Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 18
The night gradually darkened, and rustling snowflakes drifted outside, causing the temperature to drop again and again.
Lu Yan got on his horse, clamped the horse’s belly tightly and rode away.
The boy looking after the stables bowed and asked Yang Zong, “Isn’t there a curfew outside? Why is the Heir Apparent going out at this time?”
Yang Zong sighed and said: “The Heir Apparent is busy with official duties and has no other choice.”
****
The cold wind howled and penetrated into his sleeves. By the time he arrived at Chengyuan, Chang’an City had already responded to the saying – The drums on the six streets rest, there are no pedestrians walking on Sixth Street, and there is a moon in the vast sky on the Nine Roads 1(This sentence comes from “Ten Poems on Colorful Clothes” by Wang Jian, a poet from the Tang Dynasty.The meaning is that when the drums on the street stop and the pedestrians have disappeared, only Jiuqu (Qu: street) is empty and only the moonlight shines. ).
Pieces of snowflakes were piled on top of each other on the bluestone road. Lu Yan’s steps were quick, making a “creaking” sound as he walked over the ground.
At this time, Mo Yue was sweeping the snow with a bamboo broom. Seeing Lu Yan coming, she quickly straightened up and said, “I have seen the Heir Apparent.”
Lu Yan handed the medicine to Mo Yue and said, ” Boil it over warm heat as soon as possible.” He then strode into the Lanyue Pavilion.
The candlelight swayed gently inside the house while snowflakes were flying freely outside.
He pushed open the door to the inner room, and what he saw was Shen Zhen curled up on the bed. Such a petite and slender figure was indeed extremely pitiful.
He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward to reach for her.
Lu Yan tucked her loose hair behind her ears one by one and looked at her with the help of the candlelight. Her forehead was covered in weak sweat, her face had turned pale, but her body was scorching hot.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she was saying something, but unfortunately she was too hoarse and too low, so Lu Yan had no choice but to lower his head.
“Cold.”
She whispered softly.
Lu Yan looked around and found that there were already four charcoal pots burning in the room. Even if two more were added, she would still be cold.
He lowered his eyes and stared at her, caressing her little face with his thumb.
The sickly Shen Zhen is like a delicate midget crabapple2
, unable to withstand the wind or rain.
Lu Yan covered her with a quilt, and then said to Tang Yue who was standing by, “Has she been burning so badly all this time?”
“Not yesterday, Miss Shen only said she was dizzy and wanted to sleep. But when the slave served dinner, she was already delirious .” At this moment, she had fainted from the fever.
Lu Yan lowered his head and calculated that it had been burning for a day and a night and it couldn’t be held up any longer.
“Go get a basin of hot water.” Lu Yan said.
Hearing this, Tang Yue looked up at the critically ill Shen Zhen, thought of something and hurriedly said: “Yes.”
The sky was very foggy tonight, and when you looked outside through the window, the moonlight was hazy, just like some hidden emotions.
A moment later, Tang Yue came back with a basin of water. She soaked the handkerchief and said to Lu Yan, “Heir Apparent let this slave do it.”
Lu Yan stood up and made room for her.
Tang Yue opened the quilt and used her hands to untie Shen Zhen’s clothes. After taking off the middle layer, only a plain white bellyband3(an undergarment covering the chest and abdomen) was left.
Tangyue couldn’t help but take a breath as she was greeted by a refreshing fragrance. She had served quite a few people, but she had never served such a heavenly beauty.
Her body is so white, it is not an exaggeration to say that it’s just deceiving frost and competing with snow.
Tang Yue carefully touched her arm with the hot handkerchief. The temperature was comfortable and Shen Zhen couldn’t help but groan.
As soon as the sweet voice came out, the corners of Lu Yan’s lips instantly fell flat. He originally thought that Shen Zhen was only like this to him, but he didn’t expect that she was like this to everyone.
The next picture that followed couldn’t help but be a little fragrant. Tang Yue wiped her body bit by bit, starting from her feet and working from bottom to top. Since her body was still hot, her skin was a little redder than usual.
Wherever it touches, she couldn’t help but make some noise.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Standing on the side, Lu Yan’s eyes darkened and his body stiffened, emitting a hot and dry sensation.
He licked the corners of his mouth and sneered.
Great, really Great.
When she has her eyes open, she is purer than anyone else and the water droplets rippling in her eyes are like clear springs in the mountains. But when she closes her eyes, she is not her anymore. Where is this coquettishness that cannot be found in the daytime hidden?
