Young Master Pei Petitions the Emperor for a Medicinal Guide

Following her cousin-in-law Lady Xiang’s words, Jiang Shiyuan leaned out slightly to take another look. The private room they occupied was situated directly opposite the imperial viewing platform, affording a completely unobstructed view of everything below.

She saw Pei Zisu striding proudly onto the viewing platform, surrounded by a throng of people.

Though Jiang Shiyuan was too far away to make out his facial features clearly, he exuded a scorching intensity reminiscent of the blazing sun casting its heat across the firmament, perfectly matching the image of the youthful general in her memory.

The Pei family wielded overwhelming power, and this young General Pei was blessed with extraordinary talent.

By the age of fifteen, he had secured seven victories in seven consecutive battles, crushing the southern rebels and recapturing nine cities, including Fancheng. Consequently, his renown was immense not only in Hanzhou but throughout the entire Great Sui Dynasty.

Everyone hailed him as yet another rising martial star of the Great Sui, yet no one knew that his life would be cut short and that he would die a premature death during the summer before his twentieth birthday.

To this day, Jiang Shiyuan could still vividly recall the scene of the Great Sui imperial family dressed in plain white mourning attire, with all civil and military officials keeping vigil for three days. The common people wept in sorrow, all mourning this young General Pei whom heaven itself seemed to envy—a display of grief truly unprecedented and unsurpassed.

Before she could finish sighing in her heart, she saw him drop to one knee before the Emperor, speaking in a clear and resonant voice.

"Thanks to Your Majesty's immense grace, this subject dares to ask Your Majesty for four types of rootless water."

As soon as these words left his mouth, everyone present was utterly astonished. Given such a prime opportunity, even asking for a glorious official career or a blissful marriage stood a chance of being granted; why on earth would he ask for this utterly useless rootless water?

"Rootless water? What on earth is that?"

Lady Xiang wore a bewildered expression, but Jiang Shiyuan, standing beside her, calmly offered an answer.

"Rain, dew, frost, and snow."

"What use does our cousin of the Pei family have for such things?"

"He likely needs them as a medicinal guide."

Jiang Shiyuan had been in poor health for many years. Strictly speaking, it was not any fatal illness, but it stubbornly refused to heal. The only reason she had managed to prolong her life until now was thanks to taking Ningxiang Pills.

Among the medicinal ingredients used to guide the efficacy of those Ningxiang Pills was precisely this rootless water.

Collecting it was neither overly difficult nor exactly simple; it required year-after-year, painstaking persistence to successfully preserve it. Therefore, she couldn't help wondering: could it be that someone close to this young General Pei was also ill?

On the viewing platform, the aging Emperor wore an expression of profound exhaustion.

His health was already frail, and his presence today had been sustained entirely by sheer willpower. While the excitement earlier had kept his fatigue at bay, now that things had quieted down, a wave of weariness washed over him, draining his strength.

Looking at Pei Zisu before him, he suddenly felt his own mortality.

Recalling the reports from the Pei Family Army that had arrived a few days prior—notifying him of yet another victorious return—he had initially thought Pei Zisu would seize the opportunity to request titles and riches for the Pei family. He never expected the request to be for rootless water. The tight knot in his chest relaxed slightly, and with a faint smile, he turned to the eunuch attending him and asked,

"Rootless water? Dedong, does the Imperial Pharmacy have any in stock?"

The eunuch’s sideburns were frosted with gray, but his complexion was remarkably smooth. Dressed immaculately in a dark green silk robe and thick-soled black boots, he stepped forward with a bow, pitching his voice in a refined, high-pitched tone as he replied promptly,

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we do have some. However, Her Highness Princess Qinghuan took a portion of it recently, so the remaining quantity is quite limited."

"Oh? Qinghuan took some? What bizarre scheme is that girl concouring this time?"

"As to that, this slave is not entirely certain."

Mention of Princess Qinghuan immediately brought to mind the aging Emperor’s youngest daughter.

