The Third Scholar of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 16

She poked her head out from under the covers, smiled slightly at Xu Qingzhi, and then called out, "Yinzi!"

Yinzi walked over with a shawl and stood by the bed, blocking Xu Qingzhi's view with her body: "Young Master, take your medicine."

Round Lotus Dew 2

Li Yuxuan sat up in bed with lightning speed, wrapping his body tightly with a shawl. This description might not be enough, but in the blink of an eye, Xu Qingzhi saw Li Yuxuan, who was just in the quilt, sitting up at the head of the bed, tying his hair up with both hands.

Yinzi helped her wrap her hair with a headscarf and then stepped back.

Li Yuxuan, feeling that he could no longer detect anything unusual, reached out to Xu Qingzhi and said, "Give it to me!"

Xu Qingzhi stared at the dark blue scratches on her fair arm, and the feeling of holding that hand that night flashed through his mind—that smooth and soft texture that he longed for so deeply. His body involuntarily heated up, and he suddenly wanted to touch it again…

Seeing that Xu Qingzhi didn't react to his words at all and was staring intently at his hand, Li Yuxuan assumed that he was worried about the injury on his hand and smiled, "This injury is really nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Oh!" Xu Qingzhi replied casually, handing her the medicine, but his eyes remained on her hand: "Drink the medicine, it's getting cold."

Those hands were so slender—much smaller than his. At the base of those long, delicate fingers were four tiny, enchanting dimples…more beautiful than any woman's hands he had ever seen.

The hand that had taken the medicine bowl withdrew.

Li Yuxuan took the medicine bowl, and frowned as he smelled the strong medicinal aroma. It was so bitter, how could he drink it? Looking at Xu Qingzhi, who seemed somewhat lost in thought, he wondered what was wrong with this bookworm today. He was staring at her hand absentmindedly. She was the one who was injured; was he in more pain than she was?

Could it be that he also gleaned some clues from this?

Didn't he always treat her like a brother? Having spent so much time together, she couldn't underestimate a man's intuition. She was indeed in a wolf's den; even Xu Qingzhi, her protector, might not be reliable anymore.

Being stared at like that by a man always made her feel a little shy, and she felt the temperature around her suddenly rise several degrees. She shifted her body further into the bed and softly called out, "Big Brother!"

Xu Qingzhi looked up at her phoenix eyes, which were always full of smiles, and her gaze was somewhat confused. As if she hadn't heard her call, he murmured, "Third brother, why are you so beautiful?"

"Huh?" Li Yuxuan almost spilled the medicine on the bed: "Big brother, what are you saying?"

Heaven help me, it's not that she doesn't understand romance, but that romance is truly not appropriate at this moment.

Yinzi was also startled and quickly came over to take the medicine bowl from Li Yuxuan's hands: "Lord Xu, my young master has already gotten up and taken his medicine, so please don't worry. I'll take you back right away."

"Take me back? Why? Ah? Yes, I need to go back." Xu Qingzhi was jolted awake from his reverie when he saw Yinzi's figure obscuring Li Yuxuan's face, and immediately broke out in a cold sweat: What was he thinking? He had acted impulsively again. Had they noticed anything?

He was so embarrassing.

He stood up from the bed with a flushed face, not daring to look at Li Yuxuan's face again, and stammered as he walked towards the door: "Yes, it's late, you guys rest, I won't disturb you."

Seeing Xu Qingzhi like this, Li Yuxuan couldn't help but chuckle. This bookworm was too adorable. He just left like that? Wasn't he here to force her to drink the medicine? She looked at her shoulders and hands, which were well wrapped in a shawl. Had she seduced him? If he really developed feelings for her fake male body, she would be guilty of a terrible sin if she tormented him into losing an arm like Prince Xin.

Actually, Brother Xu is truly a good man. He's attentive, considerate, gentle, and chivalrous. Any girl who ends up with him is incredibly lucky. Li Yuxuan sighed and slid deeper into the covers. Seeing a handsome man every day, yet never being able to touch him, was torture for her, a woman with the combined mental age of thirty from two lifetimes. She didn't even have the chance to occasionally act coquettishly or be a woman. She wasn't even like a woman anymore.

Moreover, this woman had received education on the freedom to push and be pushed under the sun.

Oh, how I hate it—for that one wrong decision back then. Now I'm neither male nor female.

She now understood why she had remained so calm and composed during those five years disguised as a man: because there was no man in her life who could stir her heart, and because she longed to see Su Shi. She dreamed of standing beside him, looking up at him from a treetop, and admiring him.

Yes, she disguised herself as a man to seek revenge, but her biggest goal was to see Su Shi, the idol she had been infatuated with for many years in her previous life, the unparalleled scholar and talent described in textbooks.

