Chapter 28 Sachet It was late spring, Zhao Linzhang…
It was already late spring, but Zhao Linzhang was still cold despite being covered with two quilts; the cold was so intense that it felt like ice seeped into his very bones.
Liu Hu brought over the brewed medicine, and Zhao Linzhang was so cold that his jaw was chattering.
"Your Highness, Seventh Brother!" Shen Yunrong called for him to get up and drink his medicine.
Zhao Linzhang, who was still dazed, struggled to sit up when he heard the word "Seventh Brother." The warm medicine was poured down his throat, soothing his cold bones.
"It's still so cold, can I hug you?" Zhao Linzhang's face was flushed red, looking like a helpless, pitiful, and humble child.
"I'll go, I'll go make you a hot water bottle!" Shen Yunrong stammered, refusing. "You're not a child."
“When I was sick before, my mother would hold me!” Zhao Linzhang reached out and grabbed her clothes, murmuring softly, his voice trembling with a plea.
Shen Yunrong looked at the man in surprise. When he fell ill, it was as if his body had been possessed, which was completely different from his usual serious and unsmiling self.
She touched his forehead again; it wasn't so hot anymore.
"Your Highness, you are ill. You'll feel better after taking your medicine and sleeping for a while." She wasn't possessed and was fully conscious, so how could she dare to hug him?
"Just a hug is enough!" Zhao Linzhang looked up, his dark eyes revealing longing.
The child has already been born, and it's just a matter of letting him hold it. Shen Yunrong softened and convinced herself that he was sick now, and it was because of her that he was sick. Holding him wouldn't hurt him.
She sat down gently on the edge of the bed, and before she could prepare herself, she was pulled into a warm embrace.
Zhao Linzhang greedily inhaled the familiar scent emanating from her, his nose brushing against the side of her neck—a scent he could not forget day and night.
Shen Yunrong knew her face was flushed red without even looking in a mirror. She held her breath and could clearly feel the vibration of his chest.
"I really found you!" Often when he woke up, Zhao Linzhang doubted that it was all just a beautiful dream. He had finally found the girl in his dream. Fearing that it was just another dream caused by his obsession, he had to rush back to see her in person.
"Mmm!" The man's choked voice made Shen Yunrong's heart flutter. She looked up and saw that his dark eyes were shining with an unusual light, as if they were filled with starlight.
"Your Highness..."
"Call my name!" Zhao Linzhang rarely revealed his true feelings. He had known since childhood that he was different from his elder brother. No one was behind him, and he could not say or do anything wrong.
He was on edge every day, afraid that he might say or do something wrong, displease the Empress Dowager, or annoy his father.
He was a prince of noble birth, but also an orphan struggling to survive, without the protection of his biological mother.
"Lin..." Shen Yunrong couldn't bring herself to say it. Although they had a daughter and had been intimate, she still felt like a stranger to him.
"People only know the glamour of princes and kings, but they don't know that princes are nothing more than pawns who have no control over their own lives," Zhao Linzhang said with a self-deprecating smile.
He didn't even have anyone to confide in. He had wealth and luxury, but he always woke up alone in the middle of the night, and loneliness would overwhelm him like a tide.
But things are different now; he has her by his side, along with their daughter.
He had always been blessed with gifts throughout his life, but this time it wasn't his elder brother or the Empress Dowager who bestowed them upon him; it was a blessing from heaven that allowed him to meet her.
Shen Yunrong had always thought that someone as noble as him didn't have the worries and troubles of ordinary people, and that his sudden fragility was probably due to illness: "You're sick, just get some sleep and you'll be fine!"
The sick Zhao Linzhang was unusually clingy. He had agreed not to hug her, but he still had to hold her hand. Shen Yunrong coaxed him like she was coaxing a daughter. She didn't know if it was the medicine that worked or if she had coaxed him to sleep.
Looking at his sleeping face, which wasn't as majestic as when he was awake, the slightly upturned corners of his mouth were actually quite cute. Shen Yunrong lightly spat at herself, how could a dignified prince be described as cute?
Zhao Linzhang slept soundly until he woke up to find everything pitch black. He was terrified. Turning his head, he saw Shen Yunrong sitting quietly at the table sewing clothes under the dim light. The woman's eyes and brows were shrouded in a hazy glow.
Zhao Linzhang stared at her blankly, not daring to blink, unable to tell whether it was a dream or reality.
Slowly, his gaze hardened and burned. Shen Yunrong noticed this and looked up in surprise, saying, "Your Highness, you're awake. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
Seeing Zhao Linzhang staring at her like a dazed man without saying a word, Shen Yunrong felt uneasy. She had heard that a fever that got too high could turn a person into a fool.
"Your Highness?"
"It's not a dream, you can talk?" Zhao Linzhang was even more surprised than her. He never dared to speak in dreams like this before, for fear of scaring her in the dream. Naturally, she had never spoken either.
"How could she say something like that?" Shen Yunrong jumped up, dropping the clothes in her hands to the ground.
Zhao Linzhang also got up, and just like in every dream he had in the past, he leaned close to her, pinned her against the wall, and wrapped his arms around her.
Before her was the man's magnified face, and her breath was filled with his cold, medicinal scent. Shen Yunrong, both anxious and frightened, was truly terrified by him. She reached out and touched his face haphazardly, her voice almost crying, "Your Highness, don't scare me!"
