Chapter 96

 

With his stature and heavy body that was now falling, Xuyu could not support it alone. She staggered and fell to the ground behind him. Quickly regaining her senses, she leaned forward over his back to check on him. His forehead was pressed against the ground, his face and neck resting heavily against the curve of her shoulder and arm. His eyes were tightly shut, long lashes casting shadows on his pale cheeks, utterly still and unresponsive.

“Pei Er! Pei Er!”

She called out several times from under him, but there was no response. With one arm pinned down by him, she couldn’t move, so she reached out with her other hand to touch his forehead, which felt hot.

In Xuyu’s impression, this Pei guy had always been a man who was thrifty with words but also strong-willed and unyielding. She never thought that he would faint like this on their wedding night.

She couldn’t move him by herself, so she hurriedly pulled her arm out from under him, got up and called for help.

How could He shi leave at ease tonight? She had been keeping watch under the corridor outside the bedroom all along. Hearing faint sounds of unusual activity coming from inside, she approached just as the princess opened the door and informed her that her master had collapsed, instructing her to call for more help. He shi immediately brought in Yang Zai’en, who had been on night duty nearby, along with a few strong women. Under Xuyu’s command, everyone worked together and finally lifted the groom to the bed and temporarily placed him down. Without waiting for Xuyu to speak, He shi began recounting what she knew.

“…He also didn’t tell me how he got injured, only forbidding me to inform Princess. He was afraid it would delay the wedding and cause you worry. Qingtou, who was with him yesterday, might know something, but when I questioned that boy, he refused to say a word!”

“Imperial Physician Hu’s residence is right here in this neighborhood. He is very good at treating injuries. This servant remember that he was on duty in the palace a few days ago, so he should be at home tonight. This servant will go and call him over now!” Yang Zai’en said, then walked out quickly.

A moment later, the imperial physician arrived with a medicine box. He Jin was also called by He shi and brought the arrowhead from yesterday. The imperial physician carefully examined the wound and his statement was similar to He Jin’s. He took the pulse, looked at the eyes, and examined the wound again, and said, “Prince Consort’s pulse is weak and faint, the blood and qi in his body are congealed, and the qi in his internal organs is stagnant. This is indeed a sign of external poison invading the body.”

Noticing that the princess was looking at the handsome young man with a fever who was not yet awake, with a look of worry on her face, the imperial physician hurriedly added, “However, while this poison is indeed severe, this minister has encountered it before. Fortunately, the venom cluster was extracted in time, and by the time Prince Consort was struck by the arrow, the poison’s potency had already diminished. Therefore, the Princess does not have to worry too much. In this minister’s opinion, Prince Consort’s collapse tonight is due to residual toxins in his system, combined with prior physical weakness, fever from his injury, significant blood loss, and possibly insufficient rest. Once this minister treats the wound and prescribe a formula for detoxification and circulation, he should recover. When he wakes up, ensure he drinks plenty of water and rests properly. With his constitution, he should recover swiftly.” Having said this, the imperial physician immediately tended to the wound, prepared a prescription, and instructed people to fetch the medicine.

Xuyu told the imperial physician not to let anyone know that the prince consort was injured, and he agreed. After sending him away, she looked at the man who was still lying unconscious, gently covered his naked waist and back with a quilt, and then walked out.

He shi, Yang Zai’en and the others were still waiting outside the door. It was already past midnight. She knew that everyone had been too busy preparing for the wedding to rest, so she asked them to disperse.

“If there’s anything else, I will call you again.”

He shi hesitated for a moment, then agreed: “My room is nearby. Princess, please call me anytime if you need anything.”

Xuyu nodded. After everyone left, she turned to look at Qingtou, who had been hiding behind a nearby pillar: “Come here.”

Qingtou walked out from behind the pillar with his head hung, followed Xuyu to the west pavilion of the bedroom, knelt down as soon as he entered, and slapped his own face.

“It’s all my fault! If it weren’t for me, Master wouldn’t have had an accident!”

Xuyu asked what was happened.

Master fainted in the middle of the night, so there was no need to listen to his words anymore.

What’s more, the one asking the question was the princess.

Qingtou did not hesitate and immediately told the story of how he and his master went to the Wei River to offer sacrifices to the family’s elders yesterday evening but were assassinated, and how his master was accidentally injured while trying to save him.

“After I came back last night, I wanted to tell the Princess. Captain He also said that it would be better to let the Princess know so that even if the wedding could not be postponed, the Princess could still take care of him. But he didn’t allow me to tell you. During the day, I saw that Master seemed fine, so I thought he was really fine, but I never imagine…”

His eyes suddenly turned red, and he looked at Xuyu in panic: “Master… will he be alright?”

Xuyu was silent for a moment, then smiled at the frightened servant.

“Don’t worry. The imperial physician just said that your master is just too tired. He will be better soon after a few days of rest. Alright, I’m fine here, you can go back to sleep.”

