Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 28

Liu Fenyun patiently comforted her and massaged her for a while before belatedly remembering that she had brought some pain relieving medicine.

She rarely needed it herself. Ever since arriving in the Zhuohuang Kingdom, the painkillers had been left at the bottom of her medicine box and had never been used. The prescription was provided by the system high dimensional research material and she had tried it once before when she was injured, with excellent results.

Liu Fenyun quickly rummaged through the medicine box, took out a small pill, and fed it to Lianyi under her clothes.

Fifteen minutes later, Lianyi no longer felt the sharp pain and asked in surprise, “A-Yun, how do you have every kind of medicine?”

“My master taught me to be both a physician and a pharmacist, so I took some time to study a few effective remedies,” Liu Fenyun said with a smile, lying her down and covering her with a blanket. “Your Highness, rest for a while. Once you have the energy, you can get up and wash yourself. It must feel uncomfortable with your clothes sticking to you.”

Lianyi obediently closed her eyes. When she woke up, she smelled a strong aroma of brown sugar.

Liu Fenyun, however, was not nearby. Lianyi covered her stomach and looked around, but she couldn’t find anything edible with brown sugar in the room.

Just as she was puzzled, a flash of light appeared, and Liu Fenyun came holding a steaming bowl of brown sugar ginger tea. Seeing her standing barefoot, she was startled, put down the bowl, and bent over to lift her.

“Your Highness, don’t do this! You might catch a cold! Next time, remember to wear shoes and socks before moving around…”

Lianyi didn’t move and was carried back onto the bed. Liu Fenyun sat by the bed holding the bowl. Sniffing it, Lianyi confirmed that the sweet brown sugar fragrance had indeed come from the tea.

“You brewed this brown sugar ginger tea in the medicinal garden?” Lianyi asked.

Liu Fenyun nodded. “Yes. The ginger tea the chef made was too strong, and I worried Your Highness might not like it, so I brewed it in the medicinal garden. Drink it while it’s hot.” She scooped a spoonful, blew on it gently, and handed it to Lianyi.

After drinking, Lianyi licked her lips, savoring the remaining sweet liquid.

She had never realized brown sugar ginger tea could taste so good.

“Next time, don’t go brewing herbs in the garden when others are around,” Lianyi frowned. “The aroma will spread.”

Liu Fenyun was puzzled, but the system reminded her in time: “Host, don’t worry. Only your blood-bonded demon kin can smell the aroma of the medicinal garden outside.”

Understanding this, Liu Fenyun nodded to Lianyi.

After taking the pain medicine and drinking the ginger tea, Lianyi regained her energy.

Liu Fenyun helped her wash with warm water and change into clean clothes before bringing up the upcoming spring hunt. “I heard the spring hunt is approaching. Will Your Highness be attending?”

“The spring hunt,” Lianyi fluttered her eyelashes. “In the past, I always went privately with Li Hua and the others. I’ve never followed the palace group. I haven’t decided this year. How do you plan to go, A-Yun?”

This question stumped Liu Fenyun. She was used to staying at home; before crossing over, she only went on picnics or trips to accompany her roommates. She had no interest in going out herself.

“Whatever you decide is fine. I’ll follow Your Highness’s arrangement,” she said awkwardly.

“Then let’s join the fun this year,” Lianyi smiled. “I want to see how the palace hunts are conducted.”

To attend the spring hunt, one must contact the Ministry of Ceremonies the hunt involves three grand feasts. Both the Saintess and the Physician hold high ranks, so seats must be reserved in advance. Liu Fenyun took the time to visit the Ministry, submitting a personal letter stamped with both the Saintess and Physician seals.

After taking care of Lianyi in the Saintess Hall for three days, Liu Fenyun finally carried her medicine box and went to the Imperial Medical Office to register.

Upon entering, she immediately sensed a different atmosphere. Even the tea serving boy, who always looked sleepy in the mornings, had his eyes wide open and appeared alert.

