Everyone Wants To Harm Me - Chapter 73

Deng Zishe turned his face away. “I prepared it myself and gave it to Xiaoliu. How could I have sent it to the wrong place?”

Yu Chongrui replied, “It was sent to the wrong place.”

“I don’t believe it. Where is the medicine? Show it to me.”

Yu Chongrui remained silent, looking at him with an emotionless expression.

Deng Zishe smiled. “When did you arrive? Have you been here long?”

“Just arrived.”

“Then go to the front hall and ask Xiaoliu to make it again for you. Why hide in this small room and sneak through the back door?”

“There are too many people in the front, and I don’t want to be recognized.”

“Then send Feng Yuan! — I know you’ll say she’s too busy to get away. But you have other servants at home. It’s not like you can’t find someone for such a small task. Why should the prime minister be the one to do it himself?”

Yu Chongrui looked at him without saying another word.

I suspected Deng Zishe was deliberately stirring up trouble, but I had no proof.

Deng Zishe came over and looked at the remaining ointment in the incense burner, then asked me, “How are you feeling?”

I placed a hand on my chest. “Much better. I didn’t cough in my sleep, and now I’m stable. The smell of blood in my breath seems to have faded a lot.”

Deng Zishe said, “Then stay awake and observe a little longer. I’ll come back once the medicine’s done burning.” As he walked to the door, he turned back and reminded me, “Only a bit left—at most a quarter of an hour! Call me as soon as it’s done. Don’t dawdle!”

Deng Zishe left, but Yu Chongrui stayed. He sat by the couch, watching me quietly.

I lay flat, feeling the situation was rather odd, and tried to sit up. Yu Chongrui took two hidden cushions from the side and placed them behind my back.

His hands passed around both sides of me to tuck the cushions behind.

Being so close to him, I couldn’t help but hold my breath. My heart raced, and I could smell the faint scent of medicine on him.

Once I was resting on the cushions and some distance was put between us, my breathing and heartbeat finally steadied.

After an awkward silence, I finally asked, “Are you still injured?”

His voice was soft. “The external wound has healed.”

“Then why do you need medicine?”

“Because…” He lowered his eyes and spoke slowly. “The blade was poisoned, and it needs to be drawn out slowly.”

“Isn’t the riot caused by the resentment of the river workers and the unexpected uprisings? How could there be poison on the weapon?”

It was clear that someone had taken advantage of the cover of the workers to attack him. As for whether the river work would halt after the prime minister died or whether Luoyang would suffer from floods, they clearly didn’t care.

I also recalled from the Zhongyuan Night Banquet that some generals deliberately spread news to provoke rebels into attacking neighboring cities during the Yongwang Rebellion. They did this to eliminate their colleagues and gain merit for themselves. After both sides were injured, they sent troops to wipe out the rebels.

And I remembered clearly all those blades that had descended on Yu Chongrui.

“A lot of people want to kill you.”

He smiled faintly. “I know.”

“Last time… did I make your injury worse? Why didn’t you say anything?”

He didn’t answer. His gaze shifted to my neck. “And you? Didn’t you catch a cold? Why are you coughing up blood?”

“Brother Deng said it was just a broken trachea bleeding. It will be fine if it stops. It might be…”

I couldn’t finish my sentence because Yu Chongrui gently pressed his fingertips against my throat.

“Does it still hurt?”

I shook my head, swallowing. I could feel my throat moving under his fingers, and I held my breath, not daring to move.

He didn’t seem to find it strange at all and asked softly, “You can’t even swim. Why did you jump into the pool to save the third prince? And you caught a cold and ended up like this?”

How did he know I jumped into the water to save the third prince? The third prince and I hadn’t made this public, and the Emperor didn’t announce it either. Only a few people in the palace spread the word. Did he have spies in the palace?

“The water in the pool isn’t deep. Children might drown, but adults will be fine…”

“Does the third prince have hostility toward you?”

Nothing could be hidden from him. “The third prince is filial and cares deeply for his mother’s death. But he still understands gratitude and resentment. I saved his life, so maybe my merits and demerits balance out.”

“I’m afraid it’s more than just merits and demerits.” Yu Chongrui finally lowered his hand. “The third prince is willing to repay the life-saving favor with his body.”

I exhaled in relief and subconsciously raised my hand to cover my neck. My skin still felt the tingling from his touch, and my pulse still throbbed. I didn’t know if I was annoyed and reluctant to let go of him, or if I was simply afraid he might pull away again.

“It’s not like that… The engagement came first, and the drowning happened later.”

He turned around and sat up straight. “That’s right. If you want to repay a life-saving favor with your body, the person who gave you the favor must be willing to accept it.”

It sounded like he was mocking me. He had saved me more than once, and I’d pledged myself more than once too—but none of it ever came to pass.

I remembered the embarrassment and sadness of being rejected by him when I shamelessly tried to cling to him before. Especially the last time at the Heqing County Posthouse—although he was injured and couldn’t do anything, couldn’t he have at least said it? I didn’t insist that he do this or that with me… And now he asked me all these questions, as if he still cared. Who wanted his care?

I lowered my eyes. “It was my own idea.”

Sure enough, he turned back and stared at me. “You asked to marry the Third Prince?”

“When I was five, the Emperor said he wanted me to be his daughter-in-law. Our families already had an engagement. It was only set aside when Crown Prince Yuanmin died young. Now it’s being fulfilled through the Third Prince—what’s wrong with that?”

