Chapter 47 Unexpected Injury: One tasted the sweetness, the other endured it...
Chu Yueyuan's carriage was badly damaged, and she couldn't find suitable carriages or horses along the way, so she made do with sharing a carriage with Pei Muwei during the day.
The interior space of the carriage is cramped, unlike in the past when we were in the Chuigong Hall, where we could create two separate study areas so that we wouldn't disturb each other.
Chu Yueyuan and the man shared the same space, so they were practically inseparable.
After a while, Chu Yueyuan finally couldn't help but gently remind him, "Pei Qing is a skilled warrior, and his riding skills must be superb. It must be uncomfortable for him to be cooped up in the carriage all day. Why not ride with Commander Lin and the others? You can chat and laugh together, which will show that Pei Qing is courteous to scholars."
Pei Muwei held the official gazette in his hand. Because the young empress dowager occupied more than half of the space in the carriage, the original huanghuali flat couch, which was big enough to lie down on, was replaced with a zitan wood low couch.
He leaned back against the wall, one leg slightly bent, wearing a light blue, narrow-sleeved brocade robe, his hair tied up with a dragon-shaped crown. Beneath the hem of the robe, black boots neatly accentuated the straight lines of his calves, his posture slightly languid, yet possessing a unique charm and elegance.
Hearing the implication in the woman's words, he didn't raise his eyebrows, and said in a calm tone: "My waist was injured in Beiting. The imperial physician said that I need to rest for a year and should not ride a horse for long periods of time."
He paused, slightly raised his long eyes, looked at the young empress dowager who was peeling grapes, and said, "Of course, if Your Majesty finds me an eyesore, I may go out and ride a horse."
Chu Yueyuan dared not allow the trusted ministers who had been wounded for the Great Qi to suffer further old wounds.
With a smile, she handed over the freshly peeled grapes and said softly, "Pei Qing, you're overthinking it. I had no such intention. I'm the one who's usurped your place, so how could I possibly kick you out? Pei Qing, are you tired of reading? Would you like to try some grapes?"
Pei Muwei's gaze lingered on the woman's fair face for a few moments before settling on the grapes held between her slender fingers. He neither agreed nor refused.
"Your humble servant has not yet washed his hands."
With the benevolent intention of seeing things through to the end, Chu Yueyuan suppressed the urge to throw the grapes at the sycophant's face. She took a few deep breaths and smiled, "If you don't mind, Pei Qing, I'll serve you some."
"Your Highness has condescended to honor me; I am deeply humbled."
The man's thin lips parted slightly, and the grapes, imbued with the woman's fragrance, burst forth with an exceptionally sweet taste between his teeth.
At noon, the westbound convoy passing through the canyon made a brief stop at the foot of the mountain. Jin Tong prepared the medicine, carefully carried the bowl of medicine, and opened the car door.
"Your Highness, it's time to take your medicine."
The midday sun slanted through the diamond-shaped window panes, and a man and a woman sat facing each other on a low couch made of rosewood with intertwined branches. The woman was feeding the man a crystal-clear grape, and the man turned his head to gaze at her. The warm spring sun softened the hard lines of his face, and even his eyes became exceptionally tender.
Jin Tong was slightly stunned by the harmonious scene of the handsome man and beautiful woman in front of her, and the words "a match made in heaven" couldn't help but pop into her mind.
Chu Yueyuan turned her head and saw Jin Tong carrying a bowl of thick, dark medicinal soup. She couldn't help but frown. She shook her head repeatedly, "My illness is already cured, why do I need to drink medicine? No, no..."
As she spoke, she covered her nose and turned around, her supple waist swaying like a water snake.
Pei Muwei shifted his gaze from the woman's waist and said calmly, "Put the medicine down."
Jin Tong put down the medicine bowl and got out of the car.
Chu Yueyuan used to be very persuasive when coaxing Xiao Yun to take his medicine, but when it came to herself, she would try to avoid it. However, since the Regent was always by her side when she took her medicine, she couldn't refuse. Faced with the soup that Jin Tong brought her, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and drink it.
She drank it for five or six days in a row, and it was so bitter that she dreamed every night that she was eating a banquet of bitter melon.
Today, she made up her mind to refuse to take Coptis chinensis soup.
