The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 26
- Home
- All Mangas
- The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch
- Chapter 26 - "No, It Can't Go In."
For Qiu Jingxiu, ever since being raised under Yin Yuan’s care, life had been much smoother compared to the time in the cold palace.
The only unhappy thing was that his father and mother often unconsciously ignored him. They would frequently get so close to each other and do something sticky and mushy that he didn’t understand.
Naturally, Qiu Jingxiu was very dissatisfied with this. To get the attention of his father and mother, he often disregarded the eunuchs’ persuasion and ran with a small pillow to Qiu Junyao’s bedside during nap time. Through the hazy bed curtain, he would peek inside, looking like a little floating mushroom, his voice soft and weak with curiosity:
“Daddy?”
“…Hmm?”
Qiu Junyao clearly hadn’t slept either, his voice still somewhat muffled:
“What is it, Jingxiu?”
“Daddy…”
As soon as Qiu Jingxiu heard Qiu Junyao call his name, he couldn’t help but want to act spoiled. He pouted, his nose twitched, and he was about to cry:
“Daddy…”
Hearing this cry filled with a heavy sobbing tone, Qiu Junyao couldn’t continue messing around with Yin Yuan. He quickly put on his loose inner clothes, lifted the bed curtain, and saw Qiu Jingxiu with his chin resting on the edge of the bed, ten chubby little fingers gripping the bed edge, looking at him with big, dark eyes full of hope:
“What’s wrong?”
“…”
Qiu Jingxiu didn’t say anything. He opened his arms, indicating that he wanted Qiu Junyao to hold him.
Yin Yuan had also dressed by this time and sat up, looking at Qiu Jingxiu who longed to climb onto the bed, unable to help but laugh:
“Here to cuddle with Daddy again, are we?”
Qiu Jingxiu squirmed for a moment, but before he could whine, Qiu Junyao lifted him by his armpits and held him up:
“Our little Jingxiu sure is clingy.”
Qiu Junyao placed Qiu Jingxiu on his lap and teased:
“Do you need Daddy and Mother to nap with you?”
Qiu Jingxiu grinned, burrowing into Qiu Junyao’s embrace like a little worm, and then clung to him like an octopus, rubbing his soft cheeks against Qiu Junyao’s chin in a fawning manner.
Qiu Junyao playfully scratched his chin with a finger and laughed, letting him snuggle:
“So clingy.”
“Being clingy is good,” Yin Yuan said. “A few days ago, when he was gravely ill, lying there barely breathing, I was really scared he wouldn’t pull through.”
“He will.”
Qiu Junyao carefully examined Qiu Jingxiu’s rosy face, gently touching his hair, and said softly:
“Our Jingxiu was born lucky; he’ll live a long, healthy life, won’t he?”
Qiu Jingxiu seemed to understand Qiu Junyao’s words. He thought for a moment, then nodded uncertainly.
He couldn’t speak well yet and didn’t know how to express himself to lessen the worry on Qiu Junyao’s face. After thinking hard, he suddenly had an idea. With difficulty, he propped himself up and started bouncing on the bed with his short legs. After hopping around, he stood with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out, looking up at Qiu Junyao with a serious face, to show that he was much better than a few days ago.
Qiu Junyao: “…”
Watching Qiu Jingxiu’s clumsy attempt to please him, Qiu Junyao couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
After the nap, Qiu Junyao got up with Qiu Jingxiu.
It was only then that Qiu Junyao realized why Qiu Jingxiu had been so determined to cuddle with him today.
According to the imperial physician’s instructions, the medicine for wind-cold needed to be taken four times a day, especially once after the nap.
But this wind-cold medicine was extremely bitter. Although it was effective, Qiu Jingxiu was just a young child. After drinking it for several days, he couldn’t bear it anymore and would always make a huge fuss whenever it was time to take the medicine.
