In Dream Of The Red Chamber, Jia She Acquires A Plant-Based Superpower. - Chapter 10

Situ Ruo asked Jia She to step outside with him so the servants could change Situ Yi’s clothes. Once they were seated in the study next door, Jia She asked with a gossip-seeking look, “Is the Fifth Prince’s position in the palace that precarious?”

After asking, Jia She realized he was prying into the Emperor’s private family matters and immediately waved his hand at Situ Ruo. “Never mind, do not tell me. I am not particularly curious.”

He decided it was best not to inquire about such sensitive secrets. As the saying goes, the more you know, the worse you die.

Situ Ruo, however, wanted to tease Jia She. “Situ Yi’s biological mother was a palace maid. During one of the Emperor’s drunken states, she dared to climb into the dragon bed, and thus Situ Yi was conceived. She lacked the fortune to enjoy her status; she suffered a difficult labor while giving birth to him and held on until the next day before she dared to pass away, fearing Situ Yi would be labeled as someone who brought death to his mother.”

Although Jia She had said not to tell him, he listened intently when Situ Ruo began gossiping about the new Emperor. He could easily imagine Situ Yi’s life in the palace; though he was a prince, he lacked support from his mother’s kin and had no one to scheme for him.

“Does the Emperor dislike the Fifth Prince?”

Seeing Jia She, who was clearly afraid yet unable to resist the gossip, Situ Ruo’s smile widened. “He likes him. I heard that just last month, he praised him for his intelligence and gifted him a jade sword.”

Jia She fell silent for a moment before sighing. “Perhaps it is precisely because he is too intelligent that he has become a thorn in someone’s side, and they are desperate to remove him.”

Situ Ruo nodded in agreement. “Though Situ Yi is bright, he is only a seven-year-old child. He has had little exposure to the dirty dealings of the inner palace. It was incredibly fortunate he encountered you this time; otherwise, by the time my Imperial Brother discovered his disappearance, he might already be a corpse.”

While listening to the gossip, Jia She maintained his composure and did not ask Situ Ruo who intended to harm the prince. The inner palace and the front court might seem like separate power groups, but in reality, they were deeply interconnected.

Situ Ruo invited Jia She to admire the plum blossoms outside, and Jia She had Lin Zhixiao move a daybed over. Situ Ruo noticed this and asked, “Have you truly recovered from your severe illness?” He had observed Jia She’s habits: he would never stand if he could sit, never sit if he could lean, and never lean if he could lie down.

Jia She leaned back on the daybed. “There is no illness; I am just feeling sluggish because of the cold weather.”

Lin Zhixiao chimed in quietly, “Master, you are like this even in the summer; no matter how much you sleep, it is never enough. Please, listen to this servant’s advice and have a royal physician check on you.” Lin Zhixiao was genuinely worried. At first, he thought Jia She was feigning illness, but he soon realized he was not. No normal person could sleep for twenty hours a day; Jia She’s body was clearly failing.

Situ Ruo immediately called Hu Bing over and ordered him to fetch a physician. Jia She tried to stop him, “I am fine; I am just prone to sleepiness. There is no need to bother a physician.” Situ Ruo ignored him, sent Hu Bing on his way, and looked at Jia She with a serious, earnest expression. “Health is a matter of great importance; you must not be negligent.” Jia She realized he could not talk him out of it and relented. He was not truly ill; he was not even sleeping, but rather closing his eyes to cultivate and absorb spiritual energy.

Before the physician arrived, the Emperor’s guards appeared and frantically took the still-unconscious Situ Yi back to the palace. Situ Ruo lamented to Jia She, “My Imperial Brother despises anyone who touches his offspring. It is the dragon’s reverse scale; touch it, and you die. This incident with Situ Yi will likely cause a massive uproar. I fear my Imperial Brother will not think of you for some time, and any reward will be delayed.”

Jia She shrugged indifferently, his tone calm and detached. “I did not rescue him because he was the Fifth Prince. I hope the Emperor rewards me with something practical.”

Situ Ruo laughed, teasing, “I thought you would say something like ‘it was only my duty as a loyal subject, and I dare not ask for a reward.'”

Jia She gave a blank look. “I am not a fool. Why would I refuse a reward?”

Jia She continued to absorb spiritual energy, and because deep meditation accelerated the process, he drifted off into his own world during their conversation, eventually closing his eyes. Lin Zhixiao watched with growing concern and whispered to Situ Ruo, “My master is often like this; he even falls asleep while reading.”

Situ Ruo noticed Jia She’s eyelashes were not fluttering, and like Lin Zhixiao, he concluded that Jia She’s body was failing. When the physician arrived, Situ Ruo dismissed the formalities. “No need for courtesy here. Quickly, take his pulse.”

The physician placed his fingers on Jia She’s wrist, felt the faint pulse, and was startled. He concentrated, took the pulse again with care, and his brows knit tighter and tighter. Situ Ruo knew immediately that the situation was dire. The royal physicians were experts of the highest caliber; what kind of pulse could elicit such shock? Situ Ruo left Lin Zhixiao to watch over Jia She and took the physician back to the side chamber.

