Zhao Tuo’s current situation is relatively complicated, and Qin Yuanxi is seriously worried. Even with a glimmer of hope, he’s willing to give it a shot. Yan Shaoning, through some friends in the martial world, got wind of the whereabouts of that Miao clan sorceress. Qin Yuanxi has already sorted out the court affairs and plans to take Zhao Tuo to seek treatment.
“There’s one more thing; we might need to trouble the divine physician.”
After coaxing Xiao Bao to sleep, Qin Yuanxi, looking at the child, felt a twinge of reluctance. “The journey to the southwest is long. The Crown Prince is too young, inconvenient to take with us. Leaving him in the palace also worries me. During our absence from the palace, I hope the divine physician can stay here temporarily, looking after the Crown Prince. If he has a headache or fever, with the divine physician around, I can be at ease.”
As for Xiao Bao’s daily needs, there’s no need to worry; Qin Yuanxi is concerned about the possibility of the child falling ill.
“Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do my utmost to take care of the Crown Prince.”
Qin Yuanxi nodded. “You don’t need to go to the imperial medical office anymore. From now on, reside in the Crown Prince’s sleeping palace. It’s more convenient for care, with maids and servants following your orders. The Crown Prince is temporarily entrusted to the divine physician.”
“Your Majesty, be careful on the journey.” Yan Shaoning still had some concerns. “That Miao clan’s witch might have a strange temper. When you meet her, be more tolerant, especially considering her superb hypnotic skills.”
“I will.”
The reason Qin Yuanxi wants to personally take Zhao Tuo to meet the witch is mainly because hypnosis is genuinely effective. In modern psychology, hypnotherapy aligns well with Zhao Tuo’s situation. At the moment, it seems like the best treatment method, and the success rate should be relatively high. Qin Yuanxi, of course, wants to give it a try.
On the day of departure, it happened to be the day of ‘Jingzhe,’1Jīngzhé, 惊蛰, is the 3rd of the 24 solar terms (節氣) in the traditional Chinese calendars. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. and the peach blossoms outside the city suburbs were in full bloom. The mountain flowers were vibrant, and the air carried a hint of sweetness.
In order to save time, Qin Yuanxi did not take a carriage but opted for a faster and simpler mode of transportation—horseback riding. Although his equestrian skills were not top-notch, he hastily trained before setting off. Riding was quite strenuous along the way, and when he reached the inn in the evening, he discovered that the insides of his thighs were completely chafed, causing a fiery pain with every step.
Qin Yuanxi had done some homework and intentionally used a padded cushion, but it proved ineffective. The skin on the inner thighs was too delicate and couldn’t withstand such rough treatment. Luckily, before leaving, he had obtained a lot of medicinal ointments from Yan Shaoning, planning to discreetly tend to his wounds without Zhao Tuo finding out.
Zhao Tuo’s current situation is troublesome. Sometimes he is conscious and able to communicate normally with Qin Yuanxi, but most of the time, he is silent, like a puppet. He obediently follows Qin Yuanxi’s instructions without any independent thoughts or consciousness. At times, his emotions become inexplicably agitated, and throughout the journey, Qin Yuanxi has to take care of him entirely.
Now, Zhao Tuo has completely turned into a patient.
“Hiss.”
After traveling for almost half a month, the further south they go, the warmer the weather becomes. Clothes became thinner, and initially, Qin Yuanxi used protective gear on the inner thighs. As the weather gradually heats up, sweat would soak into the wounds, causing intense stinging. The injuries on his thighs would heal and then get chafed again, turning them into a vulnerable area.
“I used to think horseback riding was so damn cool. I never thought it would be such a damn ordeal when it’s my turn.” Qin Yuanxi muttered to himself while applying medicine, expressing his frustration.
Having been engaged in this routine for almost half a month, Qin Yuanxi seemed somewhat accustomed to it. He was in the midst of applying medicine in a weird posture when he heard the door creak. Subconsciously, he tried to turn back, lost his balance, and ended up falling onto the bed. Even the medicine bottle in his hand didn’t escape the mishap; it rolled right onto the floor.
In a fluster, Qin Yuanxi scrambled to tidy up his clothes, intending to get up. The medicine bottle on the floor was picked up by someone who bent over.
“You’re injured,” a gentle voice, tinged with emotion.
Qin Yuanxi lifted his head, looking at Zhao Tuo in front of him. Subconsciously, he squeezed out a small smile and, asked him in the same tone as coaxing a child, “Have you had your meal? Are you full? Did you have any fruit after your meal? Oh, the pear soup they cooked, did you have that?”
“Have you eaten?”
“I’ll go down to eat in a moment.”
Zhao Tuo, holding the medicine bottle, lowered his head, looking at the patterns on the bottle, without looking at Qin Yuanxi. He asked in a deep voice, “Why not take the carriage?”
“Huh?” Qin Yuanxi was a bit slow to react, feeling that today’s Zhao Tuo was a bit strange. However, there hasn’t been a normal day for Zhao Tuo recently. Following his lead, Qin Yuanxi continued, “Did you forget? We’re in a hurry, and carriages are too slow. We need to move quickly, and riding horses is faster. If you want to take a carriage, how about we do that when we come back?”
It has become a habit for him now. When talking to Zhao Tuo, he had to speak gently and go along with his flow, especially avoiding any stimuli that might upset him. All he hoped for was to reach the southwest quickly, find the mysterious valley that Yan Shaoning mentioned, cure the illness, and endure these hardships. He believed that the pain he had suffered would be worth it in the end.
