Chapter 17 Sweet Soup

The third day of the Chinese New Year.

Early in the morning, there was an endless stream of people coming to Sui Anhou Mansion to wish him a happy new year. Sui Xun was so busy that he had no time to rest. He was used to being in the army, and for the first time he had to deal with these civil officials who were sweet-mouthed but treacherous, it was almost like he was half dead after half a day.

After sending away another smiling minister, Sui Xun hadn't even breathed a sigh of relief when Li Zhao walked in quickly: "Second Young Master, the Third Prince is here."

Sui Xun put down the cup helplessly before he could even take a sip of tea. Just as he was about to greet him, Li Zhao said, "But after he put down his congratulatory gifts, he went to the young master's yard, and Young Master Song followed him. Look at this..."

Sui Xun frowned and said, "Has Wangui woken up?"

Li Zhao said: "I just woke up at dawn, and Haitang is serving me now."

Sui Xun said, "Then don't worry about it. There is no need to be too strict about the friendship between young people. Go to the kitchen and ask someone to make some sweet porridge and snacks and send them over."

Li Zhao nodded in agreement.

In the side courtyard of the Marquis's mansion, Duan Zhisu and Song Xian were stopped when they were about to meet Sui Yan for the first time. Song Xian was already dissatisfied with Sui Yan, and seeing this, he sneered and said, "You have just become attached to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and you are so arrogant?"

Duan Zhisu said in a low voice: "Song Xian!"

Song Xian had no choice but to shut up reluctantly.

Haitang smiled and said, "The young master just woke up this morning. He may have been ill for too long and is now in a bad mood. Your Highness and the young master, please wait here for a while. I will go and talk to the young master."

Duan Zhisu said: "Thank you for your help."

Haitang quickly said she didn't dare, bowed and left.

At this time, the servants from the kitchen brought in the prepared sweet porridge and cakes. Haitang took them and picked out the cakes, saying, "Young Master is still ill. Send these cakes to the front hall."

Haitang walked to the door and knocked gently: "Young Master?"

After waiting for a while, Sui Yan's voice came from inside: "What's the matter?"

Perhaps because he had been ill for too long, his voice was as thin as a thread and a little hoarse from scratching his throat.

Haitang said: "The Third Prince and Young Master Song Xian are waiting in the front hall. They said they want to come and visit you. Can we..."

Before he could finish, the carved wooden door clanged, as if something had hit it, and then there was the sound of a porcelain bowl breaking.

Sui Yan said sternly: "Let them get out!"

Then, there was a violent coughing sound from inside, and the sound seemed to be coughing out the lungs.

Haitang was startled and said hurriedly: "Master, that is the Third Prince, not someone else, you..."

Are you sick and confused?

There was another burst of noisy noises coming from the room, as if a bunch of things were thrown away.

"Get out! Get out, everyone!"

Sui Yan didn't have the habit of dropping things even when he was so seriously ill. Hai Tang was so scared that her heart was pounding. She didn't dare to persuade him anymore and whispered, "Then...then Master, the kitchen has made some sweet soup. Would you like to drink some?"

The room was quiet for a moment before Sui Yan's hoarse voice came again: "Get lost..."

Haitang didn't dare to stay any longer and ran away with the bowl.

In the inner room, Sui Yan was sitting paralyzed on the bed, struggling to hold on to the edge of the bed and breathing slightly.

He was so angry just now that he threw the things on the bedside table down and rolled off the bed.

He had been ill for too long, and his limbs were so weak that he couldn't even crawl. If he moved a little, his entire body would tremble with pain. He could only lean on the edge of the bed and gasp weakly.

After a while, the door was opened and Jun Jingxing walked in with the freshly boiled medicine. He saw the mess in the room at a glance.

Sui Yan looked up at him weakly.

Jun Jingxing rubbed his brows, put down the medicine, walked up to him helplessly and helped him up, saying: "Young Marquis is so ill but still has the strength to mess up the room like this, it's true that heroes emerge young."

Sui Yan's eyes suddenly turned red.

Jun Jingxing was startled and said quickly: "Okay, okay, I won't say anything, I won't say anything, don't..."

Don't cry.

It was impossible for Sui Yan to cry. No matter how red his eyes were or how sour his heart was, there was still not a single tear in his eyes.

Sui Yan took a deep breath, suppressed the sadness in his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and said in a hoarse voice: "It's okay."

He had been ill for so many days that he had lost a lot of weight. Even his face was as pale as paper, with only his lips showing a hint of red, which looked a little weird.

Only Jun Jingxing knew that this was the aftereffect of the stigma, just like his already broken body. Even if the poison was cured, it would be impossible for him to go back to the way he was before.

He will be plagued by illness all his life, with a weak body and many diseases, and he will never be able to dress in fine clothes and ride a horse as recklessly as other young people.

Jun Jingxing thought sadly: "He is only fifteen years old."

It is the best age of life.

Jun Jingxing brought the medicine over and said calmly, "Take the medicine."

Sui Yan pursed his lips.

Jun Jingxing raised his eyebrows and said, "Why, do you want me to feed you?"

Sui Yan's expression froze for a moment, then he took the medicine with trembling hands, lowered his eyes and stared at the black medicine, and said after a long while: "I want to eat candy."

Jun Jingxing: “…”

Jun Jingxing was almost helpless, so he had to coax her, "Okay, I'll give you some candy after you finish drinking."

Sui Yan then nodded slightly, weakly holding the spoon, and drank the medicine in small sips.

