Xia Chuli had never felt so cold.
The cold was like stabbing ice picks, assailing him from all directions, piercing his skin and injecting that bone-chilling cold into his blood.
He was shivering all over, his teeth chattering. He curled himself up in a ball, huddling in the corner of the bed in the side hall of the Eastern Palace.
This was Shen Qingfeng's room.
There were no lamps lit in the room. The darkness was thick and pervasive, filling the entire room and carrying a faint trace of Shen Qingfeng's aura.
It shouldn't be like this.
Xia Chuli hugged his knees, his eyes wide open as they were buried in his arms. Amidst the fear and loneliness, it seemed that some emotion was slowly brewing.
This place should be filled with Shen Qingfeng's scent - that Shen Qingfeng who had always been by his side, always smiling at him and vowing to accompany him for a lifetime. Why was his aura so faint in this room where he had once lived? So faint that it seemed as if a gentle puff of air would make it disappear.
"You're such a useless person, Xia Chuli."
A pair of invisible hands reached out from behind his head and slowly covered Xia Chuli's face.
"Look at yourself now. How are you any different from a stray dog begging on the street?"
Xia Chuli stared with wide eyes, allowing the invisible hands to gently cover his face.
He shivered, hugging his knees tightly with both hands. The veins on his forehead stood out as if he was struggling hard to control himself.
"How does it feel to watch him sleep with someone else?" The voice was deep and hoarse, carrying a sense of familiarity that Xia Chuli couldn't quite distinguish.
Xia Chuli's teeth chattered even more violently. "You... who on earth..."
"It must feel really bad..."
"You must resent him deeply..."
"Don't you want to kill Lu Yan out of hatred?"
Xia Chuli's pupils suddenly shrank. The veins on his hands bulged, and his mind was like a raging storm. Lightning flashed and thunder roared as his heart pounded wildly.
"Kill... who?"
"Kill Lu Yan," the voice laughed. "I'll help you..."
Xia Chuli gritted his teeth. Under extreme suppression, his blood seemed to be roaring and boiling.
"I'll help you kill Lu Yan, and then Shen Qingfeng will be yours, won't he?" The voice suddenly got closer and rang out loudly in Xia Chuli's mind. Only then did Xia Chuli realize that the voice seemed to come from his soul, from the deepest part of his consciousness, with a rumbling echo that was irresistible.
He could sense that there was something wrong with the voice, but he couldn't refuse it. Because as soon as that thought emerged, his mind was instantly occupied. The hatred for Lu Yan and the possessiveness towards Shen Qingfeng came like a torrential flood, almost engulfing his entire consciousness.
"Okay..." Xia Chuli said tremblingly. Then, he let out a sob, his body suddenly jolted, and the arms that had been tightly hugging his knees slumped onto the bed.
The entire room instantly fell into a deathly silence.
In the darkness, the figure on the bed still curled up in a ball, leaning silently in the corner. Even the sound of breathing could not be detected.
No one knew how long this silence lasted. Suddenly, Xia Chuli's body began to tremble violently. Then he suddenly leaned forward, grabbing the bedsheet tightly with one hand and gasping for breath, as if he had just been rescued from drowning.
He coughed violently a few times, then stared with wide eyes and looked around at the dim but familiar side hall of the Eastern Palace.
"Heh..."
"Hahaha...!"
In the deepest darkness, a nearly crazy laugh suddenly erupted.
"I didn't expect..." Xia Chuli moved his body and slowly sat up straight. He raised his hand and gently stroked his forehead. If someone who understood would notice, his subconscious movement was like stroking a nonexistent imperial crown.
He grinned and said, "I've really come back."
-
When Doctor Zhang was found, he was still in the Imperial Medical Bureau, holding an ancient book, studying it while stroking his chin and pounding medicine.
The person who came seemed to be in a great hurry. He introduced himself as a servant from the Dingbei Marquis Mansion. He said that he had received the order from the Marquis of Dingbei to quickly invite Doctor Zhang into the mansion to treat the patient.
Doctor Zhang was startled. According to the rules, the imperial doctors in the Bian Palace were not allowed to leave the palace to treat patients without the order of King Xia Jie. He quickly stood up and wiped his hands on his clothes. Just as he was about to ask, the servant said, "Doctor Zhang, please come with me quickly. Our Marquis... he's seriously ill!"
