The morning of the second day, Yun Che followed Lan Xueruo to the Blue Wind Imperial Palace.
This was the first time he entered the imperial palace in this life. Yun Che, more or less, had a feeling of being overwhelmed by the luxurious surroundings. The imperial palace’s architecture was naturally luxurious; golden colored tiles glittered under the sunshine in every direction and directly dazzled Yun Che’s eyes.
Lan Xueruo was still plainly dressed. She wouldn’t be recognized by others outside, but within the imperial palace, who wouldn’t be familiar with the only princess of the imperial family. Everywhere they went, every bodyguard and palace maid would all hurriedly bow down as soon as they saw Lan Xueruo, respectfully calling her “Princess Cang Yue”. When following alongside Lan Xueruo, Yun Che did not have to disguise himself or dress up at all. The crown prince and third prince had many eyes within the imperial palace; this incident of him following Lan Xueruo to enter the imperial palace would definitely would be known by the crown prince and third prince before long, but Yun Che didn’t care about this matter. Contrarily, if he disguised himself, and news got out that Princess Cang Yue brought an unfamiliar person to the imperial palace to see the emperor, and the crown prince and third prince could not investigate this person, it could potentially inconvenience Lan Xueruo.
The imperial palace was huge. As Lan Xueruo walked, she also introduced the important structures of the imperial palace to Yun Che. Unintentionally, they had already arrived in front of a grand and imposing palace.
“Here’s my father’s chambers.” Lan Xueruo said with a slightly nervous expression. It was as if she was a normal girl bringing her sweetheart to her parents, and was nervous that she might not gain her parents’ approval.
The passage leading to the palace had a large pond on either side; the lotus flowers in the ponds just happened to be in bloom as its clear water rippled in waves. The green willows brushed alongside the water and the lotus leaves slightly drooped as their flowers faced the wind, permeating the air with a faint sweetness.
“Mn, let’s go in.” Compared to Lan Xueruo, Yun Che was unexpectedly very calm.
With Lan Xueruo at the front, she brought Yun Che towards the emperor’s chambers. As soon as they stepped through the door, they saw an elderly man in a gray robe, who had a beard that hung down to his chest, walk toward them. Although this elderly man was clearly very old, his hair and beard were pitch black; it was evident that he was an expert in maintaining good health. Although far away from him, Yun Che was able to faintly smell the scent of medicine.
Behind the elderly man followed two attendants; although they were only attendants, within the deepest parts of their eyes, their arrogance was clearly visible —— even though they were in the imperial palace.
Seeing this elderly person, Lan Xueruo’s footsteps paused, hurriedly moved forward to meet them, and humbly greeted with respect, “Master Gu, you came. How is my father’s condition?”
Lan Xueruo’s actions caused Yun Che to burst into astonishment. From the way this elderly man dressed, he clearly wasn’t a person of the imperial family, but with her grand identity as the princess, she unexpectedly took the initiative to greet him, and even made a simple salutation… As soon as Lan Xueruo said the two words “Master Gu”, Yun Che’s brows moved slightly; he immediately remembered someone.
“So it was your highness the princess.” The elderly man saluted in turn with a chuckle and very amiable face, “This morning, I received the emperor’s summons so I came to take a look. Last night, the night air was cold and caused the emperor to suffer a little wind chill; it already isn’t an issue. As for the matter of the emperor’s life veins… Sigh, please forgive this old one for his incompetence, I still have not found a way to deal with it.
“Master Gu, please don’t speak in that way, my father’s life veins were already damaged beyond repair, and there is no cure in this world. If my father wasn’t under Master Gu’s care these years, I fear… In short, Master Gu must not blame himself. Cang Yue once again thanks Master Gu for this kindness.” Lan Xueruo said gratefully.
“When Princess Cang Yue says it in that way, it really is overpraising this old one. Your highness, please be at ease, this old one will definitely do his best to ensure the emperor’s health… The emperor is about to retire to bed now, so if your highness wishes to see the emperor, then quickly enter, this old one shall take his leave.”
“Take care, Master Gu.”
The elderly man carried a medicine chest and strolled away with his attendants. Lan Xueruo followed him with her eyes until he left; one could see the respect she had towards this elderly person. It was only when the elderly man was very far away did she turn her gaze back to Yun Che. She explained. “He is the Master Gu that I mentioned