AMLFS Chapter 92
by VolareChapter 93: I am Willing
Liang Xiuzhu looked at the wound medicine in Sun Shu’s hand, then at his own foot.
Originally, he had just hardened his heart and vowed not to accept any more favors from him. But the stinging pain in his foot told him that if he didn’t treat it, he really risked crippling himself.
He was a very adaptable person, after all, the foot was on his own body, so why argue with an outsider.
The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Liang Xiuzhu forgot his earlier thoughts completely.
Reaching out to snatch it away, Liang Xiuzhu was still angry: “I’ll do it myself, so you don’t accuse me of using tricks again!”
Sun Shu knew he was in the wrong when he heard this, so he had no choice but to squat in front of him and watch him apply the medicine to his foot himself.
Liang Xiuzhu took off his shoes and socks, and the injury to his previously red and swollen ankle was now even more serious.
It had turned purplish-blue.
Pulling out the stopper, Liang Xiuzhu sprinkled the medicine on his ankle. Then he wanted to put his shoes and socks back on.
Sun Shu frowned as he watched his movements.
He quickly stopped him, saying: “No, this is medicinal powder. Binding it up like that will have no effect.”
“Then what should I do?” Liang Xiuzhu stopped, holding his shoes and socks, and looked at him impatiently.
“Give me your foot.” Sun Shu didn’t explain and simply sat on the ground, reaching out to him.
Liang Xiuzhu, who had originally wanted to refuse, saw the solemn look on Sun Shu’s face and knew that now was not the time to be fussy.
Reluctantly, he stretched out his foot.
Sun Shu grabbed his foot without the slightest hint of disgust, and placed it on his knee. He rubbed his palms together to warm them and then covered his foot.
Sun Shu’s palms were warm and when placed on the injured ankle, the pain seemed to lessen slightly.
Liang Xiuzhu watched his movements, and the grievance in his heart lessened a lot.
The next moment, Sun Shu’s hands began to massage the wound.
Liang Xiuzhu immediately broke out in a cold sweat from the stabbing pain, his brows furrowed as he cried out: “What are you doing? Gently, gently! It hurts!”
His scream was piercing, and Sun Shu explained: “If the medicinal powder doesn’t penetrate the affected area, it’s a waste of effort. Bear with it, I’ll try to be gentler.”
Sun Shu watched his distorted face, and although his hands didn’t stop moving, the strength in his palms unconsciously lessened a little.
Knowing the reason, Liang Xiuzhu didn’t say anything more, just urging him: “Gently, it’s killing me.”
In the silent forest, two figures were under a tree. A faint complaining voice could be heard, sounding particularly clear in the forest.
After treating the wound on his foot, Sun Shu glanced at the sky. The sun was already setting in the west, and they hadn’t walked far out of the forest today.
They needed to quickly find a place to settle down, or who knew what they might encounter in the wilderness.
“Hurry up, the sun is going down.” Sun Shu squatted down in front of him, his tone urgent.
This was exactly what had caused their unpleasantness just now, and Liang Xiuzhu still felt a little awkward. Hearing his words and thinking about their current situation, he couldn’t care so much.
He stood up with a limp and climbed onto his back: “Thank you.”
“Mm.” Sun Shu responded softly, carrying him to find shelter.
“A cave!”
Song Huaixi leaned on the carriage window, pointing to a cave on a distant hillside and shouting in surprise.
“I see it.”
Prince Zhao Fangye of the Ning district put his arm around his waist and pulled him back, then drew the curtain over the window. Although it was spring, the closer they got to the Northwest, the more dust there was in the wind.
He was afraid that he would get dust in his eyes if he wasn’t careful.
Zhao Fangye touched Song Huaixi’s eyelids: “It’s windy outside, Huaixi shouldn’t lean out.”
Song Huaixi nodded obediently and said, “I understand.”
Their carriage was approaching the Northwest, and the surrounding scenery had become desolate.
They had been traveling for several days, and the surroundings were barren with no sign of human habitation.
It was chronically arid with little rain, and the climate was extremely dry, making water particularly precious.
Due to the lack of rain, the earth was cracked, and vegetation struggled to grow, sparse and scattered, with only a few withered trees standing on the yellow soil.
Even in the reviving spring season, it was difficult to see much green along the way, let alone any other living creatures.
For Song Huaixi, who had never left the capital, everything before him was very curious. The vultures in the sky, the dead branches on the ground, the wind-eroded caves in the distance.
One by one, everything was new and fascinating in his eyes.
His eyes still filled with excitement, Song Huaixi said to Zhao Fangye with great interest: “Zhao Fangye, this place is so different from the capital! So much yellow soil, and the mountains are strange too!”
Zhao Fangye chuckled softly, seeing him excitedly describing everything he saw.
Afraid that he would get thirsty, he poured a cup of tea and handed it to him: “Drink more water, the climate is very dry here.”
Taking the teacup, Song Huaixi gulped down a mouthful, licking his chapped lips. He agreed wholeheartedly.
“I’ve been feeling very thirsty lately, is it because it’s so dry here?” Turning his eyes, Song Huaixi seemed to have thought of something: “Little grass and little flowers are also thirsty, so they don’t sprout and bloom here?”
The whistling wind of the Northwest lifted the curtain, and Zhao Fangye’s gaze fell on the barren land. There was no color, only yellowish-brown without a hint of life.
Vast and boundless, infinitely desolate.
Withdrawing his gaze, Zhao Fangye’s light-colored eyes focused on Song Huaixi’s chapped lips: “Flowers are delicate, and the wind and sand in the Northwest are too strong. They can’t bloom here.”
Song Huaixi noticed that Zhao Fangye’s expression was a little different when he said this to him, but he didn’t know what it meant.
Song Huaixi was a little regretful, licking his dry lips and murmuring: “Is that so?”
Seeing the regret on his face, Zhao Fangye’s light-colored eyes were filled with tenderness.
When people talked about the Northwest, they all knew it was a barren land. And his, the eldest son of the emperor, fief was in such a barren land.
There were no rich fields, only miles of barrenness and people living in poverty.
When people talked about this place, they were all disgusted and scornful. Even he himself would think that this land was barren.
Only Song Huaixi would feel surprised and happy when he saw this scene. And he would regret that it was not full of flowers.
Gently holding Song Huaixi in his arms, Zhao Fangye rested his head on his shoulder: “Huaixi, if I ask you to live here in the future, would you be willing?”
Live here?
Song Huaixi thought for a moment, then turned his head and asked him, “Will you be by my side?”
“Yes, I will always be by your side.” Zhao Fangye tilted his head and kissed his earlobe, his tone firm.
“Yes! As long as I’m with you, I’m willing to do anything!”
Hearing this answer, Song Huaixi said without thinking.
As long as Zhao Fangye was by his side, he would not be afraid of anything.
Zhao Fangye smiled and held him tighter.
But his eyebrows and eyes sharpened. Song Huaixi was a white camellia raised in the capital.
The winters in the Northwest were too cold, only being placed in a warm pavilion in the Forbidden City could allow him to bloom to his heart’s content.