Pei Muwei picked up the jade bowl, stirred the steaming medicine, and turned to look at the Empress Dowager, whose back was ramrod straight: "Empress Dowager, drink the medicine while it's hot, otherwise it will taste even more bitter when it cools down."
The woman remained unmoved, her tone firm: "It's not that I'm afraid of suffering... but that I'm already fully recovered and no longer need to take medicine."
Finally, she asked in return, "What, does Minister Pei not believe what I say?"
"Your Majesty, I trust you. Since Your Highness has fully recovered, it means that Imperial Physician Huang was incompetent. There is no point in keeping such a quack doctor who does not care about Your Highness."
Pei Muwei coldly gave the order: "Lin Mu..."
"Wait a moment!"
Chu Yueyuan turned around abruptly and pulled the innocent old Taoist priest Huanglian out from under the Regent's guillotine.
"Cough cough... Although you have recovered, drinking another bowl of herbal soup to consolidate your body will not do any harm. Imperial Physician Huang was anxious and added a little more Coptis chinensis to the soup, but there was nothing wrong with that. Minister Pei, there is no need to blame him."
"Your Highness is kind and magnanimous; it was my oversight that led me astray."
Seeing the Regent bow his head and admit his mistake, which was rare for him, Chu Yueyuan felt embarrassed to continue to throw a tantrum. She frowned and stared at the dark medicine, thinking that she should drink a couple of mouthfuls to get through it. So she reached out to take the medicine bowl.
The man holding the bowl stepped back half an inch, his tone calm: "Your Highness just served me, so I should reciprocate by serving Your Highness your medicine."
While the argument sounds reasonable, upon closer examination it seems incorrect.
Chu Yueyuan was not swayed by his words. She slightly widened her dark eyes and suppressed her anger, saying, "Pei Qing, this is not repaying kindness with enmity."
Pei Muwei chuckled softly, scooped up a spoonful of medicine, and brought it to her lips: "Whatever Your Highness says, then it is."
The man treated her like a child, which made Chu Yueyuan feel increasingly frustrated. She could only clench her fists under her sleeves and reluctantly open her red lips.
The old Taoist priest Huanglian was too ruthless; the taste of that spoonful of medicine was more bitter than her life.
Pei Muwei handed over the prepared candied fruit, and Chu Yueyuan hurriedly bit into it, suppressing the sour and bitter taste in her mouth.
The sweet and sour candied fruit was like a refreshing rain after a long drought, easing the bitterness spreading on her tongue. She ate quickly, and her moist pink tongue inadvertently brushed against the other person's fingertips.
One tasted the sweetness, while the other resisted the urge to taste it.
As he watched the young empress dowager's lips gradually become full and red from being soaked in candied fruit, and her pink tongue as nimble as a swimming fish, Pei Muwei's eyes darkened slightly, and he swallowed hard.
Before they knew it, the bowl of herbal soup was finally empty.
Chu Yueyuan rinsed her mouth with tea, silently wiped it clean, and her gaze inadvertently fell on the agate grapes on the jade plate. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck her, and then she looked at the regent who had sat back on the couch to review the official gazette.
She hesitated for a moment, but finally couldn't help asking, "Did you calculate the exact time I would take my medicine and deliberately have me feed you grapes so that you could find an excuse to trick me into taking my medicine?"
Pei Muwei slightly lifted his long eyes, his dark pupils reflecting the woman's flushed face. He neither admitted nor denied it, his thin lips curving slightly as he spoke leisurely: "Whatever Your Highness thinks it is, then it is."
Chu Yueyuan's chest heaved as she was tricked twice by Pei Zei, and the crystal hairpin hanging from her hair swayed gently without any wind.
"I'm going outside for some fresh air."
With feigned nonchalance, Chu Yueyuan uttered a single sentence, then stepped off the carriage, half-angry and half-suppressed by bitterness.
The midday sun was scorching, and she used a round fan to shield her eyes and brows as she walked quickly, kicking the pebbles on the road as if they were Pei Zei's face.
Not far away, there is a sparkling stream, like an emerald ribbon winding through the mountains.
Chu Yueyuan squatted down on the shore. Without turning around, she knew that the guards sent by the Regent to protect her were behind her.
She picked up a few pebbles and threw them into the stream. The splashing water quickly spread in all directions, and the clear water gradually became murky.
