Chapter 112

Chen Jue was tickled and laughed for a moment before saying, "How could I not? I actually kind of miss that place."

Really, it had only been three days since they left, and he already missed that simple home with the mountains and water right outside the door.

The capital had its own kind of luxury, but that home had its own scenic charm.

The folks there were simple and honest, but the capital was way too complicated. Even before things got started, he could already sense it.

It would probably be a completely different life.

He would have to adapt all over again.

Huo Jilin took his hand and walked him around the courtyard, saying quietly, "We'll go back often in the future."

That was true. Chen's Pharmaceutical was headquartered there—it was where it all started. They'd need to head back at least once a month.

"Once the factory here is built, we can have Uncle Liu and the others move here too," Huo Jilin added.

They'd agreed on this before—Zhou Qingzhu and the others didn't have to stay stuck in the mountains forever. Once their base was solid, if Zhou Qingzhu and the others wanted to come to the capital to grow their business, they could.

Chen Jue gave a soft "Mm." "Alright."

"You've got me here in the capital. You don't need to put so much pressure on yourself. Just do what you love, like you used to," Huo Jilin told him.

Chen Jue smiled. "Alright, I'll go make the money, and you focus on being a good official."

Huo Jilin tsked. "I've been waiting for you to say exactly that."

Everyone knew being an official cost a lot of money, especially if you wanted to be a powerful one.

"So it's settled—we'll take the capital by storm together."

Huo Jilin then told Chen Jue where he'd be working: "By the way, I'm stationed at the Capital Garrison now."

Besides the border defense troops, the court currently had two reserve forces: the Capital Garrison and the Nanjing Garrison.

Huo Jilin wouldn't be sent to the border for now, so he was stationed at the Capital Garrison.

Chen Jue nodded. "Okay, where's that?"

"The Capital Reserve Army is based in the western part of the city, not far from downtown. It's a half-hour ride, so I can come home every day, with one day off every five days."

Chen Jue went, "Ah!" "Two days off? That's awesome."

Huo Jilin looked at him. "One day off! One of those two days I have to head back for court!"

Chen Jue couldn't help laughing. Everyone had work gripes, and Huo Jilin was no exception.

But hadn't Huo Jilin been going to work every day before too?

Four days a week at Huachen Pharmaceutical, and the other three days he'd go to their Zhonghai Hospital to check on how the research projects were coming along.

A total workaholic who never took a break.

Chen Jue brought that up: "You used to love working. On those three days off, you'd still come to the hospital and work us to the bone."

Huo Jilin took a deep breath. "Back then, those three days were for seeing someone I wanted to see. How could I be tired? I wished I could go every day."

Chen Jue snorted lightly. "I never thought General Huo would be so good with words, twisting things around like that."

What did he mean, wanting to see him? The two of them had no real connection at the start. Huo Jilin had just wanted to use Zhonghai Hospital as a pilot project to make bold moves and build his career. At the time, he'd just taken over Huachen Pharmaceutical and had special privileges.

Huo Jilin held his hand and laughed. "I really didn't realize it at first. I wasn't thinking about love back then. Before I had full control of the Huo Group, I never even thought about personal relationships. But who knew feelings wouldn't do what I wanted?"

If Chen Jue hadn't kept opposing him, he wouldn't have put all his heart and soul into him.

Maybe he'd still be a bachelor now.

He looked at Chen Jue and smiled. Now that he'd won Chen Jue back, the pain in his heart wasn't as sharp, and he dared to joke with him: "We're destined for each other!"

Chen Jue went "Pfft," but a smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.

In the past, he'd never have brought up old grudges with Huo Jilin. Now, for some reason, he kept wanting to bring them up.

It seemed he'd become like a normal person again, with real emotions.

On the third day after arriving in the capital, sure enough, the Empress issued an edict summoning Chen Jue and telling him to bring Huo Yu along.

The day before, the household's governess had taught Chen Jue some of the court etiquette. The most thorough prep, though, was the guide Huo Jilin had Steward Su write for Chen Jue.

All set, Chen Jue brought Huo Yu into the palace.

The palace was huge. After they entered, a palanquin specially sent by the Empress carried them all the way to the inner court.

Chen Jue looked at the vermilion palace walls, the glazed eaves shimmering in the sunlight, and the lake with drooping willows—it reminded him a bit of the Forbidden City.

When Huo Yu first entered the palace gates, his eyes couldn't take everything in. These past few days, he'd only wandered around the family garden. Today, he finally got to go out. The palace gates were bright red, with gleaming golden pixiu door handles, and there were lots of soldiers in armor with swords, just like his dad—so impressive.

His big round eyes darted around, not able to take it all in at once.

But once they passed through the gates, it was one alley after another. After a while, it got boring—and worst of all, the path seemed to go on forever.

