Chapter 39

After confirming Xie Fuyi was okay, Jiang Yingyao still needed to recuperate from his internal injuries. He instructed the attendant, Xing Tong, who was outside, to keep an eye on Xie Fuyi, while he himself went into seclusion.

Jiang Yingyao spent three days in seclusion to recover from his injuries. When he emerged, he prepared to check on Xie Fuyi.

Xing Tong was cleaning outside the door. Seeing Jiang Yingyao approaching, he quickly greeted, “Master National Teacher, you’ve come out of seclusion.”

Jiang Yingyao nodded. He glanced at the tightly closed door and said calmly, “How is he?”

To avoid revealing the presence of the little emperor here, he had not disclosed Xie Fuyi’s identity to others.

Xing Tong smiled self-satisfyingly, “You can rest assured, Master. I’ve been guarding here these past few days. No one has come, and I haven’t let him out. I guarantee that no one in the temple knows about him!”

He’s been staying in the room the whole time?

Jiang Yingyao furrowed his brow, his tone cold. “I didn’t restrict his freedom.”

“But didn’t you say to keep an eye on him?” Xing Tong shrunk his neck. Although he didn’t know who the other person was, he looked so handsome. When he was brought in while still unconscious that day, he heard crying and gasping from inside the room…

He thought… Master National Teacher had been abstinent for too long and was preparing for a secret rendezvous.

Seeing Xing Tong’s expression, Jiang Yingyao could immediately guess his thoughts, and his face darkened. But he couldn’t explain the truth, so he just waved his hand, letting him continue to guard, and went in.

—

Xie Fuyi had already heard the commotion inside the room. He had been relaxing for the past few days, but now he quickly got ready, tidying up the messy blankets and lying down obediently.

When Jiang Yingyao pushed open the door and entered, Xie Fuyi immediately showed a pleasantly surprised expression. “Brother National Teacher!”

Then he discreetly glanced outside the door. Seeing the person still guarding there, he showed a cautious expression and lowered his voice. “Brother, where have you been these past few days? There’s been a fierce person outside, and I couldn’t find you…”

Jiang Yingyao paused in his movements. No one had ever dared to ask about his whereabouts before. And Xing Tong, fierce?

He sat at the table, turning the teacup in his hand. “I had some matters to attend to. You don’t need to fear him. His name is Xing Tong, and I arranged for him to take care of you. Is he really that fierce?”

“Not really, he just doesn’t let me out to find you…” Xie Fuyi pursed his lips, muttering. Then he remembered something. “Oh, Brother, have you eaten? I saved this for you. Please eat…”

He took out a cloth bag from the bedside cabinet. Inside were several wrapped white steamed buns, but they were already hard.

Jiang Yingyao’s finger tapped lightly, and he looked at Xie Fuyi. “Why did you keep this? Hasn’t Xing Tong been bringing you food every day?”

Xie Fuyi shook his head hurriedly. “This is what he brings every day. I just saw that you hadn’t come back, and I was worried you might be hungry, so I saved one for you at each meal.”

A thought stirred in Jiang Yingyao’s heart as he looked at the person in front of him, Xie Fuyi, holding the dry buns in his hands. The clear eyes, full of concern, blinked at him.

This was the first time someone had worried about him being hungry and saved buns for him.

Others had deified the National Teacher, thinking he wouldn’t feel hunger or cold… But in reality, he was just slightly more capable than ordinary people.

Jiang Yingyao’s throat rolled, and he lowered his eyes to conceal the complex emotions in his pitch-black gaze. He said calmly, “I’m not hungry. You don’t need to save these in the future. If left for too long, spoiled food is inedible. Let Xing Tong throw these away.”

As Jiang Yingyao spoke, he reached out to take the things from Xie Fuyi’s hands to have them discarded.

“Don’t throw them away!” Xie Fuyi panicked and quickly ran back to the bedside where he had placed the small cloth bag. “…What if he stops bringing food later? I’ll have something to eat too…”

Xie Fuyi’s voice trailed off towards the end, but Jiang Yingyao still heard it.

He paused, realizing for the first time what kind of life the little emperor had led in the cold palace.

