CH 106

The sedan moved at a steady pace and had already arrived at the main street of the Imperial City. There were still many pedestrians, and the shops were still brightly lit.

Shen Shijiu lifted the curtain slightly, trying to use the light from the street to discern Pei Zheng’s condition. 

From the weak light making it into the sedan, Shen Shijiu could see that Pei Zheng was slumped against the side of the sedan, his eyes were tightly shut, his face was white as snow, and a bit of scarlet blood stained his lips.

Nothing seemed to be amiss about the black robe he was wearing; even if it was soaked with blood, no one would notice.

Shen Shijiu couldn’t hold his tears back, and they flowed incessantly. His fingers trembled slightly as he reached out and gently pulled open the lapels over Pei Zheng’s chest, before he saw the underrobe that was already dyed red with blood.

He didn’t know what had happened to Pei Zheng, or how he could have sustained such serious injuries.

Shen Shijiu placed his fingers on Pei Zheng’s wrist and took his pulse. Indeed, his internal energy was so weak that it was almost imperceptible, its illusory presence gradually emanating from Pei Zheng’s body.

Shen Shijiu rummaged through his cuffs for a while, and finally pulled out a box of medicine. He had to use all his strength to force his hands to stop trembling. Then, he rolled Pei Zheng’s cuff up; the inside of it was covered in blood.

There was so much blood that he couldn’t even see where the wounds were.

Shen Shijiu lightly sprinkled the medicinal powder onto Pei Zheng’s arm. But no matter how gentle his touch was, his arm still recoiled unconsciously in pain.

“Does it hurt?” Shen Shijiu retracted his hand, and slowly blew on Pei Zheng’s arm. The warm current of air flowed past, and ameliorated the pain slightly.

Pei Zheng’s long, narrow eyes twitched, and they slowly opened, squinting slightly at the person in front of him; his gaze filled with immeasurable coldness.

But once he recognized the person in front of him, that coldness immediately disappeared.

“Your Highness…”

Shen Shijiu heard Pei Zheng say something. Although he didn’t hear what Pei Zheng said, he quickly leaned closer.

“My Lord, how are you feeling? You’re covered in wounds, are you in a lot of pain? It must hurt a lot…”

As he spoke, tears fell out of his eyes like a snapped string of pearls, splattering on Pei Zheng’s hand.

Pei Zheng was barely hanging onto consciousness, and he couldn’t muster up a single drop of qi in his body. If he forcefully tried to circulate his internal energy, he would feel his internal organs twist painfully, and a bloody sweetness would well up in his throat.

How can this small man cry so much? Is he made of water?

Pei Zheng wanted to reach out and wipe his tears, but he was so weak that he couldn’t even lift his hand.

Shen Shijiu saw Pei Zheng’s slightly raised hand, and hurriedly clasped it. Two warm, little hands gripped that ice-cold palm.

“Don’t… cry…”

It hurts even more when you cry.

Shen Shijiu nodded obediently, and roughly wiped away the tears with his sleeve until his face had turned red.

“My Lord, we’re almost… we’re almost back at the manor… don’t… don’t speak anymore… just rest…”

His words came out in a choked voice. Although he felt the urge to cry, he didn’t want to worry His Lordship, so he tried his best to widen his eyes and hold back his tears.

The sedan stopped after a little bit, and Shen Shijiu hopped off.

Cheng Feng stepped forward, and helped Pei Zheng out of the sedan – Pei Zheng couldn’t walk by himself in his current condition, so Cheng Feng carried Pei Zheng on his back, and strode into the manor.

The dark manor instantly lit up. Cheng Feng escorted Pei Zheng to his chambers, and gently laid him on the bed. Seeing that Pei Zheng had been placed on the bed, Shen Shijiu was about to hurry out.

Cheng Feng grabbed him and held him back.

“I’m going to find my shifu, hurry up and get shifu to come and save His Lordship!”

Cheng Feng glanced at the side of the bed, “Wait here. I’ll look for her.”

Shen Shijiu’s eyes were hazy with tears as he nodded, before he went to the side of the bed to check on Pei Zheng’s condition.

