Chapter 22
JIANG SUIZHOU THOUGHT it was unlikely that Huo Wujiu was trying to poison him.
But…why was he giving him medicine?
He stayed where he was, unmoving as he looked suspiciously at Huo Wujiu.
At that moment, a gentle breeze drifted in through the open window. Warm and refreshing as it was, it stirred the moisture on Jiang Suizhou’s body, and he burst into a violent coughing fit.
His immune system had always been weak, and the day’s exhaustion had only exacerbated it.
When the coughing subsided, it left his voice hoarse and a faint sheen of tears glimmering in his eyes.
Dazed, he looked over to the window. Through his hazy vision, he realized that someone had already closed it.
Huo Wujiu was sitting by the window, reading. He didn’t even look up.
Jiang Suizhou steadied his breaths, then hesitantly made his way to the bed and sat on the edge.
A bed… His bed! It was so comfortable!
The mattress was wide, the blankets thick, and the brocade luxuriously heavy and soft. Simply brushing against it made him feel as if it were pulling his very soul deep into its cozy embrace.
It was truly that moving for him, considering he hadn’t slept in a proper bed even once since he arrived in this era.
It didn’t seem right to take the bed from the disabled man, but on the other hand, Huo Wujiu did offer it to him voluntarily. It wasn’t like Jiang Suizhou was bullying him. One night wouldn’t hurt…
Jiang Suizhou allowed his intentions of noble refusal to fade, and he pulled back the covers. As he did, his gaze drifted to the small object on the table again.
His eyes lingered there on the pill.
What…exactly was this medicine?
Jiang Suizhou was unsure. He looked at the pill, then over at the silent Huo Wujiu.
He didn’t really want to take it, since he didn’t even know what it was. But then again, even if Huo Wujiu wanted to poison him, he wouldn’t do it this directly.
What if it was a genuine gesture of goodwill? If he didn’t take it, would Huo Wujiu be upset?
After weighing his options, Jiang Suizhou decided to trust in Huo Wujiu’s upstanding character. He took the pill and lay down on the bed.
So comfortable… Ah, beds! He’d almost forgotten that something so wonderful could even exist.
Jiang Suizhou was already dizzy from exhaustion. The moment he pulled up the covers, he was out like a light.
As he drifted off, he failed to notice that Huo Wujiu had been quietly watching him from where he sat next to the daybed.
Privately, Huo Wujiu noted that although the Prince of Jing may have appeared to be quite astute, he was bold and reckless enough to accept medicine from an enemy. Had he even tried to figure out what it was?
The pill on the table was one that Huo Wujiu had smuggled out of prison—a powerful tonic designed to restore vitality and replenish blood. During his imprisonment, he’d relied on it to cling to life whenever the agony blurred his consciousness. After a month, only a few pills remained, and he’d already used two of them earlier to intimidate Physician Zhou.
Jiang Suizhou was already fast asleep.
…He really was a bit of a fool.
Huo Wujiu reached out and extinguished the candle on the table, plunging the room into tranquil darkness. The silence was broken only by the breeze as it faintly rustled the window paper.
Looking over at the window, he couldn’t help but wonder—how could anyone be so delicate? A gust of wind almost too light to feel had been enough to throw that man into a coughing fit until his eyes welled with tears.
And he still insisted on protecting others?