MLIAM Chapter 54
by VolareChapter 54: Torture Him, and I Will… Stay with You Forever.
The two went to see the Second Prince together.
As they walked, Yu Shuli tried to keep his distance from Wei Yan in a way that was obviously trying to hide something, attempting to forget the excessive intimacy of moments before, but this time Wei Yan didn’t push his luck at all.
He walked silently ahead, leading Yu Shuli to a courtyard.
“We’re here.”
Yu Shuli looked back and realized that Wei Yan had no intention of going in.
He was a little unaccustomed to Wei Yan not clinging to him. After thinking for a moment, Yu Shuli held back the thought of asking him to come along and politely nodded to Wei Yan, “Then… I’ll go in?”
Wei Yan was dressed in heavy, thick clothing, completely covered from head to toe except for his face. Above his collar, only a section of pale neck was visible.
Yu Shuli knew that beneath it were the marks he had left, completely concealed by Wei Yan without any room for exposure.
The hysterical lover had, in a short instant, become completely indifferent, leaving only a clear distance that rejected intimacy.
He lightly “mm”ed.
Yu Shuli wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but looking at him now, Wei Yan seemed to have a touch of undetectable fragility.
Yu Shuli took two steps, then turned back again.
Wei Yan’s fingers were clenched tightly at his side, with restraint.
Yu Shuli’s expression was a little dazed, “Wei Yan… that… if there’s nothing else, I’ll go in…”
“Ji’an.” His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible.
Yu Shuli paused, finally hardening his heart and pretending not to hear, and walked away.
Behind him, there was a “thump,” the sound of a human body hitting the ground.
Yu Shuli turned back in a panic.
*
In the secluded courtyard, it was bustling like never before.
A dozen doctors were invited into the courtyard, and Yu Shuli and the Second Prince stood outside the courtyard together, waiting anxiously.
“How could you torture someone like this?” Long time no see, Yu Shuli had not had time to exchange pleasantries with the Second Prince, but heard him complaining.
Yu Shuli widened his eyes, feeling a little guilty and annoyed, “How would I know… It’s just that I didn’t respond to him…”
The Second Prince knocked him on the head, “You should pay more attention. Where else can you find someone who treats you like this? You’ll be honest when he really runs away one day.”
Yu Shuli curled his lip, “Your Highness, why do you blame me as soon as we meet? I’ve never seen you so biased towards Wei Yan before…”
“Isn’t it because you’re hopeless!” The Second Prince paced back and forth, turned around and asked, “Tell me, why did he suddenly vomit blood?”
“We…” Yu Shuli lowered his eyes, “We were probably going to divorce…”
The Second Prince hissed, “Whose idea was that?”
Yu Shuli sighed, “Mine…”
“You really are!” The Second Prince had an expression of hating iron for not becoming steel, “He swallowed poison for you, and risked his life to kill someone. Even an outsider like me was moved. You turned around and wanted a divorce. You’re really something.”
Yu Shuli widened his eyes, “Your Highness, you know everything?”
“I arrived in Quzhou a long time ago.” The Second Prince said, “Otherwise, by the time you came, the Northwest wind would be gone.”
He glanced at Yu Shuli and continued, “Didn’t I tell you not to come to Quzhou? You just wouldn’t listen.”
“I was also worried about Wei Yan… and you, Your Highness.” Yu Shuli said, “You didn’t give me a heads up about your arrival. At the time, the situation in Quzhou looked wrong at first glance, plus the Emperor issued an Imperial Decree, so I had to put on a show no matter what.”
“You still need to change your straightforward problem, otherwise you will suffer in the future.” The Second Prince sighed, “If Wei Yan and I had been planted in Quzhou, you would have delivered yourself into a trap.”
He rolled his eyes, “Or bring tens of thousands of Northwest troops, and deliver yourself into a trap together.”
Yu Shuli lowered his head guiltily. He wasn’t sure if the Second Prince would be planted, but Wei Yan probably wouldn’t be.
