Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Huo Zheng Returned

Song Wan’er could not stop crying as she clutched her brother’s hand: “Elder brother, don’t talk… please don’t talk.”

Song An Lan tried to lift his hand to wipe his sister’s tears, but his strength failed after only a little.

Song Wan’er lowered her head and pressed her face into her brother’s palm.

Song An Lan gently brushed away her tears, saying softly: “Wan’er, be good… don’t cry.”

Song Wan’er sniffled and forced herself to hold back her sobs, yet her tears kept falling.

Chun Zhi handed Song Wan’er a handkerchief.

Song Wan’er wiped her face in a hurry, saying: “I’ll be good. I’ll do what elder brother says. I won’t cry… Elder brother, just wait a little longer… hold on two more days, all right? Prince Chang’an may already be on his way back.”

Song An Lan looked at his weeping sister and sighed: “You’re still the same as when you were little…”

He called softly: “Chun Zhi.”

Chun Zhi answered in a hoarse voice: “Elder brother, I’m here.”

Song An Lan’s voice was very weak as he said: “I know you are a good lady. From now on, I entrust Wan’er to you.”

Chun Zhi could not help her own tears: “Elder brother, please don’t worry. I will… I will take good care of Wan’er.”

Song An Lan tried to smile but looked helpless: “And why are you crying too? If you both cry like this… how can elder brother go in peace?”

Song Wan’er blurted out: “I won’t let elder brother go in peace! Sister is about to give birth. Don’t you want to know if the baby will be a boy or a girl? Even if not for me, for the child in sister’s belly, you must hold on a few more days.”

“Foolish Wan’er…”

Song An Lan was truly helpless. It wasn’t that he did not want to live longer; it was that when King Yama calls you at midnight, no one can hold you till dawn.

Chun Zhi wiped her tears with her sleeve, then turned to ask the Shadow Guard left at Song Manor: “Where is Huo Zheng now?”

The Shadow Guard answered in a low voice: “I do not know.”

No one knew where the Revival Blossom grew. Once the prince left to search, there was no news. The Shadow Guards remaining at Song Manor had lost all word of their master.

While the siblings said their heavy farewells, Song Wan’er’s tears seemed endless.

Chun Zhi burned with worry. No matter what Song An Lan said, she agreed to everything, just to settle his heart.

Doctor Zhao and Doctor Liang stood to the side, trying every way to keep Song An Lan’s last breath from slipping away.

At that moment, the steward cried from outside, almost in tears himself: “His Highness has returned!”

“His Highness has returned!” The servants and maids shouted in the courtyards.

Chun Zhi turned toward the door and saw Huo Zheng stride in through the snow, dressed in dark robes, wind and frost clinging to him.

Huo Zheng crossed the threshold, holding a square jade box in both hands. He passed it to Doctor Liang and said: “Look and see if this is the Revival Blossom you were searching for.”

“You found the Revival Blossom?” Doctor Liang opened the cold jade box with trembling hands and called over his colleague: “Old Zhao, come look too.”

Inside lay a fiery red, five-petaled flower. Though it had been picked, it still looked full of life.

Doctor Zhao leaned in with Doctor Liang and stared at the blossom: “The Revival Blossom… this is the Revival Blossom. It’s exactly like the drawing in my ancestor’s medical records!”

The two physicians were so excited they kept murmuring: “Young Master Song can be saved!”

“Elder brother, did you hear?” Song Wan’er gripped Song An Lan’s hand: “They found the Revival Blossom. You can be saved!”

Song An Lan tried to lift himself to look at Huo Zheng, but the effort emptied the last of his strength, and he fell back.

Song Wan’er cried out: “Doctor Liang! Doctor Zhao! Please come see my elder brother!”

Both physicians feared that the Revival Blossom had finally arrived only for Song An Lan to die at this very moment. They rushed over together, one taking his pulse and one testing his breath.

There was still a breath.

They exchanged a glance. One at once began acupuncture to hold his life, while the other ordered the already prepared decoction brought in, adding the Revival Blossom so they could feed the medicine at once.

Chun Zhi and Song Wan’er both stepped back to give the physicians room.

Tear tracks still marked Chun Zhi’s cheeks.

Huo Zheng walked to her side and lifted his hand to wipe the tears at the corner of her eye.

He had come in from wind and snow, and his fingertips were cold.

Chun Zhi flinched and whispered: “Your hand… why is it so cold?”

Huo Zheng drew back his hand into his sleeve and said softly: “Maybe the cold outside.”

The snow had been falling on and off for days. It was truly cold.

But it wasn’t only his hand. His face was pale, and his thin lips had no color at all. The Revival Blossom was extremely hard to find.

Chun Zhi could not help asking: “Where did you find this Revival Blossom?”

Huo Zheng said only: “On an icy mountain, in a cold pool.”

He spoke six short words and did not tell how hard it had been. Just going to such a place could cost a life.

Chun Zhi had a maid bring a hand warmer and offered it to him.

Huo Zheng raised a brow: “For me?”

Chun Zhi hummed in reply.

This man had always been as warm as a small furnace. To find this Revival Blossom, he had brought back a body full of cold.

Huo Zheng took the hand warmer from her and warmed his hands.

His heart felt a little warmer too.

All of Song Wan’er’s attention stayed on her elder brother, so she did not speak to Huo Zheng.

Doctor Liang and Doctor Zhao worked for several hours. One used acupuncture to hold Song An Lan’s last breath; the other brewed the medicine with the Revival Blossom and fed it to him before his breath failed.

By the end, both doctors were covered in sweat.

Only when they finished did Song Wan’er dare to ask: “How is my elder brother?”

Doctor Liang said: “We should have saved his life.”

Doctor Zhao added: “The two of us will guard here tonight and see exactly how the Revival Blossom works.”

Song Wan’er glanced at the jade box. Only two petals of the Revival Blossom had been used. She asked: “Isn’t the Revival Blossom five-petaled? Why use only two? Why not give all of it to my elder brother?”

The physicians hurried to explain that such a rare medicine was powerful. One petal alone could save a life. They had used two to be safe.

If they used all five petals, it would backfire.

“Oh.” Song Wan’er nodded, half understanding. In any case, as long as her elder brother could be saved, it was enough.

The doctors stayed right by Song An Lan, listening to his breathing grow much stronger than before. They exclaimed: “The Revival Blossom truly is a miracle drug!”

They turned to ask Huo Zheng where he had found it. They hoped to search for more.

If they could grow a medicine that saves lives, who knew how many people could be helped.

Huo Zheng answered: “An icy mountain and a cold pool.”

Doctor Liang and Doctor Zhao both drew in a sharp breath. They said: “In a place like that, one might have the life to go but not the life to return…”

Even a miracle should not be traded for a life.

As the two physicians spoke, Chun Zhi listened with all her attention. Beside her, Huo Zheng suddenly swayed and fell forward.