This was the biggest humiliation Li Cheng'an had ever experienced in his life.

The surrounding guards hurriedly came forward to untie him.

But the belt Fang Linyuan used to tie him was taken from him, and now it looked dishevelled. The guards took off the belt, but hesitated to throw it away, cautiously handing it back to him.

In front of everyone's eyes, his outer robe was gaping open, and the belt was neither fastened nor unfastened.

Glaring angrily at Fang Linyuan, he saw Fang Linyuan smiling, looking both pleased and ready to be punched.

"What are you looking at?" Fang Linyuan walked slowly towards him, stopping in front of him. "I haven't come to ask you yet, why were you hiding there and attacking me?"

Li Cheng'an gritted his teeth but couldn't say a word.

Who attacked whom in the end? If it weren't for him being quick-witted and avoiding Fang Linyuan's kick onto the tripwire, he would have left two front teeth behind in Lanfu Lane.

And besides... what else could it be for?

For forcing him to retrieve poison from a corpse's mouth that day, for riding over his father's dignity today, making him serve as his subordinate.

Li Cheng'an would never admit it, he was somewhat afraid.

When Fang Linyuan left that day, he warned him not to fall into his hands, but in the end, he became his subordinate. In less than a day, all his brothers at the guard post were in trouble, openly beaten by Fang Linyuan, and their families didn't dare to complain at all.

Li Cheng'an felt as if he were haunted by ghosts, afraid that he had really fallen into Fang Linyuan's hands.

So he set up such a plan today. If no one dared to challenge him from the outside, he would take the initiative.

But the intimidation didn't work, instead, he lost face himself. He might as well just die!

He stared at Fang Linyuan, unable to speak for a long time.

"According to the regulations of the Sixteenth Garrison, how should those who attack or harm the soldiers of the guard Division be dealt with?"

Fang Linyuan turned his head calmly and asked the sergeant standing dumbfounded beside him.

The sergeant hesitated and stuttered for a long time before he could speak.

"If I remember correctly, they need to be detained for one to three months and receive thirty lashes, right?" Fang Linyuan took over the conversation, then turned to look at Li Cheng'an again.

Li Cheng'an's eyes widened.

If he were really sentenced to prison, overnight, everyone in the court and even the current emperor would know about it. Not to mention how many censors would impeach his father because of this, even the rumours all over the world would drown him.

"You..." Li Cheng'an's hands were trembling.

But he stared at Fang Linyuan, unable to utter a word of begging for mercy for a long time.

Fang Linyuan didn't actually intend to lock him up.

Compared to Lou Shuo, Li Cheng'an had a bit more brains, though not much, and he had an extremely doting father.

Fang Linyuan had known since yesterday that Li Fu, the current Minister of War, had only one son, Li Cheng'an, with his late wife who passed away years ago. Li Fu, being deeply affectionate, had yet to remarry, and there was only one concubine in the household who managed domestic affairs, treating Li Cheng'an respectfully.

Li Fu's indulgence toward his son was somewhat foolish, but even if Fang Linyuan was committed to justice, he understood that pushing someone into a corner in the court would only backfire.

He glanced at Li Cheng'an with a half-smile and asked, "Aren't you going to beg for mercy?"

"If you're going to punish me, just do it. Don't waste so much breath," Li Cheng'an gritted his teeth, his neck stiff as if bracing for the executioner's axe.

Fang Linyuan chuckled.

"You do have quite a backbone," he said lightly, pulling out a map from his pocket and tossing it onto Li Cheng'an's lap.

"I admire your spirit, but you should also have some ability to match your backbone," Fang Linyuan added.

Li Cheng'an blinked, looking at the map that had fallen to the ground.

"This is a map of the northern city of the capital, and you should be more familiar with the shops, streets, and residents than I am," Fang Linyuan said.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Li Cheng'an frowned at him.

"Within three days, find all the places in the northern city where fifty or more people can hide. If you succeed, today's incident will be water under the bridge," Fang Linyuan ordered.