However, when facing Qiu Junyao, Qiu Jingxiu learned to pretend to be obedient, hoping to avoid taking the medicine by acting cute.
“Your Majesty, the medicine has been brewed, it’s time to take it.”
Due to special instructions from Qiu Junyao, the trusted eunuch Laifu didn’t dare neglect his duties. He watched the medicine brew, then monitored it being poured, and personally brought it to the table.
At that moment, Qiu Jingxiu was still playing with the building blocks Qiu Junyao had specially commissioned for him. From afar, before Laifu even brought the medicine over, he keenly smelled its scent. He immediately threw down the blocks and burrowed into Qiu Junyao’s arms, showing clear resistance.
“Jingxiu, time for your medicine.” Qiu Junyao patted Qiu Jingxiu’s bottom and lifted him by his armpits, holding him up like a wriggling little worm, his expression stern:
“No hiding.”
“Ugh!” Realizing that acting cute wouldn’t work, Qiu Jingxiu quickly covered his mouth with his hands and shook his head vigorously to avoid being forced to take the medicine. His sensitive nose twitched, and the bitter smell almost brought tears to his eyes.
“No, it can’t go in,”
Yin Yuan said, holding the medicine, standing beside Qiu Junyao with a troubled expression:
“The medicine spilled…”
Due to Qiu Jingxiu’s frantic struggling, the brewed medicine couldn’t be fed to him and ended up spilled all over Yin Yuan.
“Take the Empress to change her clothes.”
Although the medicine wasn’t hot, Qiu Junyao quickly restrained Qiu Jingxiu’s hands and looked at Yin Yuan with concern. He then instructed Laifu in an unyielding tone:
“Whether it can be fed or not, it must be. There’s no reason for not taking medicine when you’re sick.”
“Go, brew another bowl.”
“…Yes.”
Laifu glanced at the suffering, tightly-frowning Qiu Jingxiu, who looked like a withered bitter melon, and hurried off.
Half an hour later, another bowl of hot brewed medicine was placed on the table.
This time, Qiu Junyao didn’t have Yin Yuan feed Qiu Jingxiu. Instead, he placed Qiu Jingxiu on the table and looked up at him:
“Jingxiu, Daddy knows the medicine is bitter, and you don’t like it.”
Qiu Junyao gently comforted him: “But when you’re sick, you have to take your medicine. If you don’t get better, you won’t be able to go out, and the ice lotus seeds Daddy planted for you will wither, and you won’t get to see them.”
At the mention of the ice lotuses his daddy had planted for him that he had barely seen, Qiu Jingxiu immediately became anxious, his expression changing from painful resistance to hesitation.
“Daddy knows Jingxiu is the best behaved… This is snowflake cake,”
Seeing Qiu Jingxiu waver, Qiu Junyao gestured for a eunuch to bring over a box of snowflake cake he had made himself:
“It’s very sweet. Once you finish your medicine, Daddy will reward you with some snowflake cake, okay?”
Qiu Jingxiu, who didn’t know there was anything better than rice cakes, initially looked uninterested. But when Qiu Junyao put a piece of snowflake cake into his mouth, he chewed a few times and his eyes lit up. He struggled to stand up on the table, reaching for the whole box of snowflake cake in Laifu’s hands.
“Laifu, take the snowflake cake away.” Qiu Junyao quickly restrained Qiu Jingxiu’s restless hands, pinched his little paws, and with a fox-like gleam in his eyes, coaxed softly:
“You can only have this after taking your medicine, okay?”
Qiu Jingxiu frowned, a bit unhappy, clutching his little hands without saying a word. But under Qiu Junyao’s “soft and hard” approach, he reluctantly nodded.
Seeing Qiu Jingxiu agree, Qiu Junyao smiled and said he was very good.
Qiu Jingxiu hummed through his nose, as if to say “of course.”
Seeing this, Qiu Junyao’s smile deepened.
He didn’t coax anymore but raised his hand to signal Laifu to hand him the medicine bowl.
