Jade of Another World

Xuanyuan Che glanced gratefully at Liu Si, then, without lingering, turned and galloped towards the stables. He led out a fast horse, mounted it, and whipped it hard on the rump. The horse, in pain, neighed and bolted like an arrow. Xuanyuan Che spurred his horse and hurried towards the outskirts of the city, considering whether he should first hide in the cave he had visited before. It was a secluded place, rarely visited, and should be considered safe.

Unexpectedly, just as they reached a bustling street in the capital, they encountered a group of soldiers conducting a search. Upon seeing Xuan Yuanche galloping towards them on horseback, the soldiers immediately became alert. The leader shouted, "Halt! What are you doing? Why are you in such a panic? Is there something you're hiding?" With that, he led his men to surround Xuan Yuanche.

Xuanyuan Che inwardly cursed, and without further ado, he yanked the reins, turned his horse around, and galloped off in another direction. After all, if he were stopped and questioned, he would have to remove his mask, which would expose their twin nature, so running was the only option. The soldiers, seeing this, were not about to give up and gave chase, shouting, "Hurry, chase him! Don't let him get away!"

Xuanyuan Che kept cracking his whip, urging his horse to gallop faster, but just then, a cold arrow flew from nowhere, whistling several times as it shot towards Xuanyuan Che. Unable to dodge in time, the arrow struck his back, a sharp pain nearly causing him to fall from his horse.

But Xuanyuan Che gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, and bent down to hug the horse's neck tightly, constantly urging it to speed up. The horse seemed to sense its master's danger and galloped towards the city gate with all its might. Finally, at the last moment, Xuanyuan Che rushed out of the city gate, while the soldiers behind him could only watch his departing figure, helplessly withdrawing their troops.

Xuanyuan Che was already pale, and blood kept seeping from the wound on his back, staining his clothes red. But he dared not stop and continued to rush towards the cave, hoping to reach that safe place as soon as possible, treat his wound, and escape this calamity.

At this moment, the palace was in complete chaos. Inside and outside the brightly lit palace, palace maids and eunuchs were rushing about, their faces filled with panic and unease.

It turned out that the emperor had suddenly been poisoned. This news was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating a huge uproar throughout the palace. All the imperial physicians dared not slacken their vigilance in the slightest, and they all gathered in the Imperial Hospital, each one waiting as if facing a formidable enemy, ready to be summoned to the palace at any moment to treat him.

Meanwhile, the concubines from all the palaces were urgently summoned to specific palaces within the palace. Their originally exquisite makeup could no longer conceal the fear in their eyes. They whispered among themselves, speculating about what had happened and how it would affect their future fate.

The most important ministers in the court were also not spared; they were all summoned to the palace, and their residences were heavily guarded. After all, once the emperor died, the situation would become unpredictable, and it was essential to ensure that these powerful ministers would not have the opportunity to lead troops into the palace to seize power, in order to prevent chaos in the country.

The head of the Imperial Medical Academy, accompanied by several experienced senior physicians, entered the emperor's bedchamber with solemn expressions and began their tense examination before the emperor's bedside. They first carefully took the emperor's pulse, their brows furrowing deeper and deeper. Then they examined the emperor's complexion, tongue coating, and other conditions, each of them displaying deep worry.

Time ticked by, and the treatment process seemed exceptionally long, yet the imperial physicians remained clueless. They were all covered in sweat and tears, their tense and anxious expressions suggesting the sky was about to fall.

Finally, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling slightly as he said, "Your Majesty has been poisoned. We have practiced medicine for many years, but we have never seen such a strange poison. We cannot identify it, and without finding the source, it is extremely difficult to find the antidote. Without an antidote, saving Your Majesty is virtually impossible. Given the current situation, I'm afraid… I'm afraid…"

The other senior imperial physicians nodded in agreement, their faces filled with helplessness and despair. They knew all too well what this meant; once the emperor died, the entire country would likely descend into chaos. But faced with this extremely difficult situation, they were utterly powerless and could only hope for a miracle.

Just when everyone was in despair and didn't know what to do, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy suddenly spoke up timidly: "My lords, why don't we look for Lin Ning, the daughter of Prime Minister Lin? She is quite skilled in medicine and has treated many people in the capital. Perhaps she can find a way to cure His Majesty's poison."

Upon hearing this, everyone began to discuss among themselves, and all eyes turned to Prime Minister Lin. Prime Minister Lin frowned, his heart filled with worry. After pondering for a moment, he said, "My daughter does indeed have some medical knowledge, but the poison His Majesty has been afflicted with is so insidious that she, being a young girl, may not have a solution. However, given the current critical situation, it is worth a try."

