Chapter 26: He was jealous of that hand.
Eunuch Li led a thin man dressed as a Taoist priest into the room. Uncle Zhao nodded in response, but still couldn't stop him from going around the screen and into the inner room.
"Oh dear, Miss Qin, why are you still asleep?"
Inside the ornately decorated canopy bed, Qin Song lay motionless with his eyes closed, the bedding piled up beside him obscuring Li Yu's figure.
Eunuch Li and the others stood outside the canopy bed, craning their necks to peer inside. After observing for a few moments without finding any flaws, he reluctantly withdrew his gaze. "Miss Qin, it's no wonder we're in this situation. Her Majesty the Empress has been poisoned by a strange poison, and even the imperial physicians in the palace cannot identify what kind of poison it is. The palace maids have identified it as being administered by Miss Qin's maid, but Miss Qin's maid has yet to be found. We can only ask Miss Qin to come to the palace to take a look."
“Eunuch Li, is there some misunderstanding? How can you be so sure it was done by a maid from the Qin household? Besides, my young lady is still asleep, how can she go to the palace?” Uncle Zhao looked worried, but dared not raise his voice to stop him.
Eunuch Li smiled mysteriously, "Whether or not it can be determined is up to His Majesty to decide."
He then beckoned to the Taoist priest behind him, “As for Miss Qin’s unconsciousness, it is indeed a worry, but the palace is not short of capable people. This is Taoist Master Youyun from Lingyun Temple. He can use acupuncture to revive the emperor. Many emperors in the palace who have been unconscious have been awakened by his acupuncture. Miss Qin has only caught a chill, so she will surely wake up. The imperial heir is of utmost importance, so we can only ask Miss Qin to make do.”
“Father-in-law, my young lady is a woman of noble birth. How can she allow outsiders to approach her? My master is in the palace. If you have any questions, you can ask him. Why are you bothering my young lady?” Uncle Zhao was extremely anxious and tried every reason to stop them.
Eunuch Li flicked his whisk, blocking the agitated Uncle Zhao. "Master Youyun is a monk and would not dishonor Miss Qin. As for Lord Qin..."
He paused, squinted, and looked back at Uncle Zhao: "I left in a hurry and haven't informed Lord Qin yet. I'm afraid he doesn't know I've come to the Qin residence. I'll let him know when I get back."
So his family back home was unaware of this whole affair. If they had known, they certainly wouldn't have remained indifferent.
Zhao Bo felt a lingering fear, but couldn't find a reason to resolve it. He could only watch helplessly as Daoist Youyun took out a long needle from his sleeve and walked step by step toward the bedside.
The footsteps were clearly very light, but to Qin Song, who was pretending to be sick with her eyes closed, they sounded like a thousand horses galloping towards her. Her hands, clasped together on her abdomen, tightened unconsciously, and her breathing became rapid.
What strange poison? It's just a way to force her to undergo surgery.
Li Yu was also sweating bullets, because he had already anticipated the Taoist's methods. Taking advantage of the moment when the Taoist approached, he gently placed one hand on Qin Song's tense hand, moved the other arm through Qin Song's waist and stretched it to the edge of the bed, deliberately revealing a fingertip.
His movements were too big and too sudden! They almost made Qin Song open her eyes. Li Yu gently stroked the back of her hand to help her relax.
"Excuse me, young lady." When Daoist Youyun came to the bedside, he pretended to greet her with a perfunctory greeting, then bent down and pulled out a hand that was peeking out from the gap in the quilt.
A fair, slender hand with prominent knuckles, yet not overbearing, startled the Taoist for a moment. He had touched the hands of countless noblewomen in the palace, but had never seen such a large woman's hand.
But the world is full of wonders. There is a big-footed Empress Ma, so what's so strange about Miss Qin's giant hands? Besides, upon closer inspection, apart from being a bit big, there's nothing wrong with this hand. It's said that Miss Qin was once obsessed with wielding swords and spears, so it's not surprising that she has such a hand.
Of course, even if he still had doubts, he didn't dare to overstep his bounds and lift Qin Song's blankets to find out what was going on. Anyway, he just needed to stick in the needles, and as long as he pretended to be asleep, no one could escape his methods.
He gave a sinister smile, picked up the long needle in his hand, and slowly inserted it into the nail bed of that hand's middle finger...
Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch...
The tiny needle pierced her flesh, and Li Yu felt only excruciating pain surging through her skull. She dared not react to the pricked hand, and could only tense her shoulders and arms, but not allow her hand to tremble even slightly. The hand that had been gently resting on Qin Song's hand suddenly clenched, as if grasping her hand could eliminate the overwhelming pain...
Qin Song's heart suddenly tightened, and the pain made her fingertips tremble slightly.
He pinched her so hard it hurt, but she knew that compared to her slight pain, Li Yu was suffering unimaginable torment!
Qin Song really wanted to get up and kick that old man, but what would happen then? It was one thing for her to be taken into the palace, but she couldn't imagine what terrible consequences Li Yu would face.
She could clearly feel his knees trembling slightly against her thighs, his forehead drenched in sweat against her arm, soaking her sleeves, and the muscles in his arm, which was resting against her back, spasming intermittently. Every tiny movement silently spoke of immense pain.
Every movement he made tugged at her heartstrings.
The smelly Taoist priest by the bed was like a giant demon, reaching out his claws to tear "her" apart; every second was torture.
Qin Song couldn't see his movements, but she could sense the other party's ruthlessness from Li Yu's reaction, which tore at her heart. After a long time, Li Yu's bulging muscles finally relaxed a little.
