Chapter 86

Chapter 86: Seeking Medicine (2)

The guqin string in Cold Jiu's hand vibrated, emitting a deafening sound. She slightly narrowed her eyes, "How severe is the injury?"

"It's said to be a deep, bone-visible wound on his leg. The Princess Consort of De was so frightened that she fainted!"

"Understood, you may leave."

"Yes!"

After Du Heng left, Cold Jiu again plucked the strings, a monotonous note leaping from her fingertips. She stopped after a while, sighing deeply: "Really, one after another, none of them give me peace of mind."

That evening, Long Yue Li came again. As soon as they met, he mentioned Hua Jin Zhi's injury. Seeing no change in Cold Jiu's expression, he couldn't help but be puzzled: "Aren't you worried at all?"

Cold Jiu looked at him curiously, "Why should I worry?"

Long Yue Li raised his eyebrows mischievously: "Isn't that young man quite favored by you? You personally attended his coming-of-age ceremony, not only crowning him but also gifting him hairpins and sharing his joyful wine. Now that he's injured, why aren't you concerned?"

"He has a bunch of people concerned about him. Even if he were to die, it wouldn't be my turn to cry!" Cold Jiu said indifferently.

Long Yue Li twitched his eyelid, unable to muster any jealousy. He sighed and embraced Cold Jiu: "How could I forget that you're heartless and cold? I was foolish to expect you to worry, what a waste of energy!"

Cold Jiu remained silent. Suddenly, Long Yue Li seriously lifted her chin and asked, "Hey! If one day I were to die, would you feel sad?"

Cold Jiu coolly replied, "I'll burn a few peerless beauties to accompany you in the afterlife, so you won't be lonely down there!"

Long Yue Li's face darkened: "Can't you say something human?"

"I am speaking human language, it's just that you don't understand!"

"Heartless creature!" Long Yue Li bit her cheek angrily, not satisfied with one bite, he continued until Cold Jiu couldn't bear it anymore and burst out, "You brute, are you a dog?"

"Wrong! I'm born in the year of the ox, intending to chew and swallow this grass of yours!"

"You do have self-awareness, knowing that you're getting old!"

Unable to outwit Cold Jiu, Long Yue Li pinned her down, a mischievous smile on his lips: "I may be an old ox, but I'll make sure to eat this grass with dew on it completely clean!"

Cold Jiu, speechless, raised her hand to push him away, but Long Yue Li caught it, leaning in close with a husky, sighing voice, "Jiu'er! It's been five days, holding it in any longer might kill someone!"

Cold Jiu's heart fluttered, and in that moment of distraction, Long Yue Li leaned down and kissed her lips.

A warm night beneath the spring canopy, unaware of the passing time!

The next morning, when Cold Jiu tried to get up, she felt her whole body stiffen. Rage flared instantly, almost grinding her teeth to bleeding, "Long Yue Li! Wait for me to strangle you!"

"Achoo!" Back in his mansion, Long Yue Li sneezed loudly. He didn't need to guess to know that Cold Jiu was cursing him. He smiled helplessly, rubbing his forehead: "This is bad! I didn't restrain myself last night, who knows how many days of abstinence I'll have to endure now!"

When Zi Yu entered, she saw Cold Jiu with eyes full of rage, looking as if she could devour someone. Approaching cautiously, she asked, "Empress! What's wrong?"

It took a while for Cold Jiu to close her eyes and force down her anger. She got up, grabbed a robe to wrap around herself, and said coldly, "Prepare clothes for me. I need to bathe."

Zi Yu, noticing Cold Jiu’s foul mood, obediently responded, "Right away, Your Highness."

After dismissing the other maids, Cold Jiu stepped into the bath. The warm water enveloped her, slightly easing her stiff body. She didn't undress, but even so, she knew that her body must be a sight, cursed Long Yue Li. If he were here now, she would definitely castrate him!

But having learned a lesson, Cold Jiu realized that men, especially those shameless and impervious ones, should never be indulged or trusted with their promises.

After her bath, Cold Jiu’s mood stabilized. Qing Li prepared a meal, and Cold Jiu, actually feeling hungry, ate half a bowl more than usual.

Just as she was about to return to bed for a rest, a third-class maid in green, with her head lowered, approached, "Your Highness, I am Xiang Ming."

Cold Jiu paused, "What is it?"

Xiang Ming presented a jar of ointment to Cold Jiu, "This is from my master. He said it will alleviate the pain if applied."

Boom! Cold Jiu's suppressed anger instantly erupted. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, fury rising. Terrified, Xiang Ming froze, wanting to flee, but Cold Jiu didn't give her a chance, grabbing her shoulder and sneering, "Tell your master, I want to castrate him. It's his choice – does he do it himself, or shall I?"

Xiang Ming, frightened, looked at Cold Jiu, "Is there a difference?"

"Of course!" Cold Jiu's smile grew colder, "If he does it himself, he'll suffer less. If I do it, I’ll ensure he wishes he were dead."

Xiang Ming opened her mouth but couldn't speak.

Cold Jiu pinched her cheek gently, "Pass my message nicely, understand?"

Xiang Ming nodded instinctively.

It wasn't long before Long Yue Li learned of Cold Jiu's words, every single one of them. He sighed deeply. For his safety, it seemed best to stay away for a while!

Still fuming at Long Yue Li, Cold Jiu went back to bed. With her body so exhausted she couldn’t even squash an ant, what else could she do but sleep?

She woke up at noon, just in time for lunch. Cold Jiu had Zi Yu massage her again. Even after such a long sleep, she felt too lazy to move.

"Zi Yu, I've noticed your massage skills have improved a lot lately!" Cold Jiu said, eyes half-closed in comfort.

Zi Yu giggled, "I've been massaging Your Highness every day. Recently, I even consulted the royal physician about the most effective acupressure points and practiced what he taught."

Cold Jiu nodded, "Good job. There's a reward if you do well. Ah, a bit lower, my waist is still sore."

In the cool afternoon breeze, Cold Jiu had Du Heng move the daybed to the Hundred Flowers Garden. She lay down directly among the blossoms, right in front of a cluster of peonies, which soon scattered into a flurry of petals.

Although still tired, Cold Jiu couldn’t sleep. Lazing on the daybed, she waved for the gardeners to bring more flowers for her to destroy.

Zi Yu watched the scattered petals with dismay, but with Cold Jiu clearly in a bad mood, she dared not intervene.

"Empress!" Du Heng entered with a feather duster, "Empress, Consort Hua requests an audience."

Cold Jiu paused, playing with the petals, "No. I'm not in the mood."

"Understood," Du Heng left, but returned shortly, "Consort Hua is kneeling outside the great hall, insisting on seeing you with urgent matters."