With Rong Cang injured, Chu Yunfei had to make many decisions for the Prince's Estate.
However, she could not attend to matters outside at this moment.
Chu Yunfei had to ensure the Inner Courtyard remained safe and that nothing that shouldn't be there could slip in.
In the evening, Sheng Xia returned with the medicine.
Chu Yunfei personally prepared the medicinal herbs, instructed Baochan on how to decoct them, then turned and left the small kitchen, ordering a maidservant to bring a basin of warm water.
The Inner Chamber was brightly lit, reflecting the man in white on the couch, who looked even more ethereal and handsome. His black hair was spread out, shedding the aloofness and coldness he usually displayed to others, and adding a touch of the frailty expected of a mortal, making the feared God of War seem no longer so unreachable.
Hearing the door open, Rong Cang turned his head to look.
Seeing Chu Yunfei return so quickly, his expression immediately turned cold again: "Don't think that just because you have confined this Prince to the Shuanghua Courtyard, I will change my mind."
Chu Yunfei walked into the inner hall carrying the warm water, placed the basin on the stand, turned silently to the bedside, and lifted the thin quilt over Rong Cang's waist.
"What are you doing?" Rong Cang's expression shifted slightly, and he suddenly sat up, intending to grab the quilt back, but he accidentally pulled at the wound on his back, his face turning pale from the pain.
"I am going to help the Prince wipe his body." Chu Yunfei looked at him leisurely, a hint of a smile playing on her lips, "If the Prince is so resistant, could it be that you want a maidservant to come and help you instead?"
Rong Cang gritted his teeth and glared at her: "Get out."
Chu Yunfei smiled indifferently: "Do you want Sheng Xia or Baochan?"
Rong Cang pressed his thin lips together and lay back down on the bed: "Let Chang Qing come in."
"Chang Qing is very busy and has no time to serve you for now." Chu Yunfei ignored him, lifted his quilt again, and began to remove his clothes, "The Prince has injuries on his body; it is best to cooperate with me, otherwise, the one who will suffer in the end is the Prince himself."
Rong Cang stiffened slightly, trying his best to remain calm: "This Prince does not need to be wiped down tonight."
"If you don't need it tonight, won't you still need it tomorrow night?" Chu Yunfei glanced at him, "Besides, what are you shy about? Which part of the Prince's body have I not seen? I am even carrying your child, don't you think it's a bit pretentious for the Prince to only think of shame now?"
Rong Cang's complexion turned green: "As the Princess Consort, are you really this... this lacking in reserve?"
"This concubine is indeed lacking in reserve." Chu Yunfei walked over, soaked a soft handkerchief in the water, wrung it out, and returned to wipe Rong Cang starting from his neck. Although her words were sharp, her movements were careful and cautious, "In the days of recovery ahead, the Prince will be spending time together with this concubine day and night. Rationally speaking, if the Prince has a better attitude, life might be more comfortable, because your fate is in my hands."
Rong Cang's expression changed several times, but he pressed his lips together and remained silent.
Chu Yunfei wiped his entire body on her own, avoiding the wound on his back, her movements gentle.
In the silent atmosphere, an indescribable sense of subtlety permeated the Inner Chamber.
Rong Cang did not blame her for being beaten, and Chu Yunfei did not offer an explanation for forcing her father to impeach Rong Cang, as if this matter were a tacitly understood topic that could be skipped over.
After a simple wipe-down, the original clear water was stained with blood. Chu Yunfei carried the basin out and had someone bring a fresh one.
Afterward, she walked to the chair in front of the bed and sat down, taking a new handkerchief to wipe the sweat from Rong Cang's forehead—although the process of wiping his body had been as gentle as possible, for a seriously injured patient, pulling at the wounds and causing pain was inevitable.
"Look at all this cold sweat." Chu Yunfei sighed with heartache, "If it hurts badly, just groan a few times; I won't make a joke of you."
Rong Cang said coldly: "You don't need to put on a show of crocodile tears here."
"The Prince has misunderstood; this concubine is truly feeling heartache." Chu Yunfei's tone was indifferent, "But since the Prince made a mistake, you must pay a price. It is impossible for this concubine to pretend nothing happened just because I feel heartache."
