On this day, Li Yuanmin did not go back to the West Palace immediately, but quietly abducted to the animal room of Zhongcui Palace.
The autumn election was approaching, and the concubine Wang Guifei restrained Li Yuanxu from reviewing his homework in the palace, lest there would be side effects, so the usually bustling veterinary room became deserted.
After all, it is the site of the royal concubine. The guards of Zhongcui Palace are stricter than other places. Fortunately, the animal room is quite far from the main palace, and it is not an important place. Moreover, fierce beasts are entrenched, and the palace people can’t avoid it. The guards were in a rush to come here during the meeting, so the guards didn't pay attention. During their shifts, they also gathered in the distance to drink and order.
The sun was approaching the western mountain, and it was time for dinner, and there was only one guard left. Li Yuanmin had observed for several days, and knew that the guard would take the food box in a short while and hide in the ear room to be lazy.
Li Yuanmin leaned against the rockery, rubbed the corner of his damaged mouth with the back of his hand, glanced at the blood stains on it, sniffed, and didn't care much. He took out the burden from a hidden cave in the rockery, and dug out a set of old court maid clothes to change into. His appearance was indistinguishable from the very beginning, coupled with his small stature, he looked like a little palace maid after changing the clothes. When the footsteps of the gate guard gradually faded away, they quietly entered the animal room.
A foul smell came out.
The animal house is divided into several areas by heavy fences, and all kinds of ligers and ferocious animals are locked up. Accompanied by the low roars of the beasts one after another, Li Yuanmin frowned and walked quickly to the innermost part, holding his breath.
A figure curled up on the ground.
The blowfly was flying around, and occasionally landed on him. If it wasn't for the slight ups and downs of his body, he would have been dead for a long time.
At this moment, the "dead man" on the ground slowly opened his eyes, glanced at the person coming, turned his face in disgust, and closed his eyes again.
Li Yuanmin approached as if he didn't see it, and dragged the hay under him towards him through the fence.
Get closer to the person, and lightly lift his dirty black neckline, revealing the hideous wound on the chest. The edge of the wound has begun to scab, and no longer festers and worms.
A few days ago, Li Yuanmin used a silver needle to pick out the maggots in the wound one by one.
When the fourth prince was most interested, he would have a fierce fight almost every two days, and often the old wounds would not heal and new wounds would multiply. Not to mention healing, it was difficult to guarantee even food, and the animal house was dirty and damp , the wound is festering and full of worms, even though he is very talented, he was also dying from the painstaking efforts, now that Li Yuanxu is busy with the autumn election and it is cold here, the eunuchs in the veterinary room naturally let him fend for himself.
In the last life, the god of murder "Rentu", who was so brave, murderous, and frightened the enemy, is now just like that insignificant dust and chaff, shriveled in this cold and smelly animal house.
Fortunately, the wound medicine given by He Yunyi is good, and now it seems that the injury seems to have improved.
Just as he was about to continue removing his jacket and trousers, a rough and hoarse voice said viciously: "What are you doing!"
Li Yuanmin paused, "Let me see other injuries."
But Yan Lie was holding on to his trousers tightly and would not let go. Li Yuanmin frowned, and his gaze fell on the other party's crimson dodging eyes.
"roll!"
The young man gasped, made a nasty voice, and gritted his teeth, like a ferocious beast that would not allow anyone to invade its territory.
There were so many festering bite wounds on his body. Under such actions, he was sweating like a waterfall, obviously excruciatingly painful. He was shaking all over, but he still held on tightly to his pants.
"you… "
Li Yuanmin suddenly realized something, his face flushed slightly, and he coughed lightly,
"It's okay... I'm not..."
He wanted to say that he was not a woman, but after thinking about it, he was not a man either, so why bother to explain, he just sighed softly, stretched out his palms to cover the hands that were tightly gripping his trousers, and did not force him, The voice softened.
"Don't be afraid, I will help you..."
He pursed his lips, and said again: "This is nothing."
Yi Lie's eyes were blood red. He had already spent many days. No matter how vigorous he was, he was only a ten-year-old boy. He lost his strength with a muffled grunt, and finally fell on the dry grass.
Li Yuanmin hesitated for a moment, then reached out and untied his belt.
An even more intense stench of stench rushed towards his face, but seeing the mess of black and yellow things between his legs, Li Yuanmin couldn't help but frown.
Yi Lie tilted his head, gritted his teeth tightly, and clenched his fists stiffly by his sides. His joints were clearly defined, obviously he was ashamed.
—The corners of the tightly closed eyes are obviously wet.
Li Yuanmin thought, he was just a child.
He didn't delay any more, he moved the trough for the ferocious beasts to drink water with difficulty, drew water from the tank, first took off the dirty coat and trousers to clean it up, and then tore off a piece of hem and soaked it in water. Wipe carefully.
