Chapter 88
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Riding his horse, the rushing wind cooled the heat on Yiyan’s face. His expression darkened. Just what had he been thinking?
Hadn’t he resolved never to think such blasphemous thoughts again? How could he let another’s vulgar words provoke him so? Regret welled in his heart. He wanted to pull the reins at once and return to the barracks, but the guards at the gate had already seen him and moved aside to let him through.
With the gates already opened, it was too late for Yiyan to turn around and leave, so he girded his loins and entered. He tied his beloved steed to the trough, thoroughly patted away the dust on his clothes, washed the muck from his hands, steadied his nerve, and walked towards the main courtyard.
Inside, Liang Feng was undergoing moxibustion. The weather had yet to warm; no matter how many braziers were lit, there was still the risk of catching cold, so only his legs were undergoing the procedure.
His bare, slender feet resting on a brocade pillow, Liang Feng let Jiang Da do his thing. Jiang Da was using indirect moxibustion and the sparrowbeak technique again, moving the moxa stick between the acupuncture points of the feet. It was warm, but not burning. This kind of moxibustion wouldn’t leave any marks on the skin aside from a faint redness that would fade the next day.
But even moxibustion as gentle as this had side effects: it was itchy! Liang Feng had a high pain tolerance, but the prickling itch in the middle of his foot was nearly too much for him. He often couldn’t resist the urge to shy away from the moxa stick. Jiang Da felt quite helpless, for he hadn’t expected that there would arise issues with even this simple moxibustion. He had no choice but to grab his foot and avoid letting the burning mugwort touch his skin.
After a while, both of them were sweating. Realizing that there was no avoiding it, Liang Feng coughed dryly and say to Lüzhu, “Go bring some desserts from the kitchen.”
Now was most certainly not the time to have dessert, but Lüzhu smiled and got up anyway, heading out the door. Her master was afraid of losing face, and had intentionally sent her away; how could Lüzhu not oblige?
After Lüzhu left the room, Liang Feng squirmed against the rest before clearing his throat, “So, Ji’en, I’ve felt a bit off recently.”
The moxa stick in Jiang Da’s hand froze instantly; he asked anxiously, “Are you uncomfortable anywhere, my lord? Is it perhaps something wrong with the new prescription?”
Liang Feng had been taking the supplemental medicines the imperial physicians had left for him. It’d be bad if they had unexpected interactions.
Liang Feng rubbed his nose, “That’s not it. It’s just… I’m ah… lacking in yang qi, deficient in the kidneys…”
He’d been bottling this up for too long already. This body had been frail and infirm ever since he’d come to this era. He hadn’t had morning wood even once, let alone any other commotion; Liang Feng could not be any more embarrassed. His abstaining from the addictive drug should have brought on some improvement at least, but even after eating venison several times, nothing had changed. Of course he would ask, now that the wellness doctor finally had the time.
Jiang Da let out a breath, “Lingering ailments from severe illness, this is completely normal.”
Seeing that he was lowering his head and about to continue, Liang Feng blurted awkwardly, “Isn’t there any way to treat it?”
“No wonder you’ve been eating so much venison and horse meat, my lord,” Jiang Da said, somewhat disapprovingly. “Strong supplements should be used cautiously. Cold-food powder commonly causes weakness, lack of energy, and kidney damage. There’s nothing to do for it but let it heal slowly on its own.”
“Dea la’r yffc rb ibcu rlcmf P’nf rabqqfv erlcu mbiv-obbv qbkvfg…” Oljcu Mfcu rjlv raeyybgcis.
“Frlcu mbiv-obbv qbkvfg ab ybbra ilylvb kjr ecklrf ab yfulc klat. C mtgbclm lrref ilxf atlr wera yf vfjia klat ja atf rbegmf.” Aljcu Gj rjlv, klatbea qjerlcu atf wbzlyeralbc agfjawfca.
Oljcu Mfcu, “…….”
He’d truly forgotten that cold-food powder also had the effect of increasing libido. Could it be that the original’s body had always been poor, so he’d used cold-food powder as Viagra? But on closer thought, judging by the fact that there wasn’t a single concubine in this enormous mansion and that his attending maid was a prepubescent girl, and considering the original’s status, if he wasn’t a degenerate, then he had erectile dysfunction!
