Chapter 54: Applying medicine

"Take another careful look—are there other differences between this document and the letter?" Jiang Changbai returned to her chair, calmly and placidly gazing at the three before her.

"Differences," Xie Qianbing muttered, bowing her head to look carefully. The style of writing was roughly the same; looking over the entire thing, there was only one difference. She raised her head, looking at Jiang Changbai, and asked, "Bixia, you mean the inscription?"

"You are intelligent," Jiang Changbai nodded. "When the Great Li was founded, there was a General Song of outstanding military service, who didn't have any children, but did adopt in nearly a hundred homeless orphans. These orphans all took her surname of Song. In the countless years since, it can be counted as a common surname in the Great Li."

In a flash, Song Juguang understood what Jiang Changbai meant. "The number of high-ranking officers in the army surnamed Song is not insignificant; this regent would never only write 'Song' as an inscription."

The two echoed each other. "And comparing them more carefully, even the handwriting has some minute differences. When imitating another's handwriting, the shape is easy to imitate, but imitating the spirit is hard; the minor details between them truly differ a great deal."

Wei Xiren was still dazed; Xie Qianbing suddenly seemed to have come to great comprehension. "Bixia's meaning is, these letters truly didn't come from the Regent's hand."

Jiang Changbai smiled. "Ah, you're not a fool; in the past, Laoshi said you were the most intelligent one, and We couldn't accept it; looking at it now, Laoshi wasn't wrong."

The misunderstanding had been resolved, but those who ought to be punished still had to be punished. By the time she was about to leave the Palace gates, Wei Xiren still had a lingering trepidation from it. The pain of her body wasn't worth mentioning; the imperial guards' blows hadn't been harsh, and these blows couldn't be compared to the injuries she'd received on the battlefield in the slightest. But even so, she could only limp along.

Meng Daosheng was in the same situation as she was, limping along slowly. Luckily, Xie Qianbing had yet to leave the Palace, and was sitting in a carriage, waving at them from a distance. Meng Daosheng knew that Xie Qianbing, seeing that she'd suffered a beating, had waited there especially for her. So, a sense of gratitude rose in her heart, and she headed directly in that direction.

Wei Xiren, though, on seeing Xie Qianbing, filled with anger, walking even faster than Meng Daosheng. Before she'd even come close, her voice rose. "You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

Xie Qianbing, looking at the two of them walking bandy-legged and limping, found it comical; having been suddenly questioned by Wei Xiren like so, her expression was puzzled, and she asked in reply, "Why would Wei-daren say such a thing?"

"Don't play the fool," Wei Xiren scoffed. "The letter Bixia had was one you brought back from Luyuan; you really can conceal things—I didn't discover it the entire journey."

Xie Qianbing shrugged. "Was there any need to conceal it from you? Even if I had laid the letter in front of you, how many words could you even read?"

"You!" Wei Xiren knew that Xie Qianbing was correct, but she wasn't willing to just drop the subject like this; she could only raise a hand and point at her nose, saying "you you you!" without stopping.

Xie Qianbing merely pushed her finger to the side, and said, mockingly, "Wei-daren is quite spirited; you don't seem at all like someone who just suffered ten beatings."

"Cough cough."

Before Wei Xiren could continue, Meng Daosheng coughed a couple times, her expression somewhat embarrassed. Only now did Xie Qianbing remember that she'd also suffered a beating, and seeing her embarrassment, couldn't help but laugh.

But while the they were laughing there, in the imperial study they'd just left, it was, at this moment, utterly silent. This quiet had continued for quite a while. Jiang Changbai, as usual, was reading memorials, but contrary to usual, Song Juguang wasn't reclining on the low couch and resting. Song Juguang's gaze was concentrated on Jiang Changbai; if her gaze had had the ability, Jiang Changbai would have had two holes stared through her by Song Juguang.

Jiang Changbai could sense the difference in Song Juguang, but there was a mountainous pile of memorials before her; even if she were even more curious, she could only suppress it, and finish what she needed to do.

