BLPSG Chapter 88.2

Seeing Xie Bufeng pretending to be confused while clearly understanding the situation, with his weak reasoning but strong attitude.

 

Wen Qingci simply decided to act as if nothing had happened, giving up completely.

 

What was there to fear about being roommates?

 

“Very well,” Wen Qingci forced a smile at Xie Bufeng, “Your Majesty, please make yourself at home.”

 

After speaking, he immediately slipped behind the folding screen.

 

Thus, he didn’t see that as his words fell, a faint smile involuntarily appeared on Xie Bufeng’s lips.

 

The carriage during the day hadn’t been fast at all.

 

But after being on the road for several days, although Wen Qingci felt uneasy, it didn’t take long for him to fall into dreamland.

 

Xie Bufeng, who had just rested well, was exactly the opposite.

 

The wooden window was slightly open in the summer night, with cool breeze blowing in through the gap.

 

It made the faint bitter fragrance in the room extremely light and subtle.

 

Wen Qingci had always been quiet when sleeping, not making the slightest sound.

 

Even after the fatigue of travel, once sound asleep, he remained so still that even his breathing was barely perceptible.

 

Now the bitter fragrance was diluted by the breeze.

 

Without cicadas on this summer night, the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

 

Just like those hundreds of nights before.

 

Xie Bufeng’s heart suddenly grew anxious…

 

Was Wen Qingci really beside him?

 

Just thinking about this question made his heart pound heavily, as if it would burst through his chest the next moment.

 

He had just seen Wen Qingci during the day, even held him in his arms.

 

But at this moment, Xie Bufeng couldn’t help but doubt—perhaps everything that happened during the day was just a dream.

 

Wen Qingci hadn’t returned to Yongdu.

 

Or perhaps after hearing those words from him, he had left this place.

 

The person on the bed slowly opened his eyes.

 

Those amber eyes looked particularly cold.

 

Xie Bufeng slowed his movements, held his breath, and got up to approach the folding screen.

 

…Moonlight passed through the window, falling through the gaps in the bed curtains onto Wen Qingci’s face.

 

It illuminated his skin to an almost transparent paleness.

 

Only after confirming that this wasn’t a dream did Xie Bufeng’s heart gradually settle back down…

 

——————————

 

By now, the Imperial Medical Bureau had already been relocated elsewhere.

 

For nearly a year, Xie Bufeng had been handling official business here.

 

Therefore, in the several halls front and back, there were no more medicinal herbs, and the equipment for decocting medicine had also been moved away.

 

The next morning, Wen Qingci finalized the first prescription and immediately sent someone to deliver it to the current Imperial Medical Bureau.

 

Two hours later, a physician brought the prepared herbal medicine here.

 

By coincidence, the person delivering the medicine turned out to be someone Wen Qingci knew.

 

He was the one who had told him about Xie Bufeng and that “old acquaintance” in Lianhe.

 

Seeing Wen Qingci, his eyes instantly widened.

 

The young physician took the medicinal soup from the wooden box, placed it on the table, and then couldn’t help glancing back at the attendants outside, lowering his voice to ask: “…How did you enter the palace?”

 

When he saw the prescription earlier, he had already grown suspicious.

 

The same potent formula and risky prescription—it looked exactly like the work of his colleague from Songxiu Prefecture.

 

And now, seeing the familiar figure and veiled hat of the person before him, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

 

But finally, he could only ask indirectly: “You… you know the inspector’s identity now, right?”

 

As herbal medicine decoction was complex, Wen Qingci was picking up the medicine bowl to examine its color, confirming the effectiveness of the decoction as they spoke.

 

Hearing this, his movements paused: “I know.”

 

Wen Qingci could only answer this way.

 

Then he immediately changed the subject: “Today’s medicine isn’t fully decocted in some aspects. Tomorrow it can be boiled for an additional time of a cup of tea. Thank you for your trouble.”

 

“Alright, alright, I’ve noted it down!”

 

Unexpectedly, after saying this, the other person still didn’t rush to leave.

 

The young physician asked softly: “Then you should know now who the ‘deceased wife’ I mentioned that day was, right?”

 

The story of Xie Bufeng and “Imperial Physician Wen Qingci” had already spread throughout the streets and alleys of the Wei Dynasty.

 

If he claimed not to know, probably no one would believe him.

 

With no choice, Wen Qingci could only deflect: “…If I remember correctly, the person you mentioned seems to be a man?”

 

He silently wanted to correct the other’s use of the term “deceased wife.”

 

But the young physician clearly misunderstood his meaning.

