The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 48

Although Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe didn’t win over Qiu Junyao’s favour as much as Qiu Jingxiu did, in Qiu Junyao’s heart, they were still his children, even though they were not yet adults.

Qiu Junyao quickly dressed and stepped off the bed, intending to follow Laifu to the National Preceptor’s Hall to see what had happened to the children. But then he hesitated and turned back to Yin Yuan, lifting Yin Yuan’s face to plant a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“Don’t worry,” he said to Yin Yuan. “The children will be fine.”

“Mhm.” Yin Yuan closed his eyes, feeling the warmth lingering on his forehead. His unbound hair cascaded down, making him appear even more gentle and graceful.

“You go ahead. I’ll take care of Jingxiu,” Yin Yuan said softly.

Jingxiu, hearing his mother call his name, nodded and clung to Yin Yuan’s arm, his voice sweet and childlike as he promised, “I won’t cause trouble for Father. I’ll stay here with Mother and wait for you to return.”

“Good boy.” Qiu Junyao smiled, patting Jingxiu’s head. Jingxiu tilted his head up, nuzzling Qiu Junyao’s palm like a small, affectionate animal.

After settling his wife and son, Qiu Junyao finished dressing, had the eunuchs light the glass lanterns, and set out for the National Preceptor’s Hall.

The weather was unusual that night. The sky was unnaturally dark, and the rain poured as if a great wound had been slashed in the heavens. The downpour was far heavier and colder than what one would expect in late spring.

Qiu Junyao felt something was off, and the biting wind only intensified the strange atmosphere. But there was no time to ponder; the rain was relentless, and with the late-night winds, the damp coldness penetrated his skin like bloodsucking leeches, draining his warmth. After walking for a while, the chill had numbed his lower body, and the prickling pain from the cold made his skin feel like it was being pierced.

Qiu Junyao’s health was never robust, and the cold wind and rain quickly wore him down. He had to stop to warm up his body, moving about until he felt some warmth return, before continuing his way.

By the time Qiu Junyao reached the National Preceptor’s Hall, he was nearly soaked, rain droplets clinging to his eyelashes and blurring his vision.

Outside the hall, Qiu Jingyue and Qiu Jinghe had already collapsed. Qiu Jingyue, only fourteen years old, was physically weaker than his brother. After nearly two hours in the rain, he quickly developed a fever. Shivering uncontrollably, he hugged himself tightly as if trying to stave off the cold, but it was futile.

Soon, the fever led to dizziness, and his whole body ached. Unable to endure any longer, he collapsed to the ground, almost as if he were on the brink of death.

Qiu Jinghe wasn’t faring much better. Though he was still kneeling, his consciousness had become hazy. His once upright posture wavered, and he, too, was on the verge of collapsing like Qiu Jingyue.

Qiu Junyao wanted to punish them but didn’t want to see them suffer too much. After all, in this era, even a simple cold could be deadly. If their high fevers led to pneumonia, there was no guarantee that the medical care of the time could save them.

Thinking of this, Qiu Junyao suddenly looked up, feeling a sense of strangeness since his arrival in this fictional world. The setting seemed odd, with unusual things like elderberry poison and the absence of rabies after wolf bites. It felt as though an extraordinary force—perhaps the same that had brought him into this world—was at work, supporting the world’s existence.

However, Qiu Junyao had no time to dwell on these thoughts. He quickly ordered the eunuchs to lift the second and fourth princes and carry them back to Pixiang Hall. But before he could give the command, the doors of the National Preceptor’s Hall suddenly opened.

Qiu Junyao instinctively raised his hand, signaling the eunuchs to stop moving.

The National Preceptor, unaware of Qiu Junyao and his entourage standing in the night, looked coldly at the two unconscious princes. He stood there for a long moment before slowly descending the steps.

A young attendant followed, holding an umbrella high for him. The National Preceptor approached Qiu Jinghe, crouched down, and seemed about to speak, but before he could, Qiu Jinghe slumped against him, unconscious.

Chu Yu’s face grew even more displeased, his expression tense as though suppressing something. After a moment, he had the young attendant help him lift Qiu Jinghe onto his back. Struggling, Chu Yu carried Qiu Jinghe back to the National Preceptor’s Hall, nearly slipping several times, which made Qiu Junyao’s heart race with anxiety.