For a moment, Liang Feng was utterly speechless. Was this retribution for being a philanderer in his last life?
Perhaps sensing Liang Feng’s despondency, Jiang Da amended, “There are ways, in the palace, of treating concerns like these. Have some patience, my lord. You’ll recover when the remaining poison in your body is completely eliminated. But before then, it’s best you practice continence.”
It had come to this already, did he even have a choice but to go celibate? Whatever else, Liang Feng was a good bedmate who placed significant importance on bedroom manners; he could hardly be so shameless as to let chicks go unsatisfied. It’d just be for one or two years, he’d just have to grin and bear it.
While he was lost in thought, the moxa stick neared his foot, and on knee-jerk reflex, his leg kicked out to move away.
The embers nearly poked his skin; Jiang Da startled, “My lord!!”
“Maybe next time, it’s better to do moxibustion on the back instead of the legs,” Liang Feng rubbed the back of his itching knee.
“No can do,” Jiang Da said bemusedly. In all the time he’d been treating him, he’d never seen his lord be so unreasonable before.
“I’ll just have Lüzhu light a few more braziers….”
The two were bargaining back and forth when Yiyan entered the bedroom. His eyes landed on his lord’s bare legs and disheveled clothes, and Jiang Da kneeling by the bed – he heard a ringing in his head, “My lord!”
“Hm? Yiyan, you’ve come at just the right time, help me hold him down!” Jiang Da hurriedly shouted. After having been holed up in the barracks for some days now, he had built up some camaraderie with Yiyan and knew that though he was gruff on the outside, his heart was good.
Yiyan finally noticed the moxa stick in his hand. Performing moxibustion? His lord had never needed anyone’s assistance when receiving medical treatment before; why would he need to be held down? But while his mind was thinking, his body had already unconsciously moved over.
Those legs were very slender, straight, and as shining white as jade. The sight of them curled up on the dark, plush cushions of the couch made his throat tighten. Yiyan swallowed dryly and said lightly, “Pardon me, my lord…”
Then, he kneeled and, according to Jiang Da’s instructions, pressed his hands on the back of Liang Feng’s knee and his ankle, pinning his calf on the couch. The skin beneath his hands was ridiculously silky, sveltely wrapped around the frame of his leg; the supple quality beneath the sharp boniness was like a tongue of fire licking at his palm, tempting him to hold on at all costs and threatening him to let go.
The moxa stick roamed about over soft skin, and swooped down like a sparrow to acupuncture points, causing the skin beneath to redden and sweat. Every time the moxa stick came near, the tendons on that thin calf would twitch and smooth, round toes would scrunch up slightly as if attempting to escape his grasp. When it moved away, it would relax again and lay pliantly under his hands, so docile it made one’s heart melt. Already, Yiyan could no longer hear, no longer see anything apart from those legs; all he could feel was his heart, pounding like drums, like thunder.
Now that he was being held down, Liang Feng couldn’t quite find it in him to keep struggling, so he gritted his teeth and tried to endure the itch. This wasn’t the kind of playful tickle that made one burst into laughter, but a malevolent, crawling torture that one would want, from the bottom of their hearts, to kick away. He hadn’t imagined that his ticklish spots were on his legs. Hardly even able to speak, he leaned lopsidedly against the rest, planning to rely on willpower to power through.
After the left leg was done, there was still the right leg. It was a whole fifteen minutes before his suffering finally ended. Jiang Da let out a long breath, “Alright, we’ll continue with this once every five days. Once it’s warm, we can switch to acupuncture.”
“Just do moxibustion on my back,” Liang Feng said weakly, his hand covering his face.
Yiyan slowly let go but didn’t immediately stand. He restlessly clamped his legs together, half leaned over, his face entirely flushed. Thank goodness that Jiang Da and Liang Feng were occupied discussing acupuncture and moxibustion, and paying no attention to him. He furtively moved his hand to his leg and pinched his thigh until it hurt.
He was before his lord! He absolutely could not lose decorum!
He repeated that phrase to himself countless times in his mind, and it was either the pinching or the mental mantra chanting that’d taken effect, because when Lüzhu entered and attentively wiped away Liang Feng’s sweat and helped him dress, the inappropriate reaction finally receded.
Yiyan shuffled back two steps and sat kneeling at the side.
