[Is it a persimmon?]
[Why would he hide a persimmon down there?]
[I need to take it out quickly, what if it gets crushed?]
"Mmh..."
The young man let out a muffled groan. He bent his knee, pressing it against Su Zhenzhen's waist, though he didn't use any force. Instead, it gave off a feeling of half-hearted resistance, inviting her in.
This hunting trap was very deep.
Faint moonlight shone down from above.
The moon was bright today, carrying a frosty, silvery whiteness as it fell upon Lu Hexu's face.
In the luminous moonlight, a crimson flush spread across the young man's pale skin.
This flush was deeper than ever before, as if crushed peach blossom juice was seeping from his skin, growing petals along his veins and blooming entirely on his face.
Su Zhenzhen: ...
[It can't be.]
[No way.]
[This isn't real, is it?]
[I must be dreaming.]
Su Zhenzhen vaguely recalled a dream she had a long time ago in the Jinling Imperial Palace.
Actually, she had always thought it was just a dream.
She had been drunk, so having a strange dream was perfectly normal.
It was just that having such an erotic dream was a bit hard to speak of, so she never mentioned it.
But now, she began to feel that it hadn't been a dream at all.
In the summer, on that rocking chair, the young man had been pinned beneath her. His dark eyes had stared at her, dampening the hem of her skirt.
Su Zhenzhen slowly released her hand.
"You can take the persimmon out yourself." She quickly stood up and moved to the side.
Her mind was a complete mess right now.
How could a eunuch... not have his roots removed?
How could he be a fake eunuch?
Su Zhenzhen's hand trembled as it hung by her side, the tactile sensation of the persimmon still lingering in her palm.
That persimmon felt quite large.
Ahhhh, Su Zhenzhen, what are you thinking!
"The persimmons all fell out, I'll pick them up."
People are at their busiest when they are embarrassed.
Su Zhenzhen picked up the basket with one hand and reached for the fallen persimmons on the ground with the other.
Such small wild persimmons.
They didn't feel small just a moment ago.
No, with such a delicate and beautiful young man's face, is that even normal?
Holding a persimmon in her hand, Su Zhenzhen suddenly spaced out for a moment, then lowered her head to continue picking them up.
After picking up the persimmons, she really couldn't find anything else to do that was both appropriately busy and reasonable to hide her embarrassment.
"Are you hurt?"
Su Zhenzhen only then realized that the young man had been leaning there without moving.
The peach-blossom flush on Lu Hexu's face slowly faded, but his gaze remained fixed on Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen's eyes met his, then looked away, then accidentally met his again, and then continued to look away.
"It hurts."
"Where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere."
Su Zhenzhen had no choice but to put down the bamboo basket and crouch beside the young man.
When they fell, Mu Dan had cushioned her fall, absorbing most of the impact for her, so she herself felt fine.
Su Zhenzhen reached out and carefully touched the scrape on Mu Dan's cheek.
[Ruined, ruined, ruined.]
[Her beautiful boy.]
[I hope it doesn't leave a scar.]
After checking his face, Su Zhenzhen checked Mu Dan's pulse and found that aside from his breathing being slightly unsteady, there were no other issues.
"Don't move for now."
In situations like this, to avoid secondary injuries, it was generally recommended to wait for professional rescue.
Could they wait for professional rescue here?
Su Zhenzhen looked up; this hunting hole was very deep, and the inner walls were smooth.
She reached out to touch the wall and felt that climbing up barehanded would be extremely difficult.
But she had to try anyway; they couldn't just stay trapped in here until they died, right?
Su Zhenzhen looked down, found a rock on the ground, and slowly used it to dig into the cave wall, attempting to create footholds and handholds for climbing.
But the dirt was too soft; one strike with the rock and it crumbled, making it impossible to support a body's weight.
"There are no solid cliff walls or sturdy rocks in here either."
Su Zhenzhen continued to dig further in, managing to unearth a few medicinal herbs.
Tired from digging, she sat down beside Mu Dan.
Su Zhenzhen's gaze involuntarily drifted downward, then awkwardly shifted away.
