A few days later

As the days passed, Zhiruo’s frustration grew with each passing hour. There were multiple times when she came very close to using replacement herbs to create the medicine with the same properties as that described in the record books, but no matter how close she got, she always seemed to be missing one herb with the right properties to complete the medicine. Nothing though, could prepare her for what happened next.

“Lady Shangguan!” Zhiruo looked up as footsteps rushed into the medical tent, her eyes meeting the wide panicked gaze of Prince Yifan.

“Your Highness.” She greeted with a deep curtsey. Prince Yifan shook his head and quickly pulled her back up.

“Forget the formalities!” He ordered, “You have to come with me right now!” Zhiruo frowned in confusion.

“What is the matter?” She asked. Prince Yifan’s brow was furrowed deeply with worry as he took  a deep breath before speaking.

“It’s Yixing.” He replied, “He collapsed during morning training and is now unconscious.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Zhiruo’s heart pounded in her chest as she ran through the military camp, following closely behind Prince Yifan. On a normal day, it would be quite unseemly for a noble lady to be running at full speed, but at that moment, Zhiruo could care less. Her thoughts jumped back to the cough Yixing had been developing over the past few days, fear beginning to settle into her chest. She had been too busy thinking about developing the cure to think much about the prince’s coughing, but now…her mind jumped to the worst possible reason behind the prince’s collapse, and Zhiruo quickly pushed the thought away before it overtook all rationality in her mind.

Please, please don’t let it be…!

Zhiruo rushed to Yixing’s side as she brushed past the gathered soldiers into the tent. The young prince lay unmoving on his bed, his eyes closed. His cheeks were flushed, his lips unnaturally pale.

“Clear the tent!” She ordered sharply, “No one but Prince Yifan is allowed to stay!” The soldiers left the room obediently, and Zhiruo quickly examined the unconscious prince. His skin burned under her fingers as she touched his forehead gently, and Zhiruo carefully pressed her fingers against his wrist. She closed her eyes and forced herself to steady her breathing as she felt the prince’s pulse below her fingers. It was extremely erratic, the pulse jumping from steady to rapid to odd flutters all in rapid succession. Zhiruo swallowed hard as she opened her eyes, and her fingers trembled slightly as she reached up and pulled down the collar of Yixing’s robe. Her heart leapt into as her gaze fell on the red rash that had developed there. Without needing to check, Zhiruo could already feel the prince’s heart hammering below her palm, a sign of a struggle to breathe. Zhiruo felt her legs give way, and her entire body began to tremble as she fell to her knees beside Yixing’s unmoving body. In any other situation, Zhiruo would have carefully considered the various possible options before coming to a conclusion, but now…

“Lady Shangguan?” Prince Yifan spoke hesitantly, “Is it…?” Zhiruo closed her eyes and took a shaking breath as she nodded.

“He has the plague.” She whispered. Prince Yifan in his breath sharply at the news.

“Are you sure?” He asked, “Couldn’t it be anything else?” Zhiruo shook her head.

“Perhaps if we were in the city.” She replied, “But the fact that he went with me into the city, and the symptoms he is showing...there’s no mistaking it.”

“Do you...have any idea how to treat it yet?” Prince Yifan asked quietly. It was crazy how calm the older prince sounded at the moment; he had just received news that his younger brother had caught a deadly plague, and here he was just calmly asking Zhiruo questions. Zhiruo herself wanted to scream, to cry, to throw something across the room. She had come here with the goal of healing the plague ridden city, but she had never bargained for Prince Yixing’s life on the line as well! Still, she forced herself to take a deep breath and respond calmly. Losing her composure was not going to help the situation at the moment.

“I do not.” She admitted, “I am still missing a replacement for one herb.” The one that she was looking for, weeping forsythia fruit, was nowhere to be found. That was only natural, however; the fruit only blossomed in the fall, and now it was only early summer. Even if Zhiruo dared to enter the city again, it was unlikely anyone would have some for sale. Prince Yifan sighed deeply.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” He asked. Zhiruo swallowed hard.

“Keep people out of here.” She said, “I don’t know how dengue fever spreads, so we have to be careful. Quarantine the soldiers that helped carry Yixing here, and clean everything Yixing touched within the past three days. Move everyone as far away from this tent as possible. You should not return here as well. If I need anything, just leave it outside the tent flaps.”

“Then what about you?” Prince Yifan asked. Zhiruo bit her lip and looked over at Yixing for a long moment before speaking.

“I will stay here, and continue trying to create the recorded cure here.” She replied.

“You might catch the plague as well.” Prince Yifan warned, “I don’t think Yixing would want that.” Zhiruo shook her head.

