[Can't Eat Anymore]
Outside the tent, a light drizzle fell continuously. The grass on the ground took on a yellowish-green hue; summer had finally passed, and the cold, dry autumn had arrived.
The small tent hadn't been completely tidied up yet. Su Zhenzhen had Mu Dan sit on a trunk while she first treated the burns on his hands.
Mu Dan's burns weren't severe, but because his skin was so pale and the singed area was rather extensive, it looked somewhat terrifying, especially his right hand.
Su Zhenzhen carefully peeled off the rain-soaked mulberry paper. In places where the blisters had burst, she applied some lithospermum and angelica ointment. Where they hadn't burst, she sprinkled a little calamine powder. Then, abandoning the fragile mulberry paper, she carefully wrapped his hands with bandages instead.
"All done."
Lu Hexu sat on the trunk, raising his right hand, then his left.
"Don't move around."
The young man obediently lowered his hands and placed them on his knees, like a student listening attentively in class.
Actually, calculating his age, he would only be a senior in high school.
No, probably a college freshman.
Su Zhenzhen couldn't help but stare at Mu Dan for a while, imagining the young man in a high school uniform, paired with the bandages on his hands.
A battle-damaged beautiful youth; he was still stunning, even possessing an added touch of fragility.
After finishing treating Mu Dan, Su Zhenzhen finally turned her attention to the pineapple she had been longing for.
This pineapple looked ripe, and its exterior was no different from the ones she saw in the modern world.
"Let's eat half of it raw and grill the other half, okay?" Su Zhenzhen asked for Mu Dan's opinion.
The young man nodded without any objections.
Because pineapples were simply too precious here, Su Zhenzhen was a bit nervous when she made the first cut.
If it weren't for the fact that pineapple skin was inedible, she would have wanted to swallow such a valuable item whole, skin and all.
She tried her best to peel the pineapple as thinly as possible so she could leave more of the flesh.
Looking at the uneven pineapple skin she had peeled off, Su Zhenzhen felt a pang of heartache.
If Mu Dan's hands weren't injured, having him cut this pineapple might have yielded an extra plate of thin slices.
"Have you ever eaten pineapple before?" Su Zhenzhen cut off a small piece and brought it to the young man's lips.
"No." Lu Hexu's hands were bound in bandages, making it difficult to move. If the pineapple juice seeped into the bandages, it would trouble Su Zhenzhen to replace them again.
"Open your mouth."
Lu Hexu leaned forward slightly to eat the piece of pineapple.
The young man's lips brushed past her fingertips as he bit the tiny piece of pineapple and held it in his mouth.
"How does it taste?"
"Mhm."
The young man frowned, seemingly not very fond of the taste.
Su Zhenzhen cut a piece for herself, opened her mouth, and popped it in. She tasted a tart, astringent sweetness.
No wonder he didn't like it; this pineapple was a bit too sour.
Su Zhenzhen continued to cut the pineapple. When she glanced away for a second, the young man who had just been waiting beside her to eat the pineapple had already gone to dig for sweet pills in her medicine box.
Mu Dan's left fingers weren't completely wrapped up; he still had a few relatively nimble digits. The young man used those slender, white fingers to rummage through a pile of bottles and jars, accurately picking out a bottle of sweet pills.
Even though the bottle was stoppered, a hint of peppermint fragrance still wafted from the rim. It contained honey, with the main ingredients being Solomon's seal, dwarf lilyturf, and glehnia root. Su Zhenzhen had made them to soothe the throat.
After entering autumn, the weather turned dry. These sweet pills were easy to store and convenient to carry around, making them absolutely perfect.
Back in the Qingliang Palace, Su Zhenzhen had made quite a few of these sweet pills. After she gave them to Mu Dan once, the young man frequently brought the empty bottle back to her for a refill.
Not to soothe his throat, but simply to eat the candies.
