Chapter 17
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Jiang Juan wanted to stay overnight, and Xue Fangli agreed. The maids quickly tidied up the bed and added an extra pillow.
“Everyone, you can all go now.”
Once everything was sorted out, Xue Fangli, as usual, dismissed everyone. They all left, but Lan Ting hesitated and said, “Young Master, you still need to take your medicine. I can…”
“I’ll take care of it myself,” Jiang Juan said. “You’ve taken care of me all day; you don’t need to worry about me today.”
“But…”
Lan Ting, accustomed to staying in the side room to take care of Jiang Juan, was about to say something more, but the chief steward quickly interjected, “The Royal Consort has someone to take care of him. Just listen to him.”
Lan Ting had no choice but to comply. However, she still couldn’t help but feel worried. After all, Jiang Juan had some congenital health issues. Lan Ting cautiously advised, “Young Master, if you feel uncomfortable, please don’t force yourself.”
Jiang Juan nodded, and Lan Ting then retreated along with the chief steward and the others.
Lan Ting reminded Jiang Juan that he still needed to apply medicine to his foot. Jiang Juan carefully unwrapped the gauze, relieved to find that the wound wasn’t deep and had already scarred over.
Why did he have to step on a piece of glass? Jiang Juan sighed, “I really got bad luck.”
Xue Fangli glanced over, noticing the contrast between the young man’s fair sole and the dark scars. He said, “Be more careful next time.”
Jiang Juan solemnly declared, “There won’t be a next time!”
Not long after, Jiang Juan’s medicine was delivered. With pale pink fingertips soaked in oil, he gently applied the medicine to his foot. It hurt, so Jiang Juan applied it hastily, avoiding touching it any more than necessary.
As he was finishing up, just about to set his foot down, his ankle was suddenly grasped. Jiang Juan was taken aback. “Your Highness?”
Xue Fangli calmly said, “Apply it properly.”
Jiang Juan innocently looked at him, “But I did apply it properly, I’m done already.”
Xue Fangli glanced at him, still holding Jiang Juan’s ankle with one hand while the fingertips of his other hand touched Jiang Juan’s sole, spreading the medicine that hadn’t been properly applied.
He applied gentle pressure, but it was too light. Jiang Juan only felt a tickle as his toes curled up like pearls, and a faint pink blush appeared on his skin.
Jiang Juan gently inhales, “Don’t…”
Xue Fangli’s movement pauses.
He lifts his gaze, finding Jiang Juan biting his lower lip— it’s too itchy, and he struggles to stay still. His fingers unconsciously clutch the soft cushion beneath the bed, knuckles turning slightly white against the dark fabric.
Jiang Juan looks at Xue Fangli with watery eyes.
Xue Fangli’s grip on Jiang Juan’s ankle suddenly loosens, causing Jiang Juan to inhale sharply, “It hurts.”
Xue Fangli stares at him for a moment before finally releasing Jiang Juan’s ankle. Jiang Juan seizes the opportunity to retract his foot.
Feeling overwhelmed by the itch, he turns away, as if facing a formidable enemy, and declares, “I’ll do it myself this time. I’ll apply the ointment properly.”
When Jiang Juan arrived, his hair was simply tied back with a silk ribbon, but now it’s completely loose, cascading over his neck and shoulders, a sea of black hair emitting a faint scent of gardenia mingled with the herbal aroma of the ointment.
Xue Fangli detests the mixture of various scents, but strangely, when they’re on Jiang Juan, he doesn’t mind at all.
“Did you dry your hair with a hand warmer?”
“Yeah, it was taking too long to air dry, and Lan Ting was worried I might catch a cold.”
Jiang Juan kept his head down, focusing on applying the ointment seriously. After a while, he turned back to Xue Fangli and held out his hands, “All done with the ointment.”
Xue Fangli clapped his hands a few times, and soon a maid entered with clean water. After washing up, Jiang Juan paused for a moment before asking Xue Fangli, “Do you want me to call someone in to help?”
Xue Fangli: “Huh?”
Jiang Juan pointed with one hand towards the soft couch and extended the other towards the bed. “All the way from here to there, it’s too far for me to walk. And with your health, I doubt you could lift me either.”
Xue Fangli: “…”
He bent down and simply lifted Jiang Juan into his arms, carrying him over to the bed.
