Story of Yanxi Palace, Chapter 37: Giving Medicine

Fucha Fuheng turned his face away, presenting only one flushed red ear toward her. He stood three steps away from Wei Yingluo — a distance from which he could flee at any moment.

“Take it,” he said.

Wei Yingluo hesitated for a moment, then reached out and accepted the medicine bottle from his hand.

Fucha Fuheng seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Turning his body slightly, he said, “This medicine is very effective for external injuries. Apply it once in the morning and once at night.”

Compared to the pain on her body, Wei Yingluo cared more about his current attitude. She cautiously studied him. “Young Master, why are you avoiding me?”

“…” The question seemed to leave Fucha Fuheng somewhat embarrassed. After a long pause, he gave a cough and said, “A man should not look directly at a woman’s body. You… you should pull your sleeve down.”

Only then did Wei Yingluo remember that earlier, in order to inspect her own injury, she had rolled one sleeve all the way up to her shoulder, leaving her entire arm exposed in front of him—snow-white like a freshly cut lotus root growing in clear green water.

She slowly lowered her sleeve and said softly, “All right, you can turn around now.”

Only then did Fucha Fuheng turn back. He was truly rather thin-skinned; he had only seen a woman’s arm, yet his face had flushed red. He looked both awkward and pure, yet completely unaware of it himself. Maintaining his usual stern and untouchable demeanor, he asked her:

“Why did you set fire to the bed curtains today? Do you realize that if things had gone slightly wrong, you could have burned Noble Lady Yu to death—and yourself along with her?”

“I know it was extremely dangerous. But in that situation, it was the only way to draw everyone’s attention.” Wei Yingluo said in a low voice, “Think about it—if I had shouted for help and said that Noble Consort Hui was trying to kill someone, who would have dared enter Yonghe Palace? They would all have been afraid of getting involved in such a matter and would have simply pretended not to hear. But when a fire breaks out in the palace, it’s completely different. Everyone comes running to put it out. That way, Noble Lady Yu and I might have a chance to be saved.”

Remembering how she had looked so desperate and helpless when she cried out to him for help, Fucha Fuheng’s heart softened, and his tone became gentler as well:

“What if no one had arrived in time and Noble Consort Hui broke in first?”

Wei Yingluo suddenly raised her head and looked straight at him. “But you came, didn’t you?”

Fucha Fuheng was stunned by her words.

Clearly her clothes were properly in place, she hadn’t exposed anything improper, she wasn’t smiling at him, and she hadn’t done anything out of line—yet he still wanted to avoid her gaze.

Afraid she would notice that his face had flushed again.

“Young Master…” Wei Yingluo took one step closer. “Are you unwell? Your face looks a little red…”

She reached out a hand as if to feel his forehead.

Fucha Fuheng hurriedly took a step back.

“Sorry.” Seeming to realize her current behavior was inappropriate, Wei Yingluo withdrew her hand and gave him an apologetic smile.

Unable to tell whether he felt disappointment or relief in his heart, Fucha Fuheng said in a low voice:

“Be more careful next time. Don’t… don’t smile at men like that anymore. Hasn’t your mother ever taught you what proper conduct is for a lady of good family?”

Wei Yingluo stopped smiling and said indifferently, “I am not a lady of good family, and I have no mother.”

Fucha Fuheng was taken aback. While he was still searching for words to smooth things over, he heard Wei Yingluo speak again.

“I only have one older sister. Her name is Wei Yingning.” After a brief pause, Wei Yingluo smiled. “But here in the palace, she has another name—A-Man.”

Fucha Fuheng’s expression changed abruptly.

“What’s wrong?” Wei Yingluo stared at him, refusing to miss even the slightest change. “Young Master, do you know my sister?”

“I don’t.” Fucha Fuheng paused. “The medicine has been delivered. There are matters awaiting me at the Imperial Guard station. I’ll take my leave.”

It would be more accurate to say he fled in panic rather than left on an excuse.

He left so hurriedly that he failed to notice that, even after he was gone, Wei Yingluo remained standing in the same spot without moving, her fingers gripping the medicine bottle so tightly they turned white, staring after him with an expressionless face.

“This is top-quality wound medicine—ordinary people can’t obtain it. Only high-ranking military officers have access to it.”

That night, when Momo Zhang came to check on her and brought along a bottle of medicine, although it too had been obtained from the imperial physicians, compared to the bottle of military-grade wound ointment sitting on the table, it was like the difference between heaven and earth.

