Chapter Forty-Four

  It's been two days, and Ziyue Ye still hasn't attended court. When she does attend, it's just to listen to the civil and military officials bickering with each other. To be honest, I feel a bit sympathetic towards Zihan Ran - being able to maintain her composure while listening to their meaningless arguments every day is truly a remarkable feat, proof that she too has honed herself into a refined individual.

  With the wedding just around the corner, Zi Ruoye should have started preparing, but she hadn't even bought a single thing. Although Liu Qingyou had been very quiet at the Prime Minister's residence for the past two days, Zi Ruoye probably didn't think the wedding would happen anyway. Since it wouldn't happen, why bother buying unnecessary things? Probably only Zi Ruoye could ignore Zi Yanran's words like they were nothing.

  Lying on the rooftop, with toes hooked around a small wine jug, swaying gently, and even the sound of wine inside the jug can be heard. Eyes gazing at passersby coming and going, occasionally looking up at the clouds drifting in the sky, this day seems to be really too idle. Looking far away, a delicate horse-drawn carriage slowly approaches, and upon closer inspection, I sit up with a puzzled expression.

  The carriage of the Grand Chancellor's mansion?

  Jumping off the roof, pouting, isn't it Liu Qingyou who has arrived? Yun Cong sat outside the courtyard drinking tea, but kept an eye on every move of Zi Ruoye. Seeing her jump off the roof, he put down his teacup and walked forward, "How did the king come down?"

  "Hmm... I just saw the Prime Minister's carriage, heading towards the palace." She slightly furrowed her brow, not really wanting to see Liu Qingyou. They had met ten times before, but every time they did, Liu Qingyou would always find fault with her. Last time he came, he even destroyed her plum blossom forest, who knows what he wants this time?

  Seeing her slightly evasive expression, Yun's eyes still held a faint smile, and her gaze flickered with an unclear meaning. She knew that she didn't want to see Liu Qingyou not because she was afraid, but because every time they met, it seemed like there was an inexplicable atmosphere between them. Still, she advised, "If he comes, the king can't avoid him either, go ahead, after all, he is your future husband."

  "You also know that he can't possibly become my husband." She pursed her lips, wondering if Li Yu would elope with him in a few days, or come to provoke her again and make her give up directly. She was waiting for Li Yu, but the two main people were silent, could it be that she had been too heavy-handed that day? Even if she had been heavy-handed, wasn't that person also not a good person? It's likely that Liu Qingyou would have a hard time even if she married him...

  "Your Highness, people's hearts can change." Looking at her determined expression, he didn't want to burst the bubble. This person was usually not so dull, but now she seemed so obtuse. However, Liu Qingyou had yet to see through her own heart. Recalling the secret report from yesterday, his deep and profound eyes flickered slightly. Today, it seemed that a trip to the palace was unavoidable.

  "Ah, yes, it's good that he has changed." He can totally look for a better person. She originally thought Li Yu was just young and arrogant, after all, he had been on military campaigns outside for many years and carried the title of Young General, so it was inevitable that he would be somewhat proud. However, after multiple tests, she began to regret agreeing to that matter with Liu Qingyu. Perhaps she could discuss it with him and let him take a look at other excellent women around him?

  She looked at him with a serious face and said that it was good to change, but Yun Cong was not in the mood for words. One day when she knew the truth, she would be frightened.

  "I'll go out and take a look. See what he's here for today." As she spoke, she took a step and walked out the door, only to suddenly realize that she seemed to have nothing better to do, and was looking for something to do... And with Zi Yanran, who liked to cause her trouble, she seemed even more idle.

  Thinking of the tenth prince of Qinglan country, he was another headache for her.

  As he walked halfway, a young servant came forward and said, "Your Highness, I was just about to come and inform you that Minister Liu has arrived at the mansion and is currently waiting for Your Highness in the main hall."

  "Is that Minister Liu? Not Liu Qingyou?" Minister Liu had only been to the palace once before, on her birthday banquet, and now this was his second visit. Could there be something going on?

  The little servant heard Zi Ruoye say that, and slightly covered her mouth to smile, with a hint of affirmation. "Yes, it's definitely Liu Chengxiang, not Liu Gongzi." The king must have been thinking about Liu Gongzi these past few days, afraid he wouldn't get to see him. It makes sense, the king often stays out overnight, but recently he hasn't gone out and has been staying in the palace. Although every time the king and Liu Gongzi meet, there's a tense atmosphere, their servants aren't blind, they can all see that the king is giving in to Liu Gongzi. But it's also strange, the king who doesn't have any martial arts skills always manages to barely dodge Liu Gongzi's sword.