She couldn't help it; right now, she just kept wanting to look at that spot.
However, given the current situation, it wasn't suitable to discuss such matters.
Su Zhenzhen slightly turned her head to look at the young man. Aside from being a bit energetic when she first touched his persimmon, Mu Dan now looked quite lethargic.
"How are you doing?"
"Dizzy."
Did he hit his head?
"Do you feel nauseous?"
Mu Dan shook his head slightly.
"Alright, don't move anymore," Su Zhenzhen quickly stopped the young man from moving around.
It might be a mild concussion.
The two of them leaned against the cave wall together. Su Zhenzhen glanced at the moon overhead, picked up a clod of dirt beside her, and threw it upward with all her might.
"Is anyone there?"
Her voice echoed out of the hole, but no one answered.
The young man had his eyes half-closed, looking as if he had fallen asleep.
Su Zhenzhen continued throwing dirt clods out.
When she got tired of throwing, she leaned back, listening to the rustling sound of the wind around them.
Because that tyrant was stationed here, the surrounding wild beasts had long been chased away by the imperial guards. This was a good thing; at least they didn't have to worry about being besieged by wild animals.
Suddenly, Su Zhenzhen saw a dark shadow flash past the opening of the hole.
Was it an illusion?
When Wei Heng received the news, he was still in his tent organizing his books.
"You're saying His Majesty fell into a hole?" Wei Heng looked skeptical.
Shadow One nodded.
"Not a well, but a hole?"
Shadow One continued to nod.
Wei Heng put down his books, thought for a moment, gathered two guards, and hurried toward the location Shadow One mentioned.
The sky was just getting light, the sun hadn't yet risen, and the troops were already geared up and ready to go.
Wei Heng finally found the two people in the hole.
"Your Maj... The ground is cold, are you alright?" Wei Heng quickly corrected himself, standing at the edge of the hole and peering down.
Su Zhenzhen's eyes filled with tears. "Godfather."
-
Today was the day to return to Jinling.
After Su Zhenzhen and Mu Dan were rescued, they directly boarded the last, low-profile blue silk carriage.
The young man lay face down across the woman's lap, exposing his slender, pale back.
There was a large dark bruise there, caused by hitting something when he fell into the pit while holding Su Zhenzhen.
Su Zhenzhen took out some medicinal oil, rubbed it between her palms to warm it up, and was about to apply it to Mu Dan's back when she suddenly paused. "Move down a little."
Lu Hexu lay on the woman's lap, his long hair tied in a simple ponytail cascading over his shoulder. Hearing Su Zhenzhen's words, he tilted his head to look at her, rubbing his chin against her leg. "Why?"
[Because... you're pressing against it.]
Su Zhenzhen had no way to make herself ignore it.
The young man wiggled on her lap, backing up like a little cat in reverse.
Su Zhenzhen finally felt less self-conscious about it.
She began to focus intently on massaging the bruise on Mu Dan's back to disperse the blood.
The young man had good bone structure. It was probably because he had endured too much in his youth and suffered from malnutrition that he was only just starting to hit his growth spurt.
Although Su Zhenzhen had been nursing him back to health over the past year, he had only barely grown a few centimeters.
He had grown, but not by much.
Su Zhenzhen secretly measured it with her fingers; it was maybe only half a finger joint's length.
[He's still so skinny.]
Mu Dan didn't like eating regular meals; he only liked eating desserts and snacks. No wonder he didn't put on any weight.
As Su Zhenzhen rubbed away the bruise on his back, the entire cramped carriage was filled with the bitter scent of medicinal wine.
The young man lay obediently across her lap. His body was as supple as a willow as he softly draped over her, his arms hugging her knees and slipping through the hollows behind them.
"So obedient."
Su Zhenzhen subconsciously reached out and pinched the back of the young man's fair neck, which was exposed because his head was lowered.
Her lame cat used to love squatting on her lap, and Su Zhenzhen loved pinching the back of its neck.
Uh, it was a habit.
Lu Hexu felt the slight tugging sensation at the back of his neck. He shifted his gaze upward, gave her a lazy look, and did not resist.