Here Tang Yue was about to untie Shen Zhen’s bellyband, his Adam’s apple twitched slightly and the veins on his arms bulged faintly. As if he couldn’t bear it anymore, he said in a hoarse voice: “Get out.”
Tang Yue was stunned and quickly put the handkerchief into the hot water again, bowed and stepped back.
When she went out, she blew in the cold wind for a while before she calmed down. For the first time in her life, she actually felt that a woman’s body was so soul-stirring and mesmerizing.
Lu Yan sat next to her, twisted the handkerchief in the water, and then carefully wiped every place on her that he didn’t want anyone else to touch.
Perhaps because the force was a bit heavy, Shen Zhen groaned again in resistance.
Later, he even felt that his palms were hotter and hotter than the handkerchief in his hands.
When his rationality still prevailed, he dressed her and covered her with a quilt, and the medicine outside was also decocted by then.
He used one hand to support her neck, and the other to scoop up the medicine, slowly feeding it into her mouth.
But where would Lu Yan know how to serve someone to drink medicine? He fed her spoonful after spoonful, not even giving her time to breathe. Naturally, Shen Zhen choked.
She coughed repeatedly, and after a while, her eyes slowly opened.
In a daze, she saw his face clearly.
“My Lord?”
Shen Zhen’s beautiful eyes widened as she called him.
When a person has just woken up, it is also when their heart is not on guard.
Lu Yan looked at the resistance in her eyes, and for a moment he didn’t know what he was doing by rushing here in the middle of the night.
Lu Yan let her lean on the soft pillow, and then said coldly: “It’s only been a day since I left, and you’ve already made yourself sick, Shen Zhen.”
With such a tone, it was not difficult to hear the implication of reproach.
However, Shen Zhen just woke up and didn’t know what to say, so she lowered her head and pretended to cough twice.
Lu Yan handed her the unfinished medicine, “Can you drink by yourself?”
Shen Zhen took it and whispered: “Yes.” She hadn’t eaten all day and night and now she had a fever. She didn’t have much strength and even her hand holding the spoon was trembling.
Seeing her exhausted look, Lu Yan couldn’t help but turn the white jade finger in his hand, and after a moment, he snatched the medicine bowl from her hand.
He scooped up a spoonful and held it to her mouth.
After their eyes met, Shen Zhen didn’t hesitate.
When he stretched out his hand, she opened her mouth, and her cooperation was a tacit understanding.
A bowl of concoction quickly bottomed out.
As the saying goes, “eaters have short mouths and takers have short hands4(If you take advantage of others, you should say good things to them when necessary; if you take other people’s things, you should stop touching them. The extended meaning is that if you receive benefits from others, you have to do things for others.)”. And since Shen Zhen drank the medicine he fed, she would inevitably have to express something. She cleared her throat and said slowly: “Thank you, My Lord.” After saying that, she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly covered her mouth.
Lu Yan raised his eyebrows and looked at her, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m afraid I’ll pass the cold to you.” Shen Zhen covered her mouth and said.
Lu Yan took off her hand and said, “It doesn’t matter.” After a pause, he continued: “Now that you’ve taken the medicine, let’s rest early.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhen lay down obediently, thinking that she had to recover from her illness in order to avoid causing trouble to others, so she simply closed her eyes.
Lu Yan stood up and extinguished a candle.
Seeing her like this, Lu Yan gently stroked her back.
A man’s tenderness, especially Lu Yan’s tenderness, can be felt even if it is given a little bit. The same goes for Shen Zhen.
After she turned around, she did not fall asleep, but opened her eyes.
Time flowed inch by inch, and Lu Yan’s hand on her back and her thumping heart seemed to gradually become one.
After some time, he suddenly said in a deep voice: “Shen Zhen, go to bed early. When you get up tomorrow morning, you can write a letter and I will send someone to deliver it to Madam Li.”
The Madam Li he mentioned was Shen Zhen’s eldest sister.
As soon as she finished speaking, the tip of Shen Zhen’s nose felt sore. She suddenly wanted to cry, but when she remembered the rules he had set, she endured it.
Until her breathing gradually became even, Lu Yan turned his head to look out the window, pondering for a long time.
In fact, even he himself couldn’t explain why he made an exception for her.
Perhaps it was because she was closely connected to his own deranged dreams.
Perhaps he pitied her for being his outside mistress at such a young age, but he couldn’t give her anything.
Or maybe he just wanted her to have a good dream.
He thought.
