amaotonovel Chapter 212 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (116)
Chapter 212 The Ruthless and Disabled Crown Prince (116)
Lu Liruan propped herself up on her arms and stared at Ji Shumin with her head turned to the side.
Seemingly sensing Lu Liruan's gaze, Ji Shumin slowly opened his eyes. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a faint bluish-black mark under his eyes, indicating that he had indeed done something behind his back last night.
"Why did Li Ruan wake up so early today?" He raised his hand and put his arm around Lu Li Ruan's shoulder, trying to pull her to his side.
He would sometimes tease Lu Liruan like this when he woke up in the morning.
But today...
Lu Liruan didn't budge despite her efforts.
She tried again, but Lu Liruan still didn't move...
A hint of confusion flickered in the Third Prince's beautiful eyes as he blinked: "Li Ruan?"
Lu Liruan rolled over and patted Ji Shumin's cheek: "Don't act cute."
By midnight, the same noise as yesterday was still going on.
On the third day, Lu Liruan still couldn't figure out what he was doing in secret. She was really puzzled and decided to secretly follow him out tonight to find out.
Before Lu Liruan could make up her mind, a crashing sound came from the courtyard, as if something had overturned.
Lu Liruan sat up in bed and ran outside without even putting on an outer robe.
In that instant, a thought suddenly flashed into Lu Liruan's mind, making her heart pound and she couldn't wait any longer.
She pushed open the door to the outer hall and Lu Liruan's eyes widened in shock!
"How are you? Are you hurt?"
The moonlight, like molten silver, spilled like water over the silent world.
The ground was cool and cold. Ji Shumin's thin, moon-white undergarment was translucent in the moonlight. He had fallen to the ground and was trying to prop himself up. His wrists, which bore most of his weight, trembled slightly. His hair, tied up, covered his face and slid down his shoulders to his waist.
The wheelchair was not far away, within reach of a fingertip.
These past few days, whenever Lu Liruan heard the sound of a wheelchair going outside, it would disappear. She thought that Ji Shumin had gone somewhere, so she prepared to secretly follow him to check.
Unexpectedly, the wheelchair didn't go away, but simply stopped moving.
Lu Liruan hurriedly ran to his side, squatted down to help him up, but saw that Ji Shumin, who was just about to support himself, suddenly seemed to lose all strength and lay on the spot, covering his face with his arms, without making a sound or answering Lu Liruan's question.
Lu Liruan thought he had hurt himself, so she hurriedly touched his head to see if he had been hit. Then she looked at his legs and saw that Ji Shumin, who had been motionless just moments before, was slowly moving, as if he wanted to curl up.
"Let me help you up, the ground is so cold." Lu Liruan didn't care about anything else, afraid that he would catch a cold and get sick again. Although he was much better, Ji Shumin was weak and couldn't withstand any more exertion.
"Li Ruan, go back first." Hearing Lu Li Ruan's anxiety, Ji Shu Min finally spoke up.
"Huh?" Lu Liruan didn't understand what he was up to.
"Ah—" A long, bitter sigh made Ji Shumin's waist and abdomen sag slightly.
He sighed and said slowly, "This ugly state still couldn't hide it from Li Ruan."
Lu Liruan didn't understand what he said.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Why are you always lying here?" Lu Liruan leaned over and patted his head.
"Li Ruan, let me get up by myself. The ground isn't cold on this summer night, and it's quite comfortable to lie down..."
He never looked up at Lu Liruan. Lu Liruan could hear a rather childish competitive spirit in his tone, but she didn't know whether he was competing with himself or with his body.
Touching the ground, Lu Liruan noticed that it felt cold in the moonlight, but was warm to the touch. It was probably because the daytime sun had been too hot, and had thoroughly heated the smooth bluestone in the courtyard.
Lu Liruan plopped down beside him and patted the back of his neck: "It's quite comfortable. I'll sit here with you for a while..."
“Turn over, let’s admire the moon together. I forgot what day it is today, isn’t it the middle of the moon? The moon looks like a round plate.” Lu Liruan’s tone was light and cheerful, completely unconcerned about Ji Shumin’s displeasure.
Perhaps sensing that Lu Liruan really wasn't going to leave him there alone, after a while, Ji Shumin slowly shifted his position, turned himself over, rested his head on Lu Liruan's knees, but still faced outwards.
"Does Li Ruan enjoy watching people make fools of themselves?" he said quietly.
Under the cover of night, Ji Shumin revealed a different side of himself than he had during the day.
