A story in the same series as Fu Yuan | A bright, openhearted goddess physician vs. a devoted, restrained emperor | Nine-year age gap
Hua Chaoyan inherited her sect's miraculous medical skills. At her senior sister's request, she descended from Cang Mountain and entered the palace to purge the lingering poison from the current emperor's body.
The young emperor was dignified and imposing, with a countenance as fine as jade. In his more than ten years on the throne, he had reformed officialdom, recruited talented people, eased taxes and labor burdens, and allowed the people to recover.
She thought everything about him was wonderful, except that he kept her at arm's length.
One autumn, they climbed a high terrace. In the distance, the evening mist stained the landscape. He, too, seemed far away, high above in the clouds.
He said, "Chaoyan, your world does not lie within these palace walls."
On the day she left, she stood before the tightly shut door and said goodbye to him.
Beyond the door, the medicinal soup had gone cold. He endured the bone-deep agony of the lingering poison, wishing only that he could feel even a fraction of the sorrow in her heart.
Afterward, she went alone to see the vast world, opening clinics, helping the people, writing medical texts, and passing on what she had learned.
What she didn't know was that letters reporting on her had continued to arrive at his jade desk without a break.
With spring sunlight filling the room, she looked at him.
"Pei Chengyan, even now, are you still going to say you don't love me?"
Theme: When peace reigns across the land, may I journey with you to the spring terrace.