“But he’s only eleven!”

“What’s wrong with eleven? He’s just five years younger than me. When you were sixteen, I was only six!”

Maybe I shouldn’t have made that comparison. I was five years older than the Third Prince, so he thought I was too old; but Yu Chongrui was ten years older than me, and I didn’t think he was old at all. I thought he was just right.

But when I thought about it, Yu Chongrui’s disdain for me was probably the same as my disdain for the Third Prince. He was just an ignorant, childish kid. It was fine to take care of him, but how could I like him?

Yu Chongrui looked at me helplessly.

When he stared at me like that, I couldn’t get angry. He thought of me as a child, so why should I get angry and act unreasonable in front of him? The truth was, I wasn’t that childish…

“I just think…” I turned my face to the side and mumbled, “The Third Prince is still young. The engagement can be dragged out for years. There’s still room to maneuver…”

He sighed, his expression softening, and his tone became gentler. “Didn’t I say I would find a solution?”

I looked up at him. “The princess and the old ministers opposed the Emperor taking me as a concubine. Did you mediate?”

He was silent for a moment before answering, “Yes.”

“Don’t do that again in the future,” I said firmly. His interference made me uneasy, and I couldn’t help but think that if I felt this way, how would the Emperor feel? “Don’t meddle in my affairs.”

Yu Chongrui sat at the edge of the couch, staring at me. I couldn’t stand that look. The incense burner was no longer emitting any fumes, and when I tried to get up, I found him blocking the outer side of the couch.

I had to ask, “What time is it?”

“Just past the first quarter of the You hour.”

I had arranged to meet Li Minghai before sunset. It was already evening—his contact at the Imperial Stables had probably already left. He might come looking in the shop. If he saw Yu Chongrui, it would only complicate things.

I sat up. “I need to go.”

Yu Chongrui didn’t move. I urged him, “Please move aside.”

“After you return, take good care of yourself,” he said, his tone soft. “Also, there’s a long road ahead. Don’t act rashly.”

I lowered my head and muttered, “I know.”

Finally, he stood up and moved aside.

I got off the couch, put on my shoes, and opened the door, only to find Deng Zishe bending down at the threshold. As soon as he saw me, he straightened up. “Wow, the medicine’s been fumigated? I timed it perfectly—came right on time.” He glanced over my shoulder at Yu Chongrui. “You’re dressed so neatly; it can’t have been that quick, right?”

I wasn’t sure what he was implying, but I could tell it wasn’t good. The position he had been in earlier clearly showed he had been eavesdropping and got caught.

Deng Zishe feigned ignorance as he asked about my symptoms, confirming the fumigation medicine had worked. Then, he went back to the front hall to prepare more doses.

It was getting darker now, and the apprentice had hung a wooden sign at the door to apologize to the remaining patients in line, advising them to come back another day. There were still a few patients left in the store who hadn’t finished.

Li Minghai was standing at the street corner where we had agreed to meet. When he saw me, he nodded. I turned back and stopped Yu Chongrui, who was walking out of the back corridor. “Don’t come out, go out the back door.”

“I didn’t see any tails when I arrived.” He lowered his head slightly. “Just be careful yourself. If you do, the Emperor won’t trouble you.”

I nodded and returned to the hall to wait for Deng Zishe to prepare the medicine. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Yu Chongrui was still standing at the corner of the corridor, watching me. When I finally got the medicine and left, I quietly glanced back, but no one was there.

I felt a little disappointed, but also relieved. It was probably for the best.

I walked out of the pharmacy and toward Li Minghai. I noticed one of his apprentices was missing. Only Li Sibao remained. Zhang Sanquan was nowhere to be found. I asked, “Where’s the other person?”

“Oh, he had something to do, but he’ll be back soon.” Li Minghai held up a lotus leaf bun and offered it to me. “Freshly fried, fragrant and crispy, filled with red bean paste. Would you like to try one, young lady?”

“No, thank you,” I declined politely. “Do you want to wait for him?”

Li Minghai shook his head. “That boy’s clever. Let’s walk back to the carriage. He’ll probably return soon.”

The carriage was waiting outside the north gate of South Market. It had taken less than a quarter of an hour to walk back.

As expected, just after I sat in the carriage, Zhang Sanquan returned and whispered a few words to Li Minghai. Li Minghai then got into the carriage, Zhang Sanquan took the reins, and Li Sibao sat in front.

The carriage began to move slowly. Li Minghai sat across from me, and I couldn’t help but notice something was different about him. He caught my gaze and smiled. “Young lady came all the way to this market clinic. I’m afraid it wasn’t just to see a doctor?”

I studied him carefully, understanding his meaning. “You sent someone to spy on me?”

Li Minghai chuckled. “I originally thought this miraculous doctor who brought the dead back to life was an old man. But when I saw that the doctor was young, talented, and had saved you, I couldn’t help but think more. Sometimes, young people do things out of passion and ignore the bigger picture. I sent my apprentice to check behind the shop, worried you might make a mistake and ruin the family’s future or hinder His Highness’s important cause.”

He shifted the conversation. “But this time, I was wrong.”

“I underestimated you, Miss. How could a common street doctor possibly catch your eye?” He leaned back against the carriage wall. “And I underestimated that doctor too. Turns out he’s not only been honored with a plaque by the Grand Tutor, but he also has many dignitaries visiting him, and he even formed a connection with the Prime Minister.”