Seeing Kongqing and Jingmo in a flurry—checking Huo Liuxing’s eyelids, testing his breathing and pulse—Shen Lingzhen couldn’t get close to him. In a glance, she noticed that bowl of abalone soup.
Her curse couldn’t possibly be that effective. Apart from his chronic leg problem, Huo Liuxing had always been in robust health. For him to suddenly fall acutely ill like this, it most likely had to do with the food at the table.
She immediately ordered: “Bailu, quickly test this soup! Jianjia, hurry and fetch a physician!”
After giving these instructions, Shen Lingzhen turned around to see Kongqing and Jingmo already carrying Huo Liuxing toward the bedchamber. She was about to follow when she suddenly paused mid-step.
This mansion was bestowed by His Majesty. Not all the servants in the mansion were Huo family confidants—there might well be one or two spies planted among them. Having just moved in today, Huo Liuxing probably hadn’t had time to conduct screening yet. At this moment, with him unconscious, there was no guarantee his legs wouldn’t be exposed.
This was why Kongqing and Jingmo hadn’t treated Huo Liuxing on the spot but carried him away first.
At this time, she couldn’t panic and run around blindly. She needed to find a pretext to keep the servants in line.
“Pass the word down—everyone in the entire mansion must gather in the front courtyard to await interrogation. Without permission, no one is allowed to step outside the mansion gates!”
Shen Lingzhen didn’t explicitly state the reason for this order, but given such a commotion at the dinner table, everyone naturally understood the implied meaning. For a moment everyone feared for themselves, and all the servants in the mansion gathered in the front courtyard.
Shen Lingzhen wanted to check on Huo Liuxing, but circumstances forced her to remain in charge in the hall. Her mind constantly turned over the question: who had been so vicious? Could it be that her Second Cousin who sent the abalone was also no simple matter?
Thinking this way, this Second Prince did seem somewhat suspicious.
After all, Daqi made very clear distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate sons. A truly honest, simple illegitimate prince with no ambition really wouldn’t warrant such harsh targeting from a legitimate prince who was heaven’s favored son.
The reason Zhao Xun constantly adopted a superior air was entirely because the current Crown Prince had been weak and sickly since childhood. Having lived to over thirty, he gave the impression he could pass away at any moment. If the eldest legitimate son were gone, according to the order of legitimate, illegitimate, elder, and younger, naturally he as the second legitimate son should inherit the position of heir apparent. Thus he had always conducted himself as if he were the future Crown Prince.
In other words, those Zhao Xun targeted should mostly be people disadvantageous to his competition for the heir apparent position.
If so, his undermining Zhao Rui’s dignity this time—didn’t that indicate Zhao Rui was very likely also a stumbling block for him?
Shen Lingzhen suddenly formed a hypothesis: could it be that Zhao Xun today wasn’t looking to cause trouble for Huo Liuxing, but rather using a subtle way to remind Huo Liuxing that Zhao Rui was his enemy?
While she pondered, the time it took to burn an incense stick quickly passed. Kongqing hurried to the hall and said to Shen Lingzhen in front of all the servants: “Young Mistress, Young Master’s condition is critical. You should go see him quickly!”
Shen Lingzhen shot to her feet. Her eyelid had just twitched when she saw Kongqing throw her a rather mischievous look.
After a moment of confusion, her heart settled. Without changing her panicked expression, she hurried to Huo Liuxing’s bedchamber.
The moment she entered, Jingmo came forward: “Young Mistress, rest assured. Young Master shows no signs of poisoning. After vomiting once, his stomach has been emptied. Though he hasn’t regained consciousness, his pulse has stabilized. We just need to wait for the physician to determine the specific situation and prescribe accordingly.”
“Then what was Kongqing doing just now?”
“You did very well just now. Kongqing was going with the flow, taking the opportunity to confirm the identities of spies in the mansion.”
Encountering such a turn of events, the spies His Majesty planted in the mansion would certainly need to report to the palace. But earlier, the emergency had left them too panicked to watch people. Fortunately, Shen Lingzhen had promptly assembled all the servants. Now that Huo Liuxing’s situation had stabilized, if anyone made a move, they wouldn’t escape their eyes.
They were taking advantage of the situation to make things seem more serious, planning to fish out the spies in one sweep.