Curious, Liu Fenyun asked him in a low voice, “Has some important figure come by recently?”

The boy gasped, more shocked than her. “Physician, the Tian-ranked physician has been invited by His Majesty and is sitting in consultation here.”

The Tian ranked physician?!

Liu Fenyun first thought of her master, Yu Qingyue.

But given her experience with her master, whose homebody tendencies far exceeded her own, she knew it couldn’t be her. The visiting Tian-ranked physician must be someone else.

“Fenyun?”

Before she could finish her thought, a cold, familiar female voice reached her ears.

She instinctively turned and saw a figure in elegant moon white robes standing not far away, her tea-brown eyes sharp.

Liu Fenyun immediately recognized her master, Yu Qingyue. Her brain hadn’t caught up yet, but her body knelt instinctively. Bowing with her head lowered, she said, “Greetings, Master!”

Although her master wasn’t terrifying, Liu Fenyun was used to showing respect around her. Not bowing would have felt awkward.

Following Yu Qingyue to the consultation room for the Tian-ranked physician, Liu Fenyun put on her signature smile. “Master, when did you arrive? Why didn’t you tell your disciple…”

Seeing her medicine badge, Yu Qingyue pointed at it and said coldly, “Take it off. From today on, you are a physician. Don’t stay cooped up in the pharmacy.”

Liu Fenyun groaned but obediently removed the badge, inwardly frustrated.

Lianyi’s period hadn’t ended yet. She had just managed to coax the sickly demon cat into a good mood, and now her master appeared suddenly!

She couldn’t bring the cat to work while seeing patients. Beyond that, the roles of physician and pharmacist were different. If others saw her cuddling a cat while consulting patients, it would be utterly inappropriate!

Her head ached with no solution.

Closing the door, Yu Qingyue set out a tea set and boiled high-quality mountain spring water.

Liu Fenyun obediently sat across from her, full of respect.

“No need to be nervous. I already know you married a demon cat,” Yu Qingyue said calmly. “I didn’t come solely at the invitation of the Zhuohuang King.”

“…Could it be the Grand Priest who invited you?” Liu Fenyun asked reflexively.

Yu Qingyue nodded. “I once promised her that if someone in the palace ever overwhelmed her, I would come to help.”

Liu Fenyun was shocked. The Grand Priest of Zhuohuang Kingdom wielded immense power—what she said, people didn’t dare defy. Yet there was someone even she could not handle?

Opening the system map cautiously to ensure no one was listening, Liu Fenyun whispered, “Could it be His Majesty targeting her?”

That would make sense she remembered the Shi and Luo clans had been mutually restraining each other since the kingdom’s founding. The current king was ambitious and might indeed want to remove the Grand Priest and centralize power.

But if that were the case, why would the king allow her master to meet Luo Binglun safely? How did her master enter the city unharmed?

Yu Qingyue didn’t answer immediately, calmly cleaning the tea set.

“Fenyun, I have reminded you before if you do not wish to get involved in palace disputes, you should not waste your energy on them or ask questions you shouldn’t.”

Setting the tea set, Yu Qingyue continued, “Someone is using you as a sword or shield. Why didn’t you write to me? That lofty old Liu doesn’t care about you, but does that mean I wouldn’t?”

Liu Fenyun opened her mouth but could only maintain a wry smile.

“Avoiding those people?” Yu Qingyue’s cold eyes pierced her. “I even wrote you a letter letting you use my name as a physician. You refused. How do you explain that?”

Her smile stiffened.

Was that letter real?!

Even the system said the ink and delivery time didn’t match an eagle from Liuzhi Kingdom would take at least five days to reach Zhuohuang, but the letter arrived in three. It had to be either Yu Qingyue writing halfway or someone forging her handwriting.

