During this period of time, he took close care of his master, and occasionally he had some normal reactions, but Xiao Shen forced himself to ignore them.
Having witnessed how his master suffered from illness and became increasingly pale and thin with his own eyes, like a full flower withering silently in his palm, he wished he could hold his master’s hand tightly day and night. How could he have the leisure to think of any romantic things?
But at this moment, his master fell into his arms defenselessly, his soft fingers intertwined with his, and his breath sprayed on his beating heart when he chuckled, it was itching and real. He couldn’t control his emotions for a moment, even his eyes were red, and he called out with sobs, “Master, Master…”
Shen Qingzhuo’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he uttered a soft response from his throat: “En…”
During the days when he was unconscious, he would often hear his little disciple’s voice, calling him again and again, awakening him from the chaos and bringing him back from the gates of hell.
“Master, I love you so much.” Xiao Shen confirmed again and again that this time his master really woke up. He held his tender fingers tightly with emotion and slowly led him into the potion that was steaming with hot water.
After a while, Shen Qingzhuo said, “I feel flustered and a little dizzy…”
With just one sentence, Xiao Shen suddenly woke up from the tight web of love, picked up his master obediently, immersed him in the clean water beside him to wash him, and then carried him back to the bed.
The wide bath towel wrapped around the thin body. After absorbing the remaining water droplets, Shen Qingzhuo slowly put on the silk undergarment.
Xiao Shen also put on his clothes and reached out subconsciously but found that his master was looking at him with half-closed beautiful eyes.
The pair of peach blossom eyes seemed to be drunk, and the teardrop mole under the eyes was dyed red. He looked lazy yet indescribably charming. His heart was beating like thunder, and he quickly explained incoherently, “I just wanted to apply the ointment to Master.”
“I know. I didn’t even say anything to you.” Shen Qingzhuo gathered enough strength, put one hand on the strong forearm, turned over, and said, “Apply the ointment.”
He knew that he had red rashes on his back. Although it was invisible, but except for the initial itching, he never felt that uncomfortable again under the meticulous care of his little disciple.
Xiao Shen took a deep breath and raised his hand to take off his black undergarment.
The slender butterfly bones were clearly prominent. Having not seen the sunlight for a long time, the snow-white back was even more dazzlingly white, and the red rashes scattered on the smooth and creamy skin became more and more conspicuous.
“Does it look ugly?” Shen Qingzhuo lay on the couch, his pointed jaw sunk deeply into the mattress, his voice soft and crisp as he spoke, “I’ve been sick for so long, I must have become ugly…”
“No!” Xiao Shen replied decisively, “Master is still very beautiful, no matter what!”
Shen Qingzhuo smiled, “Apply the ointment, Xiao Qi.”
Xiao Shen took out the ointment developed by Miao Shou, which is said to accelerate the disappearance of red rashes without leaving any scars.
He dipped his middle finger in the ointment and used the temperature of his fingertips to melt the cold ointment before tentatively applying it on the rash.
“Hmm…” Even though his movements were very light, but Shen Qingzhuo still trembled sensitively.
“I’ll be gentle, Master.” Xiao Shen observed his master’s reaction while massaging the rash with his fingertips to promote the absorption of the ointment.
A strange tingling sensation came from the back. Shen Qingzhuo opened his mouth and bit the silk quilt under him, trying his best not to make any strange noise.
At the same time, the person who applied the ointment for him was not having an easy time either.
His master had a slender frame to begin with, and a serious illness had made him even thinner than before. His slender waist was half exposed, hidden in the pile of black silk, and trembled slightly as he applied the ointment. Behind him was—
The hot sweat oozing from his forehead rolled down, and Xiao Shen’s handsome face turned red. He looked away in panic, secretly cursing himself in his heart.
He has clearly taken good care of him during this period, so why did his master look like a lost soul when he woke up?
After applying the ointment with great difficulty, Shen Qingzhuo pulled his undergarment up to his shoulders and glanced sideways at his little disciple, who was sitting beside the bed. His eyes fell on the thin and exposed part, and he couldn’t help but laugh again.
Xiao Shen was reflecting on himself when he realized that his master seemed to be laughing at him. He immediately became angry and suppressed his anger. He said threateningly, “Master?
