The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Tang Xixue looked at the unconscious person on the bed and shook her head helplessly.

"So delicate? What will become of us?"

She gave the soft couch to Si Xingxuan and sat down to the side herself.

She reached out to take his pulse, her fingertips resting on his wrist, probing carefully for a moment.

"The pulse is weak and floating, indicating deficiency of both qi and blood, and stagnation in the heart meridian."

"It's clearly due to excessive worry."

Tang Xixue was somewhat puzzled.

"The dignified Divine Physician Zheyue, the seventh-generation Pavilion Master, and the richest man in the Nine Provinces."

"Aside from being a little weak, Zheyue's life can almost be considered perfect, with everything going smoothly."

"What unresolved issue could he possibly have?"

Tang Xixue took out her needle case, and the silver needles shimmered faintly in the candlelight.

With fingertips twirling the needle, she inserted it one stitch at a time, her movements extremely steady.

After a few needle pricks, Si Xingxuan's eyelashes trembled slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Tang Xixue's exquisite face.

He sat up abruptly.

"Junior Uncle... why are you up? You need to rest properly now."

Tang Xixue pointed to the soft couch beneath him.

"Look, my tatami mat, haven't you taken it?"

Upon hearing this, Si Xingxuan froze completely.

He looked down at the spot where he was lying, and his pale, handsome face suddenly flushed red.

He came to see her.

In the end, it turned out that he was the one lying here, and she was the one treating his illness.

Si Xingxuan pursed his lips, eager to get off the bed, but he couldn't muster any strength and could only look at her pitifully.

"Junior Uncle...I..."

"You have a heart ailment, it's not because I didn't cure you last time."

Tang Xixue said earnestly that she could not afford to ruin her reputation under any circumstances.

"Zheyue, what's troubling you? Are you worried about not having enough money to spend?"

She got up, took a medicine box from the cabinet, walked back and sat down again.

"I'll help you spend it!"

Si Xingxuan remained silent.

He simply gazed at her with those beautiful eyes.

He was willing to give her all his money.

But my brother said that a man should be more reserved.

Nobody likes someone who pesters you relentlessly.

In those misty, rain-like eyes, thoughts surged like a tide, and emotions were woven like a tapestry.

Tang Xixue opened the medicine box, inside lay ten pills, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.

"This medicine is called 'Relief from Worry,' and it can alleviate your symptoms. It was carefully formulated by me."

"I'll give you a special price, three thousand gold coins."

Si Xingxuan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and did not react for a moment.

"You can take one first and test its effectiveness."

Tang Xixue pushed the medicine box in front of him.

Si Xingxuan took a pill to relieve his worries with the warm water she handed him.

He suspected that it was a name she made up on the spot, but he had no evidence.

"But remember to pay for this one first. There are ten in total, three hundred each."

Tang Xixue looked at him.

"How would you like to pay? Do you have any money with you?"

She asked seriously, and her money didn't come from thin air.

Her medicine and her consultation fees must be accounted for clearly.

We can't just treat him for free, can we?

"without."

Si Xingxuan shook his head, his voice somewhat dejected.

Tang Xixue was stunned for a moment.

She looked at him with disbelief in her eyes.

"Zhe Yue, you're not trying to take advantage of me, are you? You've already eaten it."

Si Xingxuan hurriedly shook his head, his voice urgent and flustered.

"I... I didn't mean to take advantage of Zhizhi."

He lowered his head, took a token from his waist, and presented it to her with both hands.

The token was made entirely of black gold, with the words "Seven Generations" engraved on the front.

The back features intricate star patterns that shimmer with a dim luster under candlelight.

"Here, take this."

Tang Xixue took the token, her fingertips touching the cold metal, and she was slightly taken aback.

Order from the Seventh Generation Pavilion Master.

With this, one can access the Qianjun Treasury on the third floor of any Seven Generations Pavilion.

That was the treasury of the Seventh Pavilion.

This token is enough to buy half of Baiyujing.

She looked up at him, her eyes showing a hint of surprise.

Such a big move all of a sudden!

They might not have good intentions.

"Just write an IOU; I still believe you have the ability to pay it back."

Tang Xixue gently placed the token back in his hand, taking only what she deserved.