After Chu Yu took Qiu Jinghe inside, Qiu Junyao assumed he would return for Qiu Jingyue. He considered leaving but decided to stay and observe a bit longer. He noticed that after taking Qiu Jinghe inside, Chu Yu closed the door and didn’t come back out.

Qiu Junyao sighed as he watched the lonely, unconscious fourth prince lying on the ground.

“Laifu,” he said with a sigh. “Have the eunuchs carry Jingyue to the Orchid(Lan) Pavilion. He can keep his eldest brother company. And tell the imperial physicians to take a look at him.”

He paused and added, “Oh, and make sure they add some extra bitter herbs to his medicine. Good medicine is bitter.”

Laifu thought to himself, *Is it really good medicine, or do you just want to make the fourth prince suffer a bit more, Your Majesty?* 

But he kept his thoughts to himself, quickly arranging for Qiu Jingyue to be taken to the Orchid Pavilion, then escorted Qiu Junyao back to Pixiang Hall.

Seeing that only Qiu Jingyue had returned, Yin Yuan was curious. “Your Majesty,” he asked, “where’s Jinghe?”

“He’s being cared for by someone important,” Qiu Junyao replied, drying his hair and changing into warm, comfortable clothes. He lay back on the bed, watching the still-sleeping Qiu Jingxiu, who was grinding his teeth, and smiled.

Meanwhile, Qiu Jinghe, the one supposedly being cared for by someone important, lay on a bed in the National Preceptor’s Hall, being spoon-fed medicine by Chu Yu.

Qiu Jinghe’s body was still weak from residual poison and had worsened due to the cold. He was dazed, and after swallowing the medicine, he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of black blood. Panting, he leaned against the bedhead, his vision blurring as he looked at Chu Yu, who seemed to have multiplied into several figures.

“You…” Qiu Jinghe began, then coughed up more blood, feeling as though his insides were on fire while his body remained icy cold. “What did you make me drink?”

“Poison—the kind that will kill you,” Chu Yu replied irritably, setting the empty medicine bowl on the tray with a sharp clink. He glanced at Qiu Jinghe, who had veins bulging on his forehead yet still tried to remain stoic.

“If you die, I won’t have to save you,” Chu Yu added.

“Hah.” Qiu Jinghe managed a weak laugh, shaking his head. But as the poison activated, the pain intensified, as if someone were repeatedly hacking at his bones and brain with an axe. The waves of dull, aching pain finally became unbearable, and he wished he could knock himself out to escape the agony.

Chu Yu noticed Qiu Jinghe’s intent to harm himself and quickly grabbed him, pulling him close and holding him tightly to prevent him from injuring himself.

But Qiu Jinghe was nearly delirious, desperate to end the unrelenting pain. As he struggled, Chu Yu had no choice but to hold him even tighter, trying to soothe him, “It’s okay… It’s okay…”

Even though Qiu Jinghe was struggling with all his might, nearly strong enough to throw Chu Yu off, Chu Yu still held him tightly, preventing him from harming himself, repeatedly saying:

“It’s alright, it’ll be over soon.”

He gently pressed Qiu Jinghe down on the bed, patting his back, feeling his shivering body. Uncertain if Qiu Jinghe still had any consciousness, Chu Yu cautiously explained, hoping he could understand:

“To prevent you from being injured during the spring hunt, Qiu Jingyue took a mixture of aromatic devil’s grass and Kunshan water powder. Although the symptoms appear to be poisoning, it would normally only cause dizziness, not death.”

“But now that you’re drenched and cold, the cold nature of the Kunshan water has been triggered. I have to use strong medicine to suppress it, otherwise, the Kunshan water will quickly freeze your organs into ice, ultimately turning your body into an empty shell.”

“The detoxification process will be extremely painful, but you must endure. If you knock yourself out, you’ll never wake up again.”

Listening to Chu Yu’s explanation, Qiu Jinghe, lying on him, gradually stopped his attempts to hit. But his body continued to tremble, his forehead covered in sweat. He weakly murmured:

“It hurts… it hurts so much…”

He said, “Father… Mother… I’m so cold…”

“… What?”

