Chapter 226 2/3

So nowadays, even doctors advise patients to bathe less.

Even Emperor Qi Jun was no exception.

Emperor Qi Jun had attendants to wash him every day. It’s true his body might not be dirty, but it wasn’t particularly clean either!

In any case, a hot bath every day would be good for him. After the bath, he could walk around the courtyard as exercise.

Qi Jun had been bedridden for years, and his muscles were beginning to atrophy.

Li Qingzhi devised a treatment plan for Qi Jun and said, “Master Liu, after renting this house, I remodeled a bathroom next to the kitchen. You can go there daily for a medicinal bath, and you won’t feel cold.”

If they burn more firewood, Qi Jun would feel very warm!

“What about the medicine?” Qi Jun asked.

“Master Liu, the medicine you’re taking now is to nourish your body. You can continue with it; no need to change,” Li Qingzhi replied.

The imperial doctor prescribed warm-tonifying medicine for Qi Jun, which he could take continuously.

After a brief chat, Zhang Zao came and asked them to have breakfast.

Qi Jun hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so Li Qingzhi asked Zhang Zao to prepare a bowl of seafood noodles for him.

As for Qi Jun’s guards… when Zhang Zao asked if they wanted to eat, they said they had already eaten, and Zhang Zao didn’t say anything more.

Qi Jun had a small appetite, so after he was served a small bowl of seafood noodles, there was enough for everyone else.

But…

When Qi Jun had breakfast with Li Qingzhi and Li Laogen, he found Li Laogen’s loud chewing and smacking while eating noodles a bit unbearable.

That aside, Li Laogen kept boasting about his good son to Qi Jun, “Master Liu, isn’t the seafood noodles delicious? Isn’t my chef good? Let me tell you, Ah Qing’s cooking is even better than my chef’s. He used to cook for me all the time…”

Qi Jun: “…”. This Li Laogen really rubs me the wrong way!

After breakfast, Li Qingzhi asked Qi Jun to take a bath first.

Qi Jun hadn’t bathed for several days, so before soaking in the medicinal bath, he could wash himself thoroughly with soap twice.

Qi Jun agreed.

He also wanted a hot bath, but when he was in the palace, a group of people watched him and wouldn’t let him bathe!

Li Qingzhi asked Zhang Zao to heat the kang and water, and prepared soap and clothes for Qi Jun.

It would take some time to heat the water and bathe, and by the time Qi Jun finished, his energy would have recovered, perfect for helping with his treatment.

This way, Qi Jun wouldn’t fall ill.

Qi Jun’s bath was attended by his guards.

Qi Jun felt very good today, and the bathroom was warm… He felt comfortable all over when he started bathing.

During the bath, he used soap.

Before, he had only washed his hands and feet with soap, so this was the first time he had used soap to bathe.

And after this bath…

Qi Jun scrubbed off a lot of dirt from his soaped skin.

He hadn’t realized he was so dirty!

He really should have bathed earlier. If he hadn’t bathed and went straight into the medicinal bath tomorrow, how would Li Qingzhi look at him?

Qi Jun soaped himself three times, with the help of his attendants, scrubbing his body three times.

After washing… he felt lighter, fairer, and there was a scent of soap on his body.

Before, he always had an old man’s smell, but now that smell was gone.

He felt much younger.

He put on the clean underwear Li Qingzhi sent him, then his own clothes, and then he left the room.

While Qi Jun was bathing, Li Qingzhi kept an eye on the bathroom.

Qi Jun was too weak, and the bathroom was too hot and humid. He might faint!

So, Li Qingzhi had Zhang Zao and the others add hot water and occasionally ventilate the bathroom.

When Qi Jun came out, Li Qingzhi promptly brought him a bowl of ginger soup. “Master Liu, drink some ginger soup to ward off the cold, then I’ll check your pulse.”

After taking his pulse and treating him a bit, Li Qingzhi took Qi Jun with him for lunch.

At noon today, the kitchen made four dishes and a soup: two meat dishes, two vegetarian dishes, and a soup stewed with dried scallops and dried mushrooms.

But during the meal, Li Laogen kept fishing out the scallops with his chopsticks… Qi Jun didn’t touch the soup, and even Li Qingzhi didn’t want to drink it.

Moreover… Li Laogen kept poking around the dishes with his chopsticks, picking out the best ones…

Li Qingzhi: “…”. He should learn from Jin Xiaoye and give Li Laogen some food in advance!

Not knowing Qi Jun’s true identity, Li Laogen was a bit too casual in front of him.

After lunch, Qi Jun returned to the palace.

Lü Qingxi had been waiting for Qi Jun. When he saw him return, he immediately asked, “Your Majesty, did Li Jieyuan promise to help cure your illness?”

“He agreed. He’s preparing a medicinal bath for me tomorrow,” Qi Jun said happily.

“A medicinal bath? Washing in the dead of winter is prone to catching a cold, Your Majesty…”

“It’s fine. I just took a bath today and feel very comfortable,” Qi Jun smiled.

But Lü Qingxi was worried, “Your Majesty, you really don’t pay enough attention to your health!” After saying that, he immediately called for the imperial doctor.

Qi Jun felt he was in good condition and didn’t need the imperial doctor, but he also knew Lü Qingxi was doing this out of concern for him, so he obediently let the doctor take his pulse.

Despite his illness, Qi Jun had been treated by Li Qingzhi for two days, making him feel a bit better, but his condition hadn’t improved much, and the imperial doctor didn’t notice anything wrong.

Still, the doctor could confirm that the Emperor was currently in good health.

Hearing this, Lü Qingxi finally relaxed.

“Ah Qing’s medical skills are excellent. If he says it’s fine, then it must be fine,” Qi Jun told Lü Qingxi, adding, “Ah Xi, I think he’s my son, there’s no mistake!”

Lü Qingxi: “…”. He had just started to think about how to trick the Emperor into recognizing him as his son, and the Emperor had already decided on his own?

Regardless, this was a good thing. Lü Qingxi handed over the books and articles written by Li Qingzhi that he had collected earlier to the Emperor.

From Jiang’an Province, there were books Li Qingzhi wrote in agreement with Zhang, a series of “Anjiang Collection,” and manuscripts Li Qingzhi wrote for literary discussions…

A lot of materials piled up.

Seeing them, Qi Jun first looked at Li Qingzhi’s manuscripts.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he felt his eyes were a bit better… Qi Jun carefully looked at those manuscripts and couldn’t help but praise, “Such good handwriting! Such good articles!”

Li Qingzhi’s handwriting was excellent! No wonder he’s my son; his handwriting is so good!

He had been doing good deeds all these years, and it turned out that Heaven had sent him a good son!

Qi Jun admired Li Qingzhi’s articles for a long time and asked to hear the stories Li Qingzhi wrote.

He knew there were people writing books and plays in Jiang’an Province praising Zhang.

At that time, he found it funny and thought Zhang liked to be praised by people.

Now that he knew these were written by Li Qingzhi… his thoughts were different.

Zhang must be a good official, so Li Qingzhi could write books praising him.

Qi Jun had listened to “The Lone Wanderer” before.

Those books were indeed well-written and thought-provoking, but after listening, he couldn’t help but feel depressed.

Li Qingzhi’s books were different!

Qi Jun found “The True and False Magistrate” more and more interesting as he listened, and even couldn’t help laughing, “I didn’t expect Zhang to have encountered such things!”