Shen Qingzhuo knew that he was no match for his young apprentice, so he just smiled and said, “Patient, Master is a patient…”
The person caged him from above, gritted his teeth, and finally fell beside him as if in compromise, raised his hands, and held him in his arms.
“Just torture me, Master.” Xiao Shen sighed with his head against his forehead, “When Master gets better, we will do it slowly…”
Shen Qingzhuo’s heart trembled when he heard his fierce tone, but he still let him hold him in his arms.
He had long been accustomed to it and fell into a deep sleep in this familiar breath.
***
On the third day, Shen Qingzhuo was barely able to get out of bed.
The emperor had been away from the palace for more than a month, and the memorials had piled up like a mountain. Now that his master had woken up, Xiao Shen had to deal with state affairs. But as long as he found a little free time, he would run back to Chengqian Palace to serve his master in person.
In his opinion, those palace attendants were clumsy, how could they satisfy his master?
Shen Qingzhuo finally persuaded the emperor to leave and leaned on the pillow to drink the medicine by himself.
Soon, Kong Shang strode in, his tone unable to conceal his excitement: “My Lord, you are finally awake!”
Xue Shihang followed closely behind him, “My Lord, you are awake.”
“En.” Shen Qingzhuo nodded slightly and asked, “Lord Xue, how is the situation in Suzhou?”
“Everything is going in the right direction.” Xue Shihang replied. “When the subordinate left Suzhou, officials at all levels had arrived one after another, and the epidemic was effectively under control.”
Shen Qingzhuo handed the medicine bowl to Xiao Dezi, took the towel, and wiped the corners of his lips, raised his eyes, and looked at Miao Shou on the side, “Divine Physician, have you found out the ingredients in the incense?”
“I’ve found it.” Miao Shou replied, “The toxin comes from a rare poisonous flower in the Western Regions. Grind the dried petals into powder and add a small amount to make a calming incense. It is extremely difficult to detect at first, but if the incense is burned for a long time, the poison will accumulate in the body.”
Shen Qingzhuo laughed with an ambiguous tone: “The Empress Dowager has gone to great lengths to put me to death.”
It was indeed not accidental that the original owner was physically weak. No matter what the Empress Dowager was planning, it was all in vain now.
Kong Shang’s eyes were slightly gloomy: “The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the minister of the Ministry of Justice have colluded and have been covering up local corruption for many years. Now the Qi family is like a grasshopper after autumn[mfn]It’s used to describe people who have done bad things and are about to be punished.[/mfn], and it will not be able to jump for a few more days.”
Shen Qingzhuo smiled and said, “How much dirty silver was found in Qi Hongjun’s home?”
Xue Shihang replied, “Excluding food and silk, the amount of silver that was confiscated on the surface was 40 million taels, which is equal to the total income of the national treasury last year.”
“Really greedy ah.” Shen Qingzhuo said with a sigh, “After the Qi family is liquidated, the treasury of Dayong will be full.”
Of course, his ambitions go far beyond this.
Kong Shang bowed and said, “Leave all these things to us, My Lord, just rest assured and recuperate.”
Shen Qingzhuo asked Miao Shou again, “Divine Physician, since this poison can make me produce antibodies, can you extract it and make it into anti-plague incense to help the people of Suzhou prevent and treat the plague?”
“It makes sense in theory.” Miao Shou thought for a moment and replied cautiously, “But after all, this poison has been in your body for a long time, and it has cured the disease by coincidence. If I were to use it alone for pharmaceuticals, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to master it for a while.”
“If Divine Physician is willing to try, you can try it on those seriously ill patients.” Shen Qingzhuo sighed quietly, “They are waiting to die anyway, since there is still a glimmer of hope, it’s also worth a try.”
Miao Shou stared at him for a long time and then replied, “My Lord is right, I am willing to give it a try for the people.”
Shen Qingzhuo bowed his head and said, “In this case, Shen will thank the Divine Physician on behalf of the people of Suzhou.”
“Lord Shen is too polite.” Miaoshou bowed in return, “As the saying goes, physicians are like parents. Your kindness is a blessing to the people.”
Xue Shihang secretly glanced at the divine physician. There were rumors outside that this divine physician had a strange temper and was extremely difficult to get along with. At that time, he was really worried for a while.
Now it seems that the divine physician is no exception and has fallen under Lord Shen’s personal charm.
