chapter forty-three – the medicine of desperation

Su Yan in a carriage, from the East Garden directly back home, just into the courtyard door, will see two look forward to see the boy pounced up.

Su Xiaobei was a bit more stable in nature and went forward to assist him.

Su Xiaojing eyes containing bubble tears, with a sobbing voice said: “adults said good just accompanied the driver to visit a garden, the same day afternoon back, the results did not say anything disappeared for three days and three nights, and the news is not available, can be a little scared. They say that accompanying the king is like accompanying a tiger, what if–“

“No nonsense in front of adults.” Su Xiaobei spoke out to remind.

Su Yan teased, “What are you scared of, afraid I’ll be eaten by a tiger?”

Su Xiaojing wiped tears: “small home, is because of the involvement of a dozen years ago a big case, only one night toppled, when I was not yet born, in my mother’s womb signed the contract of sale. I heard that year that case is the saint himself under the decree, small is very afraid, adults can never be peaceful, do not annoy the saint …….”

Su Xiaobei listened to him speak more and more uncharacteristically and rebuked, “Your lordship will naturally be safe and smooth, but shut your crow’s mouth!”

Su Yan patted his arm and reached out to touch Su Xiaojing’s head again, “Alright, no more talking, go boil water, I want to bathe and change.”

Su Xiaobei smelled the odor of medicine on his body and asked in shock, “Your Excellency is injured?”

Su Yan said, “Two cuts, flesh wounds, not in the way.”

“You can’t get water on the wound, and it’s getting hot, so you have to be careful, so it’s better to wipe your body.”

In the end, Su Yan was not able to take a bath at the insistence of the house’s young housekeeper, and was served by the two men to wipe his body with hot water.

He went through a wave of ups and downs last night from body to spirit, and with his injuries, he was sickly and had no appetite, drank a bowl of red dates and millet congee, and fell back to sleep.

Sleep early, wake up early, the cock will wake up, the sky is still cloudy. Su Yan felt a lot of freshness, get out of bed to breathe fresh air, just push the window, was startled.

Under the window squatted a man in green with a small hat, about twenty years old and of ordinary appearance.

Su Yan called out vigilantly, “What kind of person! Trespassing, I’m going to report it to the police!”

The youth was relieved to see him finally show his face and got up, “Lord Su mustn’t misunderstand, I am a scout from the Northern Zhenfu Division, my name is Gao Shuo.”

Su Yan raised his eyebrows: “lying on my house is for life-saving, then agreed to give up this year’s portion of the old mustard brine, on the spot to open the jar, take out all the moldy green hair, sealed, the jar will be handed over to Su Yan.

The two of them rushed to Shen Qi’s home without stopping, and it was already the west of the sun.

Shen Qi lived alone in a quiet alley in a large courtyard, the premises are from an exiled Beijing official hand plate down, three into two yards and aisle hall, a total of more than seventy rooms, is the specification of the fourth-grade officials, the Jin Yi Wei as the status of the Prince of Heaven’s personal army, the status of the fifth-grade also live, and a lot of handmaidens, servants, accountant, the flow of the guards. Compared with it, Su Yan’s small courtyard is also three, but the area is not large, the servants and less, relative to his rank seems a little cramped.

Gao Shuo entered the courtyard gate, whispered a few words to the housekeeper, and then led Su Yan straight to the main room of the main courtyard.

He stopped at the corridor and said to Su Yan, “Lord Qianhu is inside. I’m an outsider and a subordinate, so it’s not good for me to enter the inner room of the master’s house, so please make yourself at home, Lord Su.”

Su Yan thought, I am also an outsider, how can I make myself at home. But in the end, he was concerned about Shen Qi’s injuries and pushed the door in holding the jar.

Room three or five maidservants holding water pots, medicine bowls, gauze to and from, see a strange young man barged in also not surprised, a salute said “adult good day”, will be their own busy.

Su Yan did not care to be strange, quickly stepped around the yellow pear chi dragon pattern twelve panels surrounded screen embedded with calligraphy and painting screen strips, entered the bedchamber, a glance at the bed couch prone figure.

Shen Qi naked, lying on the lying sheet, no bandage, only in the back covered with a layer of boiling water boiled sun-dried white gauze, not long to suck full of blood stains, guarding the side of the maidservant will be carefully uncovered, and then change a layer of clean.

Su Yan rushed to the bedside, put down the jar, and asked in a low voice, “How is Thousand Household?”

“High fever for two days and one night, instilled a lot of soup and medicine, the heat recedes a few points and go up again, back and forth. The doctor just came to see, just shook his head and sighed ……”

Su Yan leaned down, hesitated for a moment, reached out to uncover the gauze covering Shen Qi’s back, and in the next moment, he was hit by the shocking injuries and took half a step back, fiercely sucking in a breath of cold air.

“What kind of punishment did he suffer? How …… “The whole back is thin and rotten, can not see an inch of normal skin and flesh, as if scarlet slush, the two curved butterfly bones are vaguely transparent to the color of Mori white bone, miserable.

The servant girl choked and replied, “It’s ‘freshen up’.”

Suyen’s hands and feet were cold.

One of the ten major tortures, “combing and washing”! Even after 500 years, it is still famous, and when you open the ancient history of torture, the bloody gas comes out through the paper, which makes people turn pale at the smell of it.

He couldn’t help but sit on his knees in front of the bed, leaning forward, his trembling fingers gently holding Shen Qi’s hand, his heart burned by the other party’s burning skin.