Zhao Linzhang, who had been touched, stared wide-eyed in confusion and surprise. He breathed heavily and rubbed the warm face again and again in disbelief. It wasn't a dream.
"I'm not dreaming, I really will wake up and see you!"
Shen Yunrong was stunned when she heard this. She didn't know that she was so important to him. He could see her when he woke up, but he could only dream about her.
"Your Highness, you're not dreaming. I'm here, I've always been here!"
Zhao Linzhang lost control and held the person in his arms. The person was genuinely warm, not the empty, cold feeling one feels upon waking from a dream.
"It would be so nice to see you every morning when I wake up!"
Shen Yunrong understood what he meant, and in an instant, she felt the heat on her cheeks spread to her ears.
"It's good that Your Highness is alright. You've been sleeping for most of the day. I'll go and ask the cook to make you some porridge."
After saying that, she squatted down and crawled out of Zhao Linzhang's arms, not daring to look at him, and afraid that he would see her face, which was as red as a shrimp.
Zhao Linzhang watched her departing figure, then turned around and leaned against the wall where Shen Yunrong had just been leaning, where the warmth of her body still lingered.
He couldn't help but smile; they seemed like the most ordinary couple ever.
Zhao Linzhang, who was originally so strong that he could fight a tiger, lost seventy or eighty percent of his illness after taking a nap.
After drinking another bowl of steaming hot medicinal food, I broke out in a light sweat and felt much more relaxed.
Fearing that the illness might be passed on to the child, Zhao Linzhang specifically instructed that his daughter not be brought over.
Xiao Qiu had to take care of the child, so Shen Yunrong had to take care of Zhao Linzhang herself.
Shen Yunrong looked at Zhao Linzhang as he stood up, assuming he was going to go back late at night again. Unexpectedly, he simply turned around and slumped back onto the bed, saying, "My head still feels a little dizzy!"
Liu Hu peeked in through the doorway, then immediately withdrew.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunrong hurriedly went out to brew the medicine: "There's one dose left, I'll have the cook brew it."
"No need, you should sleep for another night!" Zhao Linzhang got up and took a few steps to pull her, but then remembered that he was dizzy and slowly walked back.
Shen Yunrong then noticed Liu Hu at the door: "Brother Liu!"
Liu Hu forced himself to come in: "Your Highness, the people in the capital are urging us urgently. The foreign envoy will arrive tomorrow!"
Zhao Linzhang sighed softly. His elder brother had promised him that he would be given a half-month leave once the envoy left.
It's good to rush back to Beijing now. Although he was very reluctant, Zhao Linzhang knew what was more important.
While Liu Hu was out preparing the horses, he grabbed Shen Yunrong and rubbed his head against hers, saying, "Wait for me to come back!"
With a tender heart, Shen Yunrong leaned against his strong chest, remaining silent. She wanted to tell herself not to become infatuated, but a voice inside her told her that Zhao Linzhang had no reason to lie to her. Even if he had lied to her, at least he had been sincere these past few days.
"Yes! You need to take good care of yourself too!"
This simple greeting made Zhao Linzhang feel as sweet as if he had eaten honey; this was what it felt like to be cared for.
"Yes, if you need anything, just have Liu Hu tell me. I'll be back in two days at the latest!" Zhao Linzhang was reluctant to let go of Ruan Yu in his arms.
"Your official duties are important. There's a cook and Xiao Qiu here to take care of my mother and Ruoyu, so don't worry." Shen Yunrong dared not linger on that warm chest any longer and opened her body.
Liu Hu wanted to urge him but didn't dare to, so he could only sneak in again.
Shen Yunrong blushed and quickly took two steps back, almost letting others see how close they were. She gave the man, who was still unwilling to leave, a coquettish look: "Go and come back quickly!"
"Alright!" If he hadn't received his brother's decree, he wouldn't have wanted to leave now. His little woman seemed to have stopped disliking him just now. One embrace wasn't enough; he wanted more.
Zhao Linzhang walked to the door, and Shen Yunrong suddenly called out, "Wait a minute!"
He turned around, and Shen Yunrong, with a shy expression, took out a sachet from her bosom: "The one you're wearing is all torn, throw it away. This is a new one I made, and it smells the same!"
When I helped him take off his outer clothes today, a sachet wrapped in a brocade handkerchief fell out. The original color of the sachet was no longer visible, and you could see the fragrance inside, which had little to no scent, through the tear.
Zhao Linzhang blushed with embarrassment. He was used to carrying the sachet with him, and even after finding the owner of the sachet, he would touch it whenever he had free time. He never expected to let her see the sachet that he had been rubbing so much that it was almost loose.
"Alright!" He reached out and took the blue satin sachet, which was embroidered with round, cloud-shaped ingots, and put it into his bosom like a precious jewel.
"I'll throw that away for you!"
Shen Yunrong offered to help him take the old ones to throw away, but Zhao Linzhang clutched his chest and said, "No need, I can do it myself!"
Once he was sure Shen Yunrong wouldn't see it, Zhao Linzhang rewrapped the sachet he had said he was going to throw away. He wanted both the new and the old sachet.
Liu Hu watched as his taciturn master pressed his face against something, revealing a strange yet satisfied smile. He was about to say a few words to Xiao Zheng, wondering if his master's illness had affected his brain, when he turned around and found no one beside him. He was startled, forgetting that Xiao Zheng was supposed to stay and take care of Miss Chen.
I had no choice but to suppress my overwhelming curiosity!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
