Chapter 63 Care

Entering the small door in the backyard, you will see a sea of ​​green. Cui Fufeng's Jinzhu Hall is hidden among the lush green bamboos.

Qian Deng walked to the small door and saw the court physician, Doctor Jiang, walking out. Knowing that he had just finished examining Cui Fufeng's injuries, he hurriedly asked, "How is Cui Shaoqing's injury?"

Doctor Jiang said, "This wound isn't as severe as last year's, but the weapon is long and thin, and has penetrated deep into the skin, making it difficult to treat. Furthermore, he's lost a lot of blood. After a night of tossing and turning, Cui Shaoqing has developed a fever."

Qian Deng was filled with worry and regret. He stroked the bracelet on his wrist, lowered his eyes and said nothing.

"It's already March, so the wound must be carefully cared for to prevent it from festering. However, the prince and his son are all accompanied by skilled military physicians. I was appointed as the court physician because I specialize in common ailments like headaches, fevers, and gynecological health. As for the injury, I can only deal with it briefly and boil some fever-reducing medicine... Shaoqing Cui is of noble status, so in my opinion, we need to find someone from outside to provide a detailed diagnosis and treatment.

Qiandeng showed the medicine bottle in his hand and said, "Doctor Jiang, can I give this medicine to Cui Shaoqing?"

Doctor Jiang took it, examined it, and smelled it. He said, "This is excellent medicine for wounds. Where did the county lady get it?"

"I told Doctor Liao about Cui Shaoqing's injury and the narrowness of the wound. She prepared a prescription for me last night. I have already sent someone to invite her to come and take a look."

"The Liao family has been practicing medicine for generations, often accompanying the old prince on the battlefield to treat the wounded. This medicine must be correct!"

With Doctor Jiang's affirmation, Qiandeng felt relieved and entered Jinzhu Hall. When she looked up, she saw Cui Fufeng leaning on the couch, looking at her with a smile. It was obvious that he had heard the conversation between her and Doctor Jiang just now.

His face was still pale, and he felt a little chilly due to fever and blood loss. His coat was draped loosely on his shoulders, and the white fox fur on his collar made him look even weaker and softer. His faint smile also carried a hint of hazy tenderness.

"Mr. Cui, you..." Qiandeng's gaze fell on Cui Fufeng's shoulder, wanting to see how the place where he was stabbed by him last night was.

"Thank you, County Lady, for your concern and for asking Doctor Liao for medicine for me. I'm... fine."

It was nothing, but the weak look made Qiandeng very worried.

She had already caused him such a serious injury last time, and it took him half a year to recover. If it happened again, she really didn't know how to face the court and the Cui family, let alone how to compensate him.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you last night." Qian Deng walked over to him, handed him the medicine bottle, and apologized softly, "Medicine Aunt Liao is very skilled. The wound on my face back then was treated with the ointment she prepared for me. It's truly amazing that it's healed like this now. I hope it works wonders for Cui Shaoqing too, and he recovers quickly."

"Okay, Fufeng will get better as soon as possible and live up to the county lady's kindness." Cui Fufeng took the medicine bottle from her hand, but when he lowered his head, he felt dizzy and fell to the side.

Qian Deng was quick to act and quickly embraced him, holding him up: "Shaoqing Cui, are you okay?"

As they got closer, she could feel the heat from his body. She hesitantly reached out and touched his forehead, which was indeed burning hot.

Daimao hurried out to chase Doctor Jiang, while Zhenzhu looked at the untouched meal delivered from the kitchen in the morning and said, "Oh, Shaoqing Cui is a patient. I'll go get some soft porridge and soup." Then she packed up the tray and went to the front yard.

For a moment, there were only the two of them left in the bamboo hall, and the sound of the spring breeze rustling through the bamboo leaves outside the window.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, County Lady... I'm just a little dizzy after losing blood." Cui Fufeng leaned on the pillow and looked at her, his eyes a little hazy, just like the misty clouds in spring at this time.

He was always calm in front of her. No matter how big the problem or dilemma was, he could always find a shortcut and solve everything easily without making a sound.

