There was a clear stinging pain on the skin.
Wen Qingci subconsciously reached out to push, but was held down by Xie Bufeng's palm.
He was reluctant to use force, and even more reluctant to let Wen Qingci go.
Xie Bufeng deliberately slowed down his movements and nibbled gently with his canine teeth, blurring the line between biting and kissing.
Every moment of ambiguous touch and pain was clearly transmitted to Wen Qingci's mind, making him unable to escape.
In a blink of an eye, plum blossom-like marks appeared on the pale skin.
Xie Bufeng's lips suddenly touched the artery on Wen Qingci's neck.
He calmed down, greedily sniffing the familiar bitter fragrance, while patiently feeling the warmth under his lips and the strong beating of his blood.
Wen Qingci is still alive.
He is still alive.
Biological instinct forced Wen Qingci to escape from Xie Bufeng's lips and teeth.
The next moment, a low voice came to his ears.
After a pause, Xie Bufeng finally let go of Wen Qingci's fragile neck.
He put his lips to the other's ear and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "… What are you afraid of? I won't eat you, my dear."
Those light amber eyes were filled with suppressed desire.
Xie Bufeng wanted Wen Qingci to make it clear what kind of desire he had for him.
But I didn't dare to be controlled by desire and really hurt him.
Wen Qingci's breathing had already become extremely disordered.
He was trapped under Xie Bufeng's body and could not escape.
The nose is full of ambergris.
The thought of being held down and bitten by someone who is nearly six years younger than me and has yet to be cured of his toxic nature...
Wen Qingci suddenly felt humiliated.
His voice was a little colder. Wen Qingci adjusted his breathing with difficulty and said, "Since Your Majesty... ahem, has determined that I am unreasonable, then I will not have to reason with Your Majesty in the future."
What's the meaning
Xie Bufeng's movements stopped instantly.
Even the hand that was pressing on Wen Qingci slowly loosened.
For a moment, he seemed somewhat helpless.
Wen Qingci turned his head away and didn't look at Xie Bufeng again.
He didn't realize that his voice sounded a bit angry: "There is no need to give away the gifts I prepared."
“… Gift?” Xie Bufeng’s gaze was distracted for a moment, “My dear, what gift are you talking about?” He spoke cautiously.
After saying this, Xie Bufeng finally realized what was happening and sat up straight.
The crimson sunset dyed Wen Qingci's plain clothes and bed sheets red.
The plum-petal-like tooth mark on the chin was particularly glaring against the pale skin.
Xie Bufeng couldn't help being dazed. In his eyes, Wen Qingci at this moment... seemed to be wearing a wedding dress.
So bright and breathtaking.
Wen Qingci's health was not good to begin with, and after all the tossing and turning, his waist became even weaker, and he didn't even have the strength to sit up straight.
He was too lazy to answer Xie Bufeng's question.
But Xie Bufeng refused to give in. "Where is your gift?"
Wen Qingci pretended not to hear and tried hard to sit up with his right hand.
"If you don't tell me, I will go find it myself." As he said this, Xie Bufeng actually leaned over and seemed to have his hand on his sleeve, as if he would not give up until he found it.
Wen Qingci finally said coldly: "No more." At the same time, he pulled his sleeves tighter.
"My dear, you prepared a gift, but you didn't give it to me. Isn't that a pity?"
"Why is it a pity?" Wen Qingci's voice was also infected by him and became a little hoarse, "Just give it to someone else."
"Others?" Xie Bufeng's tone suddenly became dangerous, "My dear, do you recognize other people?"
"Just give it to my brother." Wen Qingci said as a matter of course.
When he was young and wandering around the world, he always prepared gifts for his master and senior brothers.
As soon as the words were spoken, the room suddenly became quiet.
After an unknown amount of time, Xie Bufeng finally lowered his voice. He spoke carefully, as if discussing with Wen Qingci: "If you are angry, how about revenge? Can you please not give my gift to Song Junran?"
Xie Bufeng's tone was one of deliberately suppressed calmness.
But the four words "my gift" sounded somewhat pitiful when he said it.
revenge
Do I have to bite it back
Stop, don't let your imagination run wild!
The posture of the two was too ambiguous.