"You told me not to mess with you, so why did you mess with me in the first place!"
Chu Yueyuan murmured softly, staring at the murky stream, her heart also rippling with emotion.
If she is a fox demon who has cultivated for a thousand years, then the Regent is a powerful demon slayer. If the two of them are together, either she will destroy his cultivation, or he will take her life.
She was a little demon who valued her life and did not want to provoke the powerful demon slayer. She thought that by helping the demon slayer defeat the evil wolf spirit in the chaotic world on this journey to the west, she could retire and live in seclusion in the mountains.
Unfortunately, halfway through their journey, the demon slayer took a liking to the demon core within her body, intending to consume it to increase his magical power.
What should she do?
Chu Yueyuan shook her fan vigorously, but the hot wind made her even more agitated, so she reached into the cool stream.
Is Your Highness slacking off?
A man's cheerful voice came from behind her. Chu Yueyuan turned her head and saw Meng Xun grinning at her, revealing his white teeth.
"It's too hot in the carriage, so I'm going to the stream to get some fresh air. Why are you all alone? Where is Lord Shen?"
Meng Xun's smile vanished quickly, and his tone became resentful: "Why does Your Highness always care about Shen Zizhan's whereabouts? Don't you care about this humble official?"
Chu Yueyuan lightly fanned herself and rolled her eyes at him: "General Meng, aren't you standing right in front of me?"
Meng Xun, just like a cheeky little dog, squatted down next to Chu Yueyuan, his tall body shielding her from the scorching sun.
"Then Your Highness may also inquire about my recent condition, such as whether I have been eating well these past few days, whether I have been sleeping well, and whether I have dreamed of Your Highness?"
His eyes were bright and sparkling, and he had a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, looking completely nonchalant.
Chu Yueyuan's chaotic thoughts were somewhat calmed by his unreasonable nagging. She picked up her fan and tapped his head, saying seriously:
"Don't be disrespectful to me. Now that you've become a general, you should have the composure of one. Commander Lin is steady in his work and is highly regarded by the Regent. You should learn from him. Be careful when you speak to me in the future, lest you say something wrong when you return to the capital and be impeached by the censors."
Her well-intentioned words took on a different meaning in Meng Xun's ears. He spat out the foxtail grass in his mouth and stared intently at her:
"Isn't Your Highness afraid of being impeached by the remonstrating officials if you leave the palace with him?"
Chu Yueyuan was startled, wondering if Meng Xun had recognized the man who accompanied her out of the palace on the night of the Lantern Festival as the Regent.
Just as he was wondering how to explain, he saw Lin Mu clench his fists and say angrily, "I noticed it long ago. Throughout the journey west, he has been sidling up to Your Highness as if no one else is around, and he even asks Your Highness's maids for information every day! Lin Mu... is shameless for getting close to Your Highness by taking advantage of his position as the commander of the inner guards!"
Chu Yueyuan: ....
Not far away, under the shade of a tree, Lin Mu, who was chatting and laughing with Jin Tong, suddenly sneezed.
"What's wrong? Did you catch a cold?"
Jin Tong looked at him with concern and reached out to touch Lin Mu's forehead: "There are still cotton-padded coats in the trucks at the back of the convoy. Why don't I take one off and make you a jacket so you won't catch a cold while keeping watch at night?"
Lin Mu sneezed again, rubbed his nose, and said nonchalantly, "How could that be? Even if there's a bit of a breeze at night, it's nothing compared to the snowstorm in Beiting!"
"Oh, then never mind..."
Seeing Jin Tong shyly turn away, Lin Mu quickly reacted, grinning from ear to ear, and immediately said, "It's cold! This weather in Cizhou is awful. The sun is scorching during the day, but it's freezing cold at night. I'm so sorry to trouble you, Miss Jin... Oh, please don't embroider at night, or you'll strain your eyes..."
Let's return to the story of the clueless Meng Xun and the unhappy Chu Yueyuan.
Chu Yueyuan was stunned for a few moments, her dark eyes widening, feeling both angry and amused: "What nonsense are you spouting again! The person who accompanied me out of the palace that night on the Lantern Festival was not Commander Lin."
"Who is he? Has he coerced Your Highness? If Your Highness has been threatened by this man, I will certainly kill him with my own hands!"