Wei Yingluo lay face-down on the bed, her clothes completely removed, her smooth back exposed. The most serious of her injuries was not on her arm, but on her back—in a place she couldn’t reach herself.

Tilting her head to glance at the jade-like, lustrous medicine bottle on the table, Wei Yingluo said coolly:

“It was sent by Fucha Fuheng. For now, I don’t want to use it.”

Hearing the coldness in her voice, Momo Zhang shook her head. While applying medicine to her wounds, she gently advised:

“Are you still suspecting him?”

“I saw Fucha Fuheng today,” Wei Yingluo said with a smile. “He claimed he doesn’t know my sister.”

“But the look on his face told an entirely different story… Ouch!”

Momo Zhang quickly lightened her touch. “How is it now? Still hurt? Listen, child—everything needs evidence. Without proof, how can you accuse him of being the murderer?”

“Evidence?” A flash of ruthlessness passed through Wei Yingluo’s eyes. “Momo, you knew my sister too. You know what kind of person she was. If she had picked up something as valuable as a jade pendant, she would have returned it to its owner without question. Yet she kept it. There are only two possibilities: either the owner was her lover, or her enemy. My sister already had someone she loved. Even if he had heartlessly abandoned her, she would never have changed her feelings so easily. That leaves only one explanation—Fuheng humiliated her!”

“It’s still just your speculation!” Momo Zhang knew she was already somewhat obsessed, so she tried to reason with her carefully. “Perhaps your sister really did find the jade pendant by chance and didn’t know who the owner was, so she couldn’t return it. Or maybe… Fuheng did know your sister, but had nothing to do with her death…”

Wei Yingluo’s expression shifted between dark and light. After a long pause, she slowly exhaled. “Momo, you said my sister lost her chastity and stubbornly refused to reveal who the man was. In the palace, the only men are the Emperor and the Imperial Guards. If it had been the Emperor, it would have been an honor—a sign of imperial favor. There would have been nothing to hide. That leaves only the palace guards. My sister appeared gentle on the outside, but she was fiercely resolute inside. If she had been insulted for no reason, she would have demanded justice. The only reason she didn’t speak wasn’t that she didn’t want to—it was that she didn’t dare! She was afraid of implicating our family, afraid of dragging our father and me down with her. Who could inspire such terror in her? Only someone with immense power and status—Fucha Fuheng!”

She suddenly turned and stared at Momo Zhang, her gaze sharp as a drawn dagger, fierce as a lit fuse. Through gritted teeth she said, “He is the pampered young master of the noble Fucha clan, the Empress’s own younger brother, the Emperor’s most trusted confidant, a future Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard. How could such a scandal be allowed to stain his name? That is exactly why my sister was murdered to silence her!”

“Enough…” Momo Zhang’s head throbbed painfully.

“Momo, can you swear it’s absolutely impossible?” Wei Yingluo challenged.

Momo Zhang was momentarily speechless.

If Wei Yingluo had simply been stubbornly unreasonable, she could have scolded her harshly. The problem was that there really was a possibility—and with the jade pendant as concrete evidence, the possibility was quite strong.

“…Fine. Even if it was Fucha Fuheng, what do you intend to do?” Momo Zhang asked helplessly. “What can you possibly do?”

“What can I do?” Wei Yingluo scoffed with icy disdain. “Naturally, a life for a life. A debt must be repaid!”

Momo Zhang had always known her temperament was fierce, but she hadn’t expected it to reach this extreme. Startled, she quickly grabbed the girl’s hand. “You mustn’t act rashly! If not for yourself, then think of your sister. Did she raise you with such hardship just so you could throw your life away?”

Wei Yingluo froze—not out of fear of death, but because of the tears glistening in the older woman’s eyes.

She couldn’t help remembering the words Momo Zhang had sighed earlier: “No one… would cry for someone who means nothing to them.”

“…You’re right,” Wei Yingluo said, lowering her head, moved and a little ashamed. “I can’t die yet.”

As long as there was still someone in this world who cared about her, she could not die. She was afraid that if she died, that person might become a second version of herself—trapped in pain and hatred, willing to sacrifice everything for revenge.

“Good child, good child…” Momo Zhang tenderly stroked her hair. “Come, turn over. Let Momo continue applying the medicine.”

Wei Yingluo obediently murmured in agreement.

The rough, calloused fingers, together with the fiery, stinging medicine, landed once more on Wei Yingluo’s shoulder.

She gritted her teeth and endured. Though her body was covered in wounds, though there might have been better options available… she refused to use even a single drop of the medicine sent by Fucha Fuheng.

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