SEHE Chapter 23

Applying Medicine 

 

“Ah!”

 

“Hiss——“

 

Pei Yanci cried out in alarm and fell heavily onto Gu Jiuqing’s body.

 

This person was too cunning—even when falling, he had to drag someone down as a cushion.

 

Fortunately, he reacted quickly. At the moment before hitting the ground, he pushed Gu Jiuqing down first.

 

“Your Highness, are you alright!” He scrambled up anxiously and bent down to check on the person beneath him.

 

Gu Jiuqing’s knee was already in pain, and after being pushed so heavily and falling with the full weight of another person pressing on him, his ribs nearly pierced his lungs.

 

“Cough cough cough cough……“

 

The back of his head struck the ground, leaving him dizzy and in pain.

 

In his daze, he saw a shape of light.

 

The shape gradually became clear, forming Pei Yanci’s flowing hair, sharp and clean facial contours, and straight, lean shoulders.

 

In the backlit shadows, a pair of bright, clear eyes looked at him with concern, becoming the only light to follow in the darkness.

 

In Gu Jiuqing’s mind arose the scene of his first meeting with Pei Yanci.

 

At that time, he had only thought this person possessed the fearlessness of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers. Later he discovered this person had decent abilities. Now he felt this person was considerate, careful, and understood him.

 

“Help this prince up first.”

 

Pei Yanci, indeed.

 

A barely perceptible dark gleam flashed through his clear eyes as he extended his hand. Inadvertently, his fingertips touched the light on Pei Yanci’s cheek, instantly taking on a translucent golden hue.

 

Burning hot.

 

His expression grew slightly concentrated as he pressed his entire palm against the soft, warm face, as if to confirm this unreal sensation.

 

Pei Yanci immediately grasped his hand, firm and warm.

 

And conveniently moved away the dirty hand that was touching his face.

 

A pulling force came through his hand, and Gu Jiuqing sat up with the momentum, leaning against him as they moved to sit on the nearby couch. Before he could say anything, the person had already retreated two steps away.

 

The frosty expression on his face appeared even more severe in the spring light.

 

“Your Highness, whatever you wish to do, just tell this servant.” Pei Yanci sighed, looking earnestly concerned. “Your leg injury hasn’t healed yet, so you should rest in the courtyard.”

 

He wasn’t really a servant—how would he know how to take care of people?

 

The last old beggar he had cared for a few days could have sons old enough to call him father.

 

“This prince wants to go see the Imperial Guards outside the mansion gate. The commanding officer is from the Zheng family,” Gu Jiuqing said. “He often moves about before the Emperor and might know something of Father Emperor’s thoughts.”

 

“That General Peng Chulang?” During the two days when Gu Jiuqing had been melancholy, Pei Yanci had already treated him and some Imperial Guards to drinks several times.

 

Great Yu had two Imperial Guard units protecting the capital. One was the Southern Barracks Imperial Army, divided into sixteen guards and overseen by the Chancellor’s Office. The Jinwu Guards responsible for capital patrol and security belonged to the Southern Barracks Imperial Army. The other was the Northern Barracks Imperial Army, commanded by the Emperor and divided into four armies: Dragon Martial, Imperial Forest, Divine Strategy, and Divine Martial.

 

(TL: 龍武 (Longwu) → Dragon Martial — often implying elite, fierce warriors.

禦林 (Yulin) → Imperial Forest — historically a palace guard; “forest” here is metaphorical, referring to the emperor’s protective “grove” of soldiers.

神策 (Shence) → Divine Strategy — a prestigious guard unit responsible for key military strategy and defense.

神武 (Shenwu) → Divine Martial — signifying exceptional martial prowess and imperial authority.)

 

Peng Chulang was the second-in-command of the Divine Strategy Army, a third-rank military general.

 

“This servant will go probe his intentions for Your Highness. These days, Your Highness should rest peacefully in the courtyard and wait for news. Those former servants will surely return soon.”

 

“Work hard to build a good relationship with him,” Gu Jiuqing instructed. “This can only benefit us.”

 

“Yes.” Without him saying so, Pei Yanci was already doing this. “Your Highness, let this servant apply medicine for you.”

 

He mentally reviewed the steps the physician had used to treat the wound over the past two days, opened the medicine bottle, and raised his chin. “Please remove your trousers, Your Highness.”

 

No movement for a long while.

 

He looked up puzzled and found that His Highness the Crown Prince’s ears had suspiciously reddened. His hands clutched the hem of his robes, and his expression looked even colder.

 

“Shouldn’t you be serving this prince?” His voice was stern.