The sky is gradually overcast, and there is a layer of hazy darkness everywhere.
Li Yuanmin sweated profusely on his forehead. He looked at the much refreshed young man on the haystack and heaved a sigh of relief.
Xu stood too fast, his head was dizzy for a while, and his endurance collapsed in an instant. He couldn't bear it anymore, and fell on the edge of the fence to vomit.
Looking at the little palace lady who was about to spit out bile, the corners of Yan Lie's eyes were red, and she thought bitterly, since she couldn't bear it like this... why bother to be hypocritical! Everyone in the world is so hypocritical and sinister, and so is she!
Li Yuanmin panted lightly and wiped the corners of his lips with his cuff. He leaned his forehead gently against the fence and accidentally met the boy's dark eyes. His eyes softened instantly.
Yi Lie was startled, panting heavily, and turned his face sideways.
Li Yuanmin smiled suddenly, and then slowly sat down against the fence. He raised his head and looked far away.
Above the animal house is a narrow piece of sky, which is gloomy and dim at the moment, like a dull and obscure ink painting.
He thought to himself, he tried countless times but couldn't let go of this child with peace of mind. Maybe he will always be so cheap and passive.
In this life... In this life, I just calculate like this, just take one step at a time.
Li Yuanmin talking to himself.
Yi Lie couldn't help but turn around and looked at "her" strangely.
Time flowed silently. Li Yuanmin closed his eyes. His surroundings were full of stench and smell. All kinds of unpleasant smells were intertwined, but he felt a sense of tranquility strangely.
Suddenly, in the distance, voices began to stir up, some palace people shouted excitedly,
"Look at the sky!"
"Miracle! It's a miracle!"
He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky again. The originally obscure sky was bright purple and red. Cranes were flying and occasionally pressed low across the sky, like a fairyland in Penglai.
The heart-wrenching spectacle of the previous life reappeared, and Li Yuanmin's eyes turned red instantly.
The ferocious beasts in the animal house all neighed, as if affected by the sight, they waited quietly in place, looking up at the sky.
The world seemed suddenly quiet.
In the cold weather in the 21st year of the early Wu Dynasty, purple auspicious clouds surrounded Zhongcui Palace, and flying cranes. Emperor Mingde was overjoyed and regarded it as an auspicious omen.
***
Because of the auspicious omen, the palace was bustling for several days.
However, all the bustle is not related to the West Temple.
A light snow drifted outside, falling on the ground and turning into wet traces. The weeds in the courtyard of the West Palace had already withered and turned yellow. When the westerly wind blew, they swayed and swayed, showing a somewhat decayed appearance.
Li Yuanmin stared blankly at the snowy water in the courtyard, feeling a little worried in his heart.
"What are you worried about, Your Highness?"
Li Yuanmin came back to his senses and tried to smile, "Yesterday it was still the sun against the sky, but today it's snowing. I don't know how many people should suffer from the cold."
"After all, it's winter, and it's common for the climate to fluctuate."
He Yunyi observed him calmly. During this period of time, his complexion has improved a lot, but his body is still weak, which made him worry.
At present, he is wearing a squirrel gray double-breasted jacket and a brocade belt. Although it is not made of expensive materials, it is much better than before. I heard that the princess Wang Guifei took pity on him and ordered the servant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send some winter supplies. come over.
Even the copper furnace in the hall has added a lot of raw carbon.
Happy for him after all: "Thanks to the imperial concubine taking care of you, your good days are finally here."
Li Yuanmin smiled and said nothing.
"Since you're here, I'll check your pulse."
Before the other party could react, he grabbed his wrist and placed his fingers on his pulse. After a while, He Yunyi smiled.
"Fortunately, the Guben Peiyuan ointment is somewhat effective, and this pulse condition is much better than the previous few times."
Li Yuanmin's expression changed: "Then strengthening the foundation and cultivating the essence...is it good to treat the weak?"
"That's natural, strengthening the foundation and cultivating the vitality, nourishing the deficiency and nourishing the qi is excellent," He Yunyi was rarely complacent, "Our He family's strengthening the foundation and cultivating the essence ointment is the foundation of our body, and naturally it is not comparable to other things. "
Li Yuanmin thoughtfully held the medicine box carved with complicated patterns in his hand.
He Yunyi knew that he had always been cautious and would not be favored easily, so he only comforted him and said, "It's just some common tonic brewing, but the preparation method is a little troublesome, but it's not a precious thing, you can use it with peace of mind. "
He took out several boxes of plasters from the medical box and pushed them in front of Li Yuanmin,
"These boxes are newly made. I specially mixed some winter honey to make it easier to eat."