For regular sweet pills, she added one spoonful of honey, but for his, he demanded three.
However, the young man's sense of taste had almost fully recovered by now, so there was no need to add that much honey anymore.
Su Zhenzhen lit the small stove she had borrowed yesterday, then placed a clean, scrubbed roof tile on top of it.
She had already cut the other half of the pineapple into small slices and placed them on a plate. Once the oil on the tile heated up, Su Zhenzhen placed the first slice of pineapple onto it.
She didn't use much oil; fearing the pineapple would stick to the tile and be hard to remove, she just lightly brushed a thin layer of oil over the surface.
The pineapple juice was roasted out, hot liquid trickling down the tile, and Su Zhenzhen caught the scent of a fresh, sweet pineapple fragrance.
Mu Dan, who was eating the sweet pills, also had his attention drawn. He walked over, still not letting go of the bottle of sweet pills in his hand.
Just like when they first met in the Jinling Palace, the young man sat on a low stool, leisurely tilting one corner of it as he waited quietly.
The first slice of grilled pineapple was ready. Su Zhenzhen picked it up with chopsticks, placed it on a plate, and started grilling the second slice.
She cut the first grilled slice in half. Steaming heat rose up, accompanied by the rich, sweet aroma of pineapple that rushed straight to the nose.
Su Zhenzhen used a fork to spear half of the pineapple and took a light bite.
The young man sitting opposite her mimicked her actions, speared the remaining half, and slowly brought it to his mouth.
It was obvious he didn't have much confidence in the grilled pineapple.
After all, the taste of the raw pineapple earlier hadn't been to his liking.
But once the grilled pineapple entered his mouth, Su Zhenzhen clearly saw a flicker in the young man's eyes.
Grilling the pineapple suppressed its tartness and further released its sweetness. The soft, hot pineapple flesh entered the mouth, carrying a rich, sweet fruity aroma.
If only they had some grilled meat right now, paired with some lettuce.
A crisp piece of lettuce wrapping freshly grilled tender meat, dipped in some seasoning, and accompanied by a portion of grilled pineapple to cut the grease.
Su Zhenzhen looked up at the tent, then looked outside.
How wonderful would that be, camping and having a barbecue.
"Can you get some pork and lettuce? I want pork belly, the kind with alternating layers of fat and lean meat. Oh, and bring back some seasonings while you're at it."
Since she had resources by her side, of course, she should use them.
Su Zhenzhen looked at Mu Dan with sparkling eyes.
The young man nodded slowly and stood up.
The light drizzle outside the tent had stopped, and the damp scent of grass and trees after the rain lingered in the air.
Lu Hexu walked out of the tent. After walking for a bit, he realized he didn't know the way, so he went back to find Wei Heng.
Wei Heng was inside his tent processing memorials to the throne.
When the tent flap was lifted, he subconsciously frowned and looked up from his work. Upon seeing who had entered, his expression shifted, and without even bothering to stand up first, he immediately prostrated himself on the ground. "Your Majesty."
"I want pork and lettuce."
Wei Heng paused for a moment, then rose. "This servant will order someone to fetch them."
Lu Hexu nodded lazily and sat down in Wei Heng's seat.
Wei Heng's desk was piled high with memorials, and scrolls were scattered everywhere in the tent.
Lu Hexu lay back and boredly raised his hands to look at them.
The plain white bandages, which had been sterilized with hot water and dried in the sun, were cut extremely neatly. They wound carefully, strip by strip, from his fingertips all the way up to his forearms.
This was the more severely injured right hand.
As for his left hand, he still had three fingers that could move nimbly, and the bandages only wrapped up to his wrist.
The woman’s own clothes and room were always a mess, but she never made a mistake with the herbs, and the bandages were always cut neatly.
Wei Heng's tent was set up in an extremely simple manner, exactly matching his usual frugal style. There was only a thin curtain at the entrance, and the ground did not even have wooden boards, just a simple layer of mats.
