Don't Raise A Black Lotus Flower; Use The Emperor As A Substitute [Transmigration novel] - Chapter 7

“A General’s Feast?”

Lu Heng laughed. “Yes, it will be held at the Crown Prince’s villa outside the city. It will be so much fun, and I am sure you will love it, Chief Eunuch Lin.”

He leaned closer to Lin Ruoxuan’s ear and lowered his voice. “This time, the feast has live bait.”

Live bait? Lin Ruoxuan frowned deeply. Connecting this to the man-eating mastiff named Black General, the nature of the feast and the so-called live bait became chillingly clear. These spoiled rich brats were truly inhuman.

Lu Heng could barely contain the excitement in his eyes. “I heard this time the live bait consists of children from the countryside, about thirteen or fourteen years old, both boys and girls. They are very fresh.”

Looking at Lu Heng’s thinly veiled excitement, Lin Ruoxuan felt a wave of nausea so intense he could barely keep his composure. He managed to suppress the urge to retch and said, “Young Master Lu, I am really too busy. I will not be attending.”

Lu Heng could not help but press. “Chief Eunuch Lin, the Crown Prince thinks highly of you. Do not…”

He paused, not finishing his sentence, but his expression had turned extremely displeased, as if he were about to spit out the words: do not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.

Lin Ruoxuan could not be bothered to engage with him. He turned and patted Master Li’s shoulder. “Master Li, when will the wheelchair be finished? I want to deliver it to the Fourth Prince tomorrow.”

Master Li apologized with a smile. “Right away, right away! Two hours at most!”

“Hmph.” Lu Heng snorted indignantly. “Forget it, let us go!”

He waved his hand, signaling his servants to pick up the giant dog cage, and left without looking back.

Because of the interruption from Lu Heng, the wheelchair was not finished until well after dark. Master Li stroked the strange-looking wheelchair and sighed, “Chief Eunuch Lin, how did you come up with this? Why did I never think of it? Look, by adding an inner rim to the main wheels, the patient can push themselves without dirtying their hands.”

“What is that?”

“It looks like a wheelchair, but not quite.”

Several craftsmen craned their necks curiously outside the room. However, seeing Chen Lin standing guard at the door with a cold, poker-faced expression, they did not dare enter.

Lin Ruoxuan waved his hand. “Chen Lin, it is fine. Let them in.”

“Yes, Chief Eunuch,” Chen Lin replied, stepping aside.

The craftsmen looked at each other and swarmed into the room. They surrounded the wheelchair, touching and admiring it. At first, they were afraid of Lin Ruoxuan, but he was easygoing, nothing like the dark, terrifying Head of the Eastern Depot from the legends. The craftsmen quickly relaxed and began discussing it excitedly.

“Chief Eunuch Lin, this wheelchair is truly ingenious!”

“I must draw this mechanism to remember it.”

“Hey, what is this wooden ring on the side for?”

“That is for holding a milk jug,” Lin Ruoxuan laughed. “The Fourth Prince is physically weak. With this wheelchair, he can go out to get some sun and drink some sheep’s milk every day. He will recover much faster.”

“Physically weak?” Master Li suddenly remembered something and slapped his thigh. “Right! The Imperial Pharmacy has tiger bone powder specifically for treating bone injuries!”

“The Imperial Pharmacy?” Lin Ruoxuan paused, his eyes brightening.

The system had said that to refine the Sifang Huichun Pill to save the protagonist, he needed four medicinal herbs, and the Dongling White Jade Ginseng was in the Imperial Pharmacy. He had been worried about how to inquire about it; it was as if someone had handed him a pillow just as he wanted to sleep.

Master Li nodded. “I heard from Young Master Lu a while ago that last spring, the Crown Prince went hunting in the Western Mountains with his pack of mastiffs and fell, breaking his arm. The Emperor opened the Imperial Pharmacy and bestowed tiger bone powder upon him. I heard that in less than a month, the Crown Prince’s arm was healed and even stronger than before!”

Lin Ruoxuan nodded, pretending to be casual. “I think I heard about that as well. The herbs in the Imperial Pharmacy must be extremely precious, right?”

“Indeed, indeed.” An old craftsman stroked his gray beard. “Chief Eunuch Lin, I hear that those herbs are tributes from vassal kings. They are precious beyond measure. Only with a handwritten decree from the Emperor would Chief Physician Xu open the Imperial Pharmacy.”

A middle-aged craftsman scratched his head. “According to that, Chief Eunuch Lin, for the Fourth Prince…”

He glanced guiltily at Lin Ruoxuan and did not continue, but the room fell silent.

