When the Deposed Crown Prince Was Reborn as Troublemaker - Chapter 97

Huo Xiling gently placed You Yusui back onto the bed, then tucked the blanket over him before rising to close the windows.

But in the next moment, You Yusui grabbed hold of Huo Xiling’s sleeve.

“Where are you going? Are you abandoning me again?” You Yusui’s voice was filled with panic and fear.

Huo Xiling had no choice but to turn around and sit on the edge of the bed, saying to You Yusui. “Your Highness, I won’t leave. It’s raining outside — I’m just going to close the windows, alright?”

“Don’t leave me.” You Yusui grabbed Huo Xiling’s hand.

In his dreams there had been so many scenes of death, and he feared that the moment Huo Xiling left his side, they would be parted forever — separated by life and death.

“But if I don’t close the windows, the rain will blow in and Your Highness will fall ill.” Huo Xiling said softly. “How about this — I’ll light the candles first.”

“Alright.” You Yusui released Huo Xiling’s hand.

Before long, Huo Xiling had lit the nearest lamp. In its faint glow, You Yusui could see Huo Xiling’s silhouette, and the sight put him somewhat at ease.

After that, You Yusui’s gaze followed Huo Xiling the entire time, watching as he fastened one window after another that the howling wind had blown open. In that moment, You Yusui felt that no matter how loud the thunder outside was, he was no longer afraid.

After closing all the windows, Huo Xiling lit the remaining lamps as well, and the room brightened all at once. You Yusui could see Huo Xiling more clearly now — and the wound on Huo Xiling’s forehead could no longer be hidden.

“I was the one who threw something at you, wasn’t I?” You Yusui couldn’t help but reach out to touch the corner of Huo Xiling’s forehead, where a faint cut marked the skin.

“I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.” You Yusui felt both heartache and remorse.

“Your Highness, I’m fine. I already had an imperial physician take a look — it will heal in a few days and won’t leave a scar.” Huo Xiling took hold of You Yusui’s hand as he spoke.

“That’s good then.” You Yusui murmured softly.

“Sleep now. I’ll stay with Your Highness.” With that, Huo Xiling tucked You Yusui back under the covers, then removed his own shoes and climbed onto the bed to keep him company.

“Don’t suddenly leave me. When I wake up tomorrow morning, I want to see you by my side.” You Yusui looked at Huo Xiling lying beside him and said in a somewhat unreasonable tone.

“Alright.” When it came to any request from You Yusui, Huo Xiling would fulfill it unconditionally.

At last, under Huo Xiling’s steady gaze, You Yusui closed his eyes, then curled himself into a small ball and nestled into Huo Xiling’s embrace, drifting off to sleep.

****

The next day, the sun was already high in the sky by the time You Yusui woke. The moment he opened his eyes, he was struck by pain, and Huo Xiling pulled his hand away, saying, “Don’t touch — I’ve asked Fubao to fetch an egg.”

You Yusui had cried for nearly the entire previous day, and now his eyes were swollen and sore.

“You’re still here?” You Yusui sat up and looked at Huo Xiling.

The hour for the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace guards’ training had long since passed, yet Huo Xiling was still here.

“What I promised Your Highness, I naturally keep.” With that, Huo Xiling stepped off the bed and poured You Yusui a cup of cool tea.

The cool tea was a great relief to the dryness in You Yusui’s throat. Just at that moment, Eunuch Fubao walked into the room carrying two eggs.

Seeing You Yusui and Huo Xiling together, he broke into a smile and said, “Good, you’ve made up — that’s good, that’s good.”

With that, Eunuch Fubao handed the two peeled eggs to Huo Xiling to use as a compress on You Yusui’s eyes.

Eunuch Fubao looked at You Yusui’s puffy eyes and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Cried himself into a little walnut, he has.”

The words had barely fallen when You Yusui let out a sneeze.

Fubao and Huo Xiling were immediately alarmed — one rushed off to fetch Imperial Physician Cui, while the other stayed behind to tend to You Yusui.

