Huan Xuan took the antidote for a month, and his pulse gradually returned to normal. Zheng Fengyu asked him to stop taking the medicine, but he still looked like he could not get out of bed. He wanted someone to feed him porridge one mouthful at a time, and he wanted someone to eat cakes and desserts with him - of course, this person was Sui Sui.
Sui Sui refused to believe that he couldn't even hold a spoon, but as soon as she saw his pale face and misty eyes, she found it difficult to refuse his unreasonable requests.
Feeding would have been fine, but while she was feeding, the eunuchs and palace servants in the room quietly retreated, and while she was feeding, she was inexplicably hooked onto the couch.
Sui Sui was unwilling to admit that she had lost her mind due to lust, and could only blame the man who was a vixen for his cleverness.
However, with his half-crippled body, he would gasp for breath when excited, so he could not do much and could only satisfy his urge at best.
On this day, the palace sent several baskets of newly tributed cherries "for Xiao Xijun to taste". After tasting them, Xiao Xijun climbed down from the couch in a daze, his hair was messy, his clothes were wrinkled, and his lapels were stained with cherry juice.
She turned her head and glanced at the patient who was leaning lazily on the soft pillow like a cat. She saw that the flush on his cheeks spread all the way to the corners of his slightly raised eyes. He was obviously a little short of breath, and his thin lips were slightly parted. There was a mark of blood in the middle, which was not sure whether it was stained by cherry juice or bitten blood. The bright red was made even more charming by the sickly white surrounding it.
Sui Sui's heartbeat, which had just calmed down, started beating rapidly again.
She coughed twice and said, "I'll change my clothes..."
As she was about to get out of bed, someone suddenly pulled her belt and she fell back onto the couch.
"Zheng Fengyu will be asking for your pulse soon..." She pushed Huan Xuan.
Huan Xuan blew gently into her ear and whispered, "Sister..."
As soon as Sui Sui heard the word "sister", she felt as if someone had pinched her nerves, and her hands were completely weakened.
The man took advantage of the opportunity and slid his long fingers down from her neck and into the middle of her clothes: "There is cherry juice here, I will clean it up for you..."
Before he finished speaking, he lowered his head and cleaned the floor slowly and methodically.
It took another quarter of an hour to clean up. Sui Sui went to the bathroom to change her clothes and comb her hair. Then a palace maid came to report that Zheng Fengyu had arrived.
Sui Sui glanced at Huan Xuan and saw that his clothes were half-open and his long hair was scattered messily on the pillow.
"Are you going to meet Zheng Fengyu like this?" she said unhappily.
Huan Xuan said: "I am a patient anyway."
Sui Sui couldn't bear to see this person off: "I'll ask someone to wash and dress you."
Huan Xuan said: "I don't like being touched by others."
This is indeed true. He is different from other princes and nobles. Perhaps it is because he is too difficult to serve. Ever since he was sensible, he has been unwilling to let others do these things for him.
Sui Sui said: "Then you do it yourself."
Huan Xuan weakly raised his right hand and said, "I don't have any strength in my hand."
After saying this, he looked at her meaningfully.
Sui Sui blushed: "Huan Ziheng!"
Huan Xuan asked, "Sister, don't you like it very much?"
Sui Sui said: "Don't call me anymore..."
Huan Xuan: "What are you not allowed to call?"
I just ground my back molars.
Huan Xuan said, "Unless my sister combs my hair for me."
"Where did you learn all this messed up stuff?" Sui Sui asked.
There is no need to learn these. He has as many messy thoughts as he wants.
But of course he couldn't tell the truth, he said without hesitation: "It was all taught to me by Huan Minggui."
Sui Sui gnashed his teeth and said, "That scoundrel!"
Huan Xuan shared the same hatred for the enemy: "That's right, I was a decent person but was led astray by him."
After a pause, she said, "It's not easy for Zheng Fengyu to travel back and forth. I'm sorry to have kept him waiting. Sister, please comb my hair for me."
Sui Sui couldn't get over him after all, so she took the jade comb from the dressing table and said, "Shut up."
It was the first time for her to comb someone's hair, but luckily she often braided the little black-faced boy's hair, so she quickly combed his hair and helped him change into clean pajamas.
Huan Xuan asked for a bronze mirror, looked at himself in it, and finally felt satisfied. He said to the outside of the screen, "Please invite Zheng Fengyu in."
Doctor Zheng walked into the room, glanced at the two of them, frowned imperceptibly, saluted them, and then began to take the pulse of the "Emperor".
Sui Sui saw that he didn't speak for a long time, and her heart sank: "How?"
Doctor Zheng cleared his throat and said, "Your Majesty seems to have some yin deficiency and excess fire. I wonder what you had for lunch today?"
Emperor Huan Xuan was nominally dead, and Doctor Zheng didn't know how to address him, so he just called him "Your Majesty".
Sui Sui didn't know much about medicine, but he knew that Yin Fire was mostly caused by the Seven Desires. This medical officer saw everything, but he just didn't expose it.
