Chapter 91

Chapter 91: Careful with the Baby

Chun Zhi gasped and reached out to steady him, but his weight nearly pulled her down too.

The Shadow Guard rushed in from behind and caught his prince.

Only then did Chun Zhi realize Huo Zheng had closed his eyes and fainted. She quickly had him carried to a soft couch nearby and called Doctor Zhao to take his pulse.

Doctor Liang stayed at Song An Lan’s bedside to watch him.

Doctor Zhao felt Huo Zheng’s pulse and frowned deeper and deeper: “His Highness is completely exhausted, and the cold has invaded his body. If he does not rest and heal well, he may be plagued by cold sickness and pain for the rest of his life.”

A Shadow Guard explained: “The Revival Blossom grows at the peak of an icy mountain, in a cold pool. The prince sent group after group to search, but no one found it. He went himself in the end. In that world of ice and snow, he personally went down into the cold pool to pick it. The cold invaded him, and because he feared Young Master Song could not wait, he rode day and night without stopping. Three horses died from exhaustion.”

No wonder his hand had been so cold.

Staring at Huo Zheng’s pale, handsome face, Chun Zhi asked hoarsely: “Doctor Zhao, do you have a good prescription?”

“I will write one first,” Doctor Zhao said. He did not dare promise more. He explained that His Highness should take the medicine now and, after returning to the Capital, let the imperial physicians nurse him carefully over time.

Chun Zhi nodded. That was all they could do.

When Song Wan’er saw how worried Chun Zhi looked after Huo Zheng fainted, she ordered that he be taken to Chun Zhi’s courtyard.

Song Wan’er told Chun Zhi: “Elder brother has me to watch him. Sister, you should go back first.”

Even a sheltered miss of the Song clan could see that Chun Zhi felt differently about her elder brother and about Prince Chang’an.

Chun Zhi glanced at Song An Lan on the bed. The two physicians also urged her to rest.

A woman about to give birth must not exhaust herself.

Chun Zhi did not insist and returned to her rooms.

Huo Zheng lay next door to her.

The maid boiled the medicine and passed it to the Shadow Guard.

Even unconscious, Huo Zheng guarded himself against others, and the Shadow Guard could not get the medicine into him. He came to ask Chun Zhi for help.

Chun Zhi went to the side room and took the bowl herself.

She tried with a spoon, but the dark liquid ran out at the corner of his mouth.

A funnel did not work either.

Huo Zheng’s guard against people was far stronger than most.

With no other choice, Chun Zhi took a sip first, then fed him mouth to mouth.

This time, he did not resist.

The medicine went in.

The decoction was terribly bitter. Chun Zhi fed him many times to finish it. Then she took a sugar from a small pouch and put one in her own mouth before tucking one into Huo Zheng’s mouth too.

Night wind slipped in through the small window and made the candle flame flicker.

Chun Zhi set down the bowl and turned to leave, but Huo Zheng grabbed her wrist.

She thought he had woken and turned back, only to see his eyes still closed as he murmured something.

Chun Zhi bent close and finally heard him: “Cold… so cold…”

Back in Peach Blossom Lane, on nights when they had slept in each other’s arms, Chun Zhi had always thought he was too warm.

A man like a living stove had gone into an icy world and a cold pool to find the Revival Blossom. The cold had invaded him and turned him into someone who feared the cold.

Chun Zhi tried to pull her hand back, but his grip was too tight. She could not get free. She sat down again at the bed and held his hands, rubbing them to warm him.

There were two braziers burning in the room, so Chun Zhi did not feel cold. It was just that the chill in Huo Zheng’s body was too deep.

He kept saying he was cold. Chun Zhi rubbed his hands for a long time and breathed warm air into his palms. Only then did the tight lines in his brow ease.

He still said he was cold.

Chun Zhi spread another brocade quilt over him.

But the quilt did not seem to help much.

Still asleep, Huo Zheng pulled Chun Zhi into his arms and would not let her go.

With no choice, Chun Zhi found a comfortable position and lay down beside him.

After all this back and forth, she was so tired that she fell asleep.

When she woke again, they were under the same quilt.

At some point, Huo Zheng had woken and was watching her quietly.

Startled, Chun Zhi tried to sit up at once, but her body was heavy and she could not rise in one move.

“Slowly,” Huo Zheng said in a rough voice as he pressed a hand to her shoulder: “Careful with the baby.”

Chun Zhi did not know how she had ended up sleeping beside him. She asked: “When… when did you wake up?”

“Just now,” Huo Zheng said.

Chun Zhi lifted the quilt and slowly sat up: “Then sleep a little more. I’ll go see my elder brother.”

She tried to act as natural as possible. It had not been her idea to share a bed. Huo Zheng had held her and would not let her go. But now there was no need to bring that up.

“Song An Lan has his sister to watch him,” Huo Zheng said, pale on the pillow. “If you must watch him too, then what about me?”

Chun Zhi put on her shoes and stood: “If you want someone to guard your bed, just say the word. Plenty of people would be happy to serve you.”

“They are them,” Huo Zheng said. “You are you.”

Maybe because of the cold in him, his face was very pale. At this moment he even looked a little pitiful.

Chun Zhi had never thought the word “pitiful” could fit the noble Prince Chang’an. Yet right now, he did look hard to refuse.

“Talk less and rest more,” Chun Zhi said with a blank face, not wanting him to see her soften.

Huo Zheng knew she would never be at ease until she saw Song An Lan, so he did not stop her. He only said: “Then come back early.”

Chun Zhi found she really could not refuse him today.

“Sleep,” she said. “I’ll have some food prepared.”

“I’ll wait and eat with you,” Huo Zheng answered at once.

Chun Zhi neither agreed nor refused and walked out.

Huo Zheng had risked his life to find the Revival Blossom for Song An Lan. She could not stay cold to him now. But she also could not throw away her resolve all at once. [Hold steady.]

“Chun Zhi,” Huo Zheng called after her, “come back soon.”

He sounded like a husband waiting for his wife to return.

Chun Zhi did not look back. She opened the door and stepped out.

The snow outside had stopped at some point.

The sun rose in the east, and pale gold light spread across the ground.

“Young master is awake!” Qing Ye ran up in delight to tell Chun Zhi: “Miss, young master is awake!”

Joy rushed through Chun Zhi. She said quickly: “Help me over there.”

Qing Ye supported her, and they went together to Song An Lan’s courtyard.

As soon as Chun Zhi entered, she heard Song Wan’er crying by the bed: “Elder brother… you scared me to death…”

Song An Lan comforted her in a gentle voice: “All right, don’t cry. I… cough, cough… I’m fine now, aren’t I?”

“Elder brother…”

Chun Zhi stepped forward and looked him over from head to toe.

The man who had been close to a burnt-out lamp last night now looked alive again.

The Revival Blossom that Huo Zheng had found truly was a medicine that brings people back from the brink.