Chapter 39 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Fever Reduction.

After Old Wu left, Xie Xuan didn't rest. He went to the well to fetch water and continued applying the compress to Yu Jing. He also took the medicine from before, intending to decoct it for Yu Jing. Seeing that Xie Xuan was too busy, Li Yun said, "I'll go decoct the medicine."

"Thank you." Xie Xuan handed the medicine to Li Yun and said, he couldn't say anything else besides thank you.

Sun Jun also helped change the well water. Xie Xuan changed the cotton towel for a while, and when he touched Yu Jing's forehead again, it wasn't so hot anymore, so he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Li Yun finished decocting the medicine and came over. Seeing the untouched food on the table, he thought for a moment and called to Xie Xuan, "You eat first. I'll go feed your wife her medicine. You need to eat well to have the strength to take care of her."

After hearing Li Yun's words, Xie Xuan paused for a moment before finally saying, "Alright."

Xie Xuan ate hastily and quickly, shoveling down a few bites before returning to the bedside. Li Yun was feeding Yu Jing her medicine, but she was disoriented and couldn't swallow it properly; the black medicine dripped from the corner of her mouth. Seeing that she couldn't get the medicine down, Xie Xuan said anxiously, "Let me do it."

"Okay," Li Yun replied, handing the medicine to Xie Xuan. Xie Xuan took the bowl and carefully fed the medicine, his movements gentle, so even a small amount went down. Seeing that Xie Xuan was feeding the patient, Li Yun and Sun Jun, not wanting to disturb him, left.

It took Xie Xuan a long time to feed Yu Jing the medicine. She was still unconscious, her face flushed red from the fever. She had fair skin, but her face was extremely red now. After feeding her, Xie Xuan reached out and touched her forehead. It was much better than before.

After Xie Xuan finished his work, he realized how dimly lit the room was. Only one candle was burning, its light flickering dimly, and only a faint glimmer of light came through the window. Xie Xuan turned to look at Yu Jing, and perhaps because the dim surroundings were too oppressive, he felt a sense of helplessness.

He sat on the edge of the couch for a long time until Li Yun came to call him. Li Yun opened the door first, tiptoed in, glanced at Yu Jing, and asked, "How are you? Are you feeling better?"

"Much better," Xie Xuan replied softly.

“I’ve cooked some rice porridge and left it warm in the pot, with two cornbread buns on top. If you and she get hungry, just go and get them yourselves. The vegetables are in the cupboard in the small kitchen; if you want to eat, just help yourselves,” Li Yun whispered to him. “If you need any help, just come to our house and find us. Don’t worry about the trouble.”

"Okay," Xie Xuan replied, a warm feeling welling up inside him. The loneliness and helplessness he had felt earlier were instantly lessened.

After Li Yun left, Xie Xuan continued to stay by Yu Jing's bedside. He had just eaten, wolfing down his food, and was now quite full. Yu Jing slept soundly, and the room was quiet, with only the faint sound of rain outside. Xie Xuan hadn't slept for a long time, and had only dozed off briefly at the table earlier. After such a long period of mental and physical exertion, now that things were quiet, drowsiness suddenly overcame him.

He glanced at Yu Jing again, then reached out to touch her forehead, still worried; it wasn't hot. Xie Xuan stood up, intending to go to the table and rest for a while. Just as he stood up, about to turn away, he hesitated, thinking that Yu Jing might develop a fever again later that night. After a moment's hesitation, Xie Xuan finally found a cushion, knelt on it, and leaned over a stool. Exhausted from the day and without much rest, Xie Xuan fell asleep quickly.

Yu Jing woke up in the early hours of the morning, hungry and exhausted. Her body wasn't as hot as before; she was covered in sweat and felt a little cool. The room was dark, without any candles lit, and the intermittent sound of rain outside drifted in. Yu Jing lay awake on the bed for a while. She was delirious from the fever, only noticing the bed was too soft and her clothes too rough. It took her a while to realize what had happened to her and where she was.

"Thank you, Xuan." Yu Jing moved slightly, which aggravated the wound on her right side, causing her to wince in pain.

Xie Xuan was a light sleeper, and when Yu Jing called him, he woke up immediately. Opening his eyes, he saw only darkness; the candle had probably burned out. Xie Xuan asked somewhat anxiously, "What's wrong?"

"I...I'm a little hungry," Yu Jing said somewhat embarrassedly. The room was pitch black. Xie Xuan stood up from the cushion; his legs were terribly sore and numb from kneeling for so long. After a while, he felt the numbness subside and thought he'd try walking a few steps. He had just taken a step when he bumped into something. Caught off guard, and still half-awake, his reaction wasn't quick. Before he knew it, he had fallen back onto the couch.

Yu Jing felt a sudden weight on her body; her wound had been pulled open, and she groaned in pain, tears immediately streaming down her face. Xie Xuan quickly tried to stand up, but in the darkness, his hand accidentally touched something soft. Xie Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and his mind went blank. The young man, though inexperienced, knew what he had just touched. Yu Jing, however, was in pain and didn't pay any attention.

"Your Majesty, I deserve to die." Xie Xuan hurriedly got up, knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness. His voice was very soft, slightly hoarse and low. If Yu Jing hadn't been in so much pain, he probably would have praised him.

Yu Jing was in so much pain she couldn't speak, only breathing softly. Xie Xuan looked up and tentatively asked, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Yu Jing replied softly, feeling a warm sensation at the wound site, wondering if it had been torn open and was bleeding.

