After seeing the doctor off, Xu Rong ordered someone to fetch the medicine.
Xiao Xin wanted to object, but Xu Rong ignored him completely and went to the warm pavilion. He stood there sullenly for a while, then had no choice but to return to the east side room as well.
On the table lay an article he had only half-finished. He picked up his pen to continue writing, but his mind was in turmoil. Strands of emotion drifted around him, not complicated, but they made it impossible for him to concentrate. He not only didn't know what to write next, but he also couldn't read what he had written before.
Is she angry?
Yes, there's no doubt about that.
Having known her for so long, this was the first time he had seen her completely lose her smile, from the corners of her lips to the depths of her eyes, and she even started arguing with him in front of the doctor, disregarding all decorum.
She should always possess a leisurely and unhurried demeanor, like a spring breeze blowing through a courtyard, or a cool autumn sky—broad, comfortable, and calming.
They're all gone now.
Snap.
As his wrist remained suspended for a long time, a drop of ink fell straight down, staining the Xuan paper that was already mostly filled with his writing.
Xiao Xin lowered his head, frowned, put the soiled paper aside, picked up a new one, and wanted to copy it. But after copying only one line, he felt that the writing was dry and barren, and the opening statement was too abrupt. So he simply put down his pen and crumpled up both papers together.
This was his weakness. Mr. Su had repeatedly pointed out that the style of the eight-legged essay should be upright and proper to avoid making mistakes. If one's sharpness is too strong, the examiner will easily suppress it.
He spends a significant portion of his energy on reforming this, but occasionally, a part of his true nature will still emerge.
His true nature...
It is neither upright nor proper.
Like right now.
Xiao Xin curled his lips into a smile. He knew she was angry, but he could still manage a smile.
And it is a joy that comes from the heart.
She must not know how bad he is.
He doesn't want to change yet.
How can it be changed?
Writing style can be faked, but feelings cannot. This sweetness on the tip of the tongue is his everything and his only thing.
...
After a while, Xiao Xin finally spread out a new sheet of paper and started brainstorming again from scratch.
This time, for some reason, things went much more smoothly. He wrote an article almost in one go, from the initial topic to the final chapter. After finishing it and reviewing it, he felt a slight sense of satisfaction.
"Second Young Master."
A sound came from outside the curtain at just the right moment, and then the curtain was lifted, and Xu Rong walked in carrying a small bowl.
Xiao Xin recognized what it was at a glance. He wanted to say he didn't need it, but instead said something else: "Just have the maid bring it over."
Xu Rong placed the bowl on his desk before asking, "Since the maid brought it here, does the Second Young Master necessarily want to drink it too?"
She was not polite at all and stated her point directly.
Xiao Xin had no answer and slowly reached for the bowl of medicine.
It was lukewarm to the touch, indicating that it had been sitting for a while.
"Second Young Master, you're so grown up now," Xu Rong urged him when he saw him holding the book but not moving it, "Are you still afraid of hardship?"
Xiao Xin stared at the dark, murky medicine in the bowl.
I'm not afraid of bitterness, and I really don't want to drink medicine.
“I’m fine—” he tried to struggle again.
He didn't feel any qi deficiency at all; he was in great spirits every day.
He sat while Xu Rong stood, glancing down at him with a knowing look. She knew exactly what he was thinking and felt a little helpless: He was quite concerned about saving face and didn't want to admit his weakness, so he refused to take his medicine.
She was at a loss and couldn't bring herself to say anything truly harsh—whether it would be useful or not, he had exhausted himself studying and was now practically a patient; could she really hold a grudge against a patient?
Seeing that he was still dawdling, she had no choice but to say, "Second Young Master, does what you said to His Highness the Crown Prince mean nothing?"
But if my wife is worried about this—
Without needing to recall everything, Xiao Xin lowered his head and drank most of the bowl of medicine in one gulp.
Xu Rong: "..."
She was startled.
I never expected it to be so straightforward.