“Your Highness.” She said softly, “No matter what Yixing thinks, I will not be leaving. I sleep in the same tent as he does. If I caught the plague, it would have already happened.” She reached out and took Yixing’s hand in hers.

“And besides, if Yixing dies, then I surely will not live on alone.” She swore firmly.

Yixing, I swear I will save you!

____________________________________________________________________________

As the days passed, Yixing’s condition worsened with each passing hour, Zhiruo’s frustration growing along with it. The disease had reduced Yixing’s strength at least by half, the rash making him extremely uncomfortable by day and his spiking fever keeping him from sleeping at night. All Zhiruo could do was give him herbs to strengthen his lungs and suppress the fever whenever she could, but she knew things wouldn’t end until she found the right cure.

“Forsythia fruit…” She mused one day as she ran her fingers over the drawing in the book. It was the last ingredient that she needed, and her efforts to find something to replace it were so far proving useless. If only someone could make the weeping forsythia bloom in the fall, then all her problems would likely be solved! Nothing ever seemed to come that easily for Zhiruo, however. As Zhiruo ran through all the possible replacement herbs again, she heard a choking gag from the direction of the bed, and she looked up in horror to see Yixing leaning over the edge, blood spilling from his mouth as he gagged.

“Yixing!” Zhiruo cried as she rushed to his side. Yixing chuckled weakly as Zhiruo pressed a handkerchief to his mouth to wipe the blood away.

“I’m alright, Ruo’er.” He said softly, “Don’t worry.” Zhiruo sighed in frustration.

“Don’t lie to me, Yixing.” She said, “Vomiting blood occurs during the final stages of dengue fever. If by that time a patient is not given a cure quickly…” She let her words trail off, but both knew what the other half of the sentence was.

Then the patient will die very soon.

Zhiruo’s eyes filled with tears as she gripped the bloodstained handkerchief in her hand tightly, guilt gripping her heart in a vise.

“I’m so useless…!” She whispered, growing tight with tears. Yixing reached out and gently pressed a hand to her cheek.

“Don’t say that, Ruo’er.” He murmured soothingly, “Perhaps this is just my fate. At the very least, I can have you stay with me until the end.” Zhiruo shook her head furiously.

“Don’t even talk about that!” She cried, “I won’t listen!”

“Ruo’er…” Yixing protested softly, but devolved into a coughing fit instead, his words lost in his shaking breaths. Frustrated tears spilled down Zhiruo’s cheeks as she threw down her handkerchief and ran to the exit. Prince Yifan appeared at the doorway, notes from the morning’s military meeting in hand.

“Lady Shangguan? Where are you going?” He asked. Zhiruo closed her eyes and took a shaking breath.

“I need some fresh air.” She replied. Without waiting for a reply from the prince, Zhiruo exited the tent into the bright afternoon sun. It wasn’t right for a physician to leave her sick patient behind, but right now, Zhiruo’s chest felt so tight she could barely breathe. The rest of the soldiers were camped further away, which allowed her some space to walk freely. Zhiruo headed for the back hill overlooking Pingyang, her footsteps turning into a brisk walk, and then into an outright run. She didn’t stop untl she reached the hill, and she skidded to a stop near the edge, the wind blowing at the tears rushing to her eyes. Zhiruo looked down at her trembling hands. Yixing’s blood dotted parts of her palm and the edges of her sleeves, and just the sight was enough to send searing fear through Zhiruo’s chest. She tilted her head up at the sky and looked up at the sun.

“Why?” Zhiruo screamed at the heavens above, “Why must this always happen to me? First my family was taken away, and now the man I love is about to die! What have I done to deserve such solitude?” Sobs wracked her chest as all the frustration she had been trying to suppress bloomed to the surface.

“If I have done anything wrong, then put the blame on me!” Zhiruo cried, “Prince Yixing has done nothing wrong! Why is he being punished?”

Perhaps this is just my fate.

Prince Yixing’s voice echoed in her head as Zhiruo sank to her knees on the wet grass below her. Her hands gripped the long green stalks as she let out a long furious scream, tears running uncontrollably down her face. Zhiruo wasn’t sure how long she sat there crying, but by the time she found the strength to move, the sun had already moved far across the sky from its noontime position. Zhiruo pushed herself to her feet and ran a hand over her cheeks. It wouldn’t be good for Yixing to see that she had been crying. As she began her journey back down the hill, Zhiruo’s gaze happened to fall on some of the wildflowers that were growing on the hillside. Her eyes focused on a patch of white blossoms, and her footsteps slowed as her brain identified the flower out of habit.

White peonies...how nice, to have such a pure flower growing here…

Zhiruo turned to resume her journey, then turned back again as a thought suddenly came to her mind.

Wait...peonies?