You Yusui watched it all unfold: …there really was no need to panic like that.

It wasn’t long before Fubao returned with Cui Yan from the Imperial Medical Courtyard. Fubao was heard saying, “Imperial Physician Cui, please come quickly — His Highness has been sneezing since this morning. Could he have caught a chill?”

Cui Yan thought to himself: …I don’t mean to say it, but His Highness really does have a remarkably strong constitution. How could anyone catch a chill in the height of summer?

But then Cui Yan caught sight of You Yusui — eyes red, nose red, looking utterly pitiful, sneezing every now and then.

Cui Yan fell silent for a moment, quietly taking back what he had just thought.

“When did the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace come to keep a little rabbit?” Cui Yan drew closer to You Yusui and couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Shut your mouth and examine the patient.” You Yusui snapped.

Cui Yan thought: …Fine then.

He then placed his hand on the wrist You Yusui extended toward him.

After a good while, Huo Xiling spoke, “How is His Highness?”

“Excessive grief and worry has damaged the spirit, and last night’s heavy rain let the cold into the body.” Cui Yan said. “Who upset him?”

Huo Xiling, standing to one side, replied, “I did.”

“I’ll prescribe some medicine. He must rest properly — under no circumstances is he to be upset again. Otherwise, a perfectly healthy person will be worn down to nothing.” With that, Cui Yan asked Fubao to bring out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote out a prescription.

Fubao took it and went to collect and prepare the medicine. Cui Yan, seeing he had nothing further to do, took his leave as well.

For a moment, only You Yusui and Huo Xiling remained in the room.

“Your Highness, I…” Huo Xiling had so much he wanted to say, yet with a thousand words pressing at once, he didn’t know where to begin.

But You Yusui simply pressed the eggs into Huo Xiling’s hands and said, “Apply them to my eyes.”

And so, as if by unspoken agreement, the two of them said nothing more, quietly letting the eggs work on You Yusui’s swollen eyes.

Before long, Eunuch Fubao had prepared the medicine Cui Yan had prescribed and brought it in.

“Your Highness, please drink your medicine. Imperial Physician Cui told this servant it isn’t bitter.” Eunuch Fubao said gently, looking at You Yusui.

“Alright.” You Yusui knew full well that Cui Yan wouldn’t dare deliberately give him bitter medicine even if he had the courage, and so he drank the entire bowl of medicinal broth in one go.

Because the medicine contained ingredients to calm the mind, You Yusui grew drowsy not long after drinking it.

Yet even as his head began to droop again and again like a pecking chick, he stubbornly refused to close his eyes and sleep.

So Huo Xiling said, “Your Highness, sleep. I’ll be right here.”

“Without this prince’s command, you are not permitted to leave — not even half a step away from this prince.” You Yusui issued the order in a domineering and unyielding tone.

Only after seeing Huo Xiling nod did You Yusui peacefully drift off to sleep.

****

While You Yusui slept soundly, You Fengyun had flown into a great rage on the other side of the palace. You Yuyi, as Prince Yan, had inexplicably missed the morning court session without any word, and this sent You Fengyun into a fury.

The faction of the First Prince, standing in court, could only make excuses on You Yuyi’s behalf. “It is possible that Prince Yan has fallen ill.”

You Fengyun let out a cold laugh. “If he is ill, does that mean he need not send anyone to request leave? A man of his age and he doesn’t know even this basic rule of conduct? Or are we to say that not only is he ill, but every single servant in Prince Yan’s residence has fallen ill as well?”

The First Prince’s faction was berated into silence, not daring to raise their heads, while the Third Prince’s faction snickered quietly amongst themselves and even called for severe punishment of Prince Yan.

In the end, You Fengyun glanced at the aging Prime Minister Su and ultimately decided against stripping You Yuyi of his fiefdom, instead fining You Yuyi six months’ salary.

“That is all. Court is dismissed.” You Fengyun declared directly.

He then led his attendants and departed straight from Xuande Hall.

