The little guy's face was covered with tear marks, he was crying incoherently, and he looked heartbroken.
Pei Zheng's fingers suddenly loosened the strength, he wiped his tears, hugged the boy to his chest and comforted him softly.
"I know, I know, don't cry anymore, what if you hurt your eyes? Hmm?"
"... Cry, it's fine if I cry... Anyway, no one will care about me anymore..."
Seeing that his tears showed no sign of stopping, Pei Zheng turned over and pressed the little guy under him, slightly leaning his body to hang above him.
"I care."
Qi Changyi felt dizzy and felt a weight on his body, which made it difficult for him to breathe. A slightly cold hand slid along the exposed skin on his waist.
The warm breath so close to him and the tingling feeling on his waist made the little guy's toes curl up. The hand pinched his slender waist lightly, and the little guy immediately forgot to cry, and a soft moan escaped from his mouth involuntarily.
"Yeah..."
The little guy also heard the sound he made, and panickedly covered his mouth with both hands, his ears red and bleeding.
Pei Zheng raised the corner of his lips and reached out to forcefully pull the little hands down.
"Scream it out," Pei Zheng kissed the red lips, "I want to hear it."
“…No, don’t…” Qi Changyi pouted and choked twice in grievance.
Pei Zheng laughed at his stubborn talk and started to kiss and touch the little guy all over. After a few strokes, the little body became soft like a puddle of water, and the whole body was limp and couldn't help gasping and whimpering.
Pei Zheng withdrew his hand at the right time, lifted the person under him and turned him over, letting him half lying on him.
The little guy's whole body had become hot. He lay on Pei Zheng's chest with his eyes half closed, unable to muster any strength. It was just that he had cried too hard just now, and now he would sob from time to time.
"You're not well yet. Wait for some more time to recuperate. I won't let you go so easily..."
The little guy was in a daze and didn't hear Pei Zheng's words clearly. He was stroking his back gently with a pair of soft hands. After a while, his eyelids began to twitch uncontrollably and his breathing gradually became even and shallow.
The candlelight in the small building was immediately extinguished, and there was silence all around, with only the swaying shadows of the trees outside the window.
On the second day, Qi Changyi was shaken awake by Li Yu.
—As soon as I opened my eyelids, the bright light from the sky hurt my eyes.
Li Yu quickly reached out to block the light for Qi Changyi, "Your Highness, it's already noon, you should get up. Doctor Jiang said you missed your morning medicine, you can't miss this afternoon's medicine again."
After Qi Changyi got used to the light, Li Yu helped him sit up.
He glanced at the bed where he was the only one left, and then looked around the room.
Pei Zheng is not here.
Qi Changyi seemed to be relieved, but there was obviously no light on his little face.
"Your Highness, Lord Pei has gone to court and has not returned yet."
Qi Changyi nodded and said nothing.
Li Yu served Qi Changyi some lunch, which was all light food. Qi Changyi only ate a few bites and didn't want to eat anymore.
The servants cleared away the lunch, brought in the medicine that Qi Changyi was going to take, and also brought some candied fruits.
After drinking the tear-jerking medicine with a frown, Qi Changyi quickly picked up a piece of candied fruit and threw it into his mouth. The sweetness finally reduced the bitterness a bit.
After drinking the medicine, Qi Changyi lay back down on the bed. The servants left one by one, leaving only Qi Changyi and Li Yu in the small building.
"Xiao Yuzi, where is Doctor Jiang? Why didn't he come to see me take medicine today?"
"Your Highness, Imperial Doctor Jiang has gone back to the Imperial Hospital to deal with some matters. He will be back later. Didn't you tell me to watch you take the medicine?"
"oh… "
Qi Changyi agreed in a long tone, and then started talking.
Li Yu knew that he must be feeling bored. The prince in the past could not stay idle for a whole day in his own bedroom. He would tinker with this and then hammer at that, entertaining himself for the whole day.
But it seemed like His Highness hadn’t had such a happy time playing for a long time. With his childish nature, he must be feeling unhappy.
"Your Highness, Lord Pei said that you are not allowed to leave the building until you are better, and Doctor Jiang also means the same thing, so just lie down and get better soon, and then you can leave."
"Xiao Yuzi, I don't want to go out and play."
Qi Changyi paused, "I... I just miss the palace a little bit..."
Li Yu was stunned.
He understood what Qi Changyi meant. He was not thinking about the things in the palace, but the people in the bedroom. The prince's bedroom was now uninhabited, and the original palace maids and eunuchs in it were all dispersed to other bedrooms. That bedroom was now half-abandoned.
"I... still miss my father... and my mother..."
Qi Changyi's eyes became red again as he spoke.
“Your Highness, what’s wrong with you? Why do you start thinking about these things again? Didn’t we agree that we would only think about happy things in the future? Your Highness, please don’t cry…” Li Yu was a little flustered when he saw the little guy crying. Your Highness had cried too much, and his eyes would not be able to bear it if he continued like this. Doctor Jiang also said that he must not be allowed to think about sad things again, and he must not be allowed to cry because of sadness.
