My Frail and Vicious Little Husband - Chapter 3

“I’m not afraid.” Su Ce turned his face away, refusing to look at Xiao Huai, clearly still sulking.

Xiao Huai cupped his face in both hands, forcing him to look directly at him. “Alright. Isn’t it all over now? Fu Ning said you returned in a rage this afternoon and threw a temper tantrum on the bed. What was that all about?”

Had he not mentioned it, Su Ce would have continued to fume, but at the mention of the incident, half of his fire extinguished.

“I’m asking you a question. Why are you glaring at the door?” Xiao Huai’s tone was clearly dissatisfied; he wanted to know the reason from Su Ce’s own lips. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll go and interrogate the palace servants in the Imperial Garden. You know, I have many ways to make them talk.”

As he spoke, Xiao Huai used his fingertip to hook a strand of Su Ce’s hair and twirl it a few times.

Su Ce pondered for a moment, gripping the quilt beneath him tightly, and spoke with hesitation: “I didn’t throw a temper tantrum…”

“Hmm. And then?” Xiao Huai watched Su Ce’s pure, innocent face. His dark eyes were downcast, expressing emotions that seemed black and white as if he were incapable of lying or deceiving. Yet, the quilt bunched up in his hands betrayed his nervousness.

“It was just… things were too intense last night, and I couldn’t leave the palace today, so I had to go to the Imperial Garden. But there was nothing fun there either. Husband, you have to believe me!”

Xiao Huai found Su Ce’s demeanor rather amusing. They had been so intense last night, yet he hadn’t heard a single “husband” escape his lips.

Today, because of such a trivial matter, he had finally used the term. Xiao Huai didn’t bother to expose his lie. He slightly pulled aside the collar of Su Ce’s robe, revealing clear red marks on his skin, and scoffed: “Are you blaming me for this?”

Su Ce noted Xiao Huai’s expression and did not reply.

“It’s true, it’s mid-winter, and the outside is covered in white snow. Where else could there be anything for you to play with? But since you still have the energy to want to leave the palace to play, I suppose you can accompany me in playing on the bed for a while.”

As soon as these words left Xiao Huai’s mouth, Su Ce panicked. He grabbed Xiao Huai’s wrist and stammered, “No, I didn’t…”

“Didn’t what?”

This was his second chance to explain.

“I just… I fell in the Imperial Garden and felt a bit embarrassed. But I’m really fine! You saw it just now; there isn’t a single injury.”

The smile on Xiao Huai’s face deepened, and he made no move to pull back the hand Su Ce was gripping tightly. However, Su Ce knew the true meaning behind that smile. He hurriedly shook off his hand and struggled to escape the bed, only to be yanked back by Xiao Huai and pinned down.

“I had intended to let you off today, but you’ve actually learned how to lie. As your husband, I am very angry! What do you think we should do about this, Su Ce?”

Upon hearing this, Su Ce’s face turned deathly pale. He curled into a ball and retreated backward, his voice trembling with a hint of tears: “It really won’t do today. I really, I really am in a lot of pain.”

“In pain? If you were in pain, why didn’t you stay in the bedchamber? If you were in pain, why did you run off to the Imperial Garden?” Xiao Huai was irritated by his recoil and refusal. Thoughts of the court officials’ words returned to his mind. Cold light flashed in his eyes, mixed with a touch of desire, and he said coldly: “Since you haven’t learned your lesson despite the pain, then we shall inflict a little more. Pain so deep it pierces the heart—I think you’ll learn your lesson then.”

From dusk when Xiao Huai entered the bedchamber until midnight, Su Ce finally experienced the “heart-piercing pain” Xiao Huai spoke of. Su Ce was sore all over, his throat no longer capable of making a sound, and he only managed to stop when he lay limp in Xiao Huai’s arms.

Before his consciousness faded, Su Ce seemed to hear Xiao Huai saying something.

The words seemed to be: “If only you were a woman…”

After this bout of torment from Xiao Huai, Su Ce was indeed bedridden for many days. The moment he could move again, he ran off to the Imperial Garden to chisel ice and catch fish, sitting there for an entire day.

By nighttime, when Xiao Huai took him into his arms, he initially thought the sweat was due to the excessive heat in the room. But in the middle of the night, a violent storm broke out outside the window, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and thunder roared. Without even opening his eyes, Su Ce burrowed straight into Xiao Huai’s embrace. When his forehead pressed against Xiao Huai’s chest and he exhaled a burning breath, Xiao Huai’s mind cleared instantly. He sat up and called Su Ce’s name twice, and when there was no reaction, he felt a wave of frustration.

Outside, Fu Ning heard the sounds from within and was just about to knock on the door when Xiao Huai opened it a crack, his face dark: “Go, fetch a royal physician immediately.”

An incense stick of time later, the physician ran over, drenched in sweat, following Fu Ning. The palace servants also brought in a basin of clean water. Xiao Huai personally wet a towel and placed it on Su Ce’s forehead.

Xiao Huai ordered: “You, go and see what is wrong.”

The physician wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve, stepped forward, and looked at the abnormal, flushed redness on Su Ce’s handsome face due to the high fever. After checking his pulse, he looked at Xiao Huai with a complicated expression: “My Lord, the young master has indeed caught a cold. But Your Majesty is also in the prime of your youth; you must learn some restraint. Otherwise, it will damage the young master’s foundation, and it may be difficult for him to recover fully in the future.”

At these words, Xiao Huai’s face cycled through shades of blue and white. He coughed: “I understand. Fu Ning, take the physician’s prescription and go decoct the medicine. Be as quick as possible.”

