Chapter 037: First Encounter with Yu Qian

"Finally, it's here!" Xue Rui had been waiting for this very moment. He hurriedly stood up, gazing toward the direction from which the sound of hooves approached.

"Hyah—!" At the far end of the long street, a swift horse raced closer, its rider a messenger with a flag strapped to his back, relentlessly whipping his mount to urge it to greater speed.

In just a moment, the messenger galloped past Xue Rui. The Ministry of War was less than two hundred meters away, yet the messenger did not slow down at all—clearly, he was in a great hurry.

"It seems history has not changed because of my arrival," Xue Rui thought. The reason he had come to wait here was his fear that his presence might trigger a butterfly effect, altering the course of history. But reality proved he had overestimated himself.

"Ah!" Just as he was reflecting, the messenger suddenly cried out in alarm. Xue Rui looked closely and saw that the racing horse had stumbled, collapsing headlong onto the ground.

Despite the messenger's agility, as the horse fell, he instinctively protected himself, but still tumbled several times on the ground, clearly injured.

At this hour, all government offices had dismissed their staff; no one else witnessed the scene. Seeing the messenger still lying there, Xue Rui rushed forward to check on him.

The messenger's face was battered and bruised, his body covered in dust, and it was unclear if any bones were broken. Xue Rui helped him up and urgently asked, "Hey, wake up! Are you alright?"

After a long moment, the messenger finally came to, his eyes darting about as if assessing his surroundings. Spotting the Ministry of Works across the street, he weakly said, "Quick, take me to the Ministry of War—I have urgent military news to report!"

Xue Rui tried to help him, but the messenger couldn't move at all. Just as he was about to call for help, two familiar figures came running from a distance.

"What are you doing here?" Xue Rui was astonished to see the pair.

"Well, there was something in the observatory earlier that delayed us for quite some time. We just got off duty and happened to see a rider dash past, so we came over to check—and found you here as well," Shi Xiang offered a casual explanation.

Xue Rui accepted it without suspicion and quickly said, "Help me, please! He's delivering urgent military news—we can't afford any delay."

"So it is!" Shi Xiang and Fu Cong exchanged glances. In their hearts, they thought, "Xue Rui must have known military news was coming, which is why he waited here so early. Now it’s confirmed."

They understood the gravity of military matters and hurried to help, supporting the messenger and swiftly taking him to the Ministry of War.

At the entrance, two soldiers stood guard. Upon hearing of urgent military news, they called others to bring the messenger inside.

Watching the messenger disappear within, Xue Rui and his companions lingered at the gate, momentarily silent.

After a while, Shi Xiang tentatively asked, "Brother Xue, do you think this military news is good or bad?"

Xue Rui knew his earlier odd behavior had aroused suspicion. To dispel their doubts, he had acted normally all day. Unexpectedly, at this historic moment, he encountered them again. After this, no explanation would convince them otherwise.

He could only answer truthfully, albeit helplessly: "I'm afraid it's not good news."

"Why?"

The pair became intrigued. Though they suspected the news was unfavorable, they wanted to hear Xue Rui’s reasoning.

Xue Rui counted on his fingers and explained, "Think about it: two defeat reports sent on the thirteenth arrived on the morning and afternoon of the fifteenth—a full two-day gap. The messenger just said his news was from midday on the fifteenth. That means the military report traveled from the frontier to the capital in only a little over a day. What kind of news would require such urgency?"

"Could it be...?" Remembering the rumors about Huanfu Zhong and the prophecy, their faces changed dramatically.

"Don’t jump to conclusions. By tomorrow morning at the latest, word will spread," Xue Rui shook his head and returned to the fallen horse.

The courier horse, after galloping full speed, was soaked in sweat and now, after the fall, had no strength to rise. It lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Xue Rui pondered for a moment and asked the two, "Do either of you have any sharp objects with you?"

"What do you need that for?" Both were puzzled.

"This horse has been running nonstop—its blood is overheated. We need to let some out, or it won’t survive," Xue Rui said, stroking the horse’s belly.