Upon hearing this, Qingtou breathed a long sigh of relief. Lowering his head, he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and muttered under his breath, “He’s always overthinking things, burdening himself with endless worries. No wonder he’s exhausted…” Looking up and met Xuyu’s sharp gaze, he quickly shut up, kowtowed to her, got up and left as he was told.

Pei Xiaoyuan regained consciousness hazily. Beneath him was a soft, cloud-like surface that seemed to cradle his entire body, while a delicate and soothing fragrance filled his nostrils and lulled his mind, like the scent of orchid and angelica. Half-awake and half-dreaming, he drifted in this rare sensation of comfort and tranquillity until he finally opened his eyes. To his surprise, he found himself lying face down on an extremely spacious bed with carved bed frame and a canopy with tasselled golden hooks. His face and neck were deeply nestled into a plush silk pillow, exuding that calming orchid-and-angelica fragrance.

After a brief moment of blankness in his mind, a dull pain in the back of his left shoulder suddenly woke him up completely and connected him to his memory before he fainted.

He was so dizzy that he couldn’t stand up. She must have been frightened by him, and in a panic, she hugged his waist from behind, trying to support him with her own strength.

At this moment he woke up, lying on the fragrant wooden bed that belonged to her in the deepest part of the bedroom, occupying her pillow…

He turned around suddenly, looking at her, and then his heart began to race slightly.

It turned out that she was nearby, so close that he could see her at a glance.

She was kneeling in front of a table near the window, holding a brush, and drawing something. The drawing paper on the table was very long, and part of it hung down along the edge of the table. Pei Xiaoyuan saw that it was flowers and flying butterflies, which seemed to be used as a pattern for window blinds.

In the red candlelight, she was still dressed the same way as before Pei Xiaoyuan fainted, except that the lazy bun on her head, which was tied with a long hairpin, looked increasingly loose. A strand of black hair had slipped out of the hairpin and stuck to her neck.

With her head lowered, she painted quietly in the quiet candlelight in the dead of night.

Was it a dream? Was it real?

“Are you awake?”

Just when Pei Xiaoyuan was in daze, she suddenly raised her head and looked at him. Then, without waiting for his response, she put down her brush, left the drawing table, put on a pair of cloud-toe soft slippers, and walked towards him.

Pei Xiaoyuan ignored his injured shoulder, suddenly turned over and sat up. Unexpectedly, the quilt slipped off his body and piled on his waist. He was shocked to realize that his upper body was still naked, without any clothes to cover it. He looked around for clothes and wanted to get out of bed, but heard her say, “Don’t go anywhere! Don’t move around!”

At this time, she had walked to the bed and took out a white silk robe that she had prepared in advance for him from a shelf at the head of the bed.

“I’ll help you put it on.”

Pei Xiaoyuan made eye contact with her, and finally, with her help, he obediently put on his clothes to cover his body.

“What time is it now?” He asked after a pause.

“Three quarters past Chou hour (1-3 am). There are still a few hours until dawn.” She responded, her eyes lowered, staring at the lapel as she tied it for him.

Ever since Pei Xiaoyuan woke up and talked to her, he had a feeling that she seemed a little unhappy.

Of course, this was not the first time he was injured. He had suffered more serious injuries before.

But he had never fainted from an injury, let alone fainted in front of her and made her take care of him on their wedding night.

Although he and she were not a real couple in the wordly sense, a feeling of shame and embarrassment still could not be suppressed and surged out from the bottom of his heart.

“Princess, thank you for your trouble.” He tried to apologize to her in a calm tone, then realized that he was still occupying her bed. When he tried to get up again, he heard her say, “Why you didn’t tell me you were injured?”

Pei Xiaoyuan felt her unhappiness more and more.

He didn’t want her to worry about him.

He also didn’t want his injury to affect the wedding. Regardless of whether he was her real prince consort or not, he should ensure that the wedding was held as scheduled and according to the original steps, making it a flawless wedding worthy of her princess status. This was what he should do for her.

Besides……

Even if he bled, got injured, or faced things he couldn’t accomplish, he inexplicably wanted to always maintain the impression of being omnipotent in front of her. He never wanted her to look down on him.

Wasn’t this the reason why she wanted him to be her prince consort? She had chosen him because she valued his capability to handle matters on her behalf.

“It’s really just a minor injury. I didn’t expect it to be like this…”

He was racking his brains to explain, but she left him without saying a word and walked out.

He closed his lips and did not dare to move out of bed. He could only wait for her to come back. Soon he saw her coming back with a medicine bowl, looking at him coldly. He immediately took it with his only movable hand.

The medicine was extremely bitter and smelly, but he did not delay for a moment. He tilted his head back and drank it all in a few gulps, not even leaving the layer of medicine residue at the bottom of the bowl. He drank it all cleanly.

She glanced at the bottom of the bowl, then handed him a plain towel. After he wiped his lips, she took it back and asked again, “Do you know who did this?”

