The Sickly Seedling Dresses Up As An Unfortunate And Muddled Monarch - Chapter 56

“Is Jinghe still refusing to eat?”

 

Early in the morning, as Qiu Junyao finished his court duties and stepped into the Pixiang Hall, the first thing he asked Ying Yuan, who came to greet him, was:

 

“How is he?”

 

“He’s still the same, refusing to eat and not speaking. He just lies there by himself, and no one can get him to open up or eat,” Ying Yuan replied.

 

Today, Ying Yuan wore male attire, his long hair tied up with a silver hairpin, flowing down like ink. “I’ve been guarding him with Jingming and Jingxiu, fearing he might do something rash, but he…”

 

Ying Yuan paused, his voice dropping again, “But aside from not eating and not speaking, he doesn’t seem to be exhibiting any other extreme behaviors.”

 

“……..”

 

Upon hearing the latter part, Qiu Junyao finally felt his anxious heart start to ease.

 

He let out a breath of relief, then took Ying Yuan, whose brows were furrowed, inside, speaking softly as if afraid to disturb anyone:

 

“It’s normal for a child to react this way after a breakup.”

 

“A breakup?” Ying Yuan blinked, turning to look at Qiu Junyao, puzzled.

 

“What does that mean?”

 

“It means parting ways with someone you like, feeling sad about it.”

 

Qiu Junyao said, “My cousin also reacted like Jinghe when he experienced a breakup—refusing to eat and not speaking, making my uncle and aunt very anxious.”

 

“………” Hearing this, Ying Yuan turned his head, lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly asked:

 

“Have you ever experienced a breakup, Your Majesty?”

 

“I haven’t,” Qiu Junyao replied. “I never indulged in early romances.”

 

“Really?” Ying Yuan pouted, expressing disbelief. “Haven’t you ever liked anyone before?”

 

“Well…”

 

Qiu Junyao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

 

“What do you mean by ‘I don’t think so’?” Ying Yuan became sensitive at an unexpected moment, turning around, eyes wide, as if trying to see through Qiu Junyao. He scrutinized him up and down, then narrowed his eyes:

 

“Be honest, who did you like before?”

 

“I really didn’t.” Qiu Junyao lifted Ying Yuan onto his lap, his palm slowly caressing Ying Yuan’s waist, moving downward.

 

“Then if there’s nothing in reality, it means there’s something in your dreams, right?”

 

Ying Yuan swatted away Qiu Junyao’s restless hand, shifting forward just enough to press down on a certain part of Qiu Junyao, causing him to let out a soft gasp.

 

“Be honest.”

 

Ying Yuan insisted, “Who did you really like?”

 

“…….” Qiu Junyao glanced at him: “Do you really want to know?”

 

“Really want to know.” The more Qiu Junyao acted like this, the more Ying Yuan’s competitive spirit surged. By the end, he was practically gritting his teeth:

 

“Hurry up and tell me!”

 

“Fine, I’ll say it.”

 

Seeing that Ying Yuan was truly getting agitated, Qiu Junyao, who was utterly devoted to pampering his partner, realized he had no choice but to tell the truth:

 

“When I was sixteen, I had a dream once.”

 

“A dream?”

 

Ying Yuan’s expression became increasingly serious, determined to dig deeper: “Who did you dream about?”

 

“I can’t remember.” Qiu Junyao shook his head. “It should have been a girl… because in the dream, that person was wearing women’s clothes, tall, well… about your height. I could never see her face clearly, but she was very forward and kept coming to kiss me.”

 

“After that, I kept dreaming about her, even frequently…”

 

The physiological responses between men don’t require further explanation from Qiu Junyao. Ying Yuan bit his lip in anger, feeling it was excessive to be jealous of someone from a dream, and the two emotions clashed, leaving him silent and seething.

 

Noticing that Ying Yuan was puffing up his cheeks, indicating he was about to throw a little tantrum, Qiu Junyao quickly embraced him, coaxing:

 

“But you are my first love.”

 

Qiu Junyao raised four fingers to the heavens, swearing: “I really have no one else but you.”

 

What he didn’t say was that since coming to this world, he had never dreamed of that mysterious person with an unclear face again.

 

However, Ying Yuan remained half-skeptical of Qiu Junyao’s words. After a moment, he let out a cold laugh and remained silent. With Qiu Junyao skillfully reading the mood, he cuddled and playfully touched him until Ying Yuan finally couldn’t help but soften his expression.

 

Yet, deep down, he still felt a bit unsettled. Why could Qiu Junyao have a lover in his dreams while he had given his heart and body to Qiu Junyao, and had never overstepped the bounds even in dreams?

