I, The Substitute, Am With The Main Character Chapter 59

When Xueya saw the gold in his hand, his eyes lit up instantly, but remembering that He Xulan had tricked him, he resisted the urge to bite the gold and just huffed.

No sooner had he huffed than another piece of gold appeared in his hand.

Xueya huffed seven or eight more times, his hands nearly unable to hold all the gold, but when He Xulan didn’t give him any more, Xueya glanced over at him and blinked. He Xulan looked a little helpless. “There really isn’t any more, I’ve got none left.”

Only then did Xueya stop. He looked at the pile of gold in his hands, wanting to press his face against it.

“Why don’t you put it in a box?” He Xulan suggested from the side. “I’ll ask Huang Gonggong to find an empty box for you.”

Upon hearing that, Xueya suddenly recalled the box of gold jewelry that had been taken from him, and he fell silent. As if guessing what Xueya was thinking, He Xulan added, “Those things are with the Emperor. If you want them, I can help you get them back.”

Xueya shook his head immediately. If He Xulan went to ask for them, what if Cui Lingjing found out about their relationship? He Xulan hadn’t rebelled yet, and they couldn’t let Cui Lingjing know.

“No need, but could I get a box with a lock?” Xueya decided to lock the gold up. Even if someone took the box, they wouldn’t be able to steal the gold inside.

Huang Gonggong really did bring Xueya a locked box.

Sitting on the couch, Xueya counted the gold several times—there were nine pieces in total. He placed the nine pieces of gold into the box and put the key into the small pouch he kept close to his body.

Just as he was thinking of finding a place to hide the box, Xueya heard He Xulan’s voice.

“Xueya, bring me the calligraphy you’ve practiced these past few days.”

Xueya froze in place, casting a pleading glance at Huang Gonggong, who was standing behind He Xulan. Pretending not to see, Huang Gonggong lowered his head and quickly tiptoed out of the palace, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Noticing something was wrong, He Xulan furrowed his brows slightly. “Xueya?”

Xueya put down the small box in his hands and forced a smile at He Xulan. “Brother, I haven’t been feeling well these past few days, so I didn’t practice much.”

“Show me what you’ve written,” He Xulan said.

Xueya couldn’t hand over any homework—he hadn’t written a single character. Faced with He Xulan’s gaze, he finally lowered his head and admitted his mistake. “Brother, I’m sorry. I didn’t write anything.”

He Xulan was silent for a long time before saying, “Today doesn’t count, nor does the day I left. Normally, you’re supposed to practice four sheets a day. Since I wasn’t here, let’s say two sheets a day, and for each sheet you missed, you owe me one piece of gold. Xueya, take out four pieces of gold.”

“No!” Xueya blurted out, and when he saw He Xulan’s expression change slightly, he hurried over to him, tugging on his sleeve with a pleading look. “Brother, I’m sorry. Can’t I make up for it now?”

“No.” He Xulan looked at Xueya. “I made a mistake, so I paid for it. Now that you’ve made a mistake, shouldn’t you also pay something?”

“No, no!” Xueya shook his head wildly, tears welling up in his eyes. “Brother Lingduan, I promise I’ll catch up on my writing today. Please don’t take my gold.”

He finished speaking just as He Xulan moved toward the small box. Xueya couldn’t control his emotions anymore. “You’re not allowed to take it! It’s mine! You were the one who made the mistake! You promised to take me on the spring hunt, and I hate practicing calligraphy! Why do I have to practice?”

He shouted the last part.

“I hate you!” Xueya cried.

He turned and hugged the small box, adopting a defensive posture toward He Xulan.

He Xulan stood there for a moment, then turned and left.

Xueya heard the sound of the palace door opening and closing, and his body trembled slightly. He wiped the tears from his face and hugged the small box even tighter.

It wasn’t until nightfall that Huang Gonggong entered the room. “Xueya, it’s time for dinner.”

Huang Gonggong called out several times, but there was no response, and his heart sank. Normally, Xueya would answer after the third call, even if he was upset. Growing worried, Huang Gonggong quickly walked into the inner chamber, only to find Xueya curled up, sleeping on the couch.

Relieved, thinking Xueya was just asleep, Huang Gonggong approached but then noticed the unnatural flush on Xueya’s face. That’s when he realized something was wrong.

Xueya had developed a high fever.

In the time it took to brew a cup of tea, the imperial physician arrived at Ningfu Palace. Before he could even bow, he heard He Xulan’s tired voice, “No need for formalities.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the physician replied, stepping around the screen to see a hand extended from behind the bed curtains. Without thinking too much about it, he set down his medical kit and began taking Xueya’s pulse.

After a moment, the physician withdrew his hand. “It’s a case of wind-cold entering the body. I’ll prescribe medicine for three days, and the Empress Dowager should recover. Besides taking the medicine, it would help to apply warm, damp towels to the forehead. If the fever doesn’t break in half an hour after taking the medicine, a full-body wipe-down with warm water might help.”

“Thank you, Imperial Physician Li,” He Xulan said, touching the burning-hot face of the person in his arms.

Hot.

As the physician left, Huang Gonggong set to work ordering the medicine to be prepared and the towels and water to be readied.

Xueya’s fever persisted until midnight before finally subsiding a little, but as dawn approached, it flared up again. When Huang Gonggong brought the second dose of medicine, he saw He Xulan sitting by the bed and quietly said, “Your Majesty, please rest. You’ve been awake since riding back overnight from Sui Bai Race Track, and you didn’t sleep last night either. You’ll wear yourself out. Let me watch over him.”

He Xulan shook his head and extended his hand for the bowl of medicine.

Huang Gonggong understanding, handed over the medicine.

Feeding Xueya the medicine wasn’t easy. Even in his unconscious state, Xueya resisted the bitter taste, and whatever little He Xulan managed to get in, Xueya spat out. It was a struggle to get even a third of a bowl down.

So, for Xueya to take enough medicine, He Xulan had to feed him at least two bowls.

By the afternoon, Xueya finally woke up. His first sight was Huang Gonggong, and he was about to ask why Huang Gonggong was watching over him when he realized his whole body felt weak, and his head throbbed painfully.

Huang Gonggong was overjoyed to see him awake. “You’re awake, finally! Xueya, are you hungry? The small kitchen has been keeping millet porridge ready.”

Xueya closed his eyes uncomfortably, then slowly opened them again. “Huang Gonggong, what happened to me?”

“You got sick,” Huang Gonggong replied.

“Oh,” Xueya murmured.

Huang Gonggong observed Xueya’s expression and smiled. “I’ll go get you some millet porridge.”

Before Huang Gonggong left, Xueya asked, “Where is the Empress Dowager? Is he still mad at me?”

“He’s not mad at you. The Empress Dowager has been by your side almost the entire day and night. He only just went to rest. Once he wakes up, he’ll come see you,” Huang Gonggong said in a soothing tone, almost as if he were talking to a child.

Xueya frowned, feeling as though Huang Gonggong was lying to him.

There’s no way He Xulan had stayed by his side all day and night. After all, he’d even wanted to take four pieces of gold back.

After sitting up to drink the porridge, Xueya dozed off again. When he woke up, he found that He Xulan had taken Huang Gonggong’s place by his bedside. Noticing he was awake, He Xulan’s eyes flashed with emotion, and he was just about to speak when Xueya beat him to it.

“Brother, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things. You can take all the gold back.”