After the Sickly Beauty Transmigrated Into a Book, He Married the Arrogant Crown Prince – Chapter 14
Pei Ji's face was indifferent throughout, it was as if he hadn't head anything at all.
At this time, Qu Lan stepped in from outside, immediately interrupting Xiao Yun's words. He hung his head low and said, "Your Highness."
Zhang Bo stood aside and saw Qu Lan, knowing that something was probably wrong. His Royal Highness has always disliked the presence of too many people at his meals, and even more so, he avoids being interrupted.
Pei Ji was still having his meal and asked, "What is it?"
"Ce-jun suddenly started a high fever just now, it seems like he's not doing too well. Dr. Tan has already rushed over." Qu Lan replied.
Pei Ji was drinking soup, and before he could say anything, Xiao Yun had already begun to yell in dissatisfaction, "It's just a fever, what's all the fuss about? Besides, the physicians have already gone. Don’t you see that Ji-gege is still having his meal?!"
Qu Lan did not reply, still standing with his head hanging down.
Pei Ji was silent for a split second and said to Qu Lan, "Go and see what's going on."
"Yes, Your Highness." Qu Lan immediately retreated.
Xiao Yun was originally still sulking because the guards just ignored him, and once he heard Pei Ji's words, he immediately glared at Qu Lan. "Hmph, it's useless for you to come and report, Ji-gege won't go to see him!"
Zhang Bo stood on the side, listening to the young marquis’ words, shaking his head in his heart. The little marquis is still too young, still childish. He has known His Highness the Crown Prince for all these years but not understanding His Highness in the slightest.
As a personal guard, Qu Lan has been with His Highness for ten years, and even went to the battlefield with His Highness back then. His Highness trusts him far more than anyone else. If he was just going to take a look at the situation, there would be no need for Qu Lan to go over there personally for such a small matter.
Isn't the intent of this move obvious?
Inside the main room of the Yannuan Pavilion, the young master on the bed was wrinkling his eyebrows due to pain, and his jade-like face was covered with beads of sweat. Tan Tian took his pulse, his face becoming more and more grave.
"Dr. Tan, what's wrong with my master?" Li Liansheng asked anxiously from the side.
"The old illness, the new injury, and depression… All these things came together. This illness is truly fatal."
Tan Tian had been practicing medicine for more than twenty years, and as soon as he touched his pulse, he knew that this person's life would not be long, and that even the Greatest Immortals would not be able to save him when the time came. However, when he felt a pair of torch-like eyes staring, he was afraid that as soon as he said the words, he would be the first to go.
Ling Feng was incredulous, his eyebrows raised, "Song... My master has always been in a good state of mind, always bickering with me! How can he suddenly have depression, huh?!"
Tan Tian didn't know how to explain it to him, and could only try to ask, "Generally speaking, a sudden encounter with a major accident, or something that is difficult to accept, will trigger this symptom. Has Ce-jun encountered anything recently?"
Ling Feng wrinkled his eyebrows and pondered for a while, although Song Beiyao cried in the morning, it was just a dream, so it wasn't like he had suffered any major accidents, right?
It's just a dream. What unacceptable thing could’ve happened in that dream?
Ling Feng shook his head, "I… No, there’s probably nothing."
Tan Tian sighed, "Then, this old doctor will try a prescription first."
In the dark snowy night, the green colored figure quickly left the Yannuan Pavilion and came to Pei Ji's study.
"Your Highness." Qu Lan half-kneeled on the ground, "Ce-jun is not doing well."
Pei Ji kept circling and writing on the case in his hands and asked, "Why so sudden?"
Qu Lan replied, "Dr. Tan claimed that the old disease was lingering, the new injury had not healed, and suddenly the heart was depressed, so he fell ill."
"Depressed?" Pei Ji lifted the curtains of his eyes, "Did he say the reason?"
Qu Lan shook his head, "Dr. Tan said that he might have suffered something recently. What exactly, that little servant beside the young master couldn't say."
Pei Ji put down his paperwork, "Who has he seen recently?"
"According to the guards guarding the Smoke Warming Pavilion, in addition to the underlings who look after the courtyard on a daily basis, the young marquis went to visit the young master about two days ago. After that, no one else visited."
Qu Lan thought for a moment and continued, "Could it be Marquis Xiao? I listened to the guards, and they mentioned that Marquis Xiao went to see Ce-jun the first day he arrived at the mansion. He was also quite arrogant when he visited Ce-jun at the Yannuan Pavilion. If he said something to seriously injure Ce-jun, it's not impossible."