 

His body and desires had always been developed solely by Qiu Junyao, never by anyone else.

 

Knowing that Qiu Junyao had dreamed of someone else before meeting him made Ying Yuan feel a twinge of jealousy. Even during meals, he was sharp-tongued and sarcastic, causing even the dense Jingming to sense something was off in the atmosphere between Qiu Junyao and Ying Yuan. He sat there, bowl in hand, eyes darting between Qiu Junyao and Ying Yuan, unsure of how to respond.

 

Fortunately, the perceptive Jingxiu sensed Qiu Junyao’s “predicament” and immediately caught his signal for help. Acting innocent, he raised his hand and exclaimed:

 

“Father, Mother, I’ve finished eating.”

 

He jumped down from his stool and turned to the head eunuch, Laifu, standing by:

 

“Eunuch Laifu, may I take Jinghe gege’s meal to him?”

 

“Little Prince, we prepared it long ago.”

 

Laifu was also adept at managing situations, immediately bending down to meet Jingxiu’s gaze, his tone tinged with concern:

 

“But the Second Prince hasn’t eaten in several days, so even if you take it to him, he may not eat it.”

 

As soon as he finished speaking, a voice interrupted, “I’ll go.”

 

Worried that the little quarrel between him and Ying Yuan might disrupt the family atmosphere and cause anxiety in the two children, Qiu Junyao stood up and said to Laifu:

 

“I’ll take it to him.”

 

He added, “It’s not good for a child to go without food for so long.”

 

Since Qiu Junyao said so, no one else objected.

 

Ying Yuan also remained silent.

 

He just liked to act a little spoiled to confirm his importance in Qiu Junyao’s heart, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t distinguish the seriousness of the situation. So, he let Qiu Junyao put down his bowl and followed the eunuch who was lighting the way, heading towards the Lánzhú Diàn (Lan Bamboo Hall).

 

The Lánzhú Diàn was originally an empty hall, but now it was somewhat filled with Qiu Jǐngmíng and Qiu Jǐngyuè, plus Qiu Jinghe, making it feel crowded.

 

Qiu Jinghe lived in the Haitang Courtyard on the left side of the hall. As the night wind blew, fallen leaves scattered on the ground. Even though it was midsummer, the courtyard felt strangely desolate.

 

Qiu Junyao stood outside the door of Qiu Jinghe’s room for a while. After a moment, he silently looked up, the moonlight reflecting in his eyes, clearly showing his helplessness.

 

It was at this moment that he finally realized how big of a blow it was for Qiu Jinghe, who was experiencing the first stirrings of love, after Chu Yu ran away from the marriage.

 

Qiu Junyao understood that in Qiu Jinghe’s heart, Chu Yu was fundamentally different from Ying Yuan.

 

To Qiu Jinghe, Ying Yuan was merely a vague and unclear shadow, not even a crush; at most, it was a kind of hazy affection or transference. But Chu Yu had genuinely saved Qiu Jinghe’s life. That day in the heavy rain, without Chu Yu, with Qiu Jinghe’s body still weakened by poison, he would have long been lost in some corner of the world.

 

When a bit of warmth suddenly appeared in a time of neglect, anyone would hold onto it tightly and refuse to let go.

 

And it was exactly this way that when this warmth disappeared, the blow to a person was also fatal.

 

Qiu Junyao sighed softly.

 

A moment later, he raised his hand, signaling the attending eunuch to open the door.

 

Lai Fu noticed this and gave a look to the eunuchs behind him. Immediately, someone was ordered to step forward and push open the door to Qiu Jinghe’s room.

 

Once the door was opened, Qiu Junyao stepped inside.

 

The room was very quiet; only the sound of breathing could be heard. When Qiu Junyao walked in, he accidentally stepped on a piece of small porcelain that had fallen to the ground, and he nearly stumbled, only being steadied by Lai Fu to avoid falling flat.

 

Lai Fu was about to speak to ask Qiu Jinghe to get up and greet him, but Qiu Junyao raised his hand, and Lai Fu immediately fell silent. After steadying Qiu Junyao, he stepped aside, letting a few others come in to clean up the debris and porcelain shards on the floor.

 

It was clear that Qiu Jinghe hadn’t eaten any meals, as the food sent by the palace maids and eunuchs had almost all been overturned and dumped on the floor.

 

Qiu Junyao carefully avoided the litter on the floor and walked to the bedside, lifting the bed curtain.

 

What greeted him was the sight of Qiu Jinghe’s back.