When everyone had left, Xiao Huai, his face still dark, wrung out another towel and wiped the fine beads of sweat from Su Ce’s face.

“I told you to stay in the bedchamber, but you wouldn’t listen. Your health is already poor, and you had to go out in such cold weather to chisel ice for fish. Tell me, are you out of your mind?”

Su Ce seemed to hear Xiao Huai’s complaining. He furrowed his brows slightly, and without opening his eyes, he laboriously lifted his arms to cover his ears, his voice hoarse: “Too noisy!”

“You dare say I’m noisy? If you hadn’t insisted on going out in the middle of winter to fish for some pathetic fish! Would I be saying this? In the years you’ve been in the palace, have I ever lacked in feeding or clothing you?” Xiao Huai wouldn’t concede, but he tucked Su Ce’s hands back under the covers and straightened the corners of the quilt.

When Fu Ning entered with the medicine bowl, he saw Xiao Huai sitting by the bed, staring straight at Su Ce, then reaching out to smooth the furrow in his brow.

“Your Majesty.”

Xiao Huai took the medicine bowl and gently pushed Su Ce twice.

Su Ce finally opened his eyes, dazed. Seeing the porcelain bowl in Xiao Huai’s hand, he shrank into the covers: “I don’t want it, I won’t eat it.”

He expected Xiao Huai to yell at him, but instead, Xiao Huai said softly: “You have a fever. Get up and take your medicine.”

Hearing this, Su Ce silently peeked a pair of hazy eyes out from the covers, his stalled brain ruminating on Xiao Huai’s intentions.

Xiao Huai sighed silently. Seeing Su Ce was barely conscious, he scooped up a spoonful of the medicinal soup, tested the temperature, and held it to Su Ce’s lips: “Open up.”

This time, Su Ce obeyed obediently and opened his mouth. But as soon as the medicine entered his mouth, Su Ce’s face crumpled in tears, and he vomited over the edge of the bed.

Xiao Huai’s patience seemed to be exhausted. He took a deep breath and scooped up another spoonful: “If you vomit again, I will never let you leave the palace to play again.”

Su Ce looked at Xiao Huai in confusion, then his eyes filled with a trace of grievance. He wanted to say something, but in the end, nothing came out; he just opened his mouth slightly and let out a soft “ah.”

This time, Xiao Huai finally fed all the medicinal soup into his mouth, though Su Ce’s eyelashes fluttered, looking deeply wronged.

Xiao Huai lowered his head and kissed his lips, patting him like a child: “Sleep. You’ll be better after a sleep.”

Seeing that Su Ce had closed his eyes, Xiao Huai prepared to stand up and leave, but he was grabbed by the corner of his garment: “I’ll go put the bowl away, then come back to sleep with you.”

Su Ce saw he wasn’t lying and released his grip. His eyes followed Xiao Huai’s back until he lifted the covers and lay down beside him; only then did he feel as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart, snuggling into Xiao Huai’s embrace and falling asleep in the familiar scent.

Before long, Fu Ning knocked on the door: “Your Majesty, it is time for the morning court.”

Xiao Huai released the sleeping Su Ce and touched his forehead; the temperature had dropped significantly.

As he left the bedchamber, Fu Ning stood respectfully outside, waiting for his instructions.

“His fever has broken. When he wakes up, send in some fish porridge. Use the fish he caught himself; don’t prepare anything else.” After speaking, Xiao Huai prepared to leave, but paused, looking at Fu Ning with a serious expression: “If he refuses to drink the medicine, tell him he never needs to leave the palace again. If he doesn’t believe it, tell him he is free to try.”

Fu Ning acknowledged this, then asked: “Your Majesty didn’t rest well last night; should I have the Imperial Kitchen prepare a bowl of restorative soup to send to the Hall of State Affairs?”

“No need. Just take good care of him.”

Fu Ning didn’t need Xiao Huai to specify who “him” was.

Since the parting that day, Qin Zijin had visited the Pear Garden every day for half a month, but he had never seen the window of the second-floor box open.

He had wanted to find an opportunity to ask for an explanation, but now it seemed unlikely.

However, he had become familiar with the owner of the Pear Garden.

“Young Master Qin, you come to my Pear Garden every day—your goal isn’t really to listen to the plays, is it?”

Qin Zijin chuckled: “Then what do you think I’m here for, if not for the plays?”

The owner lit his pipe, took a deep drag, and exhaled rings of white smoke: “Seeking answers too urgently is not always a good thing.”

“Then what do you think I should do?”

“You can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry; when the time is right, you will meet again.”

The owner left after dropping that remark, leaving behind a thick scent of smoke and Qin Zijin standing there.

He truly couldn’t understand how a man could willingly be kept in the harem by another man as if he were a woman, especially when his situation seemed to be so poor.

His neck was so slender that a single hand could easily crush it…

While he was lost in thought, Du Bai tapped him on the shoulder from behind: “The matter you asked about last time—I pulled quite a few strings to inquire, but all the accounts were the same. I couldn’t find any other information.”

“Oh? You couldn’t find anything?” Qin Zijin seemed surprised. Could anyone really cover the sky with one hand to this extent? Could the people of the world really not know whether the current Emperor’s spouse was a man or a woman? Was it just a whim, or was it because of a special identity that they weren’t allowed to know?

Du Bai smiled sheepishly: “But I did find out the name of the person you ran into in the Imperial Garden that day.”

“What is it?”

“Su Ce.”