Chapter 25: CH 25

Ye Zi was red from the tips of his ears to his cheeks and subconsciously wanted to escape, but Gu Yan nimbly reached out and wrapped his arm around his waist.

Gu Yan exerted a little force on his palm and pressed Ye Zi against his chest as he asked in a low voice with a smile: “What is my beloved consort doing?”

Ye Zi abashedly replied: “……Treating your illness.”

The smile in Gu Yan’s eyes deepened. He gently rubbed Ye Zi’s back with his palm and said slowly, “Oh, so that was you treating my illness?”

“I-I really was treating your illness!” Ye Zi’s body was already becoming weak as he emphasized: “Don’t you feel much better now? Isn’t there no discomfort anymore? That’s my secret recipe, it’s especially good for the body. No, that’s not what I mean, I mean……I……”

Ye Zi was so ashamed that he couldn’t speak coherently. Gu Yan gently pinched his face and said softly: “I know, did you feed me something just now?”

Although he didn’t know what it was, the discomfort in his body had indeed gradually subsided.

Ye Zi breathed a sigh of relief and explained: “That was my spiritual dew.”

“Spiritual dew?”

“That’s right.” Ye Zi propped up his body and looked at him seriously, “There’s only one drop every few months, so it’s very precious. I just fed you one not long ago and the drop I just created was very mind-consuming.”

Ye Zi pursed his lower lip guiltily and said pitifully: “What I did just now was for your own good, you can’t misunderstand me.”

“Misunderstand?” Gu Yan lowered his eyes to look at him and deliberately asked, “Do you need to stick out your tongue to feed me the spiritual dew? Do you need to lick me?”

Ye Zi couldn’t say anything in response. He lowered his head and even his neck was red.

“And you say you weren’t intentionally taking advantage of me? You……” Gu Yan was about to tease him a bit more only to feel his body lighten. A white light flashed and Ye Zi’s figure disappeared in front of his eyes, leaving only a white undershirt on the bed.

Gu Yan lifted the shirt, just in time to see a touch of light green flashing past him and diving into the folded quilt.

Ye Zi moved quickly. He tucked himself into the quilt and quickly covered himself so tightly that no traces of him could be seen.

Gu Yan chuckled: “A Zi, come out, are you going to suffocate yourself inside?”

Ye Zi curled up into a mimosa plant under the blanket and said in a muffled voice: “……I won’t suffocate.”

“But you will be uncomfortable like this.”

“I won’t.”

Gu Yan helplessly shook his head. No longer arguing with him, he got up and started changing his clothes. It was getting dark outside and Gu Yan asked, “Aren’t you hungry? Change back quickly, I’ll ask someone to make something to eat.”

Ye Zi didn’t respond for a long time. Gu Yan frowned slightly and lifted the quilt, the little green plant rolled out from inside in a limp curl.

Gu Yan frowned slightly: “What’s wrong with you?”

Ye Zi’s stems subconsciously grasped onto Gu Yan’s fingers as he spoke in a daze: “I suddenly feel so tired……”

Gu Yan’s eyes darkened: “Is it because you fed me the spiritual dew?”

“Maybe.” Ye Zi’s voice was sleepy and sounded breathless, “I used to be a little tired when I took the spiritual dew out of my body, but it wasn’t as bad as this time. It seems that we really must wait for the spiritual dew to form naturally…….”

As he said this, he even giggled foolishly.

“You——” Gu Yan was so angry that he lost his temper and chided, “Are you a fool? I’ve told you that I’ll be fine after two days of rest, why did you still do this?”

Ye Zi said in a low voice like a dream: “But you will feel uncomfortable……”

Gu Yan’s heart softened and he asked in a low voice: “A Zi, why do you have to be so nice to me?”

“……”

The little green plant no longer answered, it seemed like he had fallen asleep.

Gu Yan sighed and placed the listless little green plant back on the bed. He then ordered someone to bring a flower pot and some soil and planted the little green plant into the flower pot with his own hands.

After doing this, Gu Yan leaned down and kissed him on the tip of his leaf: “I’m returning the favor, good night.”

The next day, the people of the Prince Rui manor got the news and rushed to the Summer palace. And along with them was Great Princess Rui.

As soon as Gu Yan hid Ye Zi, who could not return to his human form, in a corner with the flower pot, the attendants knocked on the door of the bedchamber. Gu Yan quickly lay back on the bed, pretending to be weak, and shouted: “Come in.”

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Great Princess Rui opened the door and walked in surrounded by several maidservants and guards.

Ye Zi hid behind the silk curtain and peeked outside with his head.

Great Princess Rui went to the bedside: “Yan’er, how do you feel? You were fine when you left, how did you fall sick?

Gu Yan coughed lightly and said weakly: “It’s nothing serious, sorry for making you worry, Mother.”

Great Princess Rui looked at him for a moment and then turned her head to the guard beside her: “I brought servants from the Prince Rui manor and it’ll be for the best if they stay here. You should go and report first.”

