Chapter 119 The Sickly and Tyrannical Crown Prince 17
The bedchamber was very quiet.
Xie Rong took a sip of the medicine from Xue Feibai's hand and then tried to eat a piece of candy from A Chou's hand.
If the sugar is fed too late and becomes too bitter for the Crown Prince's tongue, Xie Rong will fly into a rage.
But at least the medicine was finally fed to him.
"What day is it today?" Xie Rong suddenly asked.
Xue Feibai paused in wiping his mouth and said, "The eighth day of the fifth month."
The eighth day of the fifth lunar month is the day the protagonist donated medicine in the original story.
But his slave, Ah Chou, didn't seem to have any intention of offering medicine to curry favor.
Xie Rong's expression shifted between light and shadow. "All of you, leave. I have something to say to Ah Chou."
“Your Highness, you have just taken your medicine and need to rest. Why bother talking to an insignificant slave?” Xue Feibai paused, then immediately added, “I am only concerned about Your Highness and have no other intentions.”
Xie Rong gave his cousin a strange look.
He's not stupid; he can tell whether someone cares or not.
"Besides concern, what else could it mean?" Xie Rong tilted his head, his eyes clear as water.
“It’s nothing,” Xue Feibai turned his face away and stood up. “Then I will take my leave.”
Xue Feibai hurried away, fleeing as if he had done something wrong.
Xie Rong squinted.
Could it be that his cousin, like these guys, secretly hates him, curses him, and is afraid of being found out?
Xie Rong's face turned cold. He smashed the medicine bowl and said fiercely, "Get out of here, all of you!"
The palace servants dared not linger in the sleeping quarters and filed out one after another.
The Imperial Preceptor, whose eyes were covered by a white cloth, was the last to arrive, coming and going silently, and even closing the palace doors for them.
Neither of the two people inside the hall spoke for a moment.
Lu Yuanju licked his lips.
When he was being given the medicine, the prince's lips were pressed against his, so soft they were almost unbelievable, and he still felt a slight itch.
"What does Your Highness intend to do by keeping me here alone?" Lu Yuanju glanced at Xie Rong, his tone seemingly casual. "Your Highness is not fully recovered from your illness, and there are some things that might not be good for your health if you do them."
Xie Rong glanced at him and said, "I have heard that there is a kind of miraculous medicine in your northern frontier called the Longevity Vine."
Lu Yuanju frowned: "Your Highness, the Longevity Vine is not the legendary panacea."
If such a good medicine truly existed, how could the Imperial Preceptor have failed to predict it, and why would he need so-called pure yang substances to nourish Xie Rong's body?
But in the original story, the villain, who longed to live to be a hundred years old, was easily deceived by the protagonist.
In the northern frontier, the "longevity vine" is merely a medicine used to enhance the spirit of wild horses. However, due to the language barrier between the Central Plains and the northern frontier, this medicine was translated as "longevity vine," leading people to believe it was a life-extending remedy.
On the day Xue's army captured the capital of the Northern Kingdom, they secretly searched for His Highness the Crown Prince, but found nothing.
Later, the villain obtained the Everlasting Vine from the protagonist and thought that the Xue family had secretly kept it from him, which caused a rift between him and his maternal clan.
Lu Yuanju is truly hateful and despicable.
Xie Rong grew increasingly resentful, unable to contain her anger, and slapped the man across the face.
"Go find it if I tell you to." Xie Rong rolled his eyes and chuckled casually. "If I can present the Longevity Vine to my father and secure my position as Crown Prince, he will not mistreat my Ah Chou."
"So it was meant for His Majesty," Xie Rong said, still ill, the slap on his face soft and flirtatious. Lu Yuanju narrowed his eyes, accepting the flirtatious hint, "This servant will do his best."
After leaving Chongming Hall, Lu Yuanju returned to his low house.
His companions from the northern frontier, whom he hadn't seen for many days, all gathered around him.
"Brother Lu, how is His Highness's cold? Has he taken his medicine?"
Lu Yuanju glanced sideways at the seventh brother who had asked the question, "The Crown Prince of the Celestial Empire has caught a cold, why are you in such a hurry?"
The seventh brother coughed lightly: "We're just trying to survive under his thumb. If he's not doing well, neither will we. I'd be overjoyed if he died of illness!"
Lu Yuanju chuckled, neither confirming nor denying, and continued, "His Highness asked me to find something for him."
"What is that?"
Lu Yuanju uttered three words in the northern dialect.
The second son leaned closer and asked, "What does His Highness need this for? Does he think this thing can cure diseases, like the people from the Central Plains on the border?"
"What does that have to do with me?" Lu Yuanju said expressionlessly.
The second son asked eagerly, "You agreed? You really want to find him?"
Lu Yuanju looked at him: "Otherwise?"
"No!" the second prince demanded, raising his voice. "If His Highness were to consume this, it would cause a terrible disaster! Brother Lu, why don't you tell His Highness that there is no elixir of immortality in the Northern Frontier?"
Lu Yuanju recalled what had just happened.
The young prince sat by the couch, his smile enigmatic, the malice in his eyes almost overflowing without him realizing it.
Did Xie Rong really want his father, the emperor, to live to be a hundred years old?
not necessarily.
Lu Yuanju glared at his second brother, whose face was contorted with rage, and narrowed his eyes dangerously: "Why should I say?"
"His Highness treats you better than we treat him!" The second prince blurted out, then suddenly stopped, as everyone stared at him with subtle expressions.
"Second brother, don't forget who gave us this slavery," Lu Yuanju said, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, his eyes fierce. "Why did you have to like him? Why are you so shameless?"
The second son lowered his head and remained silent.
“From this moment on, stop thinking about it,” Lu Yuanju warned before turning around.
The second brother suddenly looked up and, under the horrified gazes of his brothers, roared at Lu Yuanju, "You know perfectly well who is being shameless and who likes His Highness."
Lu Yuanju stopped and turned around.
"Seventh Prince was washing the Crown Prince's clothes, and you said you wouldn't let him suffer this humiliation, but you actually took over and washed them all clean. In the end, His Highness only remembers your contribution," the second prince said, pointing to each of them one by one. "Sixth Prince was supposed to serve His Highness by washing his feet, but you scared him by saying your hands were too rough and he'd have them chopped off if he hurt His Highness. But you weren't afraid of having your hands chopped off, so you took his place and haven't given him back yet!"
"Fifth, fourth, and third princes, whenever it's their turn to deliver hot water for His Highness's bath, you should say that His Highness is in a bad mood today and has lost his temper. If they go now, his life or death is uncertain. So, Brother Lu, you should deliver the hot water for them and only come out of Chongming Palace after His Highness has finished bathing!"
"Brother Lu, you're really doing this for our own good, suffering for us and now you've even started feeding His Highness medicine with your mouth!"
"..." Lu Yuanju subconsciously licked his lips.
The itch reignited.
He looked down at his brother, whom he had known for many years, and a surge of malice rose uncontrollably in his heart.
He did more than just feed medicine to that Crown Prince by mouth.
Lu Yuanju raised his hand, his rough fingertips slowly wiping his lips, only then realizing that this wasn't the night before, and there was no water on his lips from Xie Rong's body.
[Congratulations, host! The protagonist's pain level has increased by 1.]
Xie Rong was recuperating on his bed, feeling drowsy, when he suddenly heard the system's voice.
He opened his eyes, his pale lips pursed, and said unhappily, "I didn't even torture him, so why should he feel pain? Xiao Gaozi, bring Ah Chou to me!"
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