Xie Bufeng suddenly concealed the danger in his words. His gaze fell on the rabbit, and he softly said by Wen Qingci’s ear: “So now, would my beloved subject please keep it company?”
His voice was husky, each word gently striking Wen Qingci’s heart.
——————————
After saying those words, Xie Bufeng left the small courtyard.
It seemed he truly wanted to leave Wen Qingci there to play with the rabbit.
The rain gradually stopped.
The temperature was no longer as cold as before.
Wen Qingci tried to untie the cord, wanting to have someone return the cloak to its owner, but found to his dismay that Xie Bufeng, whether intentionally or not, had tied a dead knot on the cloak.
Finally, he had to abandon this effort and slowly bent down to stroke the rabbit’s forehead.
Wen Qingci’s fingers moved mechanically while his mind had drifted far away. The rabbit dodged his touch, clearly uncomfortable.
Until someone appeared, interrupting Wen Qingci’s thoughts: “Heavens, why are you touching this rabbit?”
The young Imperial physician came over with today’s prepared medicine.
After seeing this scene, his tone became somewhat alarmed: “This is His Majesty’s rabbit. Usually, no one is allowed to touch it.”
After speaking, he hurriedly glanced back several times, ensuring no one was around before finally breathing a sigh of relief: “Fortunately, His Majesty didn’t discover this, or you would be in trouble.”
“…It’s just a rabbit, why can’t people touch it?” Wen Qingci murmured.
Seeing that he still wasn’t moving, the physician became anxious: “This rabbit was left by that person from before. Do you understand now?”
“Don’t be fooled by its appearance as an ordinary white rabbit. In His Majesty’s eyes, it’s worth far more than people,” the physician said quickly. “For more than a year, he has personally cared for it. Only the little princess occasionally comes to play with it.”
Wen Qingci nodded gently.
The young physician standing beside him continued: “His Majesty cares so much for this rabbit that he doesn’t keep it in a cage but allows it to run freely in the small courtyard of the Imperial Medical Bureau. I remember once, this rabbit disappeared somewhere without a trace. His Majesty personally led a team of men and spent two days searching the entire Taishu Palace before finding it in some abandoned hall…”
That incident alarmed thousands of people.
Wen Qingci hadn’t left him with much.
So Xie Bufeng tried even more desperately to preserve every trace of the other’s existence.
For this, Xie Bufeng went without sleep for two full days.
When he found the rabbit, he said nothing, just trembled as he held it in his arms.
He even ate vegetarian food for a month after that and performed a grand sacrifice to heaven and earth.
Hearing this, Wen Qingci wanted to object that Xie Bufeng didn’t believe in spirits and gods.
But then he remembered… Xie Bufeng had indeed once visited the imperial temple in Dengcheng Prefecture, invoking spirits and gods, offering blood sacrifices.
That youth who believed himself despised by spirits and gods had, because of his departure, turned to those deities he previously didn’t believe in as a final lifeline.
“Is it worth it?” Wen Qingci whispered.
The young physician couldn’t imagine anyone not being moved by the emperor’s love.
Wen Qingci’s expression was too strange.
He thought his colleague, being treated as a substitute, had unconsciously fallen into the situation.
He immediately sounded a warning: “Though His Majesty might seem cold daily, his feelings for ‘that person’ are absolutely genuine. Perhaps for him, anything is worth it… even if it’s just to keep a memory.”
“Alright, alright, let’s not talk about this rabbit anymore!” Concerned that Xie Bufeng might suddenly appear and see Wen Qingci still touching the rabbit, he immediately pulled the person beside him into a side room. “Did you notice that His Majesty always wears a woolen wristband?”
Worried Wen Qingci might not understand what he meant, the young physician described in more detail: “It seems stained with blood or something, looking dark red. Over time, it’s become somewhat decayed. But because the wristband was a gift from ‘that person,’ His Majesty always wears it, never taking it off, treasuring it dearly.”
“I’ve seen it.” Wen Qingci’s voice had a hint of difficulty.
Imperial physicians served not only the emperor and his consorts but also the noble officials of Yongdu.
Thus, they were always well-informed about surrounding news.
The young physician lowered his voice, mysteriously whispering in Wen Qingci’s ear: “I later heard from others that besides that wristband, there seems to be a string of medicinal jade that was also a gift from ‘that person.’”
“It’s said that when His Majesty went to the battlefield, he carefully hid the medicinal jade under his wristguard. Unexpectedly, because he treasured that string of jade so much, someone discovered this weakness, attacked him, and shattered the medicinal jade, causing it to fall to the ground.”