She herself takes a long time to take medicine, and she knows that it's better to drink it all at once than to suffer a long pain. But it's too bitter and she really can't swallow it. After drinking it, she has to lie on the pillow for a while to recover. She feels like her soul is about to leave her body from the bitterness.
Xiao Xin had already handed the bowl back to her, his expression calm, gesturing for her to take it.
Xu Rong hesitated for a moment, then took the bowl with one hand and handed out a hidden candied fruit with the other, feeling that she had made some unnecessary preparations.
I'm a little regretful now. If I had known he wasn't so hard to persuade, I wouldn't have brought up what I said that day.
Xiao Xin paused for a moment, then said nothing. He took the candied fruit from her hand, put it in his mouth, and his cheek swelled up slightly.
He looked up at Xu Rong, who breathed a sigh of relief. Her regret vanished, and seeing his expression softened her heart. She almost reached out to touch his head, but remembering their current delicate and awkward relationship, she held back in time, picked up the empty bowl, and turned to leave.
Xiao Xin watched her retreating figure, then used the tip of his tongue to turn the candied fruit around, the sweet fruity aroma filling his mouth and gradually masking the bitterness of the medicine.
The curtain stopped swaying, and he turned back, still sucking on a candied fruit, while looking at another topic that Mr. Su had given him, and thought of a new way to solve it.
Time passed unnoticed, and the sky gradually darkened. In the evening, Xiao Xin went out for dinner and wanted to go back, but was stopped.
"Second Young Master, let's have a talk," Xu Rong said to him seriously.
Xiao Xin followed her to the warm pavilion.
He didn't know what Xu Rong wanted to say, so he sat down and waited for her to speak. However, Xu Rong didn't speak immediately. Instead, she took a piece of paper from the cabinet by the kang (a heated brick bed) and handed it to him.
Xiao Xin looked down.
It was a rather strange piece of paper, with several straight lines drawn across it, and within each line were listed the following:
From the beginning of Chen to the middle of Chen: Get up, wash up, and have breakfast.
Chenzhong-Wuchu: Reading.
Midday to noon: lunch and rest.
Wei Zhong - Shen Mo: Reading.
Early to late afternoon (酉初-酉末): Dinner and washing up.
Early to late Xu hour: Reading
After the beginning of Hai hour: Go to bed.
Xiao Xin: "..."
Xu Rong explained to him, "Second Young Master, this is the schedule I've prepared for you. You should follow it from now on."
Xiao Xin slowly raised his head, looked at her, then at the paper in his hand, and finally his gaze returned to her face. This whole scene was completely unexpected. He had a lot to say, but for a moment, he seemed to be unable to say anything.
Xu Rong thought he had a problem with it, so she said to him seriously, "Second Young Master, I have thought it over carefully. You have four hours of reading time a day, which is enough for your current physical condition. Let's try it for a month first. If Doctor Yu says that your vital energy has been restored after a month and you want to change it, then we can talk about it then. For now, let's leave it at that."
Xiao Xin remained silent for a long while before whispering, "I'm really fine."
Even if there is some, it's only a tiny amount, so there's no need to take it so seriously.
Xu Rong wanted to sigh. It was difficult for her to care about him under these circumstances. According to her plan, even if she didn't enlighten him after returning, she should at least distance herself from him. Who knew that the Crown Princess would accidentally diagnose him with an illness?
If it were a stranger, she wouldn't have so much kindness to spare. She herself was a corporate slave, so what was overwork? She simply overworked herself.
But Xiao Xin was no stranger to her.
Her past experiences served as a wake-up call for her in another form. Because she knew the dangers of overwork, she couldn't let Xiao Xin be taken lightly now.
"Second Young Master, there's plenty of time. You're only taking a month off; it won't cause any problems." She could only insist on persuading him.
Xiao Xin was even more insistent than her, shaking his head: "Next month is the prefectural examination."
His words were concise and to the point, and Xu Rong was momentarily stunned—she had completely forgotten about it when she was drafting the schedule.