Qi Changyi turned over and lay facing inside.
"Xiao Yuzi, I want to be alone for a while..."
Li Yu looked at his back and sighed deeply.
"Your Highness, I am standing guard outside. If you need anything, just call me and I will come in."
**The man didn't move.
Li Yu slowly left the room.
Qi Changyi closed his eyes, his mind filled with various images, all of which were scenes of him, his father and his mother when he was a child.
He was still young at that time, and his father could easily carry him on his shoulders, then hold his legs with one hand and hold his mother's hand with the other, and the three of them would take a walk in the imperial garden.
At that time, the fourth prince was sent to the academy to learn knowledge, read books and write with the teacher every day, but Qi Changyi was allowed to play with his mother every day, and the emperor also favored them.
But such happy days were too short.
The door of the small building was gently pushed open, and a tall figure slowly walked to the bedside.
A slightly cool body pressed against the back of the half-asleep little man. The fire in the small building was burning so brightly, but he still couldn't help shivering.
Pei Zheng turned his body over and held him in his arms, resting his head on his pillow. He could smell the little guy's unique body fragrance, a mixture of bitter medicine and sweet smell. He buried his head in his hair and took a deep breath, and could even smell the faint milky fragrance emanating from his bones.
Holding the soft and warm little body, my restless heart calmed down a little.
It’s just that the person in my arms was too well-behaved, his body was limp and he didn’t move at all.
Qi Changyi's chin was lifted up by someone and met a pair of dark eyes.
"Crying?"
Qi Changyi quickly wiped away the tears that were still hanging from the corners of his eyes and sobbed violently.
"I...I didn't..."
"Come here and let me see."
Pei Zheng said as his men lifted the little guy up to the pillow, pressed the back of his head close to his eyes, and scanned the little face that was obviously tearful.
"Oh, you didn't cry. But why is there so much water on your face? It seems that the servants didn't serve our little prince well. They should be punished."
Pei Zheng was about to call someone in, "Come..."
After she shouted out one word, her mouth was suddenly covered by a pair of small hands. The owner of the small hands looked aggrieved and was about to start shedding little pearls again.
“No...don’t...it’s none of their business, don’t punish them...please..." The pleading tone was very seductive.
Pei Zheng narrowed his eyes and blew a breath of hot air towards his hands that were covering his body. Those hands really seemed to be scalded and wanted to dodge, but were held down by a big hand and could not move. Then a wet and hot touch came from the palm of his hand, and moved back and forth along the tender white fingers several times.
"Ah..." After Qi Changyi realized what it was, he pulled his hand back with red eyes.
Pei Zheng loosened the shackles, touched the corners of his lips with his fingertips, and wanted to catch the little hands that had escaped.
"Don't... don't do this... Brother Pei..."
Qi Changyi's heartbeat became erratic and his breathing became rapid. If this continued, he felt dizzy and was about to pass out.
But the big hand did not let him go. It grabbed his two thin wrists and twisted them behind his back.
"Don't want what?" Pei Zheng whispered in his ear, "What I want to do hasn't even started yet."
After saying that, he exerted force on his back, and the soft and delicious little guy was brought in front of him. He looked evasive in confusion, and redness spread from his ears to his cheeks.
The half-open lips opened and closed in front of her eyes with shallow breathing, the slightly red eyes were full of mist, and a crystal pearl was hanging at the corner of her eye, about to fall.
Pei Zhengxin cursed inwardly. All he wanted to do now was to turn over and press down hard, letting those tears fall on his heart.
At this moment, voices suddenly came from outside the door of the small building, and the voices were getting louder and louder.
"Doctor Jiang! Doctor Jiang, please wait a moment! Wait a moment! Don't push the door yet!"
"Hey, Li Yu, you even stopped me! What are you waiting for? I'm here to diagnose His Highness' pulse, and I have to choose an auspicious time, right?"
"Well, that's not necessary..."
"You don't have to stop me from doing anything."
Jiang Yubai was about to push the door open, and Li Yu hurriedly said, "Your Highness is resting, and it is inconvenient to be disturbed! Otherwise, come over after Your Highness wakes up!"
"Why are you sleeping when dinner is not ready yet? Wake him up, and don't forget to take the evening medicine."
Seeing that he couldn't stop Jiang Yubai, Li Yu said with a sad face, "Doctor Jiang, Lord Pei is here too."
Jiang Yubai's hand that was about to push the door suddenly stopped, then his eyes changed slightly, and he kicked the door.
The door was kicked open with a "bang".
Pei Zheng had already gotten out of bed. He raised his hand and pulled the quilt over the little person underneath, covering him tightly from head to toe.
There were a few pieces of clothing scattered under the bed, but Pei Zheng was neatly dressed and looked handsome.
"A beast in human clothing!"
Jiang Yubai rushed in and gritted his teeth, "Pei Zheng, don't you think you should explain yourself?"
Pei Zheng looked at him without saying anything.
Jiang Yubai said, "I just came back from the palace. Those rumors have spread throughout the palace. Is Your Highness the only one who is still unaware of it?"