Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing's eyelashes trembled, she woke up, but was reluctant to open her eyes immediately.

A warm, soft towel was draped over his forehead, and he was covered by a heavy blanket, probably more than one. He thought groggily, "This time I've really... embarrassed myself terribly."

Even if you don't want to, you have to get up.

It's unclear how long he's been unconscious; hopefully, it's been a whole day and night. If that's the case, he'll likely solidify his reputation as a fragile, easily broken glass bottle in everyone's eyes.

It's completely dead.

Damn it! Couldn't they just turn back time? He's a person with a system! He's the host, after all!

Although it's a "host left behind in an empty nest"...

Sigh, what must be faced cannot be avoided. Zhou Wenqing secretly hoped that Li Yi would remember to bring candy this time. He could already taste the bitterness in his mouth, which was really killing him.

Zhou Wenqing frowned and slowly opened his eyes.

"The master is awake!"

"Oh, it's the master who's awake!"

It was two clear, childlike voices. Zhou Wenqing blinked, turned his head, and his vision slowly cleared.

Two little heads were crammed together on the edge of the tatami mat, staring at him expectantly with faces full of surprise.

When Ah Zhu saw that he was really awake, he was so happy that he almost climbed onto the bed: "Sir, sir, you're finally awake!"

Fusu was more composed. He turned slightly to the side, making room for him while maintaining proper etiquette, and said with a hint of joy in his voice, "It's good that you're awake, sir. You've been sleeping for an hour."

As he spoke, he turned to another part of the room, "Sir, please come and take a look."

Zhou Wenqing then noticed that the familiar old doctor was also in the room, sitting on the only stool. Li Yi was standing against the wall with his arms crossed. With the two little children in front of him, his small room was now so crowded that there was almost no room to move.

Upon hearing Fusu's words, Azhu obediently stepped back from the edge of the bed, but his eyes were still shining as he looked at Zhou Wenqing.

The old doctor then slowly got up and walked to the bedside, where Fusu had already sensibly stepped aside.

At that moment, a slight noise came from the doorway, and the door was gently pulled open. Li Si squeezed in sideways and nodded slightly to Li Yi, who was standing by the wall.

Li Yi understood and quietly withdrew. Immediately afterward, Ying Zheng followed him in. Both of them held their breath, their eyes fixed intently on the doctor's hands as he took the pulse.

Well! Zhou Wenqing smiled bitterly to himself. His little room was so cramped that you couldn't even fit a needle in it right now.

The doctor sat down by the bed, extended three fingers, and gently placed them on Zhou Wenqing's wrist.

The room fell silent. Fusu and Azhu watched anxiously, while Li Si and Ying Zheng, though composed, kept their eyes glued to the doctor's every move.

After a moment, the old doctor withdrew his hand and stroked his gray beard.

"How is it?" Ying Zheng asked.

The old doctor frowned and said slowly, "Master... you two don't need to worry too much. The young master has caught a cold, and his symptoms aren't serious, but..."

He paused slightly, "Young Master's constitution is inherently weak. After his illness last time, his vitality has not fully recovered. Although this time it was just a common cold, he will probably be more sensitive to cold than the average person in the future."

He looked up at Zhou Wenqing, his tone gentle yet earnest: "You must be extra careful from now on, and don't be tempted by the cold anymore. Wear more clothes in winter, and make sure the charcoal fire in the house burns brightly to keep it warm. As long as you keep warm carefully every day, there will be no problem."

Ying Zheng was clearly not satisfied with this diagnosis.

During the time he was keeping watch, he learned from Li Si that Zhou Wenqing's study had another silk book.

Although none of them looked at it, based on Li Si's frequent visits to Zhou Wenqing's study, he didn't often use such precious things as silk scrolls, so if he did, it must be some kind of ingenious design.

Such a talented person, yet he suffers from a fear of cold, coupled with his previous heart ailment... His gaze towards Zhou Wenqing was a mixture of admiration and pity, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Isn't there any way to properly treat it?" Ying Zheng asked in a deep voice.