 

He curled up like a wounded animal, huddled at the foot of the bed, completely motionless.

 

Qiu Jinghe was already thin, and after several days, he had lost even more weight. When Qiu Junyao reached out to stroke his back, he could clearly feel the protruding bones.

 

He sighed again, unsure whether it was regret or heartache, and spoke softly:

 

“Ér (儿).”

 

Qiu Junyao said, “Father has come to see you. Can you do your father a favor and turn around to eat a bite?”

 

Qiu Jinghe remained turned away from Qiu Junyao, completely still.

 

Seeing this, Qiu Junyao didn’t take offense.

 

He slowly placed his palm on Qiu Jinghe’s shoulder, lightly patting it as if to comfort him:

 

“Are you not eating because you’re blaming your father for arranging this marriage for you?”

 

Upon hearing this, Qiu Jinghe’s posture slowly shifted, still keeping his back to everyone.

 

He gradually turned around, his eyes swollen and red from crying, and after a long while, he shook his head.

 

“Don’t you blame me?” Qiu Junyao gently tidied Qiu Jinghe’s messy hair with his fingertips, softening his tone even more:

 

“If you don’t blame your father, then please get up and eat, alright?”

 

He continued, “If you like Chu Yu, I’ll help you find him, no matter how far away.”

 

When Qiu Jinghe heard this, the dazed look in his eyes gradually became clearer, and after a moment, he very slowly shook his head.

 

Although he showed no expression, two lines of tears had already trickled down from his temples.

 

Seeing Qiu Jinghe’s haggard appearance made Qiu Junyao feel distressed. Unable to hold back, he leaned forward and embraced Qiu Jinghe in his arms.

 

At first, Qiu Jinghe didn’t respond much, but with Qiu Junyao’s gentle words of comfort, his expression began to change gradually.

 

The tears that had already stopped began to flow again, intermittently staining Qiu Junyao’s collar. Qiu Junyao only felt a chill at his neck. He seemed to sense something and wanted to see Qiu Jinghe’s face, but the next moment, he was tightly hugged by Qiu Jinghe and couldn’t move.

 

The sound of suppressed breathing came from beside his ear, and Qiu Junyao suddenly realized that even when Qiu Jinghe cried, he was extremely quiet.

 

He didn’t shout like Qiu Jǐngmíng and Qiu Jǐngyuè, but cried silently and enduringly. Except for the trembling arms around Qiu Junyao’s neck, there were no other signs to indicate he was crying.

 

He didn’t blame Qiu Junyao, nor did he blame Chu Yu; he was just a bit sad.

 

In these past few days, Qiu Jinghe had been thinking: was it that he really didn’t deserve to be loved? Why did the people he wanted to get close to always leave him? Why was it that every time he finally gathered the courage to trust someone, reality had to deal him a heavy blow?

 

The more he cried, the more suppressed he felt, and the more he cried, the more he trembled. His fragile and enduring appearance, with tear stains all over his face, made Qiu Junyao’s heart ache.

 

“Ér, don’t do this.” Looking at the bite marks on Qiu Jinghe’s hand, Qiu Junyao understood how Qiu Jinghe had been suppressing his emotions these past few days. It felt as though his heart was soaked in sour water, the bitterness rising from his teeth:

 

“Don’t punish yourself like this, alright?”

 

Qiu Junyao used his fingertip to wipe away the tears on Qiu Jinghe’s face, unable to hide the pain of a parent:

 

“It’s your father’s fault… No matter where that Chu Yu has run off to, I’ll find him and give you an explanation, alright?”

 

Qiu Jinghe’s shoulders trembled as if he hadn’t yet recovered from his crying. He sniffled, groping for Qiu Junyao’s hand, then extended his fingertip to slowly trace on it, writing a “no” character.

 

“Don’t want?” Qiu Junyao guessed the meaning of the word, but suddenly, he seemed to understand something. His expression changed, and he quickly held Qiu Jinghe’s face, gently shaking it:

 

“Ér, speak to me.”

 

Qiu Junyao held Qiu Jinghe’s face tightly, almost panicking:

 

“Tell your father, do you want me to find Chu Yu?”

 

Qiu Jinghe stared fixedly at Qiu Junyao, then, as Qiu Junyao wished, slowly opened his mouth. He moved his lips, and his throat bobbed up and down, as if trying to speak—

 

But at that moment, he couldn’t make a sound.

 

The extreme joy and sorrow had shocked him into silence, and he couldn’t even voice his request for Qiu Junyao to bring Chu Yu back.