Chapter Eighteen: High Fever That Refuses To Subside

  Zhao Yan didn't expect his mansion to be so lively this afternoon. First, Cao Song and Hu Yanping came to visit, but as a result, his painting was stolen by Cao Song. Before he could even rest, his older brother Zhao Yun also arrived at his mansion, but Zhao Yun's situation was not good. He was reportedly carried into the mansion by someone, and the imperial physician had already rushed over. This startled Zhao Yan, who thought Zhao Yun had encountered an assassin, and he hastily rushed to the front courtyard as well.

  On the way, Zhao Yan met Cao Ying. Seeing her hurried appearance, he guessed that she had also just received the news. The couple made their way through several courtyards to the front courtyard's wing room, where they saw the imperial physician taking Zhao Yun's pulse. A large-bearded guard stood in front of the bed, and there were several other guards and officials waiting in the wing room.

  "See the Prince and Princess of Guangyang!" As soon as Zhao Yan and Cao Ying entered, those officials and guards rushed to pay their respects, but Zhao Yan didn't have time to bother with them, walking directly to the bedside to ask: "What's going on? What happened to my brother?"

  The imperial physician was feeling the pulse and couldn't answer Zhao Yan's words, so the big-bearded guard who had been standing by the bed all along bowed his head and replied: "Reporting to the Duke, yesterday the Prince of Ying injured his arm, today the wound is red and swollen, and he also has a fever. However, the Prince of Ying insisted on surveying the river course, which made his illness worse. Just now, he fainted by the riverside, so as it's closest to the Duke's mansion, I took the liberty of having the Prince of Ying carried here for treatment!"

  When Zhao Yun heard that he was injured and infected, not the assassin he had imagined, Zhao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. For Zhao Yun, the future Song Shen Zong, Zhao Yan still had a good impression, especially his tough stance on Western Xia and his courage to implement reforms at home. These are things that only a rejuvenating master can do. Unfortunately, Zhao Yun died prematurely in his 30s, and his reforms also failed due to various reasons, which made the Northern Song Dynasty lose its last opportunity for rejuvenation.

  "By the way, what's your name? Why would Big Brother risk getting drenched to measure the river?" Zhao Yan asked the bearded guard again, as he still had to wait a while for the imperial physician.

  "Belonging to the lower ranks, Chen Ding was just transferred back to the capital from Qin Feng Road a while ago and is now serving as a guard beside Prince Ying." The big-bearded guard named Chen Ding replied honestly.

  "Oh? You were transferred from Qin Feng Road, it seems you must have received the favor of a noble person?" Cao Ying suddenly asked, she was the daughter of a general's family and had always admired her ancestors Cao Bin and Cao Wei, so Cao Ying was very familiar with military affairs. The area on the side of Qin Feng Road belonged to the border between the Song Dynasty and the Western Xia and Tubo tribes, conflicts would erupt from time to time, it could be said that the troops there were the most hardworking. Chen Ding was able to transfer from Qin Feng Road to the prosperous capital and follow Zhao Xun, a future emperor, definitely had someone backing him up.

  Actually, Cao Ying's question was a bit rude, but Chen Ding replied calmly: "Reporting to the Princess of the State, I used to follow Vice General Yang and quell the rebellion of Nong Zhigao, and fought countless times against the Western Xia on the Qin Feng Road. I also made some small contributions and finally gained the recognition of Vice General Yang, which is why he recommended me to come to the capital to serve as a guard for the King of Ying!"

  "So you're one of Yang's men, no wonder. You've done a good job this time, if the Prince of Ying is safe and sound, you'll definitely have a bright future ahead of you!" Cao Ying said with a faint smile, but in fact, she had already guessed who was behind Chen Ding when she heard that he was transferred from Qin Feng Road, after all, only her Yang grandfather could place someone by the side of the Prince of Ying.

  Next to him, Zhao Yan was confused, especially when Chen Ding mentioned Yang Fu Du Guan, also known as Yang Ye Ye in Cao Ying's words. These two should be the same person, but Zhao Yan had no idea who this person was. He didn't understand their conversation either, so he could only pretend to be deaf and dumb. After Cao Ying stopped asking questions, he leaned over to Cao Ying and asked in a low voice, "Hey, who is that Yang Ye Ye anyway?"

  Cao Ying was very unaccustomed to speaking at such close range with Zhao Yan, but in front of outsiders, she couldn't avoid it either, and could only reply in a low voice: "Yang Ye is the grandson of Yang Wudi, the famous general of our great Song Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Wen Guang. His father's name was Yan Zhao, also a famous general of our great Song Dynasty. It can be said that three generations of this family are all famous generals, which is very rare among the military families of our great Song Dynasty."

  At this point, Cao Ying hesitated for a moment and then continued with a sad expression: "Now the Great Song Dynasty's military families are declining, although the children of various military families can still serve in the army and have a huge influence on the military, but there has been no outstanding generals emerging from the military families for many years. Now there is only one person, Yang, who is still supporting the prestige of the military family, and some people even call him 'the last general in the military family who can fight'."

  "Yang Wenguang?" Zhao Yan was stunned when he heard this, especially when he heard that Yang Wenguang's father was actually Yang Yanzhao, also known as Yang Liu Lang. His face showed some disbelief, as he had grown up listening to stories about the Yang family generals and knew them best. If he hadn't remembered wrongly, Yang Wenguang's father was clearly Yang Zongbao, and his grandfather was Yang Yanzhao. How did it become that in Cao Ying's words, Yang Wenguang suddenly became Yang Yanzhao's son? Could it be that he himself had remembered incorrectly?