She achieved her goal; he now had her by his side. History, in this matter, was serious and didn't deceive her.

She was surrounded by a group of charming and talented men. These men were often lovesick, and she was one of them. They could have their lovesickness, but she didn't even have the right to; she had to constantly guard against being accidentally hurt by these lovesick men.

Xu Qingzhi's behavior earlier had initially amused her, but it left her with a bitter taste. She suddenly longed to be a woman in his presence, someone who could cry, laugh, act coquettishly, and even be a little unreasonable. She even wanted to take advantage of him a bit.

Beneath her menswear, however, lay a woman's body, with the normal needs of a woman: to love and be loved, to have strong shoulders and a broad chest, and the tenderness of a loving man.

well--

Life is full of disappointments, and this sorrow will never end.

Yinzi brought the medicine back over: "Miss, Master Xu is right, you should drink the medicine!"

Li Yuxuan pulled his head back under the covers: "I won't drink!"

Yinzi was too lazy to waste words with her, so she directly used her hand to pull off her blanket. The two were playing around when there was another knock on the door.

Both of them were startled and stopped what they were doing. Li Yuxuan immediately sat up and straightened his clothes and hair: "Can't a person get any sleep?!"

Yinzi called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me!" came the deep, resonant voice of Prince Xin from outside.

Li Yuxuan leaned back on the bed sadly: "Your Highness, I'm already asleep. Please come again tomorrow!"

Prince Xin's chuckle came from outside the door: "I've already fallen asleep, open the door! I know you're not asleep, I just saw Lord Xu leave."

...My dear Brother Xu, you should have just left. Why did you have to show off like that?

She didn't know that Xu Qingzhi had left his room, or perhaps he was still absent-minded, but he went straight into Prince Xin's room, climbed onto his bed, and went to sleep. Prince Xin was puzzled as to what had happened, wondering why the usually impeccably polite Xu Qingzhi would do such a thing. He asked the guards, and they told him that he had come from Li Yuxuan's room.

He was taken aback, not knowing what had happened to Li Yuxuan. He ordered the guards to protect Xu Qingzhi and rushed over. Remembering Li Yuxuan's injury, he took a box of ointment for bruises and sprains from his luggage. As a martial artist, he always carried such things with him.

Upon reaching the door, he heard laughter and chatter inside. For the same reason, he was a martial artist, and his hearing was far more acute than the average person; he wasn't intentionally eavesdropping. He heard Yinzi calling for a girl.

"Girl?" He smiled slightly. As expected. Along the way, his feelings for her had shifted from doubt and suspicion to admiration and appreciation, and now, even a short separation felt like an eternity. He knew he had fallen irrevocably in love with this tomboy.

Or perhaps, from the first time he saw her at the Qionglin Banquet, her pair of almond-shaped eyes, shimmering yet so resolute and determined, stirred ripples in his heart.

Such talent, such wisdom, such beauty... such perseverance and magnanimity. It was impossible not to be captivated by her.

A willing surrender of the heart.

He gave a self-deprecating laugh. The proud Prince Xin, as proud as a snow-capped mountain, who never lingered for any woman, had so quickly and willingly fallen for this woman. And she, all along, had treated him as a man with a missing arm, running away from him.

Yinzi opened the door, glanced at Li Yuxuan who was sitting on the bed glaring at him, and went inside.

This tender feeling

When he came in, Yinzi stood warily at the head of the bed.

He knew he had been somewhat presumptuous. Even for two grown men, meeting so late at night was rather ambiguous and strange. Besides, he looked at Li Yuxuan, who was leaning wearily against the headboard. She really needed to rest.

He was acting very strangely and was very agitated.

Just as agitated and abnormal as him was the man sleeping in his room at that moment.

Great minds think alike, whether it's about things or about women.

I just wonder who this woman has in her heart?

He really wanted to see her injuries. He had seen her wrists covered in bruises during the day, and the punch she received from that Xixia girl. Only she could have endured it with a smile. As a woman, she was also abnormal, abnormally strong, and abnormally calm.

For the past five years, during which all her loved ones were murdered, she must have silently endured and persevered. In her silence, others only saw her glamour and brilliance, but they couldn't see the vicissitudes in her silent eyes.

In her eyes lay a world-weary wisdom, a detachment from worldly affairs. This wisdom stemmed from the immense suffering she had endured. Therefore, she never complained in the face of pain, and she always appeared magnanimous and carefree. Therefore, her strength and silence pained him.

He truly wanted to share her silence and sorrow, so that from then on she could live a carefree and joyful life, laughing when she wanted to laugh and crying when she wanted to cry. He wanted her eyes to overflow with happiness instead of sorrow.

