Chapter 20 How can adults wake up without candy?
The carriage carrying Ajiu and Chu Xuanyi (still unconscious) staggered all the way back to the Imperial Master's Mansion.
When the housekeeper and servants saw their master being carried back horizontally, they were terrified and the whole house was in chaos. After finally settling Chu Xuanyi down, the housekeeper's face immediately fell as he listened to the young eunuch who had followed him back from the palace describe the "grand occasion" that had taken place in Changyin Pavilion. He was so worried that he could squeeze out water.
He glanced at Ah Jiu, who was clinging to the edge of the bed, staring at his master's pale face with curiosity, and felt a mixture of emotions. This little ancestor, what a nemesis of the Imperial Master!
Seeing Chu Xuanyi keeping his eyes closed and silent, Ajiu frowned slightly. She stretched out her hand and gently poked Chu Xuanyi's cheek: "Master, master, wake up! The sun is about to set. If you don't get up now, dinner will be cold!"
Chu Xuanyi still had no reaction.
Ajiu tilted his head and thought for a while, then his eyes lit up. He rummaged through the small cloth bag he was carrying and took out a piece of malt candy wrapped in oil paper that looked a little shriveled.
"Sir, this is the candy that Ajiu secretly hid this morning. It's so sweet! Wake up quickly, I'll give you half!" As she said that, she wanted to stuff the weathered-looking malt sugar into Chu Xuanyi's mouth.
"Miss Jiu! You can't do that! You can't do that!" The housekeeper rushed forward in fear and quickly stopped Jiu's "feeding" action. "Master Imperial Master, you can't eat yet. You will feel better after you drink the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician."
Ah Jiu said "Oh" in disappointment, wrapped the malt sugar carefully again, and stuffed it back into the small cloth bag, muttering softly: "But if adults don't eat sugar, how can they have the strength to wake up?"
The housekeeper was at a loss for words and could only persuade her kindly, "Miss Jiu, the Imperial Master is simply too tired and needs a good rest. You've been tired all day too, why don't you go eat something first and then rest early?"
Jiu touched her stomach, feeling a bit hungry. She nodded, but still looked at Chu Xuanyi on the bed with some concern, and whispered, "When will the adult wake up? Jiu still has so many stories about the little stars and little flowers on the head of the fierce brother that she hasn't told him yet!"
The butler stumbled, almost losing his balance. He waved his hand hastily, "The Imperial Master will come looking for you when he wakes up. Please go and have your meal, okay?" He only hoped that this little ancestor would be quiet for a while and stop irritating his master.
Only then did Ajiu follow the little maid to have dinner, looking back every few steps.
As the night deepened, silence fell in the Imperial Master's Mansion.
After an unknown amount of time, Chu Xuanyi finally woke up from his bed. He felt a splitting headache, his vision was blacking out, and Ah Jiu's clear, yet frightening voice seemed to echo in his ears—"Little stars kiss little flowers," "Like freshly peeled lychees," "And sing a lullaby"...
"Ugh..." He groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
The old housekeeper who was guarding the bedside was surprised and delighted when he saw this. He hurried forward and said, "Sir! You're awake! How do you feel? Would you like some water?"
Chu Xuanyi's eyes were still a little hazy. He held his forehead, trying to recall what had happened before he passed out. Changyin Pavilion... The Queen's Thousand Autumn Banquet... Ah Jiu... The Regent... The little pink flower...
"Hiss—" He gasped, sat up suddenly, and asked anxiously, "Where's Ah Jiu? That girl...that girl hasn't caused any more trouble, right?"
The housekeeper said with a bitter face, "My lord, Miss Jiu returned to her room to rest after dinner. But...but before she left, she kept saying that when you wake up, she will tell you in detail how the little star above His Royal Highness the Regent sang 'The Moon Shines Brightly on the Earth' to Little Flower..."
Chu Xuanyi: "..."
His vision went dark again, and he felt the energy and blood that had just calmed down begin to flow upwards again. He took several deep breaths before he managed to suppress it.
"This lord... How long have I been unconscious?"
"My Lord, it has been about two hours since I came back from the palace."
Chu Xuanyi held his forehead, his face filled with despair. He felt like he had never been so humiliated in his life! The current Imperial Preceptor had actually fainted at the Empress's Thousand Years Banquet, angered by his own apprentice! If this got out, how would he survive in the capital? Would his Imperial Preceptor House's reputation be ruined?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the bleaker his future seemed.
Suddenly, he thought of something. His eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at the butler. His voice trembled slightly, "After I... I fell unconscious, was there any movement in the palace? His Royal Highness the Regent... did he... did he..."
He wanted to ask whether the Regent was furious and ordered him to be dragged out and beheaded, or to arrest the troublemaker Ajiu.
The butler replied cautiously, "The palace physician examined you and said it was a case of anxiety, but nothing serious. The Empress Dowager and His Majesty also sent sympathizers to express their condolences and urge you to rest well. As for His Royal Highness the Regent... I heard that after you fainted, His Royal Highness ordered everyone to take good care of you and then left the room early. I don't know of any special orders."
Chu Xuanyi felt a little relieved when he heard this, but then he felt a deeper sense of powerlessness.
Not angry? This is even scarier than being angry! With the Regent's vindictive nature, would he let it go after being publicly "humiliated" by Ah Jiu today? If he doesn't get angry, he's probably planning something even bigger!
The more Chu Xuanyi thought about it, the more frightened he became. He even began to wonder if there was some hidden meaning behind Ah Jiu's nonsense. Otherwise, how could a figure like the Regent tolerate such impudence from a little girl?
Could it be that... there really is something above His Royal Highness the Regent's head... something that ordinary people cannot see?
Once this thought came to mind, it grew like a vine in Chu Xuanyi's mind. He thought of Ah Jiu's previous "prophecies" that seemed absurd but had come true by accident.
For example, that time, she said there was a "golden treasure" under the pomegranate tree in the backyard, but the servants dug for a long time and only found a rusty iron turtle. He thought it was Ah Jiu's prank, but a few days later, the iron turtle was recognized by a vendor as a relic of the previous dynasty, and he exchanged it for a lot of silver.
For example, she said that Butcher Li from the west of the city would be in danger of a bloody disaster within three days, but he just thought it was just a child's outburst. As a result, on the third day, Butcher Li was hit on the head because he overcharged a customer two taels of meat...
Could it be that... this girl Ajiu can really see some... "luck" or "omens" that others cannot see?
Chu Xuanyi was shocked by his own thoughts. If this was true, then the "little pink flowers" and "sparkling little stars" above His Royal Highness the Regent's head... wouldn't that be...
He didn't dare think about it anymore.
"Help me up," Chu Xuanyi rubbed his still aching solar plexus and said to the housekeeper, "Go... call Ah Jiu."
He decided that he would have a good, serious, and calm talk with Ah Jiu (as much as possible). He wanted to know whether this girl was really stupid or...she really had some "supernatural power" that he couldn't understand!
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