Chapter 258: Chapter 258: Taking Medicine for an Illness, Resolving a Misunderstanding
"Young Master?"
When Ji Qingwu saw Yuan Heng, she was first delighted, then surprised.
"You didn’t go with them for the ancestral worship?"
So many people from the palace had gone, yet the Prince, who should have been the first to go, had stayed behind.
Yuan Heng was wearing a small mustard-yellow robe trimmed with gold-and-red silk. "I happened to catch a chill last night," he said. "I wasn’t feeling well, so I asked Father Emperor for permission to stay in the palace and rest."
Hearing this, Ji Qingwu immediately crouched down, cupped his face in her hands, and studied his complexion.
Yuan Heng was already used to her sudden, handsy behavior.
His lips, usually a healthy pink, were indeed a little pale.
Ji Qingwu said, "Stick out your tongue. Let me see."
There were still guards at the door, so Yuan Heng pulled her aside.
He tilted his head back, patted his small chest, and said, "I’m fine. It was just a little chill, and I’m all better today."
Ji Qingwu said nothing, simply taking his small wrist to feel his pulse.
Seeing her tense expression, Yuan Heng said, "I’m really fine."
Ji Qingwu gave him a light, knowing look. Yuan Heng immediately felt a pang of guilt, lowering his little head without a word.
Little Shunzi took a step forward, about to tattle. "Miss Ji, the Young Master wasn’t behaving yesterday—"
Ji Qingwu cut him off directly, "I know."
Yuan Heng secretly glanced up at her. ’She knows? How could she know?’
Ji Qingwu released his wrist. "You soaked in cold water and then stood in a cold draft, didn’t you?"
Her tone wasn’t a question, but a statement.
Yuan Heng’s dark eyes widened, and he took a small step back. His expression was a dead giveaway that she had hit the mark.
Ji Qingwu said with a stern face, "You’re filled with cold energy right now. It’s only because you have a strong constitution. Any other child would have a raging fever by now."
Yuan Heng had deliberately made himself sick just so he could stay in the palace with her.
Ji Qingwu’s lips formed a grim line. She turned to Little Shunzi. "Is there an Imperial Physician on duty at the Imperial Hospital?"
Having never seen Miss Ji look so serious, Little Shunzi nodded hurriedly.
"Yes, yes, there is."
Ji Qingwu said, "I’ll write a prescription shortly. I’ll have to trouble you to go fetch the medicine."
Hearing he would have to drink medicine, Yuan Heng couldn’t bring himself to look at Ji Qingwu’s face, staring at the hem of her robe instead.
"I... I’m already better."
Ji Qingwu said, "Your opinion doesn’t count."
Yuan Heng argued back reasonably, "It’s my body. Why don’t I get a say?"
Ji Qingwu pointed to herself. "Because *I* have the final say."
Little Shunzi let out a snort of laughter, and Yuan Heng frowned at the sight.
Since the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the high-ranking Concubines were all away from the palace, Ji Qingwu had made quite a "name" for herself in the palace these past few days. No one dared to stop her wherever she went.
Ji Qingwu followed Yuan Heng back to Qianyuan Hall.
She stripped off the little one’s outer robe, pushed him onto the bed, and tucked him into the covers. Yuan Heng pouted, about to say something.
Ji Qingwu pinched his little mouth shut and winked. "Protest denied."
When the Imperial Hospital delivered the brewed medicinal soup, Ji Qingwu picked up the bowl. From inside the blankets, Yuan Heng shrank back, trying to hide himself.
Ji Qingwu hauled him out with one hand and, giving him no chance to react, poured it straight down his throat.
Little Shunzi watched from the side, dumbfounded. Was this still his young master, who usually drank medicine as if it were a gut-rotting poison?
Ji Qingwu was already very familiar with this process. In martial arts, speed is the only thing that can’t be beaten—the same applied to feeding medicine to a child.
After feeding him the medicine, she picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the remaining liquid from the corners of his mouth.
She murmured softly, "The Young Master is so amazing."
