After the Pitiful Little One Seduced the Feudal Big Daddy - Chapter 14

Xie Yunqing was stunned. He did not understand why, in such a state, the person appeared completely indifferent to his own condition, caring only about who Xie Yunqing was; nor did he understand how they already knew his name.

“Yes…” Xie Yunqing pursed his lips, feeling somewhat at a loss, but he nodded nonetheless. “I am Xie Yunqing.”

As a breeze blew off the lake, the person couldn’t help but cough several times. However, they quickly pulled their lips into a smile, as if they had guessed the confusion in Xie Yunqing’s heart, and provided an answer: “You are very beautiful, and very talented. I… heard of you last year, and I once saw you from a distance.”

The person gripped Xie Yunqing’s hand more tightly. Using Xie Yunqing’s strength for support, they managed to sit halfway up. During the process, the outer robe slid down slightly, and Xie Yunqing hurriedly covered them again.

Once the person was settled, leaning against a low table in the water pavilion, they looked intently at Xie Yunqing’s face and added, “You truly are very beautiful. No wonder… no wonder…”

Their voice was raspy and low, as if their thoughts had drifted far away. Xie Yunqing did not understand what they meant. He simply stood up to block the continuous wind blowing in from the lake.

After a while, Xie Yunqing wanted to try persuading them again, but the person softly called out to stop him.

“Xie Yunqing…” The person lowered their eyes, looking at the outer robe draped over them. It was very thin, yet it still retained some of the warmth from Xie Yunqing’s body. They paused inexplicably before continuing: “Things are not as you imagine, but as for how they truly are… I cannot say.”

Then, they gathered the outer robe and lifted their head to return it to Xie Yunqing. “Could you please not tell anyone about this? Just… keep it a secret for me, alright?”

Xie Yunqing did not reach out to take it. Instead, looking at the expression on the person’s face, he felt as if they were about to cry, or perhaps had already cried. He suddenly felt as though he had done something wrong, and his heartbeat slowed down bit by bit.

A moment later, he reached out and took the outer robe. However, he draped it back over the person and nodded solemnly. “Alright… I won’t ask you again, and I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thank you…”

After thanking him, the person spoke no more. For a time, the only sounds in the water pavilion were the wind and the person’s gradually stabilizing breath.

Xie Yunqing nervously rubbed his own wrist. He realized the person needed him to leave now, but after hesitating for a moment, he slowly knelt down. “I… I’ll walk you back. It’s too dark, and this place is too remote; the path is very difficult to walk.”

The person seemed stunned. The faint gloom between their brows vanished in that moment, replaced by shock. Then, they asked, “Does it not… hurt for you?”

Xie Yunqing still didn’t know how the person knew about his injuries, but he answered seriously nonetheless: “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

It truly didn’t hurt much anymore at least within a range he was long accustomed to and could endure. In fact, even the pain when he woke after fainting a few days ago was within his normal threshold for endurance. If it hadn’t been for the kindness of Pei Xuan and Old Madame Pei, he probably wouldn’t have needed those medicines at all, let alone special rest.

Xie Yunqing didn’t catch the obvious refusal in the person’s words and, without waiting for a reaction, carefully helped them up. He let them lean on his right shoulder, asked for the direction of their dormitory, and then very slowly and carefully led them back.

Only when they arrived did Xie Yunqing realize it was the dormitory of the Daizhi Court. No wonder he had never seen the person before. Furthermore, it seemed the person lived alone. Single dormitories in the Imperial Academy were generally assigned to students from top-tier noble families, such as Pei Xuan and Cui Ji this likely reflected the person’s status.

But Xie Yunqing did not ask questions. After helping the person lie down on the bed, he quickly departed. However, upon reaching a fork in the dormitory path, Xie Yunqing suddenly stopped. His hand moved slightly inside his sleeve as he recalled the abnormal body temperature he’d felt while supporting the person.

They must have a fever.

And from the look of it, there was no one there to care for them. At this thought, Xie Yunqing hesitated no longer. He changed direction and headed toward a small side gate of the Academy. After explaining his intent to the clerk at the gate, he left the Academy to search for the pharmacies he remembered nearby.

