Fearing that the bright light might hurt the sleeping person’s eyes, only a single dim, yellowish lamp was left burning after he pushed the door open.
The force with which he pushed the door was firm and unquestionable, but once inside, his movements became extremely gentle.
Chu Wangheng, whose hands were habitually calloused from gripping weapons, did not act with gentleness; in fact, he could even be fierce.
His striking features were always tightly and sharply drawn, making him look very much like an unapproachable, massive beast of prey. It was only when he walked to the bedside and gently pulled the fallen blanket up over the sleeper that his expression softened just a fraction.
Then, he raised his head and looked at the appearance of the person sleeping feverishly in the bed.
That was not the peaceful tranquility he had imagined, nor was it the handsome, refined scholar from his memories.
Instead, it looked much more like an unfamiliar sight, one that Chu Wangheng was entirely unaccustomed to, yet could effortlessly tug at every fiber of his heart.
The treasure he had missed and cherished so deeply, his mentor, was lying before him after all these years, pale, frail, and on the brink of death, unable to utter a single word.
Following that was an entire half-night of chaotic panic and chilling limbs.
Chu Wangheng had spent years garrisoning the northern borders, so naturally, highly skilled physicians traveled within his entourage.
The trembling old imperial physician had a head of white hair. He was no stranger to Chu Wangheng; having watched the sovereign grow up from childhood, he was equally familiar with Prime Minister Gu, who had wholeheartedly supported the monarch.
Because of this, he treated the feverish young man with extraordinary care. After taking his pulse, he diagnosed him once more, as if unwilling to accept the result.
When he finally stood up, the old physician’s fingers were trembling slightly. He reached for his medicine chest, but for a moment, failed to lift it.
He Jun stood to one side. Seeming to sense something, his heart tightened. Just as he was about to step forward to help, he saw a slender hand reach out from the side and steadily lift the medicine chest for the physician.
Nothing could be read from Chu Wangheng’s expression, but inexplicably, as He Jun looked at him, a wave of distress washed over his heart.
The old physician likely noticed this as well. He weighed his words, trying his best to describe the situation in a steady tone.
Yet the result was even worse than they had imagined.
The prime minister, recovered only after being lost, was in a shockingly terrible physical state. To put it without exaggeration, the only reason he was able to appear here now was because he was hanging on by a single thread.
When the old physician spoke these words slowly, even He Jun, who was not all that deeply bonded with the man, found it somewhat unbearable, let alone Chu Wangheng, who had waited for years.
General He could barely bear to look at the young emperor’s face. He turned his head away, his peripheral vision catching only the monarch’s spine, tensed like a pulled bowstring, and eyes that refused to look away no matter what.
From that moment on, whether it was decocting medicine or caring for the patient, Chu Wangheng refused to let anyone else intervene.
Gu He had no idea that someone had been sitting by his bedside watching him for a long time; he only knew that when he was helped into a sitting position, his mind felt rather hazy.
His cheeks were flushed bright red from the high fever. With his hands hanging down, he turned his head with a dazed expression. His eyes, swimming with a watery sheen, were a warm, light hazel. Even without a smile, he looked remarkably gentle.
Perhaps because he had just woken from a deep sleep, his vision was semi-blurred and he could not clearly see his surroundings. Straining to look ahead, he could only vaguely make out a shadowy human figure.
The shadowy figure watched his dazed expression for a beat, then slowly bent down, seemed to say something, and passed over an object. Immediately afterward came the warm sensation of medicinal soup against his lips.
Instantly, the faint, bitter tang of medicinal herbs filled the tip of his nose, unpleasant, almost aggressive.
Prime Minister Gu paused, his brow furrowing as he subconsciously turned his head away.
Though his consciousness was not entirely clear and he did not yet understand what was happening, Gu He instinctively felt that he did not like this taste. After a brief thought, he even struggled and pulled back a little.
He acted like a spoiled child.
Chu Wangheng sat half-propped on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on him. Seeing what could only be called childish behavior, he couldn’t help but let the corners of his lips curve upward just a fraction.
The eternal, unmelting glacier within the emperor’s heart seemed to be shattered in an instant, turning overwhelmingly soft. He watched quietly, pausing for a long moment before slowly retracting the fingers holding the medicinal soup.
In Chu Wangheng’s mind, his mentor had always been a powerful, unbreakable existence.
Whether it was pulling him up from the mire with one hand when he was down on his luck, or defying all opposition during times of crisis to send him to the borders to seek a path to survival, he had always been smiling.
He would appear with an extraordinarily powerful stance, as if no matter how vast the world was, as long as he was there, nothing could harm his little prince.
Year after year, through spring, summer, autumn, and winter, Chu Wangheng was that little prince whom he cherished and protected, and that had never changed.
They were an inseparable existence.
Chu Wangheng had always believed that once he grew strong and steadfast enough to protect his mentor, he would shelter him safely under his wings, ensuring he would never suffer a single grievance or endure a single hardship.
The young emperor had no doubt that he could achieve this. He simply hadn’t expected that when that day finally arrived, his mentor would be gone.
And when he wandered in search of him, finally finding him after all this time, his mentor was like this, pale-faced, having suffered immense trauma, looking as though even speaking a single loud word required a strenuous effort.