Huo Yu got a little restless. He leaned against Chen Jue, feeling bored.

Chen Jue wrapped his arm around the little body and gently patted him. Huo Yu was quite well-behaved, knowing that today they were meeting important people, so even though he was bored, he didn't throw a fuss.

He was about to fall asleep leaning against Chen Jue when they finally arrived at Qianqing Palace.

The residence of the current Empress.

A palace maid stepped forward to take Huo Yu, but Huo Yu shook his head at her like a little rattle-drum. Chen Jue told the maid, "I'll hold him myself."

Huo Yu wouldn't let strangers hold him. He could play with Chen Jue nearby, but he refused to be held by others.

Children had their own way of recognizing people.

The Empress was the first wife of the current Emperor—a young couple from their youth—so she was about the same age as the Emperor. But thanks to good upkeep, she looked only around thirty-something. She was very kind and virtuous. After Chen Jue paid his respects, she said the Empress Dowager was already waiting and that they should go pay respects to her first.

So Chen Jue carried Huo Yu to Cining Palace.

The Empress Dowager also looked quite young. Her face was full of tenderness when she saw Huo Yu. She excused Chen Jue from the formal bow and had him bring Huo Yu forward so she could take a good look.

The Empress had brought many palace attendants, and the Empress Dowager's palace was also full of serving staff. After the Empress took her seat, they stood on either side.

Chen Jue carried Huo Yu forward. Huo Yu performed admirably—he had seen many people since he was little, whether it was the constant stream of visitors at the family pharmacy or riding with Huo Jilin to the big market. Having seen so many people, he wasn't shy around strangers.

So the Empress Dowager Qin reached out and took his little hand, and he didn't refuse, staring at her with wide eyes.

The Empress Dowager Qin smiled and said, "He's truly handsome, just like Doctor Chen. Those eyes are like glass beads, and his little face is so pink and tender. When he grows up, I wonder how many families will be lining up to marry him."

Empress Liu chimed in, "Indeed, General Huo's child is beautiful, and her husband is handsome too."

Empress Liu had already been surprised when she first laid eyes on Chen Jue earlier. She hadn't expected the husband of General Huo, raised in the countryside, to be so striking—not in the way of ordinary young men, but taller and more handsome, like a prince from a noble family.

Chen Jue thanked them for their compliments: "You're too kind, Your Highnesses."

That was all he said, and he stayed quiet afterward.

The matron had drilled his etiquette into him before they came, flawless in every way, except that he came off as a bit aloof. He answered their questions with the fewest words possible—never three if two would do.

Luckily, Huo Yu made up for it.

Empress Dowager Qin was at an age where she loved having kids and grandkids around, but with so few kids in the palace, she was thrilled to see Huo Yu and had the servants bring out toys.

Exquisite pinwheels, silver bells, little horsewhips, toy carriages, spinning tops, puzzle rings, and Mozi's mechanical flying birds—all toys the emperor's kids had once played with.

Sure enough, they hooked Huo Yu. He stopped clinging to Chen Jue and sat down on the plush carpet to play. After a bit, he smiled at Empress Dowager Qin and said, "Fun!"

Empress Dowager Qin said happily, "Fun, right? Want to come play often?"

Huo Yu smiled at her, then lowered his head to play with other toys.

When he launched the mechanical bird into the air, he sat on his cushion, clapping and laughing hard—his way of cheering himself on for getting it to fly.

Before, whenever Huo Yu did something, Chen Jue would clap for him. Now he'd learned to praise himself.

His antics had Empress Dowager Qin and Empress Liu cracking up. Empress Dowager Qin's hand shook as she held her handkerchief and said to the matron beside her, "This child is too adorable. Just looking at him warms my heart."

The matron said, "Right, this old servant's heart warms too. General Huo's little boy is only a few years younger than our prince's little heir, and just as cute."

The prince she meant was Prince Jing, Empress Liu's son. He was twenty-five and had three kids, with the little heir from Princess Jing being three years older than Huo Yu.

As for the name... the kid was still too young, and the emperor hadn't given him one yet. Royal naming was a big deal, recorded in the imperial registry.

Chen Jue ran through the names in his head but said nothing.

Empress Liu sighed when she heard Empress Dowager Qin say that: "Ming'er has had a cold these past couple of days. If I'd known, I would've brought him today to play with little Yu. Little Yu looks pretty sturdy—what does he usually eat?"

Chen Jue said calmly, "To answer Your Highness, after Huo Yu was born, he drank goat's milk until six months, then we added solids like egg custard. At seven months, we added yam paste, minced meat, fish paste, fruit puree, veggies, and tofu. He's not picky about food."

Empress Liu exclaimed, "That's great! A kid who eats like that grows up strong. Matron, later tell Princess Jing to follow this example—kids can't be too pampered... getting sick every few days..."

