Shen Lixue hurriedly stepped forward, supported Dongfang Heng's arm, and helped him sit in a comfortable recliner. She touched his forehead to check his temperature, which was still normal, but an unnatural paleness appeared on his handsome face: "I'll make you some medicine right away!"
"Ginseng, Bupleurum, Angelica sinensis, Codonopsis pilosula..."
Shen Lixue carefully examined the medicinal herbs, confirming that none were missing. She then carried the medicine pot to the medicine stove, filled it with water, put the lid on, placed it on the stove, and lit a tinderbox to start a fire underneath.
To brew medicine, you must first bring it to a boil over a high flame, and then simmer it over a low flame. The fire under the medicine stove burned gently, not too intensely. Shen Lixue took a bamboo tube with a front and back opening, took a deep breath, and blew her breath forcefully into the fire.
"Whoosh!" The flames suddenly burst into flames, and a thick cloud of smoke rushed towards Shen Lixue, choking her and causing her to cough repeatedly. Her fair face was instantly blackened by the smoke, and a large patch of her clothes was also blackened.
Looking at the mess at the stove opening, Shen Lixue frowned. Her breath wasn't strong, yet it had managed to turn a small fire into a large one. Controlling the heat for brewing medicine was truly difficult.
"I'll do it!" Seeing Shen Lixue holding the bamboo tube, her brows furrowed and her expression full of helplessness, Dongfang Heng's lips curled into a graceful smile, and a hint of suppressed laughter appeared in his deep eyes. He stood up and walked over, extending his jade-like fingers to take the bamboo tube from her hand.
“You’re having an attack!” Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow. As a normal person, how could she let the patient start a fire and brew medicine himself?
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious!" Dongfang Heng took the bamboo tube, squatted down, and gently blew on the fire in the stove. The weak fire slowly rose and burned intensely, with red flames dancing and reaching under the medicine pot, transmitting waves of heat.
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow at Dongfang Heng: "How come you blow the bamboo tube so skillfully?" It's as if you've done it many times before.
"Having lived in the military camp for a long time, I learned to be self-reliant!" Dongfang Heng was thrown into the military camp at the age of three and gradually learned various survival skills. Starting a fire and cooking food were the most basic and simplest skills.
"You must have had a very tough time in the military camp!" From a three-year-old child to the Prince of An, who guarded a region and ensured the peace and prosperity of the country, there is no doubt about the effort and hardship that Dongfang Heng has put in.
"It's alright!" Dongfang Heng's eyes deepened. All the hardships were in the past. What he needed to care about was the present and the future.
The fire in the stove was burning fiercely, long flames gently licking the medicine pot, and wisps of steam rose from it. The water had boiled, so it was now being simmered over a low flame, and there was no need to blow on it anymore.
Dongfang Heng put down the bamboo tube, scooped half a basin of water from the water vat, wet a cotton handkerchief, and slowly walked back to Shen Lixue.
"Thank you!" Shen Lixue reached out to take the cotton handkerchief, but his jade-like fingers avoided her hand. He took the cotton handkerchief and gently wiped her face. Wherever the cotton handkerchief touched, the black streaks faded away, revealing her fair and smooth skin.
Dongfang Heng and Shen Lixue were very close, and there was no one else around. The surroundings were unusually quiet. The firewood in the stove crackled and popped. His weak heartbeat could be clearly heard in her ears. The familiar, faint scent of pine lingered in her nose, and his warm breath sprayed on her hair. Shen Lixue felt a little awkward: "Dongfang Heng, I can do it myself."
Shen Lixue reached out to take the cotton handkerchief from Dongfang Heng's hand again, but he skillfully dodged it. His dark eyes deepened: "There's no mirror here, so you can't see your own reflection. How are you going to wipe the blackness off your face?"
Shen Lixue pointed to the water vat: "There's water in there, so I can see my reflection."
Dongfang Heng frowned: "There are ripples on the water, how can you see where the smoke and dust are?"
Shen Lixue looked at the smooth, calm water surface, which was like a mirror. This was indoors, and there was only half a vat of water left. Even if there was wind, it couldn't blow in. So where would the ripples on the water come from...?
A sudden cool sensation came over her neck, and Shen Lixue snapped back to reality. Looking down, she saw Dongfang Heng wiping the black soot from her neck with a cotton handkerchief. The silk threads of the Crystal Swallow were visible before her eyes. Dongfang Heng's lips curled up slightly, and a faint smile appeared in his sharp eyes.
"Li Xue, did you have a hard time in Qingzhou?" After thinking it over again and again, Dongfang Heng still asked this question. He wanted to know more about her past life.
Shen Lixue gazed at the roaring fire beneath the stove, a layer of mist clouding her clear, cold eyes, as if lost in some memory: "My mother was the one who suffered in Qingzhou. Every day she embroidered and painted to sell to workshops to support the two of us. She endured so much hardship and never told me..."
Dongfang Heng paused, then asked, "Why didn't you come to the capital?"
