With that, he left and closed the door behind him.
Yue Mingxuan felt thirsty and Sui He went out to boil so water.
Only Shang Qinghua and Yue Mingxuan remained in the room.
For a mont, the silence felt almost strange.
In truth, whenever Shang Qinghua was around, Yue Mingxuan often wished he had a needle to sew his mouth shut and then sew his own shut as well yet monts this quiet were rare.
Shang Qinghua simply sat there and gently waving his paper fan while glancing at him from ti to ti.
"Um... Prince Shang..."
"You even dared to go alone to a place like the burial grounds in the back hills. I really don’t know what to say about you, should I call you bold, or say you have no regard for your life?" Shang Qinghua’s tone was not pleasant.
Yue Mingxuan let out a sigh.
"Shang Qinghua, this is my business."
After saying that, he lay down and turned onto his side, his back facing Shang Qinghua.
He kept his eyes open for a long while, sensing that Shang Qinghua’s presence had not left.
Eventually, he could no longer hold on and drifted off to sleep.
In his dreams, he heard a soft sigh, and then everything sank into darkness.
For seven consecutive days, Yue Mingxuan’s condition grew worse and worse.
From ti to ti he would fall into deep sleep and could not be awakened no matter how much they called him.
Even when he did wake, he felt exhausted and always lacking energy.
Several tis when the Emperor summoned him, he was so drowsy in the imperial study that he nearly fell asleep on the spot.
The Emperor noticed that sothing was wrong and summoned Gongsun Xing to the study, where Gongsun Xing spoke honestly.
Yue Mingxuan supported his temple with one hand and spoke.
"Mingxuan hopes Your Majesty will not spread this matter. Mingxuan still wishes to preserve his life. Such a small issue will improve in a few days," he said weakly, his voice lacking strength.
The Emperor, however, fell into deep thought.
Among the hostages from the three kingdoms, one had already died, surely another would not die as well?
Recently, every incident had revolved around Yue Mingxuan; it was obvious soone was targeting him.
He no longer even had the strength to return on his own, so the Emperor arranged for a sedan chair to be provided to him, making his comings and goings more convenient.
After returning, Gongsun Xing imdiately took his pulse, but it was no different from the days before.
The dicine he had given these past days had produced no effect whatsoever, how could that be possible?
Late at night, Shang Qinghua sat at the table, lost in deep thought.
How had Yue Mingxuan ended up like this?
He instructed Mo Yi to summon Moonless Cicada.
"These past few days, while watching near his residence, have you noticed anything unusual?" Shang Qinghua asked.
Moonless Cicada thought for a mont.
After Yue Mingxuan’s illness worsened, he had increased his surveillance, yet no one had approached him at all.
It was unlikely anyone could slip past his notice, so Moonless Cicada shook his head.
"No. I haven’t seen anyone co near Yue Mingxuan. Even Rong Qinglei has rarely visited lately."
"Very well." The atmosphere in the room grew even heavier.
Perhaps because he had slept too much during the day, Yue Mingxuan could not fall asleep at night.
Whileeaning against the bed, he stared out at the moonlight in a daze.
Was he really going to die?
He, a military doctor of his generation who even knew a renowned miracle doctor, might actually be poisoned to death?
It sounded ridiculous even to himself.
When he lowering his head, he thought for a while, then suddenly beckoned Sui He inside.
He asked for brush and paper, wrote several passages, and had Sui He send them off by carrier pigeon.
He did not sleep the entire night.
The weather gradually turned colder, yet he showed no signs of improvent.
He looked increasingly listless, wrapped in a heavy cloak as he sat in the imperial garden admiring the plum blossoms that filled the grounds.
It was rare that he had not yet grown sleepy by this hour; it had been a long ti since he had co out to get so fresh air.
"How are you feeling today?" Rong Qinglei had heard that Yue Mingxuan had co out and hurried over while bringing food that he liked.
Yue Mingxuan was genuinely happy to see him and forced himself to stay alert as they chatted for quite a while.
"You cured , yet you fell ill yourself. I truly don’t know what to say. If I had known that after I recovered you would beco sick, I would rather it had remained ," Rong Qinglei said.
Yue Mingxuan felt deeply moved. He resting his temple against his hand as he looked at Rong Qinglei.
"Rong Qinglei... these things are all of my own choosing."
The two sat together for a while until noon approached, when Shang Qinghua arrived.
Watching his figure draw nearer, Yue Mingxuan narrowed his eyes.
Over these past days, he had not expected to discover that Shang Qinghua could be so considerate, capable of caring for others instead of rely indulging himself.
He often developed fevers in the middle of the night and the first to know was always Shang Qinghua.
Yue Mingxuan also knew that Shang Qinghua must have arranged for soone to watch over him, but in his condition he had no strength to argue.
"What fine spirits, he actually felt like coming out today," Shang Qinghua said with a smile.
He looked to be in quite a good mood.
"Mm. He wasn’t as drowsy today."
But who would have expected that by afternoon, after Shang Qinghua and Rong Qinglei had just escorted him back and left not long ago, soone suddenly flipped in from outside.
The window was thrown wide open, and cold wind rushed in with a loud howl.
Yue Mingxuan narrowed his eyes.
It was Gu Xiang.
Why had she co?
"Group Leader, the sisters of Flying Opera Group haven’t seen you for quite so ti. They asked to co and inquire, when will you return to preside over the Courtesan Competition?" Gu Xiang asked as she sat at the table.
Yue Mingxuan kept his eyes half-closed, using the moonlight outside to make out her figure.
She appeared as a pale blur; anyone unaware might mistake her for a ghost and be frightened half to death.
In his current condition, he certainly could not leave the palace. But the competition could not simply be canceled either.
"This year’s Courtesan Competition will be postponed, let’s held in spring."
"Why?"
"Just do as I says."
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