He really wanted to—he wanted to with a heavy heart.

He longed to hold her delicate body before him and tell her everything, to tell her that he was truly, truly, hopelessly in love with her. He so desperately wanted to give her a warm home, to give her happiness. He was willing to give his entire life and his boundless devotion to earn even a single glance from her.

Even the vast landscape cannot compare to the companionship of a beautiful woman. Only after falling in love do you realize the helplessness and sorrow that comes with possessing a masterpiece like Sima Xiangru's poem, even at great expense.

He had never believed in love before. An orphan, orphaned at a young age, he was raised in the palace by Empress Cao. Emperor Renzong had no children, and alongside him, the current Crown Prince Zhao Zongshi was also raised by Empress Cao. Having witnessed too much power struggles and intrigue among women in the palace, he harbored no affection for them. After Zhao Zongshi was made Crown Prince, to avoid suspicion, he became even more dissolute, frequenting brothels and keeping countless male prostitutes and courtesans in his household. Rumors in the court that he had homosexual tendencies were not entirely unfounded.

He sighed softly. In her presence, he was nothing but a pool of filth, murky and chaotic, his original clarity obscured. But none of this was his intention; whether it was his true intention or a forced choice, this was simply how his life was, and he had no choice but to live it this way.

He sighed again, took out the ointment from his pocket, and said softly, "Take your hand out. I'm here to apply the medicine for you. We'll go back after I'm done."

Looking at Prince Xin, who was just as disheveled as Xu Qingzhi, Li Yuxuan gave a wry smile: "Your Highness, please give the ointment to Yinzi. How could I dare to trouble you?"

Prince Xin knew that when it came to wit and cunning, Li Yuxuan was definitely his match; in her presence, he could only resort to force. He chuckled, "Brother Li, you were wounded for the country, and I failed to protect you properly, for which I feel guilty. You wouldn't even deny me this small chance to apologize, would you?" He reached out and grabbed her right hand, which was resting on the blanket, giving her no chance to struggle. He rolled up her sleeve, revealing a large bruise before his eyes. Perhaps he had gripped her too tightly, for Li Yuxuan let out a soft cry, her hand trembling slightly.

Prince Xin felt a pang of pain in his heart, released his grip, and whispered, "Don't move!"

Li Yuxuan knew that in front of Prince Xin, she had no choice but to obey him. Who told this guy to like to fight violence with violence? She couldn't beat him, and she was always bullied by him.

But considering that he was doing it for her own good, she decided to put up with it!

Anyway, she doesn't believe in the idea that men and women shouldn't touch each other.

Anyway, she's a high-ranking official of the fourth rank, so he wouldn't dare do anything disgraceful to her. Anyway... if he recognizes that she's a woman and uses that to blackmail her, that would be absolutely terrible.

However, looking at Prince Xin, who was carefully applying the ointment to her little by little with his hands, she realized that he did not seem like such a despicable person.

Didn't my mentor say something about this Prince Xin? Although he was a romantic, he was also wise and righteous, and never confused. To be praised like this by Ouyang Xiu, this man must be either a hero or a ruthless leader.

However, taking advantage of someone's misfortune is a major taboo in the martial arts world, but it is also one of the Machiavellian tactics employed by the imperial court.

A burning pain shot through her arm, and she couldn't help but frown. The medicine was really working fast. Prince Xin noticed her change and looked up to ask, "Does it hurt a lot?"

"No, it's bearable."

"Okay, I'll apply it gently for you. Please bear with it. This medicine is a Shaolin wound medicine. It's especially effective at reducing bruising and dispersing nodules. I used to get injured in fights, and after applying this medicine, I recovered in a few days."

"Would anyone fight you?" Li Yuxuan asked in surprise. "Who would dare to hit you?"

"Hehe." Prince Xin chuckled smugly. "I often pick fights with the Imperial Guards, forcing them to fight me. And Guard Zhan and I have sparred many times too."

"So, between you and Brother Zhan, whose kung fu is better?" I'm very curious.

“We are usually evenly matched, but Guard Zhan’s skills are probably better than mine. He always lets me win.”

"That's right. You're a precious person, who would dare to really hit you?"

Prince Xin chuckled but didn't reply. He focused on applying the medicine to her. After he finished applying it to her right hand and set it aside, he took her left hand. The bruises on her left hand were more severe than on her right, and when Prince Xin pulled it, her entire hand felt numb and painful. This hand was ruined by that Da Gang; he really had no mercy for women.

Wang Rou and him were truly a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung.

Prince Xin looked at the abrupt bruise before him and gently touched it with his finger: "Yu Xuan?"

"kindness?"

Does it hurt?

"fine."

"I really want to go and avenge you right now."

"Don't!"

"Why?"