"This..." The old doctor shook his head with difficulty.

"I can only prescribe some mild and nourishing remedies. Fortunately, you are still young. If you can take good care of yourself and rest for a long time, you may recover gradually in the future."

Zhou Wenqing was just sipping the warm water that Fusu had carefully brought to his lips. Hearing this, he didn't feel anything was wrong. He was just feeling cold and would just put on another layer of clothing.

Seeing the somber atmosphere in the room, he smiled, his voice still a little hoarse: "Brother Shengzhi, there's no need to worry too much. The old gentleman is exaggerating. Wenqing feels fine and should recover after a few days of rest."

"I think you should listen carefully to the doctor's advice."

Li Si tucked the blanket around him, half-scolding and half-helpless, and said irritably, "Brother Zicheng, if you're really worried about others, you should be more careful yourself. What brings you to go out into the courtyard in the middle of the night to drink tea in the cold wind?"

They wouldn't have known if they hadn't discovered the leftover tea leaves in the yard!

Zhou Wen felt guilty, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

Seeing this, Ying Zheng sighed softly, realizing that this was the only option for now.

He instructed the physician to carefully prescribe a medicine, but in his heart he had already begun to think: since the imperial physician in Xianyang Palace had no better solution, perhaps he could post notices to seek out famous doctors.

What if there's a master hidden in the mountains?

The doctor went to the outer room to write the prescription. At this moment, Li Yi came in carrying a bowl of thick, dark medicine. This was the medicine the doctor had instructed the young master to take to dispel the cold as soon as he woke up.

The medicine had an extremely strong smell, a bitter and pungent aroma that went straight into the nose.

Upon smelling it, Zhou Wenqing frowned deeply. Seeing Li Yi sit down by the bed with the medicine bowl in his hand, he secretly moved back a little.

Li Yi saw it, but pretended not to, and picked up the spoon on his own.

"Wait, wait!" Zhou Wenqing called out hastily.

"Young Master." Li Yi's hands didn't stop moving as he steadily scooped up a spoonful of dark brown medicine, gently blew on it to his lips, and said in a calm and even tone, "It's time to administer the medicine."

He was already quite adept at feeding Zhou Wenqing medicine.

My young master is afraid of hardship, yet he is obsessed with saving face.

When she was seriously injured and unable to move, she cooperated with the medication, but every time she finished drinking it, her whole face would wrinkle up like a wilted vegetable leaf. However, she still stubbornly did not show it, but just looked at him longingly. Only when he took out the honey fruit did she "reluctantly" accept it.

Later, when his injuries improved and he could speak and move again, he changed his approach. He would calmly find excuses such as "drink it when it's a little cooler" or "there are still important matters to attend to" to get him to put down the medicine bowl temporarily.

Li Yixin thought that the young master must know what was important, given his calm demeanor, and actually believed him a few times.

One day, when he was sent away and had nothing to do, he went to the backyard to wash the horses. As he was working, he suddenly heard a soft creak from the window.

He glanced over instinctively and saw his young master, even the back of his head radiating "caution," pushing open the window behind him, nervously watching the doorway as he picked up the bowl of medicine that was supposed to be "slightly cooled before drinking," and gave it a sharp flick of the wrist—

Splash!

As luck would have it, it splashed all over him!

From this point on, the young master's nature—aversion to bitterness yet stubbornness, avoidance of medicine whenever possible, and attempts to dispose of it if he couldn't avoid it—was fully exposed.

After that, Li Yi gained some experience in feeding medicine: either he would quickly pour it down the throat when the person was drowsy and confused, or he would just hand the medicine to the person's mouth, like he was doing now, without giving him a chance to make excuses to refuse—anyway, the young master couldn't bring himself to say that he was afraid of the bitterness and wouldn't drink it.

Recalling the past, Li Yi's movements as he fed the medicine became more steady.

