Wu Lang froze for a moment. Before he could savor the brief closeness of her palm against his skin, her hand had already withdrawn, returning to grasp the celadon floral teacup on the desk.
He glanced silently at the cup in Xue Yunyi’s hand before murmuring a soft “Yes” and crawling on his knees toward the low cabinet by the bedhead that she had indicated.
He pulled open the second drawer. The first things that caught his eye were several medical books, their edges yellowed and curled from repeated reading.
One of them was the Hundred Herbs Collection—a book he had seen in Madam Wu’s study and the very first one he had studied when teaching himself medicine.
He and Her Highness had read the same book.
Wu Lang’s lips curved slightly in a small burst of delight.
But why had Her Highness been reading these medical texts?
Was it… to treat her own leg?
“Have you found it?” Xue Yunyi’s voice drifted over from afar.
Wu Lang’s fingertip trembled. He didn’t dare delay any longer and carefully retrieved the medicine bottle from the corner of the drawer, presenting it to Xue Yunyi.
She had spent years practicing with blades, so calluses and swelling on her palms were commonplace. That was why there was always a jar of White Jade Ointment by the bed for reducing swelling and easing pain.
The ointment was snow-white and refreshingly cool. Xue Yunyi rubbed a bit into her palm and looked up to see the youth kneeling obediently at a distance once more. She couldn’t help but chide him lightly. “Come closer to This Palace.”
Only then did Wu Lang dare to kneel at her toe-tips.
“Go fetch the wool blanket yourself.” Xue Yunyi instructed.
“Yes.”
The wool blanket was draped over the chaise longue beneath the small window behind him. The youth’s arms were long and slender; after crawling a few steps, he hooked it down and carefully folded it beneath his knees, just as she had shown him.
“It might hurt a little at first. Bear with it.”
A sudden coolness touched his cheek, and Wu Lang’s body went rigid. His long fingers clenched tightly beneath his sleeve, his breathing hitching.
Xue Yunyi’s palm pressed against his slightly swollen cheek, slowly circling with gentle pressure to work the cool ointment in.
Wu Lang’s throat bobbed.
She used only the pad of her palm to rub, her slender white fingers dangling loosely and unconsciously brushing his tense jaw and the side of his neck.
Her fingertips bore no long nails. Nor did they inflict any pain upon him.
…It felt so good.
Wu Lang felt as if he were dreaming. After a long moment, he finally mustered the courage to raise his eyes and look at the Eldest Princess, who was focused on applying the medicine to him.
“This slave thanks Your Highness…”
He thanked her for deigning to apply the ointment herself and for having just taught Wu Hanyu a lesson, venting the anger from the slap on his behalf.
It was the first time he had tasted the feeling of someone having his back.
Before he could finish, his throat grew hoarse. Wu Lang fell abruptly silent, his dark lashes fluttering twice.
Hearing the youth’s raspy voice, Xue Yunyi’s hands slowed unconsciously. She stared at the patch of skin on his face thinly coated with the white ointment for a moment, a shadow flickering darkly in her eyes as some thought crossed her mind.
“Back at the Wu Mansion, did he bully you like that too?”
“…Not every day.” Wu Lang hesitated before whispering, “Sometimes when he’s in a good mood, he leaves this slave alone.”
Not every day.
That meant most days, he did bully him?
Xue Yunyi frowned. “From now on, if Wu Hanyu dares to bully you again, bully him right back.”
Wu Lang blinked in stunned confusion but nodded in obedience to her command, his eyes bewildered.
Xue Yunyi said patiently, “You and Wu Hanyu are both sons of the Marquis of Pingkang, with the Wu Family’s blood running equally in your veins. Even if your birth mother was of humble origins, he has no right to treat you this way.”
Watching the youth listen to her lecture with such innocent confusion, Xue Yunyi couldn’t resist reaching out to lightly pinch his cheek. “You’re This Palace’s person now. With This Palace here, you don’t need to swallow your anger in front of anyone. Remember that?”
“This slave… this slave remembers.”
The cool ointment had just been applied, yet Wu Lang felt his face heating up again.
