Chapter 100: My Sun part 1
Gazing at that pile of clothes, the doctor’s three fingers were still pressed to the Emperor’s pulse, but his heart was already in his throat.
He didn’t dare look at the clothes, nor did he dare look at the Emperor’s hand, and he certainly didn’t dare wildly speculate about what had happened in the tent.
It was raining outside, and it was swelteringly hot inside the tent. The doctor could only close his eyes to perform the diagnosis.
However, General Xie was cold and serious, enough to break all of a person’s stray thoughts: “How is the dragon body?”
“The pulse is deep and thin. His Majesty has always suffered from a deficiency syndrome. But as for the sudden loss of spirit the General mentioned, I cannot diagnose it.”
“When will he wake up?”
The doctor shook his head. It wasn’t good to say much without a definitive diagnosis.
But at that moment, Ying Xi had a violent coughing fit, turning his head to vomit a mouthful of fresh blood: “Cough, cough-cough-cough, cough…”
Xie Qianli hurriedly knelt, using a handkerchief to wipe it away: “What’s going on?”
The doctor hurriedly reached into the quilt to check the Emperor’s torso.
Xie Qianli looked away from the bed.
“It’s an injury,” the doctor said. “I suspect it was from falling off the horse. The injury is on the back, and the impact brought up a mouthful of blood. But since he can cough and react, His Majesty hasn’t lost his spirit.”
The doctor guessed: “Perhaps he was too overworked and exhausted.”
Xie Qianli’s heart and lungs twisted in pain.
He asked in a low voice: “How do we treat it?”
The doctor said: “I will prescribe medicine. We will treat the internal injury and nurture the body; it can be cured.”
The doctor paused and then continued: “But His Majesty has been dragging along with some minor illnesses, and today he was caught in the rain. I fear the illness will come down like a mountain. I will prescribe some more medicine to clear the lungs and reduce the fever.”
Xie Qianli sighed inwardly.
He knew that to stabilize the army’s heart, Ying Xi had hidden his illness from everyone.
He had been recuperating for a while and couldn’t go out. When Ying Xi got busy, he had no time to treat his body as a priority.
He was a subject, and when the monarch gave an order, he had to obey.
Yet he had no right to demand Ying Xi do anything, even if it was just taking away Ying Xi’s official duties in hopes that he would take care of himself.
Xie Qianli masked his despondency, his tone unchanged: “I understand. You may leave.”
“This subject obeys.”
The doctor gave one final instruction: “I have swapped shifts with the other doctors tonight. I will be responsible for brewing His Majesty’s medicine. If His Majesty develops a high fever or the condition fluctuates, call me to the tent at any time.”
Xie Qianli nodded.
…
That night, as the doctor expected, Ying Xi was only quiet for a short while. His hair was only half-dry when he began to run a fever.
When a person has a fever, their consciousness blurs, and their body produces reactions.
In the sweltering, rainy weather, Ying Xi murmured softly about being cold.
His long, slender limbs curled into a ball under the quilt. He lay on his side, his body arched as if even his toes were curled.
Xie Qianli could only move the ice basin out of the tent.
Wind and rain lashed outside, and the rainwater soaked him completely.
He had no time to care for himself. He hid the ice basin and returned to the tent, sealing the curtain tight, even though Xie Qianli himself felt very hot.
Sweat slid down Xie Qianli’s sideburns. He rolled his sleeves to his elbows, revealing the firm, deep-wheat-colored muscles of his forearms, the lines flowing smoothly.
He had just turned around.
The person on the bed said: “Cold.”
The voice was like it was wrapped around his heart, the end of the word carrying an invisible hook.
Xie Qianli’s brow trembled slightly. He took a few steps forward, intending to cover Ying Xi with another layer of clothing. It was summer; how could there be two quilts in the tent?
the clothes weren’t very flat. He had to pull them to the left and right.
His fingertips touched the edge of the quilt, but he inadvertently touched Ying Xi’s fingertips sticking out from the quilt.
Xie Qianli shuddered. Just as he was about to retract his hand, one of his fingers was grabbed. It was Ying Xi’s palm, gripping his fingertip.
Xie Qianli said in a panic: “Your Majesty…”
How could Ying Xi respond?