  Hearing the hint of amusement in Xiao Shier's words, Zi Ruoye's mouth twitched and said, "This king will go take a look."

  Not yet arrived at the hall, saw Liu Chengxiang seemed to sit still and couldn't help but look inward, with an anxious expression. Zi Ruoye's heart was startled, could it be that Liu Qingyou had thought of something? Hurriedly quickened her pace, walked up front, "Is something wrong with Liu Qingyou?"

  Liu Chengxiang, however, grabbed Zi Ruoye's hand and pulled her towards the carriage, saying as they walked, "Prince, quickly follow me to the Liu residence, something has really happened to You'er." Seeing the flicker of worry on Zi Ruoye's face, Liu Chengxiang was very pleased.

  Liu Chengxiang hurried to the Wangfu of Purple Ruoye as soon as he finished his morning court. Liu Qingyou had been in a daze since returning from Purple Ruoye's birthday banquet, often staring blankly at the trees outside. On that day, while bathing, if it wasn't for the servant girl noticing him taking too long and entering, Liu Qingyou was likely to faint in the bathtub. The little servant girl rushed forward and found that Liu Qingyou had a high fever.

  For the past two days, she had been bedridden and unconscious, with no one knowing what was wrong. The entire household was in an uproar. It wasn't until then that Minister Liu thought of Zi Ruoye and rushed to find her without delay.

  Zi Ruoye listened, but looked at Liu Chengxiang with a mixture of tears and laughter, "Liu Qingyou has fallen ill, you should go to the Medical Saints' Hall to invite a doctor, or let Zi Yanran send an imperial physician. What use is it for me? I won't take pulses or diagnose illnesses, nor will I prescribe medicine."

  "I thought you were bringing me a beauty...". He leaned back in the carriage, took out a small wine jug and started drinking alone again.

  "I'm not helpless." Besides, is it easy to summon the imperial physician? It's said that Zi Ruoye directly called out Zi Yanran's name, and Liu Chengxiang's wise eyes flickered, but he still helplessly said.

  "What can this king do?" She indeed wouldn't, if she could, how would the poison on her body have dragged on until now... leaving only a dying body here to struggle on?

  "Perhaps Yu'er will listen to you and take the medicine? Your Highness, please help this old woman." The corners of Minister Liu's eyes held a faint plea, the doctor had said that if the fever didn't break today, it was feared...

  "That... I should also go find Li Yu..." The person who is sick would want to hear from the one they have a crush on, right? But she's actually someone he dislikes, someone he has called an alcoholic, a rotten person, a good-for-nothing...

  Liu Chengxiang said sternly, "Your Highness, now that Yu'er is your fiancé, if you let Vice General Li go, what will happen to Yu'er's reputation?" Indeed, the king knew Yu'er's thoughts...

  "Hasn't Ziyu Ran given that imperial edict to Liu Qingyou yet?" she muttered to herself, having sent a message to Ziyu Ran the day before to give the edict to Liu Qingyou after her birthday. On that day, Liu Qingyou had borrowed Li Yu's sword and publicly announced his admiration for Li Yu, and with the imperial edict, it would be even more convincing. However, she still went to talk to him, telling him to observe Li Yu carefully when making decisions, and if he still held onto his original intention after observing, then that was his choice too.

  Grand Secretary Liu said lightly, "That imperial edict is now in my possession."

  Zi Ruoye raised her eyes, as if after drinking a few mouthfuls, her eyes were already filled with a drunken haze. In a half-drunk, half-awake voice, she murmured, "Since Zi Yanran has told you, then so be it. Let the Crown Prince wait for me to take him to Liu Qingyu."

  "Does the king really want to do this?" Looking at the purple leaf in front of him, Liu Chengxiang sighed softly. Nowadays, You'er is... Although the child himself has not seen clearly, but how can these bystanders not see clearly?

  "What else can I do? He has his own heart, should I beat the mandarin ducks with a stick? The beauty that I like is one who throws herself into my arms, even if it's a night of a thousand gold in the palace, I still need to get her consent. Although Liu Qingyou is a beauty, I don't like forcing people." The respectful and self-deprecating expression was actually quite sincere.

  As they spoke, they had already arrived at the Prime Minister's residence. "The king also said that everything would be decided by You'er, now You'er is still your husband, you should go and take a look." After finishing speaking, he got off the carriage, let out a light sigh and walked in.