The physician spoke with grave solemnity. “Your Highness, General Jia’s pulse is extremely faint—a pulse I have only seen in those on the verge of death. Yet, it is also strange; it is weak, but it flows like a thin stream, indicating that his life force is not yet severed.”

Situ Ruo frowned deeply. “His servants say he is prone to sleepiness. He was chatting with me just now and fell asleep mid-sentence.”

The physician nodded. “General Jia’s lethargy is because his body is too weak; sleep allows him to recover his strength. May I ask if the General exerted himself today, leading to him falling asleep while chatting?”

Hu Bing, who was standing by, heard this and, thinking of how Jia She had carried Situ Yi the entire way from the foot of the mountain to the summit, whispered, “Your Highness, General Jia carried the young Prince the entire way up the mountain.”

Both Situ Ruo and Hu Bing stared at the physician. The doctor looked enlightened. “That explains why the pulse is so strange. He is clearly in a near-death state, yet he can still move about freely. It must be that his internal martial arts energy is helping to suppress the illness.”

Situ Ruo and Hu Bing both accepted this explanation. Perhaps Jia She had known long ago that his time was limited, hence why he broke ties with his family and defied everyone to repay the Ministry of Revenue’s arrears. His goal was likely to please the Emperor, hoping the Emperor would spare the Jia family after his death. Situ Ruo felt as if a heavy stone were pressing on his heart. He looked at the physician with a pleading expression. “Is there any medicine that can cure him?”

The physician shook his head with a heavy heart. “This state of near-exhaustion cannot be cured by medicine. I do not know what level his internal energy has reached, but the only way to extend his life is to strengthen that energy.”

Situ Ruo felt a sense of immense frustration. Everyone knew that martial arts could strengthen the body, but out of ten thousand people, perhaps only one could develop internal energy. Situ Ruo had Hu Bing see the physician out and sat at his desk, silent for a long time.

Jia She was clearly hiding his true capabilities. Among all the officials in the court, one could count those who possessed internal energy on one hand. Jia She had such immense power yet was forced to hide it for various reasons. Now, he was acting increasingly unrestrained, likely because he knew his life was nearing its end. Even if his Imperial Brother knew Jia She had been hiding his strength and that he was dying, he would not settle old scores with a dying man.

When Jia She finished his meditation and opened his eyes, he saw Situ Ruo brewing plum-blossom tea with spring water. He did not realize that his meditative state had misled the physician, nor did he know that Situ Ruo believed he was on death’s door. Having not absorbed such vast amounts of spiritual energy in a long time, Jia She had lost his external perception after meditating that afternoon and had no idea the doctor had even examined him.

Situ Ruo kept the physician’s diagnosis a secret from Lin Zhixiao. Lin Zhixiao was Jia She’s confidant, but there must be a reason Jia She had kept the truth from him. Situ Ruo only told Lin Zhixiao that Jia She’s lethargy was due to exhaustion and that he needed to sleep more to recover, warning him not to disturb his rest.

Jia She drank a cup of plum-blossom tea and was surprised to find it contained trace amounts of spiritual energy. He fell into deep thought. If even plum-blossom tea contained spiritual energy, what about precious medicinal herbs? He decided to test this with some ginseng.

Since Situ Ruo did not mention the doctor, Jia She did not bring it up; he had no desire to drink bitter medicine. After dinner, Situ Ruo suggested going out to admire the snow, but Jia She refused. Snow scenery? It freezes your hands and feet; how could that be better than hiding indoors to cultivate? Knowing Jia She was unwell, Situ Ruo did not force the issue. “Then get some good rest. I have matters regarding Situ Yi that require me to return. I have already informed the abbot; you may stay here as long as you wish.” Jia She knew that royal temples were not typically open to outsiders, but since he could not absorb spiritual energy back at the mansion, he was more than happy to stay.

The day after Situ Ruo left, Jia She had Lin Zhixiao buy him a century-old ginseng root to brew. As Jia She felt the much gentler wood-element spiritual energy in his body, he realized he had wasted much time. The servant Situ Ruo left behind sent a message that very day: “Drank seven bowls of century-old ginseng soup in one night.”

When Situ Ruo received the note, his mood plummeted. He had few friends he truly acknowledged, and Jia She was one of them. Seeing that Jia She had reached the point of needing ginseng soup to sustain his life, he felt a profound melancholy. Situ Ruo summoned Hu Bing. “Find a suitable opportunity to send the ginseng from my estate to General Jia.” Gifts were common among noble families; no one would suspect anything if he sent medicinal herbs.

Jia She stayed at the royal temple until the end of the year. Mother Jia sent people to bring him back every day, increasing to three times a day recently. On the day he descended the mountain, he specifically went to have tea with the abbot. As Jia She took his leave, the abbot pressed his palms together in a Buddhist salute. “Benefactor, your fortune is profound; the worries in your heart will surely be resolved.”

Jia She believed the world had immortals and deities, but he did not believe the abbot was one. He was not even sure what worries were in his heart. When he first arrived in this world, he worried the Jia family would be raided. Now, he no longer worried; even if they were raided, he had the ability to survive. Jia She smiled and returned the Buddhist salute.

The abbot watched Jia She walk away, sighing softly, “The reincarnation of the Spring God?”