 

Pei Yanci finally realized, set down the medicine bottle, wiped his fingers, and lifted aside the hem of his robes. Since Gu Jiuqing hadn’t gone out, he wasn’t wearing shoes or socks. He placed both legs on the couch, suspended and bent, rolling up the trouser legs section by section to the thighs and untying the cloth strips wrapped around the wound.

 

Gu Jiuqing’s legs were pale and slender, well-rounded and substantial yet not lacking in strength, but the dark purple swelling on his knees brutally destroyed this beauty, giving it a cruel appearance as if after torment.

 

Pei Yanci frowned—it looked even more terrible than the injury from two days ago.

 

Tang Xizhui would probably like this.

 

He most enjoyed injured parts on people’s bodies, preferably with blood.

 

He turned to get clean cloth to wipe away the old medicine residue from the wound, catching from the corner of his eye that Gu Jiuqing’s expression had become even more annoyed and uncomfortable, as if enduring something.

 

Only when he applied the medicine to the wound did he understand—Gu Jiuqing was enduring his touch.

 

Pei Yanci’s interest was piqued instead.

 

As if with malicious intent, his fingers, covered with medicine, caressed and circled around the knee area.

 

“Hurry up.”

 

“Your Highness, this swelling must be rubbed open to heal,” he said with a serious expression.

 

Gu Jiuqing lowered his gaze, his lips pressed into a rigid line.

 

After finishing with the medicine, as if unintentionally, his fingers stroked along the inner bend of the knee and traced down the inner side of the calf.

 

He had to admit, the skin of someone raised in luxury felt quite good—smooth and delicate. He secretly pinched it again.

 

Gu Jiuqing’s whole body tensed, his expression grew even more severe, his brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a fly. “What are you touching?”

 

“This servant is helping Your Highness check if there are any other injured areas.” Satisfied at seeing this person’s displeasure, he finally began lowering the trouser legs bit by bit.

 

Looking at his righteous and utterly sincere eyes, Gu Jiuqing couldn’t very well lose his temper. Half his face was hidden in the shadows of his hanging hair, his hand at his side gripping the soft cushion on the couch.

 

“Are you a cut-sleeve?”

 

“Hmm?” Pei Yanci was washing his hands nearby. Hearing this, he winked at him teasingly. “Does Your Highness think this servant seems like a cut-sleeve?”

 

Gu Jiuqing was stunned for a moment.

 

“This prince is asking you.” His tone grew even colder.

 

Pei Yanci looked at him without giving a direct answer. “Your Highness has forgotten—Wu Luo is still recovering in the back courtyard.”

 

Gu Jiuqing had indeed forgotten about Wu Luo. Remembering how this person had touched him earlier, he endured his disgust and reluctantly confirmed again. “Is it just casual play, trying something new, or are you naturally a cut-sleeve who must have men?”

 

Pei Yanci smiled. “Would Your Highness like any woman he sees?”

 

“Are you mocking this prince?”

 

“This servant has no such intention. Everyone has their preferences—Your Highness couldn’t possibly fall for every woman, being moved by all women in the world. This servant’s liking for men is the same—I have my own preferences and tastes.”

 

Finally, he solemnly assured, “Please be at ease, Your Highness.”

 

After hearing these words, not only did Gu Jiuqing’s brows not relax, they furrowed even tighter.

 

His disgust became even more apparent.

 

He seriously lectured, “A man should act like a man, upright and honorable. Those who marry men have neither a woman’s gentle consideration nor a man’s masculine righteousness. Don’t let them temporarily cloud your judgment—a real man should focus on establishing his own great achievements.”

 

Currently, pleasure houses were spread throughout Great Yu, and quite a few men served as male wives and male concubines married to men, but most of these were men from poor families who made such choices when they truly couldn’t survive otherwise. Because they couldn’t bear offspring, their survival in the inner courtyards was even more difficult, often looked down upon.

 

“If this servant abandoned Wu Luo, would Your Highness be at ease?” Pei Yanci smiled.

 

What nerve had this person hit wrong to suddenly advise him about this? Wu Luo was the “leverage” he held in his hands.

 

Gu Jiuqing also thought of this, feeling stuck and uncomfortable inside, somehow just unhappy, so he simply dismissed him. “This prince is tired. You may go first. Remember to chat more with Peng Chulang.”

 

“Yes.” Pei Yanci carried out the leftover food and medicine, his respectful posture gradually straightening. He casually handed the tray to an Imperial Guard soldier waiting outside, who without question took it and headed toward the kitchen.

 

In the corridor, the person standing beside him was none other than Peng Chulang.