***
At dinner, Shen Qingzhuo drank a few mouthfuls of medicinal porridge but still found it hard to swallow, so he called Xiao Guizi and ordered him to take all the food away.
“Don’t tell His Majesty.” He reminded him, “If His Majesty asks, just say I’ve eaten.”
Xiao Guizi was embarrassed for a while, but looking at Lord Shen’s expression, he couldn’t say no, so he took away the dinner as he said.
Shen Qingzhuo sat against the head of the bed with his eyes closed. He tried to call up the system in his mind, and this time he succeeded.
System: [Coming, coming.]
Shen Qingzhuo: “You’ve finally shown up. Did you know you almost couldn’t see me anymore?”
The system was shocked: [What? What happened?]
Shen Qingzhuo: “Forget it, let’s not talk about that. I want to ask you, have I completed my mission?”
The system was silent for a moment, and the mechanical sound sounded very reluctant: [I guess… yes?]
Shen Qingzhuo: “?”
He patiently asked, “The mission is completed, I can return to my own world, right?”
System: [……]
Shen Qingzhuo was not aware of the system’s abnormality and replied to himself, “What will happen if I don’t go back?”
System: [You originally—]
Shen Qingzhuo: “Can I not go back?”
System: [Of course, you can! You can stay in this world as long as you want!]
The huge pressure that had been weighing on his heart for a long time seemed to disappear in an instant. Shen Qingzhuo heaved a long sigh of relief and seriously said, “Then I won’t go back.”
This serious illness made him realize that he had no ties to that world anyway, so he might as well stay in this world and witness with his own eyes the peace and prosperity of the Dayong, the people living and working in peace and contentment, and create a new prosperous era.
The most important thing is that he wants to accompany Xiao Qi. He can’t leave Xiao Qi to live in this world alone.
No, if he were gone, Xiao Qi wouldn’t live alone.
Thinking of this, Shen Qingzhuo’s heart completely collapsed, and a soft and unfamiliar emotion swelled in his chest.
System: [Great, it’s great that you can figure it out on your own! The stability of this world depends on you!]
Shen Qingzhuo: “You can’t talk—”
“Master?” A deep, magnetic voice sounded, interrupting the conversation in his mind.
Shen Qingzhuo came back to his senses and looked at the young man approaching. His smile was as beautiful as the beautiful red plum blossoms blooming after the spring snow melted. “Xiao Qi.”
Xiao Shen’s steps froze for a moment.
With his sharp intuition, he felt that there seemed to be something different about his master who was in front of him.
Shen Qingzhuo patted his side and said, “Come here.”
“Has Master had dinner?” Xiao Shen walked over quickly and sat down beside the bed.
“Yes.” Shen Qingzhuo lied without blushing, “How about you? Have you eaten?”
“I had some snacks after lunch, so I’m not hungry yet.” Xiao Shen lay down beside his master, looking up at him, “How are you today, Master?”
Shen Qingzhuo lowered his crow feather-like eyelashes and raised his hand to touch his angular jaw. “You’ve lost weight. You’ve worked hard during this period.”
“It’s not hard at all.” Xiao Shen coquettishly rubbed his hand with a smile on his lips, “Master is really skinny. I have to find a way to make you fatter so that it will be more comfortable when I hug Master.”
Shen Qingzhuo laughed: “This is outrageous. Is Master your pillow?”
“How come you are so rebellious again?”
Xiao Shen kicked off his golden boots and grabbed his wrist with his palm. “I haven’t done anything yet, Master.”
Shen Qingzhuo raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a rising tone. “So… what kind of rebellious thing are you planning to do?”
The dark eyes suddenly sank, and Xiao Shen suddenly turned over and pressed on him, instantly reversing their positions, with his strong body supporting himself on top of his master.
He lifted the snow-white wrist in his hand and pressed it firmly on the soft silk quilt. He extended his other hand to touch his cheek, then slid to his red lips, rubbing the soft and moist lip lines. His voice was hoarse: “What should I do, Master? I seem to be hungry again suddenly…”
The author has something to say:
The Wolf Cub: So hungry, so hungry, so hungry…
The Master: Oops, it seems like I’ve brought disaster upon myself?
In the next chapter, let’s have a real feast, hehehe…
