Chapter 55 – A talented person under-utilized at an insignificant position to wait upon a person
Chapter 55 – A talented person under-utilized at an insignificant position to wait upon a person
By the time Xiao Xu returned to the mansion, half of the night had already passed.
He slowly stepped into the room Chu Qing-Yan was settled in. Air Spirit had already received the news and had rushed over, reporting the situation while standing by his side.
“Master, this servant has already cleaned out the poison in this Chu Family Miss’s body. Now, there shouldn’t be any problems, but this body’s foundation is not so good. This time, being poisoned may have damaged the foundation more and it would need to be nursed for a period of time.”
Air Spirit noticed that when he mentioned that the foundation wasn’t good and might be damaged, Master’s complexion didn’t seem to look too good. In his heart, he secretly analyzed, it looked like Master really did care a little bit for this Chu Qing-Yan.
“For this period of time, you don’t need to return to Sha Nan. Whatever drug ingredients you need, just let Bai Hu know.” Xiao Xu left behind this order, then he turned on his heels and stepped into the inner room.
Whereas Air Spirit’s footsteps halted and looked at his family’s master with incredulity. Chu Qing-Yan could be handed over to an ordinary doctor or an imperial physician from the palace to look after. To keep him here to take care of this girl, wasn’t it somewhat like under-utilizing a talented person by employing him for an insignificant position?
But when he heard the latter half of the order, he raised an eyebrow. This was Master not sparing any cost to nurse her body back to health ah!
Xi Ning, who was waiting upon Chu Qing-Yan at her side, saw the person that arrived and hurriedly lifted up the curtains for Xiao Xu. She never expected that His Highness would come at this time.
“Your Highness——” Xi Ning was just about to make her salutations but was stopped by Xiao Xu with just a glance. He waved his hand, which Xi Ning understood, so she withdrew and left.
Very quickly, the only person remaining in the room was him. Air Spirit had also gotten his order and withdrawn.
The lamp in the room was lit, but in order to show consideration for the sleeping Chu Qing-Yan, it was shifted far away. It was even dimmer than the moonlight that slipped in from the windows.
And Xiao Xu used this silvery white moonlight to observe the person on the bed.
Although the Mandara poison was already solved, her complexion was still pale. Recalling the first time he saw her, her rosy red cheeks were extremely adorable.
He sat on the bed, his gaze never leaving her body.
Even though she seemed weak, she actually had huge courage.
Normally, she was like a kitten who kept her claws hidden, until the situation became unbearable, and then she would reveal her claws to demonstrate. Just like that time when he teased her until she had nowhere to go, so in a rage, she sought him out to settle the account.
Recalling that lively face of hers at that time, the corner of Xiao Xu’s mouth couldn’t help but lift up.
Thinking of the scenes from when he normally teased her, his mood gradually calmed down.
The desire to pursue fame and high status, schemes of mutual deception, that shattering sound, scolding from unrestrainable anger, as well as the coldness from the depths of his memories seemed to be far away.
Xiao Xu leaned against the bedpost, looking at the peacefully sleeping person, and an indescribable gentleness rose in his heart.
Time passed very quickly, and one night had already passed.
When the slightly warm morning rays shone, Xiao Xu got up and left the room. The slight sound from his footsteps roused Xi Ning, who was dozing off outside the door. Xiao Xu stood firmly before her, and only after saying several sentences regarding Qing-Yan’s care, did he leave.
Watching His Highness leave, Xi Ning finally relaxed her heart that was trembling from fear and entered the room.
After a short period of time, Chu Qing-Yan slowly opened her eyes. When her pair of eyes gradually got used to the light in front of her, her muddled head gradually became clear.
“Water——” She opened her mouth and felt a burst of parched dryness.
When Xi Ning heard her voice, she immediately carried a cup of water, delivering it close to her mouth and feeding it bit by bit into her mouth.
When her throat felt a bit more comfortable, Chu Qing-Yan shook her head and wanted to lift her hand to place it on her forehead. However, she found out she had no strength from head to toe, she didn’t even have the strength to lift a hand. Chu Qing-Yan was stumped for words, and just at this moment, the forgotten memories returned to her mind in a flash. She recalled the black blood she vomited before fainting and couldn’t help but be astonished, “Xi Ning, what happened to me?”