He was… the Eldest Princess’s person.
Though she hadn’t yet permitted him to enter her chambers to serve, these words surely meant she would let him stay?
Wu Lang pondered this secretly but didn’t dare ask, fearing a negative answer.
The medicine was applied quickly. Xue Yunyi withdrew her hand and wiped away the sticky residue from her palm with a cloth.
Wu Lang thanked her again and was about to rise and take his leave when Xue Yunyi called him back.
“The venison stew from the small kitchen today turned out well. It’s just the thing to nourish your body.” She set the cloth aside, personally ladled a bowl, and handed it to him. “Drink this bowl of stew, then go back and rest properly.”
Xue Yunyi’s gift was something Wu Lang naturally didn’t dare refuse. The stew had cooled to a perfect drinking temperature. He lifted the spoon from the bowl but hesitated.
“What’s wrong? Don’t care for the taste of venison?” Xue Yunyi asked.
“This slave wouldn’t dare. Thank you, Your Highness, for the reward.”
Wu Lang shook his head hurriedly, scooped up half a spoonful, and drank it down.
How precious was Her Highness’s reward—how could he waste it?
But Xue Yunyi soon noticed that the youth’s swallowing was labored. His Adam’s apple bobbed with effort, his brow furrowing in discomfort as if he were enduring great pain.
“Are you unwell?” She frowned, leaning forward to take the bowl from his hands and scrutinizing him from head to toe.
Wu Lang lowered his eyes and bit his lip in silence.
Xue Yunyi vaguely realized that Wu Lang was hiding something from her. Her expression darkened. She watched the youth with his head bowed before her, the air growing taut and silent, stretched thin like a bowstring.
Snap.
The bowstring broke.
The youth could not withstand her wordless interrogation. Trembling, he lifted his face.
They had just shared such a tender moment. To bare his humiliation so raw and naked before Xue Yunyi now was sheer cruelty.
“This slave…”
His voice trembled as he forced out a faint syllable, then fell silent. His eyes reddened at the corners. Finally, Wu Lang released his bitten lip—nearly drawing blood—and, with the resolve of one facing death, slowly parted his lips and extended that wet, soft thing.
Xue Yunyi’s eyes widened in shock.
She could scarcely believe what she saw—
A pearl was embedded in the youth’s fragile tongue root.
The pearl was white with a pinkish tint, lustrous and radiant. By its quality, it was a Tang Pearl from Cloud Province. She had once seen the Emperor reward Xue Qingzhi with a full set of jewelry inlaid with them. And now, tormenting this pitiful youth was one earring Xue Qingzhi had casually removed.
The sharp silver needle tail pierced mercilessly through the soft flesh, the taste of blood filling his mouth.
It was the “good thing” Xue Qingzhi had casually bestowed upon Wu Lang the day before her birthday banquet.
With it, forget swallowing food—even ordinary drinking or speaking brought excruciating pain. Naturally, there was no worry of him eating too much and gaining weight around his waist.
A chill ran down Xue Yunyi’s spine. Only now did she understand why, despite her daily orders for the small kitchen to prepare fine meals and send them over, the youth never gained any weight. He could barely eat; even managing soup was done through gritted teeth against the agony.
“Why didn’t you tell This Palace?”
Xue Yunyi’s voice trembled.
She rarely grew this furious, but now her chest burned with rage, her blood surging, her fingertips shaking.
“This slave… this slave didn’t want Your Highness to see… something so filthy…” The youth stammered, tears welling in his eyes.
The Eldest Princess had already seen his body covered in filth and wretchedness, yet still deigned to shelter him—that was her mercy.
But he didn’t want her to see that he was a lowly thing whose right to eat was firmly gripped by others.
Xue Yunyi was in the heat of her anger, her voice rising sharply. “So you just let your body waste away like this? If This Palace hadn’t happened to discover it today, how much longer did you plan to hide it from me?”
After a long pause, she forcibly suppressed her breath and asked again, “Where else are you hurting?”
Wu Lang didn’t dare make a sound, only hanging his head lower.