Faced with Meng Xun's incessant questioning, Chu Yueyuan opened her red lips, but swallowed the name that was about to come out.
Given Meng Xun's impulsive personality, if he knew the truth, he would surely cause a huge uproar.
Her eyes gradually reddened, as if they were filled with water, and she choked out, "So, in General Meng's heart, I am just a fickle woman."
Meng Xun couldn't stand her like this and panicked immediately. He stammered, "It was just my wild imagination and nonsense. No, Your Highness, don't be sad. Why don't you give me a good beating to vent your anger?"
Chu Yueyuan turned her head away and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with her fan: "Who wants to hit you? You're hard and smelly like a rock. Hitting you would only hurt my hand."
"Then...then I'll go to the stream and catch a fish for Your Highness as an apology!" Without another word, Meng Xun jumped into the stream.
Chu Yueyuan didn't want Meng Xun to still be as naive as he was when he was young, someone who would foolishly believe everything she tried to manipulate.
A wave of guilt washed over her, and she quickly stood up, calling out urgently, "Come out quickly, I'm not angry anymore."
The stream wasn't deep, barely reaching Meng Xun's narrow waist. Seeing Chu Yueyuan's concerned expression, he refused to leave the water, saying he would catch her a big fish to grill and eat that night.
A tall tree, adorned like jade, with ten thousand green silk threads hanging down.
The man used his long fingers to lift a drooping, emerald-green willow branch, watching expressionlessly as men and women frolicked by the stream.
Hearing the young empress dowager anxiously calling out to General Meng, a dark look flashed across Pei Muwei's eyes. He wondered if he had ever been as foolish as Meng Xun, who had so easily fooled the woman with her tearful calls of "Pei Qing."
Has it ever happened?
Meng Xun was a good swimmer, and after several attempts, he actually managed to find something in the river.
He clenched his large, fan-like hands together, walked up to Chu Yueyuan with a fawning expression, and said with a smile, "Your Highness, look what I caught."
"There really are fish in this stream?" Chu Yueyuan curiously examined the thing wriggling in Meng Xun's palm and looked down.
Meng Xun suddenly opened his palm, and a dark green toad covered in slick bumps suddenly appeared in front of Chu Yueyuan.
"Quack quack!"
"ah!"
She was terrified, screamed, took two steps back, and fell into the grass.
First, she was tricked by the Regent in the carriage. When she finally got out to get some fresh air, Meng Xun scared her with a toad. Chu Yueyuan angrily grabbed a handful of grass and threw it at Meng Xun without saying a word.
"You damn grasshopper! You know I've been terrified of snakes and toads since I was a kid, yet you still try to scare me with this ugly thing!"
Grasshopper was Meng Xun's childhood nickname. Chu Yueyuan was furious and didn't care whether he was General Meng or Marshal Meng. She called him by his nickname as if they were playing around.
Meng Xun quickly dropped the toad, reached out to pull her up, and repeatedly apologized: "This humble official knows his mistake! This humble official only saw that Your Highness was unhappy and wanted to cheer you up..."
In the willow grove, Pei Muwei gazed at his childhood sweethearts laughing and playing not far away, calling each other by their nicknames. His eyes were deep and dark, and his thin lips were almost pressed into a line.
Back in the palace, the young empress dowager always wore a smile that was three parts genuine and seven parts fake. This unrestrained and vibrant demeanor was now revealed in front of another man.
Pei Muwei couldn't help but wonder if everything she did in front of him was just pretense.
But ironically, he fell for her feigned affection.
Just now, after Meng Xun's prank, Chu Yueyuan threw the fan into the grass. The grass by the stream was lush and green, and the fan was made of light blue satin, so it was difficult to spot with the naked eye.
To atone for his mistake, Meng Xun rolled up his wet trousers and helped her search through the grass, comforting her, "When we arrive in Xixia Kingdom in a few days, I will buy ten fans to give to Your Highness."
Chu Yueyuan was still a little reluctant to part with it. She often used this round fan. The handle was made of warm white jade, and it felt cool to the touch in the summer, comfortable and not sweaty.
She ignored the grinning Meng Xun, lowered her head and searched patiently. She reached out and pushed aside the weeds at her feet, her fingers suddenly touching something cold.
