Inside the cold hall, the cool breeze was brisk.
“Nothing is wrong,” said Lin Bozhou. “Your Majesty should sleep.”
Emperor Xuan He shed tears. “Imperial Brother, We can’t sleep.”
Lin Bozhou closed his eyes. “Your Majesty is already thirteen years old and should be calmer. The past is in the past. Your Majesty is now the emperor and is watched by everybody, so he should appear as a wise ruler.”
Emperor Xuan He cried, “But We are really scared!”
Lin Bozhou felt a sense of powerlessness.
The emperor…… was too incompetent.
Even though Lin Bozhou constantly tried to reshape his self-confidence, improve his vigor, and even exercise his bloody killing spirit these years, the emperor was still so incompetent.
“Your Majesty need not worry. This official is here so no one can harm Your Majesty,” Lin Bozhou said.
Emperor Xuan He shook his head, lay under the quilt, and looked at the zenith with tears flowing in all directions.
After a long time, he said, “Imperial Brother, then We will try to sleep.”
The clothes on Lin Bozhou’s back stuck to his skin, stiff and cold, probably because the rainwater had not been wiped clean before he hurried in; therefore, his body was cold.
He responded, “Your Majesty can sleep.”
“Imperial Brother, you can’t go,” Emperor Xuan He said again.
“This subordinate will not go.”
Lin Bozhou knelt before the bed and said, “This official will stay here to watch Your Majesty.”
Emperor Xuan He was finally relieved, closed his eyes, and patted the quilt.
He wanted to share the quilt with him, but Lin Bozhou’s rules were like iron, and he definitely would not do things that overstepped the limits as a subject.
Emperor Xuan He fell asleep.
In the dim darkness, Lin Bozhou drooped his eyes, his shoulders slightly relaxed. He remembered breaking his promise to Meng Huan.
The young man’s eyes were bright, and there was no disappointment in hearing this, so he nodded.
Perhaps…… the feelings were not enough.
“……”
The corner of Lin Bozhou’s lips moved gently. He was exhausted from the horse ride and staying up all night, but the taut strings in his body made him not dare to relax in the slightest. His eyelids were always open, and he was always kneeling.
Emperor Xuan He’s spirit was sensitive, and he had many such nights.
In the past, Lin Bozhou could only get through the long night by reciting the governance theory.
But now…… the young man’s face reappeared in his mind.
The corners of his lips inexplicably curved again.
He seemed…… to have something new, something to let him pass through the night.
—
It rained all night long.
As a result, when Meng Huan returned to the prince’s residence the next afternoon, the road was very muddy, and the carriage was unusually bumpy.
It swayed, and Meng Huan felt like he was riding in a rocking carriage.
“Forget it,” Meng Huan looked at the horses straining to pull the carriage while he sat inside and felt very embarrassed. “I’ll come down and walk.”
Then Meng Huan stepped on the road. After walking just a few steps, he fell on his butt in a mud pit. Slap.
“………………”
Shan Xing wanted to laugh but did not dare, desperately holding it in, and summoned Fengzhi, “Quickly help Your Highness up!”
Fengzhi held back her laughter. “Okay, okay. Are you okay, Your Highness?”
Meng Huan dejectedly climbed up. He had been riding all morning, and his buttocks were already painful. It was even more painful now, and he pursed his lips with a bit of self-consciousness.
How annoying.
Upon returning to the prince’s residence, Meng Huan changed his clothes and immediately bathed.
He was ready to eat dinner when he remembered he hadn’t seen Lin Bozhou and asked, “Where’s the prince?”
Fengzhi gathered his clothes and said, “The prince? This servant heard that the prince got caught in the rain last night, stayed in the palace all night, and has just returned with a cold.”
“……” Meng Huan glanced sideways. “He’s sick?”
“Yes.”
The paper man* could actually become sick, huh?
*Paper man refers to a character in a two-dimensional world, such as animation, game, book, etc.
Last night, when seeing the heavy rain, Meng Huan also comforted himself that perhaps Lin Bozhou had a main character’s halo and could not get wet, but it turned out he would really get sick.
However, Meng Huan bit his chopsticks and pondered, “Should I go see him?”
Fengzhi smiled. “If Your Highness wants to go, then go.”
If he went, he would probably look like he was striving for a favor.
“……”
But it seemed a bit cold not to go.
If he had a cold, Meng Huan would love to have someone check on him and care about him. Moreover, Lin Bozhou just helped him clean up Xu Ruolin yesterday, and he hadn’t thanked him yet.
Meng Huan desperately stuffed a few pieces of meat into his mouth. After stuffing his stomach full, he simply washed up and said, “I’ll go see him.”
Meng Huan went to the main hall where Lin Bozhou lived.
When he reached the door, Eunuch You Jin said, “Greetings, Your Highness.”
“Can I go in?” Meng Huan asked.
“The prince is sleeping now.” You Jin bowed his head. “Your Highness can go in.”
It was rare to hear Lin Bozhou sleeping in the afternoon.
Meng Huan went in. The hall was quiet, and the servants stood quietly. When they saw Meng Huan, they performed a greeting without speaking.
Meng Huan walked to the bed. There was a man’s figure lying across the bed, covered by a thin quilt pulled to the waist, and a medicine bowl was placed next to it, which was dried and clean.
Lin Bozhou placed his hand on his brow and seemed to be blocking the light; maybe he was asleep. The light shone on his jaw, half-revealing his pale white lips.
Sick and crooked.
Meng Huan looked at him for a while, not knowing whether to wake him up or not. He sat by the bed and looked around in boredom.
The paper and brush were still on the table. Perhaps the first thing Lin Bozhou did when he returned was to write a letter. He was probably too sick before drinking his medicine and sleeping.
Meng Huan looked down at him.
Just give up. You were overdrawing your life if you worked too hard when young.
Lin Bozhou seemed uncomfortable, and cold sweat rolled down his forehead.
Fever?
Meng Huan looked up, raised his hand, and tried to pluck the hair on the side of his forehead to avoid getting it wet with sweat.
But just as his fingers touched it, Lin Bozhou’s eyelids jumped, and he opened his dark, moist eyes. His gaze seemed to change from hazy to clear, but his eyebrows were still gently knitted, and his eyelashes fell, with a bit of the sinking feeling of just waking up.
Meng Huan’s fingers paused. “Your Highness is awake?”
——————–
