{"id":2934,"date":"2026-04-19T00:17:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T00:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/song-of-yongan-13\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T01:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T01:59:34","slug":"song-of-yongan-13","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/chapter\/song-of-yongan-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Song of Yong\u2019an 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter Thirteen

His words left me speechless.

When he began writing the prescription, my heart was still racing. After a long silence, I finally asked, \u201cIs anyone else available at the Imperial Medical Bureau?\u201d

He wrote swiftly. \u201cOn second thought, it wouldn\u2019t be appropriate.\u201d

I fell silent again, realizing I had spoken too abruptly.

As I reached for a blank sheet of paper, my mind went completely blank.

Seeing this, he turned as if to leave.

\u201cPhysician Shen, could you deliver a message for me?\u201d I blurted out.

He turned back with a smile. \u201cI forgot to mention\u2014the Emperor has ordered the Prince of Yongping to accompany the imperial procession to Fengxian Temple today. If you have something to say, it\u2019s better to speak in person.\u201d

\u201cToday?\u201d I exclaimed.

After kneeling in the snow all night, he still had to accompany the Emperor?

Shen Qiu nodded. \u201cIf you wish to speak with him, wait another hour. I must first ensure he\u2019s fit to travel.\u201d

I nodded quickly.

\u2014

The mountain path was being cleared with boiling water. The procession waited at the foot of the mountain.

Wu Chengsi stood beside the Emperor, praising the auspicious weather. The Crown Prince and his sons stood nearby. From a distance, I saw Li Chengqi\u2014his expression calm, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Soon, everyone began ascending the mountain.

I walked behind with Yongtai.

\u201cBe careful,\u201d I said.

She blinked. \u201cAre you my maid today?\u201d

I pinched her nose lightly. \u201cYou\u2019re an imperial granddaughter. Of course I\u2019ll look after you.\u201d

She sighed. \u201cImperial granddaughter\u2026 after making mistakes, I\u2019m no better than a servant.\u201d

I fell silent. \u201cDon\u2019t say that again.\u201d

She muttered, \u201cIf I had the surname Wu like you, maybe life would be easier.\u201d

I forced a smile. \u201cThen I\u2019ll find you a Wu husband one day.\u201d

She laughed, tossing snow at me.

As we walked, her earlier words weighed on my mind.

Soon, the snowfall intensified again.

Li Chengqi and Li Chengyi came back to escort us.

\u201cWe were sent to accompany you,\u201d Li Chengyi said.

We walked in single file.

Yongtai quickened her pace, leaving us behind.

I slowed down deliberately.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me against the rock wall.

It was him.

We were hidden in a hollow in the cliff.

\u201cAre you cold?\u201d he asked softly.

I nodded.

\u201cI heard your birthday is on the eighth day of the first month,\u201d he said.

I nodded again, confused.

\u201cYou\u2019ll be twelve next year?\u201d

Another nod.

He sighed. \u201cA bit young\u2026 though Empress Wende married at twelve.\u201d

My heart skipped.

\u201cWhen next year comes, I\u2019ll ask the Empress Dowager to grant our marriage.\u201d

He let go of my hand.

I stood there, stunned, unable to speak.

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d he said.

Only then did I notice people approaching.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-2934","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2934"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2936,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/2934\/revisions\/2936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=2934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}