After all, he was still thinking of using a ‘bitter-flesh scheme’ to rebel and become emperor.
He murmured, “Well, if something happened to you in Quzhou, Your Highness, I could save you.”
“If it requires military force, I will tell you. For things that require brains, Wei Yan is enough, so you should save your energy. You’re not smart to begin with.”
“Your Highness, why are you scolding me?!” Yu Shuli stomped his feet in dissatisfaction, then involuntarily thought that the Second Prince would maintain Wei Yan so much, wouldn’t it be that he didn’t know about Wei Yan’s plan to rebel?
Could it be that he had fallen in love with Wei Yan?
Yu Shuli suddenly widened his eyes, sizing up the man in front of him, and said in surprise, “Your Highness, don’t tell me you… have fallen in love with Wei Yan?!”
Zhao Lan had thick eyebrows and big eyes, a high nose, and a defined jawline, looking upright and handsome.
Such a person, matched with Wei Yan, could really be described as a match made in heaven.
Since spending time with Wei Yan, Yu Shuli was no longer as ignorant of the affection between men as he had been before.
For some reason, guessing that the Second Prince was fond of Wei Yan made Yu Shuli feel uncomfortable.
He hurriedly shook Zhao Lan’s shoulders without regard for etiquette, “Your Highness, absolutely not!”
You are thinking of love, but that guy is thinking of the throne! He still has me in his heart, you won’t be happy with him!
That’s what he thought in his heart, but Yu Shuli didn’t dare to say it.
The Second Prince straightened his eyes when he heard this, looked at Yu Shuli with an expression that said, “Are you human?” and finally couldn’t help laughing out loud. “What exactly are you thinking about in that little head of yours all day long?”
“Wei Yan has already surrendered to me, so you should bully him less in the future.”
Yu Shuli opened his mouth, “Surrendered?”
Realizing that Wei Yan had finally given up the throne as he had said, and clearly stood by his side, he was a little at a loss and inexplicably delighted, but thinking of Wei Yan’s past performance, he wanted to remind the Second Prince: “Your Highness, you believe him just like that? Wei Yan is very smart, maybe he’s lying to you…”
“Lying to me? What can he get from lying to me? You’re on my side, and if he lies to me, he’ll lose his wife.” The Second Prince looked over in dissatisfaction: “Besides, using Quzhou and the throne to surrender, isn’t that enough?”
Yu Shuli gave a short “ah” sound. He thought to himself: Actually, if Wei Yan and you fight, I may not necessarily stand on your side…
The Second Prince sighed, “If you hadn’t come, this would have been a good game. Prime Minister Wei entered the game with his own body, thinking of catching everything in one net, but it’s a pity that Marquis Xunyang has now run away.”
Yu Shuli kicked the clods of dirt awkwardly under his feet, not daring to look up.
“I’m nothing… but it’s hard for Wei Yan, he has suffered so much.” The Second Prince said again.
When Wei Yan was mentioned, Yu Shuli’s ears twitched, wanting to ask but not daring to ask.
The Second Prince looked over with a meaningful look and smiled, “You can ask directly if you have any doubts.”
Yu Shuli was easily seen through, and didn’t hide it anymore, directly asking, “Wei Yan… what’s wrong?”
“He already had an old poison in his body, you know that, right?”
Yu Shuli nodded, murmuring, “I know.”
“This time, in order to reassure Marquis Xunyang and save your friend, he knew that there was a trick at the banquet, and he personally tested the medicine, knowing it was poison, he drank it anyway. Although because his body had taken too much medicine, the effect of the poison had been greatly reduced, but…”
Yu Shuli frowned and asked nervously, “But what?”
The Second Prince’s voice also tightened a little, with a kind of pity for talent: “But… this medicine is very vicious, and it contains ‘Five Stone Powder.’ Every time it breaks out with the old poison, it hurts so much that it feels like poisonous insects are gnawing at the heart, something that ordinary people cannot bear.”
