Huo Chengwang cried himself to exhaustion in Ning Shu’s embrace, then closed his eyes and fell asleep. Ning Shu sighed and placed Huo Chengwang on the bed. She had Qing Zhu prepare warm water, then used a warm cloth to wipe Huo Chengwang’s tears away.
Huo Chengwang’s eyes were red and swollen from his tears. Ning Shu sat next to the bed to watch over him.
Xiao Qingyan blamed himself a lot for not protecting his younger cousin well enough and for the death of the puppy.
“Aunt,” called Xiao Qingyan. Ning Shu rubbed her temples and said, “Qingyan, you’ve suffered a fright. Go eat something and rest up. Chengwang is really sad too, so Aunt hopes that you’ll stay by Chengwang’s side.”
Today’s incident had definitely left a scar in Huo Chengwang’s heart.
“Aunt, Qingyan will take good care of him!” Xiao Qingyan patted his chest while vowing this.
When it was near midnight, Huo Chengwang started having a high fever. Ning Shu had been prepared for it and had Qing Zhu bring over a bowl of medicine. She slowly fed it to Huo Chengwang, but halfway through, he started throwing up.
“Your Imperial Highness, should we call an imperial physician?” Qing Zhu was so worried that her face was pale. “Let’s call the imperial physician over, then prepare more medicine.”
Ning Shu wet a handkerchief and started wiping Huo Chengwang down. Huo Chengwang had gone through a lot today, so it wasn’t strange for him to fall ill. However, she still couldn’t help but worry when he really started having a fever. A little kid was lying on the bed, muttering incomprehensible words in discomfort.
Ning Shu was worried that the fever would affect Huo Chengwang’s brain. Qing Zhu called the imperial physician over and he gave Huo Chengwang acupuncture. Once the medicine arrived, Ning Shu immediately took the bowl and started feeding it to Huo Chengwang again.
“Your Imperial Highness, let this servant do it,” said Qing Zhu when she saw how worried Ning Shu was.
Ning Shu took a deep breath. “It’s fine. This empress will do it.”
“Your Imperial Highness, should we ask His Majesty to come?” asked Qing Zhu. The little prince was severely ill so His Majesty should visit.
Ning Shu originally wanted to ask why they should ever call that damned bastard over, but she recalled that the imperial physician was in this room and she couldn’t let her image of being a warm and virtuous empress collapse, so she could only bear with the pain and say, “It’s already midnight. His Majesty had gone to rest long ago and he still has to attend court tomorrow. We shouldn’t disturb His Majesty’s rest.”
The imperial physician’s gaze was filled with pity. Ning Shu’s lips twitched as she continued wiping Huo Chengwang down.
“…Your Imperial Highness.” Qing Zhu’s eyes were a little red too.
Even Ning Shu felt pity for herself.
The His Majesty Ning Shu said was already asleep was not asleep. He was currently lying on the bed looking at the little fox who was sleeping on the table.
The little fox was looking at Huo Qing apprehensively. When Huo Qing saw her gaze, he felt like his heart was squeezing in pain. The eyes of the Hu er he liked was supposed to be crafty and adorable, clear and captivating. She shouldn’t be looking at him in wariness and alarm.
The little fox wasn’t afraid of Huo Qing. Even though Huo Qing was the emperor, he treated her really well. However, she was shocked by how he had ordered for the puppy to be killed. It was only then that she truly understood that this man was someone capable of deciding a person’s life and death with one word.
The fox couldn’t help but feel like what was done to the puppy was done to her. She was no longer human. She was just a fox. When even humans lives were worthless, what about hers, that of an animal’s?