  Actually, Zhao Yan didn't remember wrongly and Cao Ying didn't say wrongly either. In the Yang Family Generals novel, Yang Wenguang is indeed the grandson of Yang Yanzhao, with a Yang Zongbao in between. However, in real history, there was no such person as Yang Zongbao; Yang Wenguang was actually the third son of Yang Yanzhao, not his grandson.

  Just as Zhao Yan was entangled in Yang Wenguang's identity, the imperial physician in the Wangfu finally finished diagnosing Zhao Yan. He stood up with a heavy face and bowed to Zhao Yan: "Report to the Duke, the original injury of the King of Ying is not serious, but because it was not treated in time, the wound became inflamed and did not heal, leading to the current high fever that cannot be reduced. With just me alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to cure the king. Now, I'll first give the king a prescription for a cooling medicine, and after the imperial physician from the palace arrives, we can discuss specific treatment methods!"

  Zhao Yan spent a few years in the social circle of later generations, and naturally heard about this imperial physician's delaying tactics. He estimated that he saw that Zhao Yun's illness was severe and did not dare to take it lightly for treatment, planning to wait until the imperial physicians from the palace came, and then discuss together. In this way, even if Zhao Yun could not be cured, he would not have to bear all the responsibility.

  "Go and write the prescription, but before the imperial physician arrives, you must not let my brother's condition worsen!" Zhao Yan glared at this imperial physician, although he clearly knew that the other party did not want to take responsibility, but he could not say it out loud. Moreover, if Zhao Xian was really killed by the imperial physician in his own mansion, heaven knows what kind of crime those officials of the Song Dynasty would pin on him?

  The imperial physician was also startled by Zhao Yan's gaze, knowing that the king had already seen through his intentions, but he didn't say anything, which could be considered as tacit consent. This made him hastily respond with a "yes", and at the same time, the imperial physician felt a bit strange in his heart - the current king seemed to be smarter than before, it seems that he can no longer be fooled like before.

  Taking advantage of the imperial doctor writing a prescription, Zhao Yan finally got to the bedside and took a look at Zhao Xu. This was his second time seeing this future Song Dynasty Emperor, the first time being when Zhao Yan had just crossed over and Zhao Xu came with two other brothers to see him, but at that time Zhao Yan's soul was not in his body and he didn't pay attention to Zhao Xu, not even remembering what he looked like.

  Only saw Zhao Yun's face on the bed, his complexion was flushed, and his nostrils were flapping violently, looking like he had a high fever. Zhao Yun's appearance wasn't bad either, and he looked a bit like Zhao Yan, except that Zhao Yun's face was more angular, making him look more serious, and it might be harder to get close to him at first glance. In comparison, Zhao Yan thought he himself was more handsome, and also easier to get close to.

  As Zhao Yan was sizing up this nominal elder brother of his, he suddenly heard Zhao Yun say in a daze, "Cold... This king is so cold... so cold..."

  At this time, the imperial physician had just finished writing a prescription and was about to send someone to fetch medicine. Hearing Zhao's words in his daze, he immediately spoke up and instructed the servants of the Wang estate: "Quickly! Quickly prepare a brazier and add another quilt, absolutely cannot let the Duke of Yong chill again!"

  "Wait a minute!" Zhao Yan suddenly spoke up to stop him, he also understood medical skills, although the medical skills of later generations were very different from those of ancient times, but the treatment of some common diseases was still universal.

  "Can't wait, Prince Ying's condition is severe now, must pay attention to keep warm, otherwise the condition will only worsen!" Cao Ying also spoke up at this time, and let the servants prepare a brazier and blankets. She was also well-versed in medicine and fully agreed with the imperial physician's treatment plan.

  Zhao Yan did not respond to Cao Ying's words, but instead sat down beside Zhao Xun's bed, stretched out his hand and touched the other's forehead. The big-bearded guard Chen Ding standing next to him suddenly trembled, his feet also slightly parted, his whole body like a leopard, ready to rescue at any time. Although Zhao Yan was Zhao Xun's own brother and it was unlikely that he would harm Zhao Xun, for Chen Ding, no matter who approached Zhao Xun, he had to be on guard.

  "Ah, it's scorching!" Zhao Yan's hand had just touched Zhao Yun's forehead when she exclaimed in surprise. Although there was no thermometer, Zhao Yun's body temperature must have exceeded 38 degrees Celsius, and it was possible that it had even reached 39 degrees. For a child to have such a high fever might not be a big deal, but for an adult, this kind of heat needed to be brought down as soon as possible.

  "Royal doctor, how long does it take to decoct the medicine and how long will it take to see its effect after drinking it?" Zhao Yan suddenly turned around, his eyes fixed intently on the royal doctor. Treating illnesses was also one of Zhao Yan's areas of expertise, and as soon as he encountered a professional question like this, he immediately seemed to transform into a different person, exuding an aura that brooked no doubt. This change in Zhao Yan also left Cao Ying stunned, because she suddenly felt that the current Zhao Yan looked like a true prince for the first time.

  "Report to the king, it takes at least half an hour to decoct the medicine, and after drinking it, it will take at least one to two hours to see the effect!" The imperial physician was also intimidated by the aura emitted by Zhao Yan, and replied in a trembling tone.

  "That would take three to five hours, no way, not enough time!" Zhao Yan muttered to himself. He didn't want to make a move at first, but looking at the current situation, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing either.