"But if you miss one spot, Li Cheng'an, you'll have to spend time in the cell, and instead of thirty lashes, I'll give you sixty."

*

After dealing with Li Cheng'an, it was already well into the night.

Fang Linyuan sent two men to escort Li Cheng'an and his servants back, instructing them to inform Li Fu of the situation in detail. Then he mounted his horse and rode back to his mansion.

The residents and merchants in the city were intertwined, with many officials' residences as well, making the investigation quite challenging.

Fortunately, Li Cheng'an's influential background made Fang Linyuan's task much easier.

This was also why he had to let Li Fu know about this matter.

By giving Li Cheng'an three days to handle this, he wasn't just giving him a chance, but also giving Li Fu a chance. If such attempts to frame his superior, or even personally ambush and assault, were to reach the court, Li Fu would understand the consequences better than him.

He was willing to give some leeway, and Li Fu, a father who doted on his child like this, should know how to handle it in order to repay this favour and resolve this mess for Li Cheng'an.

Having resolved a major issue, Fang Linyuan felt relaxed all over, planning to rest well until the sun rose the next day before going to the Sixteenth Garrison Command to handle matters.

He dismounted in front of the mansion gate, instructing his attendant to take Flowing Fire away, and then walked towards Fu Guang Pavilion.

However, he didn't expect to see bright lights inside Huaiyu Pavilion, with maidservants bustling in and out.

"What's going on?" he asked the maid standing guard outside, stopping at Huaiyu Pavilion.

"Princess Consort is sick!" the maid hurriedly replied. "Lord Marquis, please go and see her."

"Did you call for a physician?" Fang Linyuan asked, surprised. "She was fine. Do you know why she's suddenly fallen ill?"

"The Princess Consort didn't summon a physician. She just took some medicine earlier, and we don't know how she's doing now!" the maid said. "We heard she fell ill after eating the flower cakes sent from outside."

This shouldn't have happened!

Lou Shuo clearly ate the pastries too, and even shared them with so many people, yet none of them showed any symptoms.

Thinking that today's pastries were brought by others, with many hands involved, Fang Linyuan didn't dare to delay any longer and quickly entered Huaiyu Pavilion.

The maids were kept outside and not allowed in, saying only Songyan and Juansu, who came from the palace, were serving inside.

The one-eyed eunuch Wu Xinghai stood outside the door guarding, with the maids gathered around outside, none daring to approach.

Seeing Fang Linyuan approaching, Wu Xinghai paused, bowing to him, "Marquis."

"I heard the princess is sick," Fang Linyuan hurriedly asked. "What happened?"

Wu Xinghai's drooping eyelids sank even lower, giving Fang Linyuan a meaningful glance before opening the door, "Marquis, come inside and talk."

Fang Linyuan was then ushered into the bedroom. As soon as he stepped in, Wu Xinghai closed the door from the outside, blocking the gazes of the maids.

Fang Linyuan bypassed the front hall and saw Songyan standing by the bed, while Juansu was at the window, with a small mud stove simmering medicine.

"Marquis," Songyan bowed as Fang Linyuan entered.

Fang Linyuan quickly walked to the bedside.

He saw Zhao Chu lying on the bed with his eyes closed, his face pale, and his lips almost devoid of colour. His brows were slightly furrowed, and there was a fine layer of sweat on his forehead, clearly sweating from the pain.

Two strands of hair were stuck to his cheek with sweat, giving him a pitiful look that was hard to describe.

"The princess has been in pain all night and just settled down," Songyan said softly beside him.

"I heard it was the pastries that caused the problem?" Fang Linyuan turned to ask her. "Those pastries were sent by me, and I saw everyone else eating them. There shouldn't have been any mishap..."

But Songyan shook her head and lowered her voice.

"Marquis, you're unaware," she said. "It was our oversight."

"Are you saying..."