Wen Qingci's brain sounded an alarm at this moment, urging him to end it all.
He finally compromised:
“… On the desk, in the jade box.”
Wen Qingci said softly.
Hearing this, Xie Bufeng immediately stood up and went to the desk.
Then he carefully removed the book and found the jade box hidden underneath.
He was clearly extremely anxious just now.
But now he held the jade box in his palm, and paused for a long while but did not dare to open it.
"Your Majesty, won't you take a look?"
"Look, of course I have to look."
Xie Bufeng woke up as if from a dream.
He finally held his breath and opened the box in his hand little by little.
The next moment... an off-white wool bracelet appeared before his eyes.
It was exactly the same as Xie Bufeng remembered.
His heart suddenly felt empty for a moment.
Xie Bufeng had already taken it in his hand, and Wen Qingci also recovered his strength and stood up.
Seeing the other party staring at the thing in his hand with bated breath and not moving for a long time, Wen Qingci couldn't help but say: "It's not a valuable gift..."
Before he finished speaking, Wen Qingci suddenly remembered that he seemed to have said the same thing when he first gave Xie Bufeng a gift.
The jade box for temporarily storing bracelets was once used to store medicine.
The two-finger-wide wool bracelet also had a faint bitter scent.
Xie Bufeng put it to his nose and sniffed it slowly.
The feeling of joy came like a wave, sweeping over me.
Xie Bufeng's fingers that were holding the bracelet began to tremble uncontrollably.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Qingci really gave me a gift.
Over the years, Xie Bufeng had traced that bracelet countless times with his fingers and eyes.
He remembered where every knot was and even every tiny pattern.
Everything on the bracelet has already been deeply engraved in Xie Bufeng's mind.
Therefore, Xie Bufeng would definitely not be mistaken, this was the same bracelet as the one he used to have.
From the weaving method to the size and pattern, there is no difference.
Does this mean that Wen Qingci also cares about me and always remembers this gift
Seeing Xie Bufeng standing there motionless with the bracelet in his hand, Wen Qingci couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
"Your Majesty?" he called cautiously.
Xie Bufeng finally opened his eyes and looked at Wen Qingci.
The bedroom was not big. Xie Bufeng took a step forward and stood next to Wen Qingci.
He gently handed the bracelet with the bitter fragrance to Wen Qingci, and asked, "Please put it on for me, okay?"
The wool bracelet is too soft and difficult to wear with one hand.
Wen Qingci paused, nodded, and then wrapped it around Xie Bufeng's wrist as he did back then.
"alright."
After putting it on, Wen Qingci finally breathed a sigh of relief.
However, before he could put his hand down, Xie Bufeng looked into his eyes and said softly, "Qingci, you still owe me a happy birthday."
Happy birthday.
Wen Qingci suddenly remembered that when he was in the Divine Doctor Valley, he had also thought about Xie Bufeng’s birthday.
At that time, he thought that Xie Bufeng had become the king of a country, and his birthday would be extremely lively, with all the court officials congratulating him.
Later, Wen Qingci gradually realized that... Xie Bufeng probably spent his birthday alone this year.
Xie Bufeng did not become happy because of gaining power.
On the contrary, I feel lonelier than before.
And all of this stems from my leaving.
"… Happy birthday, Your Majesty."
The clear and melodious voice reached Xie Bufeng's ears with incredible clarity.
Wen Qingci's voice is still so gentle.
Like an icy spring in summer and warm wine in midwinter.
Xie Bufeng slowly embraced Wen Qingci in his arms and buried his face in his shoulder.
This hug was not aggressive or possessive at all. At this moment, Xie Bufeng simply wanted to draw a little warmth from him...
Wen Qingci was stunned for a moment, then slowly raised his right hand and patted Xie Bufeng's shoulder from time to time.
At this moment, he knew very well that the person hugging him was no longer the boy who needed pity.
The sunset gradually dissipated.
The room, which had not yet been lit, gradually became darker.
The last rays of sunset shine through the window.
The shadows of the two people hugging each other were stretched to infinity.
Although he had a new bracelet, Xie Bufeng still kept the old one carefully.
He put the wool bracelet, which was already about eighty to ninety percent worn, into the jade box and placed it on the table together with the jade seal.
