Chapter 20 Returning Home
For several days, Qingyun Palace has been heavily guarded and filled with the strong scent of herbs. The people in the palace only know that the people living in this palace are of noble status, but they do not know who they are.
It was already the fourth day, and Chu Wangshu's wound had not become infected or worsened, but it was still somewhat red and swollen. His high fever had gradually subsided, but he still had a slight fever. Doctor Li said that his qi and blood were severely depleted, and that sleeping for a few more days would not be entirely a bad thing.
No palace servants were left inside the hall to look after it, since the Imperial Preceptor Chu had already died in the Heavenly Prison, and the fewer people who knew who was inside, the better.
Moreover, Chu Wangshu is indeed very picky and really doesn't like others getting close to her.
Shen Qingmeng has been staying here recently, lying in the empty space next to Chu Wangshu's bed, her hand gently resting on his arm.
When Chu Wangshu woke up, the hall was pitch black with no lights on. He subconsciously moved his hand, but gasped in pain.
Shen Qingmeng suddenly raised her head and met Chu Wangshu's bewildered eyes, her eyes instantly reddening.
Chu Wangshu tried to raise her hand, but to no avail. She could only try to speak louder, "I'm...I'm sorry...I lied to you again..."
“It’s alright, I don’t blame you,” Shen Qingmeng leaned closer, her smile tinged with tears. “It’s good that you’re awake, it’s good that you’re awake… No one will bully you anymore. Once you’re feeling better, I’ll take you out of the palace. We can go wherever we want, and no one will keep you locked up anymore!”
“Alright, I’ll wait for Hero Qingmeng to take me sightseeing.” Chu Wangshu raised his hand with trembling hands, wanting to wipe away the tears on Shen Qingmeng’s face, but found that his fingertips were wrapped tightly. He could only bend his fingers and gently wipe the corners of Shen Qingmeng’s eyes with his knuckles: “Okay, don’t cry, your eyes will hurt.”
"Mmm!" Shen Qingmeng sniffed and nodded like a chick pecking at rice: "Don't cry anymore, I was just too excited."
"Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Should I go and call Uncle Li to take a look?"
Chu Wangshu shook her head, a slight smile appearing on her lips: "You... lie down here, okay?"
"Okay!" Shen Qingmeng took off her shoes, carefully stepped over Chu Wangshu, and lay down beside him: "I'm coming!"
Chu Wangshu tried to lift the blanket, but his hands were too weak. Shen Qingmeng quickly and carefully took his hand and helped him into the blanket.
She turned to the side, holding Chu Wangshu's hand with one hand to prevent his hand from touching something in the blanket that might hurt him, and placed her other hand on Chu Wangshu's waist. Then she gently rested her head on Chu Wangshu's shoulder: "Is this okay?"
"Mmm." Chu Wangshu leaned her head closer, her breath filled with Shen Qingmeng's scent, which seemed to actually lessen the pain in her body.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Chu Wangshu looked at the person beside her. There seemed to be no injuries, but she was still a little worried.
"No, I'm fine."
"How...did you get your hand hurt?"
Shen Qingmeng withdrew her hand and put it behind her back: "I accidentally scratched myself while taking revenge."
"Come here, I've already seen everything," Chu Wangshu said in a coquettish tone, making Shen Qingmeng feel a tickle in her heart. "Revenge?"
Shen Qingmeng obediently hugged Chu Wangshu's waist and abdomen again: "I still feel that they got off easy with you being injured like this."
"I...it doesn't hurt much anymore, I'm fine." As if to prove the truth of his words, Chu Wangshu even moved his fingers slightly and squeezed Shen Qingmeng's hand back.
Shen Qingmeng raised her head and looked at Chu Wangshu: "You lied to me again."
The man remained silent, only smiling somewhat guiltily.
"Alright, since you like me so much, I won't hold it against you," Shen Qingmeng said with a smile. "The Astrology Pavilion has already burned down, but before setting the fire, I moved all your treasures out of the house, and... I even saw some good things."
"...What?" Chu Wangshu couldn't recall what else he had "hidden".
“Those hairpins that were already quite exquisite but you were still not entirely satisfied with, and also, someone drew dozens of portraits of me in just six months based on only a few impressions of me!”
Chu Wangshu felt embarrassed that her feelings had been exposed: "I...miss you so much..."
"Alright, you little liar, we'll never be apart again. You don't need to look at the portrait, just look at me," Shen Qingmeng gently rubbed Chu Wangshu's cheek and gave him a light kiss on the lips. "Sleep a little longer."
Although Chu Wangshu had been awake for a moment, he was still in a daze, so he responded softly, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep again.
Although she was worried about Chu Wangshu's injuries, Shen Qingmeng dared not move at all, but she slept very peacefully that night.
