Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Sun Yaolang's medicine hut was located on the northern outskirts of Gaoyang, near Yangshang Village. From afar, the dark-brick, black-tiled hut was nestled among a grove of bamboo. The lingering aroma of medicinal herbs drifted on the wind, and the refreshing scent could be smelled from a distance of two miles.

Zhang Jingwei was pacing back and forth outside the pharmacy's clinic, his boots creaking on the bluestone slabs. He would occasionally look up at the closed door, like a husband waiting outside the delivery room for childbirth.

"Master, calm down..." Zhang Liu offered a cup of hot tea, but Zhang Jingwei pushed it away. "The young lady is in good health, she will be fine."

Jiu'er leaned against the porch pillar, playing with a silver hairpin in her hand, and said sarcastically, "I don't care about you normally." She deliberately shook the silver hairpin in the sunlight and said, "Now it concerns your descendants of the Zhang family, and you are so anxious."

Zhang Jingwei turned around abruptly, a flash of anger in his eyes: "I don't want to argue with you now!" Before he finished speaking, Sun Yaolang called out from inside the clinic: "Zhang Jingwei, come in!"

He gently pushed the door open, carefully lifted the curtain of the inner room, and crawled in with his back bent.

"How's it going?" Zhang Jingwei spotted Huangfu Ling sitting beside the bed. Her usually bright eyes were now red and swollen like peaches. He rushed forward and hugged his wife. "It's okay. With Sun Yaolang here, everything will be fine."

Sun Yaolang put down the medicine grinder in his hand, his expression solemn: "Have you never stopped since you got married?"

Zhang Jingwei was stunned: "What didn't stop?"

Sun Yaolang coughed lightly: "Matters between men and women..."

"Uh..." Zhang Jingwei's ears turned red instantly and he stammered, unable to speak.

Sun Yaolang sighed: "You two are still young and strong, you should know how to be restrained."

Zhang Jingwei lowered his head: "This is all my fault."

"What do you usually feed her?" Sun Yaolang flipped through a yellowed medical record.

"Breakfast is bird's nest porridge, lunch is stewed goose, and dinner is something lighter." Zhang Jingwei listed them all.

Sun Yaolang frowned: "Didn't I ask you what you gave her to eat yesterday?"

"No, no, no," Zhang Jingwei explained quickly, "It's like this every day. It's so hard to get a few boxes of bird's nest in the middle of winter."

"You..." Sun Yaolang shook his head angrily, "You are an educated person after all, how can you eat so extravagantly?"

Zhang Jingwei disagreed: "That's nothing. Wild ginseng and magical herbs are supplied on time every day. I worship her like a Bodhisattva."

Medicine Doctor Sun slammed the medical records shut. "Even if you're treating her well, you can't do this." She took a brush and scribbled a prescription on rice paper. "I'll write you a prescription later. Go back and make your own. Take each dose three times a day for a month, until your period starts." She paused, then said seriously, "You can't have sex during this time. You need to change your diet to lighter, less oily, and less meaty. And don't practice martial arts for the time being."

Zhang Jingwei asked nervously, "What will happen if we have sex?"

"The decoction only serves to consolidate the condition," Sun Yaolang explained. "The main thing is to rest. Sexual intercourse will affect your rest."

Huangfu Ling raised her tearful eyes and said, "What if it doesn't come for a month?"

Sun Yaolang was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Then I can only perform surgery to remove the uterus. If it causes disease, you will die."

Huangfu Ling's tears fell again: "Doesn't that mean I can't have a child?"

Zhang Jingwei held his wife's hand tightly. "If there's no solution, then there's no solution." He forced himself to remain calm. "This is the worst-case scenario. Sun Yaolang is a master of healing. There must be a way."

At this time, the "bang bang" sound of pounding medicine came from the pharmacy next door, breaking the solemn atmosphere in the clinic.

Sun Yaolang stood up to see the guest off: "Remember what I said. I have something else to do."