Huan Xuan said, "For lunch, we had the same light soups, porridge and snacks, but I was greedy and ate a few extra cherries."
Doctor Zheng nodded and said seriously, "Cherries are hot in nature. Your Majesty has just recovered from the poison and is weak. You should not eat too much."
Huan Xuan said, "I understand. Thank you, Feng Yu."
Doctor Zheng said to Sui Sui, "I would like to check the pulse of General Xiao, is he safe?"
Without waiting for Sui Sui to say anything, Huan Xuan said, "Thank you for your service."
Sui Sui felt a little guilty, but still reached out his hand.
Zheng Fengyu frowned, retracted his fingers, coughed twice and said, "Xiao Jun's body has recovered well. He will be fine after a few more days of recuperation. But..."
He hesitated and said, "Although cherries are delicious, you should not eat too much. You two have a long life, so you can eat them slowly..."
Sui Sui forced a smile and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Feng Yu."
After Zheng Fengyu left, Huan Xuan couldn't help laughing and slapped him on the chest: "You still have the nerve to laugh!"
Although she did not use her full strength, she was a martial artist after all, so the slap on the flesh was still very painful. Huan Xuan groaned, covered his chest and frowned.
Sui Sui suddenly became nervous: "What's wrong?"
Huan Xuan suddenly smiled: "Sis, you hit me so hard, aren't you afraid that if you beat me to death, I won't have any cherries to eat anymore."
But the next day he couldn't laugh anymore.
When he woke up, the bed next to him was empty, but he didn't think it was strange. As Sui's health gradually improved, she resumed her habit of practicing martial arts every morning. She got up early, and when he woke up she was usually practicing sword in the garden.
After she finished practicing with the sword, she would go back to take a bath and then have breakfast with him.
After a while, there was the sound of the door curtain being lifted.
"Are you back?" Huan Xuan asked.
"The old slave is back." A familiar voice sounded.
Huan Xuan's expression suddenly changed: "What's wrong with Nanny?"
Grandma Gao had been staying at her nephew's house in Lantian. Huan Xuan was afraid that Gao couldn't bear the blow due to her old age, so he kept the fact of taking poison a secret from her. He only planned to pick her up from Lantian to see her for the last time when there was really no other way.
After I got the antidote, I was no longer in a hurry to pick up the old lady.
"If I don't go back, won't I remain in the dark?" Grandma Gao came to the bed angrily.
Huan Xuan said with a guilty conscience: "I'm just afraid that Madam will worry."
Grandma Gao snorted coldly and pursed her lips and said, "I am an old servant with blurry eyes and deaf ears. I am useless and cannot help Your Majesty. I will only get in the way."
Huan Xuan pinched his brows and said, "Madam, please don't say that..."
At this moment, a familiar footstep was heard outside the screen: "Huan Ziheng, are you awake? I'll call someone..."
Sui Sui's words got stuck in her throat halfway through because as soon as she walked around the screen, she saw the familiar figure of the old man.
This was the first time she had seen Grandma Gao since she faked her death and left Beijing. She was completely unprepared and felt so guilty that she almost ran away.
Unfortunately, Madam Gao had already spotted her and bowed, "This old servant greets General Xiao."
It's good to follow the rules, but maybe it's because of her guilty conscience, Sui Sui always feels that her eyes are full of condemnation and accusation.
She stepped forward to help her up and said, "Madam, you are so polite..."
Grandma Gao said, "Mr. Xiao is a noble, and it is only right for me to pay my respects to you."
Sui Sui knew that she was angry, so he could only say: "I am sorry to Madam..."
Grandma Gao said, "Mr. Xiao is a noble man, and I dare not marry him."
Sui Sui knew the old nanny's temper and didn't know whether to coax her or hide. Unexpectedly, the old nanny took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiped her tears, saying: "I was just fooled by you. Anyway, you always have something important to do and a reason. I am just a servant. I deserve to be kept in the dark and cry my eyes out..."
She glanced at Sui Sui with resentment: "It's been so long since I came back to Beijing, and you didn't even let me see you..."
Sui Sui wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it. She shook Grandma Gao's arm and said, "Grandma, be careful or you'll get sick from anger."
As she spoke, she took off an embroidered bag from her waist and stuffed it into her hand: "This is the jade Buddha I asked for in the White Horse Temple in Luoyang. I have been carrying it with me all the time. I will give it to you when I see you, Madam."
Grandma Gao stopped crying doubtfully: "Really?"
Sui Sui opened the embroidery bag and took out the sparkling jade Buddha to show her: "How could it be fake? This jade Buddha and the big Buddha in the White Horse Temple are made of the same piece of jade. I spent a lot of effort to ask the temple master for it."
When the old nanny heard this, her heart softened immediately: "Why bother begging for help from a servant like me..."
Sui Sui said: "I have no relatives, Madam is my relative."
She pointed at the embroidered bag and said, "I embroidered the word 'longevity' on it myself."
Tears welled up in Grandma Gao's eyes: "This is really... really frustrating for this old slave..."
