Chapter 26#
Kill That Emperor (26)#
Shen Jue woke up in the afternoon. When he opened his eyes, someone was sitting by the bedside, twisting a cloth. That person was about to turn around and place it on Shen Jue’s forehead when they met Shen Jue’s gaze.
“You’re awake!” Li Feng exclaimed in surprise. “I’ll go get your medicine—it’s been kept warm on the stove.”
Shen Jue hadn’t expected Li Feng to be the one taking care of him. He was momentarily stunned, and before he could say anything, Li Feng had already hurried out, as if someone were chasing after him. Watching him leave, Shen Jue propped himself up and sat up.
Liu Anshun had said he’d arrange for Shen Jue to be transferred out of Qizhang Hall, but Shen Jue guessed it wouldn’t work. Liu Anshun, after all, was just the chief eunuch of the Imperial Kitchen. As long as Murong Xiu refused to let him go, Liu Anshun had no way to make it happen. Shen Jue touched the damp bedding beneath him, feeling a stark contrast to his previous life. He found it amusing—he had been so ruthless in killing Murong Xiu in his last life, never knowing that Murong Xiu harbored such deep resentment, dragging him into this reincarnation to experience it all over again.
When Shen Jue heard Li Feng mention medicine, he knew Murong Xiu wouldn’t kill him for now, but he likely wouldn’t let him live comfortably either.
He was still calculating in his mind when Li Feng returned with the medicine. Seeing Shen Jue sitting up, Li Feng let out a cry of surprise. “Oh!” He quickly hurried over. “Why are you sitting up? Aren’t you dizzy?”
Shen Jue shook his head.
Li Feng chuckled and handed the bowl to Shen Jue. “Drink the medicine.”
Shen Jue took the bowl and whispered softly, “Thank you, Brother Feng.”
A strange expression flickered across Li Feng’s face, but he said nothing. He had barely managed to fish Yu Jue out of the water today, only to receive another order—to take good care of Shen Jue and ensure he fully recovered.
Otherwise, he’d have to report to the Punishment Department himself.
Li Feng dared not go to the Punishment Department, so he came to care for Shen Jue with a gentle, spring-like demeanor, as if he hadn’t been the one bullying Shen Jue that morning.
Shen Jue took a sip of the medicine and stopped. His body was smaller now, and his tolerance for everything had decreased—even drinking medicine felt unbearable. He stared bleakly at the brown liquid, unwilling to drink it. Li Feng watched him, waiting for Shen Jue to finish. After a tense silence, Li Feng spoke first. “Too bitter?”
Shen Jue thought for a moment. Since he was a child now, he simply pushed the bowl back toward Li Feng. “Too bitter. I’ll be fine after sleeping it off—maybe I won’t drink it.”
“How can that work? This medicine is expensive,” Li Feng sighed. “You should still drink it.”
“I don’t want to,” Shen Jue said.
Li Feng looked helplessly at the bowl. He wanted to get angry at Shen Jue, but remembering Murong Xiu’s orders, he tried to persuade him instead. Yet Shen Jue’s attitude was resolute. Fearing the medicine would go cold, Li Feng had no choice but to carry it out again. Unexpectedly, on his way to the kitchen, he ran into Murong Xiu. One glance from Murong Xiu sent Li Feng scrambling to bow and greet him respectfully.
Murong Xiu looked at the nearly full bowl of medicine. After a long pause, he said, “I told you to take care of him—how can you not even manage to get him to drink the medicine?”
Li Feng grimaced. “Your Highness, Shen Jue says the medicine is too bitter and refuses to drink it. I tried everything to persuade him, but it was useless. And I was afraid the medicine would get cold, so I thought I’d put it back on the stove.”
Murong Xiu was silent for a moment, then walked over to Li Feng and took the bowl from him.
Li Feng hadn’t expected Murong Xiu to actually take the medicine bowl. He was still in a daze when he saw Murong Xiu heading straight for the servants’ quarters.
