CH 37

October 2, 2022Merchie

Jiang Yubai had been busy all afternoon, and he finally had some time to breathe. He had been redressing Qi Changyi’s wounds and applying ointment to each of the red marks on his body.

His Highness, surprisingly, had not a single scar on his body. His skin was still white and smooth, and the wounds he had received from the first whipping had already healed.

The only issue was with the bite on his collarbone, which was still oozing blood. Jiang Yubai wasn’t sure that it wouldn’t leave a scar.

“If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have given him that hangover pill…” Jiang Yubai muttered and glanced at Cheng Feng, who was still standing in the outer hall. “I should’ve poisoned him instead to make him feel the same pain as His Highness.”

Jiang Yubai had always treated Qi Changyi well, and felt protective of him. Noble Consort Ning had been kind to him while she was still alive, and Qi Changyi was similar in both appearance and temperament to his mother.

But Jiang Yubai was just a powerless little doctor; he could only diligently treat Qi Changyi’s wounds, and curse at Pei Zheng behind his back.

Cheng Feng turned a deaf ear to Jiang Yubai’s profanities, which he spewed with vigor. It got to the point that Cheng Feng got a little offended on Pei Zheng’s behalf. It didn’t matter too much though; he knew that his master usually left Jiang Yubai to his own devices.

The little man lying on the bed was still quiet and pale, and it didn’t look like he was going to wake up anytime soon.

The morning court session should have ended by now, but Pei Zheng still hadn’t returned. Instead, the person who pushed open the door was an unexpected visitor, someone who was usually not permitted to enter the palace.

“You, why are you here? Is Pei Zheng in there?”

Zhao Litang’s expression darkened when he saw Cheng Feng, and there was undisguised hostility in his voice.

“General Zhao must have forgotten my Lord’s warning from last time. It’s the middle of the day right now, yet you’re not even trying to avoid detection.”

Zhao Litang gripped the door frame and channelled energy into his palm. He and Cheng Feng exchanged several moves, until Cheng Feng suddenly clasped both of his hands together and unleashed a burst of qi. Zhao Litang staggered back from the force of the blow, and a sweet, bloody taste welled up at the back of his throat.

This guard’s power and skill were both impressive; he was by no means an ordinary person.

“General Zhao, please leave. It’s not convenient for His Highness to receive guests at the moment.” Cheng Feng’s chest was also aching; he tried to keep the pain out of his voice.

Zhao Litang was silent for a while, before he handed the food box1 he had brought with him to Cheng Feng. “This is for His Highness, it’s his favorite food from when he was a child. My army and I still have some things to deal with, so I’ll be taking my leave now.”

Cheng Feng closed the palace door and returned inside with the food box. A thin line of fresh blood immediately dripped down his chin.

Jiang Yubai was shocked for a moment before he hurriedly shoved Cheng Feng onto a chair and took his pulse. He ordered a servant to bring up a bowl of qi-replenishing tonic before he finally let go of Cheng Feng.

Pei Zheng finally arrived just after Cheng Feng had finished the tonic.

He completely ignored the two people who bowed to him in the hall and immediately went inside to check on the little man. His face immediately turned ugly when he saw that the other’s eyes were still shut.

“Why isn’t he awake yet?”

Jiang Yubai straightened his back and looked up. His expression was just as ugly as Pei Zheng’s. “Oh? Shouldn’t I be asking you, my Lord? What exactly did you do to His Highness to make him faint like this?”

Those words were sharp and laced with venom. Pei Zheng merely stared deeply at him, and Jiang Yubai stared back, his face devoid of emotion.

The terrifying quiet atmosphere was suddenly broken by the little man’s soft groan. Pei Zheng immediately reached out and clasped his hands; there was undisguised nervousness in his gaze.

When Jiang Yubai saw this, he shouted, “What are you doing? Let go of him right now!”

Pei Zheng was frightened by his own sudden movement, and he actually let go of the little man’s hands.

“If the wound on His Highness’s palm is torn again, how can you expect it to heal itself?!”

Jiang Yubai was so angry that he wanted to roll his eyeballs into the sky. Did this man ever use his eyes for anything? The little man’s hand was clearly wrapped in a fresh layer of gauze, yet he had grabbed it so carelessly!

