Chapter 73: A Peaceful Haven for My Heart
Old Madam saw Gu Xinglang wordlessly waiting on Yu Xiaoxiao and felt angry again. Is there any man who serves his wife like that? The emperor’s daughters are royalty–the golden branch and jade leaves–but my family’s Xinglang has never been maltreated in his life!
The old patriarch only ate his fill before setting down his chopsticks. “Does Your Ladyship have something to say?” he asked Old Madam.
Old Madam felt that her husband was taking pleasure in her misfortune as she suffered a crushing defeat before the princess. It’s as if he’s even happier than winning himself.
Gu Xinglang finally looked up after the old man spoke. To Old Madam, he said, “Grandmother, the princess doesn’t mean ill. She’s only worrying about you. I’ll have the kitchens prepare soup and noodles for grandmother to eat a bit more.”
Yu Xiaoxiao stuffed her mouth full of shrimp before lifting her head. “Ill intentions? When did that happen?”
Gu Xinglang took the initiative to ladle her some soup as he murmured, “This is pigeon soup, try some, Xiaoxiao.”
Yu Xiaoxiao seized the moment while Gu Xinglang was spooning soup to tell Old Madam, “Grandma, I hope you and grandpa can live long lives for 100 years. If anyone treats you ill in the future, tell me and I’ll slap their mouths!”
As soon as she mentioned fighting, Yu Xiaoxiao’s body seethed with killing intent. Her eyes grew vicious, causing Old Madam, an old lady who had grown up in the inner chambers all her life, to truly feel fear. She was momentarily too shocked to speak.
Gu Xinglang pushed the bowl of pigeon soup beneath Yu Xiaoxiao’s nose and carefully skimmed away the patches of oil on its surface. Yu Xiaoxiao lowered her head to drink. For Her Royal Highness, a single bowl only needed two mouthfuls to polish off.
“Full?” Gu Xinglang asked.
There were still leftovers on the table, but Yu Xiaoxiao saw that Gu Xingnuo was eating while the Old Madam would probably eat some more once she got hungry. She decided to leave some food for the two and nodded towards the old patriarch.
“Xinglang?” the old man asked his grandson.
Gu Xinglang nodded as well. He drank medicine daily now and the bitterness penetrated to his stomach. If he wasn’t accompanying Yu Xiaoxiao to eat everyday, he’d probably eat as much as a cat.
“Then you two should return to your rooms first,” the old patriarch said. “If the princess still wants to eat, have the small kitchen make something. I see it’s going to rain later, so don’t go out tonight. Save it for tomorrow.”
“Yes, grandfather. Grandson understands,” Gu Xinglang agreed.
Yu Xiaoxiao wiped her mouth with her hands and rose to pay her respects to the old patriarch, matriarch, Lady Xu, Gu Xingnuo and his wife, and the two little meatbuns. Then she pushed Gu Xinglang away.
Old Madam waited until Yu Xiaoxiao was gone before said said, “Good night? Is that how the imperial family pays their respects?”
The old partriarch withdrew his smile. “Aren’t you acting pointlessly?”
Gu Xingnuo saw that the two were about to fight and quickly set down his chopsticks. “Grandfather, I’ve eaten my fill as well. Lady Sun and I shall return first.”
The old partriarch waved a hand to dismiss his eldest grandson’s family.
Lady Xu said, “Father, then daughter-in-law shall depart as well.”
“Go ahead, go back,” the old partriarch said.
Only the old couple was left behind. Old Madam said, “Looks like you regard our royal highness kindly, old master.”
The old partriarch replied, “You can’t beat her in a fight and now you’ve failed in a war of words. What else do you want?”
Old Madam could only stew in her own temper.
“The gap is too wide,” the old partriarch said as he rose to his feet. “In the military, we call people like you those who dash eggs against rocks. You’ve overestimated yourself.”
Old Madam only grew self-mocking. “Yes, I’m an old lady without an imperial title. What can I use to fight against the princess? You like her now, but don’t be happy too soon. If she gets sick of Xinglang someday, I’d like to see what you do.”
“And what if the princess doesn’t?” the old partriarch challenged.
Old Madam only smiled coldly. She could tell that Yu Linglong was a restless type by nature. That kind of personality didn’t suit her tastes. The old partriarch simply folded his hands behind his back and went to stroll in the gardens to digest his dinner.
When Qinghe and the rest came to clean up the dishes, they saw Old Madam sitting gloomily by herself. She wanted to coax her to stop fighting with the princess, but the words died on her lips. Yu Xiaoxiao couldn’t read Old Madam’s current mood, so after pushing Gu Xinglang back home, she simply went to examine his legs. The injuries were smeared with top-quality salves, but were still a little inflammed. Yu Xiaoxiao lightly tapped against them, causing Gu Xinglang’s nerves to throb with pain.
“Does it hurt?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked.
“A little,” Gu Xinglang replied.
“They’re a bit inflamed,” Yu Xiaoxiao said as she felt Gu Xinglang’s forehead. Inflammation in the injuries would typically lead to fever. That was the body’s most direct way of fighting back against infection.
Gu Xinglang’s expression didn’t change as he asked, “Is the injury worsening?” Over the past few days, his ankles had been in constant pain, but it was at a bearable level. Thus, he hadn’t acted any differently than usual.
Sensing the high temperature beneath her palm, Yu Xiaoxiao bent down and pressed her forehead against Gu Xinglang’s to confirm. “You’re running a temperature right now.”
“Running a temperature?” Gu Xinglang echoed.
Yu Xiaoxiao said, “It’s what you guys call a fever.”
Gu Xinglang paused for a while before he asked, “Do the imperial physicians call fevers ‘running a temperature?’”
Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t bother with the question and simply tucked Gu Xinglang under the covers. “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
“It’s not bad,” Gu Xinglang replied.
Yu Xiaoxiao gave him a thumbs up. “Heroic.”
Gu Xinglang smiled. “Am I seriously ill?”
“Don’t be afraid,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, “As long as you don’t have an allergic constitution, just wait for me to finish making some good medicine. Inflammations like this will be over with within a few days.”
“Allergic constitution?”
“It’s medical terminology, don’t worry if you don’t get it,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. “Momo went to boil some medicine for you, so I’ll wipe your body down first.”
Gu Xinglang immediately grew uneasy. “Have the pageboys come instead.”
“It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before,” Yu Xiaoxiao said while calling out the door for hot water. “Why are you still being unreasonable?”
Being unreasonable? Gu Xinglang had to take some time to digest these words.
Yu Xiaoxiao wiped Gu Xinglang’s body down, then watched him drink his medicine. Finally, she sat by his bed and chatted with him a bit until the effects of the medicine sent him to sleep. She asked Wang momo for the time and realized that two hours had already passed. Wang momo looked at Gu Xinglang’s red, feverish face and couldn’t help but fret. “Princess, will Royal Son-in-Law’s injuries recover?”
“They will,” Yu Xiaoxiao said. It was only re-connecting some tendons. If she didn’t have the skills to fix that, then her fellow survivors in the apocalypse would probably laugh at her now.
“What if they don’t?” Wang momo asked.
“Don’t recover?” Yu Xiaoxiao asked. “Well in any case, he still has his life, doesn’t he?”
Wang momo grew anxious. “Then what about you?”
Yu Xiaoxiao bent down to tuck in another corner of Gu Xinglang’s covers, her tone carefree. “Surviving is already good enough. He’ll have me in any case.”
The sleeping Gu Xinglang’s eyelids moved slightly; he felt at ease with the girl sitting by his side.
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