Chapter 57: Genuine Cowardice or Feigned Weakness?

By the time the evening palace banquet commenced, the events of the day had already spread throughout the court. Emperor Jing merely made a brief appearance at the banquet, took a single sip of wine, and abruptly left the attending officials behind to return to his inner chambers.

The ministers exchanged bewildered glances. While losing an opportunity to flatter the emperor was somewhat regrettable, there would be no shortage of chances in the court henceforth.

However, the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices were left wishing they could cry without tears.

For this Duanwu palace banquet, the ritual officers of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had thoroughly scoured the imperial music bureau for the most outstanding musicians and dancers, drilling them day and night. They had meticulously rehearsed several impressive song-and-dance performances, intending to present them to Emperor Jing for his appreciation today.

And now? Emperor Jing had retreated to the inner palace to bestow his favor upon a newly risen favorite.

All their painstaking efforts over the past half-year had gone completely to waste.

If they wanted another such opportunity, they would have to wait until the Mid-Autumn palace banquet.

By then, the carefully groomed beauties they had prepared would be like yesterday's withered flowers.

It was easy to find a pretty face, but finding someone who possessed both a pretty face and an interesting soul was a rarity.

An hour after taking the antidote pill, Li Xubai regained consciousness.

Upon waking, he was astonished to find both Emperor Jing and Dowager Empress Wen present. Overwhelmed by this unexpected honor, he struggled to sit up, instantly triggering a sharp, agonizing pain across his back.

"Ouch!" Li Xubai let out a miserable shriek, his body trembling uncontrollably as cold sweat coursed down his pale face.

"Lord Li, do not move! Absolutely do not move! Stay still!" Wang Rukai, the head physician of the Imperial Medical Institute, was frightened out of his wits. With a sudden flinch of his hand, he inadvertently shoved the exposed shaft of the cold arrow a little deeper into Li Xubai's back.

Li Xubai shrieked in agony again.

Zhao Yizhen clenched his fists and rebuked him by his full name, demanding, "Wang Rukai, what on earth are you doing?!"

Terrified beyond measure, Wang Rukai trembled so violently that he could barely keep his grip on the arrow.

Good heavens, he felt as though he could already see his ancestors waving to him from the netherworld!

"Your Majesty!" Seeing that Zhao Yizhen was utterly losing his composure, Dowager Empress Wen raised her voice and said, "Grand Imperial Physician Wang possesses consummate medical skills, and Erlang is in the prime of his youth—how could anything happen to him? What are you panicking about?"

Zhao Yizhen immediately fell silent.

Wang Rukai also managed to steady his mind and whispered to Li Xubai, "Lord Li, relax. Please do not move. This old official will first shorten the arrow shaft. It will be very quick, so please remain absolutely still."

Whimpering in pain, Li Xubai managed to turn his head slightly for a glance. Seeing such a long arrow protruding from his back, his eyebrows twitched. "Why cut it shorter instead of pulling it out?"

Wang Rukai stammered, "Well... this arrow is poisoned. This old official has yet to concoct the antidote; pulling it out rashly would cause massive blood loss and trigger the poison, endangering Lord Li's life."

"There is... poison?" Li Xubai felt completely rigid and numb all over.

This heaven-sent fortune was something he had the命 (destiny) to receive, but perhaps not the life to enjoy.

"Lord Li need not panic. As long as the antidote is successfully concocted, your life will not be in danger," Wang Rukai reassured him.

"And what if... it cannot be concocted?" Li Xubai turned his head to ask.

"If it cannot be concocted," Dowager Empress Wen, who could not bear Li Xubai's cowering and spineless demeanor, said coldly, "If it cannot be concocted, this old lady will bestow upon you, Erlang, a top-quality coffin—the kind reserved for a prince!"

"..." Li Xubai was left speechless, clamping his mouth shut in fright.

Wang Rukai chuckled softly. Holding the long shaft in one hand and a pair of sharp shears in the other, he pressed them close to the arrow and snipped swiftly.

With a crisp *snip*, the long arrow was severed into two pieces.

"Ah! Ahhh!" Li Xubai screamed miserably.

Wang Rukai looked bewildered. "Lord Li, what are you yelling for? It doesn't even hurt."

Li Xubai gave an awkward cough and offered a sheepish smile.