Hearing Yu Jing's reply, Xie Xuan groped his way to his feet, slowly reaching for the candlestick and lighting a tinderbox. The room instantly brightened. Xie Xuan turned around and saw that the footstool was askew; he must have bumped into it. But now wasn't the time to think about that. Xie Xuan approached the bed. He hadn't seen it before, but now, looking over, he saw Yu Jing's furrowed brows and glistening tear tracks on her face. He asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Yu Jing nodded hesitantly.

Xie Xuan breathed a slight sigh of relief: "I'll go to the kitchen and get some food."

Yu Jing lay on the couch, her heart pounding and her thoughts in turmoil. The wound on her right chest felt warm yet throbbed with pain, and she felt a surge of fear.

"Thank you, Xuan."

Xie Xuan had only taken two steps when he suddenly heard Yu Jing's voice behind him.

"My wound seems to be..." Yu Jing began somewhat embarrassed. Making the Heavenly Emperor run errands for her was already disrespectful enough; now, to expect him to serve her was truly a sin!

Upon hearing about the wound, Xie Xuan hurried forward, disregarding everything else. He paused for a moment by the bed before sitting down and reaching out to lift a corner of the blanket: "My apologies."

Yu Jing lowered her gaze and saw Xie Xuan sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed in a coarse blue robe. His face was flushed and bore small wounds. His long hair was tied up high, and his shoulders and back were straight, like pine and bamboo. When her own clothes were undone, Yu Jing felt a little embarrassed and turned her head slightly away.

After his clothes were removed, bright red blood seeped through the snow-white cloth, a stark and glaring sight. Xie Xuan felt a pang of guilt, yet for a moment, he didn't know what to do.

When Li Yun bandaged Yu Jing's wound, she did so horizontally. If she were to undo the bandage, it would inevitably...

"Madam?" Xie Xuan asked hesitantly. Ever since he had pretended to be Yu Jing's husband and wife in front of Sun Jun and his wife, he felt that this title was somewhat ambiguous, so he did not often call her that.

Yu Jing knew this from the moment she called Xie Xuan over. There was no one else around, and it was still dark. It wouldn't be good to trouble her elder sister again. Besides, if she asked her elder sister to come and change, it might arouse their suspicion, and she might not be able to answer their questions.

"Go ahead and take care of it, it's nothing." Yu Jing replied softly without turning around.

"Yes," Xie Xuan replied, reaching out to untie the cloth. Before doing so, he covered Yu Jing with her clothes. He untied the cloth strip and carefully moved under the clothes, stopping on the other side. Then Yu Jing felt her waist being gently lifted, and Xie Xuan's hand went around her back. Xie Xuan's hand was very hot, probably from years of wielding swords; it was rough and felt somewhat uncomfortable against her skin.

When Xie Xuan's hand touched Yu Jing's waist, his face was already flushed. He didn't dare delay, quickly untying the cloth strips. As he set Yu Jing down, Xie Xuan breathed a slight sigh of relief. The wound had indeed torn slightly, but only a little, and the bleeding had stopped. Xie Xuan got up, took some medicine, and applied it to Yu Jing. The medicine felt cool and refreshing on the wound, and Yu Jing felt much better. Xie Xuan changed Yu Jing's clothes with clean strips, still covering her with clothing as before, trying his best not to touch her body, although some contact with her waist was unavoidable.

After changing Yu Jing's clothes, Xie Xuan got up to go to the kitchen to get some food. Yu Jing's face was still turned inward, and Xie Xuan felt a little embarrassed, so he didn't speak to her. However, from his perspective, the tips of Yu Jing's ears were already quite red. Xie Xuan paused for a moment, then stood up and pushed open the door to leave.

The rain had stopped. Xie Xuan walked under the eaves into the kitchen. The porridge in the large iron pot was still warm, but the steamed buns were completely cold. Xie Xuan ladled out two bowls of porridge and then took out some side dishes from the cupboard.

Yu Jing lay on the couch, feeling unwell and her future seemed bleak. She was injured, and everyone who had been with her except Xie Xuan was dead. Her departure from the palace to pray for blessings was known only to those within the palace, and given her current condition, it would be difficult for the news to reach the capital. A thought suddenly flashed through Yu Jing's mind: her mission in the mortal realm was to prevent Xie Xuan from falling in love with the Third Princess! Being trapped here was unbearable, but ultimately, she had separated Xie Xuan and the Third Princess. In a way… was it a blessing in disguise?

Just then, the door opened, and Xie Xuan brought in porridge. Yu Jing's eyes lit up when she saw the food. She swallowed hard; she was starving, and all her previous thoughts were forgotten. She'd wait until she felt better before worrying about anything else.

The porridge wasn't very hot, so Xie Xuan fed her first, and then drank it himself. After they finished eating, Xie Xuan put the bowls and chopsticks on the table. Seeing Yu Jing lying on the couch in a daze, he said, "When I went out just now, I heard the night watchman's drum from afar. It's only noon now, go back to sleep."

"Okay," Yu Jing replied, turning her head slightly to the side.

"If anything happens, just call me and I won't put out the candle, okay?" Xie Xuan then asked.

"good."

Before Yu Jing could finish speaking, Xie Xuan was already slumped over the table. Her injuries wouldn't heal anytime soon, and since Xie Xuan shared a room with her, there weren't any extra blankets. He could sleep on the table for a day or two, but it wasn't a long-term solution.

Yu Jing thought for a long time before finally saying, "Thank you, Xuan."

"Hmm." Xie Xuan heard Yu Jing call him and, thinking she had some instructions, quickly looked up.

"You...you should go to bed on the couch," Yu Jing said, taking a deep breath.