Through this thin curtain, voices could be heard from outside.
"I heard the fire in the main hall of the royal temple was caused by the wrath of Heaven."
As for exactly why Heaven was angry, everyone knew perfectly well in their hearts, but no one dared to say it.
"In the past, when His Majesty was the Crown Prince, he was such a respectful and gentle person."
"Yes, although I entered the palace late, I heard that the Crown Prince back then would cry out of pity even if he stepped on an ant. How did he become like this now?"
Speaking of the past was just to contrast it with the present.
However good he was in the past, that is how much of a tyrant he is now.
"Right, did you know? I heard that when repairing the burned royal temple, the vegetation brought in suddenly withered overnight." One of the eunuchs suddenly lowered his voice.
Lu Hexu was still lying there. He slowly turned his palm over and looked at the bow tied on the back of his hand.
Su Zhenzhen was used to tying bows on him. Whether it was the hairband for his ponytail, the sash around his waist, or the strings of his scent sachet, she liked to leave long trailing bows. If conditions permitted, the color she chose was always pink.
"It's the wrath of Heaven, the gods have descended!" The other eunuch suddenly began to panic in a superstitious frenzy.
The bandages had just been changed; she was going to fuss again.
Lu Hexu popped two sugar pills into his mouth, and the sweet, cloying scent of mint mixed with the taste of honey spread out.
Lu Hexu bit down, and the sugar pills shattered in his mouth.
He slowly sat up, crossing his legs, and pulled off the bandage on his hand. The plain white bandage fell onto the thin carpet. He stepped on the rough carpet and drew a silver dagger from his tall boots.
The sharp dagger had been polished to a brilliant shine, exuding a cold, sinister gleam.
The two eunuchs were still hiding at the tent entrance talking, obviously having seen Wei Heng leave and assuming there was no one inside.
The thin curtain was lifted, and the two eunuchs turned their heads at the same time.
The young man wearing a eunuch's uniform stood there expressionlessly, his pale, slender arms bearing obvious burn marks.
Holding the silver dagger in his hand, under the terrified gazes of the two eunuchs, he grabbed one of them by the collar and dragged him into the tent.
The young man looked slender, but his strength was immense.
The eunuch, choked by his collar, turned purple in the face, his legs kicking wildly.
The other eunuch was terrified and turned to run.
A wooden table flew out from the tent and accurately smashed into the fleeing eunuch.
The eunuch collapsed at an awkward angle. His bones must have been broken; he could neither run nor crawl. He tried to speak, but the moment he opened his mouth, blood welled up from his throat and spilled out.
After Lu Hexu finished dealing with the one inside, he came out of the tent, grabbed the one on the ground, and dragged him inside as well.
When Wei Heng returned carrying a basket, he saw the blood splattered on the tent curtain, looking like splashed thick ink.
His face paled in shock, and he raised his hand to lift the curtain.
The tent was in total chaos. The memorials that were originally placed on the table were all thrown onto the ground, most of them soaked in blood.
That desk was also gone. If he remembered correctly, he seemed to have encountered it at the entrance just before he came into the tent.
The tent was filled with the stench of blood. The young man sat on the ground with his hands covered in blood, wiping them clean.
Beside him lay a eunuch slumped over, a silver dagger stabbed into his neck. Looking further up, the eunuch's mouth had been slashed open, and half of his face was almost ruined.
There was another one lying on the ground, his body twisted as if his spine had been broken by a heavy object, having literally died from the sheer pain.
Although he had seen this many times before, Wei Heng couldn't help but change his expression.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
"Mm."
Lu Hexu stood up. His eunuch uniform was stained with blood, but he didn't care at all, bending down to look at the contents of Wei Heng's basket.
"Pork and lettuce."
They were the things Su Zhenzhen had asked for.
"Is it pork belly?"
Wei Heng looked at the two corpses, subconsciously turning his head away, and suppressing his nausea, said, "Yes."
