When Ye Li was back in her room, Mo Xiu Yao already woke up. As soon as she was inside, she saw clearly his left hand which was not covered by the quilt shake while clenching in a fist. However, the moment he saw her entering the room, his hand relaxed immediately and was taken under the quilt. That was when she knew he was suffering from pain and she couldn"t help but rethinking whether it was right to tell Doctor He to take out the medicine to ease pain from the prescription. However, seeing his gentle but firm eyes, she decided to bury that thought. He wouldn"t want to become a man who could only live by a drug.
"Ah Li, you are back."
Ye Li sat down by the bed. "You can cry out if you are in pain."
Mo Xiu Yao"s lips curve in a smile. "Will the pain stop if I cry? Don"t worry about me. It"s just a little pain. But it does bother me lying in bed all day."
"I won"t laugh at you." She said.
Mo Xiu Yao looked at her quietly for a good while before he asked seriously: "Ah Li, can I hug you?"
Ye Li was stunned. She bent down, taking him in her arms together with the quilt and said: "Since you can"t stand coldness, I think this is the best we can get."
He laughed below his breath, and only stopped after quite some time, saying: "To be honest... I can put up with the pain but the penetrating coldness... It feels like falling into cold water and can"t get out of it for the rest of my life. I get used to the pain but never the cold. Sometimes... I don"t mind the pain at all but I"m afraid to be left only with the cold and can"t feel pain anymore. If it turns out that way... Ah Li, I don"t know if I can keep it up."
"It won"t happen." Ye Li hugged him and said softly. "Didn"t Doctor Shen go to the East sea for the Tail of Phoenix? In two years, the Fiery Lotus will bear fruit. By then you will be able to get rid of that toxin and everything will be fine. You"ve come so far. What are two more years?"
He nodded and said: "I will wait, Ah Li. If I live then you can"t leave me. Aren"t you afraid of that?"
"I didn"t marry you for you to die young in order to inherit your property." She said indifferently.
"I won"t, Ah Li." He reached out a hand and took her slender waist in his arm.
Ye Li stopped for a moment, then got rid of his hand and put it back under the quilt without any expression. "Behave yourself since you can"t stand the cold." It seemed that she had made a promise just now, didn"t she? But she didn"t say anything in particular either... Ye Li thought to herself.
As soon as winter began, Prince Ding"s Manor had declined all the invitations of parties and banquets including the royal banquet. The reason was the same as before, that Prince Ding was seriously ill. Those who were disturbed because of seeing Prince Ding out of his manor during the summer had their peace back. After the imperial doctors visited several times without any clue how to cure his illness with all kinds of medicine and nutritious ingredients sent from the palace, n.o.body else visited the manor. It seemed to return to its old peacefulness like two years ago.
Certainly, there were a few visitors. Feng Zhi Yao, for example, was one of them.
"Mr. Feng San, His Highness and My Lady asked you to go to the side chamber."
Feng Zhi Yao, who was waiting in the study raised his brows in confusion and asked: "Is Ah Yao sick again? But didn"t he live with the princess? When did he move to the side chamber?"
A slightest smile appeared on Chief Steward Mo"s serious face. He said: "Thank you for thinking of His Highness, Mr. Feng. His Highness has been good. A few days ago, His Highness and My Lady moved to the side chamber."
Feng Zhi Yao was clearly envious. "The merit of having a large manor, living in the main chamber or the side chamber as he likes and taking turns living in each yard if he has enough of them."
Chief Steward Mo knew Feng Zhi Yao well so he didn"t blame for what he said and smiled: "Mr. Feng, if you want a larger manor, you can talk to His Highness. We have another two manors where you can live."
Feng Zhi Yao rolled his eyes. "I don"t think so. A large manor has its problems. With more people there are bound to be more affair to deal with. That"s terrible."
"Perhaps you should start your own family, Mr. Feng." Chief Steward Mo followed Feng Zhi Yao and suggested.
"I know your master has married a good wife. But I still haven"t had enough of the fun yet." Feng Zhi Yao waved his hand as a sign to tell him marriage didn"t concern him at the moment. Even his father wasn"t worried about him not getting married. Those servants in the manor were quite unexpectedly warm-hearted. But it was a pity that he was unable to bear it.
The side chamber where Ye Li and Mo Xiu Yao lived was independent of the main yard that they used to live in and was directly to its south. The yard came with the side chamber was only two rooms short than the main yard, but looked more quiet and elegant. The moment Feng Zhi Yao walked inside the chamber, he let out a puzzled sound. A gust of hot wind swept across him and the whole chamber was as warm as if it were March or April. Feng Zhi Yao knew Mo Xiu Yao"s condition well and that wherever he was in the manor, there wouldn"t be burning coals. But here...
Chief Steward Mo walked behind him and said: "Mr. Feng, His Highness and My Lady are waiting for you in the small study."
Feng Zhi Yao couldn"t help but turning around with a question: "How many studies on earth do you have in this manor?"
Chief Steward Mo answered seriously: "Two library and study buildings in both the outer yard and inner yard. Two studies for both His Highness and My Lady in the main yard. This study in the side chamber was set up for the time being."
"I hate study and I hate having discussions in a study." Feng Zhi Yao said.
"Then... shall I invite His Highness and My Lady out?"
"... No. I don"t dare to ask them out to see me." Feng Zhi Yao shook his hand and waved his fan while walking away in big strides.