Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

Chapter 230 Awakening

During the day, Xiao Yan had to attend court and argue with Yan's party. After court, he had to go to several training grounds for training. In the middle of the training, he did not forget to argue for the soldiers' overdue military pay.

He had to go back to look after Lu Ziqing at night. Including the first night, he hadn't slept for three days. He dozed off from time to time, and stubble had already appeared on his lips and chin.

In the middle of the night, he sat by the bed and held Lu Ziqing's cold hand and rubbed it, alternating between the two hands. After an unknown amount of time, the hand really moved.

He was excited and called softly, "Ziqing? Did you feel it?"

After calling for a while, Lu Ziqing seemed to have heard it and opened his eyes in a daze. Xiao Yan finally showed a long-lost smile.

He moved closer and called out again, "Ziqing, you're finally awake."

Lu Ziqing's consciousness was confused, but he immediately realized who the haggard face in front of him was.

He slowly responded with his lips, "My Lord, how did it become like this?"

Xiao Yan's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes were red with tears of joy at having lost something and regained it. He gently stroked Lu Ziqing's face and said softly, "You almost scared me to death, do you know that?"

Lu Ziqing's eyes reflected those red eyes, and he blinked tiredly, "I was just very sleepy and took a nap. Lord, don't worry, my back hurts from lying down."

"I'll help you up and lean on me for a while."

Xiao Yan leaned over to the head of the bed, lifted Lu Ziqing up and held him against his chest, then listened to him mutely ask, "How long have I been sleeping?"

"Three days." Xiao Yan stroked his hair and asked, "Are you hungry? I'll bring you some porridge."

Lu Ziqing shook his head gently, "It's just so cold."

Xiao Yan pulled the quilt higher and held Lu Ziqing tightly in his arms, leaving only his head exposed.

"Is this better?"

Xiao Yan's arms were broad, and Lu Ziqing felt warm lying in them. The scent that made him sink into it lingered in his nose, and he felt at ease.

"warm."

After he finished speaking, he remembered something and tried to stand up. As soon as he moved, Xiao Yan held him tightly and asked, "What do you want? I'll get it."

Lu Ziqing curled up in his arms and whispered, "Why is the Marquis here again at night? It's not right. I should go back and accompany him..."

"My concerns are here." Xiao Yan blurted out softly, "My heart is here too, Ziqing, please don't push me away, okay?"

In the past, Lu Ziqing would have been angry when he heard these words, but now he had no strength or energy and could only speak tiredly.

"I consider you my confidant, so I don't want you to be led astray by someone like me, to be scorned by the world, and to bring shame to the family. Your status is noble, and you should marry a woman who is worthy of you and have children. This is the right path for you."

Xiao Yan thought of Yang Zhounan's advice to him and spoke slowly.

"That so-called righteous path is only in the eyes of outsiders. You all think I should marry a woman, but has anyone ever asked me how I feel? No matter who I marry, it's me who will be with that person for the rest of my life, not those outsiders. Only I can experience pain and joy myself. I don't want to compromise myself to cater to other people's preferences. Is that wrong?"

When Lu Ziqing said this publicly, he felt that what he said made sense, but when he said it privately, especially when it concerned himself, he felt very conflicted.

He was silent for a moment. "Your Majesty is right, but... I can't give you anything, and I can't do anything that would bring shame upon the royal power. The accusation and infamy that would bring is too heavy for me to bear, and I don't want to be entangled with the world any longer. I hope Your Majesty won't waste his time on me."

The words between the lines clearly expressed a polite refusal, but Xiao Yan strangely sensed a hint of meaning from the third and fourth sentences.

He answered irrelevantly, "You can't do anything that would bring shame upon the royal power. Does that mean you can? Have you ever thought about it...right? Do you have me in your heart, too?"

Lu Ziqing laughed in his drowsy state, "My Lord, you are really good at making tricks with words. I can't win the argument with you now."

Xiao Yan's cheek rubbed against his forehead gently. Thinking of the wedding candy he had secretly hidden, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips. He tightened his arms a little, fortunately this person was still there.

"Ziqing, ever since I met you, I feel like I'm the luckiest person in the world. You always help me out of danger. I feel so safe as long as you're around. Whenever I think of going home and seeing you, most of the fatigue in my heart disappears."

He spoke slowly, as if in private.

"But even with this luck, I was also terrified. Why hadn't we met earlier in such a vast sea of ​​people? What would I do if I missed you by such a hair's breadth? It felt like I was brushing past the edge of a cliff."

Lu Ziqing plucked the fabric of Xiao Yan's clothes with his fingertips, feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest, and listened quietly with his eyelids about to close.

"I once dreamt in the middle of the night what it would be like without you in my life, but the moment that thought even began, I felt so uncomfortable, my heart sinking with emptiness. Since then, I've realized that I can't live without you, otherwise, I'll die of pain."

Lu Ziqing didn't know how to respond to this and could only avoid answering.

a long time……

Xiao Yan didn't hear any sound and became afraid again. He gently lifted Lu Ziqing's cheek with his palm, his eyes half closed with tiredness, and subconsciously felt relieved that nothing was wrong.

At this moment, he felt that Lu Ziqing was like a sick kitten lying quietly on his chest, soft, obedient and lovable, making people want to get close to caress her.

The atmosphere was humid and sticky, and Xiao Yan's warm breath was so close that Lu Ziqing immediately felt something and lowered his head in panic. His ears turned red under Xiao Yan's fiery gaze.

Lu Ziqing had felt the same awkwardness before, but ever since he gave her the hairpin, Xiao Yan had regarded this awkwardness as shyness, and even wishfully thought that it was Lu Ziqing's reaction only directed at him.

He tasted that feeling as sweet as sugar and honey, and it felt so far away and yet so close in his heart.

The tight embrace under the curtain was silent and quiet. Lu Ziqing, despite his exhaustion, still felt as if he was about to be melted by the ambiguity and awkwardness. He moved to leave, but Xiao Yan would not let him.

He was helpless and could only whisper, "My Lord, help me sit up. I want to meditate."

"You're weak now, don't move around." Xiao Yan said, "If you're tired, lie down."

Lu Ziqing said faintly, "Before I fell asleep, I saw that demon. He's the one who did this. I need to get up."

"What?" Xiao Yan was not calm anymore. "Did he do it?"

Lu Ziqing nodded. "There's a magic platform in that secret room. That demon cast a spell on me, so I fell ill without realizing it. I always thought it was a relapse of an old illness and didn't think it was him."

Xiao Yan was furious and distressed when he heard this. "What kind of curse is so powerful? How could it harm you like this from a distance?"

"It should be..." Lu Ziqing steadied his descending breath, "It should be the evil spirit nail."

"Evil God Nail?" Xiao Yan felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing the name. He asked, "What kind of spell is this? It sounds incredibly evil."