Chapter 61 The Sloppy Old Man
The lights in the room suddenly turned on, and she instinctively closed her eyes.
A slightly surprised voice rang in my ears.
"It's you?"
She opened her eyes with trembling hands, met a pair of cold and sharp eyes, and was stunned for a moment before recognizing that the person in front of her was the man she had saved a few days ago.
It turns out he was King Xuan, Shen Cong.
After a few days apart, the coldness in his eyes was even greater than before, mixed with a hint of hatred.
Because she harbored hatred in her heart, she immediately sensed the hatred in Shen Cong's eyes.
Shen Cong seemed surprised to see her. After a moment of silence, he pulled up his robe and draped it over himself.
"If you don't want to, then you can leave."
She hurriedly buttoned up her clothes, then rushed out the door with her head down.
A gust of cold wind jolted her awake, and she abruptly stopped in her tracks.
She wanted to avenge her parents and grandmother, and this might be her only chance.
Realizing this, she gritted her teeth, turned around, and ran inside again.
With a thud, he knelt down on the ground.
She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Your Highness, I would like to make a deal with you."
Shen Cong, leaning against the bed, gave her a cold glance.
"You?"
The coldness in that glance sent a shiver down her spine, as if she had fallen into an icy lake.
Li Nanke suddenly woke up from his dream, only to find that it was already broad daylight.
Song Yi was still asleep.
She sat there blankly for a moment, then hurriedly got out of bed.
He ran to the table, picked up a pen and paper, and started writing and drawing on the paper.
He wrote on several sheets of paper, then looked at them carefully, picked out two and put them in his pocket.
After a quick wash, I called for Zisu.
"Let's go to Prince Xuan's residence."
She knew how to answer Shen Cong's question.
When Erfeng came in to report that Li Nanke was requesting an audience, Shen Cong was sunbathing in the corridor.
This spring, he turned twelve, and his elder brother, the Emperor, put him in charge of the Imperial Guard.
However, he was in poor health, so he could only spare a few days a month to visit the Imperial Guard camp outside the city.
He spent the rest of his time recuperating at home.
Upon hearing that Li Nanke had arrived, a look of surprise appeared on Shen Cong's pale face.
"They arrived quite quickly."
Chao Erfeng beckoned to him and whispered a few words of advice.
Erfeng scratched his thick beard, "Ah, this..."
Shen Cong narrowed his eyes slightly, "Aren't you going yet?"
Helpless, Erfeng had no choice but to turn around and go to the door.
As usual, Zisu was left at the gatehouse, while only Li Nanke was allowed to enter.
She followed Erfeng into the courtyard, waving her little hand with a smile.
"I have figured out how to repay the prince's kindness."
Shen Cong held the hand warmer, his eyes closed, as if he hadn't heard her words.
Erfeng brought out a wooden basin from under the eaves and handed it to Li Nanke.
“Miss Nan Ke, the prince said that you should clean the carpet that you stepped on yesterday before we can talk business.”
As he spoke, he turned the mud stains on the blanket over and faced them towards her.
Li Nanke puffed out her cheeks.
No way?
Is twelve-year-old Shen Cong really that stingy?
Her grape-like eyes darted over Shen Cong, and she called out in a clear voice, "Your Highness, I have something very important to say."
Shen Cong didn't even lift his eyelids.
Li Nanke pouted dejectedly, twirling the red ribbon in her hair with her little hand.
He quickly accepted reality, looked up at Erfeng, and smiled.
"Uncle Erfeng, where is the water? Where do I need to wash?"
Erfeng subconsciously turned to look at Chen Cong.
Shen Cong slightly raised his eyelids and glanced at the ginkgo tree in the courtyard.
Erfeng understood, "Miss Nanke, you can brush your teeth under the ginkgo tree. However, there is no water in the yard, so I'll go fetch some for you."
"Uncle Erfeng, you are such a good person."
"Cough." A weak, dry cough sounded from behind, and Chen Cong's voice revealed a hint of displeasure.
"Zhang Erfeng, are you very free? If you are, go sweep the stables."
Erfeng froze.
Li Nanke's eyes darted around, and she realized that Shen Cong wouldn't allow anyone to help her.
Ha, you stingy person.
If you don't want to help, then don't.
"Uncle Erfeng, I can go fetch water myself. Just tell me where the water is."
