Chapter 162

Chapter 162: Look at Your Mother’s Face Before You Speak

The Empress Dowager fell silent.

If she could have her way, she would of course want Prince Xiao Yao to recover completely. But Yu Zhi Yi had told her clearly that it was impossible. Since that was so, she could only hope the prince would live longer.

He could not move right now. If danger came later, he would not even be able to run. If there was a Healing Talisman, it might save his life.

At last she made up her mind and said: “Fine. Send up the third Healing Talisman as soon as you can. I will stop pursuing the rest.”

Yu Zhi Yi did not argue about her arrogance. She simply held out her hand and said: “Cheng Hui, three thousand taels of silver.”

The Empress Dowager stared and said: “You dare ask me for silver?”

Yu Zhi Yi looked puzzled and said: “Even imperial physicians who treat nobles still receive salaries, and all the medicines they use come from the palace. They only provide their skill, along with the risk of being beheaded if they fail a noble. But my Healing Talismans carry a great deal of my own Spiritual Energy. A single thread of Spiritual Energy can match the effect of a whole century-old ginseng root. Your Highness, why would you think my treatment is free?”

The Empress Dowager said nothing.

Fearing his mother might say something too harsh, the emperor hurried to speak first and said: “Hu De Quan, give Official Yu four thousand taels of silver.”

Eunuch Hu answered at once, then pulled four one-thousand-tael silver notes from his robe.

Yu Zhi Yi returned one note and said: “Since this is a consultation fee, there is no reason to raise the price on the spot.”

The emperor smiled in praise and said: “Minister Yu, you truly are a master who has attained the Way. Your character is pure and kind.”

Yu Zhi Yi blinked and thought: [Me? Pure and kind? Your Majesty, maybe look at your mother’s face before you talk.]

Of course she would not smear herself for no reason. She promised that once she returned, she would draw the third Healing Talisman, then she cupped her fists and withdrew from the hall.

The emperor knew she still had a major task to handle, so before the Empress Dowager could open her mouth to stop her, he let her go.

The Empress Dowager, however, was not pleased and said: “You know your brother needs that third Healing Talisman. Why did you not have her draw it right away?”

The emperor said: “Empress Mother, the more wondrous a Talisman is, the harder it is to draw. It may fail once or twice, and who knows how long it could take. Minister Yu is leaving the palace on urgent business that concerns many lives. We must not delay her.”

The Empress Dowager frowned. She did not agree, but she said no more. In her heart, those commoners’ lives could never compare with her precious son. Yet her son loved the people like his own children, and she did not want to prick his brow.

Suddenly, a palace attendant at the door announced: “Your Majesty, Your Highness the Empress Dowager, Aunt Su of the Crystal Palace begs an audience.”

After Yu Zhi Yi left the hall, she hesitated for a breath, then quickened her pace toward a certain direction.

Right after she departed, a palace attendant from the Crystal Palace arrived at Jade Splendor Palace. Jade Splendor Palace was where Prince Xiao Yao was recovering, not far from Longevity and Health Palace.

Worried she would be stopped again, Yu Zhi Yi left the palace as fast as possible, urged her horse down empty lanes, and escaped Capital City before the palace could send someone to block her. She then rode a hundred li without rest.

She disliked treating both Prince Xiao Yao and Consort Yu. She had accepted the prince’s treatment only because his wounds had gone beyond what she expected. What she wanted was simply to return him to the state he was in before her last treatment, so he would be paralyzed again and no longer able to jump out in front of her.

This was a balance approved by the Way of Heaven. Otherwise, if Prince Xiao Yao died from these injuries or suffered a serious outcome, the Way of Heaven would judge that she had harmed him on purpose. She might be able to bear the karmic backlash, but she refused to do so for someone not worth it.

As for Consort Yu, she wanted that even less.

In the Crystal Palace, when Consort Yu learned that Yu Zhi Yi had left Capital City overnight, she smashed every piece of porcelain in the hall and said: “Wretch! Wretch! Wretch! She did it on purpose!”

Aunt Su hurried to comfort her and said: “Your Highness, please calm down. Do not grow angry. It is bad for the child.”

Consort Yu said with disgust: “Just a money-losing girl. Why should I, the consort, care if she is well or not?”

A famed women’s doctor had already told her this pregnancy would surely be a boy. But after a sudden bout of stomach pain yesterday, the same expert returned, rechecked, and admitted he had been wrong: this child was a girl. While taking her pulse, his face changed before he even finished speaking, and he said: “How can this be?” His face turned deathly pale.

Consort Yu sensed trouble. Under her questioning, he revealed the child showed not only signs of a girl, but also signs of a boy. In common words, both male and female. To her, that was a freak.

This matched the news she received that morning: Yu Zhi Yi was still alive, yet the eunuch she sent to find that Daoist master had died a terrible death. She understood at once. The Daoist failed to hurt Yu Zhi Yi and was punished instead. Unable to touch Yu Zhi Yi, he took revenge on her.

She did not dare imagine what life would be like if she gave birth to a child like that. So she sent people to invite Yu Zhi Yi. She had sent them at dawn, but the palace attendant reported that Yu Zhi Yi had already left the Chancellor’s Manor early that morning. She lost hope, then the news turned and someone said Yu Zhi Yi had entered the palace. She sent another group to block her, but they were still late.

Just then, her belly thumped twice, as if warning of bad luck. Panic seized her heart.

Yu Zhi Yi could not be bothered to guess Consort Yu’s mood. She spurred her horse hard, and along the way she used Spiritual Energy to warm and protect the animal’s body, so even an ordinary horse, not a Blood-Sweating Horse, ran several hundred li in one day without tiring.

Before dark, she reached the small town nearest Cao South Village. The town lay only a little over ten li from the village.

Standing in the town, Yu Zhi Yi looked up toward the southwest sky, her face grave. The evil aura surged straight into the heavens.

You Bing Yue’s group should also have set out this morning. She could only hope Ou Yang Shuo had no treasure that could speed them up and that they had not yet entered the village. Otherwise, if he was wounded, the fiend inside would smell blood mixed with Spiritual Energy and grow stronger than she dared imagine. Even for her, it would be hard to handle.

Sadly, Heaven did not heed Yu Zhi Yi’s wish. Or perhaps she had prayed too late. If the Empress Dowager had not summoned her this morning, she would have reached Cao South Village before You Bing Yue’s group. But the summons cost her nearly an hour, and now You Bing Yue, Ou Yang Shuo, Li Chang Huai, Liu Fei Yang, and Du Zi Heng were already standing at the village gate.