Don't go over there?
His precious little dumpling was so close, yet he was being told not to go near it?
How could he possibly tolerate this?
The Ninth Prince's eyes darkened: "Do you know what you're saying?"
"Yao'er knows." Yuan Yao's eyes were dark and bright through the rain and mist: "Father, in the past, you always told Yao'er to be obedient. Today, will you listen to Yao'er this once?"
Father, please wait a little longer. If Yao'er shows no symptoms after three days, Yao'er will come to you on her own..."
Three days?
He couldn't wait a moment longer!
The Ninth Prince strode over with his long legs.
"Father!" A look of panic flashed across Yuan Yao's face.
The Ninth Prince was heartbroken to see this.
He strode up to Yuan Yao, his cool fingertips lightly touching her face as he raised his hand: "Father is late."
"Father..."
Yuan Yao's heart was filled with words, but they were all swallowed back.
It’s over…
She thought.
I only pray that Heaven will protect her and the Ninth Prince so that they may safely pass through this calamity...
Inside the awning, Danqing started boiling water.
Because it was too simple, there was no screen, so they could only draw a curtain for the Emperor to bathe and change clothes...
While he was taking a bath, Yuan Yao sat obediently by the awning.
Danqing pulled the cloak over her shoulders: "Princess, are you cold?"
Yuan Yao shook her head.
At that moment, Po Yue appeared out of nowhere.
Yuan Yao looked up at him: "Are you... alright?"
Po Yue coldly replied, "I have thick skin."
That's what he said, but his voice really sounded a bit off...
Yuan Yao said guiltily, "I'm sorry, I made you get beaten up for no reason..."
Po Yue replied, "I lost a tooth, so it's a bit drafty."
Yuan Yao felt even more guilty as she listened.
She hesitated for a moment, then said to Poyue, "When we get back to the capital, I'll find someone to get you a gold tooth."
Gold teeth?
Po Yue: "..."
He imagined himself with a shiny gold false tooth in his mouth.
"Farewell!"
With a "whoosh," Po Yue disappeared without a trace.
As soon as he left, Canfeng returned with an umbrella.
In Canfeng's arms, he was holding a pile of medicine and carrying an enormous ceramic jar.
He placed the umbrella outside the awning, used his internal energy to dry the moisture off his body by the door, and then came in: "I brought the medicine back."
"Give it to me."
Danqing cleaned the medicine pot, added water, put the medicine in, and placed it on the stove.
Once removed from the fire, the mutton soup stops boiling.
Yuan Yao asked from behind the curtain, "Father, are you ready?"
"Um."
After a rustling sound of fabric, the curtain was lifted.
The Ninth Prince was unusually dressed in a black, floor-length brocade robe, his slightly damp long hair draped over his shoulders.
Having just taken a shower and having not slept all night, he looked listless.
Danqing ladled out a bowl of hot soup and handed it over, saying, "Your Majesty, this will help you warm up."
The Ninth Prince took the bowl, glanced at it lightly, raised his long, fair neck, and drank the entire bowl of hot soup.
After drinking the soup, he beckoned to Yuan Yao: "Little Yao, come here."
"Father..."
Yuan Yao walked to his side, her eyes red.
"Silly dumpling." The Ninth Prince bent down and picked her up: "Didn't you say that home is where I am?"
"Now that I'm here, why were you stopped?"
Yuan Yao buried her head in his chest: "Yao'er is scared."
Fear?
The Ninth Prince chuckled softly: "As I see it, you are clearly fearless."
He waited for a long time on the deserted island.
Just as the water level continued to rise and he was about to abandon the trapped civilians and imperial guards, the rescuers appeared.
Canfeng arrived on the opposite bank with over a hundred men, carrying boats, ropes, and other tools.
On the island formed by the flood, all the trapped civilians and imperial guards were rescued.
As soon as he left the island, he rushed off to find his little dumpling...
The Ninth Prince patted Yuan Yao on the back: "If it weren't for you, all two hundred-plus people who were trapped would have been swallowed up by the flood today."