Once Jiang Da finally left, Liang Feng sat up from the couch. Today was one of those days when nothing went according to desire, but there was no point thinking about things he couldn’t change. Besides, recovering from illness was his first priority. Afterward, what should come, would.
Thinking up to this point, Liang Feng couldn’t help sighing, “When there are flowers break the branch, wait not until there are no flowers on a bare branch.”
Not knowing the meaning of the poem, only seeing the lazy blush lingering on Liang Feng’s face, Yiyan guiltily averted his gaze.
Liang Feng turned to look at Yiyan who was kneeling by the side, lips pursed deathly tight, cheeks still reddened, and humphed, “Today, let’s play Go then.”
There wasn’t so much variation in the game Stratego. Now that Yiyan could play him to a stalemate, he couldn’t have fun pwning noobs anymore, and he’d made a joke of himself in front of him. Obviously, he wasn’t going to let him get away with that. He had to crush him for at least two rounds to soothe the grudge he was nursing.
Yiyan nodded stuffily, and without saying anything more, sat by the table.
Black and white pieces splayed out between the two of them, burying their turbulent thoughts beneath.
※
“How many days left until we reach the Liang Estate?” said the man whose face was weathered by wind and frost, and sat on a wooden stump aside the road. It was anyone’s guess how long it’d been since he washed his face. It was caked with dust and mud, but he didn’t care at all. He gulped down the ice-cold water in his water skin with a shiver.
“Once we cross Taihang Pass, we’ll get there in a day,” the servant from the Liang Estate reassured him as he handed him some dry rations.
“Can we even get through the pass now?” Seemingly skeptical, he asked again.
“Ziyue, if they could come thousands of leagues for us, there’s no way they’d bungle something like that,” said a different man, who was wearing coarse cloth. With a guard’s help, he meticulously inspected the bags on the two horses, and said, “Thank goodness we didn’t bring an ox cart, or else we mightn’t be able to go through Taihang Pass.”
“Don’t even bring that up! We had to leave half the books behind!” the man named Ziyue grumbled angrily.
“That you could steal away half was already due to uncle’s lenience,” the other said coldly.
“It’s called borrowing! Once I’ve finished arranging them, I’ll bring them back,” not believing that he’d done anything wrong at all, the man huffily bit into the bread in his hands, “Once I’ve printed these books, they can all go back to your uncle!”
There was just no getting through to him, Liu Jian sighed and sat down beside the road. It was a journey of a thousand leagues, but upon hearing that his grandfather’s books could be printed, this little bastard had slung them over his shoulder and harried right over. It’d been so long since he’d met with the shidi from his ancestral home; who knew what Bing Province was like now. If on the off chance they got caught by human traffickers, they’d never be going home again.
Could that Liang Estate really print the manuscripts his grandfather left behind? He and Ziyue only knew mathematics. What could they even do at the Liang Estate? Bookkeeping?
Surreptitiously eyeing the guards off to the side, Liu Jian shook his head. Whatever – if the Liang Estate could send a squad of five to escort them all the way from Qing Province, it meant they weren’t lacking in sincerity, at least. And he was a “fifth-order marquess,” if he happened to be one of those astrology-obsessed nobles, maybe they could muddle their way through.
Sigh, and he still didn’t know what Ziyue, that shidi of his, had even said to the other. Hopefully, they wouldn’t make laughingstocks of themselves.
Suppressing his worries, he too grabbed some dry rations and dug in.
The author has something to say:
*sympathetically pats small wolfdog* they’re so evil XD
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Riding his horse, the rushing wind cooled the heat on Yiyan’s face. His expression darkened. Just what had he been thinking?
Hadn’t he resolved never to think such blasphemous thoughts again? How could he let another’s vulgar words provoke him so? Regret welled in his heart. He wanted to pull the reins at once and return to the barracks, but the guards at the gate had already seen him and moved aside to let him through.
With the gates already opened, it was too late for Yiyan to turn around and leave, so he girded his loins and entered. He tied his beloved steed to the trough, thoroughly patted away the dust on his clothes, washed the muck from his hands, steadied his nerve, and walked towards the main courtyard.
Inside, Liang Feng was undergoing moxibustion. The weather had yet to warm; no matter how many braziers were lit, there was still the risk of catching cold, so only his legs were undergoing the procedure.
