He woke up because of the heat. The palace was heated by an underfloor heating system, and he was covered with three blankets, so he was covered in sweat.
A clear, youthful voice asked him, "Awake?"
Chu Minghuan looked in the direction of the sound and met the smiling eyes of the young nobleman. The latter was sitting on the edge of the bed reading a book. He had changed out of his cloak and was only wearing a white robe. When he saw that Chu Minghuan was awake, he put down the book and came over, sitting on the bed naturally and uneasily.
He touched Chu Minghuan's forehead with his palm, compared it with his own, frowned, and said, "It seems he still has a fever." After saying that, he called over the eunuch guarding outside the door, "Xiao Shunzi, go and bring the medicine over."
"Yes," the person outside the door replied.
"Wait... bring another plate of mung bean cakes, the kind we had yesterday." After instructing the eunuch, he turned to Chu Minghuan and explained, "Those mung bean cakes are delicious."
Chu Minghuan was frozen stiff and nodded blankly. The little nobleman smiled and reached out to touch his head: "Why are you so silly? No wonder you get bullied."
When the topic turned to this, Chu Minghuan recalled the experiences of being bullied, and his eyes inexplicably reddened.
He rarely cries. Being bullied is almost a daily occurrence for him, and he's used to it. If he had to cry every time, he probably would have cried all the tears out of his body by now.
But for some reason, he suddenly felt like crying. In his daze, he even felt like he might still be dreaming. This dream was so wonderful, with a warm underfloor heating system, a soft bed, and a boy who cared about him.
The more beautiful the dream, the more Chu Minghuan wanted to cry. He was afraid that he would suddenly wake up and find that he had never been to that warm palace and that no one had ever saved him.
He remained crouched in the snow, surrounded by malice and mockery.
The little nobleman was startled by his tears and hurriedly reached out to catch them, saying, "Why are you crying? Don't cry, don't cry. Are you feeling unwell? Your medicine will be here soon. You'll feel better after you drink it..."
The more she tried to comfort him, the harder he cried. Little Nobleman had no idea what to do, so he simply held him in his arms, gently patted his back, and coaxed him again and again.
Chu Minghuan had caught a chill and was too weak to continue crying, so he simply fell asleep in the boy's arms.
"...I stayed in his palace for three days that time, until my fever subsided before I went back. I went back to see my mother once during that time. That man did not lie to me. My mother was also taking medicine and was able to sit up."
"This was the best thing for me at that time, so when I went back to see my mother, I didn't want to bother her anymore, but she dragged me back. She said that the conditions at Zhongling Palace were too simple and not conducive to recuperation."
“Huaiyue, you may not know this,” the young emperor looked into Huaiyue’s eyes, a faint smile on his face, “those three days were the happiest three days I’ve had since I was born. I will always remember them and be forever grateful to him.”
"If it weren't for him, my mother and I might have died that winter."
Moreover, even though he was still out of favor after that, the eunuchs and maids around him no longer dared to mistreat him and took much better care of him than before.
Chu Minghuan knew that it must be because they had all been warned. He didn't need to think to know who would do that.
“I owe that person a life. If he is still alive, I want him to know that I have grown up and am no longer a weak child who can be bullied at will. I can now protect him and give him justice.”
"That person was the late emperor's precious treasure. He was kind and easygoing, and had helped countless people, whether intentionally or unintentionally. To him, I was probably just an insignificant one among them. He helped me and then forgot about me."
"But I can't forget, I always remember. I... I'm sorry to him."
After the emperor finished speaking, he remained silent for a long time. Huaiyue also remained silent, and the two of them tacitly turned their attention to the Empress Dowager in the inner room.
A palace maid hurried along carrying a copper basin full of blood, while Chunxin kept wiping the blood from the Empress Dowager with a handkerchief.
Huaiyue suddenly laughed and said as Chu Minghuan looked at him, "Your Majesty is truly a man of great loyalty and righteousness. He remembers such a small favor for so many years."
He had completely forgotten what the young emperor had said, but after hearing the other party's detailed account, he was able to glean one or two images from his hazy memory.
Over the years, his heart had been filled with hatred, leaving no room for anything else.
Chu Minghuan shook his head: "That's different."
"Is that so?" Huaiyue's eyes darkened, and she remained noncommittal about the statement.
He didn't really believe the young emperor's gratitude. He had believed it before, but the price he paid was too high, and now he dared not believe it anymore.
Perhaps the young emperor was just bluffing him.
Chu Minghuan gave a soft "hmm" and didn't say anything more.
For a moment, the two were silent again.
"Your Majesty." After a while, footsteps grew closer and closer. It was Song Ting's voice. "The person has been brought back."
The man was found at the foot of the mountain. At that time, the dakini had changed his clothes and was mixed in with a group of pilgrims. He almost got away.
"Minister Song, the man is now in your hands. You must interrogate him thoroughly, especially about the antidote for the Thousand Days Intoxication. Make him vomit it up, no matter what method you use."
Chu Minghuan originally wanted to ask himself, but perhaps because he was thinking of those old people and old things, he was in a bad mood and lost the desire to ask.
"Your subject obeys the decree."
...
A dark Buddhist shrine.
Dressed in red, Chu Huaixu knelt before the Buddha statue, his hands clasped together, silently reciting scriptures.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly heard rustling footsteps behind him. Chu Huaixu slowly bowed down, stood up, and opened his eyes, saying softly, "You've come."
"Mmm." Song Ting hugged him from behind, burying her face in his neck and taking a deep breath. He reeked of blood, and a soft chuckle escaped Chu Huaixu's throat. "You killed someone?"
Song Ting hummed in agreement again.
"When you asked me, you already knew that Kongxing was Zhang Bingzhi's man and had arranged all of this, just waiting for that old guy to walk into the trap you dug, didn't you?"
"Yes, the calluses on that bald monk's hands are from years of holding a knife, I can't be mistaken." Song Ting held Chu Huaixu's hand, interlocking their fingers, and gently rubbed his palm with her thumb, asking him, "What about those calluses on your hands? How did you get rid of them?"
Chu Huaixu's hands were extremely beautiful, but they were still hands used for wielding swords and spears, so it was inevitable that some calluses would remain on his palms. However, now, there wasn't a single callus on his hands. Just looking at these hands, no one would believe that he had ever practiced martial arts.
Chu Huaixu smiled but didn't reply. Song Ting then used her other hand to pinch his waist and move her hand upwards, stopping at his left shoulder blade.
He placed a kiss on it, "And here's the scar."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com