Yu Shuli’s body trembled, his pupils shaking: “Wh… what?”
“This medicine has aftereffects. It will become addictive like ‘Five Stone Powder,’ and it will be extremely unbearable. If the dark guards hadn’t rescued him in time that day, he would have completely collapsed. With his good looks, he would at least end up in a brothel, or worse… didn’t he tell you?”
“He… told me…” Yu Shuli said blankly.
Maybe he said it, maybe he didn’t.
The truth was that Yu Shuli’s mind was not on Wei Yan at all at the time, and he didn’t take his poison to heart at all.
What did Wei Yan say at the time…
He asked Yu Shuli if he would fall in love with Dong Siwen.
He replied that he didn’t love her, but Dong Siwen had suffered a lot for him, and she wouldn’t be able to survive, so he had to be responsible for her.
Wei Yan asked him, what about him?
He wouldn’t be able to survive either.
How did he reply at the time? Yu Shuli felt a tight pain in his heart when he remembered.
He said to Wei Yan, “Sorry.”
He gave up on Wei Yan.
For a moment, Yu Shuli only felt his blood surge, as if a rainstorm had fallen in his heart, and the raindrops hit his body like needle pricks, causing a dense, numb pain. He walked to the courtyard door, wanting to push the door in at all costs.
The Second Prince reached out to stop him. “Calm down first. They’re still treating him inside. I’ve hired the best doctors in Quzhou, and Wei Yan will be fine. Tell me carefully what’s going on.”
Yu Shuli said in a flustered manner, “I… I said that Dong Siwen sacrificed for me, and I was going to marry Dong Siwen… so I said sorry to Wei Yan…” He grabbed the Second Prince’s sleeve, feeling a little at a loss: “What should I do? Is Wei Yan sad?”
“You really are…” The Second Prince gritted his teeth: “If I were Wei Yan, vomiting blood would be a light punishment.”
“He has entrusted his whole life to you, and you say you’re giving up on him. Have you ever respected his feelings?”
“I…” Yu Shuli shrank his neck and lowered his head dejectedly: “It was my mistake, I was thinking wrong. I could clearly use other ways to compensate Dong Siwen. Besides, she’s not the kind of person who would take advantage of the situation, and she may not even want to marry me. I should respect their opinions, and shouldn’t make decisions in private.”
The Second Prince nodded: “It’s good that you understand, you’re not beyond saving.”
Several doctors opened the courtyard door, poking their heads out to take a look.
“Then…” Yu Shuli took the opportunity to point to the courtyard door: “Can I go in and see him?”
The Second Prince “mm”ed and let him go: “Alright, go ahead. It would be like playing the lute to a cow if I asked you to discuss official business now.”
Yu Shuli thanked him profusely and left.
The Second Prince sighed and instructed his subordinates, “Tell those guarding the courtyard today to stay away and not disturb them.”
The subordinates responded and left.
Inside the house, the smell of medicine was pungent, and the person lying down was pale, still unconscious.
In addition to the few who went out to report the situation to the Second Prince, there were dozens of doctors who were discussing prescriptions in hushed tones. They were all stunned when they saw Yu Shuli enter.
“Junior General.” Yu Shuli simply “mm”ed when they saluted, stopping them from saluting.
He asked, “How is Wei Yan?”
“He had a sudden attack of anger and anxiety. This humble one has already prescribed a gentle prescription, and after boiling the medicine, first help the Prime Minister to calm down.” One of the doctors pointed to the steaming bowl of medicine on the table, frowning, “But the Prime Minister has not woken up, and we can’t feed him the medicine.”
Yu Shuli “mm”ed, took the bowl of medicine himself, and asked, “Will calming down make him better?”
“It will make him more comfortable.” The doctor replied, “However, for the internal poison, according to the medical skills of us few, we still need to find the root of the poison in order to completely cure it. But if we can find the divine physician Yang Ming, there may be other ways.”