Zhang Jingwei helped Huangfu Ling up and said gently, "Let's go home..."

……

As night fell, a single, dim oil lamp lit the Zhang residence's study. Zhang Jingwei tossed his bedding heavily onto the study couch, sending a cloud of fine dust dancing in the light. This couch, normally used for naps, would now become his makeshift bed.

He sat on the edge of the couch, his fingers unconsciously stroking the embroidery on the bedding. Since returning from the medicine room, his thoughts had drifted like dandelions blown by the wind, unpredictable. An absurd thought suddenly entered his mind: If this was truly a terminal illness, incurable in this era, could some advanced method be used? Like those legendary heart-transplanting techniques, or the exotic medical techniques from the Western Regions?

Outside the window, the rustling of bamboo leaves echoed, like countless tiny hands gently tapping against the window lattice. Zhang Jingwei shook his head and chuckled self-deprecatingly. Huangfu Ling was only sixteen, a blooming youth, yet she had to endure such an unprovoked disaster. Could it really be that they were newlyweds and lacked self-control?

"But hasn't it been said since ancient times that there are only cows that die of exhaustion, but no fields that are plowed to death?" He whispered to himself, his fingers unconsciously clenching the corner of the quilt.

"Husband..."

A soft call suddenly came from outside the door, startling Zhang Jingwei to look up suddenly. The door was gently pushed open, and Huangfu Ling stood at the door, wearing a thin plain coat. Her long black hair hung down over her shoulders, making her look particularly fragile in the dim light.

"It's so late, why haven't you rested yet?" Zhang Jingwei hurriedly stood up, his voice unconsciously rising. "Didn't Sun Yaolang tell you? You need to rest well."

Huangfu Ling didn't answer immediately. She walked slowly into the study, her steps as light as a cat. The candlelight danced on her pale face, reflecting a pair of red and swollen eyes.

"Husband, I have something to say to you." Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.

Zhang Jingwei sighed and pulled her to sit on the chair next to the desk. "You've told me a lot today... Don't blame yourself. No one will blame you, and no one dares to blame you."

Huangfu Ling's fingers were twisted together so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She lowered her head, her voice trembling, "I...I'll find you a concubine."

"Huh?" Zhang Jingwei stood up suddenly, his chair scraping against the floor. "You want me to take a concubine right after we got married? How will people around me view me?"

"If the Zhang family has no descendants, I will be the biggest sinner." A tear fell on the back of her folded hands.

"No, I told you, no one blames you." Zhang Jingwei squatted down and gently held her face.

Huangfu Ling's tears fell like beads from a broken string: "But I will blame myself... I'm so useless." She choked, "When I was little, I heard street prostitutes curse people, 'A chicken that can't lay eggs is worse than a whore'..."

"Nonsense!" Zhang Jingwei hugged her in his arms, feeling her frail body trembling slightly. "It's okay, it will be fine. As long as you pay more attention to rest and take medicine on time, we will definitely have a child."

Huangfu Ling suddenly grabbed his collar and said with determination in her voice: "If I die..."

"If you say something like that again, I'll be really angry!" Zhang Jingwei suddenly let go of her and put his hands on her shoulders with such force that she flinched slightly. His eyes flickered with anger and fear in the candlelight. "Don't say that! Do you hear me?"

Huangfu Ling was stunned by his sudden anger, her lips trembling but unable to speak. The study fell into silence for a moment, with only the occasional crackling of the burning wick as the sound was heard.

Zhang Jingwei took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He gently wiped the tears from his wife's face and softened his voice, "Ling'er, listen to me. I didn't marry you to carry on the family line. Even if... even if we really can't have children, I, Zhang Jingwei, will only recognize you as my wife in this life."

Huangfu Ling raised her tearful eyes, and finally nodded slowly in his resolute gaze. Outside the window, a bright moon quietly climbed up the treetops, casting its cool light on the two people embracing each other.