“If I Say it is Worth it, Then it is Worth it.”
Lu Ronghuai dressed himself and cleared his throat. “Feigning injury is a petty tactic. I have never stooped to it. Ah-Yuan, I showed you this wound today only because I do not wish you to misunderstand me.”
Chu Yuan lowered his head. Dark hair brushed across his cheek. His bearing was clean and tranquil.
Even with the misunderstanding resolved, there was no joy in his heart.
He asked calmly, “Why did Your Highness save me?”
“What do you think?” Lu Ronghuai returned with a smile.
Chu Yuan shook his head. His pale face seemed to hold a faint moonlight in it. His voice was gentle and steady. “Your Highness and I have known each other little more than a month. I am not worth risking your life.”
“If I say it is worth it, then it is worth it.” Lu Ronghuai raised an eyebrow, something unhurried and proud in his expression that was entirely his own.
Chu Yuan leaned against the headboard. His shoulders loosened. Once his mind slackened, exhaustion rose at once.
His eyes drooped. Weariness settled across his features. “Your Highness, I wish to rest.”
Seeing that his eyes could barely remain open, Lu Ronghuai let out a quiet laugh and stepped aside. “Sleep. In half a sichen, remember to drink the medicine.”
Chu Yuan nodded faintly. Avoiding his injured leg, he eased himself beneath the covers.
Lu Ronghuai waited until he had fallen asleep. He reached out and touched his cheek once more before leaving the room with a look of quiet satisfaction.
Le Shu had been dozing against one of the pillars outside. At the sound of approaching footsteps, he woke at once.
“Ah-Yuan is asleep. Go inside and keep watch. When he wakes, see that he drinks his medicine. Xian Shuang will guard the courtyard. No idle persons are to set foot in Fuju Courtyard.”
After a moment, he added, “Do not let Mao Shu enter either.”
Xian Shuang did not understand the reason, yet he asked no questions and merely nodded.
“Xian Feng, Xian Yu. Follow this Prince.”
Xian Yu shuffled forward, rubbing the spot where he had received ten military strokes. His expression was aggrieved. “Your Highness, this subordinate’s backside aches terribly. I fear I cannot accompany you.”
Lu Ronghuai responded calmly with an “Oh,” his manner generous. “Very well. Since you are injured, I shall take only Xian Feng to settle accounts with the Crown Prince and Prince Qi.”
Xian Yu sprang upright as though cured. His eyes shone and his back straightened. “Such dangerous matters cannot be left to Your Highness alone. This subordinate is willing to lay down his head and spill his blood!”
“Come.”
Lu Ronghuai gave a soft amused huff and departed into the gathering dusk.
He did not return that night.
The following morning, Chu Yuan had just finished choking down the thick, bitter medicine when Head Imperial Physician Wu arrived.
“Does the Prince Consort feel improved today?” Head Imperial Physician Wu took his pulse and opened his case to retrieve the silver needles.
Chu Yuan inclined his head. “The headache is much lighter than yesterday.”
“Is it still darkness before your eyes?”
“Yes.”
“A cranial blood clot is difficult to disperse. If after seven days your vision remains unclear, I will have to increase the strength of the needles.”
“Very well.”
This session of acupuncture lasted another hour.
Head Imperial Physician Wu removed the bandages from Chu Yuan’s head, applied fresh medicine, and rewrapped them before departing. Afterward, Le Shu entered with a basin of water, wrung out a cloth, and wiped the sweat from his face.
Chu Yuan’s face was pale, damp with perspiration. Against it, his skin appeared like snow. His dark hair fell like ink.
“Young Master, His Highness did not return all night. Could something have happened?”
Chu Yuan had no strength to concern himself. His head felt impossibly heavy, his strength spent. Le Shu helped him lie back down.
“Young Master, extend your hand. This servant will change the dressing.”
The injury on Chu Yuan’s hand was not severe, but it looked frightening. The once smooth palm had lost a layer of skin. When the bandage was removed, deep red flesh was revealed beneath.
The bleeding had long since stopped. After several days of medicine, the wound was beginning to close. The pain was also less than before.