Jiang Juan blinked, hesitant to speak. “You…”
Xue Fangli smiled faintly. “No matter how poor my health may be, I can still carry you over such a distance.”
There were certain words he emphasized heavily, causing Jiang Juan to reflect. He realized he should have expressed himself more tactfully. Being too blunt like this could hurt someone’s pride. Even if His Highness truly couldn’t manage, he would still insist that he could.
Jiang Juan nodded vigorously, earnestly saying, “Yes, yes, Your Highness, you can do it.”
Xue Fangli: “……”
Jiang Juan, being immobile, naturally positioned himself on the inner side of the bed.
He hardly ever shared a bed with anyone before, so once he settled in, he felt a bit constrained and hesitant to move around. Xue Fangli reached out to pull down the curtains, then calmly said, “Get some rest.”
Jiang Juan remained silent, lying on his side with his back to Xue Fangli. Despite feeling incredibly tired before getting into bed, now that he was lying down, he couldn’t seem to fall asleep. Jiang Juan shifted his head on the pillow, inadvertently pressing his hair underneath him.
Xue Fangli’s hand reached to the nape of Jiang Juan’s neck, pulling out his long hair. He casually asked, “Do you have a nickname?”
“Yes.” Jiang Juan replied, “It’s Jiang Lan.”
Note: Lan in his name here means lazy.
After Jiang Juan spoke, he quickly turned around, saying in frustration, “Don’t laugh. If my mom—my momther had named me Jiang Qin back then, maybe I’d be much more active now.”
Note: the Qin here means diligent and hardworking.
Xue Fangli hadn’t intended to laugh, but seeing Jiang Juan like this, he couldn’t help but feel amused. His lips curved upward.
It wasn’t a mocking smile, nor the usual aloof expression; it was just him genuinely feeling like smiling.
Xue Fangli was actually quite handsome, almost strikingly so. At this moment, his demeanor softened, truly resembling a serene and elegant scene.
Jiang Juan glanced at him, finding him quite pleasing to the eye, so he generously said, “Forget it, laugh if you want to.”
After a while, Jiang Juan asked him again, “Do you have a nickname?”
Xue Fangli continued to smile, but something seemed to darken his expression. After a long pause, he replied somewhat regretfully, “No.”
After a pause, Xue Fangli lowered his eyes and casually said, “Shall I tell you a story? Will you listen?”
Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, Jiang Juan nodded, showing great curiosity about ancient bedtime stories. “Sure.”
Xue Fangli smiled slightly. “There was once a girl. Her first half of life was peaceful and stable. Her parents loved and cherished her, and her husband’s family respected and protected her.”
“And then?”
“And then…”
Xue Fangli closed his eyes lightly, and without warning, he recalled a very calm night. That night, the woman didn’t go mad; instead, she knelt before the desk and wept bitterly.
Her shoulders shook violently, tears soaking all the papers. She murmured, “Love and desire in humans are like holding a torch. Walking against the wind will inevitably result in burnt hands.”
“…inevitably result in burnt hands.”
Xue Fangli’s hand, resting on Jiang Juan’s neck, suddenly twitched, as if it had been scorched.
Jiang Juan waited for a long time, but there was no continuation. He asked again, “And then what, Your Highness?”
Xue Fangli lifted his gaze, saying nothing. He just stared at Jiang Juan, his eyes devoid of emotion, unsettlingly calm.
He kept the youth with him, not because of love or desire.
He had no love or desire; there was only endless hatred.
Xue Fangli finally spoke after an unknown amount of time, his tone flat: “There’s no ‘and then.’ You should sleep now.”
Jiang Juan: “…..”
Well, if he didn’t want to continue, then he wouldn’t. Perhaps it was some silly love story that would only keep him awake.
He comforted himself and turned his head, ready to drift off to sleep. Soon enough, he was enveloped in the sweet embrace of darkness and dreams.
.
Jiang Juan slept through the night until the next morning.
Sleeping too little gave him a headache, and sleeping too much felt uncomfortable. Jiang Juan had just sat up, rubbing his forehead, when Lan Ting pulled back the curtain.
“You’re awake, Young Master.”
“Mmm.”
It dawned on Jiang Juan that he was alone in bed. He asked Lan Ting, “Where’s His Highness?”
