Chapter 11.2

Meng Qianshan stood on his side, skillfully filling a pot with fresh, hot tea. He placed it beside him and asked carefully, “Where is Your Highness staying tonight?”

With Madam Huo’s appearance today, he definitely could not serve His Highness in bed. Moreover, he had a fever, and His Highness was weak. What if he passed his illness to His Highness?

Jiang Suizhou watched Doctor Zhou and did not speak for a while.

Meng Qianshan sensed that His Highness wasn’t in the mood to speak, so he also quietly waited at his side and asked no further.

A moment later, Doctor Zhou turned around and knelt in front of Jiang Suizhou.

“Your Highness, Madam Huo is suffering from a high fever due to wound inflammation…” He added hurriedly, “Madam Huo endured it, but he has been burning up for some time. His injuries are quite serious, so if this continues, I’m afraid it will endanger his life!”

Jiang Suizhou frowned, “It’s that serious?”

Doctor Zhoufu nodded, “I’ll immediately boil some medicine and change his bandages later. As long as his fever subsides in time, it won’t be a big problem.”

Jiang Suizhou nodded. “Tell Meng Qianshan to boil the medicine, while you change the bandages for him now.”

Doctor Zhou agreed promptly.

Jiang Suizhou propped one hand on his cheek, turned his head sideways and looked at Huo Wujiu, who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

Although Huo Wujiu was sitting upright, he was already dizzy from the fever. His eyes that were glaring at everyone just now were also shut heavily.

Doctor Zhou carefully unwrapped his bandages to clean his wounds. Blood had soaked the gauze, making it stuck to the flesh. Even when he carefully unwrapped the gauze, the wounds were still inevitably torn.

Huo Wujiu’s eyes were closed, but his brow was furrowed. He pursed his lips and still restrained himself from gasping even in his muddled state. Only the trembling of his brow as his bandages were ripped open revealed that he was in pain.

Jiang Suizhou suddenly remembered something.

When he was a child and still living in his father’s house, his brother, born from a younger woman he didn’t know, once pushed him down the stairs and caused him to twist his ankle. His mother was in a bad mood those days and always crying, so he did not dare to let her know. He limped back to his room and endured the pain all night.

The feeling of enduring the pain alone was so torturous that no amount of reading could distract him from it.

But for Huo Wujiu, it seemed to have become a habit engraved in his bones. 

Jiang Suzhou couldn’t resist staring at Huo Wujiu’s body, unable to extricate his eyes for a second.

It was covered in crisscross injuries,  fresh, bloody, and very deep.

…It must hurt like hell.

He sat there quietly, watching Doctor Zhou clean Huo Wujiu’s wounds, rewrap them in gauze, and help him lie down.

Doctor Zhou then reported to Jiang Suizhou. He knelt once more, and said, “Your Highness, his bandages have been changed. Later on, just give Madam the medicine and sponge him with cold towels to cool him down. Once his fever subsides, there’ll be no serious problem.”

Jiang Suizhou nodded and raised his hand, signaling him to go and do it himself.

Doctor Zhou went to prepare a handkerchief and placed it on Huo Wujiu’s forehead.

Not long after, Meng Qianshan came back with the medicine.

He handed the medicine to the doctor and returned to Jiang Suizhou’s side, bowing down and asking, “Your Highness, it’s getting late. Why don’t you go back to Anyin Hall and rest for now?”

Seeing that Jiang Suizhou was staring at Huo Wujiu, he did not forget to add, “If you are not at ease, I will leave some more people here to keep watch.”

He naturally knew that Huo Wujiu would not burn to death, and that there was nothing to worry about.

However, he could not help but think of the original Huo Wujiu.

Back then, there must have been no one to bandage him or change his dressing. To survive such a high fever like this one, it was a wonder how many days and nights he burned up. He had forcibly dragged his life back from Yama’s hands.

Having experienced what it was like to exercise patience in pain alone, Jiang Suizhou suddenly felt reluctant to leave.

A few moments later, he ordered lightly, “Go find a book for me.”　　

Meng Qianshan was stunned. He forged ahead and replied without thought, “Is Your Highness not going to leave…?”

Jiang Suizhou raised his eyes and looked at him, forcing the second half of Meng Qianshan’s words back into his mouth.

Meng Qianshan could only nod repeatedly and go find him a book.

——

When Huo Wujiu woke up, it was already late at night.

He opened his eyes in the dark, feeling something on his forehead. He raised his hand and pulled it off, and saw that it was a damp, cool handkerchief.

He frowned.

It seemed that he has been feverish since the afternoon today. This was nothing unusual. He was wounded so many times on the battlefield and occasionally suffered fevers. A good night’s sleep was all it took.

In the evening, King Jing seemed to have visited, and before he figured what the latter was going to do, Huo Wujiu had fainted from the fever.

Huo Wujiu lifted his hand and touched his forehead.

A cool patch.

He was fully sober at this point, but an extremely surreal feeling arose deep within him.

He was a prisoner of war captured by the enemy, a tool sent to King Jing’s residence to humiliate him. However, he was now lying peacefully on a bed. His wounds were treated and now clean and fresh; his forehead was covered with a cool handkerchief; and the air was filled with a faint smell of medicine.

It was distinctly bitter, yet calming and soothing.

He was born at the border where life was gruelling. He was extremely resistant to any fall, and had never been so cared for in his life.

He turned his head sideways and saw a man sitting in the dim light.

The man was asleep, holding a book in one hand on his lap while supporting the side of his head with the other. His eyelashes were long, covering a pair of eyes that were always cold and arrogant.

The light shone on his side profile, coating him with a soft glow.

Huo Wujiu realized that he was guarding him.

His breathing hitched uncontrollably.

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