“I understand. It is fine,” Lin Ruoxuan nodded. He understood the craftsman’s implication. Even these humble craftsmen knew that Ji Ruxue was not favored. The Emperor would open the pharmacy for the Crown Prince, but Ji Ruxue could forget about it.

Tiger bone powder was not strictly necessary; Lin Ruoxuan could treat the leg injury himself with equally good results. However, the white jade ginseng being in the pharmacy was a problem. Lin Ruoxuan shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and called out, “Chen Lin, push the wheelchair. We are returning to the residence.”

“Yes, Chief Eunuch.”

The next afternoon, Ji Ruxue was half-lying on his bed, holding a thin, thread-bound book. He could not focus on a single word, instead lost in his thoughts about recent events.

For the past few days, the eunuch had come every afternoon to change his dressing with proper, respectful movements. His three meals and daily necessities had also undergone a total transformation: from icy, rancid leftovers to fresh meat and fish; from hard, thin, dirty bedding to new, fluffy, and clean quilts. Even those condescending eunuchs were now respectful toward him.

All these changes were due to Lin Ruoxuan.

Ji Ruxue narrowed his eyes. What is the eunuch’s goal? Could he not have really had a dream and suddenly decided to turn over a new leaf? Ji Ruxue curled his lips in a cold, gloomy smile. He thinks I would believe such an absurd excuse?

“Knock, knock.”

Ji Ruxue regained his focus, tucked the book under his pillow, and called out, “Come in.”

Lin Ruoxuan pushed open the door. “Your Highness.”

Ji Ruxue shed his gloomy expression, wearing a perfect, innocent smile. “Chief Eunuch Lin, you are here.”

Lin Ruoxuan sat by the bed, smiling. “How are you feeling today, Your Highness?”

“Thanks to you, much better,” Ji Ruxue nodded.

“Let me change your dressing.”

Ji Ruxue lowered his eyes and said nothing, untying his inner garment to reveal his chest covered in tiny scabs. Lin Ruoxuan dipped his fingertip into the healing powder and applied it with his usual caution. Throughout the process, Ji Ruxue kept his lashes lowered, his small, pale face expressionless, but his body was no longer as tense as it had been in the past.

“Your Highness, please turn over.”

Ji Ruxue turned, revealing his thin back, also covered in scabs.

“Does it still hurt?” Lin Ruoxuan asked while applying the medicine.

Ji Ruxue shook his head. “It is not as painful now that the scabs have formed; it is just a bit itchy.”

“Do not scratch it, or it will leave ugly scars. Do you understand?”

“Mm, I understand.”

Lin Ruoxuan felt relieved. Ji Ruxue’s attitude toward him had softened significantly. He knew the boy was a Black Lotus and would not trust him easily, but everything took time.

After changing the dressing, Lin Ruoxuan smiled mysteriously. “Your Highness, I have something good to show you.”

Ji Ruxue looked puzzled. “What good thing?”

“Wait just a moment.” Lin Ruoxuan turned to leave and then pushed something in through the door. “Your Highness, look.”

It was a wheelchair, or rather, a multi-functional pinewood wheelchair, crafted with a modern ergonomic design and the superb skill of ancient royal craftsmen.

“This is…” Ji Ruxue stared at the intricate wheelchair, stunned.

“This is a wheelchair I had the workshop build. With this, Your Highness can go out and get some sun every day.”

Lin Ruoxuan happily pushed the wheelchair to the bedside, spinning it around to show it off like a child presenting a prize. “Look, Your Highness, this wheelchair can turn like this, and there is a place for a water jug.”

Ji Ruxue stared at the wheelchair. It was made of pine and clearly rushed, still smelling of fresh wood with new-cut edges. The structure was incredibly clever; the man must have put a lot of effort into it. He reached out and touched the smooth armrest. Did this eunuch make this specifically for me?

Lin Ruoxuan grabbed the opportunity to score some points. “Do you like it, Your Highness? I know I went too far in the past, so I went to the workshop every night to supervise its construction. It was finished last night, and I brought it to you today.”

“Finished last night?” Ji Ruxue looked up. The eunuch was looking at him with a fawning, eager smile, but his usually clear eyes were bloodshot from several sleepless nights.

This wheelchair, he had the craftsmen rush it just so I could go outside for some sun?

Ji Ruxue remained silent, frowning, his fingers gripping the armrest so tightly his knuckles turned white. No, this is impossible. The eunuch broke my leg, and now he is acting like this—there must be an ulterior motive.

Seeing Ji Ruxue remain silent, Lin Ruoxuan grew anxious, unsure of what the boy was thinking. He tentatively coaxed, “Your Highness, the sun is beautiful today. Shall I push you outside for a while?”

Ji Ruxue hesitated, then replied, “Okay.”

