nucmednet Chapter 345 I... Can I study medicine with you?
Chapter 345 I... Can I study medicine with you?
As dusk fell, the lanterns in the courtyards lit up one after another.
Zhou Ziqian sat on a bamboo chair in the corridor, looking at the people playing in the courtyard, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the corner of his clothes - there were still spots of mud splashed there when he was fishing in the afternoon.
If it were in the palace, the servants would have knelt down to change his clothes ten times, but at this moment no one mentioned this "improper conduct".
"Ziqian, try this." Liang Junze brought a cup of warm medicinal tea, the porcelain cup painted with green bamboo patterns. "Axuan's new recipe, it moisturizes the lungs without hurting the stomach."
Zhou Ziqian took it with both hands and smelled a hint of sweet honey in the hot air.
He took a sip carefully, his eyes suddenly brightening: "Not bitter?"
"Brother Aze added pear juice when he boiled the medicine." Lin Yuxuan squatted beside him without knowing when, and suddenly reached out to pinch his wrist, "Don't move, take your pulse again."
Zhou Ziqian stood there frozen, letting him do what he wanted. Then he saw the other party pull out an oil-paper bag from his sleeve and said, "Your pulse is much more stable now. I'll give you a piece of Poria cocos cake as a reward."
The coaxing tone made Zhou Ziqian's ears hot, but he still took the cake obediently.
The sweet and soft taste melted on his tongue, and he suddenly remembered the time when he was a child and was punished by the nanny for stealing snacks from the imperial kitchen. His throat tightened inexplicably.
"Handsome brother!" Yaoyao flew into his arms like a butterfly, holding a wild flower in her little hand, "I'll give it to you!"
Zhou Ziqian lowered his head in a panic, allowing the little girl to pin the flower branch in his hair.
The pink and white petals hang down on the temples, carrying the fragrance of the mountains.
"It's really beautiful." Mu Feng came over holding Ning Ning and smiled as he straightened the crooked branches for him. "Yaoyao has a good taste."
Zhou Ziqian was so embarrassed that his neck turned red, but he was reluctant to take off the flower.
Yaoyao twisted and turned in his arms, and suddenly reached out to touch the jade pendant on his waist: "Sparkling!"
"Yaoyao, stop making trouble." Su Yue called out from afar, but Zhou Ziqian had already taken off the jade pendant and stuffed it into the little girl's hand, "This is for you."
"This is too expensive..." Mu Feng hurriedly tried to stop him.
"I have a lot." Zhou Ziqian said softly, watching Yaoyao run away cheering, his eyes filled with tenderness that he himself hadn't noticed. "As long as she likes it, that's fine."
Suddenly, a muffled "bang" sound was heard from the corridor.
Hanhan stumbled over holding a wooden box, which contained his treasured treasures - a few smooth pebbles, a nine-linked ring with a missing corner, and a small wooden sword that Gu Qingyan had carved for him.
The boy stuffed the wooden sword into Zhou Ziqian's hand and ran away quickly.
"This brat!" Gu Qingyan laughed and picked up his son. "I can't even touch this sword on weekdays." He patted Zhou Ziqian's shoulder with his rough hand. "The Seventh Prince is so charming."
This intimate gesture left Zhou Ziqian stunned.
In the palace, even his father had never touched him so casually - as if he was just an ordinary boy, not a porcelain doll that needed to be treated with caution.
As the evening breeze grew cooler, Shangguan Haomu silently took out a thin cloak and put it on him.
Zhou Ziqian was surprised to find several secret pockets sewn into the lining of the cloak, containing throat lozenges, a soothing sachet and a small silver whistle.
"Brother Amu?"
"The whistle is used to call people." Shangguan Haomu said concisely, "If you have an asthma attack at night, blow it."
Zhou Ziqian clutched the silver whistle and suddenly remembered that when he was ten years old, he fell ill and the imperial physician on duty was late in arriving, and he almost suffocated to death.
After that night, eight imperial doctors always stood outside his bedroom.
"I...I'm much better now." His voice trembled. "My sister's prescription..."
"I know." Shangguan Haomu patted his shoulder, his tone was unusually gentle, "but just in case."
Dinner was served in the courtyard.
Shen Yunyan took out a copper pot from somewhere and was concentrating on adjusting the heat.
The bright red soup base is bubbling, surrounded by fresh ingredients.
"Brother Ayan, what is this?" Zhou Ziqian asked in surprise.