He couldn't fully accept his physical disability. He could bear it and process it on his own, but he didn't want Lu Liruan to see it. He could let Lu Liruan see his scarred legs, but he didn't want her to see his clumsiness and staggering when he was learning to walk again...
Before Lu Liruan could say anything, he said it was an "ugly act".
"Why do you say that? You sneak out behind my back in the middle of the night, and I didn't even have a chance to see what you look like. How can you say I think you're ugly?"
Lu Liruan sighed softly and said in a sales pitch, "If you want to find fault, you can always find an endless one. Think back carefully, when did I ever say you were ugly?"
Hearing Ji Shumin let out a soft, suppressed laugh, Lu Liruan smoothed his disheveled hair, revealing one of his ears. She leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I've always said you're handsome, that you're dashing, that just looking at you makes my heart flutter..."
It was clearly a lie, but Lu Liruan spoke from the heart. Although appearance is just a shell, Ji Shumin was exceptionally favored, and his appearance was unforgettable.
"Where did Li Ruan learn these outrageous words from?" Ji Shumin paused, seemingly in a better mood. He recalled a time when Lu Li Ruan would stare at his face and unconsciously freeze, feeling a sense of pride. As long as he could get Li Ruan's gaze to stay on him, that would be enough.
“I mean it from the bottom of my heart,” Lu Liruan said sincerely.
"Why are you doing this behind my back? Isn't this a wonderful thing? Instead of sharing it with me, you're doing it so secretly..." Lu Liruan was genuinely puzzled.
“What is there for Li Ruan to see? To see me like a sack of chaff, stumbling and falling over one after another? Even a child learning to walk has some childlike charm, and their crooked and wobbly movements are cute. All I have here is clumsiness, and it would be embarrassing for me to have Li Ruan next to me.” Ji Shumin’s answer was honest.
"Tch—" Lu Liruan felt a mix of heartache and amusement.
"I guess I'll never see a child learn to walk in my lifetime, so let me see how you learn," Lu Liruan teased him in a lighthearted tone.
Actually, I wanted to say something else... but at this moment, the more pitiful and comforting I was, the more careful I was, the higher the hurdle in Ji Shumin's heart became.
Lu Liruan heard Ji Shumin chuckle softly: "Whatever."
He turned around following Lu Liruan's lead, the moonlight falling on his face, making his eyes sparkle like shattered light.
He was alone in the courtyard late at night, without anyone to serve him, presumably because he didn't want anyone to see this scene.
But he couldn't refuse Lu Liruan. As long as she was willing to coax him and say a few nice words, his original insistence would crumble, and he would show her everything, letting her see and think whatever she wanted.
He couldn't outsmart Lu Liruan in the slightest, nor could he hide anything from her.
All he could do was hope and pray that she would stay by his side forever.
Looking into his eyes, as if understanding his thoughts, Lu Liruan slowly leaned down and kissed his eyes, which refused to look away: "Then I'll stay with you from now on..."
Lu Liruan once wondered how she would feel if Ji Shumin could walk again one day; she would probably be extremely excited...
But because of Ji Shumin's antics, Lu Liruan's excitement only delayed until the next day when she saw that Ji Shumin could actually stand up from his wheelchair and take a few steps while holding onto the wall.
This is something I never dared to imagine before...
Lu Liruan held her breath as he walked, only letting out a long sigh of relief when Ji Shumin sat back in his wheelchair! She rushed over and hugged him, exclaiming, "That's wonderful!"
A sense of satisfaction and pride welled up in Lu Liruan's heart. At this moment, Lu Liruan seemed to truly feel that she had indeed changed Ji Shumin's fate.
Without me... he would certainly be different today.
As Lu Liruan thought this, she felt that she was being greedy for credit, but she could not control her thoughts. At this moment, Lu Liruan felt deeply that her life was already intertwined with Ji Shumin's and could not be separated.
When Ji Shumin was able to take seven or eight steps, the emperor finally regained consciousness.
Lu Liruan raised her hand to pick up the teacup, frowned and hissed, feeling a sharp pain in her arm. Ji Shumin wasn't feeling well today, and Lu Liruan had strained her arm while rushing to help him.
When the old doctor came to see them a few days ago, he could understand Ji Shumin's injuries, but when he noticed that Lu Liruan had also bumped and bruised herself, his brows furrowed slightly.
"If you can't lift him up..." He started to say, but then swallowed his words back.
He was swept by the Third Prince's cold and stern gaze, and clicked his tongue twice in his heart.
