What else could he be doing in his room if he wasn't asleep?
Chu Chu tiptoed out and pressed her ear against Xiao Jin Yu's door, hearing strange, indistinct noises from within.
She knocked, but received no response. Listening again, the strange sounds had ceased.
Could it be... he was making noises in his dream while asleep?
He must have fallen asleep while reading before bed and forgotten to extinguish the lamp.
It was good that he was asleep.
Chu Chu slipped back to her room, retrieved the medicated wine she had asked Feng Yi for, gently pushed open Xiao Jin Yu's door, and approached his bedroom. Before she could even step inside, she was so startled she nearly dropped the wine bottle.
☆、33 Sweet and Sour Ribs (Thirteen)
Xiao Jin Yu was far from asleep—not only was he not asleep, he wasn't even in bed.
The bed looked as if it had been ransacked, everything in disarray. The quilts and mattress were torn and thrown aside, and the person who should have been lying in bed was actually crouched on the stone floor below, struggling to crawl toward the foot of the bed using only the strength of his hands.
Xiao Jin Yu was clad only in a thin layer of underwear, soaked through with sweat and clinging tightly to his thin shoulders and back. His hair was disheveled, his face pale with a bluish tint, and his breathing was shallow and rapid, as if he were enduring immense suffering.
Even when he had been severely beaten at the Gathered Fragrance Pavilion, he had never been in such a wretched state. Chu Chu froze for a moment before rushing over.
"Wang Ye! You... what's wrong with you!"
Hearing Chu Chu's voice, Xiao Jin Yu's body stiffened visibly. His hands suddenly loosened, and he collapsed onto the cold floor. When he tried to push himself up again, his hands had lost their strength, causing his entire body to tremble.
Why did she have to come... at this moment!
"You... get out..."
As if she hadn't heard, Chu Chu said nothing, wrapped her arms around Xiao Jin Yu, turned him over, slung one of his arms over her shoulder, and half-supported, half-carried him into his wheelchair. She then ran to the bed, grabbed a quilt, and hurried back to cover him.
Watching Chu Chu approach with the quilt, Xiao Jin Yu's heart sank abruptly, his face turning even paler. Summoning strength from who knows where, just as Chu Chu was about to drape the quilt over him, he shoved her away violently.
Chu Chu, along with the quilt, stumbled backward several steps, while he nearly toppled out of the wheelchair himself.
Leaning weakly against the wheelchair, Xiao Jin Yu glared coldly and fiercely at the aggrieved Chu Chu. "Get out, now!"
This time, she would surely hear him.
Chu Chu looked at Xiao Jin Yu, his brow furrowed and lips pressed tightly together. Setting the quilt on the floor, her eyes reddened slightly. "If... if you don't want me to attend to you, I'll call a maid for you..."
As long as it would ease his suffering, she would do anything.
"No need..."
"Then... then I'll fetch a doctor for you!"
"Unnecessary..."
"Then... then take some medicine! Which one? I'll get it for you!"
Xiao Jin Yu looked at the young girl on the verge of tears and found he could no longer maintain his cold tone. Driving her away like this would be futile. He closed his eyes to steady himself. "Help me get dressed..."
Chu Chu was taken aback. "Huh?"
Xiao Jin Yu struggled to control his increasingly rapid breathing. "Didn't we pinky swear..."
Chu Chu stared at him blankly. "Now?""The hour of Zi has already passed..." Xiao Jin Yu endured a wave of pain that nearly made him lose consciousness with unruffled calm, his voice growing weaker, "If you regret it, it's alright..."
"I don’t regret it!"
Chu Chu ran to fetch his clothes from the wooden rack, only to suddenly realize something. Earlier, when he struggled so hard to crawl toward the foot of the bed, it wasn’t in the direction of the wheelchair or the medicine box. The only thing worth heading toward in that direction was the rosewood rack holding his clothes.
Did he exert so much effort just to get dressed?
Why didn’t he call for help?
Chu Chu gathered Xiao Jin Yu’s clothes in her arms but hadn’t even reached him when a blue figure flashed before her eyes. Her hands felt empty, and before she could process what had happened, the clothes were already in the hands of a guard.
This guard, who had always been very patient with Chu Chu, now had a face ashen with fury. Without a word, he completed a series of actions in the blink of an eye:
Pulled a sash from the pile of clothes.
Tore off a tiger-shaped jade belt buckle from the sash.
Shattered the jade belt buckle.
Scooped up a small brownish-red pill that rolled out of the buckle and fed it into Xiao Jin Yu’s mouth.
Turned and pressed the tip of his sword against the hollow of Chu Chu’s collarbone.
"Who exactly are you?"
With the sword pressed against her and the guard’s murderous, icy glare fixed on her, Chu Chu was both terrified and aggrieved. Standing frozen in place, she burst into tears, "I’m Chu Chu!"
The guard raised his sword. "Let’s see if you can still spout nonsense without a head!"
"I asked her to fetch the clothes..."
Xiao Jin Yu’s slightly hoarse voice uttered this seemingly irrelevant statement, yet the guard’s sword halted mid-air as if bewitched, and in an instant, it slid back into its scabbard with a sharp "shua."
Before leaving, Wu Jiang had secretly instructed him: if such a situation arose, he must immediately retrieve the pill hidden in the tiger-shaped jade belt buckle and feed it to the prince, then apprehend and interrogate anyone nearby—except for those the prince had explicitly authorized to handle his clothing.
Only someone the prince willingly entrusted with his life would be permitted to retrieve the life-saving medicine at such a critical moment.
The sword sheathed, the guard turned and knelt before Xiao Jin Yu, his deep voice filled with remorse. "Your Highness, this humble subordinate arrived too late."
Xiao Jin Yu slowly regulated his breathing and shook his head slightly. "Go to the capital immediately and summon Jing Yi..."
"Your Highness, this place is dangerous. Allow me to escort you away first."
"Unnecessary. I have my own plans... Go quickly and return swiftly. Do not draw attention..."
The decisions of Prince An were not for ordinary men to question.
"Yes..." The guard glanced at Chu Chu. Seeing the usually lively girl now pale with fear, tears streaming down to her chin, he felt a pang of guilt. Clasping his fists toward her, he said, "This humble subordinate was reckless. I beg Miss Chu’s forgiveness. Please take good care of His Highness."
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