He wouldn't be able to eat meat for a month.
Lu Hexu turned around, stepped on the eunuch's corpse to pull the dagger out, and then went to wash his hands. After washing his hands and the dagger clean, he grabbed the bandage from the carpet, tied it haphazardly, and then took the bamboo basket from Wei Heng's hand.
Lu Hexu placed his hand on Wei Heng's shoulder. He looked down at the head eunuch of internal affairs kneeling on the ground. "Wei Heng, investigate this thoroughly. I am very unhappy."
-
Why isn't he back yet.
Su Zhenzhen yawned.
She poured out the freshly boiled coptis root water.
To keep the fire in the small stove from going out, she conveniently boiled some coptis root water for Mu Dan.
The steaming coptis water was so bitter that it made Su Zhenzhen frown. She quickly moved the small pot of it further away.
Finally, a familiar figure faintly appeared ahead. Su Zhenzhen subconsciously stood up to meet him.
The two met in front of the tent. She took the basket from the young man's hands and suddenly noticed that the eunuch uniform Mu Dan was wearing seemed to have been changed, and the bandages on his hands were wet.
"What happened?"
Su Zhenzhen placed the basket in her hand on the ground and looked for a handkerchief to wipe the water stains off his hands.
"It got dirty, so I washed it."
Su Zhenzhen frowned, suddenly feeling a little angry.
Angry that Mu Dan cared so little about his own body.
She had worked so hard to nurse his body back to health, not for him to ruin it.
"You are not allowed to get caught in the rain anymore, and before your injuries heal, your hands are not allowed to touch water."
The woman was rarely this serious. She stood there with her hands on her hips to increase her imposing manner, only to realize that the young man had somehow grown much taller than her. She then subtly stood on her tiptoes. Her eyes, as clear as water as always, looked at him quietly.
Lu Hexu looked at her for a moment and suddenly smiled. "Oh." He nodded, leaning forward to hug her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Because they were so close, his youthful voice sounded exceptionally cool and pleasant, "I'll be good."
Su Zhenzhen couldn't handle him when he acted like this.
The woman's face flushed slightly, and her previous imposing posture vanished. She re-dressed his wounds, then pulled him by the arm to sit down in front of the small stove and started grilling the meat.
The coal smoke was a bit heavy, and it was no longer raining outside, so Su Zhenzhen moved the small stove to the tent entrance. She let the young man watch the fire while she went to slice the meat and wash the lettuce.
Once everything was ready, Su Zhenzhen sat down and started grilling the meat.
Her meat-slicing skills were average; the slices were uneven in size. She grilled the thicker ones a bit longer and the thinner ones a bit less.
"When your hands are healed, you should be the one slicing next time."
Mu Dan sliced meat the best, with even thickness. If he weren't a eunuch, he would be a naturally gifted chef.
The aroma of the grilled meat spread out. This was authentic pork belly, neither too lean nor too fat.
"What dipping sauce do you want? We have plum sauce, Sichuan peppercorn, black pepper, fermented black beans, chili oil... What's this?"
Su Zhenzhen dipped her chopsticks into it and put a little in her mouth, immediately sticking her tongue out from the spiciness.
"It's mustard."
"Honey," the person opposite her gave his answer.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
"No one eats roast meat dipped in honey."
After Su Zhenzhen finished speaking, she placed the roasted pork belly on a plate. Then, she picked up a lettuce leaf, wrapped a piece of mustard-dipped meat and a piece of pineapple in it, and stuffed it into Mu Dan's mouth.
The young man's cheeks bulged as he chewed with difficulty.
"How is it? Is it cooked?"
Raw pork belly couldn't be eaten; it would easily cause parasites in the stomach.
Lu Hexu swallowed the meat in his mouth. "It's cooked."
Su Zhenzhen quickly wrapped one for herself.
Mmm, outdoor barbecue was just the best.