Lin Qingzhu grew up in the capital and knew many noble families. Her daughter was also engaged to the eldest son of the Holy Prince's Mansion. Even if she didn't know that Shen Minghui was in the capital, she could still bring her daughter to the capital to ask her old friends for help.
"Maybe she felt too down on her luck and was embarrassed. Besides, my mother's health has always been weak and she is often sick, so she is not suitable for long journeys!" Shen Lixue did not know why Lin Qingzhu chose to stay in Qingzhou and support Shen Lixue on her own, but Shen Lixue admired her strength and resilience.
The black smoky makeup gradually disappeared as the cotton handkerchief was wiped away, revealing Shen Li's fair and delicate face. Her long eyelashes curled up like butterfly wings, casting two faint shadows on her eyelids. Her neck was fair and slender, with faint blue veins visible under her skin. Her delicate collarbone was faintly visible under her collar, arousing reverie. A pure and elegant fragrance of a maiden wafted gently through the air.
Dongfang Heng's gaze deepened, his jade-like fingers gently caressing her delicate, smooth face as he slowly leaned down.
A faint scent of pine lingered around her. As the handsome face above her grew closer, Shen Lixue blinked unnaturally, her eyelids lowering slightly.
A warm, smooth touch came from her lips, and her body stiffened. She suddenly raised her eyelids and saw a smiling, handsome face. His unfathomable eyes were filled with a happy smile, which instantly melted the coldness in his eyes. This moment of amazement was deeply imprinted in her mind and she could not shake it off.
"Dongfang... Heng..." Shen Lixue murmured softly, her voice filled with ambiguous tenderness, leaving much to the imagination.
"You have something to say to me?" Dongfang Heng moved away from Shen Lixue for a moment, looking at her beautiful face, a perfect smile curving his lips, in a very good mood.
"Um..." The words that were on the tip of her tongue suddenly caught in her throat. Her eyes darted around and landed on the medicine stove behind Dongfang Heng: "The medicine is ready..."
Dongfang Heng's handsome face instantly turned as black as ink. He turned to look at the medicine furnace. Steam billowed from the pot, and a faint medicinal fragrance filled the room, drifting in the wind. The medicine was indeed ready.
"You're injured, taking your medicine is the priority!" Shen Lixue stepped past Dongfang Heng, quickly walked to the medicine stove, carefully took down the medicine pot, and slowly poured the medicine into a porcelain bowl. As the steam rose, a strong medicinal aroma wafted over, instantly filling her nose, with a sour and astringent taste lingering in her nasal cavity.
Shen Lixue frowned. The medicine smelled so strong; it must be very bitter. Good medicine tastes bitter, but this bowl of medicine was far too bitter. It must be many times more bitter than bitter melon. She wondered if Dongfang Heng could drink it.
"The medicine is very hot, put it aside for now!" Dongfang Heng said calmly, looking at the bowl full of black medicine.
Shen Lixue noticed his slightly furrowed brows, raised an eyebrow, and turned to walk outside.
"Where are you going?" Dongfang Heng asked from behind.
"Go to the kitchen and get some candied fruit!" Shen Lixue replied softly.
Dongfang Heng's face darkened again: "I am not a child! You want me to drink medicine and eat candied fruit!"
Shen Lixue blinked, slowly walked back to the medicine stove, picked up the medicine bowl, and said, "You can skip the candied fruit, but you must take the medicine: You're having a flare-up, so you need to rest more. I'll bring the medicine to your room for you."
Shen Lixue carried the medicine bowl from the west wing to Dongfang Heng's inner room, gently placed the bowl on the small table, and carefully helped Dongfang Heng lie down on the bed to wait for the medicine to cool.
"Go change your clothes!" Dongfang Heng reminded Shen Lixue, "When the black smoke rose, it stained her face and a large part of her clothes. You can wipe your face clean, but you can't wipe your clothes."
"Okay!" Shen Lixue opened the closet, grabbed a set of clothes at random, and quickly walked behind the screen. The buttons on the clothes were difficult to fasten or unfasten. After struggling for a long time, Shen Lixue finally took off the dirty clothes and changed into the new ones.
Stepping out from behind the screen, Shen Lixue was suddenly startled. Dongfang Heng, dressed in white, was half-reclining on the bed, reading a book. Under the dim light of the luminous pearl, he exuded an indescribable languor and nobility. His handsome face radiated a soft glow, captivating all who beheld him.
Dongfang Heng suddenly raised his eyelids, his obsidian-like eyes brimming with laughter: "You're looking at me?"
Shen Lixue instantly felt like she had been caught doing something wrong. Her face flushed, and she blinked unnaturally. She had actually lost herself in looking at Dongfang Heng again!
"I wasn't looking at you, I was looking at..." Shen Lixue's eyes darted around, quickly scanning the surroundings. She saw the bowl of medicine, which stood quietly on the small table beside the bed. The faint fragrance of medicine lingered in the osmanthus room, and the steam above the bowl had stopped rising. "I was looking at the medicine, Dongfang Heng. The medicine has gone cold. Why haven't you taken it yet?"