Chu Chu looked at him with concern, "Wang Ye, did Xue Ming give you a hard time?"
Xiao Jin Yu shook his head slightly, "He's at the governor's residence..."
Chu Chu reached out and grabbed Xiao Jin Yu's hand resting on the armrest. These same hands that had been gently caressing her earlier were now cold as ice, so stiff she could barely hold them. Heart aching, she brought his hands to her mouth and breathed warm air on them, "Where have you been? How did you get so frozen?"
"Went to examine some dead bodies, and the place where Jing Yi had the accident... I promised Xue Ming to close the case before sunset tomorrow..."
"Wang Ye, do you already know who the murderer is?"
"Still waiting for some replies... Is the corpse manifest completed?"
"All done, guaranteed without errors!"
"And the congee..."
"Also ready, keeping warm on the small stove."
"I'd like some..."
"Alright, I'll serve it for you right away!"
When Chu Chu brought the congee, Xiao Jin Yu was leaning back in his wheelchair with tightly furrowed brows. His face was paler than before, covered in a fine layer of cold sweat on his forehead, his body trembling slightly.
"Wang Ye, what's wrong?"
Xiao Jin Yu didn't answer, merely extending his hand to Chu Chu. Having been frozen for hours outside and suddenly warmed in the tent, his rheumatism flared up instantly. With this level of pain, several major joints were likely already severely swollen.
Seeing Xiao Jin Yu's swollen wrist, Chu Chu immediately helped him to bed without another word, fed him some medicine, and carefully massaged him with medicated wine.
The joints were so severely swollen that even the lightest touch sent painful tremors through his entire body. Xiao Jin Yu gritted his teeth without making a sound, cold sweat soaking through the bedsheet beneath him. He managed a faint smile at the corners of his mouth, looking apologetically at Chu Chu whose eyes were slightly red.
After carefully massaging him twice and working through his pain-stiffened body, Chu Chu finally wiped his sweat and tightly wrapped two quilts around his frail form. "Wang Ye, are you feeling better now?"
Xiao Jin Yu nodded slightly, "The pain is gone..."
"Would you like some congee, or would you prefer to rest for a while?"
"Congee..."
"Let me feed you."
"Alright..."
Chu Chu served another bowl of hot congee and sat by the bed slowly feeding him. Xiao Jin Yu clearly had no appetite and ate with difficulty, yet he persisted until he finished the entire bowl.
Xiao Jin Yu looked apologetically at Chu Chu's surprised expression, "After closing this case, I'll properly recuperate... Please help me..."
"Wang Ye?"
"We need to have a healthy child, not like me... I'm sorry to make you suffer..."
Chu Chu was startled, tears immediately falling as she buried herself in Xiao Jin Yu's embrace, "Thank you, Wang Ye!"
"I should be thanking you..."
☆、81 Roasted Whole Lamb (Seventeen)
Less than half an hour after lying down, Xiao Jin Yu developed a fever. Even wrapped in two quilts, he still shivered slightly from cold. The charcoal brazier placed by the bed proved ineffective, so Chu Chu slipped under the covers and held him. Her warm body, like a small heating stove, comforted Xiao Jin Yu greatly, and he soon fell fast asleep in her embrace.When he hazily awoke, the sky had yet to brighten, and his fever hadn't subsided. His head throbbed with dizziness and pain, his body so drained it felt hollowed out. Xiao Jin Yu nuzzled into the embrace that was perfectly warm, tightening his hold on this source of heat. He let out a comfortable, soft hum, too lazy to even lift his eyelids. He had intended to plant a few light kisses in this delightful embrace and drift back to sleep, but after just two kisses, something felt distinctly off.
The embrace was warm, yes, but it seemed broader, flatter, and harder—not at all like the soft, pliant one from before. It didn’t carry the familiar scent of Chinese Honey Locust and Atractylodes Smoke; instead, there was an unusually sweet fragrance of rouge... The lines of the waist and back felt much sturdier and rougher, the skin smooth and fine yet lacking in softness...
A hand gently caressed his weak, limp body. Though it was as tender as possible, it was clearly much firmer and larger than Chu Chu’s warm, delicate hands...
If it wasn’t Chu Chu, who dared to lie in his bed and hold him like this!
Xiao Jin Yu hurriedly opened his eyes and lifted his head, meeting that harmless, smiling face. He nearly choked on his breath.
"Jing Yi... let go!"
Jing Yi pointed at Xiao Jin Yu’s hand, still tightly wrapped around his waist. "Wang Ye, you have to let go first..."
"..."
As soon as Xiao Jin Yu released his grip, he was seized by a fit of coughing. His body trembled with each cough, and the pain in his joints, which had just settled, flared up violently. In an instant, he was drenched in cold sweat.
Jing Yi reached out to soothe his heaving chest. "How about... you hold on a little longer?"
Met with a glare that seemed ready to haul him straight onto the Corpse Examination table, Jing Yi swiftly helped Xiao Jin Yu lie down, then rolled out of the blankets all the way to the corner of the bed, crouching with his head in his hands.
It took Xiao Jin Yu a long while to catch his breath. What little strength and drowsiness he had left vanished completely. He turned his head to look at Jing Yi, who wore nothing but his undergarments, took several deep breaths, and finally spoke in a low, stern voice, "Explain... what are you doing?"
Jing Yi didn’t lift his head, his voice full of resentment. "I’ve held thin people before, but never anyone this thin. Holding you tighter makes my bones ache all over. What could I possibly be doing..."
Xiao Jin Yu’s face shifted through a spectrum of colors, his mind racing like ten thousand galloping horses. If Jing Yi had been close enough at that moment, and considering he lacked the strength to punch him, Xiao Jin Yu would have bitten him without hesitation.
Xiao Jin Yu’s voice was dark and heavy. "I asked what you’re doing in here..."
Jing Yi looked up, blinking his innocent fox-like eyes, his tone so pitiful it seemed on the verge of tears. "How else was I supposed to warm you up if I didn’t get under the covers..."
Xiao Jin Yu’s hands, hidden beneath the blankets, silently clenched into fists, the veins on his forehead twitching. "I asked you... what you’re doing in my bedchamber!"
Jing Yi sounded even more wronged. "Didn’t you say to report as soon as the investigation was clear?"
Xiao Jin Yu’s face turned ashen. "Is this how you report?"
Jing Yi’s eyes were filled with grievance. "I was going to report, but your Imperial Concubine insisted I wait until you’d had enough sleep."
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