This Third Prince is truly ruthless. He doesn't allow the palace servants to take care of her, but only torments his own wife. He doesn't even care that his delicate little lady is covered in bruises.
Ji Shumin truly didn't feel sorry for him...
He needed to let Lu Liruan know that every word she said to him would be taken seriously, every promise she made would be kept, and that he wouldn't lie to her. Similarly, she absolutely couldn't lie to him either...
Giving up halfway is even more unacceptable. Ji Shumin told Lu Liruan to remember in her mind: what is agreed upon is agreed upon, and a lifetime is a lifetime.
The emperor regained consciousness, and after a few days, he was even able to sit up and speak.
Lu Liruan was puzzled, but she couldn't directly ask the old doctor about it.
When Ji Shuqin learned that the Emperor had woken up, he was not relieved at all. Instead, he felt even more anxious. For some reason, when he thought of the scene of De Cheng feeding his father the medicine, he felt that something was about to happen.
And things did indeed turn out as he had predicted.
After the emperor awoke, he paid no attention to state affairs. Instead, as if possessed, he grabbed De Cheng in front of the imperial physician, his bloodshot eyes bulging from their sockets, shouting, "Where is the immortal? Where is the immortal? I want to see the immortal!"
The imperial physicians looked at each other, heads bowed, none daring to utter a sound.
Meanwhile, the high-ranking officials waiting outside the door to see the emperor also heard his inhuman, ghostly howls...
Everyone was greatly shocked.
When the Empress arrived, she saw palace servants and imperial physicians kneeling on the ground. The Emperor was barefoot, his hair disheveled, and his expression was as ferocious and twisted as a demon. He was standing on the ground, making a wailing sound like a sob or a howl!
The Empress, dressed in magnificent palace attire and with a dignified expression, stepped into the bedchamber, which was filled with the heavy smell of medicine. Standing next to the Emperor, she seemed out of place, as if the Emperor beside her had lost his mind like a beast!
But no one knows what the Empress whispered in the Emperor's ear, because the Emperor, who had been unable to get close to her, suddenly quieted down, obediently lay back on the bed, and let the imperial physician diagnose him.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince..."
The ministers kneeling outside the hall saw Ji Shuqin again, but no one inside the hall noticed his arrival.
Ji Shuqin stopped in his tracks, unable to muster even the will to go in and take a look. He listened to the emperor's roar, and then fell silent again.
Watching the Empress walk out of the palace with her unwavering steps, Ji Shuqin turned and left, even feeling somewhat flustered.
Rumors that the emperor had been bewitched by evil magic and was now mentally unstable spread far and wide.
No one attended court; instead, groups of officials waited outside the emperor's palace.
They requested the emperor to appoint a prince to act as regent until the emperor's condition improved.
But these are all just empty words; everyone understands that they are meant to force the emperor to appoint a crown prince. Whoever can oversee the country today will determine the future succession...
The emperor did not agree, but only appointed several civil and military officials to handle the matter.
The Second Prince was in a state of extreme anxiety. He couldn't even get close to the Emperor's bedchamber, let alone have any communication with the Emperor.
If they cannot turn the tide now, they are destined to be no match for the Empress and the First Prince's faction!
So they put pressure on her more and more frequently, and even accused the Empress of interfering in politics in the harem, but it all went nowhere and didn't even make a ripple. They didn't even know if the Emperor knew about it.
The Empress has completely taken control of the palace, and there is no way of knowing how the Emperor is doing or what he is thinking.
Could it be that the Empress intends to interfere in the matter of the Crown Prince? Helpless, the people could only repeatedly plead with the Emperor to take charge of state affairs.
Before they could receive any response, another shocking thing came from the palace: the emperor had actually sent someone to take the seventh prince's blood to make medicine!
Everyone thought there was something wrong with their ears!
Rumors of the Emperor using sorcery to take the lives of his princes were still circulating in the streets and alleys, but now there were even more outrageous rumors. The discussion about palace secrets in the capital was getting stronger and stronger.
Meanwhile, those with a keen eye were pondering: regardless of whether it was true or false, why could such a secret have leaked from the palace? What was the reason...?
Lu Liruan was somewhat taken aback. How could the emperor suddenly be seen by the people as a wicked creature who liked to provoke blood?
There are also rumors, quite detailed and seemingly credible, that the current emperor is no longer the emperor, but rather that his body has been possessed by evil magic…
What made Lu Liruan most uneasy was that an imperial edict suddenly came from the palace: ordering Ji Shumin to enter the palace!