At night, Ji Yujin told Chu Fengqing that he was going to the border.
Chu Fengqing asked in confusion, “Why do you suddenly want to go to the border?”
Ji Yujin: “There is a case over there. I have to go there and take a look in person to feel at ease.”
He didn’t want to tell Chu Fengqing about Chu Feng for the time being. After all, Chu Feng was already dead in the eyes of everyone. If he could be found, everyone would be happy, but if he couldn’t be found… that would only add to the sadness.
Chu Fengqing frowned. “Is it dangerous?”
Ji Yujin helped him take off the jade crown on his head. His black hair fell all over his shoulders. He shook his head and said, “There shouldn’t be any danger this time.”
In fact, in addition to Chu Feng, he did have another very important matter to attend to. He knew long ago that the position of the Governor of Xichang would not last long, so he started planning since he climbed to this position.
Now it seems that the old emperor no longer needs him as a chess piece. However, the retreat he had been secretly preparing for many years still had a most critical link that had not been opened. Only after it was opened would they be able to attack or defend, and they would not be without any initiative at all.
Ji Yujin originally wanted to take Chu Fengqing with him. He also wants to watch the desolate desert smoke on the border with him, but perhaps because Chu Fengqing’s illness was too deep into his bones, he became cautious and did not dare to make any bold moves.
Ji Yujin took off his crown as well. His hair was the same as himself, it felt much harder than Chu Fengqing’s. If Chu Fengqing’s coldness made him look like an immortal, then Ji Yujin, with his hair loose, had an evil aura, like a demon that had just escaped from the abyss, not knowing how to restrain himself at all.
Ji Yujin: “You go back to the capital first. I have already arranged everything along the way. There is nothing else to do anyway. Just go slowly and don’t rush.”
Chu Fengqing nodded. “When are you leaving?”
Ji Yujin: “I’m not in a hurry. I’ll start after you leave.”
As he spoke, he played with his hair. He noticed a small red spot on the back of his neck. He frowned slightly and touched it with his hand. “Why is there a rash here? Has the rash on your back from last time healed?”
Chu Fengqing clenched his hands tightly, pretending to be calm. “I got pricked by a needle on my clothes this morning.”
He had not yet told Ji Yujin about his health, and his master also had not told him about it at his request. It was not that he did not want to tell him, but he did not know how to tell him for the time being. The most ideal situation was that he could change the medicine prescription quietly, and then his health would improve, and he would return to everyone safely and healthily.
But this is just the most ideal one.
“Needle? Why is there a needle on the clothes?” Ji Yujin’s thoughts were instantly distracted.
Chu Fengqing: “……” He didn’t know either and hadn’t made it up yet.
“I pinned the silver needle on it and forgot to take it off.”
Ji Yujin knew that Chu Fengqing liked to pin silver needles on his clothes. He almost fell for it before. After he said this, Ji Yujin no longer suspected anything.
“Don’t put needles on clothes anymore. It’s bad if you prick yourself.” He started nagging again.
Chu Fengqing turned around and looked out the window. The full moon was hanging high in the sky. He pursed his lips and smiled, “Ji Yujin.”
Ji Yujin: “En?”
Chu Fengqing: “Three months, let’s agree on a time.”
Ji Yujin’s fox eyes slightly raised, and he said with a teasing smile, “Do you miss me this much?”
Chu Fengqing nodded. “En, you must return to the capital in three months.”
This time it was Ji Yujin’s turn to be stunned. Sometimes Chu Fengqing was so straightforward that he found it difficult to respond. However, since his lover had asked for it, what else could he do but agree?
He leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, then smiled, “Well, if everything goes well, it won’t even take two months.”
He hugged Chu Fengqing and sat on the small couch next to him. “Unhappy?”
He always seemed to be able to notice Chu Fengqing’s abnormality at first glance.
Chu Fengqing shook his head and looked at the sky. Ji Yujin felt that his eyes were a little empty, as if he didn’t know where he was looking. There were too many emotions in his eyes, but at that time he just thought it was sadness of separation.
Ji Yujin held his hands tightly, but for some reason, he suddenly felt like he couldn’t hold him anymore.
Chu Fengqing turned to look at him, tapped his frowning brows with his hand, smoothed them, and said slowly, “I’m not unhappy, it’s just that I haven’t seen my parents for a long time, and I don’t know how they are doing.”
Ji Yujin: “Someone is taking care of them, don’t worry.”
The moonlight shone on the two of them, and Ji Yujin suddenly had an idea: “Qing’er, tell me, thousands of years later, will the moon still remember that there was a pair of lovers sitting under it and talking by candlelight at night?”
Chu Fengqing raised his eyes and looked at the same place as him. “As long as we remember it.”
The breeze blew slowly, and the two people’s voices were very soft. The moonlight fell, frozen in eternity.
……
It was half a month later that Chu Fengqing arrived in the capital. They traveled by water, which was much faster than by land.
As soon as he returned to the capital, the emperor summoned him, rewarded him with a lot of gold and silver, and wanted to formally promote him to the fifth rank and enter the Imperial Medical Bureau.
However, he refused the reward, as he had no intention of doing so. In the past, he might have entered the Imperial Medical, but after these experiences, he had given up the idea of entering officialdom.
Seeing that he insisted, the emperor stopped forcing him. He seemed very listless and went back to his bedchamber after staying for a while.
The old emperor’s complexion was really ugly, and it didn’t look fake. He had heard some rumors a few days after returning to the capital. The emperor now kept a Daoist priest. It was rumored that the Daoist priest seemed to be able to make an elixir of immortality, and taking it would make one immortal.