Back in the room, Shen Jue saw Li Feng leave and lay back down. But he hadn’t been lying down long when the door reopened. Thinking Li Feng had returned, he decided to pretend to sleep, closing his eyes. Instead, he heard Murong Xiu’s icy voice.
“Shen Jue.”
Shen Jue snapped his eyes open. His face was turned toward the wall.
“Get up and drink the medicine,” Murong Xiu said.
Shen Jue pressed his lips together and obediently climbed out of bed. He was about to step down and bow to Murong Xiu when he heard, “Step down, and I’ll cut off your legs.”
Shen Jue: “…”
He silently pulled his legs back. This Murong Xiu in this life had a terrible temper.
Today, Murong Xiu wore a light yellow brocade robe. If one only looked at his appearance, they’d think he was a celestial youth, someone easy to draw close to. But once you saw his eyes, there was no celestial youth—only a Rakshasa demon disguised in celestial attire.
He walked to the bedside, glanced at the medicine in his hand, and said abruptly, “Open your mouth.”
Shen Jue frowned slightly, glancing awkwardly at the medicine in Murong Xiu’s hand. It seemed there was no escaping this medicine today. He gritted his teeth and reached out to take the bowl, but Murong Xiu lifted his hand, dodging Shen Jue’s reach.
Murong Xiu looked at Shen Jue arrogantly. “I told you to open your mouth. Didn’t you hear me?”
Shen Jue had no choice but to open his mouth. Murong Xiu brought the bowl to his lips. Helpless, Shen Jue pinched his nose and began drinking the medicine of his own accord.
Being fed medicine by Murong Xiu was far from pleasant—especially when that piercing gaze was fixed squarely on him.
Shen Jue could only desperately ignore the bitterness and try to finish as quickly as possible. But every time he drank too fast, Murong Xiu would pull the bowl away slightly. After several such exchanges, Shen Jue was reduced to taking small sips, his face scrunched up as if it might drip water.
When the bowl was finally empty, Murong Xiu shoved it into Shen Jue’s hands and said coldly, “Next time you dare get sick, go report to the Punishment Department yourself.”
With that, he turned and swept out, sleeves flaring.
Shen Jue sat on the bed holding the empty bowl for a while. Then, slowly, he set the bowl aside and lay back down to sleep.
…
Shen Jue’s illness took a full three days to recover. During those three days, Li Feng treated him exceptionally well—no work, and he even gave him candied fruit to eat.
“This little box is full of candied fruit. If the medicine tastes too bitter, have some,” Li Feng said, placing the box beside Shen Jue’s pillow. If Shen Jue hadn’t experienced how poorly Li Feng treated him before, he might have mistaken him for a caring elder brother.
Shen Jue turned his head to look at the box. Its craftsmanship was exquisite, especially the carvings, which were clearly not the work of an ordinary artisan. Such a box couldn’t belong to Li Feng—it was likely someone using Li Feng’s hands to pass the candied fruit to him.
But Shen Jue could only pretend not to know. He reached out and hugged the box to his chest, looking up at Li Feng with a sweet smile. “Thank you, Brother Feng.”
Li Feng forced an ugly grin. “No problem.”
After three days, Shen Jue’s treatment reverted to how it had been at the start. He was back to doing dirty, exhausting work. Murong Xiu hadn’t come to torment him in recent days, but Shen Jue was still exhausted every day—the tasks he was given were far beyond what a child his age could handle.
One day, Lu Li assigned Shen Jue a task. Autumn was approaching, and according to palace regulations, eunuchs were entitled to two sets of clothes each season. Lu Li sent Shen Jue to collect them.
Shen Jue had no choice but to set down his current work, wash his hands, and leave Qizhang Hall.
He had lived in this palace for countless years and knew every shortcut intimately. Qizhang Hall was remote; taking the main road to the Internal Affairs Office would take at least half an hour each way. So Shen Jue took a shortcut. It was noon, the sun scorching. The palace’s masters were unwilling to be out at this hour, so Shen Jue encountered almost no one—except for the patrolling guards.
Just as he rounded a long corridor and had only a short walk left to the Internal Affairs Office, he turned a corner and collided with someone head-on.