This silence continued until Jiang Changbai finished reading the memorials, by which time it was already sunset. The sound of her voice seemed to rise at the same time as the sound of her brush being set down, and she said, "Having stared at me for so long, aren't A Guang's eyes aching?"

Song Juguang's expression didn't have the slightest embarrassment of having been seen through, and she only shook her head. "This minister simply wished to ask Bixia, having written for so long, isn't your hand sore?"

Xun Zhu, having watched the two of them go from a state of hostility, daggers drawn, to this this joyous and harmonious state, couldn't figure out what on earth they were thinking, and could only lower her head, striving the hardest to make her sense of presence as innocuous as possible. Yet Jiang Changbai, seeing this, inexplicably flushed somewhat, and waved her hand, quietly commanding, "Go on, go on out."

"Understood."

Xun Zhu walked to a distance, not forgetting to close the door as she left. But on the contrary, Song Juguang strode in Jiang Changbai's direction, until she stood right by her side.

"What are you doing?"

Song Juguang, as if being very much in earnest, said, "Xun Zhu's gone; Bixia, you can't grind your own ink."

Jiang Changbai said, helpless, "I've already gone through all of them." Yet before she'd even finished speaking, Song Juguang seized her right hand. In a flash, her cheeks grew red, yet when she spoke, her expression was as usual, though her voice stuttered slightly. "What are you doing?"

Yet Song Juguang's expression was nonchalant. "Bixia hasn't replied to my question—having written for so long, isn't your hand sore?"

Jiang Changbai shook her head. "It's nothing; it's already been so long." As she spoke, she tried to pull her hand from Song Juguang's grasp, but Jiang Chanbgai's strength was nowhere comparable to Song Juguang's, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't pull her hand out.

Song Juguang, having been given an inch, took a foot, covering Jiang Changbai's wrist with her other hand. "But these past few days aren't the same as before; isn't Bixia training in martial arts night after night with this minister?"

Song Juguang wasn't wrong. When in horse stance, one would have to carry weights in their hands as well, and after a while, one's wrists would grow sore from the strain. This aching swelling wouldn't disappear in a single night; even on the second day, it would still be sore. Even Jiang Changbai hadn't taken notice that, just then, her posture while writing for so long wasn't the same as usual. But the common words sounded coy when Song Juguang spoke them, and Jiang Changbai didn't know how to reply, falling silent. Song Juguang assumed that it was Jiang Changbai refusing to admit her mistake, and she exerted her strength slightly on her hand. Jiang Changbai was in so much pain her forehead sheened with sweat, but she didn't make a single sound.

Jiang Changbai had always had such a taciturn personality, like a closed gourd; Song Juguang knew this full well. When they were young, even if she'd injured her leg in a fall, the flesh turned out and bleeding, Jiang Changbai wouldn't say a thing about the pain. So, Song Juguang didn't say anything more either, and merely took a small jar out from within her clothes. The jar was made of porcelain, and as soon as the lid was opened, a medicinal scent wafted out.

Jiang Changbai merely observed Song Juguang's actions, watching as the icy cold ointment was spread across her wrist, and felt the warmth of fingertips rubbing a circle as they spread the cool medicinal paste around. What she felt was hot, though, wasn't her wrist.

A strange sensation had appeared in Song Juguang's heart as well, but she quickly ignored it. She didn't know why she wanted to raise her eyes, but by chance, she met Jiang Changbai's. It was as if, in that moment, time came to a stop.

Inexplicably, worry rushed to the front of her mind, and Song Juguang suddenly sighed. "This minister had assumed just now that this ointment wouldn't be able to be delivered."

Jiang Changbai merely smiled. "If the handwriting they'd imitated had been anyone else's, then I really could have been confused. But they imitated yours, and your handwriting was taught by me. Even if I were an even more muddled person, could I not recognise my own handwriting?"

Seeing Song Juguang wasn't speaking, Jiang Changbai thought for a moment, and then asked, "You stayed in the barracks in the outskirts of the city today just for this?"

