CH 27

At this age, it was very easy for children to fall ill and Zhu Yijun was no exception.

A few days before when Zhao Su had gone over to visit, the child was still a round and plump, a chubby little steamed bun, but right now, he looked emaciated, lying on his bed with a high fever.

The medicine was very bitter, and it had been spit back up completely by Zhu Yijin. The anxious Feng Bao could only ask one of the female servants to give it to him with the mouth to mouth method. With this method, he was able to take in about half a bowl, but after an hour or so, he would still spit it back up.

The entire household was in disarray. The Prince of Yu and Consort Li were beside themselves, so distressed and helpless.

They had brought many doctors to come see him, and had even requested the imperial physicians to come from the palace. The child had caught a regular cold, it was not a major illness and could be remedied by taking medicine everyday. The problem was that he couldn’t keep the medicine down.

“Mother….. Candied Hawthorns…. Susu… Cat…” The servant girl was incessantly dabbing the sweat off his little face. Zhu Yijin was still boiling all over, his fever had not subsided at all, he was spouting nonsense, no one knew what he was talking about.

At this moment in Gongyuan Court, it was the third day of the examination, and also the last day.

Zhao Su finished answering the question, and had looked over his essay carefully a few times. He saw that it was still light outside and was not in a hurry to hand in his paper. He leant against the stone wall, he was bored stiff, above the flies on the wall there were some small scribbles.

Many examinees would write their name or some small words on the wall, some of it was encouraging words, some of it were poems. It was a form of commemoration, In the unlikely event that they achieve unparalleled success in the future, this is a place for future generations to pay their respects to them.

There are also many poems left on the wall which were very old, so much so they were hard to read.

Zhao Su thought about it, picked up his brush pen, and then began to draw in the corner.

An arc.

Another arc.

It formed a circle that looked like a circle but is not a circle, with a dip in the middle.

Hm.. and then eyebrows, eyes, nose….

Zhao Su laughed out loud.

A crying child, Zhu Yijun appeared on the wall.

When he’s older, maybe I’ll bring him here to take a look?

Wearing light blue robes, Zhao Su leisurely strolled out. It was finally over.

Three goddamn days, he didn’t even want to turn around to take a look, he could only hope that he wouldn’t have to come again in three years…

He had a gentle and elegant face, but he didn’t think so elegantly at all.

He’d just taken a few steps out of Gongyuan Court, when he discovered that his pageboy, Zhao Rong was there and behind him, there was also Feng Bao. 　　

Seeing that he finally came out, Feng Bao went up to him with an anxious face. “You’re finally out, quickly follow me to the Prince of Yu manor!”

Zhao Su’s heart skipped a beat, he had a feeling that had something to do with Zhu Yijun: “What’s the matter?”

“…. the little princely heir is not very well.”

——-

Ministry of Rites Government Office.

Gao Gong had stayed in Gongyuan Court for three days straight, whilst Chen Yiqin had stayed in the palace for three days. He had just returned two hours ago, and was now reviewing the examination papers with Gao Gong.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to come back, but it was that he hadn’t received the Emperor’s permission to leave.

—-

“At first we thought it was just a small cold, but the little princely heir couldn’t keep the medicine down, he vomited it out after taking it. The doctors were helpless. If it continues like this, I am afraid that it will be very dangerous. The Prince is out of ideas, Consort Li heard that the little princely heir was shouting your name so she asked me to specifically wait here for you, so that you will come to the manor with me after you finish the exam.”

Zhao Su smiled bitterly. The time he spent with Zhu Yijun was not long. Children were forgetful, so how could he have developed deep feelings? It was probably more likely he was still thinking about the things that he took him to eat.

The carriage drove fast, Feng Bao briefly talked about the little princely heir’s condition, and finally whispered: “Xiongdi, I know this is hard for you. Consort Li didn’t originally think that you could help the little princely heir drink the medicine, but she’d try anyone or anything in a crisis with even a thread of hope. Do your best, the little princely heir is the only son of the Prince, otherwise…”

Otherwise, Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, and even Xu Jie, who have secretly helped the Prince of Yu, will be disappointed for the most part. After all, between the two Princes, only the Prince of Yu has an heir. If even this advantage is gone, it would be one less bargaining chip for the Prince.

After a short while, the alcohol arrived. Zhao Su soaked the towel, then took off Zhu Yijun’s clothes, half-wrapping him in his arms, he wiped under his arms and on his back over and over again. The kid was very peaceful, letting him do it softly.

“￥@#……&@糖……葫芦#￥@……”Zhu Yijun moved his mouth, muttering words that no one understood, but Zhao Su caught one or two familiar sounds from it.

He was impressed, and he felt sincere admiration for Zhu Yijun’s spirit for being in a coma and still not forgetting about the snacks.

—

Back at the Ministry of Rites office, marking the papers was underway.

The preliminary results reviewed by the seventeen Associate Examining Officers had to be presented to the Chief Examining Officers for the final decision. That is to say, if the Chief Examining Officers are lazy, maybe the final rankings will be according to their results.

That was actually the case for Chen Yiqin who almost felt like vomiting after reading the papers for a few days. He wished there were a few more pairs of eyes to help out. When he looked at Gao Gong, who still looked so energetic, he couldn’t help admiring and complimenting: “Suqing, you are really a God, look at me, even my bones are almost falling apart…”

“Good!” Before he finished speaking, Gao Gong slapped the table, startling him. “Well written!”

“What has he written?” Chen Yiqin leaned forward curiously, and then read, “Those who suffer from worries will live, those who indulge in peaceful happiness will die. There are foreign invaders at our border, and internally…”

Before he finished reading, he had a weird look on his face: “Do you like this one?”