He was relying solely on consciousness to grab that little bit of warmth.
His distinct eyelashes were trembling because his eyes were closed too tightly.
Ying Xi’s lips moved as if he were saying something, but the only thing that could be heard clearly was that “cold.” Xie Qianli could only sit by his bed, letting Ying Xi hold his finger.
He offered his finger, but his palm had no warmth. Ying Xi’s hand crawled up, interlacing his fingers with his.
Xie Qianli sat upright. The place where their limbs touched caused his thoughts to overload. He was stiff, his eyes completely fixed.
It took a long moment after his mind blanked for him to recover some sanity. He forced himself to stop overthinking and gave a difficult reminder: “This subject can prepare a hot water bottle.”
“—General, the medicine is ready.”
The doctor quietly entered with a medicine pot and was once again stunned, seeing General Xie and the Emperor holding hands.
The doctor’s gaze quickly drifted. At the same time, the back of his neck felt cold; he felt instinctively that his timing was off.
He said stutteringly: “I… I… added dangshen, astragalus, and bupleurum to the medicine to treat the internal injuries. It will help reduce the fever…”
The doctor’s head was nearly touching the ground.
As much as Xie Qianli was accustomed to forbearance, his voice still grew raspy as he said hoarsely, “Let it cool a bit and place it before me.”
“Yes.”
The doctor did as told.
The medicinal soup gave off a bitter aroma. The doctor poured the pot into the bowl. The room was sweltering, and a thin layer of sweat had appeared on the doctor’s face.
But General Xie, whose body was far stronger than his, was dripping with sweat and remained motionless. He sat like a divine statue, only blinking his eyes occasionally.
The doctor couldn’t sense any ambiguity, yet he didn’t believe this was entirely out of loyalty. He tremblingly placed the medicine bowl by Xie Qianli’s hand.
“General Xie, please.”
“Fine. You go first,” Xie Qianli said. “Be careful when handling the medicine dregs.”
“I understand! I understand!”
That doctor had naturally wanted to leave long ago.
Feeding Ying Xi medicine was a difficult task.
Feeding him while he was lying down would easily cause him to choke, and moreover, he kept his lips tightly shut, appearing extremely resistant to the smell of the medicine. The dazed Ying Xi appeared ten times more willful than when he was awake.
Xie Qianli sighed softly. His patient coaxing was useless; the other wouldn’t listen to him.
Xie Qianli had no other choice but to lift Ying Xi, quilt and all, from the bed, letting Ying Xi lean against him to feed him that way.
The temperature of the medicine was just right. Xie Qianli tested a drop on the back of his hand.
The spoon was pressed against Ying Xi’s lips, and he slowly raised his hand to pour it in.
In his semi-coma, Ying Xi shook his head uncomfortably; he didn’t like to drink it.
But in reality, in the ten years since they were young, this was not the first time Xie Qianli had seen Ying Xi drink medicine. Ying Xi never needed to be coaxed to take his medicine.
Ying Xi was usually very rational and knew that drinking medicine was good for his body.
But now, Xie Qianli guessed that perhaps in Ying Xi’s heart, he was very resistant to drinking medicine. He was just too sensible.
Xie Qianli was naturally willing to indulge him, trying hard to recall how his mother had fed him medicine when he was a child.
He could no longer remember the specific words, only that his mother was gentle and always patient.
He would use that same patience for Ying Xi. Even if it took some effort, he wouldn’t force him.
“Right, another spoonful.”
“The stars in the sky drink a spoonful, the little fish in the pond drink a spoonful. They’ve all drunk theirs; will You drink a spoonful?”
“Very good. Your Majesty is very good.”
These child-coaxing methods could never be used between the two of them normally.
But now, Xie Qianli discovered that the sick Ying Xi responded very well to this. He managed to finish the bowl of medicine with great difficulty. Not a drop was spilled from the bowl in his hand, but his back was soaked with sweat.
Xie Qianli was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.
But in the moment he raised his body to set down the bowl, the thin quilt slipped.
Ying Xi turned over, revealing skin that was even whiter than the quilt, visible all the way down.
Xie Qianli became several degrees stiffer than before.
He extended his arms, quickly covering Ying Xi.
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