Chapter 545: Beiyue’s doting ways
Gu Beiyue’s secret amusement quickly vanished. His tone remained level when he spoke. “As this one sees it, esteemed wangfei is safe and sound. Her sudden unconsciousness stemmed from overworking herself, causing her to tax her heart. I ask that esteemed wangfei set your mind at rest.”
Long Feiye glanced at Third Elder Shen, who nodded his head. He agreed with the diagnosis and had nothing more to add. But that didn’t ease Long Feiye’s worries at all. “Your lordship has never heard of anyone losing consciousness for so long just from overexhaustion!”
“Your Highness, this one has told you a few days ago already. Worrying exerts great mental effort, which can lead to unconsciousness. There really do exist documented records of especially heavy sleepers, though esteemed wangfei’s lengthy comas is a special case. We can attribute it to a type of dyssmonia,” Gu Beiyue explained.
Hearing this, Third Elder Shen grew thoughtful. “This old man remembers now. There was a Sleeping Beauty Syndrome patient who would fall asleep without warning for years at a time. Although esteemed wangfei’s case is different, there are some similarities.”
His Highness Duke of Qin could never accept such a frightening diagnosis, so his face instantly paled at the words. “She couldn’t have gotten such a strange illness, right?” he asked urgently.
“At the moment, it doesn’t look likely. But it’s hard to say whether or not her condition will develop into that syndrome,” Third Elder Shen admitted honestly.
Long Feiye’s brows scrunched up into a wrinkled “川” character. “Your lordship wants a straight answer!” he roared.
Third Elder Shen was still an Elder of Medical City, but he was helpless before Long Feiye’s shout. Still, he could only hold back on account of Qin Wangfei, so he simply shut up and refused to speak.
“That….probably won’t happen,” Han Yunxi offered timidly.
But Gu Beiyue grew serious. “Esteemed wangfei shouldn’t be careless. For now, it’s better to nourish you back to health with rest and food and take the necessary precautions!”
“What kind of precautions?” Long Feiye asked urgently.
Another flicker of laughter rose in Gu Beiyue’s eyes, but Long Feiye was too anxious to notice.
“Relaxation, recuperation, doing as one pleases and enjoying oneself often are all the best medicines to treat the heart. If Your Highness is still worried, you can add in some nourishing foods to supplement esteemed wangfei’s vitality every month. A strong spirit will keep her health up.” After that, Gu Beiyue added, “As for precautions, the most important thing is to avoid losing one’s temper or feeling stifled and sad. That’s why I respectfully ask esteemed wangfei to place importance on setting your mind at rest.”
Third Elder Shen had no good ideas of his own but felt that Gu Beiyue’s words made sense, so he chimed in with, “That’s the only thing you can do now.”
Long Feiye listened carefully so he could catch every single word. “What kind of suitable medicinal ingredients are there? May these two make a list.”
“There are plenty, but none of them are easy to find. However, they definitely exist in Pill Fiend Valley,” Gu Beiyue replied.
“List them all out. Your lordship will have the Council of Elders in Medicine City find them all!” Long Feiye said coldly.
Thus, Gu Beiyue went ahead and listed out a whole bunch of precious ingredients. Third Elder Shen couldn’t help but gasp in his heart at the sight. Gu Beiyue, aren’t you being too cruel? Nine out of ten times, the ingredients were precious treasures who had no equal in the world!
By no equal, it meant that only one of them existed! Once they were eaten, they’d be gone forever!
After he left the room, Third Elder Shen couldn’t help but ask, “Doctor Gu, those ingredients you suggested…aren’t they a little inappropriate?”
“Although they’re precious goods, they have the mildest medical properties. They’re very fitting for esteemed wangfei because she can take as much as she wants without ill effects,” Gu Beiyue replied.
“What this old man means is…” Third Elder Shen lowered his voice. “Isn’t this overdoing it?”
Gu Beiyue’s reply left Third Elder Shen unable to retort. “Third Elder, no matter what, if esteemed wangfei can recover, His Highness Duke of Qin will stop losing his temper.”
