet deliberately refused to tell him anything.
He was obviously doing it just to annoy him.
After remaining silent for a moment, Xiao suddenly said,
“Muchen.”
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever wondered why it is you?”
Su Muchen froze.
Xiao looked toward the door, his expression unusually calm.
Su Muchen was stunned.
He had truly never seriously considered this question before.
Perhaps he was simply too accustomed to accepting whatever came his way.
Because the door truly existed, he accepted it.
Because Xiao Yuan could come through it, he became accustomed to it.
But if he took one step further—
Why him?
Why Xiao Yuan?
Was it truly just a coincidence?
He thought about it until his head hurt that day, yet still could not figure out any answer.
◆◇◆◇◆
The Eastern Palace in the capital.
Candlelight flickered in the darkness.
A new secret report was delivered to the desk.
After reading it, Xiao Sheng remained silent for a long time.
The people below lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.
After a long while, Xiao Sheng finally put down the letter.
There was not much information in it, but it was enough to attract his attention.
The events in Linzhou.
The epidemic-prevention methods.
The strange supplies.
But what attracted his attention most was a person who was mentioned repeatedly.
—Doctor Su.
Unknown age.
Unknown origins.
Unknown real name.
Even his surname might not be genuine.
Yet this was information that had been painstakingly pried from people’s mouths, like a figure deliberately hidden by someone.
Xiao Sheng lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop.
After a long while, he suddenly laughed.
“Doctor Su… Interesting.”
His voice was very soft.
Yet it made the people below feel a chill down their spines.
Xiao Sheng raised his eyes.
His gaze was deep and unfathomable.
“Investigate. I want to know exactly who this Doctor Su is.”
Outside the window, the night was heavy.
The wind blew in from outside the palace, causing the candle flame to sway slightly.
And another, even greater storm was quietly approaching the two worlds.