This story was heard by the physician from a certain general.
Although it was a retelling, he spoke with animated expressions and exaggerated tones, perfectly imitating the general’s manner.
“That was on the battlefield!” As he continued, the young physician’s voice took on a tone of terror. “He actually jumped down from his horse and searched for that string of jade on the ground. As a result… he was struck in the back by a sword and nearly lost his life.” As he said this, he couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.
Wen Qingci couldn’t help but clench his hand.
After taking an arrow for Xie Bufeng, he had lost consciousness.
It wasn’t until he returned to the valley that Wen Qingci learned Xie Bufeng had gently placed that string of medicinal jade in his coffin…
In the end, his senior brother had brought it back to the Divine Physician Valley.
Wen Qingci didn’t have many ornaments and didn’t know where he should put the medicinal jade.
After some deliberation, he simply placed it in the bottom compartment of the medicine box he carried with him.
“…What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”
Only when the young physician beside him waved his hand in front of his eyes did Wen Qingci come back to his senses, realizing he had been staring blankly.
“Nothing,” Wen Qingci quickly lowered his head to look at the medicine bowl in the food box. “I just think… that woolen wristband is too worn out and no longer befits His Majesty’s status.” He made up an answer.
The young physician half-jokingly said: “That’s true, but unless that person could be resurrected to give him a new one, His Majesty would never replace it.”
Wen Qingci’s fingers paused, and he nodded lightly: “Mm.”
Then he carefully examined the preparation of the medicine while answering the other’s questions about prescriptions.
As if that previous conversation had been just an insignificant interlude.
After confirming there were no issues with the medicine, the physician turned to leave.
Just as he reached the doorway, he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked: “By the way, have you thought about what I mentioned last time?”
“What matter?” Wen Qingci was momentarily confused.
“About teaching us medical skills. Specifically, how to prescribe potent formulas and methods to deal with the plague.” His eyes were full of anticipation.
After a pause of several seconds, Wen Qingci slowly shook his head: “For now… it’s not very appropriate.”
Most medical practices in the current world were passed down from master to disciple.
There was a saying, “Teaching the apprentice starves the master,” and many firmly believed this, preferring to withhold knowledge when teaching apprentices.
But Wen Qingci’s purpose was exactly the opposite of theirs.
If he were to teach, he couldn’t just teach simple cases.
He would have to start from the fundamentals.
But this would inevitably involve “Medical Solutions” and the theoretical system he had previously established.
If he stayed here to teach medicine, it would mean his identity would be exposed to everyone…
“Alright…” Even though separated by the veiled hat, the physician still accurately read the hesitation and conflict in Wen Qingci.
Though somewhat disappointed, since Wen Qingci hadn’t completely rejected the idea, he didn’t say much more: “Alright, if you ever change your mind, be sure to tell me first thing!”
Hearing this, Wen Qingci nodded and said softly: “Of course.”
At the same time, he stood up and quickly stepped forward, intending to see the other off.
However, at this moment, the physician, with one foot already outside the door, suddenly stood frozen, looking at Wen Qingci who had just walked to his diagonal front with extreme shock.
He quickly scanned Wen Qingci up and down.
Finally, he suddenly exclaimed, stammering: “I, you, you… am I seeing things? The clothes you’re wearing?”
He had only thought it strange that Wen Qingci was wearing dark clothing.
Now, stepping outside, he noticed that Wen Qingci’s clothes were excessively large.
Most importantly, apart from the magnolia flower on the front hem,
On the back of the neck was embroidered a dark dragon!
Not only had he not noticed, but Wen Qingci too had failed to discover that such a profound secret was hidden on the back of this garment.
“What?” Wen Qingci was startled by his voice and simultaneously felt inexplicably guilty.
“You… on your body, these clothes, there’s, there’s a dragon?!”
These clothes belong to His Majesty!
Holy crap! His Majesty actually gave clothing embroidered with the dragon pattern for someone else to wear?
The young physician’s brain instantly froze.
Wen Qingci: “…”
Dragon pattern?!
Wen Qingci wanted to explain, but after hearing the words “dragon pattern,” he knew that no matter what he said, he couldn’t explain it clearly.
Faced with such an awkward situation, he could only grit his teeth, pretend as if nothing had happened, turn around, and smile faintly at the other saying: “Yes, it indeed belongs to His Majesty. Is there a problem?”
Under the veiled hat, Wen Qingci’s cheeks suddenly burned hot.
Wen Qingci’s demeanor was excessively casual.
For a moment, the physician didn’t know what to say.
“No, no… it’s fine.”