The little man’s eyelids fluttered slightly. They opened into tiny slits that squinted against the sunlight.

Pei Zheng reached out and covered Qi Changyi’s eyes, before he ordered, “Cover the windows.”

Several servants filed inside and hung heavy curtains over the windows, and the room instantly darkened.

Pei Zheng removed his hand and spoke softly, “You can open your eyes now. Open them slowly.”

Qi Changyi’s eyes peeled open. He was still half-asleep, but when he saw the hazy, enlarged face in front of him, he called out softly. “Pei-gege…”

Pei Zheng’s heart wrenched slightly. “Are you feeling better now?”

Qi Changyi’s mind was a little slow at first, but he gradually began to remember the events of the previous night. His gaze became nervous, and his eyes reddened. “Pei-gege, I know I was wrong, please don’t be angry, please don’t hit me…”

Qi Changyi shrunk away in fright, and Pei Zheng’s heart ached. “I’m not angry, I won’t hit you either, so don’t be scared, okay?”

Pei Zheng saw that the other’s small hand was balled into a fist. He gently pried it open, and spoke again, “Don’t clench your hand like that, your wound will tear again.”

Seeing that Pei Zheng was about to take Qi Changyi into his arms, Jiang Yubai coughed loudly. “Your Highness hasn’t eaten all day, you must be hungry. There’s a food box right here on this table, I wonder who sent it.”

Jiang Yubai prodded Cheng Feng’s arm, and Cheng Feng’s expression stiffened for a second.

Fuck! He had forgotten to get rid of the food box that Zhao Litang had delivered!

Pei Zheng’s eyes had already landed on him, so Cheng Feng had no choice but to walk over and explain in a hushed whisper.

“Hmph. He must have a lot of time on his hands to be doing things like this.”

Pei Zheng opened the food box and took a look. Inside was a neat array of exquisite, bite-sized cakes; the sweet, greasy aroma made one’s mouth water. Qi Changyi had a child’s palate, so he preferred sweets.

“Take it away and feed it to the dogs.” Pei Zheng ordered coldly. “Have the cook make something light; make sure that they don’t add any sugar.”

Pei Zheng swept his eyes over the edge of the bed, before he straightened his sleeves and left.

Qi Changyi only saw the edge of a black robe as it disappeared behind the door frame. He began to sob quietly, before burying himself under the quilt.

After several days of rest, the red marks on Qi Changyi’s body finally disappeared, and the wound on his hand scabbed over. Only the neat row of teeth marks on his collarbone stubbornly remained.

It was as though Pei Zheng was marking his territory by leaving this bite on the little man’s body.

Li Yu had also been sent back earlier. Pei Zheng had ordered for him to be treated with the best medicine, but Li Yu was still coughing up blood.

No one came to visit the residence during these past few days. When Qi Changyi was bored, he sat on the palace door’s high threshold and played with two stalks of dog-tail grass2. Cupped in his hand were two shiny berries.

“Ya3, it’s really sweet, Xiao Yuzi, where did you get these?” Qi Changyi smiled as he threw one into his mouth, the sweetness and tanginess was refreshing and delicious.

“Here, you try one too!” Qi Changyi shoved the other berry into Li Yu’s hand, his eyes curved into crescents.

It had been many days since Li Yu had seen Qi Changyi’s genuine smile; the pain in his heart dissipated, and was replaced by tenderness and joy.

“I heard that His Majesty had just hosted a banquet for the barbarian envoys.” Li Yu also smiled. “These fruits were given to me by a sneaky little maid who was at the feast.”

Notes

Ahhh sorry I’m so slow right now, I know I said more chapters on the weekends hngghhh

I use every opportunity I can to insert a curse word to vent my frustration at everybody in this novel

Thanks for reading~~

1: 食盒: I’m not gonna say lunchbox or whatever because food box sounds not that bad and who said it’s only for lunch, it’s uhhh that multi-tiered bento box thing with a handle

2. 狗尾巴草: I’m telling you it’s a real plant it’s not just something I pulled out of my ass, it looks like one of those fluffy cat toy stick things

3. 呀, an exclamation noise, like ‘uwah!’ as in the excited kind of ‘uwah’