Sui Sui said: "It's not well embroidered, it would be better if Madam Madam disapproves of it."
Grandma Gao opened her eyes and said: "It is well embroidered and the colors are well matched. I will put it in the box right away."
Having said this, he blessed the two of them and went out with the precious jade Buddha in his pocket.
Sui Sui saw Huan Xuan looking at her with envy, and said coldly, "It's not your turn."
Huan Xuan lowered his eyes: "You have already given it to me."
But when he received it, he didn't appreciate it at all and even stepped on it.
Sui Sui asked, "Is that one still there?"
Huan Xuan fished out a gray old sachet embroidered with bamboo leaves from under his pillow. When he learned her true identity, he wanted to burn it, but in the end he couldn't bear to do so and kept it along with the half of her old cotton robe.
Sui Sui took it from his hand, looked at it, untied the silk string, took out the amulet inside, then raised her hand and threw the embroidered bag into the charcoal basin beside the couch.
Huan Xuan was startled and sat up with a jerk. He was about to get out of bed to pick it up, but he pressed it back and the man dramatically pulled out a new sachet with a black background and golden sea water patterns from his belt. The pattern was exactly the same as the one on the scabbard of his "Luan Hai" sword.
She put the amulet in there and threw it to him: "Don't bother with the old one."
At that time, they were still each other's substitutes, and the sachet was not embroidered for him.
There was no need to explain it in detail, Huan Xuan already understood what she meant.
Sui Sui said, "Turn it over and take a look."
Huan Xuan turned the sachet over without knowing what was going on, only to see that it was made of two layers of silk sewn together. The outer side was embroidered with sea water patterns, while the inside had four words embroidered on it, which were two names: Sui Sui and Zi Heng.
Huan Xuan's eyes moved slightly, and he was almost at a loss for a moment.
Sui Sui said: "The past is the past, and even if the former prince is still alive, it is impossible for me to kill him."
Huan Xuan was startled: "You..."
Sui Sui nodded: "I knew it a long time ago."
She paused and said, "No matter what, from now on, you will accompany me to light lanterns..."
Huan Xuan hugged her tightly and said, "Follow..."
Sui Sui smiled and said, "Only my seventy or eighty lovers."
Huan Xuan bit her neck: "How dare you..."
Sui Sui said: "I'm going back to Heshuo."
Huan Xuan felt as if struck by lightning.
Sui Sui saw that he looked depressed and couldn't help but smile: "I was going to go back after the first month of the year, but now it's already April."
The good times have only lasted a few days and now they have to separate again. Huan Xuan is unwilling to accept this: "The lotus in the back garden is about to bloom. It won't be too late to see it later."
Sui Sui said: "After the lotus flowers bloom, there are osmanthus flowers, and after the osmanthus flowers bloom, there are plum flowers. I have to go back."
Huan Xuan said: "Then I will follow you."
Sui Sui said, "You haven't recovered yet, and you probably won't have many opportunities to return to the capital after going to Heshuo. While you're still here, you should spend more time with the Princess, Prince Yuzhang and the others."
She sighed and said, "My being here won't be good for your recovery."
Huan Xuan knew that his physical condition could not withstand the nearly 2,000-mile journey from Chang'an to Heshuo, so no matter how reluctant he was, he had to stay in Chang'an to recuperate.
…
The departure date was set for three days later. During these three days, Huan Xuan pestered her even more and more, wishing he could stretch one day into a year. Unfortunately, three days passed in a flash.
Finally, the day of departure has arrived.
Huan Xuan, leaning on a crutch, was helped by the eunuchs to sit on a calf cart and was escorted out of the city gate.
When the calf cart arrived in front of Duting Posthouse, Sui Sui ordered the driver to stop the car and said to Huan Xuan, "Just drop us off here."
Huan Xuan said, "I'll send you off a little longer."
Sui Sui couldn't help but laugh: "I said I would send you to the courtyard gate, but the courtyard gate became a screen door, and then a city gate... Now we have arrived at Duting Posthouse. If we send you one stage after another, we will almost reach Wei Bo."
Without waiting for Huan Xuan to say anything, she continued, "You welcomed me here in the beginning, and now it's just right that you send me here. It's the beginning and the end..."
Before she could utter the word "end", the man blocked it with his lips and tongue.
After a long while, he angrily said, "Don't say that. It's unlucky."
"I know." Sui Sui said helplessly.
She took out a palm-sized red sandalwood box from under the seat and stuffed it into his arms: "Here."
Huan Xuan recognized the box as containing the lotus lantern, but he had already smashed the lantern into pieces.
Sui Sui smiled and said, "Open it and take a look."
Huan Xuan opened the lid and saw that the glass lamp inside was miraculously intact.
He took a closer look and discovered that some of the petals had traces of re-firing and repair.
Sui Sui said, "I asked a craftsman to repair it, but if you look closely you can still see the marks, so I'll just leave it alone. This time remember to take good care of your lamp, so you don't break it again."
She lifted the carriage curtain, jumped off the carriage, turned around and smiled at him: "I'll wait for you in Heshuo."