Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Fang Zhihe smoothed the stray hairs on his forehead in front of the bronze mirror, lifting his eyes to tease, "Xiaoyun, don't you think I've gained a bit of weight recently? My forehead is all plump."

Xiaoyun helped him tie his hair and adjust his crown. Hearing this, he helplessly lowered his eyes and said softly, "Your Majesty... that's the bump you got from knocking it on the bedpost last night when you got up."

Fang Zhihe opened his eyes in surprise. "Oh? Is that so? I thought someone secretly hit me last night."

Xiaoyun took some Jade Dew ointment and gently rubbed it on the swelling, laughing, "Ruan and the other guards were all stationed outside keeping watch. Who would dare hit you?"

Fang Zhihe smacked his lips, picked up a piece of red paper from the table, hesitated for a moment, then finally pressed it to his lips.

Xiaoyun lowered his eyes, carefully combing his hair.

Fang Zhihe turned back to him with a smile. "Do I... look a little more like a person now?"

His pale, colorless lips were now stained with a glossy red from the paper. His smile made him appear even more strikingly beautiful. Xiaoyun only glanced at him once before lowering his head. "Your Majesty shouldn't take Lord Qi's joke too seriously... Your Majesty has always been exceptional."

Fang Zhihe waved his hand, then picked up some rouge and rubbed it onto his cheeks, covering the unnatural pallor beneath.

"Alright, that's enough fussing for one morning." He rose, smiling as he pushed open the door and walked out. Just as he was about to leave the bedchamber, he turned back and said to Xiaoyun, "Put the peas I soaked last night on the stone table outside. I'll deal with them after court."

Xiaoyun quickly agreed.

Once at court, Qi Guan first frowned at the bump on Fang Zhihe's forehead and whispered, "...What happened?"

Fang Zhihe glanced at him, waved his hand dismissively, then said seriously, "Besides the matters reported in the memorials today, I have another announcement."

Lu Wuyou, dressed in his official robe, stood at the front, staring straight at him. Fang Zhihe subconsciously felt a moment of distraction and almost smiled at him, but he caught himself, gave a light cough, and continued, "The flood in Fuzhou has been a concern of mine for years. This time, besides Dr. Yun volunteering to go, Lord Lu from the Imperial Academy also wishes to accompany him... I thought it over last night. This is a blessing for the people, and a blessing for me. With such loyal ministers, how could I shrink away in the capital?"

Qi Guan was stunned for a moment. He glanced at Lu Wuyou’s instantly darkened brows and eyes, then anxiously looked at the seated Fang Zhihe.

Fang Zhihe only looked at Lu Wuyou, the unnatural red on his face seeming dull.

Qi Guan suddenly knelt down and said sharply, "Your Majesty cannot!"

Fang Zhihe shifted his gaze from Lu Wuyou to him and said calmly, "Why not?"

Qi Guan knelt upright and looked up at him. "Fuzhou is in the south with a damp climate. In spring and summer, it's easiest to catch a chill... It would be detrimental to Your Majesty's health."

Fang Zhihe blinked and smiled. "With Yunzheng and Wuyou there, they will surely protect me."

Qi Guan took a deep breath and lowered his voice slightly. "How can they protect you? Neither of them knows medicine!"

Fang Zhihe lowered his eyes. "Don't persuade me. My mind is made up."

Qi Guan ground his teeth almost audibly, glared at Lu Wuyou, and stepped back.

Fang Zhihe casually mentioned some other governmental matters, then announced the end of court. As Lu Wuyou withdrew, his last glance seemed as if he wanted to devour Fang Zhihe alive. Fang Zhihe smiled helplessly, "Why is he angry again?"

He went to the imperial study, and Qi Guan followed him in.

After dismissing the attendants, Qi Guan kicked the door shut and snarled, "Fang Zhihe! Have you lost your mind!"

Fang Zhihe poured him some tea and sighed. "He wants to go, so I'll go with him."

Qi Guan pushed away the teacup he offered and said angrily, "With the climate in Fuzhou, are you trying to provoke both your heart condition and your cold ailment at once? And you want to go control floods? The floods will control you instead! A sickly person like you has the nerve to go out, and a long journey at that! Hahaha! You deserve to die of illness! Why should I bother treating you!"

Fang Zhihe widened his eyes. This was the first time he had seen Qi Guan so furious. He held the tea by his lips, coughed softly, and laughed, "Lanning, calm down. It's not certain I'll fall ill if I go."

Qi Guan raised an eyebrow. "Not certain? Your life isn't certain either!"

"...It's only for a few months. I'll be back soon." Fang Zhihe coughed guiltily.

Qi Guan gasped. "Fang Zhihe! I'll fuck your mother's leg! Die out there for all I care!"

Fang Zhihe pondered. "Kids shouldn't swear."

Qi Guan reached out, rubbed his cheek, smearing away all the rouge, revealing the pale, colorless face beneath. He smiled darkly. "Are you determined to go?"

Fang Zhihe raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a way to stop him?"

Qi Guan sneered. "Easy. I'll go tell him right now that the person living in that so-called reinforcements’ courtyard on the border was you, that the one who managed the logistics for him was you, that the one who carried his child and went out on the streets every day just to catch a glimpse of him was you. Let's see if he still wants to go."

Fang Zhihe was stunned. A sharp pain struck his heart, and his eyes grew hot.

But he only clutched Qi Guan's sleeve and said in a low voice, "You can't tell him. You absolutely can't tell him..."

Qi Guan turned his head to look at him. On his expressionless face, a trace of pity suddenly appeared. It was the first time he felt Fang Zhihe was pitiable—too pitiable.

How could someone endure giving birth after so much hardship, yet not even dare to tell the child's own father?

"Fang Huaishu, don't you feel sad? Doesn't it hurt you? The blood you coughed up basin after basin—doesn't it hurt?! Lu Yuan is your child! The child you gave birth to after nearly dying! Doesn't it hurt? The way he treats you—doesn't it hurt?! Is it worth it?!" Qi Guan's voice trembled, tears streaming down his chin.

Fang Zhihe was speechless. He just stood dumbfounded, looking a little bewildered at the tears in Qi Guan's eyes.

After a long while, he finally spoke. "He went to the border for a month before I learned I was pregnant. But I missed him. I really missed him. I wrote him letters, but he never replied."

"Why didn't he reply to me? Why didn't he reply?" Fang Zhihe smiled bitterly and pouted. "He had already agreed to be with me, so why didn't he ever think of me?"

No one could answer him. He paused, then smiled again. "So I went to find him, writing to him every day... Finally, he sent back a short note, saying I was too annoying. I felt so... terrible."

"I didn't dare bother him anymore. I could only write every day and save them up, then pick the best letter each month to send to him... But he still found me annoying. What a bad person he is. He said he wanted to be with me, yet he wouldn't even grant me the right to miss him?"

"Later, I sent him one letter every six months. He still found me annoying." Fang Zhihe chuckled softly. "Let him be annoyed, then. I should annoy him once in a while, or else how will he still remember that there is someone so detestable to him far away? If he forgets me, I'll kill him... Let him be annoyed."

He finished speaking and lowered his head, chuckling again.

Qi Guan looked at him through tear-filled eyes and said in a trembling voice, "If you die, he will surely go find someone else."

Fang Zhihe looked up at this and smiled. "That's fine. But let it wait until after I'm dead."