Chapter 413: Have him bring it over (2/2)

Han Yunxi shook her head. “That’s not struggling for the position of wife, but the throne itself!” In the shadows, a resentful Long Tianmo had already started his own plans to usurp the throne.

Naturally, Han Yunxi had no interest in such matters. She was more concerned with the fact that Emperor Tianhui’s illness was getting better. This meant that Gu Beiyue could finally leave the emperor’s residences at the palace. As soon as Gu Beiyue had returned from his sick leave, Emperor Tianhui had summoned him to court to stay by his side. He hadn’t left the palace even once since then.

Yesterday was the first time he’d gotten a chance to depart for a few days’ rest. Han Yunxi missed her Lil Thing! Because many people were interested in the emperor’s wellbeing, Gu Beiyue cut off connections with the outside world after entering the palace to save himself some hassle. Only visitors allowed entrance to the emperor’s quarters could ask him about His Majesty. There was no way for Han Yunxi to get in contact with him, so she had no idea how Lil Thing was doing.

“Your Highness, chenqie is planning to go to the Gu Estate in the afternoon to bring back Lil Thing,” Han Yunxi revealed her plans honestly.

“You can just have Chu Xifeng do it,” Long Feiye said without looking at her.

“He’s been raising Lil Thing for so long that chenqie wants to ask him about the particulars in person,” Han Yunxi said.

“It definitely hasn’t woken up yet, or else it would have found its way home long ago,” Long Feiye remarked.

“There’s no harm in asking about its status,” Han Yunxi could relent if this man disliked Lil Thing, but why did he want to avoid the animal so much?”

“There’s no way for the poison beast to die, so don’t worry,” Long Feiye said coldly.

“He still needs to explain the situation to me, and how much its internal toxins and blood have recovered,” Han Yunxi grew serious. If not for the fact that Lil Thing’s blood had yet to recover, she wouldn’t be spending everyday working hard to conceive an antidote for Baili Mingxiang’s poison.

“It’s impossible for it to recover in the span of a few months.” Though Long Feiye had never brought it up, he was rather knowledgeable about the poison beast too. In any case, he simply refused to let Han Yunxi go on her visit.

Han Yunxi regretted telling him her plans! He’d never required it from her either, in the past. In the end, she said, “It’s still good to ask some questions. After all, it was Gu Beiyue who took care of it.”

Actually, she’d long noticed that Long Feiye held a prejudice against Gu Beiyue! No, it was more accurate to say that he had ideas about the friendship between her and Gu Beiyue! Last time, she’d used Gu Beiyue as an excuse to prod Long Feiye into action, an incident that still left her with a guilty conscience. How could she dare to bring that up now?

When she saw that Long Feiye didn’t respond, she said, “Your Highness, it’s better for you to have Imperial Physician Gu re-examine your injury as well. How about you come along with chenqie?”

But Long Feiye simply said, “Chu Xifeng, make a trip to the Gu Estate and have Gu Beiyue deliver Lil Thing here.”

Han Yunxi drooped as she looked at Long Feiye reading his book, before muttering to herself, “You win!”

Soon enough, Chu Xifeng arrived with Gu Beiyue. After a long time apart, Gu Beiyue didn’t look for better or worse. He was still dressed in snow-white robes and carried an air of warm serenity. Anyone who saw him would feel like the entire world had turned more beautiful.

“This official greets Your Highness Duke of Qin, esteemed wangfei,” he said with a bow, neither haughty nor humble.

“Rise,” Long Feiye was sitting in a high seat, his aura imposing.

“Imperial Physician Gu, has your body recovered?” Han Yunxi asked with concern.

“Thanks to esteemed wangfei for your consideration. This official has already recovered.” No matter whether Long Feiye was present, Gu Beiyue was always mindful of his manners. As he spoke, he picked up a bamboo cage by his side and handed it over. “Esteemed wangfei, Lil Thing has recovered quite well. It has bursts of consciousness between days of sleep, and remains alert for longer periods of time than before. However, it’s still asleep right now and will remain unconscious until a couple of days later.”

Han Yunxi eagerly opened up the cage and lifted the red cloth covering the opening, before spotting Lil Thing curled up into a furball at the bottom of the container. She was both thrilled and distressed by the sight, and lightly stroked its fur a few times before picking it up in her hands for closer scrutiny. As it turned out, this little fellow had been fattened up considerably by Gu Beiyue, leaving a hefty weight in her hands.

“It’s gotten heavier, you really know how to raise it,” Han Yunxi smiled.

“It’s all because I fed it the poisons that esteemed wangfei left me,” Gu Beiyue said, smiling softly.

“Has it ever looked for me when it was awake?” Han Yunxi asked curiously.

Gu Beiyue thought back. “The first time it woke up, it ran back to the Duke of Qin’s estate. This official wanted to hunt it down, but it returned to me soon enough, perhaps because it couldn’t find you.”

“It’s very smart. I wasn’t there, so it knew to stay with you,” Han Yunxi said in delight.

Gu Beiyue hastily nodded. “Esteemed wangfei understands it best. After the first time, it never ran away again. It would follow this official wherever I went instead!”

When Han Yunxi and Gu Beiyue started talking about Lil Thing, it seemed like they’d never stop. Their conversation was nonstop and both of them were very happy. Though it wasn’t clear whether Gu Beiyue had noticed Long Feiye’s existence, Han Yunxi had completely forgotten about him. Long Feiye sat on the side, his icy face now covered in a new layer of frost. Finally, when Han Yunxi burst out into laughter, he opened his mouth…