When Third Elder Shen recalled how he’d been yelled at, he instantly nodded his head. “True, true!”
Gu Beiyue glanced back at the shut doors of the room before chuckling softly to himself. The laughter was both self-mocking and a little helpless. If he wanted to dote on her, he could only borrow Long Feiye’s hands to do it.
When Gu Beiyue eventually delivered the list of ingredients to the Wang Clan, Wang Gong almost fell out of his chair. By the time it reached the Council of Elders, fourth elder and seventh elder exchanged looks and nearly burst into tears.
—
Inside the room, Han Yunxi was also ready to cry at the prescription list. She knew her days of endless chicken soups and nourishing tonics were nigh again. She was even beginning to wonder whether Gu Beiyue was doing all this on purpose.
“Just what kind of cares have you been harboring? Were you worried this entire time?” Long Feiye’s words pulled Han Yunxi out of her reverie.
She innocently shook her head. “I was just too tired.”
“From this day on, you can just stay at Pill Fiend Pharmacy. Don’t go anywhere or worry about anything,” Long Feiye said coldly.
“Then I’d just get depressed,” Han Yunxi said, before adding weakly, “Gu Beiyue said I can’t feel sad…”
“You!” Long Feiye was speechless. Han Yunxi only laughed inwardly. Whether or not Gu Beiyue meant to help her, she’d gained an advantage this time.
She snickered and added, “Long Feiye, it’s better if you don’t make me angry in the future. The consequences…might be serious.”
But Long Feiye didn’t joke at all. Instead he said coldly, “Your lordship will remember!” Despite his unhappy expression, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Han Yunxi could feel his palpable fear even though he didn’t say a thing.
So you get scared too, Long Feiye.
The knew each other late and grew to love each other even later. Their time together only amounted to a paltry few years. It’s been so hard to get close to your side. How could I bear to leave you by never waking up again?
Their original plans were to head for Celestial Mountain, but Han Yunxi’s coma led them back to Pill Fiend Pharmacy instead. Now it was too late to make the trip before the snows even if they set off immediately. The next chance they’d get would be next summer. Han Yunxi felt a bit gloomy about that, but she quickly got over it. It was only the difference of a few months, after all. They’d just gotten Medicine City in their hands, so she should focus on setting Pill Fiend Pharmacy in order instead.
Meanwhile, she made no mention of the Poison Sect’s forbidden grounds or paying a trip there herself. She didn’t have the guts to try before she ‘recovered’ for the next ten days to half a month, because Long Feiye would definitely refuse. Once Zhao mama got her orders to take care of esteemed wangfei’s body, she heated up the stove that very day to make old chicken soup again. Baili Mingxiang quickly came to help out as well.
The next day, Long Feiye had just gone out when Zhao mama arrived with a bowl of soup and an ambiguous expression. “Esteemed wangfei, quickly drink this while it’s hot.”
Han Yunxi hadn’t noticed her smile, but Baili Mingxiang did. She asked, “Zhao mama, why are you…smiling like that?”
Zhao mama didn’t answer, but only smiled all the more. Han Yunxi grew puzzled as well. “What’s the good news? Tell us so we can share in the joys.”
Zhao mama’s grin grew wider. “Esteemed wangfei, you’re already three months’ in, but you didn’t tell us servants a word!”
“Wangfei is pregnant?” Baili Mingxiang was stunned.
Han Yunxi finally understood and choked. She spat her mouthful of soup directly at Zhao mama’s face and cried, “Who’s spreading such rumors?”
Zhao mama was alarmed. “It’s not true?”
“Who told you?” Han Yunxi was beyond curious.
“Chu Xifeng!” Zhao mama quickly confessed.
Han Yunxi’s curiosity instantly turned into fury. “Who told him?”
“This old servant…doesn’t know, ah,” Zhao mama admitted.
“And it’s even three months? How did he make those calculations?” Han Yunxi demanded.
