The Untamed Princess

Chapter Forty-Five: The Unorthodox Treatment

Luo Jian waited anxiously as Lin Yang worked.  He had no idea what she was doing, but she moved with speed and confidence, which gave him a small measure of reassurance.  Finally, after what felt like an age, she looked up.

"It's strange," she said.  "It has similar properties to chuān wū, but there are subtle differences."  She frowned as she thought for a moment.

"Tell me, what symptoms does she have?"

Luo Jian shifted uncomfortably from side to side.  The truth was, he and Weisheng had been so focussed on going for help that he had forgotten to get a full description of Ming Yue's condition.  Still, he answered as best he could.

"She passed out almost as soon as she drank the wine.  When I left, she was breathing shallowly, and her skin was very pale."

"What about her heart rate?  Her temperature?"  

Luo Jian shook his head, feeling more than a little foolish.

Lin Yang stood up and grabbed a bag, stuffing jars and books into it until it was full enough to burst.

"Let's go.  I need to examine her myself.  There are herbs that will treat chuān wū poisoning if we catch it in time, but I must know what specific symptoms she has before I can work out the precise combination."

Luo Jian nodded, and the two of them rushed from the clinic.  Leaping onto his waiting horse, he extended an arm and pulled Lin Yang up in front of him.  At any other time, he would have found this position extremely awkward but, in the present circumstances, there was no room for discomfort.  And besides, there was something about Weisheng's identity that he would need to tell the young woman before they arrived at the palace.

***

Across the city, beyond the palace gates and behind the walls of the prince's mansion, Weisheng had come to a decision.  He turned to face the three other men in the room.

"Eunuch Wang, I urgently need a large canopy set up in the forest just beyond the orchard.  With a bed.  I am moving Ming Yue there."

Eunuch Wang looked up at the prince, somewhat confused.

"Do you mean a tent, Your Highness?  We have many of those in storage from the summit."

Weisheng shook his head.

"Not a tent.  I want direct access to the ground."

His chief eunuch saw the look in his eyes and left immediately, knowing not to question the order any further.  For Xiao Yu, however, it was a different matter.

"Weisheng, what on earth are you thinking?"  Once again, the urgency of the situation put paid to any attempt at formality.

"We are not very far away from the winter months, and the nights are getting colder.  My patient's temperature is already dangerously low, and you want to take her outside?   It's not happening."

Weisheng could not be angry with the physician.  He was only looking after Ming Yue's welfare, and it was true that, to anyone who did not know of her more unusual qualities, his actions seemed rooted in madness.

However, he was reluctant to fully explain himself just yet.  And the truth was so extraordinary that, in reality, it could only be believed by being witnessed first-hand.  Consequently, Weisheng chose to rely on his years of familiarity with Xiao Yu instead.

"Please, my friend.  You must trust me on this.  You know that I would never to do anything to harm her."  He looked up at him, willing the physician to trust him.

Xiao Yu's brow furrowed as he thought.  He was being asked to go against every instinct he had as a doctor.  It was not an easy decision.  Suddenly, he felt a light touch on his arm.  He looked up and saw Lin Xing Fu's handsome face gazing down at him where he sat on the edge of the bed.  The younger man gave a small smile and a nod, and the physician relented.