It was a cloudy day, and a light drizzle fell intermittently. Just as they finished eating the pork belly, it started to rain again.
Su Zhenzhen picked up the small stove and moved it further inside.
"I heard there's a river nearby with incredibly tender fish. Once your hand is healed and we have some free time, let's go catch a few, alright? I'll make you some raw fish slices."
Eating raw fish slices was already very common in this era. People usually used freshwater fish like carp or sea bass, or seawater fish which were more savory and less fishy. The scales, bones, and spines were removed, and the meat was sliced as thin as cicada wings to be eaten with dipping sauces.
If she put the raw fish slices on top of rice balls, wouldn't that be an ancient version of sushi?
How was sushi rice made again? Did it need vinegar? Could she find seaweed here? If not, purple laver could work as a substitute.
The more she thought about it, the more her mouth watered. The next day, Su Zhenzhen couldn't wait to grab her coin purse and go out, planning to ask the eunuch guarding the main dining tent to buy some sea fish to make sushi.
With things like provisions, a little more or a little less was unnoticeable. Therefore, the imperial kitchens were the most lucrative places. Even the leftover scraps could be turned into silver, getting greedy eunuchs and maids to empty their pockets for a taste.
Su Zhenzhen held her increasingly empty coin purse, wondering why she was such a glutton.
The kitchen tent was dirty and located in the farthest spot. There was a river nearby, making it convenient for washing vegetables, pots, rice, and dumping dirty water.
It wasn't a busy time right now, and several eunuchs were gathered together chatting.
"Eunuch, apologies for interrupting your work," Su Zhenzhen said as she slipped the prepared silver into the eunuch's hand.
The eunuch's furrowed brows instantly relaxed.
When navigating the palace, silver was king. For those at the bottom who struggled just to survive, silver was naturally what they recognized best.
"What does sister need?"
This eunuch had crossed paths with Su Zhenzhen a few times. Furthermore, because she was beautiful, she was someone whose name was frequently mentioned among both guards and eunuchs. Some patrolling guards had even specially switched shifts just to catch a glimpse of her.
After hearing that she had formed a paired-eating relationship with Wei Heng's adopted son, Mu Dan, who knew how many eunuchs' and guards' hearts had been broken.
Su Zhenzhen didn't feel she was anything special; after all, she had been a beauty in her past life too, so she was used to it.
"I haven't been feeling well lately and have a poor appetite. I was wondering if the kitchen had any leftover sea fish. I want to make a refreshing side dish."
The eunuch thought for a moment, turned around, and went into the kitchen tent to fetch some minced sea fish. He put it in a bamboo basket and handed it to Su Zhenzhen. "Here's also a packet of malt sugar. The master chef messed up the batch. I was craving something sweet and asked him for it. If sister doesn't mind, take it."
Su Zhenzhen smiled and accepted it, then heard the eunuch say, "Has sister heard Eunuch Mu Dan mention anything lately? It seems His Majesty lost his temper again yesterday and dealt with two eunuchs."
So he thought she was a path to insider information.
Su Zhenzhen shook her head.
Mu Dan hadn't told her anything.
Su Zhenzhen turned to leave, but the eunuch suddenly grabbed her. "Sister, take a close look at this malt sugar. It's very sweet."
Sensing something was wrong, Su Zhenzhen returned to her tent. She first lowered the curtain, then unwrapped the paper holding the malt sugar. Eight words were written on it.
Heaven's punishment descends, imperial temple burns, flora withers, the heavenly way cycles.
Su Zhenzhen no longer had the mood to eat sea fish. She hurriedly threw the paper into the small stove and burned it.
That eunuch was trying to get her killed.
Things had been restless lately. The Brocade Guards patrolled everywhere constantly, and the maids and eunuchs had practically turned mute. Even if there was a matter to discuss, they mostly communicated through eye contact. If they absolutely had to speak, they didn't dare mention any forbidden, sensitive words.