The guard hesitated for a moment. Not daring to disobey the orders of Great Princess Rui, he could only obey and led the others out of the bedchamber.”

The door of the bedchamber was closed and only Great Princess Rui and a few servant girls were left inside the hall.

She turned her head and her voice became cold: “Okay, stop pretending and get up.”

Gu Yan got up calmly: “I really can’t hide from you.”

Great Princess Rui glared at him: “Why are you pretending to be sick all of a sudden? Aren’t you afraid that His Holiness and the Empress Dowager will find out?”

Gu Yan was speechless.

Originally, it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to pretend to be sick and fool Great Princess Rui, but Ye Zi had just cured him the night before so there was no way to defend himself.

Gu Yan thought for a moment and then smiled: “What’s the point of hunting, it’s better to stay here. It’s much more quiet and peaceful.”

“This child……” Great Princess Rui gave him an exasperated look before asking, “Where is the Princess Consort?”

Ye Zi, who was behind the silk curtain, stiffened before he heard Gu Yan speak normally: “Since it’s his first time here, he was very curious. But since I’m pretending to be sick, I couldn’t accompany him and could only let him go out and have some fun by himself.”

Great Princess Rui’s expression eased a little: “I am relieved to see that the two of you are getting along well.”

She suddenly thought of something and hesitantly asked: “Are you……better now after the last treatment by Dr. Jia?”

Gu Yan: “……”

Ye Zi: “……”

Gu Yan pinched the bridge of his nose: “Mother, why do you always care about this matter?”

“What else can a Mother care about if she doesn’t care about this?” Great Princess Rui was unhappy, “It’s also because I hope you and the Princess Consort will get along more harmoniously. I heard that His Holiness has not yet dismissed the idea of betrothing Changning to you. Hmph, Changning is a good child, but I don’t think that the Duke of Protection is all that good.”

“…….Having Little Zi as the Princess Consort is a thousand times better than someone else. You can’t wrong him.”

Gu Yan felt a headache forming from her nagging: “Yes, I understand all of this. By the way, when do you plan on leaving?”

Great Princess Rui glared at him and said angrily: “I see how it is now. Now that you’re all grown up, you even dare to kick out your Mother. Don’t worry, I will go to the hunting ground after a short rest, and I won’t disturb you two lovebirds.”

Great Princess Rui paused and then said: “However, let me remind you that the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet will be in two days and I heard that the Northern Barbarian’s Prince will also come to celebrate the Empress Dowager’s birthday. You must not miss this occasion.”

Gu Yan replied: “I will do as you say.”

Great Princess Rui rambled on a few more words, implying that Gu Yan shouldn’t treat Ye Zi badly and that if he was cured, he should consummate their marriage soon. The words made Gu Yan dizzy before she finally left in contentment.

However, Great Princess Rui’s wish was not achieved after all.

Not to mention that the two of them hadn’t even broken through the first barrier of success, more importantly, it took way longer for Ye Zi to return to his original form this time. He still couldn’t return to his human form even on the morning of the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet.

Gu Yan was unable to do anything about it

Helpless, Gu Yan had no choice but to declare to the public that in order to take care of him, Princess Consort Rui had never left his side. As a result, he was infected with the cold and could only stay in the Summer palace to recuperate.

Gu Yan left the palace to go to the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet while Ye Zi was left to rest in the bedchamber. He had been very sleepy these days and if no one disturbed him, he could sleep for most of the day.

Ye Zi slept from morning to dusk.

The day was getting dark and the quiet bedchamber was naturally still silent.

Suddenly, a white light flashed in the bedroom and Ye Zi appeared in his human form amongst the white light.

A strange sensation in his body woke him up. He opened his eyes in a daze and looked down at his hands.

How come he suddenly changed back?

In the past few days, Ye Zi had tried more than once to change back into his human form, but he always felt that the strength in his body was lacking, and he couldn’t get what he wanted.

But now……

He pondered for a moment and looked out the window.

The night was about to fall and the light outside the window was growing dim, it was as if the sky was wrapped in a layer of deep blue silk cloth.

Exactly three days have passed since he gave Gu Yan his spiritual dew.

As Ye Zi was deep in thought, he suddenly heard the door of the bedchamber being gently pushed open.

When Gu Yan left, he ordered that no one should come in to disturb him. And because Ye Zi slept from morning till now, there was no lamp in the room so the lighting was dim, making it difficult to see who came in.

Ye Zi quickly put on some clothes and carefully concealed his breath as he got off the bed with bare feet. The visitor didn’t come into the inner room but walked quickly to the table and it sounded like they had placed something down.

Ye Zi brought out the dagger Gu Yan left for him and quietly came forward.

“Who are you?”

“Ah!” The visitor was startled and let out a distinct female scream.

Ye Zi instantly recognized the voice: “Qiu Tang?”

