Old Ailment of a Salted Fish

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Li Wenchuan's pupils contracted slightly as he stared at the man leaning over him. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Yu'an, were you trying to knock me out again just now?"

he said.

Did I hear wrong? Jiang Hansheng had always called him Li Wenchuan... But now, if he had known who I was from the beginning, why didn't he acknowledge me?

Did he not want to, or was he unsure?

Li Wenchuan felt like his mind was a complete mess. He could not help dwelling on the worst possibility—what if Jiang Chengyu simply did not want to acknowledge him?

He gave a bitter smile. Of course... What era was this? There were no longer any monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons. The principles governing ruler and subject existed only on the yellowed pages of ancient books, reduced to textbook material.

In such a free age, why should he still uphold the duty of a subject and bow his head in submission?

Who would not want freedom, especially Jiang Chengyu, who had served as regent for so many years?

He had died, so he did not know what Jiang Chengyu had ultimately become. People changed. His imperial father had once been a wise and virtuous ruler, yet later he had not spent every day swallowing pills and drowning himself in debauchery?

He had always thought his imperial father would remain like that for the rest of his life. It was not until the night of the assassination attempt that he learned the aged emperor had merely chosen to hide his brilliance, choosing the life he enjoyed from atop the pinnacle of power.

And Jiang Chengyu? He had stood at the height of power, The Outcast beneath one man and above ten thousand.

Perhaps Jiang Chengyu could not help but laugh when he saw him now. The Son of Heaven of old was now nothing more than an obscure minor celebrity. As time passed, their statuses had become worlds apart.

Li Wenchuan, what the hell are you now?

"Yu'an, what's wrong?" A misty film clouded Jiang Hansheng's eyes, making it difficult for him to see clearly, but he would always remember who stood before him.

Of course, if he had truly been sober, he would not have done something this wild.

"I..." Li Wenchuan wanted to ask whether he remembered him, and if so, why he had pretended not to know anything.

Yu'an. How many years had it been... Wenchuan was the name his birth mother often called him, but ever since he became crown prince, she had called him "Crown Prince" whenever she saw him. Later, when he became emperor, his mother called him "Your Majesty."

Only Jiang Chengyu had called him "Your Highness" at first, then continued to call him "Yu'an" in private. Even after he became emperor, that bond had never faded.

Status and power had always cost him too much. Even his birth mother had grown distant in the end. Especially after his imperial father died, she often shut herself in her room. If he came to visit, she would have someone tell him, "Your Majesty, please concern yourself more with the affairs of the realm."

The court officials urged him to select consorts several times, but the Empress Dowager never intervened even once.

"Jiang Chengyu, did you know everything from the very beginning?"

Li Wenchuan closed his eyes and waited for judgment, as though he stood in a courtroom.

But after a long while, there was no answer. Then, after some time, he felt the person on top of him slowly lower himself, rest his head in the hollow of Li Wenchuan's neck, and nuzzle lightly against him.

Li Wenchuan did not dare move. His entire body went stiff.

"I told you, don't casually call this prince by name." The person beside his ear spoke, every word accompanied by warm breath that tickled him.

"..."

Right. The mushrooms were not to be underestimated.

As Jiang Hansheng said this, his hands did not stop moving. He grabbed the blanket beside them and covered Li Wenchuan's legs, then placed his large hand over Li Wenchuan's knee and gently rubbed it a few times.

"Your knee has an old ailment. Why don't you know to take better care of yourself? Even in summer, you mustn't indulge in the cold."

After saying that, he pulled the blanket up a little higher.

It was true. Night had deepened, and once the temperature dropped, even the wind turned cold, raising goosebumps across his skin.

Li Wenchuan was speechless. After a moment, he said, "That was all from my previous life..."

Again, there was no response for quite a while. The hand covering his knee had gone still as well. When he turned his head to look, the person beside him had already closed his eyes, his breathing steady. He was clearly sleeping soundly.

Li Wenchuan: "..."

Even after Li Wenchuan shoved him off, he continued sleeping heavily without the slightest reaction.

He had probably drunk alcohol and vomited several times, leaving him exhausted and uncomfortable. He had fallen asleep incredibly fast.

Li Wenchuan could not move such a large man anyway, so he decided to make do for the night. The bed was a little small, and it was rather cramped with two people lying on it. There was no air conditioning in the countryside, but fortunately, the nighttime temperature was low, making it quite comfortable.

Li Wenchuan went to turn off the light, pulled some of the blanket over Jiang Hansheng, then lay down properly and prepared to sleep.

Even through the mosquito net, he could vaguely hear mosquitoes buzzing as they searched for food. They were probably angry that they could not get in. Normally, Li Wenchuan would not have cared, but tonight he was truly irritated. He sprang upright and turned on the light.

He lifted the mosquito net and sat outside it. Sure enough, the mosquitoes came over before long.

The mosquitoes had thought they were in for a feast, but before they could land, they were caught by a Shadowless Hand. Even the shadow on the wall left afterimages. If there had been a camera, it probably could not have captured Li Wenchuan's hand speed even in slow motion.

If netizens saw this, they would surely call it special effects or a publicity stunt. What martial arts? That was all stuff from movies and television, meant to fool children.

A roomful of mosquitoes was wiped out in no time.

Li Wenchuan opened his left hand. A little mountain sat in his palm—green ones, patterned ones, and black ones. What a feast.

It was not practical to keep holding them. He glanced back at Jiang Hansheng, who was sleeping soundly, and his anger flared. He raised his foot and kicked him. Jiang Hansheng merely grunted, rolled over, and continued sleeping.

"..." Damn it.

How could he waste a whole handful of mosquitoes? He unlatched the main hall door. Coo Coo was sleeping soundly outside in the chicken coop.

Why was everyone sleeping so well?

He turned on his phone flashlight. Thinking it was dawn, Coo Coo began to open its eyes. Li Wenchuan mercilessly poked it awake, held his left hand out before it, and smiled. "Eat."

Coo Coo ate that late-night snack, which had descended upon it like an unexpected disaster, almost entirely on bird instinct.

If it could speak human language, it would probably have cursed him out several times.

Coo Coo: Fuck you!

Once the mosquitoes had been eaten, Li Wenchuan finally felt a little better. He stroked Coo Coo's head and said gently, "Sleep, child."

Coo Coo: "..."

Coo Coo: "Cluck cluck cluck..."

Li Wenchuan: "I told you to sleep." :).

"...Cluck." Fine, fine. Did this man take the wrong medicine?

He went back, locked the door, washed his hands, turned off the light, and lay down—all in one smooth sequence—but he could not sleep :).

At that moment, Jiang Hansheng rolled over again, placed a hand over his knee, and murmured in his sleep, "It'll get better..."

For some reason, those three words made more than half of Li Wenchuan's anger vanish at once.

In his previous life, Li Wenchuan's leg had carried an old ailment. Whenever it rained or winter came, the pain pierced to the bone. He had summoned countless renowned physicians and skilled healers, but none could cure it. Later, Jiang Hansheng said he had found a wandering doctor who specialized in this sort of condition and had a modest reputation among the common people, then immediately went to invite him.

Li Wenchuan had readily agreed, but no one expected that before the doctor arrived, the patient would be gone.

"Thank you for your trouble," Li Wenchuan murmured.

People were forgetful. The newly appointed chief eunuch had wanted to curry favor with him, but they were not familiar with each other. Other than Jiang Chengyu, Li Wenchuan had no reliable old acquaintances by his side. He had never intended to fight for the throne; he had been forcibly pushed onto it. Everything in the imperial palace had been new to him.

"After two lifetimes, how do you still remember..."