Jun Jingxing took out a small box from the small cabinet beside him, took out the preserved fruits he had bought, and placed them aside.

Sui Yan took a look, his lifeless eyes brightened slightly, and handed the bowl to Jun Jingxing: "I'm done."

Jun Jingxing counted the candied fruits nonchalantly and said, "Don't act like a child. Drink up the medicine inside."

Sui Yan had no choice but to stare at the candied fruit and drink the medicine with a frown.

As soon as he put down the spoon, Jun Jingxing leaned over and stuffed a piece of candied fruit dipped in powdered sugar into Sui Yan's mouth, smiling and saying, "Is it sweet?"

Sui Yan held the candied fruit in his mouth, licked the powdered sugar on his lips with the tip of his tongue, and nodded stupidly: "Yeah!"

Jun Jingxing said: "You can only eat five pills a day, any more is not acceptable."

As he spoke, he stuffed four candies into a palm-sized box and placed it at the bedside where Sui Yan could reach it.

Sui Yan stopped licking the candied fruit and looked at him in disbelief: "Why?"

Jun Jingxing said: "Eating too much sugar is not good for your body. If you behave yourself, I will let you drink half a bowl of sweet soup when the weather gets warmer."

What this means is that now I can’t even drink sweet soup.

Sui Yan was so shocked that he seemed to have lost all color. After a long while, he asked, "Why... why?"

Jun Jingxing said, "I went to check the sweet soup in your kitchen a few days ago. The soup base is made from ginseng. You don't know what kind of person you are now, and you still dare to drink ginseng soup. Are you afraid that you won't die soon enough?"

Sui Yan didn’t understand: “Ah?”

Sui Yan was confused due to his illness. He had no brain to think about all these things. He was slow in speaking and doing things and looked a little stupid.

Jun Jingxing reached out and touched his head, saying, "Let's not talk about the fact that sick people can't drink ginseng soup. Let's talk about the poison you were poisoned with. Although most of the poison has been eliminated, the remaining poison is still in your lungs. Ginseng soup is a great tonic, but if you take too much, the poison hidden in your bones will be triggered."

Sui Yan couldn't think right now, so he just nodded: "Oh."

Jun Jingxing said: "Fortunately, you didn't drink much ginseng soup at the banquet this time, otherwise you would have died in less than an hour."

Sui Yan still nodded. He felt vaguely that he seemed to have thought of something, but he was too weak now. He couldn't grasp the faint idea no matter what. The more he thought about it, the more headache he felt.

Jun Jingxing pressed his shoulders and let him lie down, saying, "Sleep for a while. I'll call you to take medicine later."

Sui Yan was already tired, so he closed his eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep.

In the front hall of the side courtyard, Duan Zhisu had already drunk two cups of tea, but still no one showed up.

Haitang kept apologizing, sweating coldly: "The young master is not feeling well, and he has fallen asleep again."

Song Xian almost smashed the cups and said angrily: "What on earth does he mean? We have been waiting here for half an hour, but he pretended to be sick and slept and only sent a servant to fool us!"

The more Duan Zhisu thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. Although Sui Yan was naughty, he was not so outrageous. Moreover, the two of them had always been friends, so he would not make up such a lie just to avoid seeing him.

Duan Zhisu tied up his cloak, stood up and said, "I'll go see him."

Having said that, he walked towards the inner room in the backyard.

Haitang rushed over to stop him and said, "Your Highness! Third Prince, please stay! The young master is really ill and cannot see guests..."

Song Xian grabbed the young man who was shaking all over and threatened him with a dark face: "If you say another word of nonsense, I will have someone beat you up!"

Haitang was so scared that her eyes welled up with tears, but she still whispered, "Young Master, I really don't want to see you..."

Song Xian: "Shut up!"

The two of them were pulling and tugging at the back, and Duan Zhisu ignored them and walked straight to Sui Yan's door, pushed it open and walked in without any hesitation.

In order to conceal Sui Yan's poisoning, Jun Jingxing sent away all the servants except Haitang who came to deliver medicine and food every day. Duan Zhisu just walked in directly and no one stopped him.

After Duan Zhisu walked in, before he could say a word, he was already frowned by the strong smell of medicine.

Is he really that sick? He hasn't recovered completely after several days?

"Forgot to return?"

The bead curtain in the inner room was swaying slightly, making a slight sound of jade colliding. Just as Duan Zhisu was about to go in, a hand suddenly lifted the bead curtain from the inside.

Jun Jingxing was picking up things on the ground. When he heard the door open, he came out to take a look, and bumped into Duan Zhisu head-on.

Duan Zhisu frowned and said, "You are..."

Jun Jingxing bowed and said calmly, "I have seen the Third Prince. The young marquis has gone to bed."

During these few days, Jun Jingxing also figured out where Sui Yan took the poison, so he felt a little unhappy when he saw the Third Prince. Although he didn't know why Sui Yan was poisoned, he could not escape the connection with this man.

"I only looked at him once," he said.

Jun Jingxing sneered in his heart and slightly moved aside.

Duan Zhisu simply opened the curtain and walked in.

Just as Haitang and Jun Jingxing said, Sui Yan had already fallen asleep. His long hair was scattered all over the pillow like dead grass. His pale face had only some color on his lips, which looked very strange.

Duan Zhisu stared at him blankly, and for a moment he was afraid to go forward.

Sui Yan just lay there quietly, as if he was dead.