Now that he was suffering from a high fever, his mind was inevitably drowsy, but Cui Shaoqing, with his blurred and even dazed eyes, like the scattered hair on his temples, made her heart soft and entangled.

She reached out and gently brushed the messy hair away from his face. She lowered her eyes and saw that his shoulders were trembling slightly. She knew that the wound must be painful. After hesitating for a moment, she raised her hand and pulled open his collar a little. Seeing that the bandage wrapped around it was already oozing blood, she hurriedly untied his clothes.

Cui Fufeng raised his hand and gently held the collar of his clothes, looking at her with his misty eyes: "County Lady, I... can do it myself..."

Their fingertips touched, and the burning temperature made Qian Deng hesitate for a moment, but she still helped him undress: "It's okay, didn't I bandage your wound last night? One more time or one less time doesn't matter."

The bleeding from the wound has stopped, but after a simple cleaning, the bloody hole in the chest has been exposed, with the torn muscles rolled up, making it look even more terrifying.

Qiandeng suppressed the guilt and uneasiness in his chest, took out the medicine from Doctor Liao, bent down and carefully applied the medicine to his wound.

She was so close that the light breath spread across his bare chest, like a slender feather brushing against his skin. He was so dazed by the fever that he couldn't move. He could only stare at her lowered face.

Whether it was due to the high fever or the surging blood in his chest, a faint blush appeared on his pale cheeks, like peach blossoms reflected on snowy gauze, and it lingered for a long time.

Qian Deng took the quilt and covered him with it, saying softly, "Mr. Cui, get some sleep first. Doctor Liao will be here soon. Let her take a closer look at you."

Cui Fufeng hummed softly, his eyes hazy but he kept looking at her, unwilling to look away: "Is the county lord leaving? Are you going to... continue to run around and work hard again?"

"Yes, the truth has not yet been revealed, and Shangluo is still nowhere to be found. Until the murderer of my mother is caught, and the murderer in the backyard is exposed, I can only keep going - just like you, Cui Shaoqing, must defend the Cui family's century-old glory. Perhaps seeking the truth is the meaning of my life."

"The meaning of my life... is to defend the Cui family?" He leaned on the pillow and looked at her with a hazy smile on his lips, neither confirming nor denying her statement.

He was so weak that Qian Deng did not discuss such profound issues with him. She only tucked in the corners of his quilt, filled a basin with water and wrung out a handkerchief to cool his forehead, and sat beside the couch waiting for the maids to come back.

The breeze outside the window blew through the bamboo leaves, and also swept through the house where they were quietly together. The rustling sounds that came one after another seemed gentle.

With an unknown throbbing in her heart, she said, "Shaoqing Cui, I just had a dream. I dreamed of... the Grand Princess of Gao State."

She recounted the strange dream she had last night to him, her expression a bit dazed. "Perhaps it was because I was in danger last night that I put myself in the shoes of the victim, Princess Gao. I saw her state of mind. Even after waking up, I thought about how I would choose to resolve the difficulties before me if I were her."

Cui Fufeng was dazed and confused by a high fever, but even without thinking, he still had an extraordinary judgment of the political situation in the court. "Now it seems that her death is indeed a brilliant way to break the impasse for the Princess's Mansion. The crisis of the Princess's Mansion, the choice of the Emperor and Empress, and even the marriage of the Princess of Changyi... the transformation from a dead end to a viable situation has been completely overturned by this one move..."

"But, there's something I find strange." Qian Deng pondered and said slowly, "It's normal for Princess Gao's Mansion to target Prince Changhua's Mansion. It's also normal for them to use the young master in the backyard to attack me, but why did they ultimately choose Mingjiu?"

"Yes, indeed... Mingjiu is arguably the one with the least ties to the County Master. No matter who they choose, I believe they'll gain more than Mingjiu." Cui Fufeng leaned against his pillow and looked at her, a faint smile on his lips. "If they only wanted to bring harm to the County Master, why didn't they choose me? Could it be that I overestimated my status in the mansion?"

Qian Deng couldn't help but laugh: "That must be because the Princess's Mansion doesn't dare to take action against Cui Jia Yushu."