His bare, slender feet resting on a brocade pillow, Liang Feng let Jiang Da do his thing. Jiang Da was using indirect moxibustion and the sparrowbeak technique again, moving the moxa stick between the acupuncture points of the feet. It was warm, but not burning. This kind of moxibustion wouldn’t leave any marks on the skin aside from a faint redness that would fade the next day.
But even moxibustion as gentle as this had side effects: it was itchy! Liang Feng had a high pain tolerance, but the prickling itch in the middle of his foot was nearly too much for him. He often couldn’t resist the urge to shy away from the moxa stick. Jiang Da felt quite helpless, for he hadn’t expected that there would arise issues with even this simple moxibustion. He had no choice but to grab his foot and avoid letting the burning mugwort touch his skin.
After a while, both of them were sweating. Realizing that there was no avoiding it, Liang Feng coughed dryly and say to Lüzhu, “Go bring some desserts from the kitchen.”
Now was most certainly not the time to have dessert, but Lüzhu smiled and got up anyway, heading out the door. Her master was afraid of losing face, and had intentionally sent her away; how could Lüzhu not oblige?
After Lüzhu left the room, Liang Feng squirmed against the rest before clearing his throat, “So, Ji’en, I’ve felt a bit off recently.”
The moxa stick in Jiang Da’s hand froze instantly; he asked anxiously, “Are you uncomfortable anywhere, my lord? Is it perhaps something wrong with the new prescription?”
Liang Feng had been taking the supplemental medicines the imperial physicians had left for him. It’d be bad if they had unexpected interactions.
Liang Feng rubbed his nose, “That’s not it. It’s just… I’m ah… lacking in yang qi, deficient in the kidneys…”
He’d been bottling this up for too long already. This body had been frail and infirm ever since he’d come to this era. He hadn’t had morning wood even once, let alone any other commotion; Liang Feng could not be any more embarrassed. His abstaining from the addictive drug should have brought on some improvement at least, but even after eating venison several times, nothing had changed. Of course he would ask, now that the wellness doctor finally had the time.
Jiang Da let out a breath, “Lingering ailments from severe illness, this is completely normal.”
Seeing that he was lowering his head and about to continue, Liang Feng blurted awkwardly, “Isn’t there any way to treat it?”
“No wonder you’ve been eating so much venison and horse meat, my lord,” Jiang Da said, somewhat disapprovingly. “Strong supplements should be used cautiously. Cold-food powder commonly causes weakness, lack of energy, and kidney damage. There’s nothing to do for it but let it heal slowly on its own.”
“Dea la’r yffc rb ibcu rlcmf P’nf rabqqfv erlcu mbiv-obbv qbkvfg…” Oljcu Mfcu rjlv raeyybgcis.
“Frlcu mbiv-obbv qbkvfg ab ybbra ilylvb kjr ecklrf ab yfulc klat. C mtgbclm lrref ilxf atlr wera yf vfjia klat ja atf rbegmf.” Aljcu Gj rjlv, klatbea qjerlcu atf wbzlyeralbc agfjawfca.
Oljcu Mfcu, “…….”
He’d truly forgotten that cold-food powder also had the effect of increasing libido. Could it be that the original’s body had always been poor, so he’d used cold-food powder as Viagra? But on closer thought, judging by the fact that there wasn’t a single concubine in this enormous mansion and that his attending maid was a prepubescent girl, and considering the original’s status, if he wasn’t a degenerate, then he had erectile dysfunction!
For a moment, Liang Feng was utterly speechless. Was this retribution for being a philanderer in his last life?
Perhaps sensing Liang Feng’s despondency, Jiang Da amended, “There are ways, in the palace, of treating concerns like these. Have some patience, my lord. You’ll recover when the remaining poison in your body is completely eliminated. But before then, it’s best you practice continence.”
It had come to this already, did he even have a choice but to go celibate? Whatever else, Liang Feng was a good bedmate who placed significant importance on bedroom manners; he could hardly be so shameless as to let chicks go unsatisfied. It’d just be for one or two years, he’d just have to grin and bear it.
While he was lost in thought, the moxa stick neared his foot, and on knee-jerk reflex, his leg kicked out to move away.
The embers nearly poked his skin; Jiang Da startled, “My lord!!”
“Maybe next time, it’s better to do moxibustion on the back instead of the legs,” Liang Feng rubbed the back of his itching knee.