Cheng Feng hurriedly left to find Shen Huan.

She was the great Ghost Doctor. She could revive the dead, so saving a living person should be a piece of cake for her.

Shen Shijiu slumped over the side of the bed. Many candles had been lit in the room, so it was quite bright.

Pei Zheng was lying on the bed. It seemed that he had already lost consciousness; he was completely motionless.

First, Shen Shijiu had to take off Pei Zheng’s outer robe; only then could Shen Shijiu examine the wounds on his body. He still didn’t know how His Lordship had gotten these injuries.

Shen Shijiu gently pulled apart the numerous ties and laces on Pei Zheng’s robe, but his sash had been knotted at the side of his waist, so Shen Shijiu climbed onto the bed to untie it.

Finally, he managed to untie the sash and pull open the robe. The shredded underrobe was blood-red, and had melded with his flesh. The numerous slashes on his body appeared to whip wounds, every lash splitting his skin.

However, the more serious wound was on Pei Zheng’s left shoulderblade; it was a large, bloody hole. It was as though someone had used a sword or another sharp weapon to stab him.

Shen Shijiu couldn’t hold his tears back, and they rushed out once more. Pei Zheng’s body was covered in wounds; how much did it have to hurt for someone like His Lordship, who was very good at enduring pain, to be unable to bear it anymore?

The door was suddenly pushed open. It was Cheng Feng, who had hurried over with Shen Huan.

Shen Shijiu was kneeling on the bed, beside Pei Zheng’s waist. The veil over his face was already damp with tears, heavy and ready to fall.

After he saw Shen Huan come in, Shen Shijiu was relieved, and sobbed, “Shifu…”

Shen Huan carried her medicine case to the side of the bed and took Pei Zheng’s pulse, before her brows creased slightly.

“His foundation is in a terrible state. Has he suffered a serious injury in the past that hasn’t been taken care of?”

Cheng Feng nodded silently.

Shen Huan understood, “His internal force has been severely damaged! What’s more, he frequently forces his internal energy to circulate, he’s trying to die!”

Shen Shijiu got off the bed, stood beside Shen Huan, and tugged her sleeve.

“Shifu… You have to save His Lordship…”

Shen Huan gazed at her little disciple who resembled a rain-soaked pear blossom. Those eyes were already a bit swollen, which made him look especially pitiful. How could she refuse?

“All right, stop crying, I never said that I wouldn’t save him.” Shen Huan opened her medicine case, “His external wounds only look bad, but they’re nothing serious. The issue is with his internal force, it could be deadly if left untreated.”

Shen Huan said to Cheng Feng, “Guard Feng, I must ask you to leave for a bit. I’m going to begin treatment.” Cheng Feng considered her words for a moment, before he turned and left.

“Disciple, help me take his clothes off.”

***

After four whole hours, the door finally opened once again, and Shen Huan’s mouth gaped in a wide yawn.

“Come on in.”

Cheng Feng entered the room, and noticed that Pei Zheng, who was lying on the bed, had already been bandaged, and changed into clean clothes.

“Many thanks, Master Shen. You’ve saved His Lordship; please let me know how you would like to be compensated. The people of the Prime Minister’s Manor will do their best to satisfy you.”

Shen Huan waved her hand, “No need, no need, it was nothing. Just have your lord be nicer to me and my disciple in the future, and not make such scary faces at me.”

Shen Shijiu piped up quietly, “His Lordship doesn’t make scary faces… His Lordship smiles a lot…”

Shen Huan didn’t speak and looked at her little disciple. Was he being serious? Which of Pei Zheng’s frozen, dead expressions wasn’t scary?

“Oh right, Guard Feng, if I may ask, how was Prime Minister Pei injured?”

Shen Huan wasn’t counting on Cheng Feng’s answer, because she had already seen the even pattern of whip wounds on Pei Zheng’s body. At one glance, she could tell that he had been punished by palace servants. Also, the wound on his shoulder blade had likely been caused by a torture device used by those servants.

Cheng Feng was quiet for a while, “Today, in front of everyone in the palace, His Lordship broke off his engagement with the Second Princess.”