Even after leaving this place, only one sentence kept repeating in the young physician’s mind—His Majesty had given his own clothes for that physician to wear!
…
That day, after finishing business in the front courtyard and returning to his bedroom, Wen Qingci opened the bottom compartment of his medicine box for the first time in several months.
By lamplight, he gazed at the medicinal jade in the box.
Wen Qingci’s expression remained as before, with all emotions hidden in his jet-black pupils.
But his heart was not as calm as he appeared.
*
Putting aside the matter of the medicinal jade for now.
Wen Qingci noticed that the woolen wristband Xie Bufeng wore had indeed worn down by eighty to ninety percent.
The point where the wool joins could fray and snap at any moment.
After agonizing for a while, he finally asked the young imperial physician who often delivered his medicine to buy the finest wool from outside the palace and deliver it to him.
He then spent an hour, recalling as he worked, braiding a hand-woven bracelet just like the one in his memory.
But when it was finished, Wen Qingci hesitated… Did he really want to give it to Xie Bufeng?
The weather at the turn of summer and autumn is always like this.
One moment it’s raining and the temperature plummets, the next it’s blazing hot again.
A few days later, the temperature rose once more.
People living in Yongdu switched back to their summer clothes.
At dusk, as the sun dipped below the western hills and the clouds glowed like brocade, Xie Bufeng returned to his bedroom to review memorials after finishing his official duties.
As he moved, his wide sleeves slipped down, revealing both his wrist and the bracelet.
Wen Qingci couldn’t help but glance back at Xie Bufeng.
After a few seconds, his gaze landed on the other’s wrist bone.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but the wool bracelet seemed even more fragile than when he’d seen it a few days ago.
…If it suddenly broke, would Xie Bufeng be upset?
Wen Qingci didn’t know that Xie Bufeng had moved his paperwork here just to watch him at all times.
Just as he was sneaking a look at Xie Bufeng, Xie Bufeng suddenly set down his brush and met his gaze with a smile.
Then he stood up and walked over.
The bedroom was so cramped that in the blink of an eye, Xie Bufeng was standing right behind Wen Qingci.
By then, it was too late to turn around.
“Is my beloved minister watching me?”
Though he used the most formal and distant address, the words coming from his lips sounded shockingly intimate.
The crimson sunset slipped in through the window, kissing Wen Qingci’s cheeks and adding a flush of color to his pale skin.
Xie Bufeng’s gaze was greedy, devouring him.
Wen Qingci instinctively looked away, trying to escape his stare.
But after a few seconds, Xie Bufeng slowly reached out and gripped Wen Qingci’s chin.
Wen Qingci reflexively placed his hand on Xie Bufeng’s wrist, trying to push him away.
But Xie Bufeng’s arm was as unyielding as iron.
No matter how hard he pushed, it didn’t budge-enough to make one question reality.
“My beloved minister has something to say to me,” Xie Bufeng said, staring into Wen Qingci’s deep, ink-black eyes.
There was no hint of doubt in his tone, just a faint smile.
As luck would have it, the wool bracelet loosely wrapped around Xie Bufeng’s wrist slid down with his movement, brushing past Wen Qingci’s cheek.
Oh well, just say it.
What’s there to be nervous about? It’s just a simple gift.
Seeing that Xie Bufeng wouldn’t let the matter drop without an answer, Wen Qingci finally gritted his teeth and spoke slowly: “I wanted to say, Your Majesty, the bracelet on your wrist is already badly worn.”
He wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but at those words, Xie Bufeng’s eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously.
“So?” the young emperor in black asked.
Wen Qingci grew a bit nervous and hesitated, then said softly, “So, perhaps Your Majesty shouldn’t wear… it anymore.”
He hadn’t finished his sentence when he saw all the smile vanish from Xie Bufeng’s face.
Wen Qingci spoke slowly, but to Xie Bufeng, his words were like a lingering torture.
Suddenly, Wen Qingci felt a dizzying sense of weightlessness, and the scene before his eyes changed.
By the time he realized what had happened, Xie Bufeng was holding him tightly in his arms.
“Don’t wear it anymore?” Xie Bufeng almost ground out the words. “Are you going to take this back too?”
“A gift, once given, can’t be taken back.”
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Wen Qingci couldn’t help but think of that string of medicinal jade.
At this moment, Xie Bufeng was like a wounded beast-fierce and helpless all at once.
He placed Wen Qingci on the couch, leaned over, bracing himself with his hands, and said hoarsely, “Wen Qingci, how can you be so unreasonable?”
With that, he finally let himself go, biting fiercely at Wen Qingci’s chin.