Seeing that the spoonful of dark brown medicine was about to reach his lips, Zhou Wenqing became really anxious. He shrank back to the side of the bed and quickly glanced around the room.

"Ahem!" He cleared his throat, tried to put on a stern face, and first looked at the two little heads by the bed, "A-Zhu, and Qiao-Song, who gave you permission to stay in this room? What will happen if you get sick? Quick, get out of here."

Then, he turned his gaze to Ying Zheng and Li Si, who were standing a little further away, and put on a "wise and righteous" expression: "Brother Shengzhi, Brother Gu'an, the children will probably be coming to class today, but I don't know how many have arrived. It's not good for the courtyard to be left unattended... Why don't you two go out and help check and settle them in?"

First, get everyone else away, then Li Yi will be left... there's always a way to deal with things!

How could Li Yi not understand his thoughts? The spoonful of medicine in his hand remained steadily suspended in mid-air, without even a slight tremor, and his tone was calm and even: "Young master, the medicine must be taken while it is hot for the best effect."

Ying Zheng looked at him and a smile flashed across his eyes. He already knew from Li Yi's secret report that Zhou Wenqing was afraid of bitterness. Since the "garlic extract", Zhou Wenqing's daily life details had to be reported.

It was quite novel to see Zicheng, who was known for his surprising remarks, act so childishly and playfully.

"Brother Zicheng," Ying Zheng suddenly spoke, pointing to the wooden box on the low table, and deliberately said, "Don't be afraid, this medicine isn't bitter, and the honey fruit is also prepared. Just drink it without worry."

"Who, who's afraid of hardship?!"

Zhou Wenqing, as expected, couldn't stand the provocation. He snatched the medicine bowl, tilted his head back, and drank it down. His face immediately scrunched up, turning red from his forehead to his neck, but he still managed not to cough. He only glanced at Li Yi quickly.

I feel like throwing up!

Li Yi silently handed over the candied fruit, adding skillfully, "Young master, please try this candied fruit. I just bought it, and it tastes quite good."

Zhou Wenqing was finally satisfied. He took the honey fruit, quickly put it in his mouth, and eased the bitterness on his tongue. He then waved his hand with great pride.

"The taste is alright, but what's the point of giving me these kids' snacks? I'll share them with Ah-Zhu and Qiao-Song."

After saying that, he gestured with his chin toward the two children.

Ah Zhu and Fu Su's eyes lit up, and they said in clear voices, "Thank you, Mr. Xie!"

Ying Zheng and Li Si watched from the side, exchanged a glance, and both smiled knowingly.

……

This time, Zhou Wenqing actually rested for a whole day. Firstly, he was kept under close watch by Li Yi and the others and couldn't get out of bed; secondly, none of the children who usually came to listen to the lectures came today, except for Azhu.

Some villagers, upon hearing that he was ill, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt guilty.

It's really hard to swallow this relief.

So, the eggs from Ahua's house, the fresh radishes that Xiaoshitou's family had hidden at the bottom of the cellar and couldn't bear to eat, the rooster that crowed most energetically at Ergou's house, the few small fish that Shuisheng's family caught by the river... and the small jar of wild honey that Mao Mao's family had kept at the bottom of their trunk, were all quietly sent to Zhou Wenqing's doorstep by Aunt Liu.

The items weren't expensive, but they were the most presentable things that farmers could offer.

Zhou Wenqing, of course, could not accept it. Although he was a little annoyed, he could understand.

After all, at this time, even if farmers were educated, they might not have a good future. The lives of their children were more important!

"Take it slow," he said to himself, as if speaking to the silent land outside the window, "One day, these children... will all be able to study with dignity and have a path to follow."

For some reason, after Ah-Zhu learned that Fu-Su was also a "prospective disciple" of the master, the two children secretly started to compete with each other.

This is why the first thing Zhou Wen saw when he woke up was these two children.

It is my duty as your disciple to care for you when you are ill!