The next morning, Yun Mi continued to learn from the masters but returned to Prince Manor by Noon and fell asleep for the entire afternoon. By evening, he began to develop a fever.
Yun Mi was ill, though it was nothing serious. It was just a lack of rest combined with a weakened immune system, resulting in a cold. However, because he had a lot on his mind, his brain felt foggy as if he were gravely ill, which frightened Little Yuanzi into summoning Xiyuan to care for him. anwhile, he himself rushed into the palace with the Token to summon the Imperial Physician.
Xiyuan confird by taking his pulse that his physical condition was good and this was indeed just a case of wind-heat illness, not a cold, but rather internal heat causing it.
She attempted to cool him by constantly changing his wet towels. Even though he was only wearing thin underwear, he was still sweating profusely. However, until Little Yuanzi returned, she only helped him change towels, refraining from wiping his body to avoid any impropriety should the Prince awake.
Xiyuan strictly kept to her duties but also went to the small kitchen to prepare light and refreshing food suitable for wind-heat colds, such as radish, cabbage, kelp, pear, Chuanbei Stewed Pear, and white fungus pear, which all provide good dietary support.
The Imperial Physician arrived and prescribed dicine. The dicine wasn’t ready yet when he awakened, and Xiyuan hurriedly removed the towel from his forehead.
"Prince, how do you feel? Have so water first!"
Yun Mi took the cup she handed over, intending just to moisten his throat, but discovered it wasn’t plain water—it was sweet and had a faint dicinal taste.
"This is water boiled from Chuanbei Stewed Pear which is therapeutic for symptoms of wind-heat,"
Yun Mi ate the soup and pears from the maid, having been lying down for most of the day and sweating profusely. It was normal for his body to feel weak, but the food tasted not bad and not too sweet, so he was quite cooperative.
After he drank a bowl of pear water, the dicine was ready and brought over. Seeing the dark dicine, Yun Mi unconsciously frowned.
Xiyuan, observing his expression, couldn’t help but smile—after all, he was still a child. Seeing such dark herbal brew certainly invoked a resistance, a natural reaction. The dicine required two bowls to complete, and after just having sugary water, Yun Mi clearly didn’t want more. Nonetheless, Xiyuan’s reminder that "bitter dicine cures illness" and the need to drink it warm lest it lose its dicinal properties compelled him to steel himself and finish the prescribed dose.
After finishing, she handed him a small plate of candied fruit: "Prince, have a piece of candied fruit to eliminate the bitterness in your mouth. I should’ve saved so sugar water. I regret forgetting to do so."
Having drunk too much water and lain down all afternoon, Yun Mi felt his essence slightly restored, but his body felt sticky and uncomfortable.
Xiyuan noticed his discomfort, turned her head to instruct Little Yuanzi to fetch water, and stood up to clear the table, asking,
"Prince, what would you like to eat in a while? Shall I make sothing?"
"I don’t taste much, I’d like sothing spicy and sour,"
"That won’t do, you are sick now; you need to eat sothing light. Let handle it, and you just wait a bit."
Yun Mi looked at her surprised, "You’re going to cook?"
Xiyuan, slightly embarrassed, smiled, "Yes, I made the pear water earlier. It tasted quite good, right? Actually, you should trust my learning during this period,"
Xiyuan left the East Garden carrying a tray. Yun Mi watched her back and couldn’t help but curve his lips into a slight smile—this woman, speaking and then calling herself ’I’. It seed she really didn’t consider him an outsider.
Little did she know that it was a slip of the tongue from Xiyuan — not every ti can one refer to oneself as ’I’.
Although he drank a lot of water, it didn’t prevent Yun Mi from feeling his stomach growl. They say a sick person either loses their appetite entirely or gets really hungry.
His physical constitution was strong and after an afternoon of sweating, it was enough for him to have digested everything.
Yun Mi’s illness ant that the originally scheduled return to his maiden ho had to be indefinitely postponed, though thankfully, she wasn’t particularly interested in it.
Since he was sick, he naturally didn’t have to visit Yuanming Garden to attend to the ill.
In the evening, Xiyuan cooked him a delicious al. Because he couldn’t eat greasy food, she stir-fried chicken breast with diced potatoes and carrots, then slightly pickled so radish shreds, adding a bit of chili and vinegar. The result was a sour and spicy flavor which was very refreshing. She only served him a bit with chopsticks, enough to satisfy his cravings.
Unexpectedly, these low-fat foods she usually ate had won his approval, and the four dishes and one soup were completely finished by the two of them.
Yun Mi had to reassess his Princess Consort. "You dare say you’ve never learned cooking before?"
"I only started learning after I entered the manor. Chef Zhao and the others have praised for having a talent. Look at these radish shreds, I can’t cut them this finely, so I had Nanny Wang from the kitchen help cut them,"
"You’ve learned such skills in such a short ti; you truly have a gift."
Xiyuan just smiled without saying anything, watching the maid clear away the dishes and wondering if it was ti for her to leave when Yun Mi suddenly grabbed her hand.
"Stay tonight?"
Surprised, Xiyuan turned around, and Yun Mi feigned weakness by holding his forehead.
"Look at like this. I can’t do anything to you. You’re my Princess Consort, and I’m not feeling well. Shouldn’t you take care of ?"
Xiyuan: "..."
His reasoning sounded convincing, and besides, he had also said earlier that he wanted her to recoup for two years. It seed sleeping in the sa bed wasn’t such a big deal.
In ancient tis, n slept on the inner side, and won on the outer—probably to make it convenient for won to take care of n?
Tsk tsk, truly the evil of feudal society. Compared to modern tis, it’s truly a world apart.
Before going to bed, Xiyuan helped Yun Mi take his dicine again. Afterward, she took her change of clothes into the washroom to bathe and change. When she ca out, he was lying on his side on the bed reading a book and even lifted the blanket on one side as he saw her approaching.
Before Su He and the others left, they blew out the main lights, leaving only a night light on for convenience in case they needed to get up at night.
Dressed in her cotton pajamas, Xiyuan approached the bed. Yun Mi, curious, reached out and touched her clothes.
"What are these clothes?"
"Pajamas, I made them myself. If Prince likes, I can make a set for you tomorrow?"
"They don’t look very comfortable,"
"They’re very comfortable, especially in the sumr. They’re very breathable,"
Xiyuan was still not quite comfortable sharing a bed with him, but Yun Mi took it as a matter of course, pulling her down beside him.
He put his book aside, turned towards her, and asked, "Xiyuan, tell your story?"
Her story?
Could it be that during this ti, she had successfully caught the attention of the prince, and now he wanted to get to know her?
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