Faced with her master’s gaze, Liu Fenyun had no words. She couldn’t say that she and Lian Yi suspected the letter was fake, or that the Grand Priest might have used her as her master’s proxy.

She had no choice but to admit her fault. As she knelt to say, “Your disciple knows her mistake” Yu Qingyue scolded, “Get up! When did you learn to kneel at every little thing?”

Liu Fenyun had to stand, head bowed, like a startled quail.

Yu Qingyue brewed tea and calmly said, “You are now a physician. You must go out and treat the common people. Don’t laze in the pharmacy. Bring your demon-cat wife with you she needs to move around more for her health.”

She hadn’t expected her master to care for Lianyi, leaving Liu Fenyun stunned for two seconds before agreeing.

Before leaving, she asked, “Master, when did you write that letter telling me to use your name as a physician?”

Yu Qingyue sipped her tea and asked, “Why ask now?”

“I thought… you wouldn’t care about my promotion like a doting elder…” Liu Fenyun whispered, “…so I always suspected the letter was forged by the Grand Priest.”

“You were by my side before, every action under my control. I had no need to instruct you. Getting you a higher position was enough,” Yu Qingyue said, looking at her like she was a fool. “Now you’ve left Liuzhi Kingdom, your status reset, married a demon-cat. Without my name, more would bully you.”

She paused and sighed, “I’ve watched you grow. Naturally, I don’t want any calamity to ruin your future.”

Liu Fenyun felt unsure of her own emotions as she left the Imperial Medical Office.

Her master’s care surprised and overwhelmed her. She had never cared much for competition before, only focused on learning medicine. Her world had been peaceful, where excellent talent was pushed forward by schools. Though some envied her, they could not deny her ability.

She had no parents, only a guardian who mostly sent money. She had lived quietly, studying up to university. If she hadn’t died suddenly during finals, she would likely have been pursuing graduate studies now.

On the way back to the Saintess Hall, she touched her chest, feeling a warm sensation. So this is what it feels like to be cared for by an elder. No wonder her roommates always acted spoiled around their parents.

Lianyi was still lazing in bed. Her body was weak, and the heavy bleeding left her exhausted. After drinking the sleep-inducing medicine, she wished to sleep all day.

While she was sleeping comfortably, the curtain was pulled aside, casting a shadow.

Gently shaking the sleeping demon cat, Liu Fenyun said, “Your Highness, time to get up and take your medicine.”

Lianyi meowed reluctantly and turned her face inward.

“Your Highness!”

“I’ll sleep for another half hour…” she murmured, deliberately flicking her tail near Liu Fenyun. “Pet it, but don’t disturb me.”

Liu Fenyun petted her tail twice, leaning close to her ear and whispering, “The Grand Priest just summoned me.”

Lianyi’s ears immediately pricked up.

However, the three of them all lived among the common people, so a newly promoted spirit doctor would have to go and search for them personally.

Liu Fenyun was different. Lianyi’s cat demon subordinates practically treated the outer city like their own backyard. As long as Lianyi gave an order, in less than half a day, the cat demons would report the addresses of the three spirit doctors’ residences.

To make it easier for Liu Fenyun to find them, Xian Lihua even drew detailed maps under the addresses.

Holding the three maps in her hands, Liu Fenyun carefully put them away and focused on studying.

Spirit doctors were ranked in four tiers: Earth, Wood, Metal, and Fire. To advance from Earth to Wood, it was enough for just one spirit doctor to judge them as passing.

Liu Fenyun learned talisman techniques the fastest, so she chose a spirit doctor skilled in talismans to be her promotion examiner.

After deciding the exam date, Liu Fenyun began her intensive practice.

The final review for medical students was notoriously grueling; in her previous life, Liu Fenyun had even died from staying up late to prepare. Now that she only had one exam, she naturally wanted to achieve the best possible score in it.

On her desk in her room, stacks of blank talisman papers and papers with completed talismans piled up into little mountains.

