Entangled Love GL - Chapter 1
There is a strange poison called Entangled Affection (Chán Qíng).
This poison is slow yet fierce. The afflicted does not notice it for three months, but once it takes effect, the pain is like being stripped of flesh and cut to the core every day. Initially, it is bearable, the pain lasting no more than half a ke (a short period of time). Later, as more time passes, the agonizing pain continues day and night without ceasing. Furthermore, the pain seeps into the bones and marrow, spreading through the bl00d vessels, eventually tormenting the person to death while they are still alive.
Entangled Affection can be suppressed, but not cured. Without a divine doctor’s spiritual medicine, the afflicted will surely die within one month of the onset of the poisoning. If their fate is not meant to end and they receive proper treatment, they will not get any respite; although the pain will no longer be so severe, they will have to contend with the poison’s pain for the rest of their lives.
No one knows the origin of this strange poison. Furthermore, while many have heard of it, few have witnessed it, so the common people and the noble clans mostly regard it as a legend. However, there are always unlucky individuals who have burned the wrong high incense, causing the legend to appear in the world.
Yang Yuansi, the leader (dragon head) of the This Place Pavilion (Cǐ Dì Lóu) in the capital city, has recently experienced the onset of the Entangled Affection poison.
The This Place Pavilion is one of the four major martial arts forces in the capital. Yang Yuansi is also close to the current Crown Prince, and his actions can influence the overall situation with a flip of his hand, making such a major situation even more serious.
However, the undercurrent-filled capital is currently as stable as a mountain. Not only is it lush and green, but auspicious clouds seem to be rising around it: the Crown Prince’s grand wedding is next month, on the eighteenth, and the Imperial City is filled with festive joy, both inside and out.
The This Place Pavilion is also joyous, with even more festive noise than outside. Only the atmosphere in the Five Watch Hall (Wǔ Gēng Táng) of the Cold Night Tower (Hán Xiāo Lóu) is somber and miserable.
The fact that Yang Yuansi is poisoned with Entangled Affection and has been suffering its onset for several days is currently only known to his two children and a few trusted confidants.
There are many famous doctors near the capital, and many medical officers in the Imperial Hospital, but the only one who could be called a divine doctor was Duan Youchang in the south of the city. However, Divine Doctor Duan passed away more than a year ago, leaving only his daughter to take over the medical shop.
Xue Yuyu, the strategist for the This Place Pavilion, said: “Divine Doctor Duan was particularly skilled at detoxification. How could he not have imparted everything to his daughter during years of teaching? Although Miss Duan is young and lacks fame, we cannot conclude that she has no inherited family skills, and the Pavilion Master must investigate… That One Flavor Hall (Yī Wèi Táng) only has Miss Duan and a single assisting maid, so it will be very convenient.”
Yang Yuansi nodded with a heavy face, and Strategist Xue immediately ordered people to carry a small sedan chair to the One Flavor Hall to pick up the person.
The person was brought back at dusk. The Five Watch Hall had not yet been lit, and in the flickering shadows, there was a touch of gentle ambiguity that shouldn’t have been there.
Yang Yuansi narrowed his eyes to examine the person in front of him—a woman in a bean-green shirt and pine-green skirt. His first fleeting thought was that green did not suit her. Then, as if tired, he furrowed his brow, stretched out his hand, and said nothing.
Since he did not speak, the accompanying Strategist Xue and Young Master Yang Guan also kept silent. Xue Yuyu shook his fan, his slender eyebrows slightly curved. Yang Guan stood with his arms folded, his expression hidden in the shadows.
Seeing the situation, the woman did not say much. She stepped forward, took his hand, and placed her fingers on his pulse gate.
Yang Yuansi looked at her coldly and suddenly asked, “What is your name?”
The woman slightly raised her eyes, her voice flat: “Duan Min.”