“By the time I arrived, His Highness was already gone.”
“Oh,” Jiang Juan responded. Just as Lan Ting was about to inquire if he wanted breakfast, the chief steward heard their conversation and knocked on the door. “Your Highness, the Sixth Prince has arrived and has been waiting for you for quite some time.”
“The Sixth Prince?” Jiang Juan was taken aback.
The chief steward chuckled, “He mentioned wanting to show you a treasure.”
Jiang Juan: “…..”
He didn’t want to see the treasure, nor did he want to appear unhappy, but since the person was here, Jiang Juan reluctantly said, “Okay.”
The chief steward hurried off to fetch the prince, and by the time Xue Congyun proudly approached, Lan Ting had finished tidying up Jiang Juan.
As soon as he saw him, Xue Congyun boasted, “Bumpkin, today I’m going to broaden your horizons.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed the small box he was holding in his arms toward Jiang Juan. “Take a look inside.”
Curiously, Jiang Juan opened it. When he looked down, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
——There was a bug crouching at the bottom of the box!
Jiang Juan was terrified of bugs. He had experienced similar pranks when he was younger. Once, when reaching for a book on the desk, he ended up touching a bug instead.
After many years, Jiang Juan was once again overwhelmed by this fear. He was so frightened that he almost threw the box, but fortunately, Xue Congyun caught it in time.
Xue Congyun angrily exclaimed, “What are you doing?”
Jiang Juan was also a bit annoyed. “What are you trying to do?”
“I—” Xue Congyun roared angrily, but ended up stuttering on the first word. He was flustered himself. “Wh-why are you crying?”
Jiang Juan actually didn’t intend to cry. It’s just that he was really scared in the past, and tears had a mind of their own. Jiang Juan denied, “I didn’t cry.”
Xue Congyun, usually a tough guy, found himself at a loss for words. He opened his mouth to say something but then awkwardly closed it again, unable to find the right words. Yet, his gaze couldn’t help but keep drifting towards Jiang Juan.
——How is he not crying? His eyelashes drooped softly, and his eyes seemed to be filled with moisture, giving his whole face a misty appearance.
It’s strange. Why does this bumpkin look so good even when he’s crying?
No, this thought is too dangerous.
His Brother Nian is the true beauty, beautiful both inside and out. This bumpkin is just a false beauty, all show and no substance!
But—
This bumpkin really does look strangely beautiful.
Xue Congyun struggled for a while but failed. He sighed in frustration and fiddled with the clasp a few times. “Last time, since you wouldn’t admit that the clam bird was a good thing, I specifically found these two things for you. If you don’t like them, you don’t like them. Why cry?”
After speaking, Xue Congyun glanced at him again. Although he didn’t know what was wrong with himself, he still awkwardly apologized, “I really don’t know what there is to cry about. I’m sorry, okay?”
Jiang Juan hadn’t fully recovered, but considering the apology, he responded, “Well, you shouldn’t have done it like that either.”
Xue Congyun asked him, “What did I do?”
“With the things you brought, and you’re still asking me?” Jiang Juan said irritably. “It was such a big bug.”
Xue Congyun was even more puzzled than him. “What bug? I only have a jade peacock and a gold, gold…”
His words came to an abrupt halt, and Xue Congyun suddenly realized, bursting into laughter.
Xue Congyun: “Hahahahahahahahahaha.”
Jiang Juan: “???”
Xue Congyun once again pushed the box in front of Jiang Juan, gesturing for him to open it. Jiang Juan shook his head vigorously, so Xue Congyun had to open it himself.
“Take a good look.”
Xue Congyun took out a delicate item from the box – a jade leaf as thin as a cicada’s wing, with a golden cicada perched on top, fluttering its wings vividly.
Xue Congyun: “Hahahahahahahahaha.”
Jiang Juan: “…”
Xue Congyun: “Hahahahahahaha, such a big bug.”
Jiang Juan: “…”
Human emotions don’t always sync up. Xue Congyun laughed like a piglet, while Jiang Juan lost his dream.
After a good while, Xue Congyun finally finished laughing. He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and asked in puzzlement, “What’s going on between you and Brother Nian? With your courage, would you dare push him into the lake?”
“Impossible.”
Xue Congyun concluded decisively, “There must be some misunderstanding between you two.”
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