Chapter 7
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Chu Zhaoxi dared not speak, he could only tightly hold onto his wound, barely daring to move.
“Go back.” Chu Zhaoyi commanded once again.
Fu Nian watched as Xi Wang ran out of the hall, his steps echoing through the chamber, before he finally let out a mournful howl.
Fu Nian coughed, proving that he was still awake.
“Your Majesty, let me bandage him first, why hasn’t the court physician arrived yet…”
“Thank you, Little Royal Uncle,” Chu Zhaoyi spoke, then he returned to his seat, focusing on the documents on the table.
Fu Nian laid still, quietly sensing the presence of Chu Zhaoyi’s Little Royal Uncle as he helped to stop the bleeding.
Chu Zhaoyi’s attitude was so distant… except for that initial moment of excitement, he hadn’t even given him a second glance.
“Hey, you’re still awake, right? The injuries aren’t fatal. The court physician will treat you properly when he arrives. However, your hands and feet… ” Chu Zhaoyi turned his gaze to Fu Nian who was lying down, his expression unfocused, “You heard just now, it will get better. Trust the court physician’s skills.”
Fu Nian remained silent.
It was better to pretend not to hear; it would save a lot of trouble.
Although he had seen Chu Zhaoyi up close now, Fu Nian couldn’t muster any excitement.
Well, it was to be expected. In his current state, who could recognize him? Plus, the choice of words, “run over by a carriage,” was indeed quite persuasive.
Fortunately, the Little Royal Uncle’s movements were gentle, offering some comfort in this sea of misery.
Not long after, Fu Nian heard the court physician enter.
Following him were several Shadow Guards… all new faces, strangers to Fu Nian.
“This is…” The court physician was dumbfounded as he looked at the person lying before him.
“No. He was just sent from Xi Wang’s residence, and he was just run over by a carriage.” The Little Royal Uncle whispered, glancing at Chu Zhaoyi who hadn’t looked up and signaling to the nearby Shadow Guards.
“Your Majesty, Xi Wang’s words are true. There is a long trail of blood near the Drum Tower. The scene had scattered flesh and armor, but there were six distinct tracks of blood left by the carriage wheels, and it couldn’t be determined which carriage had initially run him over. The maimed limbs were not found.”
Fu Nian breathed a sigh of relief.
Originally, he had been quite worried.
The Drum Tower road was heavily traveled, and it was expected that someone would have carried his blood out with them. He hadn’t anticipated there would be more than one carriage.
Seeing that Chu Zhaoyi remained silent, the Little Royal Uncle spoke to the court physician, “Take him to the side hall, Your Majesty is currently…”
“There’s no need to move the injured person around. Treat him here.” Chu Zhaoyi interrupted, not waiting for them to finish speaking, he spoke first.
Fu Nian let out another sigh of relief.
Apart from the pain from the rough journey… staying here would afford him more opportunities to observe Chu Zhaoyi.
However, as soon as he relaxed, he heard Chu Zhaoyi’s voice again, “Little Royal Uncle, let’s adjourn to the side hall for discussion.”
Fu Nian: ???
He had just arrived, and Chu Zhaoyi was already in such a hurry to leave…
Although Fu Nian knew the other couldn’t recognize him, but… did he feel disgusted when he saw someone resembling him?
Fu Nian could only watch helplessly as the Little Royal Uncle and Chu Zhaoyi left the hall together.
As they crossed the threshold, Fu Nian saw Chu Zhaoyi’s companion adjust the fur robe draped over his shoulders.
Chu Zhaoyi, he must have a great deal of trust in this person, right?
Perhaps that Heart-Connecting Gu was implanted in the Little Royal Uncle?
… He could trust the Little Royal Uncle but not him.
In truth, at that moment, Fu Nian felt a mix of emotions. If Chu Zhaoyi truly had forgotten about him, then perhaps he could merely survive in the palace without starving to death. There was no need to remain overly loyal to a master who had forgotten him.
His main goal was still to find the person who had implanted the Gu for him in the previous life. Once he found them, Fu Nian would immediately leave this place of trouble.
He laid there for a while before he heard the court physician speak, “Although your hands and feet are broken, the remaining bones have only suffered minor fractures. The recovery process won’t be too torturous. It’s fortunate that your consciousness is clear; that’s a stroke of luck in this unfortunate situation. Remember to take your medicine and rest well during the recovery period.”
“Alright…” Fu Nian responded hoarsely.
“Mm. After you recover, there is still hope for you to stand up, even to be no different from an ordinary person.”
“What do you mean?” Fu Nian knew, of course, that the phrase “no different from an ordinary person” referred to his previous self from another life. Yet, he still wanted to ask.
Even if he could hear a few words of praise from someone else, it might alleviate the pain in his body.
The court physician timely closed his mouth, “…”
Fu Nian didn’t continue questioning.
After a while, Fu Nian saw the court physician’s brow furrowed, his expression serious.
His first thought was, am I going to die?
Generally speaking, when a court physician frowned, it usually wasn’t a good sign.
“I hope you don’t mind me asking, are you… truly a man?”
Fu Nian was puzzled, and without thinking, he responded, “Of course.”
“Physician Xu, come and take a look. Am I just confused?”
Then, Fu Nian felt another hand on his left wrist.
The two physicians exchanged glances for a moment, and eventually they spoke, “Young brother, you should rest for now. We will have someone bring you the prescription later.”
“Thank you…” Fu Nian watched the physicians hurry out in a daze.
It’s really strange.
***
“Cough, cough, cough… So you’re saying, aside from not finding the maimed limbs, everything else fits the description of someone who was just run over by a carriage?” Chu Zhaoyi strained his eyes as he looked at the report on the table.
