Chapter 440: He Wants to Go
Ye Jingyan was genuinely surprised that Ye Chutang had simply nodded in agreement.
"Are you serious, sister?"
It was such a distant place. With A Feng leaving, heaven knew when they would see him again.
Besides, the border was plagued by constant warfare. The slightest mistake could cost him his life there.
’Is sister really not worried?’
The more Ye Jingyan thought about it, the more worried he became.
"Sister, isn’t it a bit too soon for A Feng to go? In a few more years, he—"
"He wants to go."
Ye Chutang spoke. The words were simple, but they carried immense weight.
Ye Jingyan froze on the spot.
Ye Chutang said with a smile, "Yan, you always think of A Feng as a child, but in reality, he’s only a year younger than you."
The two brothers had grown up together, so the age difference was hardly noticeable.
It was only because Yan’s personality was so calm and reserved that he seemed much more mature.
Ye Jingyan pressed his lips together.
’Since sister had agreed, she must have had her own considerations.’
Ye Chutang naturally knew of his worries. She said gently, "A Feng has to grow up someday. Whether it happens sooner or later, we should embrace it."
Ye Jingyan’s heart trembled.
’That’s right.’
After all they had been through, he was no longer the helpless boy who had stood lost in the snow three years ago. And naturally, A Feng was no longer an ignorant, naive child either.
They had both grown so much.
"Cooping him up in the Imperial College doesn’t make much sense anyway."
Ye Chutang knew A Feng’s temperament well; it was impossible for him to sit still.
Making him memorize texts and write essays would be more torturous for him than death.
But if she let him out into the wide world, he just might be able to accomplish great things!
’When raising a child, you have to tailor the education to their aptitude. That’s the proper way.’
"Besides, he’ll be accompanying Mr. Feng Zhang this time. With an elder like him around, A Feng will be able to learn a great deal."
’Feng Zhang was someone who wouldn’t hesitate to be a harsh teacher.’
Ye Chutang felt completely at ease with A Feng going with him.
Ye Yunfeng sneezed.
He paid it no mind, his thoughts consumed by what his sister had just said—*He wants to go*.
Because he wanted to go, she was letting him go!
"Sister! You’re the best sister in the whole world!"
Ye Chutang shot him a look. Though she didn’t fall for his flattery, she couldn’t help but smile when she saw how his spirits soared and his eyes shone.
"All right, let’s eat first. You and Xiao Wu won’t be able to celebrate your birthdays together this year. Since there’s no time like the present, let’s celebrate yours early today."
Ye Yunfeng readily agreed, scooping up Xiao Wu and hoisting her onto his shoulders.
"Let’s go, Xiao Wu! Come celebrate Fourth Brother’s birthday!"
Xiao Wu giggled, her eyes curving into crescents.
Watching the joyous pair from behind, Ye Jingyan started to follow but stopped and looked back at Ye Chutang.
He hesitated, but still voiced the question on his mind.
"Sister, you... you guessed that A Feng would be leaving, didn’t you?"
’Why else would she have specially ordered a table full of A Feng’s favorite dishes?’
’The moment A Feng said he was going to see the Lord Master, she had already foreseen all of this.’
Ye Chutang smiled.
"He’s never hidden his intentions, has he?"
With so much going on before, A Feng had never formally brought it up, so she had let it lie.
But now—
Ye Jingyan fell silent.
’In truth, he understood perfectly well. A Feng had only been able to make up his mind this time because he had been provoked by Xiao Chengxuan.’
Ye Chutang lifted her chin. "Help him pack his things tomorrow. And make sure to pack all those newly prepared medicines for him."
’Bumps and scrapes are inevitable when one is away from home, and especially since A Feng is heading to a battlefield. It’s always good to have extra medicine on hand.’
Ye Jingyan sighed softly to himself.
’As I thought.’
’Sister had already thought of even that.’
’She was allowing A Feng to fly free and forge his own path, yet she was still providing him with all the care and protection she could possibly give.’
He nodded.
"Alright."
...
The thick, bitter aroma of a medicinal decoction filled the air. White steam rose from the bubbling medicine pot with a low GURGLE.
Xiao Chengqi frowned. "This smell is overpowering."
Without even looking up, Zhao Xuanping, who was personally brewing the medicine, replied, "This is the antidote the Imperial Guard went to great lengths to retrieve from Guanling. Your Highness can’t afford to be picky."
"I’m not being picky," Xiao Chengqi said, touching his bandaged shoulder, which still ached faintly. "After all, I want to get better as soon as possible, don’t I?"
It wasn’t that he couldn’t endure hardship; he was just making a comment.
Zhao Xuanping fanned the flames before lifting the pot’s lid to check on the contents.
"Poisonous blood from a Five Plum Mountain Snake was added to the mixture, so the rank smell is normal. As long as it can purge the residual poison from your body, nothing else matters."
The ingredients had just been delivered to the palace by the fastest possible courier that day, and Zhao Xuanping had been summoned immediately.
His Majesty was extremely concerned about Prince Lie’s condition. He hadn’t allowed anyone else to handle the antidote, entrusting it directly to him.
They had originally intended to find Chu Qiyuan, but he had left the capital a while ago, so the task fell to Zhao Xuanping.
Naturally, Zhao Xuanping did not dare to be negligent.
With Prince Qi’s fall, there was no one left to contend with Prince Lie.
Of course, that was all contingent on his full recovery.
Zhao Xuanping felt the immense weight of this responsibility and dared not make the slightest error. He even insisted on brewing the medicine himself, overseeing the entire process from start to finish.
Xiao Chengqi couldn’t help but smile at his cautious demeanor.
"The antidote is already brewing. What are you so nervous for?"
Zhao Xuanping’s expression remained grave.
"Your Highness, although we now have the antidote, the poison has been in your system for too long. Completely purging it will still require considerable effort. We cannot be careless."
Hearing this, the smile on Xiao Chengqi’s face vanished.
"You mean to say..."
Zhao Xuanping stroked his beard and sighed.
"I am not entirely certain of the outcome."
He had already taken Xiao Chengqi’s pulse earlier.
"Although Second Miss Ye bought you a month, this prescription was only just developed by the Imperial Hospital. No one can be certain just how effective it will be."
They had never before encountered such a potent poison from the Nanhu region, and could only work from Ye Chutang’s principle of "fighting poison with poison."
In fact, if Ye Chutang’s first prescription hadn’t genuinely improved Xiao Chengqi’s condition, they wouldn’t have dared to use such a drastic method even if their lives depended on it.
After all, if something were to happen to Xiao Chengqi, who could take responsibility?
Not even all the heads in the Imperial Hospital combined would be enough to atone for it!
Xiao Chengqi understood what he meant.
He pondered for a moment before asking, "This prescription... have you shown it to Second Miss Ye?"
A look of embarrassment crossed Zhao Xuanping’s aged face.
’How could they possibly have the nerve to do that?’
’If word got out, people would say the entire Imperial Hospital was full of incompetent freeloaders!’
’Besides, Ye Chutang had been very busy lately; none of them felt it was right to go and disturb her.’
"We have not."
Xiao Chengqi simply said, "Oh." His expression remained unchanged, as if it had just been a casual question.
When the time was right, Zhao Xuanping lifted the medicine pot and poured the finished decoction into a bowl.
The dark brown liquid sloshed in the bowl, faintly reflecting Xiao Chengqi’s pensive face.
"You can just leave it there. I’ll drink it later," he said.