“Won’t tell This Palace, hmm?” Xue Yunyi nodded in understanding. “Very well. This Palace will check personally. Take off your clothes. All of them.”
The youth’s breathing grew heavy for an instant. He pressed his lips tight, too humiliated to look up, but his hands obediently untied the sash at his waist.
The soft robe slipped from his lean shoulders, revealing a chest scattered with crusted blood. The silver studs had been removed and thick ointment applied, but red swelling lingered.
Wu Lang gritted his teeth and tremblingly pulled down his lower garments and underclothes together.
Xue Yunyi stared at that round, plump pearl, too horrified to speak for a long moment, her breath catching in her throat like sodden cotton wool.
Little Wu Lang was quite refined in appearance. Yet his body bore several swollen welts from cane strokes.
Her fingertips dug into her palm, leaving deep red marks.
She ached for Wu Lang’s suffering and fumed at his constant concealment. All these days, he had chosen to endure the pain rather than tell her.
The air was slightly cool against the youth’s bare skin.
With lowered eyes, he resignedly laid all his shame bare before Xue Yunyi without reserve, waiting in the silence for her judgment.
“If Imperial Sister saw you like this, would she still treat you as before?” Xue Qingzhi’s words echoed like a devil’s whisper in his ears.
The Eldest Princess must find him utterly filthy now.
This body had long been ruined through play, not even his to control.
The pity she had shown him these past days was already more than he deserved. Dreams had to end; a lowly thing like him belonged back in the mud to fend for itself.
Wu Lang tugged his lips in self-mockery, quietly waiting for Xue Yunyi to recover from her shock, curse him as base and dirty, then angrily cast him out.
Xue Yunyi was indeed very angry.
She had carefully nursed the boy back in the palace for so many days, yet he hadn’t gained even half a pound of weight, nor had his body shown much improvement. She had originally thought it was because she hadn’t been attentive enough, but now she realized it was because he had hidden so many injuries from her that she knew nothing about.
“No wonder Zhao Xi said you only go to the lavatory once a day. No wonder, even though This Palace ordered the small kitchen to prepare so many fine dishes every day, you haven’t gained any weight.” Xue Yunyi grew angrier the more she spoke, practically grinding her teeth as she continued, “This Palace only set three rules, and you can’t even follow them. Are you truly taking This Palace’s words so lightly?”
Wu Lang froze for a moment. The Eldest Princess was scolding him, but it wasn’t quite what he had expected.
He slowly lifted his face and softly defended himself in a small voice. “This slave wouldn’t dare. This slave has been obedient…”
Xue Yunyi eyed the boy’s slender waist and thought to herself that if he were truly obedient, things wouldn’t be like this. Anger surged within her, and in a fit of impulse, she lost her temper somewhat. She immediately said coldly, “Go fetch the ruler from This Palace’s desk. Today, This Palace must teach you a lesson you’ll remember.”
Wu Lang assented nervously. Since Xue Yunyi hadn’t given permission for him to dress, he only hastily covered his lower body before knee-walking toward the desk behind the screen.
Xue Yunyi often painted long scrolls, and ordinary paperweights couldn’t hold down the corners, so she had cleverly taken to using rulers instead. As a result, the desk held several of them in different lengths and materials.
Wu Lang carefully hefted each one before selecting the heaviest black sandalwood ruler and presenting it before Xue Yunyi.
“Please, Your Highness, punish this slave.”
Naturally, he didn’t dare put on his clothes without permission.
He shamefully lowered his eyes but obediently held his palms up high.
She had intended to punish him, but as Xue Yunyi gazed at the boy’s body, covered in wounds that hadn’t yet healed, she found no suitable place to strike.
The cuts on his palms had only just scabbed over—they couldn’t be touched.
His cheeks had been freshly medicated and were even less suitable, to say nothing of how reluctant she was to hit him there anyway.
Xue Yunyi swallowed a belly full of anger. In the end, she sternly ordered Wu Lang to turn sideways, then haphazardly grabbed the clothes from the floor to cover his body. Her gaze fell upon those two buttocks, which still had a bit of flesh to them.