Yang Ge woke up groggily, his eyes hollow as he stared at the ceiling beam for a long while. His foggy mind finally booted up, like an old computer restarting, and he slowly recalled the events before he had lost consciousness.
He didn’t know what had happened after he lost consciousness.
But given that he was still alive and lying on a warm, soft bed, it meant that he’d weathered that crisis.
’Two master experts of returning to True Qi, more than twenty good hands at the Qi Sea level... Very good!’
He calculated in his heart, slowly sat up, and hoarsely called out, "Someone come!"
"Squeak."
An embroidered-uniformed guard pushed the door open and quickly stepped inside. Upon seeing Yang Ge sitting up, he exclaimed joyfully, "My lord, you’ve awakened!"
Yang Ge smacked his dry lips, stretched out his hand, and said, "Bring me a bowl of water."
The embroidered-uniformed guard responded and picked up a teapot from the table with one hand and held a teacup with the other, bringing them over to Yang Ge.
Yang Ge pushed aside the teacup, took the teapot from the guard’s hand, checked inside the teapot with his hand, and then began to gulp down from the spout.
After swallowing a pot of warm tea, his spirit finally returned.
"How long have I slept? What’s the situation now?"
Yang Ge handed the teapot back to the embroidered-uniformed guard while he checked his body and asked casually.
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The embroidered-uniformed guard replied, "My lord, you’ve been resting for a full day and night. After you... fell asleep the day before yesterday, we beat back those masked assassins. Right now, Master Qin is commanding the brothers from the third and fourth companies to search the entire city for the numerous assassins who attacked the prefectural office the day before yesterday... Also, Master Fang has returned; he was here guarding you up until a stick of incense ago and just went out to eat."
Yang Ge raised his eyelids, "Fang Ke?"
The embroidered-uniformed guard nodded, "Yes, Master Fang Ke."
Yang Ge waved his hand, "Go call him to see me, and bring me some food as well."
The embroidered-uniformed guard saluted, bowed, and left the room.
After the guard left, Yang Ge moved his legs and sat cross-legged, then he began to check his chest and the bare skin of his right foot. He found bruises on both spots; there was still a faint pain when pressed, but the tearing, unbearable pain from before that had prevented him from even moving was gone.
He then tried to circulate his True Qi. The remaining True Qi in his Dantian slowly spread into his meridians. Although there was still some dryness and a feeling of weakness in the flow, the piercing pain from before was no longer there.
"That’s something!"
After regaining some strength, he withdrew the True Qi back to his Dantian, and muttered to himself with unexpected joy.
Even he had thought before that without resting for two or three months, he wouldn’t be able to fight anyone.
Isn’t there an old saying that injuries to the muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal?
And in his case, he had even damaged his meridians...
Unexpectedly, after lying down for just a day and a night, his injuries had almost fully recovered.
He felt that perhaps he hadn’t fully tapped into his innate potential of "meridian clarity and bones as pure as jade."
Before long, Fang Ke came hurrying in with a waddling duck walk, saluting joyfully, "My lord, you’ve woken up!"
Seeing Fang Ke’s limping figure, Yang Ge knew that he had rubbed the inside of his thigh raw on a saddle. He smiled and nodded, "Sit down and speak. You’ve worked hard this time."
Fang Ke replied hastily, "I merely hurried along the journey, which is hardly hard work. My lord, you have exhausted yourself for the country, braving life and death—that is the true hard work!"
Yang Ge laughed, "You always know the right things to say... What did they say back home?"
Fang Ke briefly informed him of the court’s appointment as imperial envoy, granting him full authority to supervise the Jiangzhe corruption case, the bestowed imperial sword with the authority to execute first and report afterwards, and many other details.
Yang Ge furrowed his eyebrows into a "川" character halfway through listening, but his mind unexpectedly cleared... No wonder the Ning King and the Jiangzhe Provincial Administration Commission had put up such a grand display; it was about racing against the court for time.
After pondering for a moment, Yang Ge spoke gravely, "What did Shen have to say?"
Fang Ke answered, "I left in a hurry, and Shen only instructed me to pass on a message to you: ’Strive with all your might, then retreat when the current is too strong.’
Yang Ge chewed on those eight words, slowly closed his eyes, and murmured, "The best rider falls off the horse, the best swimmer drowns in water... He who borrows a knife from others, will have others borrow his!"
He knew where he had gone wrong.
And Shen Fa’s eight words were also telling him that he had tried, but hadn’t been of any help.
Fang Ke observed his expression quietly and ventured cautiously, "My lord, I think that this might not be a bad thing..."
Yang Ge, "How so?"
Fang Ke, "By taking action against the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture, we’ve already offended the major figures of the Zhe faction to death. Before, we were powerless and had to look at their faces to get things done. Now that we have the authority, they’ll have to look at your face... As long as we raise issues assertively and then deal with them gently, both superiors and subordinates will be satisfied, and you can retire honorably after achieving success."
Yang Ge laughed helplessly, "You really are a clever little devil!"
Fang Ke bowed with clasped fists, "I’m wholeheartedly considering your interests, my lord. If there’s anything I say that’s inappropriate, please be forgiving!"
He understood Yang Ge.
But he also understood the situation.
He just thought that someone like Yang Ge shouldn’t end up with a fate of "when the hare is dead, the hound is cooked."
"No worries,"
Yang Ge replied lightly, "After all, being an official was never my intention; the court’s willingness to give me a chance to do things my way is enough for me..."
He paused, then smiled again, "I’m afraid that from now on, I’ll have to call you ’Master,’ and it’ll be your turn to take care of me!"
Fang Ke was startled and hurriedly protested, "My lord, please don’t joke with your subordinate. What merit do I have to deserve being called ’my lord’ by you? No matter how things unfold, you will always be my superior, now and in the future!"