When Jiang Yingyao spoke again, his cold tone softened slightly. “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of food here.”

Xie Fuyi didn’t respond, holding onto the buns he protected and murmuring, “Brother Ye used to say the same, but… now he’s nowhere to be found…”

Jiang Yingyao clenched his fist. He didn’t like hearing him mention Ye Baixiao.

His expression turned cold again. “Do as you please.”

The weather had been cold recently, and a few dry buns shouldn’t be a problem. He just needed to make sure Xie Fuyi didn’t actually eat them.

Seeing that Jiang Yingyao seemed somewhat cold, Xie Fuyi bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, and still handed over the small cloth bag he had protected. “Brother, don’t be angry. This is for you.”

Xie Fuyi: …He really didn’t want to eat those dry buns.

Jiang Yingyao met his clean black eyes and felt a slight pang in his heart. Sometimes, the amnesic little emperor was so obedient that it softened his heart.

For the sake of his health, Jiang Yingyao still took away the dry buns, and casually asked him, “Has your body been hurting these past few days?”

Xie Fuyi nodded at first, then shook his head.

“Does it hurt or not?” Jiang Yingyao frowned.

Xie Fuyi, fearing his anger, explained cautiously, “It hurts a bit at night, but it’s much better than before.”

Jiang Yingyao was stunned. The medicinal pills he had given were extremely precious, yet they hadn’t completely resolved the issue.

He reached out to check Xie Fuyi’s pulse but found no reason. After a moment’s pause, he could only say, “Call me when it hurts at night.”

Xie Fuyi bit his lip and nodded obediently.

—

The room had a bed inside and outside. At night, Xie Fuyi slept inside while Jiang Yingyao slept outside.

He was still meditating to recuperate. In the quiet night, his ears were extremely sensitive, and he heard a faint suppressed gasping sound coming from inside the room.

Jiang Yingyao paused in his movements and opened his eyes, walking into the inner room. At a glance, he saw Xie Fuyi curled up on the bed, clutching his abdomen and gritting his teeth, enduring the pain without making a sound.

Jiang Yingyao snapped his fingers to light a candle, his tone somewhat cold. “Didn’t I tell you to call me when it hurts?”

“Brother?” Xie Fuyi’s weak voice was soft. He raised his head in a daze, seeing Jiang Yingyao at the bedside, and began to sob softly. “I saw Brother’s dark circles under his eyes. He hasn’t rested for a long time. I wanted you to sleep well… I’ll endure it. I’ll be better tomorrow…”

“You…” Jiang Yingyao listened to his words, feeling a surge of indescribable emotions. His heart felt sour and bitter.

Seeing Xie Fuyi’s pale face from the pain, he put aside his cleanliness obsession, sat directly on the bed, and pulled him into his arms. Jiang Yingyao wrapped one arm around him from behind, while the other palm pressed against Xie Fuyi’s abdomen, channeling his inner energy to help alleviate the pain.

Xie Fuyi’s trembling body soon relaxed, leaning weakly against Jiang Yingyao’s embrace.

“Thank you, brother…” His voice was soft and muffled, with a hint of hoarseness.

Jiang Yingyao, who had never experienced such a thing before, felt his body stiffen. The warm body in his arms and the overwhelming heat disrupted his thoughts.

His initially cold face showed a trace of panic. He quickly tried to withdraw.

But as soon as he stood up, the pain in the little emperor’s body returned, tormenting him until his eyes reddened, and he sobbed again.

Jiang Yingyao hurriedly pulled him back into his arms, sitting at the bedside and using his inner energy to help him recover. Throughout the night, his hand never left Xie Fuyi’s abdomen.

Jiang Yingyao didn’t know how he fell asleep later. When he woke up in the morning, the National Teacher experienced for the first time what it was like to wake up at dawn.

He looked at the little emperor sleeping soundly in his arms, feeling even more uncomfortable in his body.

Jiang Yingyao got up in a panic, looking disheveled, and left the room.

“Xie Fuyi looked at Jiang Yingyao’s zero heartbreak value, scratching his head—no rush, at this rate, the Pure Heart Country’s master will soon taste the bitterness of love.”