Li Yuanmin didn't refuse this time, a smile floated on his cheeks, but he just accepted it. Just as he was about to say something more, he heard a word from outside, and a high-ranking court lady with a round face and a royal attire came in.
"Third Highness, Wang Guifei invites you to go to Zhongcui Palace and taste the newly introduced fragrant tea."
This is Qinghe, the eldest maid of Zhongcui Palace, who has changed from servant to master. During this period of time, the noble concubine Wang treated Li Yuanmin differently, which also made her respect the person in front of her a little more.
Li Yuanmin sighed quietly and stood up.
"It's hard for my mother to remember, but my cough is not cured. I am afraid that I will give my mother the anger of my illness, so I won't go here."
"This..." Qing He hesitated.
Li Yuanmin lowered his body, "Please tell my mother back to my aunt, I will recover in the future, and Yuanmin will go to apologize and ask for peace."
Qing He knew that this trip was fruitless, so she was blessed, said some auspicious words, and withdrew.
"Is your cough still unhealed?" He Yunyi asked hurriedly.
Li Yuanmin chuckled softly: "Just find an excuse not to go."
After being immersed in the palace for a long time, He Yunyi couldn't help but make plans for him: "Although His Highness never likes to be flattered, the imperial concubine is after all a concubine in the harem. In the future...you must not blindly shirk it."
Li Yuanmin would not explain it to him, he just smiled: "I wrote it down."
When he came out this time, He Yunyi found other reasons. Seeing that he had been sitting for a long time, he was afraid that his father would be suspicious, so he put on the medical kit and stood up, whispering:
"It's getting late, I have to go back to the hospital."
Li Yuanmin nodded, and then stood up. He hesitated for a while, and said casually: "I am in good health now. In the future, Imperial Physician He doesn't have to make a special trip to check the pulse. This West Palace..."
He paused: "If you feel unwell in the future, I will ask for it."
He Yunyi's heart ached, and he thought, how could he please move, which imperial physician would be willing to come over? I'm afraid that he has endured all the illnesses of the past ten years or so. He is aware of his fundamentals. He is inherently deficient, and these years have been used up. If he doesn't take care of it, his life span may not be long.
"I didn't come here on a special trip, I just stopped by."
Looking at the soft water in his eyes, He Yunyi's heart ached. How could he not know that he was worried that his ominous name would affect him, so he didn't point it out at the moment, and just smiled along with it.
He walked a few steps, turned around again, and stuffed a jade pendant into his hand involuntarily: "If you have something important to do in the future, send this to the pharmacist, and I will come over. Your Highness, please be careful." Don't carry it on your own."
"Um."
Li Yuanmin nodded, put it in his arms cherishingly, and smiled slightly: "I wrote it down."
He Yunyi was reluctant to let go, but he had no choice but to leave.
***
Luxurious Zhongcui Palace Fragrance Mist Surrounds.
Wang Chaoluan was leaning on the imperial concubine's couch with his eyes half closed, while Li Yuanlang was rubbing her temples carefully.
"Be more polite to the person in the West Hall from now on." The lazy voice ordered casually.
"… yes."
Li Yuanlang is very respectful, but his heart is full of turmoil. How could he know that only a few days later, Wang Chaoluan's attitude towards the person in the West Hall was completely different. Thinking of what Li Yuanmin said to him that day, his heart ached. She swallowed her saliva in horror, "Don't worry, mother and concubine, the child was ignorant in the past few years. These days, the child has introspected many times. From now on, he will be respectful to the third highness as a brother and friend, and don't teach mother and concubine to worry about it."
"Brothers and friends..." Wang Chaoluan smiled mockingly.
Since the miracle of the Zixia Crane appeared in Xiao Hantian, the bitch has made various excuses and refused to come here, but she has a good posture, because he has some supernatural abilities, and now he can't What to do with him, I can only try to win him over.
These days, she sent no less than a few spies to investigate Li Yuanmin's whereabouts over the years, and found nothing suspicious.
Thinking of the purple cranes that filled the sky that evening, everyone in the world regarded it as a good omen, but it made her feel cold and frightened.
All of this was actually told by that bitch, so the hungry ghost in western Zhejiang... couldn't tolerate her disbelief.
Was upset and thinking, Qinghe came in from the outside, she looked a bit embarrassed, Wang Chaoluan's eyes turned sharp, and she shattered the jade lamp in her hand!
"What is he using as an excuse this time?!"
Qing He didn't dare to delay, she followed the example and returned, Wang Chaoluan's face was ashen.
After a while, a gorgeous and ferocious smile appeared,
"Okay, I'm his half-mother and concubine at least. How can I not care about my son's illness? Come here! Drive to the West Palace!"