Chapter 8 The Comatose Prince Awakens

Chapter 8: The Vegetative Prince Wakes Up

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Hu popped the pill into his mouth and swallowed it. Instantly, he felt the bone-deep pain in his body vanish.

He tore open the gauze wrapped around his wound to take a look—the bleeding had stopped, and the wound even showed signs of beginning to heal.

Chen Hu's heart swelled with joy. *This is incredible*, he thought.

Little did he know, the pill he had taken was made by Ji Yuntang with the addition of spiritual spring water, and its healing effects were several times better than those sold outside.

While feeling delighted, Chen Hu couldn't help but start to wonder: Could this luck-bringing bride, Ji Yuntang, actually revive Prince Ye?

If she could truly help Prince Ye recover, then following her in the future might not be such a bad deal after all.

Oblivious to his thoughts, Ji Yuntang walked to the center of the courtyard, drew a basin of water, and washed her hands.

"Chen Hu, I've got a job for you, right now."

"I want you to deliver the Ice Stone Bed from the Prince's quarters in Jinghong Courtyard to Prince Chen's mansion exactly as it is. Make sure you hand it to Prince Chen in person and bring him a message."

"Tell him: 'This bed is extremely costly. If Your Highness Prince Chen likes it, then I, the Princess Consort, have decided to gift it to you. I hope you sleep on it every night, so as not to waste my expectations of you.'"

Ji Yuntang was someone who repaid every slight. Since she had said last night that she would send this bed to Prince Chen's mansion, she would definitely have someone deliver it to Luo Sinian.

Regardless of his intentions toward Luo Junhe, Ji Yuntang did not want him to repeatedly use the pretext of helping Luo Junhe to do things that harmed him.

She was determined to save him.

But she was equally determined not to let anyone who stood in her way get off scot-free.

"Yes, Your Highness. This subordinate will go deliver the bed to Prince Chen right away."

After saying this, Chen Hu headed to Jinghong Courtyard. Ji Yuntang was still wondering where to find him a couple of helpers.

After all, that Ice Stone Bed was made from stone buried under the Arctic glaciers for thousands of years. It was bitterly cold and incredibly heavy, weighing at least over a thousand *jin* (roughly 1,300 pounds). Ordinary people simply couldn't lift it.

But as a commotion sounded from outside the courtyard, Ji Yuntang's pupils contracted in shock once she saw clearly. *Am I dreaming?*

Chen Hu, by himself, was actually lifting that Ice Stone Bed and carrying it on his shoulder.

Ji Yuntang: "!!!!!"

Holy cow, what kind of subordinate had she found for herself?

A veritable Hercules, this one!

As Chen Hu passed by the Western Courtyard, he gave a dopey grin as a greeting to Ji Yuntang.

"Your Highness, this subordinate will go deliver the bed to Prince Chen now."

"Mm. If the situation calls for it, you can ask Luo Sinian for a little transportation fee. He's someone so concerned with his reputation; he probably won't refuse you." Ji Yuntang casually reminded him.

Chen Hu nodded in acknowledgment but didn't think much of it. How could a mere servant like him dare to ask Prince Luo Sinian for money?

Since Ji Yuntang had specifically instructed not to clean the stains of shit, piss, and blood on the bed, Chen Hu walked very carefully with each step, afraid of scraping off any of it so Prince Chen wouldn't miss out on the experience.

Ji Yuntang pushed the door open and entered the room. On the bed, Luo Junhe, hearing the sound of the door opening, stiffened slightly.

Was it her?

His Little Princess Consort?

When Luo Junhe woke up this morning, he felt clean and refreshed all over, free from the previous sticky discomfort. He wasn't submerged in icy water either, and even the stench that had assaulted his nostrils was completely gone.

Were it not for the very real, unprecedented comfort, Luo Junhe would have thought last night was just a dream.

"Your Highness, are you awake?"

Catching a slight movement of Luo Junhe's head, Ji Yuntang thought she might be seeing things and tentatively asked.

After what felt like a long time, the man's lips moved, and he managed to force three words from his throat with difficulty.

"You... are... who?"

Luo Junhe's voice was hoarse and somewhat heavy. Hearing this, Ji Yuntang turned and went to the table to pour him a cup of water.

"I'm your Princess Consort who just married you yesterday. My name is Ji Yuntang."

"Ji..." His expression held a trace of confusion, as if thinking. After a moment, he asked, "The daughter of the Yongning Marquis?"

In the entire Dongchen Kingdom, the only family with the surname Ji he could think of was the Marquis Yongning's household.

Ji Yuntang didn't beat around the bush and told him the truth. "That's right. However, I am their lost offspring. My identity was swapped from birth, and I was raised in a small village in the countryside. I have never spent a single day as the young lady of the Marquis Yongning's household."

"The one originally chosen by the Emperor to marry you, Your Highness, should have been my younger sister, Ji Qingqing. She was unwilling to marry you, so the people from the Marquis Yongning's household found me and brought me back as a substitute bride."

At this point, Ji Yuntang changed her tone. "But rest assured, Your Highness. Before the wedding, I had already severed ties with the people of the Marquis Yongning's household. From now on, there is no young lady of the Marquis Yongning's household—only Princess Ye."

Luo Junhe was a clever man. He understood that by saying this, Ji Yuntang wanted to tell him that she had married him without any ulterior motives and could not possibly contribute to the Marquis Yongning's household's efforts to inherit the title.

He sighed. What a sharp woman. However, given his current condition, taking a wife would only be a burden to someone else.

"Marrying a cripple like me has wronged you."

"After I die, I will give you divorce papers. Afterward, whether you remarry or establish your own household, you can choose anew and live your own life."

Ji Yuntang moved closer and sat on the edge of his bed. "With me here, you will not die."

Now that they were closer, she noticed that Luo Junhe's pupils lacked focus.

His eyes were beautiful—standard peach blossom eyes with eyelashes as distinct as crow feathers. But at this moment, they were empty and lifeless, like a placid lake without a single ripple.

Ji Yuntang felt a pang of regret. How did such beautiful eyes end up like this?

Remembering that she had treated some patients with eye diseases using acupuncture techniques from traditional Chinese medicine in her past life, Ji Yuntang asked,

"Your Highness, may I ask presumptuously what happened to your eyes? Perhaps I know how to fix them."

Luo Junhe's face remained expressionless. He turned his face slightly away, but his eyes held an ashen, desolate emotion.

"Thank you, Miss Ji. But there's no need to trouble yourself. I'm as good as dead already. You have done so much for me, allowing me to have the dignity of a normal person. I am already very grateful in my heart. As for what comes after, let fate decide. I don't dare to hope for anything more."

After speaking, he closed his eyes wearily, his entire being lifeless, without a shred of desire to survive.

He refused even the water offered to his lips, as if even breathing had become a burden.

Ji Yuntang frowned slightly. Illness, she could treat.

But if a person was determined to die, that was difficult.

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