"He learned it when he was doing business in Shu." Liang Junze smiled and served the dishes, "Be careful, it's spicy..."
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Ziqian's face had already turned red from choking.
While everyone was busy passing water, Zhou Chufan secretly added another spoonful of chili oil to his bowl: "Brother, eat more, spicy food will make you sweat and be good for your lungs!"
"Zhou Chufan!" Six voices shouted at the same time.
Zhou Ziqian wiped his tears and smiled.
Such lively care whetted his appetite more than the exquisite medicinal food in the palace.
He followed everyone else's example, picked up a piece of mutton from the pot, and dipped it in the sauce under Gu Qingyan's hands-on guidance.
"Is it delicious?" Su Yue asked.
Zhou Ziqian's mouth was full and he could only nod vigorously.
Oil splashed onto his brocade robe, but he didn't even bother to wipe it off - if this had happened in the palace, the nanny would have complained that it was "improper".
After dinner, Lin Yuxuan took him to identify herbs under the moonlight.
Zhou Ziqian clumsily tied the medicine bundle and listened to the other party explain the properties of each medicinal herb.
"This is Bletilla striata, it can relieve coughs." Lin Yuxuan suddenly put a herb behind his ear, "It suits you better than that wild flower."
Zhou Ziqian touched the herbs by his ear and suddenly remembered something: "Brother Xuan, can I...can I learn medicine from you?"
Lin Yuxuan raised his eyebrows: "Why would the prince learn this?"
"What if..." Zhou Ziqian lowered his head and stared at his fingertips, "What if I get sick again one day..."
A pair of hands suddenly pressed on his shoulders.
Shen Yunyan stood behind them without them noticing. "No," the taciturn mechanical engineer said, "Yuer's recipe is very effective."
As the night deepened, Zhou Ziqian was assigned to the east wing.
When he opened the door, he found a set of pajamas neatly placed on the bed - not the complicated silk pajamas in the palace, but the same cotton and linen material as everyone else in the Su Mansion, with small soothing herbal patterns embroidered on the cuffs.
"This is..."
"Mu Feng made it quickly." Shangguan Haochen leaned against the door, his pregnant belly showing a round curve under the loose robe. "He said that the nightgowns in the palace are too heavy and difficult to breathe."
Zhou Ziqian stroked the soft fabric and suddenly found a cloth tiger beside the pillow - the stitches were a little crooked, obviously sewn by a novice.
"Yaoyao insisted on giving it to you." Shangguan Haochen said with a smile, "She said it can scare away the disease."
After turning off the lights, Zhou Ziqian lay on the unfamiliar bed holding the cloth tiger.
Faint laughter could be heard outside the window. It was Gu Qingyan complaining that the water was too cold. Liang Junze gently advised him to go to bed early.
In the distance, there was a whisper of Lin Yuxuan teaching Shen Yunyan how to identify stars.
These sounds, which couldn't be more ordinary, made his eyes warm.
During the twenty years in the palace, his bedroom was always as silent as a tomb, and the occasional footsteps were the imperial physician's trembling pace.
The moonlight shines through the window screen, casting mottled shadows on the ground.
Zhou Ziqian took out the silver whistle from under his pillow and rubbed it gently. Suddenly, he remembered what Su Yue said during dinner: "Ziqian, come often in the future."
This was no politeness, he could feel it.
Just like the cloth tiger Yaoyao stuffed into his hand, just like the small wooden sword Hanhan reluctantly gave up, just like everyone's natural "Ah Qian" - they were all accepted sincerely.
There was a rustling sound outside the window.
Zhou Ziqian quietly opened the window and saw Mu Feng holding the sleeping Ning Ning and humming a nursery rhyme under the corridor, Liang Junze was checking the doors and windows of each room, and Gu Qingyan was squatting in the corner of the yard sharpening his knife... Everyone was guarding this hard-earned warmth in this quiet night.
Zhou Ziqian hugged the cloth tiger tighter.
He recalled what the imperial physician had said: "Your Highness's pulse is gradually strengthening. With time, he may be able to recover like an ordinary person."
Maybe one day, he will be able to call them "Brother Aze" and "Brother Ayan" without hesitation like Zhou Chufan; maybe one day, he will also become the "handsome brother" in the eyes of some children; maybe one day, he will also be able to guard his own world on such a warm night.
The moonlight gently enveloped the villa. On the first peaceful night in twenty years, Zhou Ziqian had a dream without the scent of medicine.