After his departure, the assembled ministers couldn’t help but discuss why Prince Yan had failed to appear at court — if he were ill, surely a servant could have been sent to request leave; how was it that not even a single servant had come?

Among all those present, only Xie Tan knew the true reason for You Yuyi’s absence. It seemed Li Xiyue had already used the Zhufang Pill on You Yuyi.

****

In Prince Yan’s residence, You Yuyi and Li Xiyue had been entangled the entire night and were thoroughly exhausted. No matter how the servants called, they could not be roused.

Li Xiyue naturally let him lie there on the bed as if dead, and as for the court session You Yuyi was supposed to attend — what did that have to do with her?

Sure enough, before You Yuyi had even slept himself out, the imperial edict punishing him arrived: a fine of six months’ salary.

Others might consider this a light punishment, but Li Xiyue understood perfectly well just how devastating it was to Prince Yan’s residence — after all, the residence had no money now, and everything depended on the salary You Yuyi could collect to keep things running.

With the salary gone, even the basic operations of the residence became a problem.

Startled awake by the arrival of the edict, You Yuyi turned to look at Li Xiyue beside him and seized her by the throat. “Vile woman — you’ve harmed me.”

Li Xiyue was not the least bit surprised to hear this. After all, this was simply the kind of person You Yuyi was — whenever something went wrong, he never reflected on whether it might be his own fault; he always shifted the blame onto others.

Li Xiyue wept until her face was a picture of tender sorrow, and in a tone of boundless grief she said, “Your Highness, what could a mere woman like me do? This morning I did intend to wake you, but…”

As she spoke, Li Xiyue’s tears fell like a broken string of pearls — a sight that could move anyone to pity.

You Yuyi thought of that achingly beautiful body and that gentle tenderness from the night before, and found himself suddenly unable to bring himself to strike Li Xiyue.

“It was that nanny who told me not to disturb Your Highness. She is someone from the Imperial Noble Consort’s side — how would I dare…”

The rest of what Li Xiyue left unsaid, You Yuyi understood without needing to be told.

Naturally, the story was that Li Xiyue had called out to him before court, but the nanny had scolded her into silence, and so she had not dared to call again — resulting in him missing morning court and losing his salary.

“Have that nanny reassigned to the outer courtyard to serve.” You Yuyi said.

After dealing with the old nanny, You Yuyi found himself fretting over the residence’s future expenses. He had already donated one year’s tax revenue from his fiefdom, and now his salary was gone as well — he had absolutely no money on hand.

At that moment, Li Xiyue spoke. “This consort still has money among her dowry. It will be no trouble to keep the residence running for a time, and no one will know.”

You Yuyi was thoroughly pleased by Li Xiyue’s considerate understanding, and so he pulled her close, wanting to make love again — but Li Xiyue told him to eat breakfast first, and then he could do as he pleased afterward.

You Yuyi only felt that Li Xiyue thought of him in every way. It seemed she had learned her lesson and knew that the only person she could rely on was him.

Yet unbeknownst to You Yuyi, Li Xiyue had slipped another Zhufang Pill into her own navel.

All that tender affection and gentle devotion — it was nothing more than the means she used to take her revenge.

****

Over at Mo Shanshan’s quarters, a maidservant who had heard that Prince Yan had missed morning court on account of the princess consort — and was now once again sporting with her — couldn’t help but spit in contempt. “A princess consort in name, yet what a shameless, seductive way she carries on. What does she need all that bedroom activity for? Not like she can conceive a child anyway — serves her right.”

Mo Shanshan, who was sitting nearby doing needlework to pass the time, looked up at the servant girl. “What did you just say?”

The maidservant knew she had misspoken and immediately lowered her head, but Mo Shanshan pressed her relentlessly.

“What did you just say?”

“‘What does she need all that bedroom activity for?'”

“The next part.”

“‘Not like she can conceive a child anyway — serves her right.'”

Mo Shanshan fixed her gaze on her and then asked, “Why can’t the princess consort conceive a child?”