Dowager Empress Wen turned her head away with a look of utter disgust, gazing at Zhao Yizhen with an expression that clearly conveyed: *Look at the person you went to such great lengths to bring back—he is simply a disgrace to the imperial lineage.*

Zhao Yizhen, on the other hand, remained entirely calm, though profound admiration stirred within his heart.

This man was becoming more and more interesting by the day.

Li Xubai took another dose of the antidote. Wang Rukai checked his pulse; although the poison had not yet been neutralized, the pulse was relatively stable, and the black blood around the wound on his back showed no signs of spreading. His life was not in immediate danger for the moment. He collected a sample of the dark blood from the wound to carefully analyze the toxins.

"Second Brother! Second Brother, how are you feeling?" Seeing Li Xubai in such a state, Li Xuzhang and Li Yunnuan were consumed with worry.

Drawing a weak, breathy sigh, Li Xubai said, "Sanlang, Yunnuan... If Second Brother fails to... fails to pull through this time, you two must take good care of yourselves, and be sure to dutifully look after... your eldest sister-in-law."

With that, he cast a teasing glance toward Song Shiyu.

"Second Brother!"

Ignorant of the truth and hearing what sounded very much like final dying words, Li Xuzhang and Li Yunnuan immediately burst into loud, tearful lamentations.

Song Shiyu sat composedly and remarked indifferently, "Alright, stop the act. There's no one else here—be careful not to overdo it and actually die from the poison!"

Li Xubai chuckled mischievously.

Understanding dawned upon Li Yunnuan, who huffily turned away and sniffled, "Second Brother, you scared me to death!"

Li Xuzhang was equally annoyed. "Second Brother, Yunnuan cried her eyes out several times!"

"Alright, alright. Look at me—aren't I fine? Full of life and vigor!" Li Xubai reached out to wipe the tears from Li Yunnuan's face, a warm glow filling his heart. "I was just teasing you both. It's alright. Once Second Brother recovers, I'll take you out to watch plays and feast."

Song Shiyu snorted. "Watching plays and feasting? That sounds more like what is arranged during a funeral."

Li Xubai: "..."

Seeing that Li Xuzhang and Li Yunnuan were repeatedly yawning, their faces streaked with tears from sheer exhaustion, yet still stubbornly insisting on staying by his side, Li Xubai was overcome with a tangle of emotions. He stroked Li Yunnuan's cheek and said, "It's late. The two of you go to the side hall to sleep; don't wear yourselves out sitting here with Second Brother."

"No, we aren't sleepy. We want to stay with Second Brother and wait until the poison is cured," Li Xuzhang and Li Yunnuan declared in unison.

"..." Li Xubai gave a look of disdain. "The problem is that you aren't sleepy, but I am! I need to sleep!"

Li Xuzhang and Li Yunnuan exchanged glances.

Suppressing a smile, Song Shiyu said, "Go on. Eldest Sister-in-law is staying right here, what else do you have to worry about?"

Helplessly, Li Xuzhang and Li Yunnuan nodded and departed with palpable reluctance.

The hall instantly grew quiet, broken only by the monotonous, repetitive dripping of the clepsydra. The candle flame was enclosed within a plain white gauze lampshade, casting a hazy, amber glow that spilled onto the snowy white walls, stretching awkward shadows.

Song Shiyu gave a slight cough, breaking the silence first. "Did you discover something today? Why on earth would you block an arrow for Dowager Empress Yang?"

Composure returning, Li Xubai shook his head, glanced toward the half-open doors of the hall, and remained silent.

Understanding his intent, Song Shiyu rose and walked over, pushing the doors wide open.

Li Xubai raised an eyebrow, his deep, unfathomable gaze lingering on her face for a moment.

This only deepened his curiosity regarding Song Shiyu's origins from her past life.

Ordinary people guarded against eavesdropping by keeping doors and windows tightly shut, oblivious to the fact that doing so only made it easier to overlook listeners lurking outside.

Conversely, with doors and windows flung wide open like this, no amount of underhanded scheming outside could remain entirely concealed.

"What is it? What are you looking at?" Irritated by his gaze, Song Shiyu frowned and snapped angrily.

Only then did Li Xubai let out a low chuckle. "I didn't block the arrow for Dowager Empress Yang—I blocked it for His Majesty!"