Qin Yuanxi’s illness hit him like a mountain crashing down, and his recovery was slow and painstaking, like drawing silk from a cocoon. He had been struggling for several days without any improvement, constantly wearing a frown as he drank his bitter, black medicine. While the medicine provided some temporary relief, he’d wake up the next day with a heavy head and dizziness, his forehead still warm to the touch. He remained in a state of low fever, never quite returning to normal.
At first, Lu Bohuan thought it was just a common cold that would clear up with a couple of doses of medicine. So, he focused on making sure Qin Yuanxi took his medicine. The emperor didn’t like taking it, and Lu Bohuan worried that Qin Yuanxi might be skipping doses on purpose, which was why he wasn’t getting better. But after several days of personally supervising Qin Yuanxi’s medication, watching him drink every last drop, the illness still persisted.
Lu Bohuan started to get really anxious and even a bit irritable. Qin Yuanxi’s health had never been great, and giving birth to their child had further weakened him. Lu Bohuan had always been careful to nurse him back to health, but now, after several days of illness with no sign of improvement, he was losing sleep and couldn’t focus on anything else, not even morning court. All his thoughts were on Qin Yuanxi, just wishing he would get better soon.
“How is he?”
Yan Shaoning came to check Qin Yuanxi’s pulse again, his brows slightly furrowed as he gave Qin Yuanxi a long look before packing up his things and turning to Lu Bohuan. “The pulse doesn’t indicate anything serious. The emperor is likely exhausted from overwork. With some rest and nourishment, he should be fine in a few days.”
“What do you mean ‘should be’?” Lu Bohuan wasn’t having it, nearly grabbing Yan Shaoning by the collar, demanding a clearer explanation. If he couldn’t give a satisfactory answer, he wasn’t leaving the room today.
Yan Shaoning sighed, casting a helpless glance at Qin Yuanxi, before patiently explaining again, “As they say, recovery is a slow process. Doesn’t the Prince understand this? The emperor has overexerted himself and needs proper rest and care. If he follows my prescription and takes his medicine, he’ll be back to his lively self in ten days or so.”
“But he still…” Lu Bohuan began, only to be interrupted by Qin Yuanxi tugging at his sleeve.
Sick as he was, Qin Yuanxi was particularly gentle, softly pulling Lu Bohuan’s sleeve and saying in a quiet voice, “Don’t trouble the divine physician anymore. I feel much better already. I can attend morning court tomorrow.”
“What’s all this talk about ‘almost better’? You still had a low fever this morning,” Lu Bohuan said, his eyes full of concern. “Just rest properly, didn’t you hear what Yan Shaoning said? You need a lot of rest. I can handle the court affairs; you don’t need to worry about that. Your main task now is to recover and get well soon!”
Qin Yuanxi’s eyes turned a bit red, and he sniffled, feeling aggrieved. “It’s not like I can just get better because I want to. I didn’t choose to be sick, and it’s not something I can control. My body is just weak. Look at us, we eat together, sleep together, wake up together, but you’re fine and I’m the one who got sick. Clearly, my body isn’t as strong as yours.”
“When you get better, I’ll take you to exercise and teach you some boxing.”
Qin Yuanxi’s expression changed immediately, and he quickly refused, “There’s no need for that!”
Realizing he might have been too blunt, he hurriedly dragged Yan Shaoning into it. “Physician Yan said I shouldn’t do intense exercises. I should focus on gentle health maintenance.”
Exercising was the last thing Qin Yuanxi wanted to hear. The whole point of this fuss was to get some rest, not to start a rigorous exercise routine!
But Lu Bohuan disagreed. “You should still exercise more. Strengthening your body is definitely suitable. The only way to get stronger is through more exercise.”
His stance was so firm that it looked like he was ready to drag Qin Yuanxi out for some stance training right then and there.
Qin Yuanxi immediately burrowed deeper into the blankets, pulling them up to cover half his face, his voice muffled. “It’s just not suitable. My body is weak. Physician Yan, tell him! People with weak constitutions shouldn’t exercise too much. It would be counterproductive and harm the body. It’s just not feasible.”
“Why wouldn’t it be feasible? That makes no sense.”
Caught in the crossfire, Yan Shaoning regretted not making a quicker exit. He shouldn’t have come to the palace at all. No, he shouldn’t have accepted this case in the first place. Who knew it would land him in such a mess?
Seeing Qin Yuanxi’s threatening gaze, Yan Shaoning could only go along with him, improvising, “Indeed, it’s not appropriate. The Prince must have heard of the saying ‘the empty cannot be filled.’ As long as Your Majesty takes good care of himself, there shouldn’t be any major issues. As for staying fit, it should be done in moderation. My Prince comes from a military background, but you mustn’t apply your own methods to the emperor’s body. His Majesty can’t handle it.”
“Is that true?” Lu Bohuan was a bit skeptical.
“Of course it’s true! Are you the physician or is he?” Qin Yuanxi interjected, seizing the opportunity to dismiss him. “Alright, you’re annoying. Have you finished signing all the memorials? And Xiao Bao, he’s probably causing a ruckus by now. Why don’t you go check on him? I’m feeling a bit dizzy; I want to sleep some more. Go on, go be busy. Don’t worry about me.”
Lu Bohuan didn’t waste a moment when he heard Qin Yuanxi was feeling dizzy. He didn’t argue further about exercising or anything else. After checking Qin Yuanxi’s forehead and seeing the fever had subsided, and his complexion was much better, indicating he was on the road to recovery, Lu Bohuan helped adjust the blankets and spoke gently, “Then rest well, but don’t sleep too long, or you’ll have trouble sleeping tonight. Resting properly will help you recover faster.”