As everyone was discussing this matter with Prime Minister Lin, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. Everyone turned to look and saw Nangong Jin and Rosa rushing into the palace. Nangong Jin looked anxious and went straight to the group, saying loudly, "Everyone, Miss Rosa is skilled in medicine. Her medical skills are superb. She might be able to diagnose what kind of poison Father Emperor has been afflicted with. Please let her treat Father Emperor."

Upon hearing this, everyone began to make their own calculations. In the current situation, the Crown Prince was already out of favor, and if the Emperor truly became ineffective, then according to custom, the empire would inevitably belong to Nangong Jin. Everyone present had their own selfish motives; no one wanted to offend Nangong Jin at this time, after all, their future wealth, status, and even their lives were in his hands.

After weighing the pros and cons, the crowd, who had previously harbored doubts about Rosa, were now surprisingly in agreement, nodding and saying, "Since His Highness says so, then Miss Rosa must have real skills. Let Miss Rosa go in and treat His Majesty." Although none of them had heard much about Rosa's medical abilities before, in this delicate and crucial situation, no one dared to say anything more.

Seeing this, Nangong Jin quickly led Rosa towards the emperor's palace. Rosa, feeling somewhat nervous, followed closely behind Nangong Jin, secretly thinking that she must do her best, while also silently praying that the emperor's condition would not be too serious.

Meanwhile, the others waited anxiously and nervously outside, wondering if Rosa's entry would bring any hope of stabilizing the precarious situation.

After entering the emperor's bedchamber, Rosa took a deep breath to calm herself down as quickly as possible, and then focused intently on examining the emperor. She first gently placed her hand on the emperor's wrist and carefully took his pulse. Her focused expression made it seem as if everything around her was irrelevant, and she was only immersed in the treatment.

After taking the emperor's pulse, Rosa moved closer to examine his complexion, lips, and even lifted his eyelids to observe him closely, not missing any subtle signs. After a thorough examination, Rosa finally determined the type of poison the emperor had been given. With this information in mind, she quickly took out several medicines from her medicine pouch.

Next, with the help of the palace servants, Rosa crushed the medicine and mixed it with warm water to make a medicinal liquid, preparing to feed it to the emperor. However, since it was medicine for the emperor, this was no small matter. The imperial physicians dared not let Rosa feed it to him so easily. They hurriedly stepped forward to carefully examine the color and smell of the medicinal liquid, and used their medical knowledge to repeatedly check whether there was anything wrong with the medicine.

After repeated confirmation by the palace staff and the imperial physicians, confirming that the medicine Rosa had given him was indeed safe, they nodded, indicating that the emperor could take it. Rosa then carefully fed the medicine little by little into the emperor's mouth, gently lifting his chin to help him swallow. After feeding him the medicine, Rosa stood up, wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead, and said to everyone, "His Majesty will wake up in about half an hour after taking this medicine. However, the poison is quite potent, and he will need proper care afterward. I will also prescribe a few more doses to consolidate the effects of the medicine."

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, yet remained filled with anxiety. Their eyes were fixed on the emperor on his bed, silently praying that he would indeed wake up on time, as Rosa had said. The palace was so quiet that only their slightly hurried breathing could be heard. Everyone waited anxiously, hoping for a miracle, wishing the emperor would recover quickly. After all, the situation had arisen suddenly, leaving everyone on edge.

The crowd gathered around the emperor's bedchamber, their eyes glued to it. Every second seemed to drag on endlessly. The atmosphere in the entire palace was tense and oppressive. No one dared to breathe loudly, hoping that the emperor would wake up soon.

Finally, as time passed, the emperor's fingers twitched slightly, then his eyelids began to flutter, and he slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing this, the crowd cheered; their hearts, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled, and their faces revealed expressions of joy as if they had survived a calamity.

Although the emperor still appeared very weak, his face as pale as paper, and he barely had the strength to speak, he had at least regained consciousness. He weakly turned his eyes, looking at the familiar and concerned faces around him, his gaze filled with confusion, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the chaotic state of poisoning.

As his consciousness gradually cleared and he realized that Rosa had saved him, a look of gratitude appeared on his face. He opened his mouth slightly and said in a weak voice, "I am so grateful to Miss Rosa this time. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid... I'm afraid I would be in grave danger."