Such as heaven's punishment, fire, wither, imperial temple, heavenly way, ancestors, cycle, and so on.
Su Zhenzhen knew this was a public opinion trick commonly used by Shen Yanci's group. It was also the favorite method employed by new factions aiming to achieve great things throughout history.
Like stuffing silk messages into fish bellies or having soldiers imitate fox cries in the middle of the night to create the illusion of a divine mandate.
Or using the anomaly of slaying a white snake to demonstrate one's divinity and destiny.
The ancients believed in gods and Buddhas, and they trusted these signs without a doubt.
It was just that Shen Yanci and the others hadn't expected this tyrant to adopt such a high-pressure policy.
This tyrant simply didn't care about his reputation.
The eunuchs and maids caught by the Brocade Guards were forced down by the riverbank and beheaded one by one.
Blood flowed through the river channel. On that day, the red hue of that section of the river never faded.
That river was close to the dining tents and was normally used for washing vegetables.
Whenever Su Zhenzhen thought of that scene, she couldn't eat a thing, let alone fish.
She lay listlessly on her bed, wrapping her small quilt tightly around herself.
After that day, the temperature suddenly dropped and it became cold. She hadn't brought any thick clothes. The high officials and nobles had long since put on thick autumn garments, leaving only the eunuchs and maids like them still wearing thin summer clothes.
Fortunately, Wei Heng was considerate of his subordinates. Early the next morning, someone came in to deliver autumn clothes.
Su Zhenzhen lay on the bed, wanting to get up and express her thanks, but she was too weak and sick to rise.
This body was truly frail.
Partly it was due to the temperature drop, and partly because she had been severely frightened.
She heard that corpses had piled up in the river channel, being gnawed on by the fish.
Fresh blood had flowed all the way downstream.
Su Zhenzhen fell back down, having chaotic dreams.
One moment she was in the imperial palace of Jinling City, seeing those corpses dragged out from the main hall staring at her with wide eyes.
The next moment she was kneeling by the riverbank, a Brocade Guard in a flying fish suit standing beside her, bringing his embroidered spring sword down toward her head.
The chaotic dreams continued endlessly, spinning back and forth, until a hand touched her feverishly flushed face.
Su Zhenzhen vaguely felt like Sushan was kneading her face like a cat making biscuits.
I'm about to die, and you're still kneading.
She opened her eyes and saw Mu Dan, realizing it wasn't Sushan, but Mu Dan.
Su Zhenzhen's eyes instantly turned red. "You're here."
She spoke with a hoarse voice.
When she first entered the Jinling imperial palace, she had also fallen ill, but back then she didn't have Mu Dan.
Feeling wronged, Su Zhenzhen nuzzled her head into Mu Dan's embrace.
"You're burning up." The young man's hand rested on her forehead.
"I'm sick."
Su Zhenzhen muttered softly.
The young man leaned over, his icy fingertips making the feverish Su Zhenzhen feel very comfortable.
So comfortable.
Lu Hexu paused. His fingertips slid down her cheek like a smooth block of ice, brushing aside her collar and pressing against her neck.
[It is so cold.]
Su Zhenzhen shivered and dodged the young man's hand.
Comfortable one moment, cold the next.
Truly hard to please.
"Are you alright? I heard a lot of people were arrested..."
"Mhm."
Lu Hexu stood up, opened Su Zhenzhen's chest, and rummaged for her medicine.
He did not find any fever-reducing pills, but instead found several fever-reducing prescriptions.
Lu Hexu brought the prescriptions over. "Which one?"
Su Zhenzhen groggily opened her eyes, incredibly sleepy.
She lifted a limp finger, pointed at one of them, and fell into a heavy slumber.
So cold.
A person with a fever feels cold, yet their body is hot to the touch.
Lu Hexu placed the prescription on the table and opened another chest.