She thought she had touched the white jade handle, so she grabbed it, but the handle seemed to come alive and quickly wrapped around her forearm.
Chu Yueyuan looked down and felt a chill run down her spine. A green snake with emerald scales, yellow eyes, and a triangular head was coiled around her forearm and flicking its tongue at her.
They were poised to launch an attack.
"Meng Xun..."
Chu Yueyuan said in a trembling voice, trying to slow her tone so as not to anger the green snake that was only a foot away from her.
When Meng Xun heard the woman's voice sounded strange, he turned around and panicked: "Big Goose, you...you don't move! This snake looks weird, it might be poisonous. I...I'll try to get it off you."
Chu Yueyuan dared not nod, remaining stiff in her posture.
Meng Xun had been raiding bird nests and snake burrows since childhood, and he knew dozens of ways to deal with snakes. However, when he saw his beloved woman being entangled by a snake, all his methods were useless. He was so anxious that he scratched his head and sweated profusely.
"You just caught a toad. Snakes love to eat toads. You... catch another one and try."
Yes, geese are definitely smarter!
Meng Xun hurriedly caught the toad that had been thrown into the puddles and waved it in front of the green snake.
This trick worked. The green snake, which had been hissing and flicking its tongue at Chu Yueyuan, gradually turned its head and slowly reached towards the toad in Meng Xun's hand while shaking its head.
Just as the two breathed a sigh of relief, the guard responsible for watching over Chu Yueyuan walked towards them, puzzled, and called out loudly:
"Your Majesty, it is getting late. Please mount your horse, Your Highness!"
The sudden commotion caused the green snake coiled around Chu Yueyuan's arm to abruptly retract its head. Meng Xun immediately seized the snake's head at its vital spot with his bare hands.
But it was too late; the green snake pounced on her like lightning.
Chu Yueyuan felt a sharp pain on her shoulder, and the green snake that was wrapped around her forearm disappeared.
She slumped to the ground, as if she could feel the venom rushing through her bloodstream to her heart. Her heart beat faster and faster, and soon she felt dizzy and her limbs were ice cold.
She heard Meng Xun anxiously saying something to someone.
"Your Highness, the goose... Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has been bitten by a bamboo viper!"
The man's cold voice rang out above her head, carrying an undeniable determination: "Send men to surround the bushes and find the snake that bit the Empress Dowager."
In a daze, Chu Yueyuan felt her body lighten, and she was held firmly in his arms. The familiar sandalwood scent lingered around her nose, mixed with his cool aura, which gradually calmed her violent heartbeat.
Meng Xun clasped his hands and said, "Your subordinate obeys!"
The most urgent task at hand is to find the green snake that bit Chu Yueyuan so that we can determine whether the snake is venomous.
Pei Muwei carried the little Empress Dowager and strode toward the carriage, while ordering Imperial Physician Huang to prepare an antidote.
Chu Yueyuan sat in the carriage, her thoughts still caught in the shocking events of just now, feeling as if she were in a fog.
Pei Muwei frowned slightly, leaned forward, and asked in a deep voice, "Is Your Highness feeling unwell?"
She truthfully replied, "My heart is racing, and my head is spinning..."
Pei Muwei's heart sank suddenly. Without further hesitation, he reached out and tore open her clothes.
Chu Yueyuan was startled by the man's reckless behavior. She quickly raised her hand to block him and rebuked him in a trembling voice, "What...what are you going to do?"
Pei Muwei grabbed the woman's wrist with one hand and used the other to tear open her clothes, quickly removing her black gold embroidered shirt.
With a cold expression, he said succinctly, "Find the wound and drain the poisonous blood."
Chu Yueyuan immediately stopped struggling, letting the other person's deep gaze fall on her exposed skin.
As the weather has recently turned warmer, the woman wore only a white magnolia embroidered bodice under her black embroidered cloud-patterned shirt. The small bodice was only slightly larger than a man's palm, and two thin straps extended from her jade-like neck, tightly binding her ample bosom.
Her breathing quickened with fear, her chest heaving, and the embroidered flowers on her blouse seemed to come alive, trembling slightly in the sudden wind and rain.
Pei Muwei's eyes held no lust. His dark gaze swept over the woman's flawless white skin, and he soon spotted two small bloody holes on her shoulder.
