No Cure

Jiang Danhe also sat up. “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

“Aiya, tell me first.”

Xiaoguo tried to coax him as she gave him a nudge.

Jiang Danhe smiled and reached out to hug her. He was hoping to continue teasing her.

However, the other party pushed him away shyly and pinched him in embarrassment. “Tell me quickly!”

Jiang Danhe did not want her to get mad, so he quickly said, “Magistrate Zhao of Yangzhou. You must be referring to the previous magistrate of Yangzhou. The current magistrate’s surname is Zhang.”

“The previous one?”

Xiaoguo was a little puzzled. When did he become the previous magistrate? Was he laid off or did he pass away?

“His household was confiscated quite some time ago. It must have been more than ten years since it happened.”

Xiaoguo did some calculations. Was it the same period when Zhao Yuyan’s husband’s house got confiscated? Did it happen at the same time? What crime had Zhao Yuyan’s husband committed to receive such a severe punishment?

Seeing how curious Xiaoguo looked, Jiang Danhe told her everything he knew.

“The Magistrate Zhao of Yangzhou was a famous benevolent person at that time. He was upright, honest and charitable. He had only one daughter and she married the only child of Magistrate Sun’s family in Liuzhou. For the first ten years, they enjoyed a good relationship. However, for some reason, the young master of the Sun family somehow fell into some bad habits. He ate, drank, whored, and gambled. Later on, he was exploited by some people and that got his entire family implicated. Even the Magistrate Zhao of Yangzhou was dragged into it. No one was spared. All the men were killed or crippled, while the young and beautiful women were sold. Those who were elderly were taken into custody or exiled.”

Jiang Danhe sighed as he spoke. Although he had never seen Magistrate Zhao in person, he had heard that there were no corrupt officials under his jurisdiction. Under his leadership, the people were living a good life and everyone was happy.

Moreover, on the day when Magistrate Zhao and his family were beheaded, the commoners under his jurisdiction knelt on the ground to send them off. They followed them all the way to the Beheading Platform at the entrance of the market.

At that time, the emperor had ordered that the Zhao family be denied a proper burial. However, the commoners still pulled out their bloody corpses under the eyes of the officials, who chose to turn a blind eye to what they were doing. Only then did the Zhao family get a proper burial.

Xiaoguo listened quietly and sighed. What an injustice! The magistrate who was honest and upright all his life had ended up like this just because his son-in-law had implicated him.

“What exactly is the crime?”

Jiang Danhe said softly, “Usurping the throne.”

Xiaoguo gasped. “How bold of him!”

“He was bewitched by someone. In actual fact, he was an honest and responsible person. But at that time, he was bewitched by the emperor’s brother. He didn’t realize it at first. By the time he did, it was the end of the road for him.”

Jiang Danhe’s eyes flickered. He had failed to mention something—it was all thanks to the previous emperor who killed an official without finding out the truth. He had angered many elders and ministers in the imperial court and he made them realize a fact. The emperor that they were serving faithfully was after all an outsider. He killed the people of Shao Nation as he wished. This matter greatly disappointed the ministers of the country, which was why Shao Zhan was able to take advantage of the situation.

Xiaoguo couldn’t help but click her tongue. So that was the story. How tragic. A single mistake had implicated two families.

“Why are you suddenly asking about Magistrate Zhao?”

Seeing that Xiaoguo was not going to continue asking, Jiang Danhe asked her instead.

“…” Xiaoguo couldn’t make up her mind. She had wanted to find out if Zhao Yuyan was telling the truth, but she didn’t expect the truth to be so sad. In that case, Zhao Yuyan must have entrusted her only family to an outsider as a last resort. If there was another member who was still alive in her family, she probably wouldn’t have thought of this plan.

Unable to make up her mind, Xiaoguo told Jiang Danhe everything. She still had a sense of dependence on Jiang Danhe. As long as he was around, she would subconsciously rely on him.

When Jiang Danhe heard this, his long silence told Xiaoguo the answer—this matter was quite tricky.

Xiaoguo lay back on the bed in frustration. Seeing her like this, Jiang Danhe felt very helpless. He gently patted her arm and said, “Rest early.”