“No can do,” Jiang Da said bemusedly. In all the time he’d been treating him, he’d never seen his lord be so unreasonable before.
“I’ll just have Lüzhu light a few more braziers….”
The two were bargaining back and forth when Yiyan entered the bedroom. His eyes landed on his lord’s bare legs and disheveled clothes, and Jiang Da kneeling by the bed – he heard a ringing in his head, “My lord!”
“Hm? Yiyan, you’ve come at just the right time, help me hold him down!” Jiang Da hurriedly shouted. After having been holed up in the barracks for some days now, he had built up some camaraderie with Yiyan and knew that though he was gruff on the outside, his heart was good.
Yiyan finally noticed the moxa stick in his hand. Performing moxibustion? His lord had never needed anyone’s assistance when receiving medical treatment before; why would he need to be held down? But while his mind was thinking, his body had already unconsciously moved over.
Those legs were very slender, straight, and as shining white as jade. The sight of them curled up on the dark, plush cushions of the couch made his throat tighten. Yiyan swallowed dryly and said lightly, “Pardon me, my lord…”
Then, he kneeled and, according to Jiang Da’s instructions, pressed his hands on the back of Liang Feng’s knee and his ankle, pinning his calf on the couch. The skin beneath his hands was ridiculously silky, sveltely wrapped around the frame of his leg; the supple quality beneath the sharp boniness was like a tongue of fire licking at his palm, tempting him to hold on at all costs and threatening him to let go.
The moxa stick roamed about over soft skin, and swooped down like a sparrow to acupuncture points, causing the skin beneath to redden and sweat. Every time the moxa stick came near, the tendons on that thin calf would twitch and smooth, round toes would scrunch up slightly as if attempting to escape his grasp. When it moved away, it would relax again and lay pliantly under his hands, so docile it made one’s heart melt. Already, Yiyan could no longer hear, no longer see anything apart from those legs; all he could feel was his heart, pounding like drums, like thunder.
Now that he was being held down, Liang Feng couldn’t quite find it in him to keep struggling, so he gritted his teeth and tried to endure the itch. This wasn’t the kind of playful tickle that made one burst into laughter, but a malevolent, crawling torture that one would want, from the bottom of their hearts, to kick away. He hadn’t imagined that his ticklish spots were on his legs. Hardly even able to speak, he leaned lopsidedly against the rest, planning to rely on willpower to power through.
After the left leg was done, there was still the right leg. It was a whole fifteen minutes before his suffering finally ended. Jiang Da let out a long breath, “Alright, we’ll continue with this once every five days. Once it’s warm, we can switch to acupuncture.”
“Just do moxibustion on my back,” Liang Feng said weakly, his hand covering his face.
Yiyan slowly let go but didn’t immediately stand. He restlessly clamped his legs together, half leaned over, his face entirely flushed. Thank goodness that Jiang Da and Liang Feng were occupied discussing acupuncture and moxibustion, and paying no attention to him. He furtively moved his hand to his leg and pinched his thigh until it hurt.
He was before his lord! He absolutely could not lose decorum!
He repeated that phrase to himself countless times in his mind, and it was either the pinching or the mental mantra chanting that’d taken effect, because when Lüzhu entered and attentively wiped away Liang Feng’s sweat and helped him dress, the inappropriate reaction finally receded.
Yiyan shuffled back two steps and sat kneeling at the side.
Once Jiang Da finally left, Liang Feng sat up from the couch. Today was one of those days when nothing went according to desire, but there was no point thinking about things he couldn’t change. Besides, recovering from illness was his first priority. Afterward, what should come, would.
Thinking up to this point, Liang Feng couldn’t help sighing, “When there are flowers break the branch, wait not until there are no flowers on a bare branch.”
Not knowing the meaning of the poem, only seeing the lazy blush lingering on Liang Feng’s face, Yiyan guiltily averted his gaze.
Liang Feng turned to look at Yiyan who was kneeling by the side, lips pursed deathly tight, cheeks still reddened, and humphed, “Today, let’s play Go then.”
There wasn’t so much variation in the game Stratego. Now that Yiyan could play him to a stalemate, he couldn’t have fun pwning noobs anymore, and he’d made a joke of himself in front of him. Obviously, he wasn’t going to let him get away with that. He had to crush him for at least two rounds to soothe the grudge he was nursing.