"All done," Su Zhenzhen said, putting away the bottle of medicinal oil.
Lu Hexu shifted while lying across the woman's lap, then slowly propped himself up to sit.
He was wearing a thin eunuch's uniform, half unbuttoned, exposing his back all the way down to his lower waist.
A layer of bruises covered his fair back. His waistline narrowed smoothly, revealing two deep dimples on his lower back.
Su Zhenzhen's gaze drifted downward involuntarily.
Such a fair back.
Such a slender waist.
Lu Hexu pulled his eunuch uniform together, feeling the sticky medicinal oil on his back.
Sitting up straight, he leaned sideways against a soft pillow. He shifted his gaze and met Su Zhenzhen's eyes.
Su Zhenzhen immediately turned her head away, a guilty look flashing in her eyes.
"My arm hurts too."
His arm?
Su Zhenzhen reached out to feel it.
Lu Hexu leaned there, letting her trace from his fingers all the way up to his shoulder blade.
Then, Su Zhenzhen's expression changed.
She had studied internal medicine and didn't know much about orthopedics, but it was obvious that his arm was broken!
Wait a minute, calm down.
Although there was no X-ray technology in ancient times, many old traditional Chinese medicine doctors were very skilled in this area.
Su Zhenzhen first carefully pulled back Lu Hexu's collar to look at his shoulder. Actually, she had seen it earlier but thought the swelling was just from the impact, not considering a fracture.
"Can you lift it?"
Lu Hexu tried and shook his head.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
Actually, it didn't hurt that much.
"It hurts a lot."
Su Zhenzhen guessed it was almost certainly a fracture.
But Mu Dan's mental state seemed fine.
"I'm not very good at this. Can we ask your godfather to invite an imperial doctor who specializes in orthopedics to take a look?"
Lu Hexu rested his head on Su Zhenzhen's shoulder and gave a very soft "Mm."
Su Zhenzhen's heart ached for him. With one hand, she held his head and gently rubbed it to comfort him, while with the other, she opened a bottle of mint honey drops and popped one into the young man's mouth.
Lu Hexu sucked on the new flavor of mint honey drop. He slightly turned his cheek, shifting his face from facing the outside of her shoulder to facing the inside of her neck.
The cool scent of the mint honey drop drifted up along Su Zhenzhen's neck.
The young man's moist lips trailed over her skin, kissing her soft earlobe.
The carriage rumbled along, its curtains swaying gently. Brocade Guards were patrolling all around outside.
Su Zhenzhen couldn't quite handle the thrill of potentially being exposed to the public eye.
"Wait a minute..."
"My arm hurts."
Su Zhenzhen was speechless.
Su Zhenzhen's hand, which was resting on the young man's shoulder, subconsciously slid down and gripped his waist.
Afraid of hurting him, Su Zhenzhen didn't dare to move.
This made things perfectly convenient for Lu Hexu.
The carriage was cramped. The young man straddled Su Zhenzhen and lowered his head to kiss her.
The cool minty scent was diluted by the sweetness of the honey, lingering between them.
Su Zhenzhen tilted her head back, her grip on his waist tightening as she tried once again to push him away.
Lu Hexu sank his waist, settling his weight firmly against her.
Su Zhenzhen instantly stiffened.
A Brocade Guard rode past them on horseback. The carriage curtain fluttered slightly, letting in a sliver of warm autumn sunlight.
The interior of the carriage was dim. Su Zhenzhen turned her head to pant, and the young man's dark red tongue licked over the corner of her equally wet, red lips.
"Zhenzhen."
His voice was clear, but perhaps because his desire had not yet faded, it carried a very faint huskiness.
"Alright, your arm is broken now, you can't move recklessly," Su Zhenzhen panted softly. "Next time... we'll continue next time."
After saying that, Su Zhenzhen first carefully bent her knee to pull one leg out from under the young man, then twisted her body to pull the other leg out. Finally, with a blushing face, she awkwardly crawled out from under him and sat to the side.
