Chapter 54 Applying Medicine

Chapter 54: Applying Medicine

"Ah... thank you." Cheng Ge was stunned for a moment, instinctively taking it with both hands.

His knee had suffered quite a bit yesterday, and while it had hurt badly at the time, after a night it wasn't as painful, though walking still chafed uncomfortably.

There was no one else in the pavilion besides Lin Nanshu, so Cheng Ge didn't feel embarrassed. He bent down and rolled his pant leg all the way up to above his knee.

A long, jade-like leg was instantly exposed to the air.

Lin Nanshu turned his face away, subtly shifting his gaze elsewhere.

When he had bathed yesterday, it had only looked red and swollen, but now it was covered in bruises. The injury against his fair skin looked especially alarming.

Cheng Ge frowned and silently added another ten cuckold marks to Zhou Mingqi's tally in his mind.

He pinched the stopper off the bottle, and a sharp scent of safflower mixed with strong liquor hit his nose.

Cheng Ge poured the medicinal oil onto his knee, and the dark liquid trickled down his calf.

He quickly bent over and rubbed his knees wildly with both hands.

"Hiss... hah..." Cheng Ge gasped while cursing Zhou Mingqi's entire family tree.

Lin Nanshu glanced at him from the corner of his eye and was a bit speechless at his rough and aggressive technique.

He let out a soft sigh, reached out, and took the medicine bottle from Cheng Ge's hand. "Let me handle it."

Cheng Ge looked up with a grimace and met Lin Nanshu's eyes. For a moment, he was dazed and nodded without thinking.

Then, he started to bend his leg but felt it wasn't very proper.

After thinking for a moment, he lifted his foot and plopped it right onto Lin Nanshu's thigh.

Lin Nanshu: "..."

Lin Nanshu sighed, reached out to put Cheng Ge's leg on the ground, stood up, walked in front of Cheng Ge, and gently crouched down.

He carefully poured the medicinal oil into his palm, rubbed his hands together to warm the oil, and then slowly covered Cheng Ge's knee.

The warmth of his hand, mingling with the oil's slight coolness, as he gently rubbed the bruised area, his movements very gentle.

A strange sensation spread from Cheng Ge's knee, and he looked down at Lin Nanshu.

Maybe it was the dry wind, but Lin Nanshu's cheeks were slightly flushed, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.

His eyes were fixed on Cheng Ge's wound, and his curled lashes fluttered occasionally.

His slender fingers glided gently over Cheng Ge's leg, occasionally looking up to check Cheng Ge's expression, checking if the pressure was right.

Cheng Ge stared at Lin Nanshu and suddenly asked, "Do you like lychees?"

Lin Nanshu was a bit confused by the random question and paused his movements. "Not really, I don't eat them much."

The Lin family's influence stretched across the Great Zhou, with deep, tangled roots.

Aside from official power, their businesses were spread across the land; otherwise, they couldn't support such a large family.

As the eldest legitimate son, Lin Nanshu was the presumed next head of the family, so lychees were naturally not in short supply for him.

Cheng Ge nodded and muttered to himself, "I knew you weren't that into them..."

Lin Nanshu didn't know what he was thinking and didn't press further. He gave Cheng Ge a light pat and said, "The other leg."

Cheng Ge snapped back to reality and quickly extended his other leg to Lin Nanshu. He was about to roll up his pant leg when the other man gently stopped him.

Lin Nanshu gently rolled up Cheng Ge's pant leg, poured some more oil into his palm, warmed it, and then covered Cheng Ge's other knee.

A breeze lifted the stray hairs on Cheng Ge's forehead.

Maybe the weather was too humid, making his throat feel a bit dry. He couldn't help but murmur, "Yuli..."

Lin Nanshu heard him and looked up instinctively, "Hmm?"

But before he could process it, a warm liquid splattered onto his eyelid.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

Lin Nanshu instinctively wiped his eyelid. His fingertip was smeared with red.