Yiyan nodded stuffily, and without saying anything more, sat by the table.
Black and white pieces splayed out between the two of them, burying their turbulent thoughts beneath.
※
“How many days left until we reach the Liang Estate?” said the man whose face was weathered by wind and frost, and sat on a wooden stump aside the road. It was anyone’s guess how long it’d been since he washed his face. It was caked with dust and mud, but he didn’t care at all. He gulped down the ice-cold water in his water skin with a shiver.
“Once we cross Taihang Pass, we’ll get there in a day,” the servant from the Liang Estate reassured him as he handed him some dry rations.
“Can we even get through the pass now?” Seemingly skeptical, he asked again.
“Ziyue, if they could come thousands of leagues for us, there’s no way they’d bungle something like that,” said a different man, who was wearing coarse cloth. With a guard’s help, he meticulously inspected the bags on the two horses, and said, “Thank goodness we didn’t bring an ox cart, or else we mightn’t be able to go through Taihang Pass.”
“Don’t even bring that up! We had to leave half the books behind!” the man named Ziyue grumbled angrily.
“That you could steal away half was already due to uncle’s lenience,” the other said coldly.
“It’s called borrowing! Once I’ve finished arranging them, I’ll bring them back,” not believing that he’d done anything wrong at all, the man huffily bit into the bread in his hands, “Once I’ve printed these books, they can all go back to your uncle!”
There was just no getting through to him, Liu Jian sighed and sat down beside the road. It was a journey of a thousand leagues, but upon hearing that his grandfather’s books could be printed, this little bastard had slung them over his shoulder and harried right over. It’d been so long since he’d met with the shidi from his ancestral home; who knew what Bing Province was like now. If on the off chance they got caught by human traffickers, they’d never be going home again.
Could that Liang Estate really print the manuscripts his grandfather left behind? He and Ziyue only knew mathematics. What could they even do at the Liang Estate? Bookkeeping?
Surreptitiously eyeing the guards off to the side, Liu Jian shook his head. Whatever – if the Liang Estate could send a squad of five to escort them all the way from Qing Province, it meant they weren’t lacking in sincerity, at least. And he was a “fifth-order marquess,” if he happened to be one of those astrology-obsessed nobles, maybe they could muddle their way through.
Sigh, and he still didn’t know what Ziyue, that shidi of his, had even said to the other. Hopefully, they wouldn’t make laughingstocks of themselves.
Suppressing his worries, he too grabbed some dry rations and dug in.
The author has something to say:
*sympathetically pats small wolfdog* they’re so evil XD
Riding his horse, the rushing wind cooled the heat on Yiyan's face. His expression darkened. Just what had he been thinking?Hadn't he resolved never to think such blasphemous thoughts again? How could he let another's vulgar words provoke him so? Regret welled in his heart. He wanted to pull the reins at once and return to the barracks, but the guards at the gate had already seen him and moved aside to let him through.With the gates already opened, it was too late for Yiyan to turn around and leave, so he girded his loins and entered. He tied his beloved steed to the trough, thoroughly patted away the dust on his clothes, washed the muck from his hands, steadied his nerve, and walked towards the main courtyard.Inside, Liang Feng was undergoingmoxibustion. The weather had yet to warm; no matter how many braziers were lit, there was still the risk of catching cold, so only his legs were undergoing the procedure.His bare, slender feet resting on a brocade pillow, Liang Feng let Jiang Da do his thing. Jiang Da was using indirect moxibustion and thesparrowbeak techniqueagain, moving themoxa stickbetween the acupuncture points of the feet. It was warm, but not burning. This kind of moxibustion wouldn't leave any marks on the skin aside from a faint redness that would fade the next day.But even moxibustion as gentle as this had side effects: it was itchy! Liang Feng had a high pain tolerance, but the prickling itch in the middle of his foot was nearly too much for him. He often couldn't resist the urge to shy away from the moxa stick. Jiang Da felt quite helpless, for he hadn't expected that there would arise issues with even this simple moxibustion. He had no choice but to grab his foot and avoid letting the burning mugwort touch his skin.After a while, both of them were sweating. Realizing that there was no avoiding it, Liang Feng coughed dryly and say to Lzhu, Go bring some desserts from the kitchen.Now was most certainly not the