Zhao Tuo finally lifted his head to look at Qin Yuanxi, his expression somewhat unclear. It seemed like he was contemplating Qin Yuanxi’s words, yet also as if he had thought of something else. Just as Qin Yuanxi was worrying that he was getting into trouble again, Zhao Tuo finally spoke up.
“Can I help apply the medicine for you?”
“Uh, cough, you want to help me apply the medicine?”
Originally, Qin Yuanxi was about to blurt out a ‘yes,’ but he restrained himself. It’s not that he can’t apply the medicine; the issue was the rather awkward location on the inner thighs. It would be fine under normal circumstances, but the current situation was far from normal. Applying medicine in such a sensitive area seemed a bit inappropriate.
“I’ve already done it,” Qin Yuanxi tried to evade.
“I want to check.”
“Well, there’s no need to check. I applied it quite well, really.”
Zhao Tuo fell silent this time. Qin Yuanxi thought he might have let go of the matter, so he began adjusting his clothes, planning to coax Zhao Tuo downstairs to eat some fruits or something to replenish his nutrition. However, before he could get off the bed, Zhao Tuo stood up and walked to him.
“I want to see your wounds.”
Seeing the determined look in Zhao Tuo’s eyes, Qin Yuanxi knew he probably couldn’t avoid it. Adopting a mentality of ‘whether one sticks their neck out or not, it’s the same outcome,’ he simply lay back and took off his pants.
“Go ahead, take a look.”
It’s just looking, right? If he wants to look, let him look. It’s not like he hasn’t seen it before. Does it suddenly make him shy if he looks at it?
But whether there’s shyness or not, Qin Yuanxi covered his face.
It had been a long time since Qin Yuanxi and Zhao Tuo had been intimate with each other, both physically and emotionally. Many things had happened in between, and neither Zhao Tuo’s issues nor Qin Yuanxi’s had been resolved. The prescription that Qin Yuanxi had been taking for the past half month had also been discontinued due to the journey south from the palace. During the travels, such matters were far from his mind.
However, the current situation made Qin Yuanxi feel a bit awkward. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy inside, but he could only grit his teeth and let Zhao Tuo take a look.
Look all you want, just please don’t touch. What if you touch, and I have no reaction? How embarrassing would that be? What if you touch, and I do have a reaction? Wouldn’t that be even more uncomfortable?
Qin Yuanxi silently prayed, but unfortunately, his prayers were of no use. The soft flesh on the inner thighs was gently caressed, so gentle—like touching some rare treasure. It felt as light as a feather brushing against the skin, making Qin Yuanxi feel as if he’d been electrocuted. His scalp tingled.
“Uh, well, just look. Don’t touch.”
He said this with a tight throat.
“I’ll help you apply the medicine.”
“Huh?”
Qin Yuanxi was momentarily confused. He then heard him say, “The medicine isn’t evenly applied. I’ll help you with that.”
“Oh.”
With his eyes covered, Qin Yuanxi didn’t see that the person applying the medicine had red-rimmed eyes. One hand was even trembling lightly. Beneath the eyelashes, there seemed to be a glistening teardrop, like a pearl. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared, as if it were just an illusion.
The entire process of applying the medicine was unbearable for Qin Yuanxi.
It felt like an eternity, but finally, when the medicine was applied, Qin Yuanxi could finally breathe a sigh of relief. If it continued like this, he might have suffocated himself to death due to holding his breath for too long.
“Rest for a day, and we’ll set out the day after tomorrow.”
Before Qin Yuanxi could fully catch his breath, he heard Zhao Tuo rearranging the schedule. Ignoring the issue of his pants, Qin Yuanxi said, “No, we’re in a hurry. We can’t delay. We’ll set out early tomorrow morning.”
Zhao Tuo fell silent, lowering his gaze to look at Qin Yuanxi.
Qin Yuanxi felt uncertain about what was going on in Zhao Tuo’s mind, but he still continued to persuade in a friendly tone, “If it really isn’t possible, we have a very important matter to attend to, and time is of the essence. We need to move quickly. If you like this place and want to rest, we can return through here when we come back. You can rest as many days as you want then, alright?”
He adopted a coaxing manner, as if dealing with a child. However, his son was usually very obedient, and Qin Yuanxi never had to go through such trouble to coax him.
“We have enough time, resting for a day won’t be a problem.”
With the decision made, Zhao Tuo turned and left, leaving Qin Yuanxi bewildered. He felt that Zhao Tuo was acting strangely today, but pinpointing the specific issue was challenging. If Zhao Tuo insisted on resting, Qin Yuanxi couldn’t force him otherwise. Rest it is.
The town wasn’t large, and Qin Yuanxi had initially thought of taking Zhao Tuo out for a stroll on their day off, exploring the local customs, which might have some benefits for his condition. Unfortunately, that was just Qin Yuanxi’s wishful thinking. When he woke up in the morning, he found himself alone. Inquiring, he learned that Zhao Tuo had left early in the morning with some people.
“Did he say where he was going?”
The head of the imperial guards replied, “No instructions on his whereabouts.”
“How many people did he take?” Qin Yuanxi frowned.
“Both deputy commanders accompanied him.” The head replied, “We are left here to guard the inn.”
Qin Yuanxi didn’t bring many people this time, but they were all skilled warriors, capable of taking on ten opponents each. The guards were among the elite of the imperial army, and with Zhao Tuo’s martial skills, there shouldn’t be any problems. However, Qin Yuanxi was still worried. He instructed, pressing his forehead, “Send someone to look for him. His whereabouts must be clear. Once you find him, don’t disturb him, report back to me immediately.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I will comply.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