If anyone who didn't know the truth saw him, they would think he had obtained some treasure.
*
The carriage drove out of Taishu Palace and headed towards the outskirts of Yongdu.
The people sitting in the car suddenly sneezed loudly several times.
"-A-choo," Song Junran sniffed and muttered softly, "It looks like autumn has really arrived." Then he pulled aside the curtain and looked outside.
The summer in Yongdu ended suddenly with a series of heavy rains.
The air is finally no longer hot.
This is the best season of the year to travel.
Xie Bufeng's poison was half cured, but Wen Qingci still didn't dare to be negligent.
He still stayed in the Imperial Medical Bureau and never left.
The exact opposite of Wen Qingci is Song Junran.
When Song Junran came to Taishu Palace with his junior fellow apprentice, he had already prepared himself to be detained here by Xie Bufeng and used as a hostage.
While the guards were sending him to his residence, he observed the troops stationed on the surrounding official roads and planned a route to escape from the palace with his fellow apprentice.
But he didn't expect that Xie Bufeng didn't do that.
Apart from preventing Song Junran from seeing Wen Qingci, he did not restrict the other party's freedom.
Even after Song Junran expressed that he did not want to stay in Taishu Palace all day, he sent someone to drive a horse-drawn carriage to take him to travel around Yongdu.
Song Junran is a person who can't sit still.
Seeing Xie Bufeng being so "generous", he was no longer polite to him.
Not only did Song Junran try all the delicious food in Yongdu, he even toured the major palaces of the Wei Dynasty as if he was on a picnic.
However, his purpose of traveling today was different from usual.
Song Junran, who was standing by the window, couldn't help but sigh.
Today is the Ghost Festival.
When the old valley master was alive, he had repeatedly told Song Junran to return to Yongdu to pay respect to his grandfather's family.
But the two old men had passed away for decades, and Song Junran had been to Yongdu several times, but had not been able to find the location of the cemetery. He only knew a rough range.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
The carriage slowly stopped.
Song Junran sighed again, and jumped out of the car with the prepared gold ingots.
There was a heavy rain not long ago, and the dirt roads in the suburbs of Beijing became a bit muddy.
He had just gotten off the car and hadn't even stood still when he heard a voice in his ear: "Young Master, be careful!"
Song Junran looked in the direction where the voice came from and saw a familiar figure in brown clothes and with gray hair standing in the distance looking at him.
"Eunuch Zhao?"
"It's our family." Eunuch Zhao smiled and bent over.
As he spoke, Song Junran's gaze passed Eunuch Zhao and fell behind him.
—Originally the wasteland with only grave mounds was renovated and filled with stone tablets at some point.
Seeing this, Eunuch Zhao smiled and said, "This is what your majesty meant."
"Thank you, don't you?"
"Ahem..." Hearing Song Junran calling the emperor's name directly, Eunuch Zhao coughed a few times slightly unnaturally, and then continued, "After His Majesty knew what happened, he specially ordered people to find the elderly and villagers living nearby. It took several months to identify the locations of the tombs one by one, repair the entire area, and find your grandfather's tomb."
Eunuch Zhao lost both his parents when he was young, and was taken care of a lot by Song Junran's maternal grandparents when he was a child.
He had long regarded the two old people as his own family.
Unfortunately, he never came out after entering the palace, did not attend the funeral of the two old people, and did not know the exact location of their graves.
Now Xie Bufeng sent people to find this place and renovate it.
As Eunuch Zhao spoke, a hint of gratitude appeared in his eyes.
"I see… "
Song Junran walked over in the mud and, together with Eunuch Zhao, started burning gold ingots in front of the grave.
When he stood up after comforting the dead, he couldn't help but think:
Xie Bufeng is not totally useless, perhaps? —
Detoxification is not an easy task, especially since Xie Bufeng has accumulated several different toxins in his body.
Wen Qingci changed the medicine again.
This medicine is the same as the previous one, a heavy dose.
After drinking it, there are side effects such as dull pain in the internal organs and coughing up blood.
Normally, you should have a good rest after taking the medicine.
But Xie Bufeng did not follow the doctor's advice.