He knew of this method from short videos in his previous life, where jockeys at racing events did something similar.

Seeing the horse near death, he decided to try this desperate remedy.

Shi Xiang and Fu Cong had heard of this treatment, but neither had the necessary tool.

"I’ll go fetch one from the observatory," Fu Cong said, and returned shortly with an awl used for bookbinding—long and thick enough for bleeding.

"Do either of you know how to perform bloodletting?" Xue Rui asked, awkwardly holding the awl.

"Not at all," Shi Xiang and Fu Cong both shook their heads.

Left with no other option, Xue Rui selected a small vein on the horse, gritted his teeth, and pierced it at an angle.

The horse writhed in pain, struggling briefly before exhaustion overcame it and it lay still again.

With bright red blood flowing, Shi Xiang and Fu Cong instinctively stepped back.

Xue Rui’s hands were stained, but he seemed unconcerned.

Watching, the two felt a chill, thinking to themselves they’d better not provoke him in the future—if he ever grew angry and did this to them, it would be disastrous.

"That’s a lot of blood—will it die?" Fu Cong worried, seeing the blood pool on the ground.

"We can only leave it to fate now," Shi Xiang said. With no veterinarian nearby, he doubted Xue Rui could save the horse.

"Would you two fetch a couple of buckets of water to cool it down? That should help," Xue Rui said, pressing firmly on the wound.

"Alright," they replied, and went to the observatory to bring water.

Several buckets of water were poured over the horse, gradually lowering its temperature, and the bleeding slowed.

"It’s done—whether it survives, we’ll soon see," Xue Rui breathed a sigh of relief and went to wash his hands.

Splash, splash, splash—

Just then, a group of people rushed out of the Ministry of War, scattering in all directions. Judging by their attire, they were clerks and scribes from within.

With offices closed for the day, the sudden flood of people likely meant the entire ministry was mobilized.

After they left, another figure emerged—a man holding an ivory tablet, dressed in crimson official robes with a peacock badge on his chest, denoting a third-rank officer.

This official, around fifty, was thin-faced with a long beard, keen eyes, and though hurried, carried himself with dignity.

Recognizing him, Shi Xiang tugged at Xue Rui and whispered, "That’s Lord Yu from the Ministry of War—quick, pay your respects!"

Currently, the only third-rank officer at the ministry was Yu Qian, the Left Vice Minister. Shi Xiang, having spent years at the Imperial Observatory, had seen Yu Qian several times and could identify him.

"Yu Qian?" Xue Rui was startled. He hadn’t expected his first encounter with this renowned figure to come in such a dramatic scene.

The blood from the horse, washed with well water, had stained half the street red.

Perhaps the vivid blood caught Yu Qian's eye. He approached and, seeing Shi Xiang and Fu Cong in their pale astronomical robes, frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"

Afraid of reprimand, Shi Xiang and Fu Cong dared not answer, glancing at Xue Rui.

Unruffled, Xue Rui stepped forward and said, "Sir, this courier horse galloped nonstop, its blood overheated. We had to bleed it to cool it down, or it would have died. We were only treating it."

Looking at the horse, Yu Qian sighed, "This animal has served the country. If you can save it, that is a worthy deed."

"We will do our utmost," the three replied.

"Then I leave it to you," Yu Qian said. He had urgent matters and departed swiftly.

Once he was gone, Fu Cong marveled, "I never thought Lord Yu would be so gracious—more approachable than many lesser officials."

"Indeed," Shi Xiang agreed.

Watching Yu Qian’s figure, not particularly imposing, Xue Rui felt a sense of reassurance settle within him.

With him in charge, the capital should remain safe!

Whether from the bloodletting or the horse’s own resilience, after drinking half a bucket of water, it miraculously stood up, leaving the trio elated.

Unfortunately, the earlier fall had broken its foreleg; even if it recovered, it would be lame for life.

With the Ministry of War fully mobilized, no one came to claim the horse.

After discussing, the three struggled to move it to the stable at the Imperial Observatory for temporary care.