time to have dessert, but Lzhu smiled and got up anyway, heading out the door. Her master was afraid of losing face, and had intentionally sent her away; how could Lzhu not oblige?After Lzhu left the room, Liang Feng squirmed against the rest before clearing his throat, So, Ji'en, I've felt a bit off recently.The moxa stick in Jiang Da's hand froze instantly; he asked anxiously, Are you uncomfortable anywhere, my lord? Is it perhaps something wrong with the new prescription?Liang Feng had been taking the supplemental medicines the imperial physicians had left for him. It'd be bad if they had unexpected interactions.Liang Feng rubbed his nose, That's not it. It's just I'm ah lacking in yang qi, deficient in thekidneysHe'd been bottling this up for too long already. This body had been frail and infirm ever since he'd come to this era. He hadn't had morning wood even once, let alone any other commotion; Liang Feng could not be any more embarrassed. His abstaining from the addictive drug should have brought on some improvement at least, but even after eatingvenisonseveral times, nothing had changed. Of course he would ask, now that the wellness doctor finally had the time.Jiang Da let out a breath, Lingering ailments from severe illness, this is completely normal.Seeing that he was lowering his head and about to continue, Liang Feng blurted awkwardly, Isn't there any way to treat it?No wonder you've been eating so much venison and horse meat, my lord, Jiang Da said, somewhat disapprovingly. Strong supplements should be used cautiously. Cold-food powder commonly causes weakness, lack of energy, and kidney damage. There's nothing to do for it but let it heal slowly on its own.Dea la'r yffc rb ibcu rlcmf P'nf rabqqfv erlcu mbiv-obbv qbkvfg Oljcu Mfcu rjlv raeyybgcis.Frlcu mbiv-obbv qbkvfg ab ybbra ilylvb kjr ecklrf ab yfulc klat. C mtgbclm lrref ilxf atlr wera yf vfjia klat ja atf rbegmf. Aljcu Gj rjlv, klatbea qjerlcu atf wbzlyeralbc agfjawfca.Oljcu Mfcu, .He'd truly forgotten that cold-food powder also had the effect of increasing libido. Could it be that the original's body had always been poor, so he'd used cold-food powder as Viagra? But on closer thought, judging by the fact that there wasn't a single concubine in this enormous mansion and that his attending maid was a prepubescent girl, and considering the original's status, if he wasn't a degenerate, then he had erectile dysfunction!For a moment, Liang Feng was utterly speechless. Was this retribution for being a philanderer in his last life?Perhaps sensing Liang Feng's despondency, Jiang Da amended, There are ways, in the palace, of treating concerns like these. Have some patience, my lord. You'll recover when the remaining poison in your body is completely eliminated. But before then, it's best you practice continence.It had come to this already, did he even have a choice but to go celibate? Whatever else, Liang Feng was a good bedmate who placed significant importance on bedroom manners; he could hardly be so shameless as to let chicks go unsatisfied. It'd just be for one or two years, he'd just have to grin and bear it.While he was lost in thought, the moxa stick neared his foot, and on knee-jerk reflex, his leg kicked out to move away.The embers nearly poked his skin; Jiang Da startled, My lord!!Maybe next time, it's better to do moxibustion on the back instead of the legs, Liang Feng rubbed the back of his itching knee.No can do, Jiang Da said bemusedly. In all the time he'd been treating him, he'd never seen his lord be so unreasonable before.I'll just have Lzhu light a few more braziers.The two were bargaining back and forth when Yiyan entered the bedroom. His eyes landed on his lord's bare legs and disheveled clothes, and Jiang Da kneeling by the bed he heard a ringing in his head, My lord!Hm? Yiyan, you've come at just the right time, help me hold him down! Jiang Da hurriedly shouted. After having been holed up in the barracks for some days now, he had built up some camaraderie with Yiyan and knew that though he was gruff on the outside, his heart was good.Yiyan finally noticed the moxa stick in his hand. Performing moxibustion? His lord had never needed anyone's assistance when receiving medical treatment before; why would he need to be held down? But while his mind was thinking, his body had already unconsciously moved over.Those legs were very slender, straight, and as shining white as jade. The sight of them curled up on the dark, plush cushions of the couch made his throat tighten. Yiyan swallowed dryly and said lightly, Pardon me, my lordThen, he kneeled and, according to Jiang Da's instructions, pressed his hands on the back of Liang Feng's knee and his ankle, pinning his calf on the couch. The skin beneath his hands was ridiculously silky, sveltely wrapped around the frame