Just an incense stick of time after he took the medicine, he disappeared into the bedroom.
I don’t know if I’m overthinking it.
In recent days, the front hall seems to be much busier, with people coming and going.
Xie Bufeng also became busier.
Although he knew that the other party was the king of a country, there were countless important matters waiting for him to deal with and no time could be lost.
But when he thought about the side effects, Wen Qingci still couldn't help but worry.
After hesitating for a while, he put down the medical book temporarily and walked quickly to the front yard with the medicine box.
Xie Bufeng was indeed in the side hall.
Seeing this, Wen Qingci couldn't help but frowned: "Your Majesty, why did you come here instead of taking a good rest after taking the medicine?"
"My dear minister, are you concerned about me?" Xie Bufeng's voice came through the bead curtain.
Wen Qingci paused and couldn't help but defend himself: "I am just afraid that something has happened to the patient and people will misunderstand that my medical skills are not good enough."
The next moment, a suppressed cough was heard from the side hall.
Half of the space in this side hall was originally used to store medicine, which needed to be kept cool and dry at all times.
Therefore, there are fewer windows in the room and the lighting is a bit insufficient.
At this time, Xie Bufeng did not light up all the lights.
Everything is hidden in darkness.
"Your Majesty, are you coughing up blood?" Wen Qingci walked over quickly.
"It's okay," Xie Bufeng took a sip of tea and said, "It's just a simple cough. If you don't believe me, you can come and see for yourself." There was a hint of smile in his words.
After approaching, Wen Qingci saw that Xie Bufeng's lip color was normal and his facial expression had not changed.
There was really nothing special about the cough just now.
Wen Qingci finally breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
The light illuminated Xie Bufeng's cheek, and he seemed to enjoy Wen Qingci's care very much.
Her amber eyes stared at the person in front of her, with the word "joy" written on her face without any hesitation.
Wen Qingci's gaze subconsciously dodged.
A few seconds later, it landed on the table in front of Xie Bufeng.
A few years ago, when Wen Qingci was with the deposed emperor, he got himself into a lot of trouble because of his excessive involvement in politics.
He knew that as a doctor, he shouldn't pay attention to this.
But after seeing the words on the silk jade-handled scroll, Wen Qingci was still so shocked that he forgot to look away.
"What are you looking at, my dear?" Xie Bufeng's voice suddenly sounded.
Wen Qingci immediately looked away, his behavior just now had indeed exceeded his status.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
However, Xie Bufeng's reaction was different from what Wen Qingci expected.
"My dear, please sit down." As he said that, Xie Bufeng put his arm around Wen Qingci's waist like he did last time and let him sit next to him.
His actions were extremely natural.
Then he gently picked up the things on the table.
With the warm light from the candle, Wen Qingci finally confirmed that he was not mistaken - what was placed on the table was indeed an imperial edict!
And it’s not just an ordinary imperial edict.
"This is the imperial edict to confer the title of Crown Prince," Xie Bufeng said calmly, as if what he said was not a big deal. At the end, he even frowned and corrected himself, "No, it should be 'Crown Prince'."
"Your Majesty is going to make the Second Prince the Crown Prince?"
Wen Qingci's heart suddenly sank, and he even forgot to push Xie Bufeng's hand away and get up and leave Longta.
Xie Bufeng married his own "coffin".
He does not marry or have children.
All of this has already been laid out in secret.
But it was not until he saw this imperial edict that Wen Qingci realized clearly how serious Xie Bufeng was.
It turns out that the recent bustle in the side hall was due to this incident.
Wen Qingci's tone was somewhat shocked.
Xie Bufeng was the complete opposite of him.
He did not directly answer Wen Qingci's question, but simply opened his mouth to seriously correct it: "It's 'King Heng'."
If he doesn’t have any concubines, how could there be a second prince
At the end, he said calmly: "Although Xie Guanzhi is a little... immature, he is still qualified to be a king who maintains the status quo."
Xie Bufeng was halfway through his words when he paused for a long while before finding a relatively appropriate word.
But Wen Qingci guessed that what he really wanted to say was probably something like "a little stupid".
Xie Guanzhi's personality can be seen from the fact that he did not understand "moderation" at all in the past, did not hide his edge at all, and almost brought disaster upon himself.