 

“Yes, yes,” he looked up at Wen Qingci and said mysteriously, “You both know medical arts, have similar builds, and your temperaments also seem somewhat alike.”

 

Seeing that Wen Qingci had finally come to Taishu Palace, he took a deep breath and spoke the words he hadn’t finished that day: “To be honest, I believe His Majesty must have seen his shadow in you.”

 

His tone was dramatically fluctuating as he said this, just short of directly stating that Xie Bufeng viewed Wen Qingci as a substitute for himself.

 

“His Majesty’s feelings for that physician were profound beyond compare,” the young physician reminded, concerned that Wen Qingci might get too deeply involved. “You must always remember this.”

 

Wen Qingci: “…”

 

How was he supposed to respond to that?

 

Seeing that Wen Qingci remained silent, the physician grew anxious: “I’m not joking!”

 

“After people heard that His Majesty’s beloved was a man, some young masters in Yongdu tried to approach him. Not only did they fail, but they nearly lost their lives and implicated their entire families… His Majesty’s heart already belongs to someone. No matter how specially he treats you, it’s all because of that physician.”

 

After speaking, he asked earnestly once more: “Have you remembered this?”

 

With the veiled hat obscuring his view, the young physician couldn’t see that Wen Qingci’s expression had already changed with his words.

 

Worried that the other would continue rattling on, Wen Qingci could only grit his teeth and say: “…I’ve remembered.”

 

“Good, good, that’s fine then!” The young physician finally breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll return to the Imperial Medical Bureau now. Tomorrow I’ll prepare the medicine according to your requirements.”

 

With that, he left almost as if escaping.

 

The freshly prepared medicine was still scalding hot.

 

Heat penetrated through the porcelain, stabbing at Wen Qingci’s fingertips.

 

Only when his fingertips had turned red from the heat did Wen Qingci, as if awakening from a dream, gently set down the medicine bowl.

 

Even now, the tips of his ears were still faintly red.

 

*

 

After Xie Bufeng returned to the palace, Xie Guanzhi, who had been exhausted for many days, finally eagerly returned the memorials to him.

 

Although he was still ill, Xie Bufeng still had to handle numerous state affairs daily.

 

From what Wen Qingci understood, Xie Bufeng had previously been busy with these matters in the side hall of the Imperial Medical Bureau.

 

But after his return, His Majesty the Emperor had also moved all his work to the bedroom.

 

The action seemed entirely natural.

 

The decocted medicinal soup was still cooling on the table.

 

A faint bitter scent danced like a silk ribbon through the room.

 

Wen Qingci sat at the desk reading medical books, while Xie Bufeng was by the bed, reviewing memorials.

 

Just then, Wen Qingci’s ears caught a suppressed light cough.

 

His writing paused, and he couldn’t help turning to look toward the bed.

 

Xie Bufeng’s hand had somehow tightly gripped the fabric at his chest, his brows furrowed, appearing as if the poison was taking effect.

 

Although he wanted to say that Xie Bufeng had brought this upon himself, seeing his expression, Wen Qingci’s heart couldn’t help but be alarmed.

 

He quickly stepped forward and picked up the medicine bowl.

 

“Your Majesty, the medicine has cooled. It’s best to take it as soon as possible.”

 

As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to realize something and turned back to look at his medicine box.

 

If he remembered correctly, he should still have some honey.

 

Although Wen Qingci had never taken medicine himself,

 

He knew that the herbs he had prescribed were unbearably bitter and difficult to swallow.

 

“Please wait a moment, Your Majesty. This medicine is quite bitter. I’ll go get something.”

 

After speaking, Wen Qingci was about to turn around to get the sugar from his medicine box.

 

But before he could move, Xie Bufeng suddenly reached out and firmly grasped Wen Qingci’s wrist.

 

Xie Bufeng, currently experiencing the effects of the poison, had a slightly elevated body temperature.

 

The moment his fingers touched Wen Qingci’s wrist, Wen Qingci’s hand trembled lightly as if burned.

 

The medicinal soup in the porcelain bowl rippled gently in response.

 

“No need,” Xie Bufeng said calmly.

 

As his words fell, he directly gripped Wen Qingci’s wrist and drained the medicine from the porcelain bowl in one gulp.

 

From beginning to end, he didn’t even furrow his brows, as if he couldn’t detect the taste at all.

 

A few seconds passed.

 

Wen Qingci applied slight force, attempting to withdraw his wrist from Xie Bufeng’s hand: “Please let go, Your Majesty. I need to put the bowl on the table.”