It was such a shocking event, but he spoke as though it was just another mundane matter.

“Those ministers are all aligned with the Empress’s family. His Lordship’s move today was equivalent to making an enemy out of the entire faction. His Majesty was furious, and wanted to strip His Lordship of his official title, but the Empress interceded for him, so his punishment was changed to a beating, along with a one-month suspension.”

Shen Huan and Shen Shijiu froze.

What Shen Huan was stunned by was that Pei Zheng had been suspended for a month, which meant that, during this month, he couldn’t touch government affairs, nor could he enter the palace.

Whether he would be able to keep his position as Prime Minister or not was another matter. In other words, the mountain that she and her disciple could finally lean on was on the verge of collapse.

But Shen Shijiu was shocked by the fact that His Lordship had broken off his engagement with the Second Princess. In other words, His Lordship had nothing to do with the Second Princess anymore.

There was a strange, faint feeling in his heart. He didn’t really know what this feeling was, but it seemed to be happiness.

At this moment, the veil over Shen Shijiu’s face finally fell off, and it landed with a soft splat on the floor, given that it was already soaked with tears.

Shen Huan and Cheng Feng both looked over at the same time, and Shen Shijiu, whose face was now uncovered, gazed back at them with an ignorant expression.

Shen Huan’s eyes suddenly widened.

Shen Shijiu’s true face is exposed!

And Cheng Feng saw it!

What should I do?!

Wait, why doesn’t Cheng Feng look shocked at all?

He’s not even the slightest bit surprised after seeing such a beautiful face?

Shen Huan seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly clapped her palm over her mouth.

“Y-y-you… h-h-he…” Shen Huan pointed at Pei Zheng who was lying on the bed, “You two must have… already seen him…”

Cheng Feng glanced at Shen Shijiu, and nodded.

“What… did you see?”

A sound came from the side of the bed. Pei Zheng was awake, and was even sitting up. His voice was a bit hoarse.

Shen Shijiu hurriedly leaned in, “My Lord, you’re finally awake!’

Shen Huan watched as her little disciple ran faster than a rabbit to the side of the bed, and her mouth twitched.

Something is really weird about this.

Pei Zheng lifted his hand, and stroked Shen Shijiu’s little head, which was raised to look at him.

“Mm. What happened to your eyes?”

He tapped Shen Shijiu’s red, swollen eyes with his finger.

Shen Huan also walked over, “If my Lord slept for another second, my little disciple would have prepared a funeral for you.”

Pei Zheng could detect the hostility in her voice.

Shen Huan continued, “My Lord still hasn’t answered, you’ve met my little disciple before, haven’t you?”

Shen Shijiu also looked at Pei Zheng.

Pei Zheng’s expression suddenly changed, and his gaze lowered to meet with Shen Shijiu’s. His eyes were complicated, but he didn’t say a word.

If Shen Huan couldn’t see how strange he was acting, she would be a fool. But of course, her stupid disciple really couldn’t tell that something was off about Pei Zheng.

“Shifu, His Lordship is very tired today. Why don’t we let him rest?”

Shen Shijiu said as he tugged at the corner of Shen Huan’s robe.

Shen Huan pursed her lips, and didn’t press the issue for the sake of her disciple.

“Fine then. Disciple, let’s go.”

As soon as Shen Huan finished speaking, Shen Shijiu’s hand was secretly clasped. He lifted his head; Pei Zheng’s eyes were closed, but his grip on Shen Shijiu’s hand had tightened slightly.

“Shifu, why don’t you… leave first?”

Shen Huan turned, and snorted coldly, before she placed everything back into her medicine case, and walked out the door without looking back.

Cheng Feng also left.

Only two people were left in the room. Shen Shijiu was still kneeling on the floor at the side of the bed. The floorboards were ice-cold, and his knees were about to go numb.

“My Lord, my Lord… are you going to sleep?”

Pei Zheng’s eyes opened into slits, and he patted the spot on the bed beside him.

“Come here.”

Notes

There’s nothing weird here, they’re just going to sleep together (ↀ⌓ↀ)

Thanks for reading~~