"After experiencing the incident of deposing the emperor, I think he should have matured a lot." Xie Bufeng said.
Wen Qingci nodded slowly.
He was stabbed in the back by his father, nearly lost his life, and was confined in the imperial temple for several years.
No matter what Xie Guanzhi said, he would no longer be as naive as before.
This may be a good thing for him as emperor.
Xie Guanzhi has a kind side to his character, which does not make him suitable for dealing with troubled times, but as Xie Bufeng said, he is indeed suitable to be a king who maintains the status quo.
As he spoke, Xie Bufeng suddenly flipped over the memorial on the table.
Wen Qingci looked down following his movements.
—This memorial was covered with red comments, but they were not written by Xie Bufeng.
"… Were these words written by His Royal Highness Prince Heng?"
Xie Bufeng nodded slowly: "During the time when I am away in Lianhe, he will take charge of Yongdu and govern the country."
As he flipped through the memorial in his hand, he said, "Xie Guanzhi's performance was indeed good."
Wen Qingci clenched his palms.
When Xie Bufeng went to Lianhe, he brought a group of people with him.
The plague situation was urgent at the time and everyone was so busy every day that no one had time to mention these things.
What's more, Xie Bufeng was hiding his identity and went there pretending to be an inspector. In order to avoid exposing his identity, the imperial doctors deliberately avoided related topics.
Therefore, it was not until now that Wen Qingci knew that Xie Bufeng actually let Xie Guanzhi govern the country...
This is not a joke.
—Before he left Yongdu, he found a retreat for the entire empire.
"So... Your Majesty is thinking that maybe..."
Wen Qingci hesitated for a long time and couldn't utter the word "death".
Xie Bufeng nodded slightly and rubbed Wen Qingci's forehead with his chin.
"Yes," he whispered in Wen Qingci's ear, "I have made all preparations."
Yes, how could Xie Bufeng not know how dangerous Lianhe is
He was a man who had been to the battlefield, so he knew very well that there was no distinction between status and position on the road to the underworld.
The epidemic will not let him go just because he is the emperor.
Wen Qingci suddenly turned around and looked at Xie Bufeng.
The warm candlelight flickers in the dark pupils:
"If your majesty is wrong, and I wasn't there at all. Or if I really died a long time ago... What should you do when you get there?"
Wen Qingci still doesn't know how Xie Bufeng found him, and how sure he is that he is in Lianhe.
Hearing the words of the people around him, Xie Bufeng felt a sudden pain in his heart.
He found that even if Wen Qingci survived and was even sitting next to him now, he still didn't dare to think about the possibility that "Wen Qingci was really dead."
The dragon bed is huge and can be used for sitting or lying.
Xie Bufeng slowly held Wen Qingci in his arms, letting his ankles rest on Panlong.
After realizing what he was stepping on, Wen Qingci immediately became nervous and struggled involuntarily.
Xie Bufeng gently kissed Wen Qingci's forehead and ignored his request.
"That's perfect."
“… Just right?”
"Then I can go find you."
Xie Bufeng suddenly reached out and pulled the jade hairpin out of Wen Qingci's black hair.
In an instant, his black hair fell like a waterfall, cascading over his shoulders.
Under the light, his features looked even more fragile and delicate.
"It is said that when a person dies, he is taken away by the person closest to him... If you are really gone, then shouldn't you come to pick me up?"
Xie Bufeng smiled slowly, and there was a hint of yearning and anticipation in his tone.
"When that time comes, I will hold your hand tightly, and in my next reincarnation, I will be with you."
But fortunately, Wen Qingci is still alive.
Fortunately, I don’t have to wait until the next life...
Xie Bufeng placed delicate kisses on Wen Qingci's forehead.
The feet of the person in his arms rubbed against the edge of the dragon bed.
After realizing that he was stepping on the dragon, Wen Qingci finally remembered to struggle again: "-Your Majesty, let me down."
But the next moment, Xie Bufeng, who was holding him in his arms, suddenly looked extremely deep and his breathing became disordered for a moment.
After realizing something, Wen Qingci suddenly stood still, motionless, and stopped all struggles.
(End of this chapter)