Shen Lixue raised her eyebrows. There really is a clinic that opens this early. Dongfang Heng has been away from the capital for three years, but he still knows the capital quite well!
Behind the clinic counter were a large quantity of medicinal herbs, their faint aroma filling the air. Prince An sat to one side, sipping tea, while the old man carefully took Shen Lixue's pulse: "Miss, you have caught a severe cold. Fortunately, you came in time, otherwise your condition would have worsened, harming both your body and mind. I will prescribe a formula; you will recover in three days!"
"Thank you, Doctor!" Shen Lixue glanced at the indifferent Prince An. She had forgotten that her current body was much weaker than her modern one, and she couldn't withstand a cold at all. She had to thank him this time; otherwise, she would definitely have fallen seriously ill, and Lei Shi and Li Minghui would have seized the opportunity to attack her...
"Young lady, your cold is quite severe. You must not be exposed to the wind any longer. Go to the inner room and rest for a while. I will have someone prepare medicine for you!" The old doctor blew the ink off the paper and handed the written prescription to the young apprentice beside him.
"Thank you!" Shen Lixue glanced at Dongfang Heng: "Prince An, I'm fine now, you can go back to your residence first!" He forced her to change her clothes, which also prevented her condition from worsening. He had helped her, so their debts were even.
Dongfang Heng gave a faint reply, remaining seated without moving, his deep gaze unfathomable, lost in thought.
Having been exposed to the wind all the way, Shen Lixue felt a little dizzy. Ignoring Prince An, she quickly entered the inner room. The single bed in the inner room was small but very clean, and the sheets and quilts were even newly changed. Shen Lixue planned to rest, but unexpectedly, she fell asleep as soon as she lay down on the bed.
In a daze, the faint scent of pine resin lingered in the air. A cool handkerchief was placed on her forehead to cool her down. Shen Lixue forced open her heavy eyelids, and in her blurry vision, she saw Dongfang Heng's handsome face. She was puzzled. Why hadn't he left yet?
"The medicine is ready, get up and drink it!" With a long arm, Prince An put his arm around Shen Lixue's shoulder and helped her up, handing her a bowl of Chinese medicine with a strong medicinal smell.
Looking at the dark, murky liquid, Shen Lixue frowned: "The medicine is too hot. Let it sit for now, I'll drink it later!" How could she possibly drink such bitter medicine?
“You are seriously ill, so you must drink your medicine while it’s hot. If it gets cold, it will be ineffective!” Prince An’s eyes were clear and his tone was calm.
Shen Lixue's eyes flickered, and she reached out to take the medicine bowl: "Your Highness must be tired after most of the night, go and rest first, I'll drink the medicine myself!" Good medicine tastes bitter, she would drink half and throw the other half away, and exercise more, and the cold would naturally heal.
Prince An dodged Shen Lixue's outstretched claws, frowned as he stared at her, his dark eyes unfathomable: "Don't you want to take your medicine?"
034 He then forced her to take the medicine.
"No!" Shen Lixue denied it firmly. If Dongfang Heng knew that she didn't want to drink the medicine, he wouldn't be able to pour out half of it.
"If not, drink it quickly!" The delicate porcelain bowl was once again brought to Shen Lixue's lips. Dongfang Heng lowered his eyelids, his obsidian-like pupils unfathomable.
The strong smell of medicine filled her nostrils, and a sly glint flashed in Shen Lixue's cool eyes: "Do you have any candied fruit? I'm used to eating candied fruit after taking medicine!" While Dongfang Heng went to get the candied fruit, she could quickly pour out half of the medicine...
"Doctor Li!" Dongfang Heng stood still and called out softly. A young apprentice quickly entered, carrying a plate of fresh chestnut-colored candied fruit that looked incredibly tempting. "Prince An, Miss Shen!"
Shen Lixue rubbed her forehead. It turned out that someone had brought it in. Dongfang Heng hadn't fallen for the trick and left. What other way could she think of to get rid of the medicine?
"Drink your medicine!" While Shen Lixue was deep in thought, the little medicine boy had already put down the candied fruit and left the room, and the dark medicine was brought to her again.
"Alright." A glint flashed in Shen Lixue's cold eyes. Her fair hands cupped the bottom of the bowl, and just as she brought it to her lips, she suddenly splashed it outwards with force...
Being unable to distract Dongfang Heng doesn't mean she can't spill the medicine. Boiling medicine takes time, and Dongfang Heng can't prepare a second bowl for her in a short period. In other words, the more medicine she spills, the less she'll drink…
However, the medicine did not spill out as Shen Lixue had expected; instead, it remained steadily in the bowl, untouched.
Shen Lixue was startled. Was it because Dongfang Heng had profound internal strength, or had he already been on guard against her spraying medicine?
Slowly raising her head, Shen Lixue's cold gaze met Dongfang Heng's indifferent eyes. Her obsidian-like pupils were like a deep pool, growing ever deeper, as if they wanted to suck people in: "It seems you don't want to drink the medicine!"