“It’s plausible. Limbs with blood on them… might have been devoured by animals,” Little Royal Uncle quietly reminded, then after the hint, he fell into contemplation for a moment before continuing, “Your Majesty, I know I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”
“I know, it does seem alike. But Ah Nian is Ah Nian; there are many people with similar names and imperfect limbs in the world. I haven’t degenerated to the point of mistaking identities.” Chu Zhaoyi spoke, setting down the report handed over by a Shadow Guard and picking up another official document, “However, let’s keep him in the palace to recuperate for now. There are plenty of empty chambers in the palace, just assign one to him. Not because he resembles someone or something, but because this is a mess left behind by Chaoxi, and I have to clean it up. Otherwise, if so many people knew about this incident today, where would the face of the Chu family be?”
“Primarily because at first glance…”
“Royal Uncle.” Chu Zhaoyi interrupted directly, “The events of the past… have been let go. Thank you for waking me up at that time, Royal Uncle. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how I might have fallen.”
Chu Zhiyan knew that when Chu Zhaoyi earnestly addressed him as “Royal Uncle,” it couldn’t be for anything good, “I apologize for my impoliteness. But Your Majesty, did you leave the palace again yesterday?”
Chu Zhaoyi’s hand holding the official document trembled slightly.
But soon, in order to hide it, he simply put down the document, took a pen in his right hand, and prepared to make annotations.
“Left the palace, right?”
Chu Zhaoyi pretended not to hear and continued to review the memorials.
However, the characters he wrote were not as strong and forceful as before; they were rather shaky and wobbly.
“Don’t stay silent!” Little Royal Uncle sighed, his tone carrying a hint of anxiety.
“I dare not. Leaving the palace might cause you to be angry, Uncle,” Chu Zhaoyi deliberately skirted around the key issue.
“…”.
Chu Zhaoyi remained silent.
Only his Little Royal Uncle dared to bring up this matter with him. Chu Zhaoyi understood well and knew that the other person had good intentions.
Yet, this didn’t change the fact that he would always evade the topic whenever it was brought up.
After a while of working on the memorials, there was a section where Chu Zhaoyi was about to ask for his Little Royal Uncle’s advice. However, when he looked up, the person had already left.
To be honest, Chu Zhaoyi let out a sigh of relief.
Confirming that his Little Royal Uncle had left, Chu Zhaoyi then retrieved the bamboo waist plaque he wore close to his heart.
This kind of waist plaque was carried by every shadow guard around him as a form of identification.
He looked at the name on the plaque, engraved with “Fu Nian.” There were also traces of bloodstains that had soaked into the plaque and couldn’t be fully washed away.
Staring blankly at it for a while, Chu Zhaoyi finally returned the plaque to its place against his chest and called for Li Gonggong to enter.
“I’m here, Your Majesty. Is there something you need?”
“The wheelchair I had made before, give it to the person with the surname Lian today. The one involved in the incident with Xi Wang today.” Chu Zhaoyi issued a command in a calm tone.
Li Gonggong hesitated for a moment and then cautiously confirmed, “Your Majesty, that wheelchair was originally given to…”
“Ah, Nian has never been willing to touch that wheelchair until his death. He’d rather sit on the ground…” Chu Zhaoyi spoke up to this point, hesitating with unspoken words, and his hand that had been writing paused for a moment. “In short, it can’t be considered his possession. It was something I did willingly for him. Just the thought of having that object around was bothersome, so I quickly sent it away.”
“I understand.”
“By the way, when he wakes up, inform me.”
“He’s awake right now, just took some medicine. However, the imperial physician said…”
“What did the imperial physician say?” Chu Zhaoyi interrupted.
Li Gonggong: “The imperial physician said that based on his pulse, he’s not…”
“Of course, he’s not,” Chu Zhaoyi snapped impatiently. “If the imperial physician only said that much, there’s no need to inform me. You can go rest.”
“But, Your Majesty, there’s more…” Li Gonggong continued, hesitating to speak further. “When he was being treated and his dressings were being changed, it was absolutely confirmed that the person with the surname Lian is indeed a biological male. However, based on his pulse, there are a few channels that only females have…”
Upon hearing this, Chu Zhaoyi couldn’t help but furrow his brows. “Come here, explain in detail.”
Following that, Chu Zhaoyi patiently listened to Li Gonggong while frequently furrowing his brows.
With each furrow, his expression grew deeper.
In the end, his brows were almost tightly knit together.
“While it’s true that the world is full of wonders, are you certain you examined thoroughly?” he asked.
“Absolutely, over these years, there have been so many eunuchs and palace maids entering the palace. This old servant couldn’t possibly make a mistake. Although the physician mentioned that those few meridians were quite shallow and would be hard to detect without careful examination, they do indeed exist.”
Chu Zhaoyi pondered for a moment. “Then don’t worry about his injuries. Arrange for a palace courtyard for him to recover, don’t let him stay in the side hall. Move him out immediately.”
After speaking, Chu Zhaoyi saw that Li Gonggong didn’t react. “Move him out.”
“Yes.” Li Gonggong entered in a perplexed state and left just as perplexed, thinking that the situation was really unfathomable.
After Li Gonggong left, Chu Zhaoyi took out the blood-stained waist token once again and muttered softly to it, “Ah Nian. I get angry when anyone gets close to me, but if it’s a woman, my anger is doubled. Regardless of whether the physician made a mistake or not, I’m having him moved away overnight. It was my mistake to let him stay temporarily in the side hall while considering his injuries. Now I’ve distanced him from myself. Did I do the right thing, Ah Nian?”
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