Fortunately, you were clever enough to help me and save many lives.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Yao looked up, her eyes red, and said, "I only saved other people's lives as a side benefit. I can only care about Father."
"Father, please don't make Yao'er worry like this again, okay?"
"Alright." The Ninth Prince's lips curled up.
Yuan Yao's eyes shone brightly: "You have to keep your word!"
“Alright,” the Ninth Prince replied.
Yuan Yao finally felt relieved.
Looking at the Ninth Prince's slightly damp hair, she said with heartache, "Father, let me dry your hair."
Only after Tuanzi said that did the Ninth Prince realize that his hair was still wet.
He pinched Yuan Yao's chubby little face: "I'll do it myself."
In the end, the Nine Thousand Years Old used his internal energy to dry his hair.
Outside the awning, the rain intensified again.
After the black medicinal liquid simmered for a few rounds in the earthenware pot on the stove, Danqing poured the medicine out.
The Ninth Prince calmly instructed, "Each of you should drink some."
Danqing paused for a moment, then curtsied and said, "Yes."
A row of bowls was laid out on the table.
The dark brown medicinal liquid was steaming in the bowl.
Inside the awning, guards appeared one after another.
Each person picked up a bowl of medicine from the table, drank it, and disappeared...
The Ninth Prince held a bowl of medicine; the dark liquid made his skin appear even whiter.
He gently blew on the medicine until it was no longer too hot, then said to Yuan Yao, "Good girl, drink your medicine."
Smelling the strong, bitter smell of medicine, Yuan Yao wrinkled her nose: "Father, Yao'er already drank it this morning..."
The Ninth Prince said softly, "Drink another bowl, and your father will feed you."
The little dumpling found it hard to refuse when coaxed by her beautiful father to take her medicine.
After finishing the bowl of medicine, Yuan Yao was so bitter that she couldn't even open her eyes.
The Ninth Prince picked up another bowl of medicine, tilted his head back, and drank it all.
After finishing the medicine, he smiled slightly and said, "This medicine isn't as bitter as I imagined."
It would be strange if it weren't bitter!
Yuan Yao muttered, "It's clearly very bitter."
The Ninth Prince affectionately pinched her little nose: "If Yao'er says it's bitter, then let it be bitter."
The wide sleeves swayed, and a piece of dried apricot lay in the palm of the Ninth Prince.
Yuan Yao asked in surprise, "Father, where did you get this?"
It's like a magic trick!
The Ninth Prince picked up a dried apricot and fed it to Yuan Yao: "This was conjured up by me."
She almost believed it!
These dried apricots have soft, thick flesh and a sweet and sour taste that quickly dispels the smell of Chinese medicine.
It's a little too sour; it would be even better if it were sweeter.
After taking the medicine, I felt a little tired not long after.
Yuan Yao nestled in the arms of the Ninth Prince, gazing at the rain outside: "Father, can we leave the Huai River before the Empress Dowager's mourning period ends?"
The voice of the Ninth Prince came from above: "Yes."
“Mm!” Yuan Yao nodded.
The Ninth Prince glanced down at her and said, "Little dumpling, why don't you lie down with your father for a while?"
"Okay." Yuan Yao was so sleepy that her eyelids could barely stay open.
The Ninth Prince whispered a few words of advice to Danqing, then took Yuanyao in his arms and lay down on the simple wooden bed.
The torrential rain pounded against the awning, creating a particularly soothing atmosphere.
Yuan Yao slept for a long time.
I was feeling groggy, and my forehead felt a little hot.
She raised her hand, intending to knock the thing down.
A large, warm, dry hand grasped her, and the voice was somewhat cold: "Be good, don't move."
Yuan Yao opened her eyes, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.
She blinked, and before her eyes, the Ninth Prince, draped in a red cloak, multiplied into one, two, three…
"Father..."
Yuan Yao was alarmed to find that her throat was sore and her voice was so hoarse that it was almost inaudible.
She managed to ask with difficulty, "What... happened to me?"
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