Chapter 123

There was no more communication between the father and the son during the meal.

After dinner, Liu Wuyi got into the room where the medicinal herbs were kept and did not come out again.

Zixiu sat in the hall for a long time. He had to admit that he had gone too far having made fun of Xingyi like that. However, he had his own reason! At the moment of life and death, he had to push aside the secular etiquette! He said Xingyi was Nangong Du’s concubine only to save time and avoid delaying the rescue. His dad was too merciless having slapped him only because of this! At the thought that his dad kept on punching him after giving him a slap, Zixiu felt even more grieved. He had no memories of the past, so he had no idea how much he had changed, let alone what had caused his change! From what his dad said, Zixiu could tell he had sensed something wrong with him. However, he felt that there was nothing wrong with himself, and it was the people around him and the world that had problems!

He could not understand why clothes were designed so complicatedly! He honestly thought that giving birth to a child at the age of 16 was too early! He did not expect that such a thing as being betrothed to someone before birth, which could only be found in history books, would have happened to him (fortunately, it was just a misunderstanding)!  He had no concept of hierarchy! He ignored the imperial power and despised those damned princes who threw their weight about and had a bunch of consorts and concubines! He thought that ‘men and women are forbidden to have physical contact’ was just a remnant of feudal society! This was bullshit! He always felt that he had once raised a cat named Karupin… Could it be that he felt this way because he was mentally ill and that was why his dad lived in seclusion with him in the mountains?

“Brother! Brother…” Seeing his elder brother suddenly hit the table with his head, Liuxu was terrified. “Brother, don’t act like this! Brother…”

“Huh?” It was only then that he realized there was someone sitting beside him. Zixiu smiled awkwardly. He touched his aching forehead and said, trying to cover up his embarrassment, “I’m sleepy. It’s getting late and you’d better go to bed early!”

“Brother…” Liuxu was still worried, so she was reluctant to leave.

Zixiu had to stand up. With a yawn, he continued with an apologetic look, “Our house is small, so you have to share the same bed with Xingyi.”

“It doesn’t matter! I mean it!” Liuxu shook her head as if she was flattered.

Actually, Zixiu was just being polite. Seeing that she showed no intent to leave, he had to say something more to assure her. “Go to bed right now! I’m fine! Trust me, dad will be alright as well!”

“…” Liuxu was still hesitating.

It seemed she would not go to bed if he remained in the hall. Zixiu had to go to his own bedroom saying “Good night!”

As there were no more bedrooms in their house, in addition to asking Liuxu to share the same bed with Xingyi, Zixiu had to share the same kang with Nangong Du, who had been in a coma for a whole day. His dad was even more miserable! It seemed he had to spend the night with those medicinal herbs on the bench!

“Alas…” Zixiu heaved a long sigh. As he was depressed, he was in no mood to curse Nangong Du, and after taking off his robe, he blew the oil lamp out and slipped under the quilt.

He had fed Nangong Du some medicine in the morning, so the patient’s temperature had come back to normal. It was warm and comfortable under the quilt, but he had no drowsiness at all.

Tossing about in bed for a long time, Zixiu still could not fall asleep.

“Alas…” He sighed again. Actually, he had no idea what he was sighing for. After pondering for quite a while, he found his mind blank!

As it was overcast, no moonlight shone into the room, and even the white light from the heavy snow outside was also blocked by the thick curtain. Zixiu stared at the darkness without a blink. He wished he could shoot two beams of laser out of his eyes and pierce the darkness!

“What are you doing?”

Hearing a hoarse voice suddenly ring from behind, Zixiu was startled and almost let out a scream. Fortunately, with his unusually sober mind, he immediately realized that it was Nangong Du who had woken up!

Patting his chest, he managed to calm himself down while complaining as usual, “You asshole! I was scared out of my wits by you! Do you know this could take years off my life?!”

Nangong Du did not respond, as if he had not been fully awake.

Zixiu kept nagging. He was not worried that Nangong Du would punch him. According to the diagnosis his dad gave, Nangong Du caught a cold soon after his serious illness and he hadn’t had anything for a few days, so it would take him two or three days at least to recover! Needless to say, Zixiu was not picking a fight on purpose. As he could not fall asleep, he wanted to talk to someone.  Nangong Du was the one he had been with for the longest time except for his dad since he had lost his memory! Although the relationship between them was tense, perhaps Nangong Du could help him analyze his current situation?

Thinking of this, he calmed down a little and shut his mouth obediently.

However, after waiting for quite a while, he heard no response from Nangong Du, and his patience began to grow thin. He pulled the quilt while speaking crossly, “Hey, say something!”

“…Water!” After a long time, the other party only replied with one word.

Zixiu froze for a moment before he realized that Nangong Du was thirsty. ‘I want to chat with him so that he can give me some advice, but instead of getting a single piece of advice, I have to serve him!’ he thought resentfully.

Zixiu couldn’t help but complain again. However, while nagging, he still lit up the oil lamp, got out of the bed, and poured a glass of water for the patient.

After finishing a glass of water, Nangong Du felt much better. When he saw it was Zixiu who was in front of him, he did not seem to be surprised. “Where’s Xingyi?” he asked.

Humph! If he was not having an affair with Xingyi, how come he cared for her so much? Zixiu reflexively collected “evidence” for his prank. “Don’t worry! She won’t die!” he answered grumpily.

Needless to say, Nangong Du had sensed the dissatisfaction in his words, but he had no strength to quarrel with Liu Zixiu at this moment. He handed the empty glass back to him and then slipped back under the quilt.

Zixiu thought Nangong Du was putting on air, so he grabbed the quilt in haste and said, “Don’t sleep! I have something to talk to you!”

“Huh?” It was the first time he had ever heard Liu Zixiu speak in such a serious tone, so Nangong Du couldn’t help but look up in disbelief. Yes, the look on Liu Zixiu’s face was quite solemn!

Before Nangong Du could protest, Zixiu quickly put down the glass, went back to the bed, and blew the oil lamp out.

Nangong Du was even more surprised. Was Liu Zixiu also delirious with fever?  “What do you want…”

Having figured out what Nangong Du was going to say, Zixiu came up with the words to respond soon. Rolling his eyes in the darkness, he went on speaking in a serious tone, “I’m not in the mood to play tricks with you!”

Before Nangong Du could say a word, he got to the point straight. “To be honest, what do you think of me?”