Lu Yan had royal blood and was the cousin of King Xia Jie. With this relationship, King Xia Jie would surely allow the doctors from the Imperial Medical Bureau to go and treat him. Doctor Zhang knew that he couldn't delay. As soon as he heard that the Marquis of Dingbei was ill, he didn't think much and quickly packed his medicine box and followed the servant in a hurry.
However, when he rushed to the Dingbei Marquis Mansion in a hurry, as soon as he entered the door, he saw the Marquis of Dingbei, Lu Yan, whom the servant had described as "on the verge of death", standing with a gloomy face and a look of anxiety on one side of the screen, turning his head to look at something inside the room. There was not the slightest sign of being seriously ill.
Doctor Zhang wiped the sweat off his face and rubbed his old legs that were trembling from running so fast. He bowed to the Marquis of Dingbei and said, "Your Lordship, your body..." You're in such good health. What's this all about?
Lu Yan turned to look at him and quickly walked over to help him up. He said, "Doctor Zhang is here. Come quickly, come quickly."
Doctor Zhang was completely confused. He was led behind the screen. Looking up, he saw a curtain hanging on the bed in the room. Through the layers of the curtain, a vague figure could be faintly seen. Doctor Zhang had been in the palace for quite a few years, and he immediately understood what was going on. It turned out that the Marquis of Dingbei didn't call him to treat himself, but the person on the bed.
Doctor Zhang lowered his head, looking at his nose and then at his heart. Since the Marquis of Dingbei had put up the curtain, it was obvious that he didn't want him to know. He didn't know who was lying on the bed, but it made the Marquis of Dingbei even fake his own illness to call the imperial doctor from the palace. Doctor Zhang couldn't help but sigh in his heart, but he didn't dare to think too much. He sat down obediently beside the bed and began to prepare.
Doctor Zhang took out a square handkerchief from the medicine box and said respectfully, "Please ask the person in the bed to stretch out their hand so that this old official can take the pulse."
Lu Yan nodded, sat down on the edge of the bed, lifted the curtain and felt around inside. Then he helped out an arm.
Throughout the whole process, Doctor Zhang was very tactful and didn't look more. But when he was about to take the pulse and saw that soft arm, he couldn't help but be startled.
The arm was as white as jade, obviously the arm of a beauty. But there were purple and blue marks all over the delicate skin.
Although Doctor Zhang was startled, he was an experienced man and didn't show it. He just properly placed the handkerchief on the person's wrist and began to take the pulse.
Taking the pulse was a shock. The person on the bed was actually a man...
Doctor Zhang tried hard to keep his expression unchanged, but in fact, he was already extremely uncomfortable, with cold sweat breaking out all over his back.
Wasn't the Marquis of Dingbei already engaged to the young master from the Shen family? Although the relationship between the Marquis of Dingbei and the Shen family had improved recently, it was previously said that the two families didn't get along well. It seemed that the Marquis of Dingbei already had someone he loved... But this level of passion... was he a bit too energetic...
Doctor Zhang wiped the sweat off his face, withdrew his hand and said respectfully, "Your Lordship, this young master has qi deficiency and has caught a cold. Moreover... he has been a bit overindulgent... This old official will prescribe a prescription now. Your Lordship, please pay more attention in the future."
The Marquis of Dingbei coughed awkwardly and nodded. "Then I'll trouble Doctor Zhang."
Doctor Zhang bowed, picked up the pen and wrote out a prescription. He handed it to Lu Yan and said, "This young master also has a cold syndrome. Your Lordship, please be more careful when it's cold..."
"I understand," Lu Yan took the prescription, glanced at him and said coldly, "What did Doctor Zhang see when he came to the mansion today?"
Doctor Zhang immediately understood. He lowered his head and bowed. "Your Lordship was seriously ill in bed. This old official took your Lordship's pulse and told your Lordship to take good care of yourself... That's all."
Lu Yan nodded in satisfaction. He took out a silver ingot from his pocket and put it in Doctor Zhang's hand. "Thank you for your trouble, Doctor Zhang."