Inside were the cotton-padded clothes, jackets, and quilts that the Imperial Household Department had just delivered.
Lu Hexu pulled out a cotton quilt and covered Su Zhenzhen with it.
The light quilt draped over the woman, completely covering her head and face.
Lu Hexu paused, reached out, and pulled the blanket down a bit, revealing Su Zhenzhen's face.
The woman curled up in the bedding, looking like a tiny little thing.
Her face was small too.
Lu Hexu reached out with both hands, pressed them against her cheeks, and gave a light pinch.
[So cold.]
He pulled out another quilt.
-
When Su Zhenzhen woke up, she smelled the strong, bitter scent of medicine.
Her tent originally had a bitter medicinal smell, but now it smelled more like a giant, sealed medicine pot.
"Cough, cough..." Su Zhenzhen coughed lightly and glanced at the three layers of quilts on her body.
No wonder she dreamed she had turned into the Monkey King and was crushed under a mountain; so this was the root cause.
Su Zhenzhen struggled to reach out and threw off the other two layers of quilts, finally able to breathe normally.
The small tent was very warm. The young man sat with his back to her on a small stool, brewing medicine.
The fire on the small stove glowed faintly. Brewing medicine was not something you could walk away from, otherwise, it would easily boil dry.
Hearing the movement, Lu Hexu turned his head slightly from the small stool to look at her.
Su Zhenzhen blinked. Her throat hurt terribly, her head ached, and her body ached too.
Lu Hexu stood up and walked over to her side.
His fingertips brushed across her flushed brow and eyes, then he turned and poured her a bowl of cold tea.
After drinking the bowl of cold tea, Su Zhenzhen felt much more refreshed.
So cold.
"Are you brewing medicine?"
"Mhm."
Lu Hexu used a handkerchief to pad the handle of the medicine pot and lifted it with one hand.
The thick, bitter medicinal liquid was poured into a white porcelain bowl.
Su Zhenzhen frowned the moment she caught a whiff of the medicine.
Even though she was a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, she hated drinking it the most.
Anyone who has drunk traditional Chinese medicine knows that the bitterness lingers on the tip of the tongue for a long time. With every mouthful, there is a risk of subconsciously vomiting it back out. Then this smell will linger in your body, your nasal cavity, your breath, and your sense of taste, until you are thoroughly marinated in it.
"Are you sure you didn't brew it wrong?" Su Zhenzhen's eyes shifted evasively.
Lu Hexu held the medicine with one hand and brought it under Su Zhenzhen's nose.
Su Zhenzhen took one sniff and knew he had not brewed it wrong.
"Put it down for a bit. It is too hot, I will drink it later."
Lu Hexu set the medicine bowl down.
Su Zhenzhen held his hand and unwrapped the damp bandages on it.
The young man's burns were mostly healed, though the scars had yet to fade.
"In a few days, I will make you some medicine to remove the scars."
[Such beautiful hands cannot be left with scars.]
[So cool, so comfortable.]
Su Zhenzhen rubbed her face against the young man's cheek.
"Drink your medicine."
Su Zhenzhen: ...
Su Zhenzhen took a deep breath, picked up the medicine bowl, and downed it in one gulp.
Blegh.
Why was it both sweet and bitter?
"How much honey... did you add..."
"Not much."
Su Zhenzhen's throat hurt from the cloying sweetness.
"I want to eat something."
After sleeping all day, Su Zhenzhen was starting to feel a bit hungry.
"Eat what?" The young man's cold, pale face was steeped in the dim light of the tent. His gaze swept over the woman's face, which looked as if it had been rouged due to her fever, resembling a pink peach soaked in sunlight.
Lu Hexu reached out and stroked her face.
The young man lowered his eyes, his voice suddenly dropping a few degrees softer, "Eat me?"
Su Zhenzhen: ...
[I am too tired to eat that.]
"Anything besides you and whatever is in the river."