Erfeng gave her an apologetic look.
“Go south after you leave the courtyard, then turn west after passing two courtyards. The kitchen is the second courtyard from the east.”
There's a well there. Have someone find you a small bucket; you won't be able to lift a bucket that's too big.
Looking at the little girl's chubby little hands, Erfeng thought to himself, "The prince is really heartless. How can such a small child lift a bucket of water?"
Little Li Nanke seemed completely oblivious, smiled and thanked her, then ran out of the courtyard.
Erfeng turned his head and met Shen Cong's indifferent gaze.
"What? Do you think I'm heartless?"
Erfeng's expression hardened. "This subordinate has none."
"Is it that you don't have the ability, or that you're afraid to?"
Erfeng scratched his beard and chuckled.
"The little girl is only eight years old, barely taller than a bucket. I... I just can't bear to do it."
Shen Cong let out a cold snort.
"She's much more sensible than an eight-year-old. Things she hadn't figured out last night, she came up with first thing this morning."
It's practically like they have those four words written on their faces.
Erfeng asked curiously, "Which four characters?"
"Let's make a deal."
Shen Cong tapped the hand warmer with his hand and snorted coldly.
"Really?" Erfeng asked, puzzled. He plucked out three whiskers and tried to recall Li Nanke's expression from earlier, but to no avail.
Indeed, smart people have a lot of worries.
As Li Nanke left the courtyard, he kept repeating Erfeng's instructions.
"Leave the courtyard and walk south, pass two courtyards, then turn west, to the second courtyard from the east..."
Huh? Why are we getting further and further away from here?
Li Nanke stood at the entrance of a bamboo forest, her little face filled with confusion.
Where is this?
There were only trees and flowers all around, and not a single person passed by.
There was a courtyard hidden inside the bamboo grove.
Li Nanke decided to ask for directions, and with a few quick steps, headed towards the courtyard.
The gate to the courtyard was open, and the inside was very spacious, filled with flowers and plants.
The flowers bloom in a riot of colors, and a gentle breeze carries their various fragrances.
It was both rich and had an indescribable strange taste.
Her nostrils twitched slightly, and she couldn't help but shudder.
Achoo!
There was a pavilion in the courtyard, and an old man was sitting in it.
Her hair was haphazardly tied up in one half, while the other half was sticking out in different directions like a frizzy mess.
He was looking down at what he was holding and was not disturbed at all by her sneeze.
Li Nanke walked over, intending to ask for directions, when he heard the old man suddenly throw the bottle in his hand onto the stone table.
Then he put his hands on his head and let out an angry wail.
"ah!"
Li Nanke was so frightened that she took two steps back, her eyes widening in surprise.
The old man is scary, I'd better ask someone else for directions.
She turned to leave, but saw the old man start pounding the stone table again.
"Why did it fail again? Why can't I solve it?"
"What kind of poison has Shen Cong been poisoned with? I refuse to believe it can't be cured."
Li Nanke pulled his foot back after lifting it out.
The old man is researching how to treat Shen Cong's illness.
So, is this old man the legendary healer Gui Liu?
She stared wide-eyed at the old man.
His gray robe made it almost impossible to discern his face color, and his hair and beard were all messy, making it impossible to guess his real age.
His eyes were puffy, and two dark shadows hung below them, making him look somewhat frightening.
He was pounding on the stone table while muttering to himself, looking like a madman.
"I refuse to believe there's any poison in this world I can't cure. If it doesn't work, I'll try again..."
The old man sat up again, grabbed the medicinal herbs from the medicine basket next to him, and picked up the small scale on the table with one hand.
"One mace of astragalus, two mace of licorice... This prescription should be correct, but what kind of poison is it?"
"Grandpa, is there...?"
"Get out of my way, don't bother me."
The old man waved his hand irritably, his dusty sleeve sweeping over.
Li Nanke was swept away from the pavilion by the force of the palm strike and fell to the ground with a thud.
The old man was completely unaware of what he had done and remained immersed in his own world.
It stomped its feet impatiently, hopping around in place like a frog.
"So what exactly is the problem?"
Li Nanke got up from the ground and patted the dirt off his body.
She bluntly retorted, "Is it possible it's not poison?"
Then he turned and left, letting those words drift in the air and reach the old man's ears.
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