After all, His Majesty’s scouts were different from the Huo mansion servants Zhao Xun had bribed in Qingyang—they couldn’t be casually eliminated and were quite troublesome for Huo Liuxing. But once their identities were confirmed, they could be guarded against in the future. Even if these chess pieces remained in place, they’d be half-废ed.
Therefore, today could be considered a blessing in disguise.
Shen Lingzhen breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went inside to check on Huo Liuxing’s condition. She saw him lying face-up on the bed, breathing heavily, his face flushed, with dark red rashes covering everything from behind his ears to his neck.
While reaching out to feel his sweaty forehead, she turned to ask Jingmo: “It’s truly not poisoning? Why does it look so frightening?”
“All the food at the table was inspected beforehand. Though Young Master certainly has enemies on all sides in Bianjing, no one should use such a crude method to harm him. Young Mistress can rest easy.”
Just as Jingmo finished speaking, Jianjia arrived with a physician.
Shen Lingzhen recognized the white-bearded old man as a physician frequently used by the Duke Yingguo’s mansion. Guessing he must be Mother’s trusted confidant, she confidently made room for him.
The physician sat at the edge of the bed, took Huo Liuxing’s pulse, examined the bowl of abalone soup, and asked: “Has General Huo rarely consumed seafood before?”
Jingmo replied: “Yes. Young Master doesn’t like seafood, and at the border there was no opportunity. He should have only eaten it once or twice many years ago when he came to Bianjing.”
Shen Lingzhen was slightly startled. She heard the physician continue: “Each person has their own constitution. What is honey to one may be poison to another. General Huo is someone unsuited to consuming seafood, especially highly nourishing items like abalone. From now on, absolutely don’t let him touch it again. Fortunately this time he didn’t eat much, and inducing vomiting was timely, so there’s no serious harm. However, he’ll inevitably suffer some physical discomfort for several days. I’ll write a prescription shortly with both internal medicine and external ointment. You personal attendants must distinguish them clearly.”
Jingmo nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to see Shen Lingzhen looking utterly dejected and consoled her: “Young Mistress needn’t blame yourself. Even we servants, including Young Master himself, didn’t know about this. How could you have known?”
Shen Lingzhen nodded, looking at the thoroughly wretched and pitiful Huo Liuxing, and sighed.
Clearly he didn’t like seafood, yet he had savored and chewed the abalone. If she hadn’t personally ladled that soup for him, he probably wouldn’t have touched that pot at all and wouldn’t have suffered this ordeal.
When Jingmo took the physician’s prescription and left to prepare the medicine, upon returning he saw Shen Lingzhen using a cloth to wipe the fine sweat from the sleeping Huo Liuxing’s forehead.
Seeing him arrive, she gently rose and took the soup bowl from his hands, saying quietly: “Let me do it.”
Jingmo explained the usage of both the internal medicine and external ointment to her, then withdrew.
Shen Lingzhen kept the medicinal soup warm on a small brazier. Just as she was preparing to continue watching over Huo Liuxing, she had barely reached the bedside when his lips suddenly moved, murmuring something.
She didn’t want to deliberately eavesdrop on someone’s sleep talk—it felt somewhat like eavesdropping through walls—but she couldn’t resist her curiosity. She wondered if this liar had anything else he was hiding from her that might be revealed, so she softly greeted him: “Young Master, I’m going to listen to your dream talk now, okay?”
This time Huo Liuxing was truly unconscious. Even this didn’t wake him. His lips kept moving.
Seeing he had no objection, Shen Lingzhen slowly brought her ear closer. The result left her stunned.
In a hoarse voice he was saying: “…Not this one, this only has six petals, are you blind?”
“Not this one either, missing a color…”
“What use are you people, all of you go carry dung buckets…”
Shen Lingzhen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Even sick to this degree, he was still going to such lengths to maintain his lie, and still had the nerve to take his anger out on innocent subordinates?
Just as she felt indignant, she suddenly heard him mutter: “I know she’s playing me, as long as she’s happy, I’m willing…”
Shen Lingzhen blinked blankly in confusion, her face turning troubled: “How does Young Master always have ways to make my heart soften,” she sighed. “What should I do with Young Master…”
——
When Huo Liuxing awoke, the first thing he saw was Shen Lingzhen sleeping with her head resting on the edge of the bed just inches away from him, though her breathing wasn’t deep—she seemed to be sleeping lightly.