"The medicine is too bitter, I only want to drink half!" Dongfang Heng had already seen through her trick, and Shen Lixue no longer denied it, otherwise it would be too hypocritical.
"Good medicine tastes bitter, how can you only drink half of it, drink the whole thing!" With that, Dongfang Heng reached out and pinched Shen Lixue's chin, and the black medicine flowed out of the porcelain bowl and was quickly poured into Shen Lixue's mouth.
The bitter medicine flowed down her throat, the strong taste of bitter medicine filling her mouth and nose. Shen Lixue frowned tightly, trying to push the medicine bowl away, but tragically found that her whole body was stiff and she couldn't move at all.
Dongfang Heng, he must have acupunctured her! How dare he bully her because her martial arts skills are inferior to his!
Shen Lixue glared fiercely at Dongfang Heng, her beautiful eyes burning with anger, but Dongfang Heng ignored her and continued to force-feed her medicine.
As the medicine bowl emptied and Dongfang Heng released his grip, Shen Lixue realized she could move again. Just as Dongfang Heng was about to slap him, fresh and tempting candied fruit appeared before her eyes.
Shen Lixue glared at Dongfang Heng. In a direct confrontation, she was no match for him. Coughing, she waved her hand and opened the candied fruit: "I have no appetite!" The cold medicine contained some unknown ingredients and tasted extremely bitter. Her mouth was full of bitterness, which candied fruit could not remove.
"I've finished my medicine, I'm leaving!" Shen Lixue got out of bed and stormed out. The clinic reeked of bitter medicine, and she didn't want to stay there for even a moment longer. Especially since Dongfang Heng, that cold and strange guy, was also there, she needed to leave as soon as possible.
"Wait!" The cyan porcelain bottle drew a graceful arc in mid-air and gently landed in Chen Lixue's hand.
The bottle cap was opened, and a few pills lay quietly inside, a faint medicinal scent wafting out. Shen Lixue frowned slightly: "What is this?"
"A pill for treating a cold!" Dongfang Heng replied calmly, a subtle, beautiful smile curving his lips. "Your cold is quite severe; you need to take it for three consecutive days!"
Shen Lixue: "..."
Why force her to drink bitter medicine when there are pills available? He definitely did it on purpose. That stingy guy, his concern for her is fake; he's really looking for a chance to get revenge for last time!
"Thank you!" Shen Lixue glared at Dongfang Heng and strode out. She had forced him to drink medicine, and he had forced her to drink it too. They were truly even now, and neither owed the other anything.
Dongfang Heng stood steadily in the inner room, watching Shen Lixue leave, the light in his deep eyes gradually dimming.
Shen Lixue left the clinic and quickly disappeared. The young apprentice whispered, "Master, why did Prince An do this?"
The old man tapped the young apprentice's forehead hard, scolding him sternly with exasperation: "The effects of pills are not as good as the decoction. Miss Shen has caught a severe cold, and she must drink the decoction as her first dose to suppress the illness. You've been at the clinic for over three months, and you still don't understand this..."
The young apprentice touched his forehead, which had been pricking, his eyes filled with grievance. He knew, of course, that the pills were not as effective as the decoction. What he wanted to ask was why Prince An hadn't explained to Miss Shen. Miss Shen's angry departure from here clearly indicated that she had misunderstood Prince An.
The sky was overcast and just beginning to lighten. The shops on both sides of the street were not yet open, and the street was deserted, without a single person in sight.
Shen Lixue walked slowly, her nose and mouth filled with the strong smell of bitter medicine. Her brows were tightly furrowed. In ancient times, this was troublesome. Even a minor illness like a cold required drinking such a large bowl of dark medicine. It was nothing like modern times, where a few cold pills would solve the problem.
And then there's that stingy Dongfang Heng, who forced her to drink bitter medicine even though there were pills available...
"Li Xue!" A clear laugh rang out, and Shen Li Xue turned around to see Lin Yan, dressed in a green robe, walking towards her with a smile.
Shen Lixue greeted him with a smile: "Cousin Yan, what are you doing here?" After Lin Yan returned to the capital to meet the emperor, he was arranged to stay in a separate courtyard. The surrounding streets were lined with shops, which were quite far from the courtyard. It was truly surprising that Lin Yan appeared here before dawn.
"There's something I need to do..." Lin Yan and Shen Lixue walked side by side. A medicinal fragrance wafted from Shen Lixue. Lin Yan frowned slightly, his eyes full of concern: "The smell of medicine is so strong, Lixue, are you sick?"
Shen Lixue smiled dismissively: "It's just a minor cold, I've already taken the medicine..." She felt light and her blood was flowing smoothly. She didn't feel the cold or dizziness that comes with a cold. It seemed that although the medicine was bitter, it was quite effective.