Chapter 81

About one o’clock in the morning, Zixiu gradually came out of his coma and finally had his fever abated. Picking up the bowl from the table, Liu Wuyi scooped up a spoonful of gruel, which was still warm, and move it to Zixiu’s lips.

After finishing the gruel, Zixiu felt much better. He scanned around and was surprised to find himself in Yu’s house.

“You had a fever!” Liu Zixiu put down the bowl and reminded him.

“Oh!” Zixiu nodded. It was no wonder that he couldn’t remember how he had gotten back. If it weren’t for his father’s reminder, he would have thought that he had amnesia again!

“How are you feeling now? Is there anything wrong with you?” Liu Wuyi asked.

Zixiu put his hand on his belly habitually and sensed carefully. “I’m fine! Thank you, dad!” Seeing the silver needles on the table, Zixiu was aware that his father had brought down his fever by acupuncturing.

“Good!” Liu Wuyi patted his son on the shoulder with a nod, feeling much relieved. However, he was very upset when he saw Zixiu in a typical pregnant pose.

Liu Wuyi turned to wash his hands and then put away the silver needles. A moment later, he said, “It’s still early. You can sleep a while longer.”

Zixiu turned to the window and saw that it was still dark outside, so he slipped under the quilt again. When he had just closed his eyes, he suddenly remembered the soldiers they saw outside the village. He then bounced up and jittered to asked, “Dad, didn’t those soldiers come to get us?”

“Ha!” Liu Wuyi put down the sliver needles with a snort. “Zixiu, don’t be silly! Though we’re trying to hide from Nangong Du, those soldiers didn’t come to get you, the fake princess!”

“Huh?” Zixiu didn’t understand what his father meant, but seeing the latter’s calm, fearless expression, he regained his composure.

After putting away the silver needles, Liu Wuyi continued, “Those soldiers came to Mount Windward for an herb!”

“For an herb?”

“It’s funny! Don’t you think so? I thought Prince Mu would secretly send people to get you, but to my surprise, he asked his men to come to the Cirrus Valley conspicuously in the name of looking for some magic herb! Hahaha…”

Zixiu wasn’t amused at all, and he only twitched the corner of his mouth slightly. Maybe because he seldom heard his father make sarcastic remarks about others, or maybe because he was also part of the ‘joke’, Zixiu felt a little uneasy. ‘No matter what excuse those people have for coming here, it’s me they’re after!’

Liu Wuyi didn’t notice how his son reacted. Putting away his smile, he continued with a thoughtful look, “As far as people are concerned, Nangong Du is only an arrogant, lascivious prince who will attack a tiger unarmed and cross a river without a boat. But if he schemed all this himself, I can tell there’s more to him than meets the eye!”

Hearing no response from his son after quite a while, Liu Wu looked at him and asked, “Don’t you see what I mean?”

“Er… Dad, what do you mean by ‘attack a tiger unarmed and cross a river without a boat’?” After hesitating for a while, Zixiu plucked up and raised the question.

Liu Wuyi’s face darkened. His son should just forget what had happened in the past. How come he even forgot what he had learned? Feeling so depressed, he said grumpily, “Simple-minded! Foolhardy!”

“……” Zixiu immediately lowered his head and fell silent.

Liu Wuyi grew even more depressed. “I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about Nangong Du!”

“What?” Hearing that, Zixiu instantly recalled what Nangong Du had done to him and the freezing look in his eyes. ‘What makes dad think Nangong Du is simple-minded?’ Zixiu was so surprised that he even thought he must have heard it wrong.

‘Er… Seems I got it wrong!’ “Dad, you mean Nangong Du is playing dumb?” Zixiu asked, but he was still confused. ‘Is dad hinting that Nangong Du is scheming because he sent his men here conspicuously? But why?’

“It’s none of our business whether he’s playing dumb or not. Those soldiers have been here for two months, so it’s obvious that Nangong Du believed what you said without a doubt. Such being the case, we shouldn’t ‘let him down’!”

“Huh?” Zixiu turned pale with astonishment at the thought that his father might turn him over to Nangong Du’s men. Actually, he had been on edge and ill ever since his father decided to take him back to the Cirrus Valley. However, as his father had made up his mind, he couldn’t help it!

“No worries! Though your dad is a loser, he won’t put you in danger!” Liu Wuyi was still sticking to his guns. He was aware that even if they could hide for a while, they couldn’t hide for a lifetime. So he would rather stay at home than keep changing places to hide. Anyway, the terrain of the Cirrus Valley was so complicated that nobody could find it without a guide. And most importantly, he was reluctant to confront Nangong Du didn’t mean he was afraid of him!