 

“The Elu Bureau has made a move,” the middle-aged man’s resonant voice echoed in the spring light of the corridor. “Today they reported the family backgrounds of twelve servants from the Crown Prince’s mansion.”

 

“Is there a list?” Pei Yanci asked, adding, “His Highness needs to review it.”

 

Peng Chulang handed him a paper with only brief notes about those people’s true identities and some related information.

 

It was roughly as Pei Yanci had guessed—either marginal figures from various families or impoverished households with only the title of noble family descendants.

 

Looking through it all, Yue Ting still seemed to have the best background.

 

Far away in the inn, Steward Yue suddenly shivered and sneezed violently.

 

“What does Chancellor Zheng say?” Pei Yanci asked.

 

Peng Chulang shook his head. “He only said to wait and see.”

 

His hand rested on the sword hilt at his side as he said: “You may assure His Highness that this storm will soon pass.”

 

****

 

Pei Yanci waited five or six days before hearing the latest news from Peng Chulang again—those dozen or so noble family descendants who had been investigated, along with their immediate parents, had all been executed.

 

This crisis involving the Crown Prince ended with the blood of these people.

 

Not long after, the mansion’s original servants gradually returned.

 

Wuli and the others moved back to the mansion with those people.

 

The Crown Prince’s mansion regained its former liveliness. Peng Chulang received orders to withdraw the guards on the day those people returned. Although they had only interacted briefly for a few days, his impression of Pei Yanci was quite good—of course, that was considering his position as the Crown Prince’s close attendant.

 

Pei Yanci understood this well, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he had originally been using the Crown Prince’s influence to command the Imperial Guards and get close to Peng Chulang.

 

When one’s own power isn’t strong enough, isn’t borrowing another’s authority a time and labor-saving approach?

 

Gu Jiuqing was summoned to the palace again by the Emperor. When he returned limping, besides bringing back an imperial physician, he also brought news.

 

Dismiss most of the servants.

 

Originally, he had bought so many servants to provide cover for those advisors. Now that this matter had been exposed, there was no need to keep so many people in the mansion.

 

For a time, everyone in the mansion was anxious.

 

Some people, after experiencing this prison ordeal, were eager to find another good household, but more were reluctant to leave. In the Crown Prince’s mansion, five people did the work of one, and even someone like Wu Luo, who was sickly and had taken a month’s leave, could live comfortably in the mansion. The food and treatment were excellent, and the master was undemanding—where else could they find a better situation?

 

Many people’s minds began to stir, thinking of finding Zhang Huairu to slip him money or send gifts, hoping their names wouldn’t appear on the dismissal list.

 

Zhang Huairu also knew this was a good opportunity to make money, but he truly had the will but lacked the strength. Having followed Gu Jiuqing the longest, he was his most trusted old retainer, so how could the Elu Bureau spare his mouth? They used eighteen kinds of torture in rotation, and when he was carried back to the mansion, Gu Jiuqing nearly shed tears.

 

In his eyes, Zhang Huairu was closer than his own father emperor.

 

Seeing his hair that had turned mostly gray, his deeply sunken cheeks, and his thighs and back without a single patch of uninjured flesh, Gu Jiuqing’s expression was unprecedentedly cold and fierce.

 

“Rest well. Don’t worry about other matters. This prince will have Yanci handle the mansion’s affairs.”

 

The benefits of serving the Crown Prince these past two days had come.

 

Pei Yanci watched impassively from the side. Hearing these words, he spoke at the right moment. “Your Highness, let Chief Steward Zhang recover well. As for organizing the mansion’s servants, why not let this servant work with Steward Yunsheng?”

 

The words of objection he was about to voice were interrupted, and Zhang Huairu looked at him in surprise.

 

He had originally intended to suggest letting Yunsheng handle this matter. Yunsheng was his godson, and this piece of fat falling into his mouth was no different from falling into his godson’s mouth.

 

However, when he heard Pei Yanci proactively bring up this matter, he instinctively felt this person had no good intentions.

 

“Yanci…”

 

“It’s just a small matter—why need two people?” Gu Jiuqing actually wanted to test Pei Yanci’s management abilities. With an extra person involved, it would be unclear who had done what.

 

Seeing the Crown Prince speak this way, Zhang Huairu immediately changed his half-spoken word, “Your Highness, such a major change is no small matter. Yanci has lost his memory and isn’t familiar with those people. Having Yunsheng cooperate would be perfect.”

 

Gu Jiuqing looked at Pei Yanci coldly and reluctantly agreed.

 

Pei Yanci held a densely written list in his hands, his gaze fixed on Steward Zhao’s name.