After saying this, the emperor recalled the previous events and couldn't help but feel quite emotional. He thought to himself that he had refused Jin'er's request three times to grant him and Rosa a marriage, thinking that Rosa's identity was unclear and she was not good enough for Jin'er. Who knew that she would save his life now?

However, the emperor, having weathered countless storms within the palace walls, was a man of meticulous wit. Reflecting on the events of the past few weeks, he felt that Rosa's appearance at such a crucial juncture was far too suspicious. Rosa seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, and the very timing of her appearance seemed too perfect, making him suspicious.

Therefore, although the emperor expressed his gratitude to Rosa on the surface, he always had many doubts about her in his heart. His scrutinizing gaze would fall on Rosa from time to time, secretly wondering what kind of ulterior motives Rosa was hiding.

When everyone saw that the emperor had woken up, they all rushed forward to greet him and offer their concern. However, the emperor was still immersed in his own thoughts. In his complex eyes, there was both gratitude for Rosa's life-saving grace and deep suspicion towards her.

The emperor's suspicion of Rosa was not without reason. He had already secretly sent people to Nanzhao to thoroughly investigate Rosa's background.

Those sent to investigate went to great lengths in Nanzhao, searching every nook and cranny, but the results were astonishing: they found absolutely no information about Rosa. Whether it was local household registration records or the testimonies of ordinary residents, it was as if Rosa had never existed in Nanzhao. Even the identities of her parents and her origins were completely unknown; it was as if she had appeared out of thin air.

The emperor sensed something was amiss, thinking that perhaps something could be discovered in the capital. So he arranged for people to secretly follow Rosa in the city. The people following her dared not slacken their efforts, cautiously following Rosa day and night, not daring to blink, hoping to find some clue.

Following this lead, they discovered that Rosa frequently visited several shops in the capital owned by people from the Nanzhao Kingdom. However, aside from that, they found nothing of value that could reveal her identity or past. No matter how they investigated, Rosa's past seemed shrouded in a thick fog, making it impossible to see through.

You see, no one in this world is completely without a past. Everyone who lives in this world should leave some trace. But Rosa seems to be an exception. If nothing can be found out, and there are no clues to trace, then it can only mean that her past has been deliberately concealed.

The more the emperor thought about it, the more he felt that this matter was not simple. His suspicions grew like a snowball. However, since Rosa had just saved his life, he could not show his anger on the spot. He could only bury these doubts deep in his heart and think about having someone continue to investigate in secret. However, Nangong Jin's attitude towards Rosa was making the emperor very worried.

The long night finally came to an end. As everyone gradually withdrew from the emperor's palace, the sky was already beginning to lighten, and a new day began in this tense and anxious atmosphere. After all this commotion, the emperor was exhausted and his weakened body desperately needed rest and recuperation.

He leaned back on the dragon throne, his gaze sweeping over his sons one by one, finally settling on Nangong Jin. A sudden wave of sadness washed over him. The emperor knew all too well that, as a ruler, he often couldn't even control his own emotions, let alone the fate of those around him. But looking into Nangong Jin's earnest and expectant eyes, the emperor hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Jin'er, once your father has recovered somewhat, I will bestow a marriage upon you and Miss Rosa." Upon hearing this, Nangong Jin's face instantly lit up with a joyful smile, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed happiness. He quickly knelt down to express his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Father. Your son will certainly not fail your favor and will treat Miss Rosa well."

In truth, the Emperor didn't particularly desire Nangong Jin and Rosa's marriage. However, after this poisoning incident, he increasingly felt that Rosa held a significant place in Nangong Jin's heart, and he truly didn't want to strain his relationship with his son over this matter. After all, the bond between father and son was extremely precious in the palace and required careful maintenance. Moreover, having just escaped death himself, he cherished this blood-is-thicker-than-water kinship even more.

However, the emperor was, after all, the ruler of a country, and he always had more important considerations in his heart. In his view, as a monarch, bearing the expectations and responsibilities of all people, how could he be too preoccupied with personal feelings? The stability of the country and the balance of power in the court were far more important than matters of personal affection.

The emperor sighed inwardly, looking at Nangong Jin's joyful expression, his heart filled with complex emotions. He knew that this decision to bestow marriage might only be a temporary measure, and who knew how many troubles it would cause in the future, but for now, it was the only option.

Nangong Jin, however, was still immersed in the joy of her upcoming marriage and was completely unaware of the complex emotions and helplessness in her father’s heart. She was only thinking about the wonderful life she would have with Rosa in the future.