From ancient times to the present, emperors have sought immortality, but immortality is hard to come by, and those who are too obsessed with it may lose their lives. He raised his eyes and glanced at the emperor, his eyebrows twitched slightly, and he felt a little uneasy.
After the emperor left, all the ministers dispersed.
After Chu Fengqing came out of the main hall, he ran into Zhao Yiyu.
His impression of Zhao Yiyu was just average, but unfortunately, Zhao Yiyu’s status was too high, so Chu Fengqing had to step forward and pay his respects.
Zhao Yiyu nodded at him and tried to help him up. His tone was very warm. “I heard that you were infected with the plague this time. Are you alright?”
Chu Fengqing took a step back calmly, avoiding his support, and said, “Thank the Second Prince for your concern. The humble physician is fine.”
Zhao Yiyu noticed his distance, and his expression turned a little ugly, but it was only for a moment, and he quickly returned to his flawless appearance. “I’m glad you’re fine. These days, Gu1I, used by the crown prince. was worried about Fengqing all the time, and it was really hard.”
His expression and tone were so gentle and intimate that if they didn’t know better, they would think the two of them were just paying each other amicably.
Chu Fengqing frowned, feeling a little uncomfortable. “The humble physician doesn’t deserve it.”
Fortunately, Zhao Yiyu did not insist too much. He just said a few words and left. However, Chu Fengqing kept his head down the whole time and did not notice his intriguing look.
Li Yu came to find him just after he returned to the Chu Residence from the palace.
“Brother Chu.”
“Long time no see ah!” Li Yu came up to him with a baby face, his almond eyes sparkling and very pleasing. “Where’s Ji Yujin?”
“Is he still on the way? Is he a few days behind you?” He seemed to be in a very good mood, shaking his head. “Ah! You guys are finally back, I can finally report!”
He let out a cry, as if he would ascend to heaven in the next moment.
Chu Fengqing coughed lightly. How should he tell Li Yu that Ji Yujin had gone to the border again?
He felt a little reluctant and could only respond hesitantly.
Fortunately, Li Yu’s thoughts were out of this world, but he soon changed the subject, “Brother Chu, you are amazing. I heard that you cured the plague! Can you tell me the story of that place?”
He frowned and revealed two small fangs. “I wanted to go with you at first. Although I’m a bit useless, but I can still help out. However, my father locked me up. He said that I was the only child in the Li family and asked me to stay quiet and not cause him to have no descendants. After some thought, I also think that it makes sense.”
Chu Fengqing listened to his complaints, pursed his lips, and smiled. He took a package from the room and handed it to him. “Ji Yujin bought it, he asked me to give it to you.”
Li Yu was stunned. Dog Ji even remembered to buy him gifts. He suddenly felt a little touched. What should he do? He blinked, he couldn’t cry!
When he opened the package, his expression froze instantly. It was full of women’s clothes and hairpins.
Chu Fengqing slowly added, “He said that you are not young anymore, it’s time to find a wife.”
In fact, Ji Yujin added another sentence, “Stop bothering my wife all day long”, which was automatically ignored by Chu Fengqing.
Li Yu: “……”
Sh*t! He knew it! Even though he was thousands of miles away, he still didn’t forget to mock him! All the emotion he felt just now was eaten by a dog! Dog Ji!!
Perhaps he was irritated. Li Yu walked away cursing while holding the bag. There were many things under the bag that Ji Yujin had picked out for him on the street. He hoped that he would not throw them away in one go.
The days go on like this, one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a month passed and Ji Yujin still hadn’t returned. He only sent some letters occasionally. His address seemed to change frequently, sometimes in this city and sometimes in another.
Ji Yujin took nothing with him when he went to the frontier except his collection of stories. He said he wanted to write down the interesting things that happened at the frontier and continue the collection.
Chu Fengqing stroked the roughly carved jade pendant with his fingers. It was said to be a divine beast that reported safety and health, but it didn’t seem to be protecting him.
Chu Fengqing had been vomiting blood for several days in a row. He checked his own pulse and found that his situation was not good. If his situation continues to develop, he might have to change the medicine prescription in advance.
He kept it a secret from everyone, not even his parents. Sometimes when Mother Chu saw that he looked unhappy, she would ask him about it, but he would always come up with various excuses to evade the question. This was all due to the fact that he had been a sickly child since he was young, and the occasional minor illnesses and disasters were considered normal by everyone.
It’s not that he didn’t want to tell everyone about this, but he felt that waiting for death to come was more terrifying than death itself. He would just bear it alone and didn’t want to involve others and cause them a lot of sadness.
Li Yu would come to the Chu Residence every few days. When he came today, Chu Fengqing was sitting in the garden basking in the sun. The sun was shining warmly, and after a while he felt a little tired and closed his eyes for a while.
Li Yu looked at the person in the garden. His whole body seemed to be coated with a layer of light, and his skin was white and transparent. He looks extremely like a beautiful painting just by sitting there—very beautiful, but it seemed to lack a bit of public feeling.
Chu Fengqing heard the noise and slowly opened his eyes, a hint of tiredness still lingering in his clear pupils.
Li Yu sat next to him, looked at his thin wrist, pursed his lips, and said, “Brother Chu, you should eat more. I always feel like even a gust of wind can blow you away.”
He is the same as the one in the palace. He has summoned the imperial physicians to treat him every day in the past few days.
For a time, people were in panic, but before everyone could spend a few days in fear and worry or even have time to prepare, the fear had already come true.
On March 18th, the emperor passed away, and the whole country was in mourning.
On March 19th, the imperial edict was read out and King Taikang, Zhao Yiyu, succeeded to the throne.