This place was quite a distance from Jinling. As night fell, the group temporarily stayed at a relay station.
It was the Gusu relay station outside the city.
Su Zhenzhen was from Suzhou. Although this was a novel, this city of Gusu still had some similarities to the Suzhou in her memory, just with many more ancient buildings. However, Suzhou originally had a leaning towards ancient city architecture anyway.
Suzhou had always been wealthy, a prosperous land from ancient times to the present, which was reflected in the splendor of the relay station. The station was built half over the water and covered a vast area. To the north was a courtyard specifically for people to rest, and behind it were multiple pavilions. During the day, one could climb high to gaze into the distance, and it also provided a place for guests to rest.
Because the Emperor was visiting in person, the prefect and magistrate of Gusu had long coordinated preparations to respectfully welcome the imperial carriage.
Su Zhenzhen and Mu Dan's carriage was at the rear. She couldn't see the scene at the front, only noticing that the carriage carrying the Emperor had stopped in the courtyard. The surroundings were brightly lit, and people were kneeling all over the ground.
The Brocade Guards stepped forward to clear away all irrelevant personnel, after which Wei Heng emerged from the imperial carriage.
Su Zhenzhen and Mu Dan were assigned to an extremely antique-looking Jiangnan-style courtyard.
With white walls and dark tiles, wooden windows and bamboo blinds, there were only two bedrooms separated by a single wall. In front was a small courtyard, so narrow that it only had one path. A water vat sat on the side, overflowing with copper coin grass.
Su Zhenzhen reached out to poke it, thinking that this copper coin grass looked just like a miniature version of a lotus leaf.
A young eunuch brought all her belongings down from the carriage. Su Zhenzhen looked around and eventually chose the sun-facing room.
She wondered how Mu Dan's arm was doing. Wei Heng probably wouldn't be so stingy as to refuse to find an imperial doctor to look at him, right?
If he didn't get an imperial doctor, she could use the token Mu Dan had given her to take him outside and find an orthopedic doctor.
This was the best room in the relay station, and everything inside had been replaced according to imperial standards. Lu Hexu sat on the couch, resting his jaw on one hand, and looked down at the imperial doctor kneeling before him.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Your Majesty's right arm has a fractured and dislocated bone that needs immediate setting," the imperial doctor said, kneeling on the ground with his forehead pressed to the floor, his entire body trembling like a leaf.
"Mm," Lu Hexu replied faintly.
The doctor's trembling body paused for a moment, but he didn't dare to look up. He merely forced his old bones to stand and walked over to the young Emperor's side.
The young man was dressed in casual clothes, his damp hair unbound. His slender body sat on the couch, his right arm hanging down in a visibly stiff posture.
This kind of condition should have been incredibly painful, yet there was no expression at all on the young man's face.
"Your Majesty, the pain during the setting process will be unbearable. You may bite on this handkerchief to avoid injuring your tongue."
The taste of mint and honey still lingered on Lu Hexu's lips.
He rubbed his fingertips together and pulled a white porcelain bottle from under his pillow. Inside were the mint honey drops that Su Zhenzhen had given him before they left.
With one hand, Lu Hexu uncorked the bottle and tipped two drops into his mouth.
The imperial doctor stood to the side holding the handkerchief. He glanced at Wei Heng, who stepped forward and took the handkerchief from him.
"Please," Wei Heng signaled for the doctor to proceed.
The doctor glanced at Wei Heng again, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.
Although he had left the palace along with the entourage, this was still his first time seeing this Emperor.
In the past, His Majesty would often fall ill, but he never summoned the imperial physicians for treatment.
The members of the Imperial Academy of Medicine knew that His Majesty suffered from madness and had a penchant for killing. They never dared to approach him, rejoicing every day that they were not summoned.
Leaving the palace this time, although he was afraid, he figured he wouldn't be needed and treated it as a retirement outing. He never expected that, at the very end, His Majesty would actually summon him.
"This subject, this subject... This subject is old and lacks strength in his hands, I fear, I fear..."
Lu Hexu turned his head impatiently, his dark, heavy eyes falling on the physician.