Rong Cang remained cold and aloof, simply closing his eyes.
Chu Yunfei sat quietly to the side watching, until a knock sounded at the door: "Your Highness."
It was Chang Qing's voice.
Chu Yunfei got up to open the door.
Chang Qing stood outside the door, holding a sealed jar, and handed it to Chu Yunfei with both hands: "I don't know if this is enough. If it is not, this subordinate will order people to go out and catch some more."
Rong Cang opened his eyes, frowning as he stared toward the door, a hint of suspicion in his gaze.
Catch some more?
Catch what?
"Open it and let me see." Chu Yunfei instructed while staring at the jar.
"Is the Princess Consort not afraid?" Chang Qing looked at her, his expression strange and hesitant, "There is no woman who is not afraid of these things."
Chu Yunfei said indifferently: "I told you to open it, so open it."
"Yes." Chang Qing carefully opened the jar.
Chu Yunfei glanced at it, and her scalp immediately went numb: "Cover it up."
A single glance revealed centipedes, geckos, scorpions, snakes, and toads... dense and numerous, looking like there were ten or twenty of them.
They were quite complete, and the weight was sufficient.
"This is enough, no need to catch more." Chu Yunfei took the jar and instructed calmly, "Go and serve your Master first. Later, if he needs to use the toilet or anything, help him."
"Yes." Chang Qing stepped over the threshold.
Chu Yunfei brushed past him and walked toward the side room.
Chang Qing walked into the inner chamber, looking at the expressionless Prince who was staring at him, and his nerves immediately tightened: "Your... Your Highness."
Rong Cang's eyes were cold: "What did you find for her?"
Chang Qing lowered his head and stammered: "The Princess Consort forbade me from saying."
"Is she your Master?"
"No." Chang Qing shook his head subconsciously, "But... but this subordinate has already promised the Princess Consort."
Rong Cang flipped himself up from the bed, and Chang Qing was so startled he hurriedly stepped forward to support him: "Your Highness, you cannot get up yet..."
"What did she ask for?" Rong Cang's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and he stared at him coldly, "If you don't tell me, this Prince will ask her personally."
Chang Qing gritted his teeth and whispered: "The Five Poisons."
Rong Cang's expression shifted slightly: "What does she want with those things?"
Chang Qing shook his head: "This subordinate does not know."
Rong Cang's gaze was deep and cold, and he remained silent for a long while: "Has anyone from the Palace been here?"
"The Noble Consort sent a medical woman over." Chang Qing helped him lie back down on the bed, answering every question, "It is that daughter of Imperial Physician Liu, who has been serving in the Noble Consort's palace. The Noble Consort sent her to decoct medicine for the Prince."
A cold sneer flashed across Rong Cang's lips: "Chu Yunfei kept her?"
"Yes." Chang Qing nodded, then frowned, "However, it seems quite strange. The Princess Consort ordered someone to set up a stove in the Shuanghua Courtyard's small kitchen and arranged for her own maidservant to decoct medicine for the Prince, while Physician Liu and Nanny Xiong are in the outer kitchen and have not been able to get near the Inner Courtyard."
Hearing this, Rong Cang's expression was uncertain: "You mean, there are two people decocting medicine?"
"Yes."
A deep, dark glint flashed in the depths of Rong Cang's eyes.
"Since when did the Princess Consort understand medical science?" Chang Qing was completely baffled, "And why would she have people decoct two portions of medicine?"
Rong Cang's heart trembled slightly. Chu Yunfei understands medical science?
Thinking of her action of gripping his wrist in the afternoon, he had only assumed she was putting on a show, so he hadn't taken it to heart.
Does she actually understand medical science?
Rong Cang pondered in silence, finally shaking his head slowly: "She has never studied medical science."
Chang Qing paused, then guessed: "Then the Princess Consort might just be doing it as a precaution."
He dared not say too much, fearing the Prince would continue to press him, and he wouldn't be able to answer.
Besides, he had promised the Princess Consort to keep it a secret.
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