“This servant…this servant will find him right away,” Zhao mama turned tail and fled. The repercussions of rumors were serious. If His Highness and esteemed wangfei really hadn’t done the you-know-what three months ago and news of it reached His Highness’s ears by accident, the misunderstanding could lead to grave consequences! Moreover, His Highness had given instructions to all the servants not to anger esteemed wangfei at all costs. She had no choice but to drag Chu Xifeng back to explain himself.
Soon enough, Chu Xifeng arrived. Zhao mama had long explained the details to him on the way, so he really didn’t want to come. But he had no choice besides to face the music. After all, His Highness had told him to tell all of the guards not to make esteemed wangfei angry. His head was bowed so low that it was almost in his pants. In all of his almost 20 years on Earth, he’d never felt like such a coward.
“Three months?” Han Yunxi arched an eyebrow.
Chu Xifeng didn’t reply.
“Who told you?” Han Yunxi asked.
If it was Tang Li in Chu Xifeng’s place, he’d definitely push the blame on the other party, but Chu Xifeng didn’t dare to denounce his partner. He could only admit to the fault himself. “This subordinate…misunderstood on my own.”
“Misunderstanding out of the blue? Who could get three months out of that? Why didn’t you say four months instead?” Han Yunxi asked next.
In a fit of panic, Chu Xifeng blurted out, “Four months ago, you and His Highness were still fighting! It’s not—” He immediately shut up, afraid to say any more. Hadn’t he gotten the worst of it when his master and mistress fought?
Han Yunxi might be a fool in front of Long Feiye, but she was quite sharp in other situations. With amusement, she murmured, “Three months ago, His Highness and I should’ve been at Jiangnan’s Plum Blossom Sea…”
Chu Xifeng gave a start at those words before his legs turned weak. He was almost physically paralyzed to the spot! If she finds out what happened that night, or the fact that His Highness was sitting on the roof the entire time…
Chu Xifeng didn’t have the guts to finish the thought. He dropped to his knees and cried, “Esteemed wangfei, have mercy! This subordinate deserves to die! This subordinate shouldn’t have let my imagination run wild!”
“Why would you let your imagination run wild for no reason?” Han Yunxi asked next.
Chu Xifeng quickly replied, “That day in Medicine City, His Highness called for a table full of vinegar dishes. This subordinate misunderstood and thought wangfei had no appetite because of a pregnancy. Don’t they all say that women who are three months’ pregnant lose their appetites frequently? So this subordinate was able to calculate the date from that.”
Both Zhao mama and Baili Mingxiang laughed at his admission. Baili Mingxiang said, “Esteemed wangfei, you should forgive him. It’s not easy for a man to know of such things.”
Zhao mama added, “Esteemed wangfei, he only told me in secret. For the sake of his good intentions, you should let him off this time.”
Han Yunxi was still thinking it over, finding the whole situation strange. But then Su Xiaoyu entered and announced, “Esteemed wangfei, Mu Linger requests an audience.”
Han Yunxi stopped fussing with Chu Xifeng and let him go, causing him to secretly rejoice. He secretly vowed never to speak such rubbish again, much less think fantastical thoughts. That was really too scary!
—
After Mu Linger left Medicine City, she’d been staying at Pill Fiend Pharmacy the entire time. She knew her father and Lady Lianxin wouldn’t give up just like that, but she wasn’t afraid. The Mu Clan was in such a tragic state now that the two of them wouldn’t come finding her trouble just yet. As soon as she entered the room and saw Han Yunxi looking quite energetic, she snapped, “Slept enough yet?”
“Impudence! Why aren’t you bowing in esteemed wangfei’s presence?” Su Xiaoyu stuck her hands on her hips, every inch a little head housekeeper.
Mu Linger simply ignored her and plopped down in front of Han Yunxi before handing over a pill. “This is to thank you. Take it before you go to bed and it’ll restore your vitality.”
“Since you’re staying at Pill Fiend Pharmacy, you should take me as your big sis,” Han Yunxi replied carelessly. She rather wanted to tell this girl that they were sisters in a way—specifically, cousins.