Qu Lan finished his speech, the study was quiet, he looked up at Pei Ji, only to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looking at him with a slightly cold face, "Qu Lan, do you still remember what this king has said to you?"
Qu Lan's heart tightened, realizing that the words he had just used were too subjective. As a guard, when reporting information, one should use an objective and neutral tone, rather than subjective emotions, so as not to have an effect on the receiver.
"It is this servant's fault, I shouldn't have arbitrarily speculated about Marquis Xiao." Qu Lan knelt on both legs and said, "Please punish me how you see fit, Your Highness."
"You didn't mean it, go out and receive five blows from the military clubs, then summon Zhang Bo here." Pei Ji closed his eyes and raised his hand to press his brow.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Zhang Bo quickly stepped into the study and hung his head, "Your Highness."
Pei Ji opened his mouth and asked, "Zhang Bo, did Xiao Yun ever say anything in front of you in these few days?"
His question was not clear, so Zhang Bo could only answer vaguely, "I've heard many of them, about His Highness and about Ce-jun, which aspect is Your Highness asking about?"
"About Ce-jun." Pei Ji said.
Zhang Bo understood. "Your Highness, you know the nature of the young marquis. He said on his lips that he doesn't want to see the young master, but he won't really do anything out of the ordinary. However, this old slave has always heard him mention that when he returns home, he is going to make the Marquis Nan'an request a decree from the Emperor so that he can marry into the Crown Prince’s residence and become the Crown Prince’s Princess Consort."
Pei Ji sniffed and opened his eyes, "Is he always bringing up this matter?"
Zhang Bo nodded his head, "And every time he mentioned it, he swore an oath, so this old slave couldn't say anything more."
Pei Ji was silent for a moment, stood up, and walked towards the outside: "Zhang Bo, come with this king."
Zhang Bo didn't ask where he was going and immediately followed.
......
Song Beiyao dreamed that he was walking in a desert that was deserted.
There was sand all around him, as far as the eye could see, with the hot sun overhead and the burning sand beneath his feet, and he was tired, hungry, thirsty, and boiling hot.
At that moment, a figure appeared from afar, getting closer and closer, holding Song Beiyao up as he was about to fall.
He saw the man's face and muttered out under his breath, “Qin Zhen…”
Inside the main house of the Smoke and Warmth Pavilion, the young man’s pained expression gradually faded, then his eyes moved from side to side and opened with difficulty.
His gaze was lax at first, revealing a hint of bewilderment, then shifted to unfamiliarity when he saw the person sitting beside the bed, and soon, he closed his eyes and reopened them, returning to his usual appearance.
"Husband." Song Beiyao's voice was dry and hoarse beyond recognition.
At this time it was already midnight, the rest of the people in the room had retired, leaving only Pei Ji and Zhang Bo.
Zhang Bo stood a little farther away, leaving some space for the two.
Pei Ji lowered his eyes to look at Song Beiyao's face, his cheeks were flushed with an abnormal redness. He burned so much that his eyes were flooded with watery light, and the corners of his eyes were all red, and his whole face was even more compelling with that tear mole dotting it.
After Song Beiyao woke up, he coughed a few times and directly coughed up blood. Pei Ji took a handkerchief and just reached out to hand it over, but the young master subconsciously ducked back a bit.
In a breath, both of them were slightly stunned. Pei Ji placed the handkerchief on the pillow, while Song Beiyao also weakly avoided Pei Ji’s line of sight and said, "Husband, you might be infected by me."
Pei Ji quietly watched for a while. Song Beiyao has been different these past few days. When he saw him yesterday, his state was one of fear and panic, but today there was a faint hint of loss and sadness between the young master’s eyebrows.
Instead, it did fit with what Tan Tian had said about the depression in his heart and his mood swings.
As for the reason for the depression, Pei Ji thought that besides the possibility that Xiao Yun had said something, perhaps it was also related to his distrust with Song Beiyao, and the torture he had endured that night.
After all, Song Beiyao had helped him a few times and treated him with great care. Pei Ji wouldn’t just stand there and watch Ce-jun die, so he opened his mouth and said, "This king heard that Xiao Yun came to your yard that day."
Song Beiyao let out a soft 'mhm'.
Zhang Bo immediately picked up the conversation from the side, "Ce-jun, if Marquis Xiao has said anything to you, don't take it to heart, it doesn't count."
Song Beiyao's head was burning and he was drowsy, so he didn't react to what they were saying at all, and it wasn't good to ask more questions, so he said, "Got it."
His voice was very nasally, his eyes opened and closed with difficulty, and he looked humanly exhausted.
Pei Ji didn't stay much, got up and said, "This one has retracted the order for the guards. From now on, you can freely come and go."