Yuan Heng’s mouth was bitter, but his heart was sweet.
He clenched his small fists. "Even if there were another bowl, I could drink it all."
After wiping his mouth, Ji Qingwu tucked the corner of the blanket in for him. "Three doses a day. There’s another one this afternoon, so no need to rush."
The energy instantly drained from Yuan Heng’s small, jade-like face, and he lay back on the bed, deflated.
Ji Qingwu suppressed a laugh, lowered her head, and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.
The light returned to Yuan Heng’s dark eyes.
That evening, after Ji Qingwu had dinner with the little one,
under Little Shunzi’s expectant gaze, she once again efficiently fed Yuan Heng another bowl of pitch-black medicinal soup.
Ji Qingwu said, "Some illnesses need to be treated while they’re still mild. Don’t think it’s nothing just because you have no symptoms now. If you wait until it fully flares up, you’ll suffer much more."
Yuan Heng’s brows furrowed, but his complexion was much healthier than before.
Ji Qingwu set down the medicine bowl, picked up a piece of preserved peach from a small plate nearby, fed it to the little one, and popped one in her own mouth as well.
Yuan Heng chewed on the preserved peach that had been popped into his mouth. It was sweet and sour, more delicious than any he had ever tasted.
He said around a mouthful, "You and Father Emperor are the same way."
The sweet and sour taste still lingered on Ji Qingwu’s lips. "What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
Yuan Heng swallowed the preserved fruit. His eyes were serious as he said, "Some misunderstandings should also be resolved while they’re still small."
This time, it was Ji Qingwu’s turn to be troubled. Her brows knitted together, then relaxed after a moment.
"It’s not a misunderstanding between me and your father."
Yuan Heng pressed, "Then what is it?"
Even if so many people in the palace said the Emperor was tired of her, even if the Empress Dowager said he disliked her, even if Emperor Wu Su himself had said as much—that he was bored, that he was weary—Ji Qingwu had never believed it.
’Because love is never declared through words. It’s hidden in the heart and overflows from the eyes.’
When Emperor Wu Su had said those words, he had avoided her gaze, not looking at her at all.
Ji Qingwu could sense his struggle at that moment. There had to be something hidden behind Emperor Wu Su’s strange behavior.
She was silent for a moment before saying slowly, "The biggest problem between your father and me isn’t anything else. It’s trust."
Yuan Heng said expectantly, "Father Emperor will be back from the ancestral worship tomorrow night."
Ji Qingwu looked at him with a gentle gaze.
"Finish your medicine and get some sleep. You’ll be all better by morning, and then you can go see your father."
Yuan Heng reached out and tugged on the corner of her sleeve. "Can we go see Father Emperor together?"
Seeing the pleading look in the little one’s eyes, Ji Qingwu shook her head decisively. "No."
Yuan Heng asked, "Why not?"
Ji Qingwu said, "I didn’t say I wasn’t going."
Yuan Heng asked, confused, "What do you mean?"
Ji Qingwu picked up the medicine bowl and stood. Her eyes shone as she said, "I don’t need you to go with me. I’ll go by myself."
She had to go and find an answer for herself.
「The next day」
Emperor Wu Su was scheduled to return to the palace from the Emperor Temple later that day.
The night before, Ji Qingwu had lain in bed, rehearsing what she would say when she saw him. She had only drifted into a groggy sleep as dawn approached.
As a result, she successfully slept through breakfast and didn’t wake up until noon.
She quickly got ready and went to Qianyuan Hall, as she had promised to have a meal with Yuan Heng.
The medicinal soup was already set out on the table.
Yuan Heng’s eyes lit up when he saw her enter.
Ji Qingwu was wearing a wide-sleeved robe of dark teal damask silk with a twin lotus pattern, cinched with a pink jade belt. Her dark hair was tied back with a pale silver ribbon, a decorative flower-shaped green hairpin placed at an angle in her topknot.
Seeing her dressed up like this, Yuan Heng was so pleased that he happily picked up the medicine bowl himself.
Before Ji Qingwu could even sit down, she smelled something was wrong.
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