Seeing Master alive and breathing before her eyes, Xi Ning’s, this half-grown child’s, tears that were restrained for three days finally flowed out. She said while crying, “Master, several days ago, after you ate the pastries Fourth Prince had brought, you were poisoned.”
“Several days ago?” Chu Qing-Yan frowned.
“That’s right ah, you were in a coma for three days. Fortunately, His Highness brought back a doctor with excellent medical expertise, otherwise, this Mandara poison——” Xi Ning wept endlessly and didn’t continue to speak.
Mandara? She heard of this often from television dramas. She never thought it would actually play out in her own body, Chu Qing-Yan gasped. Looked like she clearly couldn’t get along with this Fourth Prince. Just eating something from him almost poisoned her to death.
Fortunately, based on the fact that she was his fiancee, Prince Ying saved her life.
Chu Qing-Yan’s head started to hurt from this. She seemed to owe Prince Ying a huge favor.
Forget it, wait until there’s a chance in the future, then she’d return the favor.
“Xi Ning, I’m a bit hungry.” Having not eaten for three days and only depending on those concoctions to survive, her stomach was already empty.
Xi Ning had originally wanted to tell her master that His Highness had stayed with her for a night. However, being interrupted by Master, her attention immediately focused on the matter that she was hungry. She quickly nodded her head and withdrew.
Inside the study.
Xiao Xu sat there silently. In front of him stood his two very capable subordinates, Fire Spirit and Earth Spirit.
Earth Spirit reported to say, “Your Highness, today, Wang Chong’s entire family was convicted, nine generations of his family will be implicated, to be beheaded in the fall. In addition, these days, Lin Feng-Zheng discovered many people that had a relationship with him and has already sent them to jail.”
This corruption case could be considered to have ended at this point.
Although Fire Spirit was happy that His Highness had finally been washed off of all suspicions, he also felt this was strange, “Your Highness, don’t you think that this matter was continuously being dragged on before? That Lin Feng-Zheng was racking his brain to find a reasonable criminal charge to frame you. How is it that they wrapped up the case so quickly today? Don’t you think there’s something fishy going on in here?”
Earth Spirit heard this and coldly chuckled, “Isn’t it just the Fu Family sending their sincerity to His Highness for the Fourth Prince’s sake.”
Being pointed out by Earth Spirit, Fire Spirit immediately understood. It was because Chu Qing-Yan got poisoned after eating pastries the Fourth Prince had brought over. Although His Highness had sealed off the news, the Empress Goddess still used some means so that this news had already spread out privately. The Fu Family, or might as well say Imperial Consort Yue, was worried that Xiao Xu would seize this opportunity to retaliate, so they reacted first. Quickly settling the corruption case and not investing more thoughts to frame His Highness was considered selling a favor to His Highness. Because on the surface, it was His Majesty that wanted to investigate His Highness, and not that they voluntarily wanted to check. So their only use was to add fuel to the fire, but these old wily fox-like people would never admit it.
Just at this moment, Bai Hu walked inside, “Your Highness, His Majesty has dispatched people to deliver a lot of drug ingredients and thin silk, saying it is to be bestowed as a reward to Chu Family’s Miss. The eunuch that came along wanted this old servant to pass along word that the cooks that handled the pastries in the imperial kitchen on that day have already been dealt with.”
“En.” Xiao Xu nodded his head indifferently.
For the Fu Family, Father Emperor’s way of doing things was not only meant to placate him, he feared that it also had the meaning ‘to keep peace, to patch up the quarrel’.
The corner of his mouth turned downwards slightly, exposing a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
Fire Spirit and Earth Spirit’s faces changed, as they knew the meaning behind His Majesty’s words. This was to tell His Highness not to investigate Fourth Prince’s responsibility in this poison case.
One by one, they cast their gazes to their master before them, their master right now must not feel very good inside.
His Majesty favored Fourth Prince too much.
Xiao Xu carelessly cast a glance at the silhouette outside the window and waved his hand to signal people to call her in.