It was a warm spring day in April. The Cold Palace garden was overgrown and unkept, but lush, with tiny white wildflowers dotting the corners of the walls. When the sunlight hit him, Ji Ruxue could not help but close his eyes. It had been so long. It was dazzling and so warm.

The Cold Palace was desolate, but the garden was vast. Lin Ruoxuan pushed the wheelchair in circles around the courtyard before stopping beside a bamboo grove.

“How does it feel, Your Highness? If you do not mind, I will push you out for sun every day, all right?”

Ji Ruxue could not help but ask, “Why?”

Lin Ruoxuan, what are you plotting? What could I possibly have that is worth your trouble? Could you still be thinking of those disgusting things? Ji Ruxue regretted the question as soon as it left his lips and tried to cover it up, but Lin Ruoxuan misunderstood him.

“If you get sun every day, your leg will heal faster and be less likely to have long-term complications.” Lin Ruoxuan added internally: And if your leg does not end up crippled, you won’t grow up psychologically twisted and turn into a villain who peels people’s faces off.

“Shall I push you out for an hour every afternoon?”

Ji Ruxue remained silent for a long time before looking up and smiling slightly. “Very well, then I will trouble you, Chief Eunuch Lin.”

“It is a deal.”

They chatted idly for a while. As the sun grew warmer, Lin Ruoxuan felt bored and plucked a bamboo leaf, folded it, and blew into it. It sounded like a ghost wailing.

“Your Highness, how was that?”

Ji Ruxue’s smile stiffened. “It was quite good.”

“Really? I thought so too!” Lin Ruoxuan’s eyes lit up. Encouraged, he played even harder. When he used to sing at karaoke with his interns, those little devils had said he was tone-deaf, but they were clearly lying!

Ji Ruxue closed his eyes, feeling the warm sun on his face. Even the ghostly wailing from the bamboo leaf did not seem so grating anymore.

This eunuch is deliberately currying favor with me. I can feel it. As for why, I cannot figure it out yet. At any rate, this feeling is not too bad, and I am not losing anything. But I must not let my guard down.

After a long time, the sound of the bamboo leaf ceased. Ji Ruxue looked over and saw the eunuch sitting on the grass beside the wheelchair, his head resting against the armrest, fast asleep.

Lin Ruoxuan had a delicate, beautiful face with fair skin and a sharp jawline. Although Ji Ruxue was still young, he understood that this face was objectively striking. But now, it was drooling.

Ji Ruxue: “…”

As the sun began to set, Lin Ruoxuan yawned and woke up, scratching his head in embarrassment. “Ahem, I stayed up too late last night. My apologies.”

Ji Ruxue shook his head. “It is no matter.”

Lin Ruoxuan stood up, pushed the wheelchair back into the room, gently lifted the boy onto the bed, and tucked him in.

“Plop!” As he pulled the quilt, an old, thread-bound book fell onto the floor.

Ji Ruxue’s expression stiffened for a second. He bent slightly to pick up the book, but he could not quite reach it.

Lin Ruoxuan raised an eyebrow. The boy seemed flustered. Could this book be a book of erotica? Haha, the little Black Lotus reads this kind of thing? Well, he is a young man; that is normal. Rare to catch him in a vulnerable moment.

He chuckled inwardly, but his face remained serious. “Oh? What book is that?”

Ji Ruxue said hurriedly, “Nothing.”

Lin Ruoxuan picked up the book. He was about to tease Ji Ruxue, but he froze when he saw the cover. It was the Thousand Character Classic.

Looking at the tattered Thousand Character Classic, worn from countless readings, Lin Ruoxuan was surprised. Ji Ruxue was fourteen; why was he still reading an introductory text?

“Is Your Highness reading the Thousand Character Classic?”

Ji Ruxue remained silent for a moment before whispering, “I have never been to the Imperial Study to study.”

“Oh, I see.” Lin Ruoxuan realized his mistake and felt a pang of regret. Why did he have to bring that up?

In the original novel, because Ji Ruxue was unloved, the Emperor never arranged for his education, so he could never study with the great scholars in the Imperial Study like his brothers. Besides his crippled leg and frail health, his lack of education was another one of Ji Ruxue’s deepest insecurities.

Thinking of this, Lin Ruoxuan fell into thought. A child should be well-rounded, right? Aside from healing his leg and nourishing his body, he should be reading more books. Once he was educated and his mind was sound, he would not grow up twisted.

In the Imperial Palace, the best place to study was, of course, the Imperial Study, which had the best scholars in the world.

But how could he get the Emperor to agree to let Ji Ruxue study there? That quirky father hated this son like a mortal enemy. Right, and then there was the matter of the Imperial Pharmacy.

It seemed he would have to pay a visit to the Emperor.