  Zi Ruoye slowly got off the carriage, and the people from the Chancellor's residence saw that the prince had arrived, so they hurriedly knelt down and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

  "Not in sight, not in sight... I'm thinking of the beauty." He swayed and staggered towards Liu Qingyu's courtyard. The servants looked at each other, this prince was drunk and going to see the young master, what's good about this? They wanted to ask the prime minister, but he just waved his hand.

  As soon as she entered the courtyard, her eyes cleared up, and upon entering, she smelled a strong medicinal scent, as if even the air was crying. Zi Ruoye furrowed her brow and walked in, seeing the little servant girl sleeping soundly on one side, with a bowl of medicine placed beside her that hadn't been touched at all.

  How can he recover from his illness without taking medicine? He gently pushed the sleeping little servant forward and asked, "Did he take his medicine?"

  The drowsy little servant subconsciously shook his head, this was already the fourth bowl of medicine he had changed. Thinking it was the prime minister asking, he subconsciously replied, "The second young master has been lying down with a fever and delirium since that day, not even finishing his soup, let alone taking any medicine."

  This person was fine, how did he get sick?

  "You go and fry another bowl, I'll try it."

  The little servant was startled awake, saw Zi Ruoye and jumped in fright, then heard her orders, and only then responded to go decoct the medicine. Before leaving, she said, "The doctor said that if the young master doesn't eat or drink his medicine today, he's afraid his body will be ruined."

  Liu Qingyou was not as overbearing as he usually was, quietly lying in bed, even his breathing was light and shallow. His originally pale skin had taken on a few shades of red due to the fever, but it looked more translucent than before. His good-looking eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and Zi Ruoye reached out her hand to gently smooth out the small wrinkles between them, smiling softly, "You're not going to chop me up even in your dreams, are you?"

  Seeing him lying there without spirit at the moment, he didn't have the usual appearance of shouting and killing when he saw her. She was really used to it a bit, "Why are you okay? Did Li Yu say something to you?"

  Liu Qingyou was dazed and weak, unable to exert any strength, with a fever that made him unable to speak, and eyelids so heavy he couldn't lift them. Yet, he could still sense who the person beside him was, listening to her murmurs, hearing her mention Li Yu in almost every other sentence... which only made him feel more miserable.

  Since the birthday banquet, Zi Ruoye's figure has been appearing frequently, like a fly buzzing around him, making it hard for him to live in peace. He would occasionally think back to the few days he spent with her, remembering the first time he found out that the person he was supposed to marry was not Li Yu, but this stupid Prince Wang, and how angry he was when he tried to assassinate her, only to be easily dodged by her as she laughed. He would get furious thinking about how she had traded with him on the rooftop, saying she would help him and Li Yu, his heart would slightly lose hope. Thinking about how she quietly gazed at Yun Cong that day, his heart would feel sour... This mix of anger, sourness, and pain made him even more uncomfortable.

  Often thinking about it, I would lose my mind. That day, I caught a cold and was dazed while bathing, the cold got worse, when I fainted is unforgettable... Only to know that now my whole body can't exert any strength, and my eyes can't be opened.

  Her hand gently covered Liu Qingyou's forehead, but she was slightly frowning. How could it be so hot? She remembered what the little servant said, hadn't Liu Qingyou gone without eating for two days?

  "Willow Qingyou, don't sleep anymore, if you sleep again, I'll accompany you to sleep too." While changing the wet towel on his forehead, he said with a smile.

  Liu Qingyou's eyelashes trembled slightly, and if he hadn't been ill, he would have probably swung his sword at Zi Ruoye. Seeing that Liu Qingyou had a slight reaction, Zi Ruoye was overjoyed and continued to say, "Well, I think it's a bit late to marry you in a few days. Why not have the wedding tonight? After all, you're already mine." As he spoke, he noticed that Liu Qingyou's face was now even redder than before, and he couldn't tell if it was due to anger or illness.

  "This king thinks that the prime minister should not stop it either, everyone in the world knows that you are my person now, hmm... by then Li Yu will also know." Zi Ruoye suddenly mentioned Li Yu, thinking that Liu Qingyao would definitely not let her have her way, after all he was going to marry Li Yu.

  One side spoke while using a fine bamboo stick to dip in water, dotting it on the slightly dry and cracked lips of Liu Qingyu, "If you don't wake up soon, I'll send a few more beauties to Li Yu. Although I'm really reluctant to give those beauties to Li Yu, I truly can't bear to part with them. So please hurry up and wake up, Li Yu already has you, that's enough. Those beauties are rare treasures, sending them to Li Yu is something I really can't bear." Zi Ruoye continued to dot water on Liu Qingyu's lips, her words filled with reluctance to part with those beauties.