Qin Song also breathed a sigh of relief. Just when she thought she had finally escaped a disaster, Li Yu suddenly tensed up, her teeth even started to chatter, she bit her clothes tightly, and her hand that was squeezing the back of her hand was about to crush her bones.
Qin Song was terrified of pain; even the pain she felt the first time she went inside brought tears to her eyes. If the needle were to be inserted into her body, she would be writhing in agony. And this excruciating pain was endured by Li Yu through gritted teeth.
Overwhelmed by immense powerlessness, pity, and remorse, Qin Song felt a silent sob echoing in his heart: "Li Yu, Li Yu, Li Yu..."
It felt like a long season had passed, yet also like only a short time had elapsed. The Taoist priest sighed and finally put Li Yu's hand back in its place.
"I'm sorry, Miss Qin, for disturbing your rest."
He straightened up, glanced down at Qin Song's reaction again, but couldn't discern anything, and left empty-handed.
The grip on Qin Song's hand loosened, and the tense body beside him went limp, sinking into the bed. His weak breathing, with little inhalation and much exhalation, clearly revealed his exhaustion after being tormented by excruciating pain.
He weakly tried to pull his hand away from the back of hers, but Qin Song moved slightly and grabbed it, as if holding a soft heart in her palm. At the same time, his breathing became a little heavier...
"Reporting to Eunuch Li, Miss Qin's typhoid fever is severe, and this humble Taoist is powerless to help her." The stinky Taoist priest retreated in front of Eunuch Li and gave a pretentious reply.
Eunuch Li sighed helplessly, "Then go back. Steward Zhao, take good care of your young lady. If you need anything, just send the Imperial Guards outside the mansion. His Majesty said that before Miss Qin wakes up, she is only allowed to enter the Qin mansion and not leave."
The steward, who had been sweating profusely with anxiety, breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced up at the canopy bed before bowing and seeing the old man out.
As they reached the door, Steward Zhao slipped a silver ingot into Eunuch Li's hand and asked politely, "May I ask, Eunuch Li, when will our master be able to leave the palace?"
"That's hard to say. The entire Imperial Medical Academy is stationed at Kunning Palace, and a group of officials are kneeling at the palace gate. Your master and son-in-law won't be back for a while. And with the Qin family in such a mess, it's surprising that Censor Lu of the Censorate hasn't made a move. Isn't this the perfect time... Oh dear, I see, I've been too talkative..."
As the voice of Eunuch Li faded into the distance, Qin Song quickly threw off the covers, jumped up, turned back, and knelt by the bedside. She looked at the man still lying there with worry, and large tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
"Li Yu, are you alright? Li Yu." She was anxious and remorseful, unable to hide her sobs, and hurriedly took his outstretched hand to check him over.
The fine needle pricked each finger, and blood seeped out, turning into a few small red dots. Qin Song cried even louder. She couldn't tell how deep these small holes had penetrated into his skin, but the fact that he was covered in sweat and his pupils looked somewhat vacant was enough to show that the wounds hidden beneath the tiny pores were enough to drive a person to the brink of mental collapse.
Li Yu took a few deep breaths, his gaze shifting from the empty side couch to the anxious, tearful beauty. He had just experienced a churning pain and had almost suffocated because of the quilt, so he was still recovering. Even so, he couldn't bear to see her frowning and weeping.
He turned his gaze to her hands, which he had squeezed until they were red. "I'm sorry, I squeezed you too hard."
Qin Song shook his head vigorously. This fool! What's a little pain to her?!
She cried even harder, took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from his fingertips, and said, "I'm fine, I'm not in pain, I'll go call a doctor for you."
As she was about to get out of bed, the person behind her reluctantly pulled her back.
Qin Song immediately stopped what she was doing, turned around and looked at him, "What's wrong? Do you want some water? Or is there anything else you need? Tell me, and I'll get it for you right away."
The excruciating pain had seemingly drained Li Yu of his senses, but her gentle voice brought him back to his senses. With Qin Song's help, he slowly sat up, staring into her red eyes, his heart almost melting.
But the eunuch Li's shrill voice wouldn't go away—"Your son-in-law won't be back for a while."
Son-in-law?! What right does that guy have?
Seeing her anxious gaze, Li Yu shamelessly took advantage of her distress: "How about breaking off the engagement? Tao Qingyang is not a good man, he is not worthy of you."
His voice was weak and feeble, his lips were still pale from the pain, and the veins on the back of his right hand were bulging out, connecting to his forearm. His fingers were immobile, as if they were a prosthetic arm.
Who wouldn't feel sorry for him seeing him like this? Especially since it was all for her.
Qin Song couldn't stop sobbing: "Now is not the time to mention him. I'll go and call the doctor first."
"Wait." She said, about to leave again, but Li Yu quickly grabbed her.
He swallowed hard, then boldly voiced his long-held desire: "Give me a kiss."
Kiss him? Where? Qin Song was frantic; he was engaged, she couldn't do anything reckless.
After hesitating for a moment, she took his hand.
"sorry."
Qin Song could not forget his spasmodic reaction from the pain just now, and kissed each of his injured fingertips as if atonement.
Li Yu's pupils slowly dilated, and an unprecedented tingling sensation spread from her fingertips throughout her body, causing her body to swell uncontrollably.
But he couldn't care less about anything else; he began to envy that hand, the luckiest thing about him that day.
It may have hurt, but the unprecedented pleasure it felt when it first pressed against her back made it tremble. Then it passed through her waist and is now being kissed by her.
Nothing was luckier than that hand.
But he couldn't resist his greed. He stared at her for a long time, then made a bold move: he slowly lowered his head and licked away her tears...
-----------------------
Author's Note: Is this delicious? [Let me see]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
