This bastard was getting handsy again?

There were several bruises and scratches on his finely shaped wrist.

The crown prince asked, "Didn't you apply any medicine?"

Shen Yangge's gaze wandered everywhere except toward his own hand. Something about this felt strange, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I already did."

"Then why hasn't it healed?"

[-Do you think I'm some immortal who can swallow a pill and instantly recover from an injury?]

"Your Highness, it will take a few days for these injuries to heal completely."

At that, the crown prince lightly pressed his pale lips together.

Whatever he was thinking, his eyes flickered now and then, filled with deep, dark glints.

"Does the wound on your neck still hurt?"

"...No, Your Highness. It no longer hurts."

[-Let me fucking bite you, and then you'll know whether it hurts!]

[-When will these days ever end? I want to head straight to the afterlife, right this instant.]

[-You fucking crown prince!]

"Green Willow."

The crown prince called toward the doors. A palace maid hurried inside, her face as lovely as peach blossoms and her eyes alluring.

"Your Highness, what are your orders?"

"Summon Physician Liu."

At those words, the maid abruptly raised her bowed head. Her eyes shimmered as she asked anxiously, "Your Highness, have you been injured again?"

She certainly lived up to her role as one of his unforgettable loves. Just look at those misty, sorrowful eyes and that delicate, touching expression as she spoke.

Even after this unforgettable love died, she left the crown prince with profound feelings that never faded. Readers of Century of Prosperity had even started a poll for his unforgettable loves. He remembered this maid making the list, ranking in the top three.

The crown prince said, "Must I repeat myself?"

Green Willow dropped to her knees with a thud, sobbing softly. "Your Highness, I was only... only too worried about you. Please take good care of yourself."

If someone had said that to him, he would have pulled her into his arms and gently comforted her long ago. But the crown prince...

"Green Willow, in what capacity are you speaking to me?"

His chilling voice drifted out lazily, seeming to echo through the entire hall. Perhaps it was an illusion, but even the air around them seemed to grow thinner.

Green Willow's eyes widened. Only now did she seem to remember that the man she knelt before was a brutal being who treated human lives like weeds. She trembled so badly that her words became incoherent. "Y-Your Highness, I... I... I'll summon the physician at once. At once."

She slammed her forehead against the floor several times, then scrambled up, turned, and hurried out of the hall.

[-The fucking crown prince really was a frigid, hopelessly straight bastard early on. Yet so many women still threw themselves into his arms, one after another. Tsk.]

A winner at life.

Shen Yangge snapped out of his thoughts and noticed that the other man still held his hand. Uncomfortable all over, he pulled it back and quickly added, "Your Highness, how could I trouble an imperial physician over such minor injuries? Please send someone to call Miss Green Willow back."

"What did you call her?"

"Green... Willow?"

[-You're already getting jealous? I can't even say her name?]

The crown prince scoffed and forcibly pulled him over to the seat of honor in the hall, making him sit beside him.

Sitting so close, parts of their robes overlapped. The white and pale blue looked like clouds against the sky, complementing each other perfectly.

"Where else are you injured, Scribe Shen?"

As he spoke, the crown prince reached for him. His elegant, jade-like fingertips lifted the edge of Shen Yangge's sleeve without asking, then moved to lift the hem of his robe again.

Shen Yangge hurriedly held it down. "Your Highness, I have no other injuries. There is no need for this. Besides, how could I expose so much of my lowly body to you?"

His face was animated when he spoke, entirely different from when he remained silent.

The crown prince spoke softly. "It doesn't matter."

"I don't mind how lowly you are, Scribe Shen."

[-If you don't need your mouth, donate it to someone else. Nothing good ever comes out of that filthy mouth of yours!]

Suppressing his temper, Shen Yangge continued to smile, though his words carried a distinct edge of gritted teeth. "Your Highness, I mind."

As they spoke, the imperial physician hurried in. He was an Old Imperial Physician around sixty years old, with nearly half his hair turned white. Though he looked thin and frail, he appeared quite vigorous.

The Old Imperial Physician entered the hall carrying his medicine chest. Without looking to see who sat beside the crown prince, he bowed to the prince, then reached out to take his pulse.

The crown prince withdrew his hand, his wide sleeve fluttering. "Not me. Shen Zhuanxie is injured. Sorry for the trouble, Physician Liu."

Not only Physician Liu, but also the medical apprentice accompanying him and Green Willow, who had gone to fetch him, were astonished by those words.

The crown prince had actually summoned an imperial physician for a minor official?!

Who was this minor official, and what relationship did he have with the crown prince?

Summoning an imperial physician would have been perfectly normal for any other member of the imperial family or the nobility. But when it came to the crown prince...

The crown prince loathed summoning imperial physicians more than anything. Outsiders might not know why, but Physician Liu knew all too well.

Ever since the crown prince developed his madness, he had sought out countless treatments. None had worked. Neither imperial physicians nor miracle doctors could do anything for him.

Over time, the more medicine the crown prince took, the less willing he became to seek treatment. Whenever he lost his senses, he would shut himself away somewhere and dismiss everyone, facing it alone.

Rumor among the common people had it that a miracle doctor had long since cured the crown prince's madness, and countless people firmly believed it. At first, Physician Liu had thought nothing of it either. Only when he saw the crown prince one afternoon, covered in wounds and gouging his own flesh with a knife, did he realize the truth.

The crown prince's illness had never been cured.

He was even willing to hurt himself just to gain a brief moment of clarity.

Seeing the Old Imperial Physician staring blankly at him, Shen Yangge said, "...Physician Liu?"

"My apologies. My mind wandered. Shen Zhuanxie, please uncover your wounds so I can examine them."

As he spoke, the Old Imperial Physician reached out and took Shen Yangge's pulse. After a long while, he released his wrist. "Aside from deficient qi and blood, insufficient vital energy, and a few longstanding ailments, everything else is normal, Scribe Shen."

Shen Yangge lifted his sleeve, exposing his bruised hand.

"Have... have you applied any medicine to these injuries, Scribe Shen?"

"I have."

Physician Liu narrowed his eyes before finally saying:

"Next time, you must be more careful. You cannot afford any more injuries from blows. Your body is overly sensitive. Even a slight superficial injury can have very serious consequences if you carelessly neglect it."

Shen Yangge was about to reply, but the crown prince spoke first. "Can he be cured, Physician Liu?"

Physician Liu nodded. "Of course. These are only minor injuries."

"Little Bamboo Shoot, stay here and decoct the medicine for Scribe Shen. I'll write a prescription. Take it to the Imperial Medical Bureau and collect the herbs. Remember, the quantities must be exact, neither too much nor too little."

The young apprentice beside him hastily nodded. "Yes, Physician Liu."

Fortunately, Physician Liu did not ask to examine any other wounds. Shen Yangge breathed a sigh of relief, having also gained a general understanding of the original owner's body.

It seemed the original owner had good reason to fear punishment. His body was far too "frail."