Chu Yu couldn’t make out what Qiu Jinghe was saying but felt his lips brushing against his ear, causing a faint tickling sensation. 

Before he could understand, he suddenly realized that Qiu Jinghe had lost consciousness from the pain.

His strength gave way, and Qiu Jinghe’s grip on Chu Yu’s fingers gradually loosened.

Chu Yu was stunned for a moment, then quickly propped up Qiu Jinghe to check his condition. He was shocked to see that Qiu Jinghe’s face was already covered in a thin layer of frost, his lips turned purple. His eyelashes were quickly adorned with fine ice crystals, and he was gradually turning into a frozen statue, his breathing stopped.

Chu Yu was horrified to see Qiu Jinghe unconscious from the pain and his face turned ashen. Without hesitation, he stripped off all his clothes and tightly embraced Qiu Jinghe, enduring the cold of their skin touching, until his body heat melted the ice on Qiu Jinghe. He then struggled to carry him into the secret chamber.

Inside the secret chamber, Qiu Jinghe was already breathless, with all life signs gone, lying still as if dead.

Chu Yu laid him flat on the bed, then performed a ritual gesture. All the magical artifacts and ancient books hanging on the walls of the chamber immediately began to move, making crackling sounds. Eventually, a blood-red jade bell and a book slowly flew down from the walls and bookshelves, landing in Chu Yu’s hands.

The book opened by itself as if guided by someone, quickly flipping to a certain page. Chu Yu read the incantation from the book while murmuring:

“Supreme Tai Shang, ever-changing. Expel evil and bind spirits, protect life and body. Wisdom and clarity, peace of mind. Eternal souls, no loss of essence.”

As the incantation finished, the blood-red jade bell hovering above Qiu Jinghe’s head trembled violently, emitting an eerie ringing sound. A faint golden light, like golden dust, slowly fell on Qiu Jinghe.

After reciting the spell, Chu Yu reopened his yin-yang eyes but was disappointed to find that the spell had no effect. Qiu Jinghe’s soul had already dispersed and was difficult to reassemble.

Chu Yu slumped to the ground, staring at the closed eyes of Qiu Jinghe, lost in thought for a while.

As a master, he could only use the soul-stabilizing techniques his teacher had taught him, but he had no means to bring a dead person back to life.

According to his teacher’s calculations, Qiu Jinghe was indeed supposed to die early—

But not this early.

According to the old National Preceptor’s calculations, he was the second son of Emperor Qiu Junyao to die, due to exhaustion and the danger of extreme wisdom leading to early death.

Chu Yu had long known that Qiu Jinghe would die, and he had been waiting for this day. However, he had also noticed that about half a year ago, the trajectory of the imperial star had subtly changed, with the four surrounding stars no longer following the original pattern of rise and fall, making it increasingly difficult to predict why the Da Yuan Dynasty, which should have been declining, was instead gradually restoring its fortunes.

To return everything to its original path, he had to intervene, trying to make his teacher’s calculations come true. However, he did not expect his covert actions to lead to Qiu Jingyue poisoning Qiu Jinghe and for Qiu Jingyue to be discovered, resulting in Qiu Jinghe’s death from the strange poison and exposure to the rain.

Looking at the dead Qiu Jinghe on the ground, Chu Yu’s heart suddenly ached.

The Heartless Worm also ached faintly, and he had to endure the pain while searching for the antidote.

As he fumbled with the medicine bottles, accidentally knocking them over, he noticed something on the wall—the hilt of a knife, which was stained with blood and faintly glowing with a golden light. At the end of his vision, one of the four ice coffins began to glow brightly, becoming dazzling and blinding.

Realizing something, Chu Yu’s expression, which had been pale, suddenly turned ecstatic.

No, according to the original calculations, Qiu Jinghe should not have died at this time! He must still be saved!

Knowing that Qiu Jinghe might still have a chance to wake up, Chu Yu scrambled to the largest ice coffin, using all his strength to push the lid open, revealing the face of the person inside.

Since Chu Yu was alone, seeing the face in the ice coffin seemed normal. However, if anyone else had been present, they would have been shocked—

For the person lying in the ice coffin was someone who looked exactly like the current Emperor Qiu Junyao.