This month, coincidentally, happened to fall right before the prefectural examination, no wonder he refused to budge repeatedly.
Xu Rong hesitated. With the prefectural examination just around the corner, other students must be studying day and night. If she asked Xiao Xin to stop, the losses would be obvious.
Ostensibly, it's a one-month break, but in reality, it could be a year. The prefectural examination is held once a year, and if you fail this time, you'll have to wait until next year.
And this is just the simplest calculation, because the subsequent provincial examinations are held twice every three years, and so on. If you can't take the exam next year, you can only postpone it to the year after, and even then, it might not be possible—it could be the year after that.
How many next year and the year after are there in a lifetime?
More importantly, he was not only delaying his own time, but also hers.
Xiao Xin stood up. Although he didn't intend to follow the schedule, he still picked up the schedule, neatly folded it into two stacks, and said, "Then I'll go."
Xu Rong was in a state of confusion and didn't notice his actions. She just subconsciously reached out to stop him: "Wait a minute."
Xiao Xin stood still.
His eyes deepened, as if he were simply waiting, yet also as if he had some expectation.
Xu Rong struggled, finally raising her head to look at him, and said, "Second Young Master, I still think we should slow down."
She added to comfort him, "It just means you'll have less time to study; it doesn't necessarily mean you'll fall behind in this subject."
Xiao Xin, however, seemed still stubborn and asked her, "What if I don't pass the exam, and that means I've wasted my time?"
“Then let’s try again next year.” Xu Rong cheered herself up. Having made her decision, she also wanted to relax a bit. She tried to convince him and herself, saying, “The prefectural examination is held every year, but you only have one body. I heard that the preliminary examination is okay, but the provincial examination requires you to be locked up for several days. Without a good body, you can’t even last that long.”
Xiao Xin replied, "Hmm."
“…?” Xu Rong was stunned. She was so surprised that she stood up. “Second Young Master, you agreed?”
Of course, this is a good thing—but what's going on? It feels like the fruits of victory came too easily all at once.
Xiao Xin said firmly again, "Yes, I agree."
After saying that, he even smiled slightly, and his steps as he left were unabashedly light.
Xu Rong sat there for a while, puzzled. He couldn't figure out which sentence had struck a chord with him, so he gave up and asked someone to bring in water for a bath.
**
Hai hour (9-11 PM).
Xiao Xin bent over his desk.
He was very calm and energetic.
Whether to rest or not, and which side was more advantageous, was very clear. She chose him, not Li.
That's enough.
As for agreeing, he glanced at the square schedule posted on the corner of the table. He figured that looking at it every day would be enough; it was more effective than medicine.
Ultimately, he felt he was not insincere.
The candlelight flickered; it had been burning for too long. He reached for the small silver scissors, intending to trim off the excess wick. In the still night, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the curtain.
The footsteps were very light, but they were clearer because of the night. Xiao Xin didn't think much of it, assuming it was some girl who stayed up late. However, he had a bad feeling because the footsteps were clearly coming from this direction.
The maids were well-educated by Xu Rong, and they generally never entered his room to disturb his reading unless summoned by him.
The only disobedient one, Cui Ting, has already been driven away.
so--
A slender wrist lifted the curtain, and Xu Rong, wearing only a light robe, strolled in. She crossed her arms, but didn't approach him. Instead, she leaned against the wall beside the curtain, a half-smile on her face, tinged with a hint of anger: "Second Young Master, is this how you agreed to my request?"
She had already gone to bed, but the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She felt that his attitude had changed drastically, and sure enough, it had.
Xiao Xin: "..."
In his panic, his hand holding the silver scissors moved erratically, and with a snap, he accidentally extinguished the candle flame.
The room suddenly darkened.
Xiao Xin's vision suddenly plunged into darkness. He couldn't see Xu Rong, but Xu Rong walked over from the dark outside. With the faint silver light of the moon shining through the window, she could still see him. She said, word by word, "Second Young Master, it seems that a schedule alone is not enough. From today onwards, please come with me and stay in the warm pavilion."
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