The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan
Chapter 508 - 507 His Xianxian... (Second update)

Chapter 508: 507 His Xianxian... (Second update)

Li Xianyun saw that the soldiers recognized her, which saved her the trouble of explaining, so she asked, "Has everyone been given their medicinal soup?"

"They have," came the reply.

"How long ago did they drink it?" she inquired.

"About an hour or so."

An hour was enough time for the medicine to have had some effect.

Li Xianyun instructed Youlan and Jinwu to stay outside while she entered with Bater and two guards beside her.

She always favored her maids and didn’t want them to suffer with her.

Besides, Youlan and Jinwu were about to get married. It would be unlucky if they contracted the epidemic during the process.

A marriage must be blessed with joy and good fortune.

Youlan, of course, didn’t want to stay behind, but once Li Xianyun made a decision, it was hard to change her mind.

The two of them had no choice but to remain outside the fence.

Li Xianyun planned to first take the patients’ pulses and then inspect each house to see if there were any issues with their accommodation or dietary needs.

Li Xianyun came to the house near the fence entrance, where seven or eight men were housed, all lying on the ground, or sitting against the wall – their complexions were dark, and their eyes lacked luster, looking pitiful.

Feeling someone enter, some opened their eyes to look, but many didn’t even bother to look, enveloped by a sense of resignation and a "broken jar" mentality—as if they were waiting for death.

How could the master from Shangjing be treated with such neglect?

The soldier who was leading the way was about to wake the men, but Li Xianyun stopped him.

Li Xianyun approached an old man nearby, knelt down, took the old man’s arm, flipped it over to take his pulse, showing no disgust for the dirt and cracks on the old man’s hands.

The stains from frequent fieldwork or manual labor seemed to be embedded in their skin, never fully washable.

The old man, whose pulse was being taken, looked bewildered. Seeing someone taking his pulse seemed to revive him. He turned to Li Xianyun and asked, "Young man, are you the physician?"

Bater wanted to explain Li Xianyun’s identity, but she interrupted him, "Yes."

"Am I not going to make it?" the old man added. "I am so severely ill, I fear I won’t survive."

Li Xianyun reassured him, "Old sir, don’t worry. Coughing up blood is a normal occurrence; expelling the bad blood is a good sign."

The old man’s eyes brightened upon hearing this; he hadn’t mentioned coughing up blood, yet this young person knew about it.

This must be a highly skilled physician, he thought, feeling much comforted.

Their conversation was overheard by other patients nearby, who then gathered around, mustering their strength.

After taking the pulse of one hand, Li Xianyun took the other hand to examine it.

She looked at the approaching patients and said, "You must all drink the medicinal soup that has been sent these past few days on time. If you cooperate with my treatment, it won’t be long before you can recover and reunite with your families."

What these patients were most concerned about were their loved ones.

Hearing Li Xianyun’s words, the hearts of these seriously ill people were set at ease, and they expressed their gratitude to her.

After examining the patients, Li Xianyun went to inspect each of the houses.

Da Nai was quite meticulous, implementing a segregated management:

Men in one house, women in another, and children in a separate one.

When Li Xianyun found out that the children were kept in a separate house, her brows furrowed.

If all the children were of the same age, it would be fine, but with a mix of ages, there was a risk of older children bullying the younger ones.

Li Xianyun decided to first visit the house where the children were. Before she even arrived, she heard the heart-wrenching cries of a child, a cry filled with fear and despair.

Li Xianyun hurried her steps and, upon entering, saw three boys around eight or nine years old surrounding a five-year-old boy, bullying him.

A group of children of various ages watched as if it was a spectacle.

The ringleader boy gripped the small boy’s collar, lifting him up as the child cried in terror.

"Shut up!!"

The boy spoke and then raised his hand to slap the little one.

Li Xianyun stepped forward, grabbed the boy’s arm, and yanked him aside with force.

Seeing someone coming to his rescue, the boy didn’t care about anything else and stood close to Li Xianyun as if he had seen a savior.

Li Xianyun looked down at the boy as if she saw her own younger brother.

Back in Shangjing, her brother Li Shaojun was also always bullied by a group of privileged young masters.

"Don’t be afraid, I will protect you," Li Xianyun said softly.

The boy obediently nodded his head.

Just then, a woman with her mouth and nose covered ran in, frantic with urgency.

The guarding soldier spoke unhappily, "Weren’t you supposed to look after these children? Where did you go?"

The woman stammered, "I, I went to the latrine, and it took longer than expected."

Li Xianyun had Bater whip those three children twice each.

The three bullies jumped up and down in pain.

Li Xianyun said to the soldier, "These children can’t be isolated and managed on their own; they are so young, if something were to happen, no one could bear the responsibility."

The soldier repeatedly agreed.

Li Xianyun spoke, "I will take these children home one by one. Have them pack up their belongings, and I will visit the other houses and come back for them later."

"Yes," the soldier saluted with a bent arm.

Li Xianyun then had someone rent a few horse-drawn carriages while she continued the inspection with her guard.

During this process, Li Xianyun discovered a few minor problems and solved them one by one.

By the time the inspection was done, the five or six horse-drawn carriages the soldiers had found had also arrived.

Li Xianyun had the children get on the carriages and, according to the roster provided by the soldiers, she sent those pitiful children home one by one.

The children’s parents, heartbroken from the separation, were overwhelmed with shock and joy to see their children returning and burst into tears, about to kneel to Li Xianyun in gratitude.

Li Xianyun helped them to their feet, explained the severity of the situation, and taught them how to avoid direct contact with those who had serious illnesses.

After sending the children home, Li Xianyun found Da Nai, and together they distributed the medicine packs.

With so many patients with mild symptoms in the city, it was simply impractical to concentrate on boiling medicine to deliver to them, so they had to distribute medicine packs and let them boil the medicine themselves.

After the medicine packs were distributed, Li Xianyun went to the abandoned training ground to take the pulses of patients, and then returned to the posthouse to take Li Rui and his wife’s pulses.

Overall, the patients’ conditions had improved a bit.

In the evening, Li Xianyun added another prescription to the patients’ regimen; whether it would be effective would be seen the next morning.

When night fell, Li Xianyun was both exhausted and sleepy, and on top of that, she had her period, which left her almost unable to stand, so she had to return to her room to rest.

Li Xianyun was so tired and sleepy that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

That night, the cold moonlight bathed the earth, and a group of riders galloped wildly along the official road.

The man at the head was splendid in appearance and extremely tall and powerful.

Riding on a robust Fiery Flame Horse, he looked especially imposing.

The Fiery Flame Horse moved like the wind, yet the man on its back still felt it too slow, raising his whip high and lashing the horse’s back, the sound echoing through the night sky.

He was followed by more than a hundred personal guards who were far behind him.

Under the hazy night, his stern face was unclear, and the fierce light in his tiger-like eyes was unfelt.

He had been delayed for a day in Shangjing, and after arranging affairs, he rode through the night, whipping his horse as he sped toward Shuozhou.

After separating from Li Xianyun at Qiufeng Pass, it took him three to four hours to return to Shangjing. Handling public affairs took a day, and even though he set off immediately for Shuozhou, he would still arrive at least two days later than Li Xianyun.

Two more days before he could see his Xianxian.

His Xianxian...

Just the thought of her tender and pitiable figure tormented Yelu Yan, each moment separated from her was agonizing, each second as long as a year.