  "To think that Chun Yu and Xia He, these two beauties, are also quite liked by me. If you don't wake up again, I'll have no choice but to painfully give them up. There are so many beauties in the world, why bother with those two." Just as Zi Ruoye was about to continue speaking, she discovered that Liu Qingyou's eyes had opened, filled with a gaze that wanted to slice him into a thousand pieces.

  A cool sensation spread through his throat, and the burning sensation in his throat slightly subsided. However, upon hearing Ye Zi's words, he felt even more infuriated. He'd rather just die from illness than listen to this idiot speak. His voice, which hadn't been used for two days, was still slightly uncomfortable with a hint of hoarseness, but the gritted teeth and anger in his tone were palpable as he said, "You dare." Upon hearing her mention those names - Chun Yu and Xia He - who else could come up with such unpleasant names?!

  Seeing him wake up, his eyebrows and eyes were filled with deep fatigue, but he still struggled to open his eyes and glare at her. Zi Ruoye hastily said, "This king doesn't dare, how could I dare? Those beauties are still left for this king himself. This king wouldn't dare give them to you, Li Yu."

  "Ah-choo! Ah-choo!..." He wanted to say something, but she made him so angry that he started coughing violently. This woman should be chopped up! Beauty, beauty, all they care about is beauty! His heart ached from coughing so hard!

  "This king was wrong! Don't say it, don't say it." Seeing him coughing badly, Zi Ruoye hurriedly shut her mouth, lest the person who had just woken up would be angered to faint again.

  "Are you thirsty? Someone has gone to decoct the medicine, but I heard that you haven't eaten anything for two days. Let someone cook congee for you to drink first before taking the medicine."

  Seeing her speaking to herself in a soft and gentle voice, Liu Qingyou was slightly stunned, staring blankly at Zi Ruoye, nodding slowly. He took the teacup she handed over and obediently drank water.

  The servant came in with the medicine at this moment, saw Liu Qingyou woke up, and walked forward excitedly, "Young master, you're awake? I'll go inform the prime minister right away."

  "Wait!" Zi Ruo Ye called out to the servant who was about to rush out, looking at him holding a medicine bowl and preparing to leave. He said helplessly, "First put down the medicine and have the kitchen cook some congee to send over. Taking medicine on an empty stomach isn't good for his stomach... He just woke up and his body is still weak... After you've instructed them to do these things, then let Liu Cheng Xiang come over."

  The servants responded one by one, feeling that the king seemed a bit different today, but they didn't dare to say more, and put down the medicine bowl before retreating. Only after instructing Zi Ruoye to take over did he go to inform Liu Chengxiang.

  Liu Chengxiang's face lit up with a smile, "Since You'er is awake, I won't go. Let him rest well." The prince is indeed more effective than medicine...

  "What are you doing here!" Although she was very weak at this moment, she didn't want to be ridiculed by this rotten person, so she stared at her with all her might and said.

  "Hmm, still has the energy to yell at me, looks like you're almost fully recovered." Zi Ruoye said with a smile, not getting angry. At this moment, Liu Qingyou was really too harmless compared to usual. Seeing his pale face, she gently advised, "If you want to yell at me, wait until you're fully recovered next time... but the palace no longer has any plum blossoms for you to cut..." Although she thought it a pity that the plum blossoms were ruined by him, she wouldn't make wine anyway, so it was just a waste.

  "Who let you come here! I don't care about anything! Don't think that I will marry you just because of this! I hate you to death! How could I possibly marry you!" She lay down and directly covered her head with the quilt, but in her heart, it was sour. He originally didn't want to say this, but seeing her smiling face, the words came out like this.

  Zi Ruoye rubbed her nose, but still gently pulled down the quilt. Although she had a fever and couldn't catch a chill, she also couldn't be too covered up. Smiling, she said, "This king knows all about it, this king is working hard! After things are accomplished, don't forget that this king's wine is good. You can rest now, remember to drink congee after taking medicine. This king will leave."

  If she waited any longer, she might really pass out from anger. Now that the person was awake, they should be taking their medicine properly. Ziyue Ye finally stood up and walked out, gently closing the door behind her.

  Liu Qingyou had always been facing away from Zi Ruoye, listening to the sound of the door closing, and sat up, with a hint of melancholy flashing in her eyes. Had she come specifically today? Was it because he was ill that she came specifically?