When you press your long finger against the wound, the blood that comes out seems to be a bit darker in color than normal blood.
His eyes darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "The wound is too close to the heart meridian. We can't wait for Imperial Physician Huang to prepare the antidote. We need to expel the poisonous blood now."
Chu Yueyuan was completely stunned at this moment, and she nodded blankly.
Then, she saw the man suddenly lean down and place his thin lips on the wound.
"Waaah..."
Chu Yueyuan trembled at the heat that came from her shoulder, and soft moans escaped her lips before she could close them.
She immediately bit her lip, not wanting to make that embarrassing sound anymore.
Below her gaze was the constantly swaying dragon-shaped jade crown, and the man's handsome profile. His eyes, which were always as cold as a deep pool, now revealed panic and anxiety. His large hands gripped her waist tightly, so tightly that it hurt her.
Chu Yueyuan had never seen him like this before. In her memory, the man was always calm, composed, and strategic, as if nothing in the world could move him.
At this moment, however, he showed such a nervous expression for her.
Could it be... that she's going to die?
She hadn't even figured out who Xiao Yun's biological father was, how could she die so mysteriously? If she died, what would happen to Granny Xu and Jin Tong? Would the Regent choose another concubine from the harem to be Xiao Yun's biological mother, just like he chose her in the first place?
If she dies, will Xiao Yun's secret about his background be buried? Or will it be discovered one day?
Should she take advantage of her remaining breath to confess the truth to the man and beg him to spare the lives of Xiao Yun, Granny Xu, Jin Tong, and the palace servants of Fengqi Palace?
Chu Yueyuan pondered for a while, but found that she felt no discomfort in her body.
Perhaps because the man had sucked out the poisonous blood, the dizziness in her head gradually disappeared, and the numbness in her limbs returned to her sense of touch. She could even clearly feel the tingling pain from the man's lips and teeth biting her skin, and his hot breath penetrating her extremely sensitive neck.
She couldn't afford to think about anything else at that moment, because she needed to concentrate so that she wouldn't push away the man who was helping her detox time and time again.
The whole process was agonizing and torturous, causing Chu Yueyuan to break out in a light sweat.
Pei Muwei spat out a mouthful of poisonous blood and looked up to examine the woman's face.
The young empress dowager stared at him with her bright, dark eyes, her face glistening with a thin layer of sweat, and her cheeks flushed an unnatural red, like a water lily emerging from the water, white with a hint of pink, beautiful yet with a touch of alluring charm.
"How does Your Highness feel now?"
"Hmm... I feel much better."
Pei Muwei observed her pupils again, and the tense expression on his face eased somewhat: "To ensure everything is alright, Your Highness, I will expel some more poisonous blood."
Chu Yueyuan blinked, her tone reluctant: "Pei Qing...do you want to come again?"
Pei Muwei stared at the woman's fair and rounded shoulders, his thick brows furrowing: "The color of the blood flowing from Your Highness's wound is wrong."
Chu Yueyuan followed his gaze to her shoulder, noticing the dark red blood seeping from the wound. Feeling uneasy, she gritted her teeth and said, "Then... I'll trouble you, Pei Qing, to suck it in a couple more times..."
If it weren't for the life-or-death situation, Chu Yueyuan would have found her words laughable, as if she were a delicious dish begging the man in front of her to eat a few more bites.
Pei Muwei reached out and put his arm around the woman's waist, then leaned down again.
Even though she was somewhat prepared this time, when those hot, thin lips landed on her skin, it still made her heart tremble, and she couldn't help but reach out and grab the fabric of the man's shoulder.
As if sensing her nervousness and unease, the man tightened his arms around her waist slightly, and his nose inadvertently brushed against her collarbone, leaving his scent unabashedly.
Chu Yueyuan turned her head away, closed her eyes, and her thick eyelashes trembled slightly. She silently counted how many times she had expelled the poisonous blood, in order to distract herself from the palpitations that came with each skin-to-skin contact.
Three...four...five...Just as she was about to count to ten, a muffled knocking sound suddenly came from outside the car window.
"Your Highness, General Meng has captured the snake that bit the Empress Dowager. After examination by Imperial Physician Huang, the snake is confirmed to be non-venomous!"
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