Physician Liu finished writing the prescription. As he looked up, he caught sight of the wound suddenly exposed on Shen Yangge's neck.
That wound was far worse than the one on his hand. It was a horrifying sight.
With an injury like that, why hadn't Shen Zhuanxie reacted at all, or even mentioned it?
"The wound on your neck looks much worse than the one on your hand, Shen Zhuanxie. Why didn't you tell me beforehand? I nearly treated this as a minor injury."
Physician Liu sighed and reached out to touch it, but the Crown Prince's hand was already there. Pinching the collar between two fingers, he turned it outward.
A large patch of blue, red, and purple lay beneath. Those marks didn't look like they had come from a bump or a knock. They looked more like...
Physician Liu was inwardly startled, but he quickly realized there was more to this than he had imagined. His expression immediately turned serious. "Little Bamboo Shoot, get out the Spring Balm and the silver needles."
The boy nodded, took the case from beside the physician, released the lock, and opened it, taking out the things Physician Liu had requested.
He laid them out in order.
"Shen Zhuanxie, I'll use acupuncture to disperse the pooled blood."
Shen Yangge instinctively looked toward the Crown Prince, who stood there unmoved.
The Crown Prince cast him a haughty sidelong glance and withdrew his hand. "Why are you looking at me? Physician Liu, proceed."
[-Right, why am I looking at you, you damned f*cking Crown Prince? Even I can't figure out who bit me anymore.]
[-Why didn't you just bite me to death back then? Hadn't you eaten, you bastard?]
Physician Liu ignored the pair's excessively "close and affectionate" behavior and calmly picked up his silver needles to begin treating Shen Yangge.
After a few needles, much of the pooled blood had finally dispersed, and the wound no longer looked so grotesquely conspicuous.
With his wound treated, Shen Yangge felt considerably better. Although he was determined to die, it had to be painless. Every time he accidentally touched one of his injuries, the pain made him bare his teeth and grimace.
Physician Liu removed the silver needles and picked up the Spring Balm. After a moment's hesitation, he still held it out to the Crown Prince. "Your Highness, this ointment is very effective at dispersing pooled blood. Apply it once a day."
The Crown Prince asked, "When?"
Physician Liu replied, "After washing and bathing."
Shen Yangge: "??"
[-Wait, why are you giving my medicine to that damned f*cking Crown Prince?]
[-And why is he asking for such precise instructions? Is he planning to add some poison to it?]
The Crown Prince nodded. "Mm."
Physician Liu left the boy behind, bowed to the Crown Prince, and took his leave. Before going, he warned the boy not to listen to anything he shouldn't hear or look at anything he shouldn't see.
Once the physician had stepped out of the hall and gradually disappeared into the distance, the Crown Prince walked to the desk, apparently intending to write something. He had only just picked up his brush when he addressed Shen Yangge, who stood beside him ready to take notes:
"Shen Zhuanxie, you will stay at the Eastern Palace for the next few days. I'll send someone with a letter to your mother."
The notebook in Shen Yangge's hand dropped to the floor with a smack.
"Your Highness, this... this isn't quite proper."
His voice was a little dry as he struggled to conceal his unwillingness. If only he didn't have to stay in character...
System 615: [Host, you must hold it in. Electric shocks really hurt.]
The Crown Prince said, "Here, I am the rules." His tone brooked no refusal, and his dark gaze was sinister and fathomless.
Shen Yangge was speechless. Wasn't this just the ancient version of a domineering CEO?
System 615: [Host, is there something seriously wrong with the male lead?]
If there weren't something seriously wrong with him, he wouldn't have said something so insane.
And just like that, without quite knowing how it had happened, Shen Yangge ended up staying at the Eastern Palace. Perhaps because he had already spent a night there, he actually felt it was no big deal. It wasn't as if he would be sharing a room with the Crown Prince.
Once the palace maids finished arranging the bedding, Shen Yangge lay down. This bed was smaller than the one in the Crown Prince's bedchamber, but larger than the one the original owner of his body had slept in at the Shen Residence.
Nothing hurt quite like a comparison.
The original owner really hadn't been welcome at the Shen Residence.
Perhaps he had wanted to move out long ago but never had the chance. Later, after offending the Crown Prince, he had been punished to death by his own father.
The original owner had only been a half-grown boy. Although he was usually a little spoiled and willful, he hadn't been rotten to the core. Why had Shen Zhi disliked him so much?
As he pondered this, someone knocked on the door. Assuming it was a palace maid or servant, Shen Yangge gave an offhand response.
When the footsteps drew closer, he propped up his upper body. "Have you come to bring..." Before he could finish saying "my meal," he caught sight of the Crown Prince's sinister, aristocratic face.
"Your Highness?"
"Shen Zhuanxie, I will spend the night here."
The Crown Prince stood as straight as a pine, one hand behind his back. If not for his overpowering presence, he might have looked like a learned scholar.
[-What is wrong with you? Instead of sleeping in that huge bed in your own bedchamber, you came here to squeeze into this little wooden bed with me?]
[-How old are you? Or are you planning to attack me secretly tonight, skin me and rip out my tendons, then turn me into a delicious pork belly dish?]
Shen Yangge could bear it no longer. "Your Highness, how could I allow you to lower yourself by staying here? Besides, this room is nowhere near as safe as your own bedchamber."
He only wanted a quiet, restful night's sleep, preferably without the Crown Prince or any assassins beside him.
The displeasure on his face vanished almost immediately, but the Crown Prince still caught it. That face ought to display such vivid expressions, rather than nothing but false deference.
"Only at my side will you be safe, Shen Zhuanxie."
[-Bullshit. Do you think I'm stupid?]
[-Being beside you is clearly the most dangerous place of all. If you killed me, that would be one thing, but you won't kill me. You just threaten me with punishment instead.]
[-You're not even human.]
The Crown Prince asked, "Do you not trust me, Shen Zhuanxie?"
"I wouldn't dare, Your Highness."
"In that case, you may try it for the first half of the night."
Shen Yangge was ecstatic for an instant, then immediately answered solemnly, "It is my misfortune that I cannot remain at Your Highness's side to serve you. I shall reflect deeply on this tonight."
The Crown Prince seemed to smile, but the movement was so slight that Shen Yangge gave it no further thought.
After eating dinner in the main hall, Shen Yangge returned to his quarters, intending to take a bath and cool off.
Once he had bathed and dressed, a palace maid summoned Shen Yangge to the Crown Prince's bedchamber.
Terrified that a certain someone might regret his earlier decision at any moment, Shen Yangge spent the walk thinking of ways to refuse to share a bed with him.
Upon arriving at the bedchamber, Shen Yangge cupped his hands and bowed to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince wore dark, ink-colored underclothes that day and seemed to have just finished bathing. His hair hung loose, its smooth black strands sliding over his shoulders and chest.
"Shen Zhuanxie, come sit up here."
"Your Highness, I'm fine standing."
His first impression of this bed had been terrible. He hoped never to touch it again for as long as he lived.
Unfortunately, that wish could not come true.
The Crown Prince said, "Shen Zhuanxie."
"Your Highness, it would be improper."
After his repeated refusals, the Crown Prince's straight brows drew together. Although he displayed no obvious displeasure, the faint chill in his presence seemed to tell Shen Yangge, "Are you coming up here or not? If you won't, I'll drag you up myself."
(Tonight's update was a little late. Please send update reminders! Please don't stockpile chapters, or this author will be done for. Please leave five-star ratings and send free little gifts! (＞﹏＜))
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