Chapter 114 is absolutely outrageous!
The next morning, Shen Qingci and Chu Jichen had breakfast together. Chu Jichen went to the study, while Shen Qingci stayed in the bedroom to read.
Before long, the steward arrived: "Your Highness, someone from the palace has come and said that His Majesty has bestowed some gifts upon you as a congratulatory gift for the Prince and Princess's marriage."
He was holding a box in his hand, and he put the box aside.
"The guards have already checked it and there are no hidden mechanisms or concealed weapons. Yuanbao said they look like some small trinkets, like wood carvings, jade handles, bells, and the like."
Shen Qingci was somewhat surprised that Emperor Yongming would send them these gifts to congratulate them on their marriage.
Although she felt a little strange, she nodded and said, "Okay, I understand. You may leave now."
After the butler left, Shen Qingci opened the wooden box. Upon seeing the contents, Shen Qingci paused for a moment and quickly closed the box.
This gold ingot...
This is neither a wood carving, nor a jade handle, nor a bell.
This is clearly... something to enhance the pleasure of the bedroom!
Shen Qingci gritted her teeth. This Emperor Yongming was truly absurd! Who sends wedding gifts like this?
Shen Qingci gritted her teeth and walked towards the study.
In the study, Chu Jichen's leg was covered with silver needles. Physician Li frowned slightly: "It's been raining a lot lately, Your Highness's leg injury must be causing you unbearable pain. Pain is a good thing..."
Chu Jichen remained expressionless, showing no sign of unbearable pain.
But soon, Chu Jichen perked up his ears and turned his face slightly toward the door.
A moment later, Chu Jichen suddenly groaned, his face showing pain.
"Huh?" Doctor Li was taken aback: "Does it...does it hurt that much?"
When Chu Jichen severed his own legs, he didn't show this much pain.
He had been by Chu Jichen's side for so many years, and he had never heard Chu Jichen cry out in pain!
Physician Li looked up at Chu Jichen, only to meet Chu Jichen's dark eyes.
Having been by Chu Jichen's side for a while, he almost immediately realized: there was someone outside the door.
At this moment, in the Regent's Palace, the only person who could approach the study without any hindrance was Shen Qingci.
"..." This person is doing it on purpose, deliberately pretending to be weak in front of Shen Qingci!
Absolutely...inhuman!
Although Physician Li thought this way, he still softened when he recalled everything Chu Jichen had gone through in the past few years.
He sighed and deliberately raised his voice: "Your Highness, please bear with it!"
He deliberately said, "Why doesn't Your Highness allow me to go to your bedchamber to give you acupuncture? Your Highness would be a little more comfortable if you lay down."
Chu Jichen's lips curled into a smile: "I don't want the princess to worry."
"I have a crippled leg, and for her to marry me was already a hardship for her."
"If she knew that my legs still hurt from time to time, it would make me feel like a useless person. I'm afraid she would despise me."
Physician Li's gaze fell on Chu Jichen's legs, which were covered with silver needles. He pursed his lips and said, "Your Highness, why would you think that? How could you be a cripple? You chose to cut off your own legs to protect the thousands of brothers who followed you..."
Outside the door, Shen Qingci looked completely astonished.
What's the meaning?
Wasn't Chu Jichen's leg injured on the battlefield?
Why did Physician Li say that he himself cut off his own legs?
Shen Qingci pushed open the study door. The two people inside exchanged a glance and then looked up, feigning surprise.
"Qingqing? What brings you here?" Chu Jichen instinctively reached out to put down his robe to cover his legs.
Imperial Physician Li quickly reached out to stop him: "Your Highness, be careful with your leg!"
Shen Qingci's gaze fell on Chu Jichen's legs, and she frowned: "What's wrong with Your Highness's legs? Didn't Your Highness say before that you couldn't feel anything in your legs?"
Chu Jichen had said this more than once.
He used to hold her on his lap, and several times she worried about his legs. He always said that his legs were numb and wouldn't hurt.
"It's nothing..." Chu Jichen was about to speak when Shen Qingci interrupted him: "Your Highness, I was asking about Physician Li."
Physician Li quickly stood up, bowing his head: "The prince's injury is an old one; he usually doesn't feel anything in his leg."
"But it still hurts on rainy days. And it's probably because we've never given up on treating the prince's leg, and the treatment has been somewhat effective. This year, with the arrival of summer and the rainy season, the prince's leg is hurting particularly badly."
"But I think this is a good thing."
"Being able to feel the pain, and the pain becoming increasingly intense, is precisely the indication that the prince's leg is getting better."
Shen Qingci's eyelashes trembled slightly: "You mean, there's still a chance that Your Highness's leg can heal?"
Physician Li nodded: "I think it's possible."
"If Your Highness's leg had been treated back then, it might have already recovered by now. But unfortunately, Your Highness delayed for too long, and it wasn't until three years ago that I took over the case. So, it may take longer."
"But it's not entirely hopeless."
Shen Qingci narrowed his eyes. Three years ago, Physician Li took over the case.
But how come she remembered that Chu Jichen was injured and disabled, it seemed to have been five years ago?
Why did it fail to heal five years ago?
Shen Qingci had countless questions in her mind, but she just stared at Chu Jichen and asked, "How much longer will this acupuncture treatment last?"
"It's almost done." Doctor Li quickly removed the needles, packed them away, and ran off as fast as he could.
When they left, they made sure to close the door behind them.
Hearing the door close, Shen Qingci slowly walked up to Chu Jichen.
Chu Jichen tried to pull his leg back, but she grabbed it with her hand.
"Don't look, it's ugly." Chu Jichen's voice trembled slightly.
Shen Qingci only glanced at him once before her gaze fell on his leg again: "I overheard Physician Li saying outside the door that Your Highness's leg was broken by himself?"
"But why is it that what I heard was that the prince was wounded on the battlefield and that's why his leg was crippled?"
Chu Jichen pursed his lips: "The injury on the battlefield was fake; I did break my leg myself."
Did you interrupt him yourself?
Shen Qingci's heart skipped a beat; how much pain must that have caused?
Furthermore, why is Chu Jichen...?
As she was thinking, she heard Chu Jichen say, "I have been skilled in both literature and martial arts since I was a child. I went to the battlefield at the age of thirteen and made many meritorious contributions."
"At that time, many people in the court thought I was a rare genius with the talent to be an emperor. But at that time, the one on the throne was my elder brother."
"He was therefore wary of me and suspicious of me. I even received news on the battlefield that my brother had set a trap to bury me and my troops together."
Chu Jichen's eyes were icy cold: "Those soldiers are all brothers who have gone through thick and thin with me."
"At that time, I was still young. Although I was talented and had a group of people who supported me, I was not qualified to compete with my elder brother."
"To save the lives of others, I chose to break my own leg and pretend I was wounded on the battlefield..."
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