Pei Jinyan stood in place, his expression unchanged.
But only Li Fuquan, who had served him since childhood, knew of the hidden shock within Pei Jinyan.
Not to mention the master who might ask “why not eat meat porridge,” even a minor eunuch like Li Fuquan was stunned by what the imperial physician had just said.
It was rare, though not unheard of, for palace servants at the bottom of the hierarchy to be bullied to the point of going hungry.
Yet Li Fuquan had witnessed the scene where Nianyao calmly confronted those palace maids from the Shouning Palace.
He wondered to himself, could this girl truly be as timid and easily bullied as she appeared?
Of course, he would never voice such thoughts in front of the Crown Prince.
After a moment of silence, Pei Jinyan gave an order.
“Have the small kitchen prepare a bowl of rice porridge.”
Li Fuquan hurriedly complied, “Yes, this servant will see to it immediately.”
As he passed by the bed, he couldn’t help but glance at Nianyao’s pale face.
Li Fuquan shook his head slightly, but the next second, a heavy gaze that seemed to suffocate him fell upon him.
Li Fuquan instantly realized it was the Crown Prince looking at him.
As for why…
Li Fuquan shuddered and immediately averted his eyes from Nianyao.
Though curious about this young palace maid, he valued his own life far more!
He never expected the Crown Prince to possess such strong possessiveness over a mere palace maid.
Even if he racked his brains, he couldn’t understand. Aside from her stunning beauty—perhaps even surpassing the emperor’s favored consorts—what else about this palace maid had caught the Crown Prince’s eye?
Even a stealthy glance from him had vaguely stirred some murderous intent in His Highness.
Unable to comprehend it, Li Fuquan only felt a chill run down his neck.
He decided not to dwell on it any longer.
Hunching his shoulders, he quickened his pace and slipped away.
Only three people remained in the room, but the imperial physician standing there felt utterly out of place.
He devised an excuse.
“Your Highness, this girl also shows signs of physical weakness. Perhaps this humble official could write a prescription and fetch some medicine for her?”
Before Pei Jinyan could respond, the physician added another sentence.
“This way, there won’t be any detriment to future offspring.”
Pei Jinyan shot him a cold glance, feeling that the usually agreeable physician was being unusually talkative today.
Yet he offered no reprimand, merely closing his eyes and speaking calmly.
“Very well, go ahead.”
It was fine to help her recuperate, but as for that other remark—he would pretend he never heard it.
Seeing that Pei Jinyan did not rebuke him, the physician understood.
He bowed his head and retreated, but inwardly, he silently elevated the status of this young palace maid on the bed, whose name he still didn’t know.
The inner chamber was now empty and quiet. Pei Jinyan sat on a round-backed Huanghuali wooden chair in front of the desk, holding a book in his hand.
The candlelight flickered dimly, and the small figure on the bed stirred slightly.
Pei Jinyan’s attention instantly shifted away from the book.
Unlike Pei Jinyan’s indifference, when Nianyao caught the unfamiliar yet faintly familiar scent, she froze completely.
Nianyao racked her brains, trying to recall who the last person she saw before fainting was.
If she remembered correctly…
It seemed to be the young eunuch by the Crown Prince’s side…
Nianyao gently pulled down the quilt that had nearly covered her face.
Yet she still felt utterly weak. Even after regaining consciousness, the slightest exertion left her face pale.
Nianyao hadn’t expected Pei Jinyan to be sitting there so boldly.
Their eyes met.
Nianyao froze in place, momentarily speechless.
The next moment, just as Pei Jinyan was about to speak,
she yanked the quilt over her head, burying herself completely.
Even if this was reality, she didn’t want to face it.
It was too absurd!
She had only meant to go wash clothes—how could she open her eyes and see the Crown Prince?
Nianyao squeezed her eyes shut, silently counting backward.
She hoped that when she opened them again, time would have rewound to before she fainted.
But before she could finish counting, the quilt was pulled away from the outside.
A cool, detached voice reached her ears, and even Nianyao was slightly stunned.
“Planning to suffocate yourself?”
Unlike the voice’s owner, whose expression was icy to the extreme, his words were sharp and biting.
“Fine, go ahead. If you suffocate yourself, I’ll drink the shrimp congee Li Fuquan had someone prepare all by myself.”
Nianyao felt dazed, unable to believe that such words had just come from the dignified Crown Prince’s mouth.
But…
Shrimp congee…
Having eaten nothing all day, Nianyao belatedly felt the emptiness in her stomach.
It even let out a timely gurgle.
Hearing the clear sound, Nianyao flushed crimson all the way to the tips of her ears.
She cautiously pulled the quilt up to cover half her face, leaving only her eyes exposed.
Nianyao knew she had fainted on her own. If Eunuch Li hadn’t rescued her, in the bitter cold of winter,
lying unnoticed on the palace path, she would have at least lost half her life.
Nianyao blinked and spoke with a hint of awkwardness.
“Th-thank you, Your Highness.”
Her voice was soft and small, barely louder than a mosquito’s hum.
But from Pei Jinyan’s perspective,
her large, round eyes resembled the fawns he had seen beyond the frontier.
Innocent, timid, yet pitiable.
Pei Jinyan turned his head away, refusing to look at her.
His voice was icy. “Don’t thank me. If you must thank someone, thank Li Fuquan.”
Confusion gradually clouded Nianyao’s beautiful eyes.
“He was the one who carried you back.”
Hearing his added words, Nianyao’s face flushed bright red.
What respectable young lady gets carried back to the palace by a eunuch!
If she hadn’t been unconscious at the time, she would have crawled back…
Li Fuquan happened to enter just then and overheard this.
He cheerfully brought the congee to the small table beside Nianyao.
“Luckily, Miss Nianyao is light, or else this servant truly wouldn’t have been able to manage.”
As soon as he spoke, two pairs of eyes turned toward him.
Nianyao’s gaze was full of shyness, tinged with a hint of anger, as if she wanted to seal his mouth shut.
The other gaze, however, carried a bone-chilling coldness.
Li Fuquan’s smile instantly vanished.
What a fool he was! How could he have forgotten the lesson from just moments ago!
Perhaps seeing his sudden awareness, the other gaze withdrew after a moment.
Li Fuquan inwardly sighed in relief but still slightly turned his head, not daring to look at Nianyao as he added,
“Miss Nianyao should eat while it’s still hot.”
Nianyao watched Li Fuquan’s sudden change in expression.
Unable to figure out the reason, she pursed her lips and carefully propped herself up.
But her clothes were slightly loose and disheveled.
During the friction, the clothing at the chest was slightly tugged down.
A glimpse of peach-like, fair and tender skin suddenly caught Pei Jinyan’s eye.
His breath hitched abruptly.