Le Shu worked with careful, feather-light movements, afraid of hurting him. Once finished, he sat on the floor beside him and kept him company.
“Young Master, when you said those words yesterday, this servant was frightened to death. It is fortunate His Highness did not grow angry.” Le Shu was still shaken just thinking about it.
Chu Yuan closed his eyes, seeing nothing in the darkness before him. “Whether he is angry or not, what difference does it make?”
Le Shu scratched his head. He had seen Lu Ronghuai’s expression clearly the day before. “This servant believes His Highness truly likes Young Master.”
“Why would he like me?”
“Young Master is wonderful. Who would not?” Le Shu’s spirits lifted. “If His Highness cherishes Young Master, no one in the residence will dare bully you again.”
“This is the Kingdom of Lu. He is the Third Prince of Lu. I am a pawn sent from the Kingdom of Chu in marriage alliance. If you were in his place, would you fall in love with someone from an enemy state? Would you reveal your weakness to such a person?”
Le Shu fell silent.
His face scrunched up, brows drew together in distress. “Yet this servant knows Young Master would never aid Chu.”
“No one would believe that.”
Chu Yuan opened his eyes. The darkness no longer frightened him. His mind was quiet. “One day the iron cavalry of Lu will tread upon the soil of Chu. When that day comes, you and I will not escape death.”
Le Shu’s face turned white. “Young Master, do not frighten this servant. And His Highness… His Highness—”
“His ambition does not end there.”
“If His Highness truly falls in love with Young Master, even should Chu fall, this servant believes he would still protect you.”
“Love?”
Chu Yuan’s gaze drifted. A faint, self-mocking smile touched his lips. “My Mother Empress once believed she possessed that man’s love. What did she receive in the end?”
Le Shu had no answer.
“Prince Li is a man of ruthless ambition. To fall in love with him would only lead to ruin beyond redemption.”
Chu Yuan closed his eyes again. His face, pale as carved jade, was cold and composed.
He would not walk the same road as his mother. Ten years of hardship had worn away all warmth and innocence.
Le Shu refused to give up. He knew the knot in Chu Yuan’s heart ran deep, yet he could not bear to see him bound to the past.
“This servant only wishes Young Master to live in happiness.”
Chu Yuan did not respond. “The Wanchao Hui is approaching.”
On the third day of the third month, the Wanchao Hui would be held. The rulers of six states would come to Lu, exchange courtesies, and attend the grand gathering.
Le Shu left the chamber dispirited. Without watching his steps, he collided with someone.
“Ah!”
He covered his head and stumbled back.
Xian Yu had returned at some unknown time. Even after being struck, he grinned broadly, brimming with excitement. “Little servant, has the Prince Consort awakened?”
Le Shu still felt weighed down. “Young Master spoke for a while and has fallen asleep again.”
Xian Yu clicked his tongue in disappointment, then seized him. “Very well. When the Prince Consort wakes, you can pass this along.”
Le Shu blinked. “Pa-pass… what along?”
“His Highness avenged the Prince Consort and beat the Crown Prince.”
Xian Yu held up two fingers and waved them. “Both legs broken. He will not leave his bed for at least three months.”
Le Shu inhaled so sharply he nearly bit through his tongue.
His Highness beat the Crown Prince? Does he not value his life?!
The thought slipped from his mouth before he could stop it.
Xian Yu regarded him oddly. “What of it? His Highness has struck the Crown Prince since childhood. Nothing strange about it.”
Le Shu: “……”
“As for Prince Qi, His Highness bound him with hemp rope and left him upon an ice bed through the night. When he was carried down, he was stiff as wood. Perhaps he is still alive, I would imagine.”
Le Shu’s legs gave way. He collapsed onto the ground.
“Wh-where is His Highness?”
“His Highness went to morning court.”
✧ A Word from the Author ✧
Yuan-Yuan: I will seal my heart and lock away love!
Lu Dog: My love for you goes on and on and on~
Yuan-Yuan: (⊙_⊙)
Thank you, dear readers, for your support. Muah~
IsitRo: Back to 5 chapters a week next week, sorry cattos :')) i need to lie down for a bit.
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