The matron nodded in agreement.

The matron next to Empress Dowager Qin smiled at Chen Jue: "Empress Dowager, this old servant has heard that Doctor Chen is skilled in medicine. Why not have Doctor Chen take your pulse too?"

Chen Jue didn't refuse and took Empress Dowager Qin's pulse.

For her age, Empress Dowager Qin was in pretty good shape. Her heart meridian was a bit slow and deep, which is common at her age. Her lung meridian showed signs of past damage, but it had clearly gotten better.

Her liver meridian was steady.

Chen Jue said with a smile, "The Empress Dowager is in good health. You used to have a cough, but it's improved a lot, and your sleep should be much better now."

The matron beside Empress Dowager Qin quickly added, "Exactly! In past autumns and winters, she'd always cough, especially at night, and couldn't sleep well. This year, she hasn't coughed once. No night coughing, and she sleeps soundly now."

Empress Dowager Qin smiled at Chen Jue: "Thanks to the Cordyceps I've been taking these past six months. The tonics I took before weren't as effective."

She felt much better this year, and the reason was the Cordyceps—a medicinal herb from Doctor Chen's pharmacy.

Chen Jue nodded: "Cordyceps nourishes the kidney and lung meridians, which are the most important of the five viscera. When the five meridians flow smoothly, it's like the body getting proper rest, which helps overall health and recovery."

Empress Dowager Qin nodded repeatedly: "Doctor Chen speaks well. Imperial Physician Zhou said the same. Too bad the Late Emperor didn't live to see it..."

She wiped her tears with her handkerchief, and Empress Liu and the matrons quickly comforted her. Huo Yu, playing on the floor, blinked at her and held out his toy: "Play... play."

Empress Dowager Qin was comforted by him, laughing through her tears: "Good child. Matron, bring me my jade ruyi."

Chen Jue declined: "Empress Dowager, Huo Yu is still young. He doesn't deserve such a heavy gift."

Empress Dowager Qin smiled: "I like him, so he deserves it."

The matron had already fetched the jade ruyi—a small, delicate piece about the size of a child's arm, like a toy. Huo Yu tilted his head and studied it for a moment, tempted to take it, but glanced at Chen Jue first.

Chen Jue thanked Empress Dowager Qin on his behalf: "Thank you, Empress Dowager, for the gracious gift."

Chen Jue accepted the box with both hands and placed it beside him. This was a gift from the Empress Dowager, not a toy, and would have to be enshrined at home.

Huo Yu stood up, steadying himself on his knees, and picked up the jade ruyi. He was quite strong, bringing it to his mouth.

The jade ruyi looked just like the big bone Chen Jue had bought him before.

He thought it was edible.

He made everyone laugh again.

Chen Jue stopped him, smiling: "You can't eat this."

He had finally grown eight little teeth—no need to risk chipping them.

Huo Yu saw everyone laughing heartily and joined in, laughing along.

His laugh was infectious, exaggeratedly so, learned from Li Jun. His laughter alone drowned out everyone else, with impressive lung capacity.

Empress Dowager Qin clutched her stomach: "I can't take it—my stomach hurts from laughing."

Empress Liu also wiped her tears with her handkerchief: "This child is so endearing, like a little ray of sunshine."

Empress Liu then looked at Chen Jue, who wore a helpless expression, and thought to herself: how did this seemingly cold-tempered young husband produce such an adorable child?

She had heard from the emperor that the child's other father, General Huo, was also of a stern disposition.

This child was truly delightful.

Huo Yu's laughter stopped as abruptly as it started, as if he had a little switch on him.

Once he'd had his fill of laughing, he paid no mind to whether the adults were watching and sat back down to play with whatever caught his interest.

Chen Jue had finished taking Empress Dowager Qin's pulse, and she and Empress Liu then took the opportunity to praise his medical skills.

Empress Dowager Qin said to Empress Liu: "I think Doctor Chen's medical skills are excellent. Why not have him take a look at Ming'er as well? They say common folk children are easier to raise—we can borrow their dietary practices, and we can try their medical approaches too."

The reason Chen Jue had been summoned today wasn't to see Huo Yu, though Huo Yu had indeed been a pleasant surprise. The main task was to observe this Doctor Chen who had founded Chen's Pharmaceutical and saved tens of thousands of lives.

Chen Jue kept his head slightly lowered for her inspection but didn't respond. Over the past year, he had studied traditional Chinese medicine with Imperial Physician He and had made progress in pediatrics, so he could certainly examine the little heir. But with so many imperial physicians in the palace, it was unlikely they couldn't cure a simple cold in a child. Whether the matron's words were mere courtesy or not, he saw no need to rush to offer his services.

Children in the palace were often frail and sickly, not only because of the dangers of court intrigue but also for other reasons.