He squeezed his dry throat, opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. Frowning, he tried coughing to make a sound. At the first cough, Shen Lingzhen woke.
She scrambled up, softly exclaiming “Ah”: “How did I fall asleep…” Seeing Huo Liuxing’s face full of pain, she quickly brought over the medicinal soup and stirred it with a spoon. “Young Master, quickly drink this medicine.”
Huo Liuxing had difficulty speaking. After clearing his throat for a long time, he still couldn’t produce a single word.
Shen Lingzhen explained: “Young Master fell ill from eating abalone. After sleeping, many delayed symptoms slowly manifested. Right now your throat is probably somewhat swollen, so you temporarily can’t speak. The rashes on your body will likely itch for several days, but otherwise there’s no serious harm.”
Better she hadn’t mentioned it. Once she did, Huo Liuxing immediately felt itchy everywhere. Frowning, he reached to scratch his neck.
Shen Lingzhen quickly stopped him: “Don’t scratch. The physician said scratching easily causes infection, slows healing, and will leave scars. Young Master, first drink this medicine—it can relieve the itching.”
As she spoke, she scooped up a spoonful of medicinal soup to feed him.
Huo Liuxing was happy to enjoy her care, but right now his body itched unbearably. He really couldn’t tolerate such slow motions. He directly took the soup bowl and drained it in one gulp.
Shen Lingzhen placed the empty bowl back on the table. Turning around, she saw him scratching his back again.
She hurried to stop him: “Young Master, please bear it!”
Enduring pain is easy; enduring itching is hard. Huo Liuxing clenched his fists and jerked his chin toward the emptied medicinal soup, his face full of doubt, probably asking: Didn’t you say it would relieve itching?
Shen Lingzhen said with amusement: “How could it have such immediate effect? Young Master, please be patient. The physician also prescribed external ointment for you. That might work faster.” She turned back to fetch a bottle of medicinal paste. “Wherever Young Master itches most, I’ll apply the medicine for you.”
Huo Liuxing felt as if ants were crawling all over his upper body. He pulled off his inner garment, pointed at his chest, abdomen, waist, and back, making several “mm-mm-hmm-hmm” sounds.
Shen Lingzhen roughly understood he was saying “everywhere itches.” Looking at the large patches of red rashes on his fair skin, she didn’t need his direction. She dipped her index finger in the ointment and began applying it to the affected areas.
Huo Liuxing currently had no mind for romantic thoughts. He kept hissing and gasping, his fists clenching and releasing, releasing and clenching again. Even after his chest, back, neck, and behind his ears were all covered with medicine, he still felt the itching wasn’t relieved and wanted to scratch again.
Shen Lingzhen grabbed his hand: “You can’t scratch. Young Master, be good!”
Huo Liuxing gritted his teeth. Looking at the tightly closed doors and windows to confirm shadows wouldn’t be cast outside, he threw off the bedding and jumped down from the bed, beginning to pace rapidly around the room while panting and shaking his fists, taking deep breaths.
Shen Lingzhen felt both amused and sympathetic. Watching him pace around in silent fury for a long while, she suggested: “The more Young Master thinks about it, the more unbearable it feels. Why not do something else to pass the time? Once the medicine is absorbed, it should feel better.”
Huo Liuxing stopped and glared at her angrily: “Mm-mm-mm?”
He was saying: Do what?
Shen Lingzhen patted the small round stool in front of her: “Young Master, sit here.” Then she rose to rummage through the kang cabinet for something.
Bare-chested and wearing only undershorts, Huo Liuxing sat down with his knees spread. Looking up, he saw a red string in her hands.
She said: “Let’s play cat’s cradle.”
Huo Liuxing was amused to exasperation. Pointing at his own nose, he made another string of humming sounds with varying tones.
Shen Lingzhen guessed he was saying: I, Huo Liuxing, with my illustrious reputation—you want me to play such a childish game?
“Young Master has never played this, so he doesn’t know its charm.” Shen Lingzhen tied a knot in the red string. Seeing Huo Liuxing about to rise indignantly, she quickly pressed him down. “Young Master, just try it. Let’s compete to see who can’t make a new pattern first—whoever loses must grant the winner one request.”
Huo Liuxing became interested and raised his eyebrows: “Mm-mm-mm?”—You said so?
Shen Lingzhen nodded: “I said so.”
Huo Liuxing laughed: “Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.”—Then you just wait.