"Of course," Song Juguang nodded. "The imperial physicians in the Palace only know how to carry on the methods of their predecessors; for actual efficacy, that has to be the army physicians. It's just that there aren't many army physicians, and to create this ointment requires some expenditure of effort, and so it was delayed until this afternoon."

"Isn't the army usually meant to have this sort of medicine?"

"The kind used by the army isn't this one." Song Juguang paused, as if swallowing something back. But considering it again, she felt that there was no need to hide this from Jiang Changbai, and so added, "The amount of medicine used in the army is large, and what's used is all cheap ingredients. But Bixia, your body is incredibly honourable and valued; how could you use that sort of thing?"

Yet hearing this, Jiang Changbai's expression grew cold. "It's a flesh and blood body; what's the difference?"

But Song Juguang insisted, "It's not the same; Bixia, you're far more respected than others." The certainty in these words made Jiang Changbai unable to say anything.

Song Juguang's fingers were still rubbing circles on Jiang Changbai's wrist. Those hands and the sensation of satin had nothing to do with each other; the experience of holding a sword for so many years had left callous after thick callous on her hands. The rough feeling made loop after loop on Jiang Changbai's wrist, but when the fingers scraped across her pulse point, Jiang Chanbgai could feel the beat of Song Juguang's heart through her pulse.

The two acted as if by prior agreement, covering up the quickening beat of their hearts with nonplussed expressions. The ointment gradually grew softer and easy to work with, until, in the end, it became liquid, seeping through her skin. The medicine truly was effective—in merely this small period of time, Jiang Changbai felt the aching pain that had dogged her all day dissipate.

Finally, Song Juguang's hand stopped moving, and, as if she had remembered something, she picked up that letter on the desk. Only after looking over it for a long while did she ask, "Does Bixia know whom it is who's trying to frame this minister?"

Jiang Changbai composed herself, chasing away the strange sensation in her heart away totally. Thinking for a moment, she said, "It's still not clear, but there are only those few people who would dare to do so." She spoke vaguely, but the two knew full well who she was speaking of.

Song Juguang waved a hand, scattering all the memorials that had been neatly-stacked, and picked out two from within that had originally been spread on the desk. The first one was from the Ministry of Appointments, and the other was from the Ministry of War; laid side by side on the desk, they really seemed to be somewhat isolated and without help. "During the previous emperor's time, these two would quarrel every three days and fight every four, and the times they agreed politically were few. This minister merely finds it strange—how is it that, in less than a year's time, they've grown together?" Though Song Juguang's words were doubtful, there was a faint degree of confidence in them. It was as if the doubts she tossed out already had answers, and she was merely waiting for Jiang Changbai to peel the silk cocoon open and discover the answer.

Jiang Changbai wasn't a fool either; she merely pondered it for a short while, and then acted. She pulled a brush from within the brush pot, and laid it horizontally across the two memorials, then raised her head to look at Song Juguang, her eyes carrying a smile. "A Guang's meaning is like thus?"

Song Juguang nodded again, and picked that brush up, toying with it. It was incredibly leisurely, as if she were playing with that fan which never left her waist. "Then, has Bixia guessed who this is?"

Jiang Changbai frowned faintly, countless names flashing in her mind for a moment. But when she was about to extend a hand and grasp them, she couldn't catch ahold of them; having been in chaos for a long while, in the end, her hand was still utterly empty. She gazed at Song Juguang, yet saw Song Juguang didn't have the slightest intent to continue speaking. So, she stubbornly said, "I'll have someone investigate; it'll be found out in the end."

"Bixia is wise and mighty; this minister believes that that day won't be too far away. But this minister still has a matter to confess," Song Juguang said, smiling, and picked up that letter that had been forget to frame her. "This minister knew about these letters being sent to Luyuan."

Splish-splash—

The originally bright, sunny skies had, at some point, had black clouds float across them, and in the time it took Song Juguang to speak, bean-sized raindrops came pattering down.

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