Yu Shuli nodded to show that he understood, thought for a moment, and asked, “What about the ‘Five Stone Powder’ in his body? Is there a way to solve it?”
“This…” The doctors looked at each other a few times, not daring to answer rashly.
Yu Shuli frowned: “What, is this question so difficult to answer? If you can’t cure it, say so early, and I can find someone more capable!”
Seeing Yu Shuli get angry, they answered tremblingly: “This ‘Five Stone Powder’ will cause addiction. Ordinary prescriptions can’t cure it, they can only be relieved by soaking in a medicinal bath. Even if the divine physician comes, he probably won’t have other prescriptions. But the Prime Minister’s body can’t withstand such fierce medicine, so it’s better not to take it…”
“Not take it?” Yu Shuli scoffed: “If he doesn’t take it, are you telling him to endure it himself?!”
“The dosage of ‘Five Stone Powder’ in the Prime Minister’s body is not large. In theory, if the patient has a firm will and endures for seven days, the effect of the medicine will slowly pass…”
“Incompetent doctors.” Yu Shuli waved his hand, “You all get out of here, and bring someone who can cure him.”
“Ji’an.” The person on the bed suddenly woke up and called out in a low voice.
Yu Shuli suddenly raised his eyes and walked over in big steps.
He softened the sound of his footsteps, looking at Wei Yan’s bloodless face, his heart was filled with mixed feelings of guilt and heartache, and he couldn’t speak for a moment.
“Ji’an.” Wei Yan opened his eyes and reached out to pull his sleeve.
Yu Shuli closed his eyes and slowly grasped his fingers, hoarsely saying, “I’m here.”
“I’m in pain.” His hands climbed up Yu Shuli’s wrist, and finally his whole body climbed over: “It hurts so much, Ji’an.”
“I… I’m here.” Yu Shuli was at a loss, putting the bowl of medicine on the bedside, reaching out to hug him in his arms.
He turned his head to look at the group of doctors, gritting his teeth and said, “He’s in pain, can’t you prescribe some pain-relieving medicine?!”
“…This…” A dozen people wandered around, finally buried their heads and wrote hard, with constant whispers.
Wei Yan struggled to raise his head, buried in Yu Shuli’s arms: “Ji’an, let them go, it’s a bit noisy.”
“Okay…” With a command from Yu Shuli, the doctors scrambled out, leaving the room to the two of them.
“Ji’an, I’m uncomfortable.” Wei Yan tilted his head slightly, his wet eyes looking at Yu Shuli, and said aggrievedly, “Can you stay with me today?”
Yu Shuli “mm”ed stuffily, he paused, and said seriously: “I will… stay with you forever.”
Wei Yan turned his head, his eyes filled with disbelief. His voice trembled: “You… really?”
“Really.”
Wei Yan hugged him back, his weak body drilling into Yu Shuli’s body: “You better be telling the truth.”
He gasped a few times with rapid breathing, and suddenly said: “If it’s fake… I’ll accept it.”
“Really.” Yu Shuli lowered his eyes, met Wei Yan’s cautious gaze, then his Adam’s apple moved, and a light kiss fell on the eyelashes of the person under him.
Wei Yan’s body trembled, his ears slightly red.
His fingers tightly clung to Yu Shuli’s sleeves: “Ji’an, I’m not very clear-headed now… Did you kiss me?”
“Mm.” Yu Shuli’s palm touched his forehead, and asked softly, “You don’t have a fever now, can you sit up and take the medicine?”
Wei Yan nodded, obediently leaning against Yu Shuli’s chest.
His whole body was densely covered by Yu Shuli’s gentleness, as if all the pain was gone.
He raised his head with difficulty, grabbed Yu Shuli’s waist, and pulled him down.
After a moment, two dry lips touched Yu Shuli’s neck, and his voice was lingering and gentle: “Ji’an, if you are lying to me, then deceive me more, I am willing to be deceived.”