On the other side, the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet was starting. Emperor Jinghe set up a feast in the hunting ground with the Princes, officials, and other important figures as well as their children sitting on both sides in an orderly manner. There was a bonfire in the center and it was a scene of happiness with singing and dancing.

The crowd took turns to toast and celebrate the birthday. Gu Yan sat on the seat with his chin propped up, but he was a little absent-minded.

——He was thinking about the little immortal plant at home.

Suddenly, an accompanying eunuch came to Gu Yan’s side. The birthday banquet was full of people so no one noticed what was happening there. The little eunuch whispered something in Gu Yan’s ear and the latter suddenly got up.

The surrounding eyes immediately looked towards Gu Yan, who took a deep breath and collected his mind. He lifted his glass of wine and said to the Empress Dowager: “Grandson wishes Imperial Grandmother a long and happy life.”

He tilted his head and finished the wine before saying: “Grandson is not feeling well today, so I would like to be excused first.”

The Empress Dowager asked: “Why? Do you still have a cold? Do you want an Imperial physician to take your pulse again?”

“No need.” Gu Yan said: “I’m already fine. It’s only because I drank too much wine and now I have a headache.”

Emperor Jinghe frowned slightly and was about to say something when the Empress Dowager took the lead: “No worries then, you should go back and rest.”

Gu Yan answered, bowed to the Empress Dowager and Emperor Jinghe on the high platform, and turned his head towards the tent exit.

Before he walked out of the tent, a voice suddenly came from outside the tent: “Prince Jia Xiedan has arrived.”

The tent was lifted and a man with a high nose and deep eyes dressed in Northern Barbarian clothing came in.

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Jia Xiedan was the youngest son of the Northern Barbarian King. His mother was a native of the Central Plains and his appearance was a blend of the Chinese and Northern Barbarian bloodlines. His complexion was pale and his appearance was quite beautiful except for those light brown eyes, which revealed a sense of bottomless depth.

Gu Yan didn’t look and brushed past him. Jia Xiedan turned his head and looked at his back thoughtfully.

The attendant beside Jia Xiedan reminded: “Prince, it’s time to go in.”

“Yes, sorry.”

Jia Xiedan spoke in a warm voice, it was a very standard Han dialect.

When Gu Yan came out of the tent, the Prince Rui manor carriage was parked not far away and Qiu Tang was standing anxiously by the carriage. Seeing Gu Yan come out, Qiu Tang hurriedly kneeled down: “Your Majesty, please forgive me.”

Gu Yan glanced at her and quickly said: “Get in the carriage.”

The carriage went towards the Summer palace and in the carriage, Qiu Tang told Gu Yan what happened in the room.

“Earlier, when Doctor Jia came for a checkup, he left a prescription called □□.”

“Doctor Jia said that if your condition still wasn’t improving, you could take this medicine with the Princess Consort. This medicine has the effect of improving the Yang energy and replenishing the qi, and can help you and the Princess Consort……□□ better.”

“The Great Princess sent someone to add this medicine to the snack and ordered this servant to deliver it to your bedroom. This servant had asked someone to check first, but after reporting that they didn’t see the Princess Consort, I thought he wasn’t in the room and was relieved. Just as this servant placed down the plate of snacks, the Princess Consort popped out of nowhere.”

“The servant didn’t dare to tell him what it was, but only said that it was a snack prepared by the Great Princess. But….but the Princess Consort said that he just so happened to be hungry and ate the snacks…..all of them.”

“After the Princess Consort finished eating, he said he was a bit tired and wanted to rest.” Qiu Tang’s voice began to quiver, “It’s been almost two hours now and this servant is really worried so I had to come find you.”

The carriage arrived at the palace and Gu Yan got out in a daze. He waved away the attendants and walked quickly in the direction of the bedchamber.

□□, one could tell what this medicine was used for just by its name.

Gu Yan didn’t know much about these □□ medicines, but he knew that people who took these kinds of medicines would feel hot all over their bodies and if they didn’t relieve themselves, they would continue to feel uncomfortable.

Two hours……

Why did they only come to tell him now? !

Gu Yan’s eyes were red with anxiety and he pushed open the door of the bedroom.

In the huge bedroom, only a small dim oil lamp was lit in the inner room. The gauze curtain beside the bed had been lowered at some point and through the gauze curtain, he could vaguely see Ye Zi’s back curled up on the bed.

Gu Yan lifted the curtains and sat on the bed.

Ye Zi frowned but didn’t wake up. He didn’t sleep very soundly and his delicate face was a little brighter from the illumination of the lights.

Gu Yan took a deep breath and held Ye Zi’s hand: “A Zi?”

The other party’s palm was hot with an unusual heat.

As if he heard someone calling him, Ye Zi answered in a daze without opening his eyes: “…….Mnn?”

Gu Yan closed his eyes, leaned down and kissed him gently on the side of his face, and undid the first button on his clothes.

“Sorry, I’m late.”