Having fathered a child in his later years, he naturally doted on her immensely. Moreover, the year she was born, the Great Sui had won several consecutive military victories, and all the northern tribes had submitted in allegiance. Everyone whispered that she was a harbinger of heavenly good fortune, making her the most favored princess in the entire dynasty. The commoners often speculated in private that had she been born a male, the imperial throne would surely have fallen to her.

"Since there is some left, bestow all of it upon our beloved minister."

"Understood, this slave obeys your decree."

At this, a genuine and relaxed smile touched the corners of Pei Zisu’s lips. His eyes, usually impervious to praise or humiliation, were now filled with reverence as he gazed up at the aging Emperor. The absolute submission displayed by such a fierce and battle-hardened warrior brought a deep sense of gratification to the Emperor.

"Very well, next."

Pei Zisu was not the sole victor of the dragon boat races. One after another, the contestants stepped forward to make their requests, most of which aligned with what the Emperor had anticipated. He smiled and granted the majority of them. Meanwhile, Second Cousin Wang Kuan and Third Cousin Wang Hong, who were still waiting in line, watched Pei Zisu walk down the steps and asked with a chuckle,

"I thought you were trying so hard out there to win yourself a marriage match, but you actually asked for such a useless thing. Tell us, what are you going to use it for?"

Pei Zisu simply smiled at the two of them without answering. Yet his tall, robust, and incomparably handsome figure caused quite a few maidens nearby to cast shy, sideways glances in his direction.

Observing the aura of noble youthfulness radiating from his brow, Second Cousin Wang Kuan couldn't help sighing aloud,

"You rascal, you really ought to just go back to Hanzhou. If you stay in Western Capital any longer, you're going to break the hearts of countless people. Look at those noble young ladies—normally it's 'older brother Wang this' and 'older brother Wang that,' but now, aside from you, can they even see any other men?"

Third Cousin Wang Hong patted him on the shoulder and let out a hearty laugh.

"Second Brother makes no sense at all. Since you lack the charm yourself, why are you blaming Cousin Zisu?"

"You little brat, you've been away in Hanzhou for a few years, so why are you turning your elbow out like this? What, are you going to drop the Wang surname and adopt the Pei surname instead?"

The two brothers bantered back and forth, failing to notice that Pei Zisu was scanning his surroundings. When he failed to find the person he was looking for among the crowd, his expression grew noticeably colder.

"The sun is blinding. Let's head back."

Hearing these words tumble from his lips was truly shocking.

After all, he was the one who drilled his troops day in and day out in Hanzhou, and the one who baked shirtless beneath the blazing sun. Back then, he had driven himself so ruthlessly that he practically shed three layers of skin in training; yet now, a little bit of sunshine caused him to complain that it was "blindingly hot." One could tell at a glance that there was more to this than met the eye.

Unfortunately, before the Wang brothers could press him for details, Pei Zisu strode away with long, purposeful steps. Wherever he went, the crowd murmured in low astonishment, though not a single sound reached his ears.

The festivities on the viewing platform continued, and back in the private room, Jiang Shiyuan popped another sweet-and-sour lychee into her mouth.

As the tart-sweet flavor melted on her tongue, her mood lightened considerably. Just as she reached out to take another, she was startled by a woman rushing through the doorway like a gust of wind.

"Aunt, why are you here?"

The newcomer was none other than Jiang Shiyuan’s aunt—the current mistress of the House of Literary Eminence, and likewise the official mother-in-law of her cousin-in-law Lady Xiang.

Though well past forty, she was exquisitely maintained.

She wore a long gown featuring a symmetrical embroidered design of fractured branches bearing treasure vases, edged with a hem of plain, sheer gauze. Her shoes were inlaid with a bright pearl, accented by intricate fish-scale patterns, making for a truly striking appearance.

Without knowing her age, a stranger would easily have taken her for a noble lady in her early thirties. In truth, she was the mother of four sons; aside from the youngest, the other three were all nearing adulthood.

"Greetings, Mother-in-law."