Chapter 259: Chapter 259 : Restitution (9)
The question caught Zhang Fengxi by surprise.
"I... I have sothing to do at the military today, so I need to leave early."
Thinking back, that was rather a poorly constructed lie. By the ti he realized it, it was already too late to co up with a better one.
Xie Jianyu rolled to his side and used an elbow to prop himself up.
"Why are you still here, then?" he squinted at his husband in suspicion.
"...."
Zhang Fengxi’s Adam’s Apple bobbed up and down nervously.
"I was just... I brought you a tonic."
He gestured toward the bowl of steaming dicine just next to Xie Jianyu’s bed. "The two physicians co up with the recipe together, so no one will raise an objection."
Xie Jianyu could not help but chuckle when he recalled the verbal argunts between Lady Song and Xie Jianshen.
"I will drink it later," Xie Jianyu said. "You should leave now. Don’t co back too late."
Zhang Fengxi’s face contorted into a mask of conflicting emotions.
Xie Jianyu mistook it for concern. He grabbed his husband by the lapels and pulled him in for a kiss.
"It’s just a fever. No need to worry. Go now."
Zhang Fengxi squeezed his wife affectionately.
"... Alright."
He cast a side glance at the bowl of tonic before he left. By the ti he went back ho today, the baby would be gone. Alone the thought was enough to shatter his heart, reminiscent of a giant boulder that dislodged itself from the side of a mountain and crushed the landscape beneath.
The heavy sorrow gave rise to a pain so intense, so unbearable.
Still, he had to steel his determination and walk away.
It was all for the best, he told himself again and again.
After Zhang Fengxi left, Xie Jianyu summoned Qingyun to his bed chamber.
He was hungry, so he wanted to have so breakfast first.
As he enjoyed the bowl of congee with scallion and ginger that the kitchen prepared according to Lady Song’s strict and detailed recipe, Qingyun knelt on a cushion next to him, ready to serve him any mont.
Her eyes were drawn to the bowl of tonic next to Xie Jianyu’s bed. Xie Jianyu had not touched it.
"Your Majesty, the tonic..."
"I know," Xie Jianyu interrupted her mid-speech. "I will drink it after I finish my breakfast."
Truthfully, he was sick of dicines.
He had been downing bowls of dicine, tonic, or other concoctions one after another ever since Lady Song suspected that he was pregnant.
It would not harm him in any way if he skipped a bowl or two. Or drank them a bit later than usual.
Xie Jianyu turned to look at Qingyun.
"Qingyun, how is Mingyu doing?"
Qingyun was relieved from her job of attending to Xie Jianyu to take care of Mingyu, but she kept loitering around Xie Jianyu out of habit.
Xie Jianyu had to dismiss her a few tis a day to remind her of her currently temporary, but important task.
"She is still the sa as before," Qingyun spoke, her words laced with a mixture of gloom and resignation. "The physicians ca to look at her every few days, but they could not do anything to wake her up."
"In essential, she just needs to wake up, doesn’t she?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Qingyun rubbed her hands together anxiously.
"I try to talk to her every day but..."
Xie Jianyu push a stead bun in Qingyun’s direction.
"Don’t bla yourself. It is good for her to rest for the ti being. She will wake up when the ti is right."
Qingyun’s eyes turned round as she stared at the stead bun in front of her.
"Your Majesty, this is your breakfast! You have to eat it!"
"Eat that bun, this is an order," Xie Jianyu said. "You have lost a lot of weight these days. You need strength to take care of Mingyu."
Tears welled up in Qingyun’s eyes.
"Your Majesty, t-thank you."
"Hm. Eat."
Qingyun bit into the warm bread. Never before had she tasted such a delicious treat in her life. It was soft and delicate, made of the best, high-grade wheat flour that was harvested from Qifeng Palace’s fertile grounds.
Lady Song specifically arranged to send catties of this flour to Fuxi Palace regularly to make food for Xie Jianyu.
Eating this bun was akin to stealing from the baby in Xie Jianyu’s belly.
Qingyun shot Xie Jianyu surreptitious glances.
"What is it?"
"N-no, Your Majesty, it’s just... Are you... Are you comfortable?"
Xie Jianyu arched his brow at her.
"Why would I not be?"
"I an... Your Majesty has never had major sickness before, and you keep contracting fever these days..."
Xie Jianyu chuckled.
"It’s nothing serious. It is just an aftereffect of the pregnancy."
There was a certain gentleness in Xie Jianyu’s gaze when he spoke of his pregnancy that caused Qingyun’s heart to flutter.
"Your Majesty, you look happy," Qingyun comnted with a smile.
"I am happy," Xie Jianyu returned the smile. He placed a hand against his stomach protectively. "Very happy."
Qingyun continued eating her bun with a face full of smiles. If her master was happy, she was also happy.
After he finished the bowl of congee, Xie Jianyu gave the bowl of tonic by his bed a side glance.
He took it to his hands and observed the brownish liquid inside.
Hopefully, it was not bitter.
Xie Jianyu lifted the bowl to his lips.
Before his lips touched the edge of the bowl, an unprecedented series of events transpired quickly one after another.
First, the door was shoved open in a forceful manner.
Second, a pale and bandaged Mingyu burst through the door.
Third, Mingyu launched herself at Xie Jianyu and pushed the bowl of tonic out of his hands.
The bowl fell to the ground, breaking into two and sending its content splashing everywhere.
Xie Jianyu’s mouth dropped open in shock.
Qingyun looked like she was seeing a ghost. She might just suffer from a heart attack then and there.
Mingyu put her shaking arms around Xie Jianyu and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Master," she cried out. "Master, don’t drink that dicine. It is an abortifacient!"
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Author’s note :
I decide to release this Chapter early because I don’t want to tornt my loyal readers any longer (????????????︿????????????)
In turn, please don’t burn the author’s house.
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