The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 36: Pure Air Saves My Second Sister-in-Law

“Dade, this is my eldest son, Chengqian; my second son, Tai; Gaoming; and Qingque. They’ve come to meet your third uncle—he’s the best in the world, heh… heh…” Seeing that Li Xuanba had noticed her two biological sons, Changsun Wugu wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and introduced Li Chengqian and Li Tai with a smile, hoping to introduce Li Xuanba to her two sons as well. But before she could finish her sentence, her breathing suddenly became labored, and her face flushed bright red in an instant. “Guanyinbi!” “Wuguo!” “Crown Princess!” Seeing that Changsun Wuguo was having an asthma attack, Li Shimin, Li Yuan, and the others were horrified. Li Shimin even scooped Changsun Wuguo up in his arms, ready to rush to the Imperial Medical Bureau. “Don’t panic! Second Brother, put my sister-in-law down. Huang Yiming, go get a hollow bamboo tube—if there isn’t one, a water bag will do!” Li Shimin was panicking, and Li Xuanba was naturally panicking as well, but having seen more in his life, he remained calm enough to make orderly arrangements despite his anxiety. “Da De, do you have a solution?” “Don’t worry! I’ll administer first aid to Second Sister-in-Law first. If you rush off to the Imperial Medical Bureau carrying her like this, wouldn’t that be a waste of time? But you’d better call a few imperial physicians over. Once I’ve stabilized her, they can examine her as well.” Although Li Xuanba was quite confident in his own method, he still had Li Shimin go fetch the court physicians, because no matter how confident he was, it was always better to have several people confirm the diagnosis at the same time. “All right!” By this point, Li Shimin was also starting to panic. He agreed to whatever Li Xuanba said and hurriedly ordered the palace guards standing nearby to go to the Imperial Medical Bureau and summon several physicians. “Your Highness, the bamboo tube has been smoothed on both ends.” “Excellent! Good!” Seeing that Huang Yimie had dutifully smoothed out the rough edges on both ends of the bamboo tube within a minute, Li Xuanba cast a satisfied glance at him. He then gently placed one end of the arm-thick bamboo tube against Changsun Wuguo’s face, positioning it to cover her nose and mouth. Once it was in place, Li Xuanba gently pressed down on the top of the bamboo tube with his right hand and barked, “Exhale!” “Huu…” No sooner had Li Xuanba finished speaking than a stream of fresh air suddenly surged from the palm of his hand, filling the bamboo tube before being drawn into Changsun Wugu’s lungs. Seeing Changsun Wuguo’s flushed, agitated expression ease, Li Xuanba’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said to her, “Second Sister-in-Law, just take deep breaths of this air—it’s very clean!” “Breathe… in… breathe… in…” Hearing Li Xuanba’s instructions, Changsun Wuguo slowly began to breathe in the fresh air continuously flowing from the bamboo tube. Her abnormally flushed complexion gradually returned to normal, and her entire demeanor relaxed considerably. Seeing this, Li Xuanba let go of the worry that had been weighing on his mind and breathed a huge sigh of relief. In his view, since the space contained pure spatial spring water, the air inside must surely be very pure as well. Though it couldn’t compare to pure oxygen, it would undoubtedly be very beneficial for the respiratory system. As it turned out, that was indeed the case. As they watched Li Xuanba cover the opening with his large hand and Changsun Wuguo’s complexion ease, Li Shimin and Li Yuan’s eyes narrowed. They exchanged a glance, and only three words came to mind. Transcendental Qi! Beyond that, given their limited understanding, they simply could not fathom what method Li Xuanba had actually used to alleviate Changsun Wugu’s condition. After five or six minutes, Changsun Wugu raised her hand—which had regained its strength—and waved at Li Xuanba, signaling that she was all right. Li Shimin took Changsun Wuguo’s hand, looking at his beloved wife with concern. “Guanyinbi, are you really all right? You should breathe in a little more of the Immortal Qi that Da De has channeled over!” Changsun Wuguo waved her hand, stood up with Li Shimin’s support, cast a gentle smile at Li Xuanba, and said softly, “No need. I feel much better now. Besides, using too much of this divine energy might not be good for Da De. We shouldn’t let him harm his health.” Divine energy? Hearing the name his second older brother and sister-in-law had given to this “pure air,” Li Xuanba couldn’t help but roll his eyes. When had he ever said that what was being channeled over was “divine energy”? It was just pure air—hardly worthy of being called divine energy, was it? However, seeing the look of such reverence on Li Shimin and the others’ faces, Li Xuanba decided against clarifying the matter. After all, it was better to let the misunderstanding stand—explaining it would only cause trouble! “This subject, Hua Chuanbai, pays his respects to His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess.” “This servant, Liu Banxia, pays his respects to His Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess.” Changsun