Song Beiyao's tone was gloomy, "Many thanks, husband."
After Pei Ji left, Song Beiyao let out a long sigh of relief. The system popped out with extraordinarily excitement, [I seem to be able to see a little bit now, host. If you didn’t take the opportunity to gain some Qi Luck Value on such a good opportunity this time, is it again on purpose! I recently learned a new word called 'push and pull'!]
Song Beiyao closed his eyes and buried his face between the pillows, his voice muffled, "Not this time."
He's just simply a little tired, and he's using his illness as an excuse to be passive-aggressive today.
-
Song Beiyao's condition didn't improve by the second day.
In the evening, the dining hall. Xiao Yun looked at the table full of sumptuous dishes, all kinds of delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and said in surprise, "Ji-gege, you didn’t prepare this for me, did you? In previous years, your birthday was always the same as usual."
When he said this, Pei Ji had just stepped into the dining hall from the outside, his body was heavy with cold air and his face was particularly cold. Xiao Yun cupped his own face with his two hands, his heart blossoming with joy “Ji-gege is too handsome! He is too manly! I'll marry Ji-gege!"
Pei Ji unwrapped his snow-stained black cloak, and Zhang Bo immediately stepped forward to take it, respectfully saying, "There's news from the Yannuan Pavilion. Ce-jun’s body hasn't recuperated yet today, and he can't get out of bed, so he won't be coming over for the evening meal."
Pei Ji did not have too much emotion on his face, and his eyebrows and eyes were still caged with the icy coldness that he brought in from the outside. "Got it."
He turned around and sat at the table. Xiao Yun joyfully sat near with his bowl, but Pei Ji then changed his seat and sat opposite him.
Xiao Yun pouted his lips, about to have a little tantrum again.
"Marquis Xiao, don't be angry. When eating his meals, his highness doesn’t like people with him. He also doesn’t like others leaning close to him. Today is his birthday so we can't break the rule. Being on the same table as him is already very good." Zhang Bo comforted Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun's anger suddenly subsided, "That's true…"
At this time, Qu Lan walked in and bowed his, saying, "Your Highness, Ce-jun sent something over."
Xiao Yun sniffed and wrinkled his brows, "What tricks is he trying to pull again!"
"Bring it in." Pei Ji said.
Soon, Ling Feng walked in with a food box and bowed towards Pei Ji, "Your Highness, my master said that he could not come to the dining hall to accompany Your Highness for his birthday today, and that he regretted it in his heart. He ordered this servant to send this plate of pear blossom crisps as a token of his apology."
As soon as Xiao Yun saw Ling Feng come in, his eyes glazed over. "Why are you here?"
After hearing what Ling Feng had said, he rolled his eyes, "Che, what did I expect? I thought it was something good, but it’s just some Pear Blossom Crisps..." Then he reached out and waved his hand, "Don’t you even look at what’s on the table!"
"Open it." Pei Ji said.
"Yes, Your Highness." Ling Feng opened the lid of the food box and brought out a round plate from it. At first glance, the disk looked like it had a flower on it, and upon further inspection, the flower was a collage of five small flowers, which was exquisite and beautiful.
"These are Pear Blossom Crisps made in the shape of a flower!" Zhang Bo exclaimed from the side.
Xiao Yun glanced at it from afar and snorted out a laugh once again, "I’ve seen many Pear Blossom Crips like this outside."
"Your Highness, the shape of these Pear Blossom Crisps was made by the young master himself, and the recipe was also something he came up with and gave to the catering room to prepare. It took several tries to make the effect he wanted." Ling Feng said.
Pei Ji looked at it with downcast eyes. The petals are round and full, forming natural petal splits on the sides, the stamens are embellished with tender yellow streamers, and each flower is sprinkled with fine pear blossoms.
He reached for one and took a small bite. It tasted sweet and dense, and the scent of pear blossoms quickly overflowed his mouth and nose.
Pei Ji narrowed his eyes slightly.
Only a very small number of people knew about his love of Pear Blossom Crisps. I think Song Beiyao had specifically sought out people to inquire about it, but it was thoughtful.
Ling Feng spoke again, "Your Highness, my master also said that Your Highness's birthday is a joyous event, and those around you should be dipped in the joy as well. So these five pieces of Pear Blossom Crisps are so that Zhang Bo, Qu Lan, and Marquis Xiao all have a share."
He paused briefly, "Your Highness gets two pieces."
Xiao Yun slapped the table, "Who wants to eat this crap pastry! Song Beiyao is really desperate. Sending five desserts over and making his own arrangements…"
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