Pei Xiaoyuan hesitated.

“No matter who it is, if you know, don’t hide it from me!”

Pei Xiaoyuan said: “The other party has a mask on his face, but the eyes and the way he walks seem familiar to me. If I’m not mistaken, he must be related to Li Yan.”

She fell silent for a moment.

He naturally understood that she had a close relationship with Li Yan. Seeing her like this, he suddenly felt a little regretful and added, “Maybe I was mistaken. Who knows.”

She stared at him and shook her head.

“Master Pei, you’re lucky not to have major incident this time. Otherwise, it would truly be my fault. You must be extra careful in the future.” After a while, she spoke slowly.

Pei Xiaoyuan noticed her expression softening, her gaze toward him filled with guilt. He was momentarily stunned but quickly understood, and warmth surged through his heart. Without thinking, he blurted out to comfort her, “Princess, please don’t blame yourself. Since I agreed to become your prince consort, how could I fear such things? Especially such petty tricks as these. This injury was truly an accident. I will be more careful in the future, so please don’t worry too much.”

“Go to sleep, I won’t disturb you.” When Xuyu spoke again, her voice was extremely gentle.

Pei Xiaoyuan was startled for a moment, but soon came to his senses and said hurriedly, “I’ll go out, Princess, get on the bed!”

“Don’t move!” Xuyu said again.

“The imperial physician said that you need to rest well. The couch outside is too narrow for you. How can you sleep well? You sleep here and I will go there.”

Pei Xiaoyuan was startled and adamantly refused, repeatedly saying he dared not accept such an arrangement. He lifted the quilt and was about to go down, but Xuyu reached out to stop him.

“I’m truly fine. In the past, when I followed my grandfather, I often stayed in deserted temples. What’s wrong with sleeping in the outer room for a few nights?”

“I command you to obey me.”

She smiled and added, “When you are well, we can change it back.”

As she spoke, she grabbed his back and led him towards the pillow.

“If you need anything, just call me.”

She let down the bed canopy in the golden hooks for him, and before leaving, she extinguished all the bright red candles burning in the room, leaving only two. In the sudden dim light, she gently lifted the pearl curtain and left.

The sound of her footsteps disappeared behind the screen in the outer room, and then there was no sound at all, leaving Pei Xiaoyuan lying alone on the bed. But how could he asleep? He was lying on pins and needles, full of discomfort, and finally, he couldn’t help but get up from the bed, walked out slowly, and tiptoed to the outer room where she was.

The two candles that were left in the deep of the bedroom to light up the night were no longer bright. Pei Xiaoyuan stopped in front of the screen, which was only a vague shadow, and stood there for a long time.

Suddenly, a hazy figure emerged from behind the screen and stopped in front of him.

“Master Pei, is there anything wrong?” In the seemingly endless night, her gentle voice reached his ears.

Pei Xiaoyuan closed his eyes.

“I can’t sleep.” He said hoarsely.

“If the Princess were to sleep here, how would it differ from punishment for me?

“Please, Princess, rest inside.”

Finally, he spoke in a low, begging tone.

She stood quietly for a moment, then took light steps toward him. Just as she was about to pass by his side, without any warning, in the darkness, a soft hand reached out and gently took hold of his dry, slightly calloused hand. Without a word, she led the startled man inside, passing through the pearl curtain. The faint, rustling sound of the peals trembling and colliding echoed behind them as she continued forward, stopping only when they reached the fragrant wooden bed. Climbing onto it, she settled herself.

“You come up too.”

Her voice came through the canopy.

“The bed is big enough for us to sleep together,” she said.

Pei Xiaoyuan finally slept well, and slowly woke up from a deep sleep he hadn’t had in a long time. He felt confused and didn’t know where he was at first. After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and turned around, and found that she, who had slept with him last night, was gone.

The curtains behind the window were drawn low, and the light inside the canopy was dim. He didn’t know where she had gone, how long he had slept, or what time it was.

He rubbed his forehead, supported his body with one arm, and slowly sat up. He had not yet fully recovered from the dreamlike memory of last night, when suddenly, he heard a faint, muffled voice coming from outside the window.

“…It’s almost noon, is Prince Consort still sleeping?” It was the voice of the palace eunuch Yang Zai’en, and he sounded a little anxious.

“The Princess ordered us not to wake up the Prince Consort.” The answer came from an unknown maid.

Yang Zai’en seemed to pause for a moment, but in the end, he did not dare to disobey the princess’ words. With the sound of footsteps gradually fading away, his ears became quiet again.

Pei Xiaoyuan suddenly came to his senses.

Damn it!

This morning, he supposed to follow her into the palace to pay respects! Those difficult ladies from last night should also be waiting in the palace.

He actually slept until this time!

Pei Xiaoyuan immediately broke out in a cold sweat on his back. Regardless of his shoulder injury, he pulled open the bed canopy and rolled off the bed.

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