The next day, Jiang Danhe left right after breakfast. Zhuang Zhuang and Xiaoyi insisted that Xiaoguo bring them to the pavilion to study, but she turned down their request.

“Why…”

“Be good. I have some matters to attend to. Go find Uncle Shouji and let him bring you there.”

“Uncle Shouji and Father have gone out. They’re not around.”

“Then stay in the house.”

“Ah…”

Zhuang Zhuang and Xiaoyi’s disappointed expressions did not move Xiaoguo. She could only shrug her shoulders and express her helplessness. After which, she brought out a pot of fruit tea.

After leaving the house, Xiaoguo found a familiar guard and asked him to help find Zhao Yuyan. She instructed him to bring Zhao Yuyan to her place once he found her.

Then, Xiaoguo brought the fruit tea to Mrs. Yang’s residence. This was the first time she had taken the initiative to visit.

Mrs. Yang looked very surprised. She was clearly curious about Xiaoguo’s purpose of visit.

Without any pretense, Xiaoguo exchanged a few pleasantries and told Mrs. Yang the purpose of her visit.

When Mrs. Yang heard this, she looked concerned. “Are you unwell?”

“No, no,” Xiaoguo quickly explained. Then, she thought of something and continued, “There’s nothing wrong. I just need a physician to take my pulse. I know that you have a wide network and many friends, Madam. I was hoping to ask you for a favor, to help borrow a physician from the other ladies.”

“It’s just a small matter. No problem!” The Prime Minister’s wife was very generous. After hearing her words, she was about to get up when she thought of something. She turned around and asked softly, “Are you trying to check for pregnancy?”

Xiaoguo blushed, wondering why her question was so sudden. “No…”

The Prime Minister’s wife looked like she understood. She then pulled Xiaoguo along and walked out laughing.

The General and his wife were so loving. It was not surprising that they were checking for signs of pregnancy.

Xiaoguo followed Mrs. Yang to another lady’s residence in a daze. The lady very generously lent her physician to her. She subconsciously thought that Xiaoguo was pregnant and congratulated her for a long time.

Xiaoguo thanked them profusely, but she couldn’t explain her situation. The truth was, even when she tried to explain herself, they refused to believe her. They kept giving her a look as if they understood everything. Xiaoguo was finding it hard to explain further, so she decided to stop explaining and let them believe what they wanted to.

After that, they shared some parenting experiences with her for about two hours. When they were done, Xiaoguo finally had time to bring the physician back to her residence.

Along the way, Xiaoguo dropped him a few hints. She didn’t say much, but she made him understand that she was not the one who was consulting him. She let him know that he would be taking the pulse of another person.

As soon as she entered, she saw Zhao Yuyan waiting anxiously in the house. There were also some guards standing by the side. When the guards saw Xiaoguo return, they took their leave.

When Zhao Yuyan saw Xiaoguo, her eyes lit up with anticipation. Xiaoguo felt that it was very glaring and subconsciously avoided eye contact. She said to the physician behind her, “Please check on her.”

The physician was a smart person. Other than checking on a patient, everything else had nothing to do with him.

When he reached the table, the physician skillfully took out a small pillow from the medicine box. Xiaoguo quickly gestured for Zhao Yuyan, who was standing still, to sit down.

Zhao Yuyan sat down in confusion and rested her hand on the pillow.

The doctor started taking her pulse. At first, his expression seemed normal, but then it became more and more serious. After a long while, he shook his head regretfully and retracted his finger. He cupped his hands at the anxious Xiaoguo and said, “Madam, this person’s illness is terminal. I have no treatment for her.”

Zhao Yuyan retracted her arm with a calm expression, as if she was indifferent to life and death.

Xiaoguo was a little anxious. She asked, “Is there really no other way?”

The doctor shook his head. “There’s no way to reverse the situation. This illness stems from her heart. In addition, she’s overworked and depressed. It is quite a feat that she has lived with her ailments until now. Her days are numbered. If she rests well and takes care of her body, she might live a little longer. If she continues living a life of exertion and worries, I’m afraid…”

The doctor shook his head and sighed. Then, he cupped his hands and left.