The text of an old book Zhiruo had read once floated up in her memory, and Zhiruo closed her eyes to try and recall what the book had said. Flowers were useful for many things, just like how herbs were. For white peonies, the usage typically was for...Zhiruo’s eyes widened as she remembered what the book had said.

That’s it!

________________________________________________________________________

Zhiruo’s hands trembled in nervous excitement as she hurried back to Yixing’s tent, a bouquet of white peonies clutched in her hand.

“Zhiruo?” Yixing called softly as she came inside, “Where have you been?”

“On the back hill.” Zhiruo replied absently, her hands flying as she flipped quickly through the texts she had brought with her. Yes, there it was! White peony roots served the same medicinal function as forsythia fruit. Zhiruo laughed in embarrassment as she looked down at the flowers in her hand. She had been so fixated on herbal medication and Yixing’s sickness had thrown her off so much that Zhiruo had completely forgotten about about looking into flowers for alternatives! The sound of Yixing’s coughing spurred her into motion, her fingers pulling off the delicate roots that she had carefully uprooted along with the flowers on the hill. Before long, she had a pot of hot water boiling with the flower roots on it outside the tent, along with other pots to boil the other herbs. Zhiruo held her breath as she poured the resulting liquids together, her eyes focused for the unique clear light brown mixture that should result if the right ingredients were mixed together. A hesitant smile spread over her face as the correctly colored liquid formed in the bowl along with its supposed signature sweet honey scent, but Zhiruo held herself back from being too hopeful. The color was right, but who knew about its properties? After all, many of the herbs had been replaced with others with similar properties.

“Zhiruo.” The sound of Yixing’s voice drew her attention, and Zhiruo quickly hurried to his side.

“Highness.” She said softly, sinking to her knees beside him.Yixing pushed himself up slowly before he reached and weakly cupped her face in his hand.

“You haven’t stopped moving since you came back.” He noted, “Did you find something you needed?” Zhiruo hesitated before nodding.

“White peonies.” She said, “The hillside is full of them. The medicine looks right, but I don’t know if it still works right with all the replacements I made.”

“Let me see it.” Yixing said. Zhiruo hesitated before rising to her feet and bringing the bowl of medicine to him.

“You said you don’t know if it works or not?” Yixing repeated as he looked at the bowl on the tray Zhiruo held. She bit her lip and nodded silently. Yixing gazed at the medicine for a long moment, and before Zhiruo could stop him, he snatched the bowl off the tray with surprising speed and gulped down its contents.

“Yixing!” Zhiruo cried, “What are you doing?” Yixing broke into a fit of coughing, and Zhiruo rushed to quickly pat him on the back.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” He replied as his coughs subsided, “I’m testing your medicine for you.” Tears filled Zhiruo’s eyes as she gazed at the young prince.

“You idiot!” She cried, “It’s only a test medication! What if it doesn’t work? What if it makes things worse? What if it’s poisonous?” Yixing sighed and pressed a finger to her lips.

“I trust your medical knowledge.” He replied, “And besides, someone has to test it out, and I’d rather it be me than anyone else.” Zhiruo sighed in frustration.

“I hate how you’re so rash!” She huffed, tears running down her cheeks. Yixing sighed softly as he pulled her into a gentle hug.

“Just stay by my side to see if the medicine works.” He murmured, “That’s all I ask of you tonight, Ruo’er.” Zhiruo nodded.

“Always.” She promised. Her heart tightened as she heard each shuddering breath in Yixing’s chest, but she swallowed hard and pushed back down more tears. Crying anymore than she already was was not going to help the situation.

“Zhiruo.” Yixing said after a few moments, “If I manage to survive this plague and defeat Northern Zhou, let’s get married when we go home.” Zhiruo’s eyes widened as she pulled away from him in shock.

“Pardon?” She said, feeling dazed. Yixing smiled faintly and squeezed Zhiruo’s hand gently.

“If I manage to return home alive, then it means that the heavens surely do not want us to separate.” He said, “So when we return home, I want to ask the king to grant us marriage. Gongsun Rong’er, I never want to let you go again. Will you stay by my side forever, as my princess?” Zhiruo’s eyes filled with tears. It had been so long since someone had called her by her original name, and the fact that it was from the prince’s mouth made it all the better. Marriage had seemed long out of her plans for the future, but if it was with Prince Yixing...Zhiruo swallowed hard and looked up bravely into Prince Yixing’s dark eyes.

“It would be my honor, Your Highness.” She replied softly. Yixing smiled broadly and pulled her back into a hug.

“Then, I swear I will overcome this illness.” He said, “I will surely take care of you for the rest of my life for many years to come.” Zhiruo smiled and closed her eyes.

“I will be waiting.” She replied.