Cheng Ge saw Lin Nanshu's reaction and was dazed for a moment before snapping out of it.

"Damn..." He covered his nose with his hand, but the warm blood was too strong, seeping through his fingers immediately.

Lin Nanshu quickly pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Cheng Ge. "Wipe it first. Don't tilt your head back; look down."

Cheng Ge took the handkerchief and obediently looked down. The handkerchief was quickly stained red, looking pretty alarming.

This couldn't go on, so Lin Nanshu quickly called a servant to fetch the family physician.

The physician arrived shortly after.

Cheng Ge had a cold towel pressed to his forehead, and his nose was still a bit red. A thin stream of blood trickled down to his upper lip, and Lin Nanshu reached out and wiped it for him.

"Thanks... Cheng Ge sniffled and gave the other man a goofy smile.

Just then, the physician spoke, "Young sir, please switch hands." He carefully removed his hand from Cheng Ge's right wrist.

Cheng Ge was startled for a moment, then realized he needed to switch hands for the pulse diagnosis and obediently extended his left hand.

The physician placed his fingers on Cheng Ge's pulse, but his brow gradually furrowed, looking grim.

Lin Nanshu's heart clenched, and he quickly asked, "How is it?"

"Doc... am I going to die?" Cheng Ge's eyes went wide as he looked at the physician.

The physician hesitated, then said, "Young sir, your pulse is erratic, suggesting a heat syndrome..."

He glanced at Cheng Ge and continued hesitantly, "Or it could be caused by excessive desire. Have you recently eaten any heating foods, or... used any aphrodisiacs?"

Cheng Ge was stunned at first, then caught the physician's meaning. His face turned bright red.

Lin Nanshu also felt awkward and looked away.

Cheng Ge was totally bewildered. Although Little Gege hadn't been very lively lately, it wasn't to the point of needing that kind of stuff.

And this morning, it was fine, looking pretty vigorous. There was no need for that kind of thing.

"No, I just ate a ton of lychees and longans, nothing like that..."

The physician glanced at him, thinking this young master was likely thin-skinned (easily embarrassed), but had no intention of calling him out.

“Well… I’ll prescribe you a few doses of cooling medicine. Stick to a light diet, and… uh, keep things moderate in other areas too.”

With that, he wrote out the prescriptions, instructed Cheng Ge to take them on time, and took off on his own.

Cheng Ge stared at the prescription, looking bummed. This crappy body was totally useless!

If he could swap back to his old body, he wouldn’t be this half-dead.

Frustrated, he suddenly held his breath, trying to off himself by holding his breath.

Lin Nanshu came back from washing up, only to see Cheng Ge’s face flushed bright red, his eyes starting to roll back.

Even Lin Nanshu, who’s usually chill, was startled. He quickly stepped up and patted Cheng Ge on the back. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell again?”

Cheng Ge felt he was just one step away from success.

But with Lin Nanshu’s pat, the qi inside him instantly fizzled out.

Cheng Ge gasped a few times, wiped the wetness from the corner of his eyes, and looked up at the other.

“Yuli… when… huh… when do we eat?”

Lin Nanshu: “…”

…

“Then I’ll head back first. I’ll come find you next time.” Cheng Ge took the food box Lin Nanshu handed him, took a bite of the mung bean cake, and looked dead serious.

Lin Nanshu smiled and nodded. “Next time, just come straight into the mansion; no need to wait outside.” As he spoke, he tied a jade pendant around Cheng Ge’s waist.

Cheng Ge glanced down, his smile lines nearly creased with joy.

He flashed a row of neat white teeth and started making promises.

“Then next time I get my salary, I’ll treat you to Roast Chicken at Xiankeju…”

But before Lin Nanshu could respond, a sharp voice suddenly cut in from behind them.

“Cheng… Mu… Yu…”

Cheng Ge felt a chill run down the back of his neck and quickly turned to look behind him.

There stood Cui Ji, not far away, staring at them with a dark look.