In this world, for every gain, there is a loss.

She never coveted things that didn't belong to her.

Si Xingxuan stared at the returned token, a thin layer of tears welling up in his eyes.

"Zhizhi, this is a gift to apologize. Please accept it; you might need it in the future."

His voice was like the last rain of late spring, falling softly yet urgently.

"I was very rude to you before, I'm sorry."

He picked up the token and placed it on the table beside him.

The gesture conveyed an unwavering determination that left no room for refusal.

Tang Xixue glanced at him indifferently, trying to understand why he had made that move on the chessboard.

Si Xingxuan also looked up at her.

Love is the moon in the sky and the stars on earth.

Ordinary people cannot afford to hold it up, and mortals cannot obtain it.

It's said that true romantics are often raised in wealthy families.

He can afford it.

He was willing to give it.

Si Xingxuan is both ruthless and deeply affectionate.

When he likes someone, it's a pure and utter liking.

It contains no benefits and makes no weighing of pros and cons.

"To my shame, before that night at the Palace of Eternal Life, I was hostile towards you... Perhaps I didn't understand you well enough and had some misunderstandings about you. I only hope that we can turn enemies into friends in the future."

His eyes were lowered, and his voice held a hidden, unspoken story.

He wasn't her childhood sweetheart; he didn't know the girl he knew from the beginning.

All he knew was that during those five years, the person who bore the title of Princess Mirror destroyed his invaluable and unique alchemical formula and crossed his inviolable bottom line.

He was truly enraged.

He is not a good person, nor does he have any kindness or compassion.

I'm not going to live much longer anyway, why should I keep feeling miserable?

Naturally, one should seek revenge for wrongs and settle scores with grievances.

But everything changed when he met the real her.

It was as if moonlight fell on a deep, secluded valley, illuminating that solitary ice orchid deep within the poisonous swamp.

Being with her was like a gentle breeze to him; his heart, which had long since grown cold, was quietly warmed up again.

He was genuinely delighted.

"How about we get to know each other again?"

Si Xingxuan's voice was like the first snow falling on a lake, light and gentle, as if afraid of disturbing the fish swimming underwater.

"We can study medicine together. I have many medicinal gardens where I have collected all kinds of rare flowers, herbs and medicinal materials from across the land. You can use them as you wish. I have also written a medical book for you."

He took a scroll from his sleeve, held it with both hands, and handed it to her.

"I won't hurt you, Zhizhi. You can try to get to know me."

The book was wrapped in plain white silk, with the edges slightly rolled up, showing signs that it had been read repeatedly.

"My name is Si Xingxuan, courtesy name Zheyue. I wish to become your confidant."

Tang Xixue did not answer immediately.

Si Xingxuan gazed at her silent profile, and her sorrowful eyes, like misty rain, instantly reddened.

Tears welled up in her eyes, teetering on the verge of falling, like pear blossoms about to fall from a branch.

Tang Xixue looked at him like this, and her heart softened a little.

She reached out and took the medical book he handed her with both hands.

"Is '悬' the same as '悬壶济世' (xuán hú jì shì)?"

She opened the book and glanced at it.

His handwriting is elegant and neat, with each stroke exuding the fragrance of a secluded orchid in a valley. It is a medical treatise he wrote himself.

Si Xingxuan shook her head, her tears trembling slightly with the movement.

"No, it's the precipice of a cliff, the precipice of a life hanging by a thread."

"Zhizhi, I don't know how much longer I have to live, but in my limited remaining life, to be able to meet Zhizhi is already the best possible outcome."

He really wanted to maintain his aloof and reserved demeanor.

But there were some things he feared he might never have the chance to say again.

Even if he went, he would still have regrets.

"The wind rises every year, and the flowers bloom every year."

Tang Xixue's voice was gentle and soft, each word landing on Si Xingxuan's heart.

Like a spring breeze brushing against withered branches, it coaxed his heart, which was hanging precariously on the edge of a cliff, to bloom.

"The folded moon, too, is like a flower."

Before he could finish speaking, Qi Zhu's hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, accompanied by barely suppressed anxiety.

"My lord! Something terrible has happened—His Majesty Xingze is fighting with Emperor Shengchen outside!"