Qin Yuanxi nodded obediently.
As Lu Bohuan hurried off to attend to state affairs, Yan Shaoning pretended to take his time packing up his things. Once Lu Bohuan was gone, Yan Shaoning put down the medicine box and approached Qin Yuanxi’s bed again, his expression full of resignation. “Your Majesty, how long do you intend to keep up this act? If you don’t recover soon, your partner might tear me apart. Just because he’s been kind these past couple of years doesn’t mean he’s forgotten his past as an Ice-cold Rakshasa. He’s attentive to you, but he won’t go easy on me!”
“Oh, come on, why are you so afraid, Physician? If anything happens, I’ll have your back,” Qin Yuanxi jumped off the bed, stretching his body and flexing his muscles. There was no trace of illness in him, as if he hadn’t been lying in bed just moments ago.
“Just hold on a little longer, maybe another half a month. Half a month should be enough for a thorough recovery. As long as you cooperate with me for this half month, I promise to help persuade Meng Yu to leave you alone. How about that? Am I being generous enough?”
Yan Shaoning didn’t appreciate Qin Yuanxi’s sentiment at all. “If it weren’t for Your Majesty, I wouldn’t be in this mess!”
“Hey, how can you call Ah Yu a troublemaker?” Qin Yuanxi disagreed. “I think she’s quite nice, and what’s wrong with her liking you? Since when did liking someone become a sin? Just because I promised to help persuade her doesn’t mean I agree with your views. You’re too old-fashioned!”
“Your Majesty, focus on yourself,” Yan Shaoning retorted unapologetically. “That medicine from before shouldn’t be taken again. Though it’s sweet, it’s a bit too hot. I’m worried Your Majesty won’t tolerate it if taken too much.”
“Alright, alright, handle it yourself. We can’t have anything bitter, and we can’t let Ah Tuo notice anything unusual. You’re the professional in this regard, so I trust you to handle it,” Qin Yuanxi said, delegating the task to Yan Shaoning.
In reality, Qin Yuanxi’s illness had long since been cured.
It was just a common fever. With Yan Shaoning’s two doses of medicine, he was completely healed. But he didn’t want to recover so quickly, especially during his illness when he didn’t have to attend morning court. Qin Yuanxi was enjoying the relaxation too much to want to get better. He didn’t want to wake up before dawn to attend morning court, so he came up with the idea of pretending to be sick.
Pretending to be sick wasn’t difficult for him, especially with Yan Shaoning’s cooperation. It was easy to deceive Lu Bohuan.
Every morning before Lu Bohuan woke up, Qin Yuanxi would warm his forehead with a heater. When Lu Bohuan reached out to touch him, his forehead would be slightly warm, simulating a low fever. With a bit of acting, looking a bit haggard, weak, and listless, the charade was halfway there. The crucial prop was the bitter medicine; he had to keep drinking it in front of Lu Bohuan.
And Qin Yuanxi made sure Yan Shaoning complied by threatening him.
Yan Shaoning currently faced a small problem: Meng Yu, the princess, had been clinging to him relentlessly lately. Being a princess now, she was commanded by the emperor to learn medicine from Yan Shaoning. Unable to avoid her and unable to provoke her, Yan Shaoning had no choice but to seek Qin Yuanxi’s help to get Meng Yu off his back. Reluctantly, he had to join Qin Yuanxi’s scheme, assisting him in concocting the deceitful ‘medicine’ to fool Lu Bohuan.
The so-called ‘medicine’ was actually a tonic that Yan Shaoning had recently concocted, still sweet-tasting, which perfectly met Qin Yuanxi’s requirements.
“Well, Your Majesty, take these two days to ‘rest’ properly. I have a friend coming to the capital, so I need to entertain them outside the palace,” Yan Shaoning said.
“Then hurry back.”
Qin Yuanxi could manage on his own for two days. If it dragged on longer, he would need Yan Shaoning’s help to keep up the act. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to deceive Lu Bohuan for long, as his empress was quite smart.
Qin Yuanxi never expected that as soon as Yan Shaoning left the palace, his scheme would be exposed. It was incredibly unlucky.
At such a critical moment, with no one to help cover for him, facing the storm alone was terrifying.
It was unfortunate indeed. Yan Shaoning’s tonics had never caused any problems before, but tonight, coincidentally, Lu Bohuan had prepared a bowl of ginseng soup for him. It was a powerful tonic, made with old hen, ginseng, wolfberries, and various nourishing ingredients, simmered for an entire afternoon. The aroma alone was mouthwatering.
“I’ve asked, and it’s okay to have some nourishment. Your constitution is still weak, so supplementing with nutrients will help you recover faster.”
Setting aside the debate about nutrition, just the aroma of this ginseng soup was irresistible. The dishes prepared by the palace chefs were always delightful.
Qin Yuanxi, tempted by the chicken soup, had a little more than half a bowl. After finishing the soup to aid digestion, it was time for his evening medicine. A dark bowl of medicine was brought before him, and as usual, Qin Yuanxi put on a show, feigning reluctance and demanding sugar, waiting for Lu Bohuan to coax him before happily drinking the altered concoction.
As he held the bowl of medicine, he felt an itch in his nose. Subconsciously, he reached up to scratch it, only to find his hand covered in blood.
Shocked, not even Qin Yuanxi himself, let alone Lu Bohuan, expected this.
Oh my, why am I bleeding? What should I do?!
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)