Liu Fenyun’s intense studying truly frightened Lianyi, who worried that Liu Fenyun was under too much pressure. She even voluntarily transformed back into her original form, lying on Liu Fenyun’s lap, or staying within reach whenever Liu Fenyun raised a hand.

Using talisman techniques consumed both energy and stamina, so whenever Liu Fenyun felt tired, she would pick up the big white cat, stroke its soft fur, or bury her face in it and take a deep breath, letting the scent of Lianyi fill her nose.

It was a paradise-like life!

Liu Fenyun was so absorbed in enjoying the cat that she didn’t notice her aura slowly starting to merge with Lianyi’s.

On the morning before the exam, Liu Fenyun was drinking red bean pudding milk tea while reviewing when she suddenly heard the system alert: “Focus target [Yu Qingyue] detected nearby, now at the Saintess Hall exterior, distance to host…”

Before the system alert finished, Liu Fenyun immediately put down her cup, went to the window, and jumped out.

At this moment, Lianyi was sunbathing outside the Saintess Hall she couldn’t let her run into her master!

Not wanting her mastery of demon techniques to be exposed in front of her master, Liu Fenyun quickly attached two “swift-step” talismans to her pants and rushed toward the location marked on the system map.

Just as she expected, Lianyi and Yu Qingyue were facing each other at a distance. However, Lianyi’s gaze was strange peculiar but not hostile.

“Your Highness!” Liu Fenyun called out, then bowed to Yu Qingyue, “Good morning, Master!”

Her palm felt cool. Liu Fenyun lowered her head, realizing Lianyi’s hand was gripping hers tightly, seemingly nervous.

Yu Qingyue nodded slightly but didn’t approach, asking, “Tomorrow you’ll go to find the spirit doctors for your talisman promotion exam?”

Liu Fenyun nodded.

“Then let me test you first,” Yu Qingyue said.

Without waiting for Liu Fenyun to respond, her figure suddenly disappeared and reappeared with a talisman in her hand, five gleaming blades aimed straight at Liu Fenyun!

Liu Fenyun was dumbfounded. She knew her master was skilled in martial arts but had no idea she had reached such a level.

Yu Qingyue was using metal-type talisman techniques, but manifesting them physically and instantly in this way was far beyond Liu Fenyun’s current abilities.

She hurriedly pulled Lianyi to dodge the blades, ready to instruct her to stay back, but Lianyi had already transformed and lunged forward, biting Yu Qingyue’s right arm.

“Please, Your Highness, calm yourself,” Yu Qingyue said, stopping the giant jaw with one hand, and somehow produced a small pill, tossing it into the white cat’s throat.

Lianyi hadn’t expected this, jumped aside, and began to gag, but before she could spit out the pill, she collapsed and fell asleep.

Shocked, Liu Fenyun rushed to her, picking up the enormous cat and shaking her, only hearing the slow rhythm of her breathing. She was both furious and worried, glaring at Yu Qingyue.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a sleeping pill,” Yu Qingyue said calmly, wiping her saliva-covered hand, “Come, let’s not worry about her for now.”

Liu Fenyun usually obeyed her master’s words, but this time she shook her head resolutely, picked up the big white cat, and walked straight into the Saintess Hall.

“Fen Yun,” Yu Qingyue raised an eyebrow.

“Master, Your Highness was rude first. I apologize on her behalf,” Liu Fenyun said as she turned, “But her body is weak. Your medicine was too strong for her. I must help her recover quickly. I will take her to rest first, then come to see you.”

Fearing her master would object again, Liu Fenyun quickened her pace. Soon, she had entered the Saintess Hall and instructed the attendants to prepare tea and snacks, ready to receive the incoming Tian-class physician.

Seeing her rush off with the big white cat, Yu Qingyue’s lips curved slightly, unperturbed, and she entered the hall in a good mood.

These two little ones really had formed a bond; no wonder Luo Binglun had been so upset.