Unlike other places, the capital did not have a night curfew. The area around the Academy was frequently patrolled by guards belonging to the Chancellor’s Manor, making it very safe. However, perhaps it was too late, for the pharmacies Xie Yunqing remembered were all closed.

Actually, not quite all of them. There was one he had heard of located in the red-light district that should still be open.

Xie Yunqing felt a bit afraid. He remembered Yu Chen once saying, while belittling him, that if he weren’t in the Academy, there would be plenty of people wanting to sell him into the red-light district after arriving in the capital. Xie Yunqing did not want to be sold, and he had a general idea of what went on in such places.

But a fever is different from a physical injury; it isn’t something that can just be endured. If one doesn’t take medicine and the fever continues, they might truly die. Xie Yunqing had seen it as a child: a poor child in his village had fallen ill with a fever and, because they couldn’t afford medicine, had simply died.

Therefore, he absolutely could not ignore that person.

Xie Yunqing clenched his fists slightly, lowered his head, and ran toward the district. It was somewhat different from what he had imagined; at least until he found the pharmacy, no one did anything to him, though many people stared at him strangely. It seemed the security in the capital was indeed very good.

Still, he couldn’t stay long, as he felt more and more eyes on him. He quickly entered the pharmacy. What greeted him was not the scent of herbs, but of rouge and other strange odors. Xie Yunqing did not lift his head. He simply told the person behind the counter that he needed medicine to bring down a fever.

For some reason, the person laughed upon hearing this it was a woman.

“Little lord, I didn’t hear you clearly just now. Do you want medicine to bring down a fever, or…” The woman stepped out from behind the counter and approached Xie Yunqing, lowering her head to look at his face. Her voice grew softer and more suggestive. “…Medicine to give you a fever?”

The scent of rouge practically clogged Xie Yunqing’s nose, and a chill ran down his spine. But assuming the woman truly hadn’t heard him, he steeled himself and repeated his request. To his surprise, the woman laughed even louder.

She said, “I have medicine for fevers, but I don’t sell it on its own. You must buy it along with the medicine that gives you a fever; only then will I sell.”

Xie Yunqing didn’t actually understand why such a thing as medicine to cause a fever existed in the world wasn’t that just harming people? But in order to leave quickly, he simply nodded. “Fine, I’ll take both.”

The woman didn’t say anything else strange. With a few chuckles, she turned back to the counter, placed two packets of medicine in front of him, and stated the price.

Xie Yunqing calculated the money he had on him and suddenly felt the pinch of his meager funds. After hesitating, he told her truthfully that he didn’t have enough money today and asked if he could take the fever medicine first and return tomorrow for the other packet.

“The little lord is quite the joker,” the woman laughed again. “Who knows if you’ll actually come back tomorrow after leaving tonight?”

“The words of men are the least trustworthy of all.”

Xie Yunqing lifted his head to look at the woman, but quickly looked down again her clothing was far too revealing. See no evil, see no evil. After a moment of silence, he said sincerely, “I will definitely come tomorrow. I can leave you a note.”

The woman was stunned, then she raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want to make things difficult for you, but a note is useless to me.”

“How about this: for the sake of that face of yours, I’ll give you the ‘fever-inducing’ medicine at half-price. How does that sound?”

Xie Yunqing hadn’t expected the woman to be so kind-hearted. He thanked her repeatedly and placed all the money he had on the counter. The woman didn’t rush to take the money; after wrapping the medicine, she approached him again, took his hand, and looped the red string of the medicine packets around his wrist.

She leaned in, sniffing lightly near his neck, and said flirtatiously, “So fragrant.”

Xie Yunqing endured the discomfort of the proximity and dared not look at her at all. Although he was desperate to leave, he didn’t forget to thank her once more after receiving the medicine. He was perfectly polite and composed.

His only lapse in etiquette was deliberately pretending not to hear her call out as he left:

“If you find a use for that medicine in the future, don’t forget to come back and thank me!”

Xie Yunqing inexplicably ran even faster.