Just like she said, it's good that you're awake.
The next morning, when Physician Li saw the two sleeping together, he quickly turned his back.
Do not look at what is improper!
Then, Physician Li slowly turned his head and looked him over... Was he awake?
It seems so; they can even sleep side by side now.
Physician Li tiptoed out of the inner hall and sat back on the reclining chair outside, his back to the two people on the bed. He was only there to change Chu Wangshu's dressing; what difference did it make whether it was sooner or later? Not disturbing someone's sweet dreams was a good deed in itself.
It wasn't until Shen Qingmeng woke up a moment later that she saw the figure sitting outside.
She carefully raised her hand, not wanting to wake Chu Wangshu, but the man was probably not sleeping soundly, and she woke up with just a slight movement.
"Uncle Li is here. Should I call him over?" Shen Qingmeng sat up, her hand still clasped with Chu Wangshu's under the covers.
He wouldn't let go, and Shen Qingmeng didn't dare to use force.
Chu Wangshu squinted, seemingly reluctant to wake up: "What are you doing here?"
"Let me change your dressing; your wound hasn't been healing very well."
“…Alright.” Although Chu Wangshu responded in this way, she did not move her hand at all.
"Let go of my hand, I'll go call Uncle Li." Shen Qingmeng's tone was slightly coaxing, like she was talking to a child. "Okay?"
“No way,” Chu Wangshu continued to whine, “Shout louder here, Uncle Li’s hearing is very good.”
Shen Qingmeng sighed in exasperation, took a deep breath, and called out, "Uncle Li, he's awake. Could you please come and check on him?"
Chu Wangshu's inexplicable mischief had come to fruition, and he suppressed a satisfied laugh.
The first thing Physician Li did after slowly walking over was to send Shen Qingmeng away: "Girl, go and make him some light porridge. He's finally awake. If he doesn't eat a single grain of rice like this, the wounds on his body will never heal in his next life."
“Alright,” Shen Qingmeng looked at Chu Wangshu, “Now you should let go, right? I’ll go make you some food. You’ve been starving for so many days, you’ll really become an immortal if you don’t eat soon.”
Chu Wangshu finally obediently let go of her hand and nodded: "I want to drink sweet soup."
"Okay, I'll make you pumpkin soup!"
After Shen Qingmeng left, Chu Wangshu asked Physician Li, "Uncle Li, is there something you want to tell me?"
Physician Li deftly unbuttoned Chu Wangshu's inner garment, then lifted the cloth covering the wound, and carefully sprinkled medicinal powder onto the wound with a cotton ball.
Chu Wangshu clenched her teeth and stopped talking. Why does changing the dressing hurt so much?
"I just don't want her to see your wounds again. She cried every time she saw them the other day. When I changed your dressings here, she just lay there crying. Anyone who didn't know better would think I was abusing you," Physician Li quickly cleaned Chu Wangshu's wounds, applied new medicine, straightened his clothes, and covered him with the blanket again. Then he lifted Chu Wangshu's hand: "Don't move, bear with it, it will hurt more on your hand."
"Hiss..." The pain in his fingertips far exceeded Chu Wangshu's expectations, but he only gasped for breath, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, turned his head away, and remained silent.
Physician Li gently placed Chu Wangshu's hand back on the soft pillow and put away his medicine box: "But I really have something to tell you."
Chu Wangshu hadn't recovered from the pain in her fingertips yet, and frowned slightly: "...Please speak."
“Your spleen and stomach haven’t been feeling well since the last poisoning, and the medication you’ve been taking lately has been too strong. Just three days ago, you drank some blood-tonifying medicine, and you vomited it all up shortly after due to stomach spasms. Since then, we’ve had to use much milder medications, but they haven’t been very effective, and your wound hasn’t shown any improvement…”
Seeing the conflicted look on Physician Li's face, Chu Wangshu almost thought he was about to say something terrible, but instead he said...
"So don't be stubborn. Even if you feel uncomfortable after eating, try to use as much of the food Qingmeng makes for you. Food supplements are less irritating than medicine. You'll feel better after some time."
Chu Wangshu breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought you were going to tell me that even if I woke up, I wouldn't live much longer."
"Pah, ptah, ptah, spit it out! What kind of talk is that!" Physician Li was very dissatisfied: "That thousand-year-old ginseng in the Imperial Hospital has almost gathered all ten tonic recipes to save you, and you still won't live much longer. You're old enough to take care of this old man until the end."
At this moment, Shen Qingmeng returned to Qingyun Palace with pumpkin soup in her hands: "What is Uncle Li saying? Why is he so agitated?"