Seeing him in such a state was, for Chu Wangheng, no less agonizing than having his own heart crushed to pieces.
The young emperor’s expression turned chillingly cold, fierce hostility rising step by step from the depths of his heart. His cooling gaze almost condensed into ice, making him look like a massive beast of prey that had been severely provoked after having its treasure stolen.
If the person he cherished hadn’t still been too fragile and in need of his care, he would have already bared his ferocious claws and torn all potential enemies to shreds.
Instead, for the sake of his mentor, he reined himself in to appear almost harmless, just as he was doing now.
Yet, even in a flash, although Prime Minister Gu was still bewildered, his years of survival experience gave him an almost acute instinct for dangerous auras.
He sensed the shift in the emotional state of the shadow before him, yet he could not understand this complex feeling where ferocity and gentleness intertwined.
Prime Minister Gu sat dazedly, his head spinning, and couldn’t help hesitating slightly.
He seriously considered the countermeasures he could currently take, but his thoughts were far too chaotic, causing him to instinctively make a very childish move almost beyond his control.
With a solemn face, he extended a pale, chilled finger, lifted it up gently, stealthily, and with a sliver of wishful thinking, pushed away the medicine bowl that was lingering in midair, just a hair’s breadth away from him.
After pushing it away, his finger didn’t pull back immediately either; instead, as if offering reassurance, he slowly gave Chu Wangheng’s finger a little poke.
He seemed to be saying that Chu Wangheng should just leave because he was not going to drink that.
The emperor felt his breath catch in his throat from pure cuteness.
In reality, this was just a tiny gesture whose intent to drive him away outweighed the reassurance, and for a monarch, it could even be considered presumptuous.
Yet it made Chu Wangheng cherish him beyond measure. His icy grey eyes warmed instantly, softening boundlessly.
He extended his arm, moving as if wanting to gently support Gu He’s swaying shoulders, but then remembering something, he quietly pulled it back.
He was too precious, so cherished that it made one completely at a loss as to what to do with him.
Despite being a terrifying presence feared across battlefields and imperial courts alike, Chu Wangheng was, at this moment, nearly clumsy.
Realizing that his mentor truly disliked bitter medicine, he furrowed his brow and tried to think of a solution.
He remembered that in the past, Gu He used to feed him sweets, which he likely enjoyed. Rising to his feet, he felt around his pack, but his hand encountered only cold, short blades.
Chu Wangheng was left with no other choice.
He stood up, placed the medicine bowl securely onto the table, tucked it in carefully, and then walked out to the corridor, calling out in a low voice that He Jun should come up.
After being busy for nearly the entire night, he finally managed to feed the medicine, tuck in the edges of the blanket, and wrap the person snugly in bed.
Chu Wangheng touched his mentor’s forehead, which was still running a fever despite having taken the medicine. Feeling uneasy, he simply chose to sit on the humble wooden chair in the inn, closing his eyes to rest.
The borderlands were bitterly cold, and even as a sovereign, he had never indulged in overly luxurious conditions; military campaigns were especially arduous. Therefore, going a single night without sleep was hardly difficult for Chu Wangheng.
Gu He, however, was completely dumbfounded.
When he woke up in the early morning, before he even had time to get out of bed, he discovered that the repair progress bar, which had been jumping around in Zero Egg’s interface, had happily surged on its own to ten percent.
That wasn’t even the most astonishing part. What shocked him most was that when he rubbed his dizzy head and sat up straight, he found that his noble, unapproachable cub was actually leaning against his bedhead and sleeping.
The inn’s chair was narrow, and his two long legs were pulled up in a pitiful-looking tuck, appearing deeply aggrieved.
Prime Minister Gu was utterly bewildered as well.
The previous night, he had been burning with a high fever and muddled out of his mind. He couldn’t say he remembered nothing of what happened; he did have a faint, vague impression.
Yet because it was all too bizarre, he had merely assumed it was nothing more than an illusory vision brought on by severe illness.
Who could have imagined that this was real? In short, Prime Minister Gu’s feelings at the moment were exceptionally complicated.
Chu Wangheng seemed exhausted to the bone, sitting with his knees drawn up and half-leaning against the wall. Even the creaking noise of Gu He getting out of bed failed to disturb him in the least.
Gu He put on his outer robe, slowly walked over to his side, and squatted down halfway. He brushed aside a stray lock of hair, picked up a garment, and draped it over Chu Wangheng’s cold hands.
Even though they hadn’t seen each other for many years, and even though he didn’t quite understand how all of this came to be.
Facing this familiar face, one that had rapidly matured and sharpened in places where he couldn’t see, Gu He still felt a surging mixture of heartache and pride in his heart.
Just as he had so often done many years ago, he reached out a finger to stroke the young monarch’s soft hair, which contrasted so sharply with his sharp features, and gave his hair tie a gentle tweak.
In a soft voice, he murmured that Your Highness had worked hard.
With his eyes tightly closed, the emperor, who had seemingly been deep in slumber, finally reached his limit, his long eyelashes fluttering slightly.
The next second, he heard the gentle voice of Prime Minister Gu from above, suppressing a smile as he told him that it was uncomfortable there and that he should go to bed and sleep.