 

Xie Bufeng didn’t speak. He took the bowl with his other hand and placed it on the small table by the bed, which was piled with memorials.

 

“What happened to your palm?” he suddenly asked with a serious expression.

 

Palm?

 

Wen Qingci was stunned for a moment and followed Xie Bufeng’s gaze to look at his palm.

 

Not just his fingertips, but even the entire tiger’s mouth area of his originally fair skin had been burned red.

 

“…Perhaps the medicine bowl was quite hot. I didn’t pay attention when I was holding it earlier.”

 

Wen Qingci’s voice had become somewhat hoarse for unknown reasons.

 

Xie Bufeng didn’t speak, and it wasn’t clear if he had heard the explanation.

 

He just suddenly lowered his head.

 

Then gently placed a kiss on Wen Qingci’s reddened fingertips.

 

His movement was extremely careful.

 

It even carried a sense of reverence…

 

The faint airflow from his breathing entwined around Wen Qingci’s fingertips.

 

This was a kiss devoid of any lewd implications.

 

But it made Wen Qingci’s body tremble slightly.

 

—As if a weak electric current had passed from his fingertips, traveling along his nerves to his entire body.

 

Long hair fell with Xie Bufeng’s movements, hiding his cold eyes.

 

After kissing each of Wen Qingci’s ten fingers, Xie Bufeng finally slowly released his wrist.

 

But before Wen Qingci could breathe a sigh of relief and step back to the desk, he saw Xie Bufeng’s face suddenly turn pale.

 

Along with this, his brows furrowed even more tightly.

 

The strong medicine Wen Qingci had used was inherently somewhat toxic, as all medicines are.

 

Shortly after taking the medicine, Xie Bufeng’s heart began to ache once more.

 

“Your Majesty, how do you feel?” Recalling this side effect, Wen Qingci paused and immediately said, “I’ll find you some pain-relieving medicine.”

 

 

Xie Bufeng previously had no sense of pain, and Wen Qingci wasn’t certain whether the pain he now felt was the same as what ordinary people experienced.

 

He was also somewhat unsure if Xie Bufeng had grown accustomed to a world with pain.

 

“No need, it’s not serious.”

 

The deep voice sounded by Wen Qingci’s ear.

 

Seeing Xie Bufeng still being stubborn, Wen Qingci’s tone also cooled: “So Your Majesty truly isn’t afraid of poison. In that case, I won’t need to hold back with the next dose of medicine.”

 

Concerned about severe adverse reactions, Wen Qingci’s first dose had actually been a “milder modified version.”

 

But seeing Xie Bufeng like this now… perhaps he should give him a real taste of suffering.

 

“Qingci, are you angry?”

 

Before he could react, Xie Bufeng suddenly rose and gently embraced Wen Qingci.

 

Though ill, Xie Bufeng still effortlessly rendered Wen Qingci immobile.

 

His slightly curled long hair brushed past Wen Qingci’s cheek.

 

Creating another sensation of tickling.

 

“I wouldn’t dare, Your Majesty.” Wen Qingci placed his hands on Xie Bufeng’s arms, attempting to push him away.

 

But his strength obviously couldn’t compare to that of the man behind him who was more than a head taller.

 

Wen Qingci’s tone was somewhat stiff.

 

No one at court had ever dared speak to Xie Bufeng this way.

 

But hearing Wen Qingci’s words, Xie Bufeng instead laughed softly.

 

There had been a downpour not long ago.

 

The cicadas in the trees had also fallen silent with that rain.

 

The room was completely quiet.

 

All Wen Qingci could hear was Xie Bufeng’s slightly bitter breathing.

 

After an unknown period of silence, Xie Bufeng finally slowly turned sideways and whispered in Wen Qingci’s ear: “I’m sorry.”

 

Finally, Wen Qingci belatedly realized that Xie Bufeng’s arms were trembling slightly from pain.

 

Xie Bufeng slowly reduced his strength, embracing Wen Qingci from behind.

 

Then he whispered in his ear: “Don’t leave. Let me hold you for a while, alright?”

 

His words carried extreme caution.

 

After speaking, he slowly closed his eyes.

 

Wen Qingci’s hand, pressed against Xie Bufeng’s arm in an attempt to push him away, paused and finally slowly relaxed.

 

In Xie Bufeng’s heart, the antidote wasn’t the bowl of medicine he had just consumed.

 

It was the person in his arms.

 

His nose slowly brushed against Wen Qingci’s neck.

 

He took the silence as consent.

 

Xie Bufeng finally indulged in deeply inhaling that bitter fragrance that fascinated him.

 

---