"The princess has a weak stomach and can only eat sweets made from honey, not those made from refined white sugar."

"I... I had no idea, I'm truly sorry," Fang Linyuan looked somewhat at a loss as he glanced at Songyan.

But Songyan shook her head.

"The princess suffered a lot in her childhood, so it's normal for you not to know," Songyan said.

Fang Linyuan felt genuinely sorry. He hadn't sincerely intended to send those pastries; it was just something done casually, as a token of gratitude for Zhao Chu's help. Yet, it ended up making him sick.

Seeing how guarded and cautious these few people were, he could tell how troublesome it was for Zhao Chu to fall ill. For someone living as cautiously as him, if there were any mishaps caused by his unintentional actions, he truly didn't know how to compensate Zhao Chu.

"Do we really not need to call a doctor?" Fang Linyuan steadied his mind and asked again.

Songyan looked at him. "Marquis, no one else can touch His Highness's pulse."

Fang Linyuan came back to himself but looked puzzled again. "Then who took care of him when he was sick as a child?"

Songyan remained silent.

When the Empress was still alive, the princess was fully protected, and even the imperial physician who examined him had his mouth firmly shut.

Later, when the Empress entered the cold palace, the imperial physician was executed, leaving no one to protect him.

Fortunately, His Majesty did not want to see this child, and no one would examine Prince Zhao's pulse for safety. Songyan didn't know how many illnesses she had endured with him until later, when Juansu, who was trained as a physician's assistant, was taught every day to learn from the imperial physicians and study medical books. Gradually, there was someone who could treat Prince Zhao.

Seeing Songyan's silence for a while, Fang Linyuan knew it wasn't appropriate to ask further.

He turned to look at Zhao Chu.

Zhao Chu had a very miserable past, he knew, and had even seen it.

But at this moment, he suddenly realized that those dark and hopeless years were not like snow falling on him, disappearing with a brush of his hand.

They were like plants planted on him, with roots growing into his flesh and blood. With a slight breeze, they would tug at the wounds and pull at the bones and blood under the skin.

Fang Linyuan's mood was somewhat complicated for a moment.

At this moment, Juansu finished brewing the medicine and brought it to the bedside. Feeling apologetic, Fang Linyuan wanted to help in some way, so he took the bowl with both hands and said, "Let me do it."

Juansu hesitated, looking at Songyan.

Songyan remained silent, handing the bowl to Fang Linyuan and leading Juansu aside.

Fang Linyuan had never done anything like feeding someone medicine before.

He clumsily sat down beside the bed, scooped up a spoonful of medicine from the bowl, and carefully brought it to Zhao Chu's lips.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the spoonful of medicine touched Zhao Chu's lips, it made him shiver at the brow.

The next moment, Zhao Chu's eyelashes trembled, waking him from his daze, and he frowned at the person feeding him medicine.

Fang Linyuan was startled and quickly withdrew the spoon, apologizing repeatedly, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, is it too hot? I forgot, this is freshly brewed medicine..."

But Zhao Chu, with a furrowed brow, looked at him, coughed twice, as if the words on his lips were swallowed back, and then lowered his eyes, trying to sit up.

Fang Linyuan quickly reached out to support him. "Lie down properly. Is your stomach still hurting?"

"It's nothing," Zhao Chu's voice was hoarse as he spoke. "Why are you here?"

Fang Linyuan replied, "I came back from the garrison and heard that you were sick, supposedly because of the pastries I gave you today..."

On one hand, he held the bowl of medicine, afraid of spilling it, while on the other hand, he wanted to lend Zhao Chu some support, causing him to be flustered. Zhao Chu glanced faintly at him, pulled over a nearby pillow, and sat firmly on the bed.

"You should drink the medicine first..." Fang Linyuan invited him, scooping up another spoonful of medicine to offer to Zhao Chu.

The person who was steady as a rock with a sword in hand was now awkwardly holding a bowl of medicine as if it could cost him his life. His hand was awkwardly twisted, and the other hand holding the bowl was being scalded by the bowl's edge.