“He’s feeling sorry for the thousand-year-old ginseng in the Imperial Hospital.” Chu Wangshu turned her head, her gaze following Shen Qingmeng. “But I feel that the ginseng soup isn’t as good as the pumpkin soup.”
"Then drink more, this pumpkin smells so good," Shen Qingmeng gently helped Chu Wangshu up, placed two more soft pillows under him, and then turned to Doctor Li and said, "Uncle Li, have a taste, it smells good to me, so I served you a bowl too."
"What do you want to eat?" Chu Wangshu asked.
Shen Qingmeng scooped up a spoonful of pumpkin soup, blew on it, and fed it to Chu Wangshu: "I still can't enjoy eating this kind of sweet stuff for breakfast. I'll go to the kitchen later and get a couple of steamed buns."
"It smells so good," Chu Wangshu said, swallowing a mouthful of pumpkin soup. "I can have steamed buns too."
“When you’re better, you can make me steamed buns, and I’ll make you sweet soup,” Shen Qingmeng said with a smile as she tasted a bite of the pumpkin soup. “It does taste pretty good.”
Shen Qingmeng had just fed Chu Wangshu a little over half a bowl of water when she wiped his mouth and put the bowl aside.
"Hmm?" Chu Wangshu asked, somewhat puzzled. "I...I'm fine."
Shen Qingmeng slipped her hand under the covers and gently circled Chu Wangshu's upper abdomen with her warm palm: "It's okay, don't be stubborn, take your time, I'll heat it up for you when you feel hungry."
Chu Wangshu looked up at Physician Li: See, it really wasn't me being temperamental.
Perhaps it was because the medicine used was of the highest quality, or more likely because Shen Qingmeng took meticulous care of him, and Chu Wangshu was also obedient, that he recovered quickly after waking up, and was able to get out of bed and walk a few steps in just over a month.
On October 24th, Shen Qingmeng returned to the Shen Family Escort Agency with Chu Wangshu.
On the way, inside the carriage, Chu Wangshu asked, "Your Majesty, didn't you try to keep the princess?"
“I kept her. She asked me if I would consider taking an official position in the Ministry of War and receiving a salary from the imperial court.”
Shen Qingmeng played with the Luban lock in her hand. It was a new toy she had recently acquired, and she was still quite excited about it. However, the carriage was a bit unstable and the construction was not going very smoothly.
Chu Wangshu reached out and helped her hold onto the upper wooden strip.
"Hey! Don't use your hands too hard!" Shen Qingmeng said, but she still continued to lay the wooden strips with Chu Wangshu's help, completely satisfied.
“It’s alright,” Chu Wangshu asked, “So, what about you? Do you want to stay?”
“No, I don’t want to go to court every day. It’s so annoying. I don’t want to live that kind of life. Besides…” Shen Qingmeng put the Luban lock back in place and tossed it aside. She looked up at Chu Wangshu and said, “I told you, I still have to take my charlatan on a trip.”
Chu Wangshu smiled and put her arm around Shen Qingmeng's waist: "Is your charlatan that important?"
Shen Qingmeng nodded in agreement, "It's very important."
A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the Shen Family Escort Agency. Wang Wanwan and Shen Qingmeng's senior brothers had been waiting at the entrance to welcome them since they learned of their impending return.
Chu Wangshu had never seen anything like this before. The moment he lifted the carriage curtain, he clenched his fist slightly, feeling somewhat at a loss, and then a fine, dense pain gradually spread from his fingertips.
"Don't worry, they're all easy to get along with," Shen Qingmeng reached out and gently pried open Chu Wangshu's fist, interlocking her fingers with his. "You're not allowed to clench your fist with that hand either!"
Like introducing a child to strangers, Shen Qingmeng introduced Chu Wangshu to many people.
Wang Wanwan whispered in Shen Qingmeng's ear that it was no wonder she was so attached to Chu Wangshu; she couldn't forget him after just one look. Chu Wangshu's face truly had the potential to bring ruin to a country. She also added sourly that she had never tasted so many of the pastries and sweets made by Shen Qingmeng, complaining that Shen Qingmeng valued romance over friendship.
The voice was very soft, but Chu Wangshu heard it. He just smiled faintly. Gaining the approval of Shen Qingmeng's close friend was indeed a good thing, even with some complaints.
It seems that Shen Qingmeng has indeed never made that many pastries for others.
There were quite a few people in the astrology pavilion, but Chu Wangshu rarely spoke to anyone, and he had never seen so many smiling faces before.
Shen Qingmeng's senior brothers were all very kind to her, and naturally they were also very kind to him.
So this is what life on Earth should be like.
Author's Note:
And so, Shen Qingmeng and Chu Wangshu gradually began to live the ordinary life they had always longed for. [starry-eyed emoji]
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