Wuguo had just gotten out of bed when the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau rushed in, hastily bowing to Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and Changsun Wuguo! Before the physicians could finish their bows, Li Yuan quickly waved his hand and said urgently, “You may rise! Hurry and examine the Crown Princess!” “Yes, Your Majesty!” As the physicians took Changsun Wuguo’s pulse and examined her, Li Xuanba stood quietly to the side, lost in thought. At that moment, Li Xuanba realized the true purpose of his journey to the Tang Dynasty. Although he longed for a simple life—an acre of land, two oxen, and the warmth of a heated brick bed with his wife and children—that didn’t mean he couldn’t do other things as well. History cannot be drastically altered, but surely he could at least ensure that his second sister-in-law lived a few more years, prevent his two nephews—Li Chengqian and Li Tai—as well as his soon-to-be-born nephew Li Zhi, from causing internal strife, and stop Wu Zetian from overthrowing the Tang Dynasty and establishing the Zhou Dynasty. Surely he could change at least that much! Even if we can’t have a thousand-year dynasty, surely it’s possible to let the golden age of the Tang Dynasty last a few more years! With that thought, Li Xuanba looked up at the clear blue sky and the white clouds. “Since I’ve come to the Tang Dynasty, let me do something for it. Otherwise, why did you bring me here? Are you just toying with me?” Just as Li Xuanba was gazing at the sky, the imperial physicians finished their examination. Liu Banxia bowed slightly to Li Yuan and Li Shimin: “Your Majesty, Crown Prince—the Crown Princess’s asthma seems to have eased. As long as she gets plenty of rest and avoids excessive exposure to the wind and sand outside, she should be fine.” “Nonsense! My second sister-in-law has always been in poor health. Making her stay in that lousy palace day after day, never seeing the sunlight, and getting no exercise—how is that supposed to improve her physical condition? Won’t her asthma just keep plaguing her forever?” Upon hearing Liu Banxia’s instructions to Changsun Wugu, Li Xuanba flew into a rage. From the fact that Changsun Wugu had just managed to suppress her asthma by breathing fresh air, Li Xuanba had come to a clear realization. Clearly, his second sister-in-law’s asthma wasn’t a condition like hay fever; it was a hereditary disease passed down through the Changsun clan. If that were the case, simply by improving her physical condition and regularly breathing fresh air outdoors, she could reduce the frequency of her asthma attacks and extend her life. If she were to remain cooped up in that sunless room day after day, she would likely still pass away in sorrow ten years from now. Upon hearing Li Xuanba dismiss his words as nonsense, Liu Banxia flew into a rage. Narrowing her eyes, she glared coldly at Li Xuanba and rebuked him: “Young gentleman, the *Medical Canon* records that asthma is characterized by wheezing sounds during breathing, often accompanied by shortness of breath. ‘Asthma’ refers to the sound, while ‘shortness of breath’ refers to the breathing itself.” “Those who have suffered from this condition since childhood are called ‘congenital asthma.’ Asthma is classified into ‘cold asthma’ and ‘hot asthma.’ ” “Cold asthma: coughing up thin, clear phlegm that is frothy and sticky; no thirst; a feeling of tightness and oppression in the chest; or accompanied by external symptoms of wind-cold—which closely matches the Crown Princess’s condition. You…” Just as Liu Banxia was about to launch into another lengthy discourse, Li Xuanba waved his hand impatiently. He glared with his tiger-like eyes and said coldly, “Enough. Don’t give me a long lecture here. If you were truly capable of curing my second sister-in-law’s illness, you would have cured her long ago. How could you have let her suffer another attack?” The imperial physician, cut off mid-sentence by Li Xuanba’s dismissive gesture, looked even more displeased. Frowning, he glared at Li Xuanba. “Young Master, how can you be so unreasonable? I’m debating with you using the principles of medicine, and yet you…” “Pfft!” Seeing that the imperial physician actually wanted to debate him, Li Xuanba sneered coldly. He clenched his fist—as big as a clay pot—and waved it at the physician, saying stubbornly, “Debate? When have I, Li Xuanba, ever debated with anyone? If you don’t agree, let’s settle this with our fists. If you can beat me, I’ll admit you’re right.” “You—you’re Li Xuanba, Li Xuanba, Prince Wei Huai. I—I… Your Majesty, Crown Prince, this old servant takes his leave.” “Your Majesty, Crown Prince—this old servant takes his leave.” Upon hearing that the young man before him was Li Xuanba, Liu Banxia’s eyes widened with horror and he immediately fell silent. The imperial physicians who had been about to intervene also clamped their mouths shut. They bowed to Li Yuan and Li Shimin and hurriedly left the Bureau of Imperial Cuisine. Damn it! We still want to live a few more years—are we really going to argue with that unreasonable Prince Wei? If we get hit by one of his fists—as big as a clay pot—we’d probably lose our old lives!