The person he hit didn’t budge. Shen Jue, however, stumbled backward. Just as he was about to fall, the person grabbed his hand. The pull was too strong, and Shen Jue crashed into them again. This time he didn’t fall, but the impact left him seeing stars and dizzy.
How could someone’s chest be so hard?
“Are you all right?” came a gentle voice from above.
Shen Jue steadied himself. When he saw the official robe on the person, he immediately reacted. He smoothly stepped back, about to kneel, but his body swayed involuntarily. Those two collisions had done a number on him.
Seeing this, the person caught him with a hint of amusement. “Alright, don’t kneel. Dizzy?”
Shen Jue raised a hand to rub his forehead. “This servant is not dizzy, Your Excellency.”
“Your forehead is red. Really not dizzy?” The person was much taller than Shen Jue. Seeming to want to check on his condition, he crouched down. When he did, Shen Jue got a clear look at his face.
Shen Jue’s pupils dilated slightly.
Seeing Shen Jue staring blankly at him, the person worried that the collision had really done damage. He waved a hand in front of Shen Jue’s eyes. “Are you okay?”
Shen Jue shook his head vigorously. He had met the Prince Regent ahead of time—no, Ni Xinyan, who wasn’t even twenty yet, wasn’t the Prince Regent now. He was only the heir to Prince Yong.
“I think you don’t look good,” Ni Xinyan said, standing up and looking around, then back at Shen Jue. Suddenly, he bent down and scooped Shen Jue up in his arms, startling Shen Jue so much his eyes went wide. But Ni Xinyan didn’t think there was anything wrong with picking up a little eunuch. “I’ll take you to see the imperial physician.”
“No, Your Excellency, this servant is fine. Please put this servant down.” Shen Jue hadn’t expected Ni Xinyan to actually take him to see a doctor. How could Ni Xinyan, the heir to Prince Yong, carry a little eunuch around the palace?
But Ni Xinyan completely ignored Shen Jue’s resistance. He was strong; holding Shen Jue, he wouldn’t let him down.
“Don’t be so formal. I bumped into you; it’s my responsibility to get you treated. Don’t be scared, little one.” With that, Ni Xinyan turned and walked away.
Shen Jue was speechless. Unable to resist, he had no choice but to wrap his arms around Ni Xinyan’s neck to keep from falling. However, after a moment, he couldn’t help but say, “Your Excellency, wrong direction. The Imperial Medical Institute isn’t this way.”
Ni Xinyan’s steps came to a sharp halt. He pressed his lips together, turned around, and headed the other way.
Shen Jue stared at him. “Your Excellency, that’s not the direction either.” He pointed in a different direction.
Ni Xinyan coughed lightly, a hint of embarrassment on his handsome face. “I know.”
Shen Jue felt awkward too. After all, no matter how many lifetimes, he and Ni Xinyan had never been on such friendly terms. He lowered his eyes and said softly, “This servant spoke out of turn.”
Ni Xinyan was a man of his word. Without minding the effort, he carried Shen Jue all the way to the Imperial Medical Institute. Despite Shen Jue’s repeated protests—and even guards offering to help—Ni Xinyan refused.
When the imperial physician on duty saw Ni Xinyan carrying a little eunuch inside, he wore an odd expression. Ni Xinyan strode in hurriedly, looking anxious as he called for the physician to examine Shen Jue, as if Shen Jue were gravely ill and about to pass away.
The physician hastily checked Shen Jue and reported to Ni Xinyan, “Your Highness, this little eunuch is fine—nothing serious.”
Ni Xinyan looked skeptical. “But he was just dizzy, and his pupils dilated.”
The physician said, “The little eunuch has a deficiency condition. What you described is a normal reaction. He’ll be fine with some nourishment.”
Ni Xinyan let out an “oh” and turned to Shen Jue. “You’re fine. No worries.”
Shen Jue: “…”
He hadn’t been worried at all.
Well, there was one thing to worry about—the Imperial Medical Institute was very far from the Internal Affairs Office.
So no matter how many lifetimes, was Ni Xinyan always destined to trouble him?