Laifu quickly followed orders.
“After you finish this bowl today, you won’t need to take medicine tomorrow.”
Qiu Junyao knew this was the last dose today, and after Qiu Jingxiu finished it, he would fully recover. He picked up the steaming medicine, stirred it with a spoon, then glanced at the nervous Qiu Jingxiu and smiled as he drank the bitter potion that Qiu Jingxiu regarded as a fearsome beast.
As soon as this action was done, Qiu Jingxiu’s nervous eyes widened suddenly, looking somewhat incredulous, nervously biting his little hands.
“… Your Majesty!”
Seeing Qiu Junyao drink the medicine that didn’t belong to him, Yin Yuan’s heart suddenly tensed:
“Why did you…”
“It’s okay, just testing if the medicine is poisonous.”
Qiu Junyao had also secretly drunk Qiu Jingxiu’s medicine a few days ago when no one was looking, and today was no exception. After carefully feeling it out and confirming it was safe, he picked up the soup spoon and fed Qiu Jingxiu the medicine mouthful by mouthful.
Seeing that the Emperor had also drunk the medicine, Qiu Jingxiu didn’t struggle anymore. Frowning with his dark green eyebrows, he endured the nausea and finished the medicine.
Once he finished the medicine, Qiu Jingxiu hurriedly climbed into Qiu Junyao’s arms, clamoring to eat snowflake cake.
Qiu Junyao was not someone who didn’t keep his promises. He smiled, restrained the struggling child, called Laifu, and complied.
“What are these snowflake cakes made of?” Although Yin Yuan also came from a noble family and had seen many rare and exotic things, he had never seen such a soft and sweet snack. Seeing Qiu Jingxiu eating it, he couldn’t help but taste one himself:
“How did Your Majesty make these?”
“They’re made with malt.”
Qiu Junyao pinched Qiu Jingxiu’s puffed-up cheeks, about to say more when he saw Qiu Jingxiu’s eyebrows suddenly furrow and stop eating the snowflake cake abruptly, freezing in place, silent.
“What’s wrong?!”
Seeing Qiu Jingxiu behave differently than usual, Qiu Junyao immediately became nervous, afraid he hadn’t taken care of him well and that Qiu Jingxiu had accidentally been poisoned.
He quickly patted Qiu Jingxiu’s back, gesturing for him to spit out whatever he had swallowed.
Under his movements, Qiu Jingxiu bent over, indeed spitting out a snowflake cake that had choked him.
And along with the powdered snowflake cake, there was also—
A small, white baby tooth.
“What is this…?”
A tooth?!
Qiu Junyao looked at the tooth in his palm, and seeing Qiu Jingxiu’s discomfort from the missing tooth, he couldn’t help but laugh:
“Jingxiu.”
He gently flicked the little baby tooth, his voice soft: “You’re starting to change your teeth.”
“That scared me.” Seeing Qiu Jingxiu spit out a tooth instead of blood, Yin Yuan relaxed half of her previously tense heart, leaning over and about to say something with a smile.
However, the situation suddenly changed the next moment—
At some point, Qiu Jingxiu’s expression began to grow increasingly painful. He couldn’t speak, only furrowed his brows and nose tighter and tighter, until fine blood streaks began to trickle from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth, glaringly red. Immediately after, Qiu Junyao’s face changed abruptly, and Qiu Jingxiu suddenly bent over, clutching his stomach, and violently vomited a large mouthful of fresh blood.
Blood poured out of Qiu Jingxiu’s mouth as if it cost nothing, splattering all over the floor. Qiu Junyao covered his lips, unable to stop more and more blood from draining out of Qiu Jingxiu’s body, only able to watch helplessly as Qiu Jingxiu vomited blood for nearly a minute. Before he could even call the imperial physician, Qiu Jingxiu weakly stopped vomiting, closed his eyes, turned pale, and fell unconscious.
“—Jingxiu!!!”