The physician dropped to his knees with a thud.
Although he was old, he wasn't so useless that he couldn't treat such a minor injury. He was simply terrified that His Majesty would suddenly suffer an episode and kill him.
The physician knelt on the ground and kowtowed, his face pale with fright.
Wei Heng stepped forward. "Imperial Physician Chen, His Majesty is waiting for you." As he spoke, Wei Heng helped Imperial Physician Chen up. "Only Imperial Physician Chen can relieve His Majesty's pain."
Chen Lai was already scared out of his wits. He glanced at the gentle-faced Wei Heng, and then at His Majesty.
Yet he didn't dare look at his face; he only dared to look at his arm.
Dragged by Wei Heng, Chen Lai stood next to Lu Hexu.
Chen Lai extended his trembling hands and placed them over the young man's arm.
It was very thin.
Chen Lai felt around. His muscle memory was faster than his brain; before the fear could fully set in, he had already popped the bone back into place.
"Mmph."
Lu Hexu let out a muffled grunt, crushing the sugar pill in his mouth.
With a crack, the sugar pill shattered, and Chen Lai immediately dropped to his knees again.
Wei Heng failed to catch him in time and almost knelt down with him.
Kneeling on the floor, Chen Lai said, "After His Majesty's arm is reset, you must not lift heavy objects or strain your muscles and bones for a hundred days, otherwise it may leave a lingering ailment. Also, although His Majesty's arm has been reset, there is still the pain of a bone fissure. A bandage must be tied, for roughly three months..."
After tying the bandage for His Majesty, Chen Lai finally left carrying his medicine box.
Stepping out of the room, Chen Lai felt like he had lost half his life.
He already had one foot in the grave, and now losing another half of his life, he truly felt like nothing but a wisp of a soul was left.
"Lord Wei Heng, your job is not an easy one."
Wei Heng was still supporting Chen Lai. Despite his advanced age, Chen Lai's body was relatively sturdy.
Wei Heng smiled and said, "His Majesty is merciful and has always treated people with generosity."
Chen Lai: ...
Chen Lai thought to himself that the head eunuch who managed to become His Majesty's favorite was certainly no ordinary person, to be able to tell such a blatant lie with a straight face.
Su Zhenzhen discovered a river behind the posthouse. In this season, she should be able to dig up some lotus roots.
Originally, she had wanted to make dried persimmons.
But right now, she couldn't quite look at persimmons straight on.
Maybe next time.
Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't completely dark yet, Su Zhenzhen grabbed her gear and set off.
Walking along, Su Zhenzhen noticed that the posthouse had many periwinkles planted around, growing densely everywhere.
Periwinkles belong to the oleander family; the entire plant can be used as medicine, but its sap is poisonous. If well cared for, it can bloom all year round.
Su Zhenzhen walked to the edge of the pond to dig for lotus roots.
She poked around with a bamboo stick for a long time before finally pulling up a single lotus root.
Although it wasn't much, it was enough to eat.
It was the perfect time of year to eat lotus root.
In the courtyard, young eunuchs were going in and out packing things. Su Zhenzhen asked them for some glutinous rice, stuffed it into the washed lotus root, and then set up a small pot in the courtyard. She added brown sugar and started boiling the lotus root. Once it was cooked, she reduced the sauce over high heat, took it out, sliced it with a knife, and drizzled a little osmanthus honey on top.
The osmanthus lotus root was still piping hot. Su Zhenzhen took a bite while it was fresh; it was sweet, soft, and sticky, with strings of sugar stretching as she chewed. The glutinous rice inside was gooey, carrying the fresh sweetness of the lotus root.
Just as Su Zhenzhen finished making the osmanthus lotus root, Mu Dan came over.
His arm had already been treated. Wearing a eunuch's uniform and sporting a bandage, he picked up Su Zhenzhen's chopsticks and ate a slice of the osmanthus lotus root.
By the time Su Zhenzhen finished bathing and came out, she saw that only a little bit of osmanthus sauce was left on the plate.
The night wind picked up. After lighting the lamp in the room for the incapacitated Mu Dan, Su Zhenzhen returned to her own room to sleep.
