(4) A Marriage Granted by the Celestial Sovereign

Word of the Celestial Sovereign's marriage decree soon reached the Medicine Hut, and the place erupted in astonishment.

　　Rong Heng had not yet regained consciousness. Rong Yin had already woken and sat now beside his son's bed to receive the decree, his mind still in complete disarray. Yinglan, still keeping watch over Rong Heng at the Medicine Hut, received her father's decree of marriage and dashed straight out toward Cize Hall.

　　A moment ago her whole heart had been consumed with whether Rong Heng would live or die; now, learning from the Medicine King that his life was no longer in danger, and that all this had come about through Ziyuan's single-handed scheming, she cast aside every rule of decorum, weeping as she ran, and burst headlong into Cize Hall.

　　"Elder Brother... Elder Brother..." Yinglan came rushing in, tears streaming down her face.

　　"Elder Brother, how are you?"

　　Yinglan barreled straight into Ziyuan's bedchamber, and found him sitting cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, recovering his breath, his face pale, with Shenya and Changxiu standing to either side. She had no time now to spare a thought for Shenya, only nodding to her before dropping straight to her knees at the bedside.

　　"Thank you, Elder Brother!" Yinglan went on sniffling. "Elder Brother, I'm so sorry! It was my fault, my own willfulness, that nearly brought war between our two clans, and dragged you and Rong Heng both into suffering for my sake — I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'll never be so reckless again."

　　"One does not gain wisdom without living through hardship. Now that you are to be married, remember that the demon clan is not the Celestial Court — you must take great care of yourself, and listen well to what the Demon King and Rong Heng advise you. Do not act rashly. Do you understand?"

　　Ziyuan opened his eyes and gently smoothed Yinglan's hair, his voice soft.

　　"Get up now! Why kneel? I am your elder brother!" Ziyuan tried to reach out and pull Yinglan up, but found he lacked the strength.

　　Watching Ziyuan so weak and frail, hearing his warm, rambling words of care, Yinglan — who had already been crying past composure — could no longer contain herself, and threw herself forward into his arms.

　　"Elder Brother... Elder Brother... thank you..."

　　She had heard, before, the Celestial Clan speak endlessly in praise of Ziyuan, but perhaps because of the wide gap in their ages, they had had little close contact, and she had never felt much of anything from it. Only now, at last, did what she had only heard become something she truly saw and felt with her own eyes — and never had she understood, more deeply than in this moment, just how good Ziyuan truly was.

　　She soaked a great patch of Ziyuan's robe with her tears and running nose, and suddenly noticed the hands gently stroking her back had drawn away — Ziyuan had turned aside, hand pressed to his chest, and begun to cough.

　　"Elder Brother! Elder Brother!"

　　Alarmed, Yinglan hastily worked a spell to help ease his breathing. Only once the coughing subsided did Ziyuan speak again, weakly: "Don't worry. Your Elder Brother is fine — with time to rest and recover, all will be well. Be good now, and go back to the Medicine Hut to look after Rong Heng."

　　"All right, I'll be good. Elder Brother, rest well." Yinglan wiped her tears; having just promised herself she would no longer be so willful, she had no choice now but to obey. But no sooner had she reached the entrance of Cize Hall than she found Rong Yin kneeling there.

　　No one knew how long Rong Yin had been kneeling. This was the first time he had ever seen so strange a palace — no guards, no attendants, empty and silent as though utterly uninhabited, with no one at all he might ask to announce him, so all he could do was kneel and wait. When Yinglan saw him, she called out "Father Heng!" and immediately dashed back inside — she would need to announce that the Demon King was kneeling outside the gate.

　　Before long, Changxiu came out together with Yinglan; Changxiu bowed at once and asked the Demon King to rise.

　　"His Highness is unwell and cannot receive the Demon King properly. His Highness says he cannot accept such a bow from you — it is the Celestial Sovereign who granted the marriage, not himself, and it is the Celestial Sovereign you should thank."

　　"This lowly king shall of course give thanks to the Celestial Sovereign's face in person. But His Highness has shown my son the grace of saving his life, and defused the crisis of open war between our two clans besides — such a debt of gratitude I shall never forget as long as I live." As he spoke, tears streamed down his weathered face once more.

　　"His Highness says: if the Demon King still holds any trace of gratitude toward him, then in the days to come, treat the Eleventh Princess well, and let there be lasting peace between our two clans forever — this alone is his wish."

　　"His Highness's grace in saving my son, his justice toward our whole clan — this lowly king shall never forget them. For as long as Rong Yin draws breath, this vow made today shall be kept, without fail." Having said this, Rong Yin bowed deeply once more toward the inner chamber before turning to leave.

　　Changxiu delivered the message, then returned to the bedchamber, to find Ziyuan's face grim, and Shenya about to follow Yinglan's example and work a spell to ease his breathing. But Ziyuan's eyes had gone dark and clouded, and with obvious effort he raised a hand to signal her to stop.

　　"You may go too, my consort. I need only rest and recover. All of you, withdraw."

　　At this dismissal from Ziyuan, a shadow crossed Shenya's face. Worried for her husband's injuries, her heart knotted with anxiety, she had rushed over to "attend to him in his sickness," only to have her care so plainly unwelcomed. To Yinglan he had been as warm as a spring breeze, leaving her heart full of comfort; to her he was as cold and bone-chilling as winter snow, and it left her heart frozen through.

　　To Shenya's mind, these were two entirely different kinds of feeling.