“You are Duan Youchang’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Who is your mother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where is your ancestral home?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hmph,” Yang Yuansi sneered through his nose, “Duan Youchang was not simple. The moment his name appeared, he was a Divine Doctor, but before he gained fame, he was like he hadn’t been born—this person simply didn’t exist. He won’t even tell his daughter. Does he want everything to be buried with him?”
Strategist Xue leisurely fanned himself, his slightly narrowed eyes, however, were capturing every expression on the woman’s—Duan Min’s—face.
Her expression was very faint, showing no panic, no surprise, and no immediate reaction.
Duan Min checked his pulse for a while longer before letting go of Yang Yuansi’s hand. She raised her head and looked at him, saying, “Is Pavilion Master Yang summoning me to reminisce? My late father never mentioned having the honor of being acquainted with the Pavilion Master.”
“Hmph!” This time, the cold snort came from Young Master Yang, who was standing nearby. Young Master Yang still did not speak.
Strategist Xue offered a slight smile, so faint that it was barely discernible as a smile. Strategist Xue, however, spoke, his voice gentle and cultured: “I have long heard that Miss Duan possesses extraordinary intellect. Only today do I realize that this is true.”
Yang Yuansi did not wait for Duan Min to respond to Xue Yuyu. He asked in a deep voice, “Do you know what poison I am afflicted with? Can you cure it?”
Duan Min smiled then, the corner of her mouth lightly curved, a smile that was actually colder than her lack of a smile: “Where has your Pavilion’s respected physician, Doctor Guo, gone?”
Hearing this question, Yang Yuansi also showed a hint of a smile, his lazy gaze finally containing a hint of amusement: “This Place Pavilion does not keep imbeciles. Those who occupy a position without fulfilling its duties naturally do not meet a good end.”
“Someone complained these last two days that Doctor Li in the east of the city has gone missing. Does Pavilion Master Yang know anything about that?”
“Li Wei deceived the world and earned his death.”
Yang Yuansi smiled effortlessly, so effortlessly that he did not seem like a man in his prime who dominates a region: “I have answered two of your questions. What about mine?”
Duan Min’s expression was indifferent: “Entangled Affection—it can be suppressed, but not cured. I can suppress it.”
Xue Yuyu was moved. Young Master Yang stepped out from the shadows in one stride, shouting urgently: “You are young, but your guts are not small! You can suppress it? Is that true?!”
Yang Yuansi did not show much excitement. He stared fixedly at her: “What reward do you want?”
Duan Min glanced at the Young Master Yang: “I need five days to prepare some things. As for other matters, my courage is actually quite small; I only wish that after this is completed, I can still keep my life.”
Xue Yuyu’s smile widened a bit, his gaze slightly lowered, his words still gentle: “Miss Duan is joking.”
Yang Yuansi showed three points of appreciation. He slightly narrowed his eyes and nodded: “Good. Your life is guaranteed by me from now on.”
Duan Min left the Pavilion and rode back in the small sedan chair she arrived in. Before getting into the chair, she paused, turned her face to the evening glow, and looked at the scenery behind the building.
Yang Yuansi watched her walk away through the window and turned to Xue Yuyu, saying, “Order someone to go to the Jiang’s shop and purchase a bolt of crimson Yue yarn… and another bolt of lotus-root colored cocoon silk to be sent to the One Flavor Hall.”
Xue Yuyu agreed and left. Yang Guan urgently asked, “Father! Do you really intend to keep her?”
Yang Yuansi glared at him, shouting in a low voice, “You are impulsive! A useless thing! If you could learn half of Tuan’er’s temperament, I could close my eyes in peace!”
Yang Guan did not dare to look at him, lowered his head, and muttered to himself, “That wicked woman. I will get revenge for Eldest Brother one day…”
Yang Yuansi was usually very composed, but this son was the only one who consistently touched his “reverse scale,” inciting a turbulent surge of anger and overwhelming indignation in him: “Shut up! What nonsense are you talking about!”