Sushan had already crawled into the wardrobe to sleep.
Just as Su Zhenzhen lay down, she felt the space beside her darken.
The young man, with one arm bandaged, stood by her bed, lifted her quilt, and lay down beside her.
Ah, why did you get into bed?
Previously, in the small tent, although Su Zhenzhen had shared a bed with Mu Dan, she truly believed he was a eunuch at that time.
The feeling was like reading the comment section for BJD dolls. Yes, yes, they have everything, sisters, and they can even be swapped out. Although this one couldn't be swapped, it was definitely enough. The "second-generation eunuch" had turned out to be a regular "second-generation."
Su Zhenzhen panicked a little.
She had no experience.
Autumn nights were starting to get cold, so Su Zhenzhen had put a thick quilt on the bed.
That's right, she hadn't expected Mu Dan to come over, so she only laid out one quilt, and there was only one pillow.
Although the bed was much more spacious than the one in the tent, with the two of them huddled under a single quilt, even separated by clothes—even without their clothes touching—Su Zhenzhen could feel the scorching heat radiating from the young man's body.
Mu Dan was sensitive to heat. During the summer, his skin temperature was always higher than others.
Once the cold weather of autumn and winter arrived, his body turned into a natural little furnace.
Su Zhenzhen was tense for a moment, but then she noticed that after the young man lay down, he simply closed his eyes and slept quietly.
Her wildly racing heart subconsciously calmed down as well.
Having traveled all day, Su Zhenzhen was truly exhausted.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep in no time.
Lu Hexu opened his eyes.
There was no lamp lit in the room. The window was half open, and a gauze lantern hung under the eaves, the two little dogs painted on it spinning wildly in the autumn wind.
Lu Hexu turned his head, his gaze falling on the woman's face.
Su Zhenzhen was very quiet when she slept.
She lay there peacefully, revealing her fair side profile.
A charcoal basin was burning in the room, making it warm and toasty, flushing the skin from under her eyes down to her cheeks with a rosy hue.
Lu Hexu raised his hand, only to realize that his right hand was bound by the bandage.
He reached out with his other hand, lightly tracing the contours of the woman's face without actually touching her.
Lu Hexu had changed his mind.
He wanted Su Zhenzhen's true heart.
When Su Zhenzhen woke up from her sleep, she felt a heaviness on her body.
Had Sushan pressed down on her again?
Su Zhenzhen reached out a hand and poked around, only to discover someone lying behind her, pressed closely against her, warming her entire body.
The charcoal basin in the room had gone out long ago.
Su Zhenzhen was someone who feared the cold. If it had been any colder, with the charcoal basin extinguished, she would have climbed out of bed in the middle of the night to relight the fire, otherwise, she would be too freezing to sleep.
But today, sleeping next to the young man, she had slept soundly until dawn.
He really was a furnace.
Su Zhenzhen shifted her body, wanting to get up.
The young man extended an arm and wrapped it around her waist.
Su Zhenzhen stopped moving.
Although she had no experience, she had heard that young men would have certain normal reactions in the morning.
"You, take care of it yourself..."
Lu Hexu had been awake for a while. He rested his chin on Su Zhenzhen's shoulder, speaking with a lazy, boyish voice, "I don't really know how, Zhenzhen."
[But she didn't know how either!]
[Who would know how!]
Su Zhenzhen racked her brain, trying to recall all those romance novels that had served as her awakening.
"Um, you... that is, you just use your hand like this..."
Blushing furiously, Su Zhenzhen gave a little demonstration.
The young man tilted his head as he watched her. He caught her hand, wrapping his fingers around hers, and mimicked her movements, sliding up and down. When he spoke, he leaned in right against her ear, his lips brushing her earlobe. His tone was filled with innocent curiosity, "Like this?"
With her back to him, Su Zhenzhen did not dare to look. She tried to pull her hand back but could not break his grip. Turning her head slightly, she let out a breathy, barely audible, "Mhm..."
Oh, Zhen, what an absolute coward you are, Zhen.