Meeting his clear yet anxious eyes, Zhao Chu's lips moved slightly.

"I'll do it myself," he said.

Fang Linyuan hesitated, but Zhao Chu reached out and took the bowl of medicine from his hand.

"Sorry..." Fang Linyuan said dryly.

But Zhao Chu held the bowl with one hand, his wrist pale and knobby, yet he held the bowl steadily.

He pulled over a nearby robe and draped it over his cold shoulders, saying lightly, "Sorry for what? I haven't fainted yet, so I won't be scalded to death by the medicine you fed me."

Fang Linyuan awkwardly turned to look at Songyan, only to see that they had already retreated outside the door.

"Why did they leave?" Fang Linyuan asked.

"I find them noisy," Zhao Chu said, picking up the spoon. "They know my rules."

"Is it okay for you to be alone like this?" Fang Linyuan asked.

It wasn't just his over-concern. Zhao Chu's current appearance, pale and weak as if his breath could snap at any moment, was truly worrying.

"It's okay," Zhao Chu confirmed. "It's not the first time I've had to take two doses of medicine."

Fang Linyuan squeezed the hand on his knee back and forth.

"I'm really sorry," he repeated. "I didn't know you couldn't eat these."

"I put them in my mouth myself, so why blame yourself?" Zhao Chu noted as he slowly drank the medicine.

His current demeanour truly impressed Fang Linyuan.

Being able to drink medicine wasn't impressive, but being able to drink slowly like Zhao Chu, as if cutting his own flesh with a dull knife, now that was remarkable.

"I'll know better next time," Fang Linyuan continued, then remembered another matter. "I even gave you chili peppers before, sorry about that..."

Seeing Zhao Chu pause in his drinking, he looked up at Fang Linyuan.

After a moment, Fang Linyuan saw Zhao Chu's expression relax slightly, revealing a faint smile.

Fang Linyuan couldn't help but admit, he was indeed handsome. Even now, with his black hair cascading down and his open robe revealing some masculine form, his pale face covered in sweat, he still managed to display a natural charm and allure when he smiled.

Fang Linyuan cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his gaze.

Looking at Zhao Chu, his face could truly confuse one's perception of gender.

"Why don't you just apologize for everything in your past life as well?" Zhao Chu remarked.

Fang Linyuan awkwardly licked his lips.

A silence fell between them. After a moment, Fang Linyuan heard Zhao Chu speak slowly again. "You don't need to feel any remorse."

Fang Linyuan looked at him. "Hmm?"

He saw Zhao Chu drinking the medicine with lowered eyes, his expression calm and serene.

His words didn't continue.

Fang Linyuan didn't disturb him further and quietly waited for him to finish the medicine.

Meanwhile, Zhao Chu sat by the bed, and with each lowered glance, he could see Fang Linyuan's blurry reflection in the dark liquid of the medicine.

Though he couldn't clearly see his features, he could vaguely perceive the anxiety in his eyes, like a startled deer.

With a slight touch of the spoon, the reflection rippled before his eyes.

This wasn't Fang Linyuan's fault at all.

Having lived in the palace until now, whether it was deliberately set traps or the crude food and drink that others purposely withheld, he rarely fell victim to them. Caution and perpetual suspicion had become instinctual skills for him after living for so long.

But...

Indeed, he had been careless today.

He had, like a normal person, accepted what others sent him and put it in his mouth without a second thought. What was abnormal, however, was that he had kept the item from daylight until midnight, not knowing what was worth treasuring.

For him, this illogical accident was unexpected.

But now, as the spoon was moved away, and the shattered light and shadow gradually calmed down, the image of the deer startled by the bedside slowly merged back into the shimmering light.

Everything seemed to return to its rightful place.

 

--

The author has something to say:

Zhao Chu was so angry in the middle of the night afterward—

Why didn't I let him feed me!!

 

Translator : DarNan