of his leg; the supple quality beneath the sharp boniness was like a tongue of fire licking at his palm, tempting him to hold on at all costs and threatening him to let go.The moxa stick roamed about over soft skin, and swooped down like a sparrow to acupuncture points, causing the skin beneath to redden and sweat. Every time the moxa stick came near, the tendons on that thin calf would twitch and smooth, round toes would scrunch up slightly as if attempting to escape his grasp. When it moved away, it would relax again and lay pliantly under his hands, so docile it made one's heart melt. Already, Yiyan could no longer hear, no longer see anything apart from those legs; all he could feel was his heart, pounding like drums, like thunder.Now that he was being held down, Liang Feng couldn't quite find it in him to keep struggling, so he gritted his teeth and tried to endure the itch. This wasn't the kind of playful tickle that made one burst into laughter, but a malevolent, crawling torture that one would want, from the bottom of their hearts, to kick away. He hadn't imagined that his ticklish spots were on his legs. Hardly even able to speak, he leaned lopsidedly against the rest, planning to rely on willpower to power through.After the left leg was done, there was still the right leg. It was a whole fifteen minutes before his suffering finally ended. Jiang Da let out a long breath, Alright, we'll continue with this once every five days. Once it's warm, we can switch to acupuncture.Just do moxibustion on my back, Liang Feng said weakly, his hand covering his face.Yiyan slowly let go but didn't immediately stand. He restlessly clamped his legs together, half leaned over, his face entirely flushed. Thank goodness that Jiang Da and Liang Feng were occupied discussing acupuncture and moxibustion, and paying no attention to him. He furtively moved his hand to his leg and pinched his thigh until it hurt.He was before his lord! He absolutely could not lose decorum!He repeated that phrase to himself countless times in his mind, and it was either the pinching or the mental mantra chanting that'd taken effect, because when Lzhu entered and attentively wiped away Liang Feng's sweat and helped him dress, the inappropriate reaction finally receded.Yiyan shuffled back two steps and sat kneeling at the side.Once Jiang Da finally left, Liang Feng sat up from the couch. Today was one of those days when nothing went according to desire, but there was no point thinking about things he couldn't change. Besides, recovering from illness was his first priority. Afterward, what should come, would.Thinking up to this point, Liang Feng couldn't help sighing, When there are flowers break the branch, wait not until there are no flowers on a bare branch.Not knowing the meaning of the poem, only seeing the lazy blush lingering on Liang Feng's face, Yiyan guiltily averted his gaze.Liang Feng turned to look at Yiyan who was kneeling by the side, lips pursed deathly tight, cheeks still reddened, and humphed, Today, let's play Go then.There wasn't so much variation in the game Stratego. Now that Yiyan could play him to a stalemate, he couldn't have fun pwning noobs anymore, and he'd made a joke of himself in front of him. Obviously, he wasn't going to let him get away with that. He had to crush him for at least two rounds to soothe the grudge he was nursing.Yiyan nodded stuffily, and without saying anything more, sat by the table.Black and white pieces splayed out between the two of them, burying their turbulent thoughts beneath.How many days left until we reach the Liang Estate? said the man whose face was weathered by wind and frost, and sat on a wooden stump aside the road. It was anyone's guess how long it'd been since he washed his face. It was caked with dust and mud, but he didn't care at all. He gulped down the ice-cold water in his water skin with a shiver.Once we cross Taihang Pass, we'll get there in a day, the servant from the Liang Estate reassured him as he handed him some dry rations.Can we even get through the pass now? Seemingly skeptical, he asked again.Ziyue, if they could come thousands of leagues for us, there's no way they'd bungle something like that, said a different man, who was wearing coarse cloth. With a guard's help, he meticulously inspected the bags on the two horses, and said, Thank goodness we didn't bring an ox cart, or else we mightn't be able to go through Taihang Pass.Don't even bring that up! We had to leave half the books behind! the man named Ziyue grumbled angrily.That you could steal away half was already due to uncle's lenience, the other said coldly.It's called borrowing! Once I've finished arranging them, I'll bring them back, not believing that he'd done anything wrong at all, the man huffily bit into the bread in his hands, Once I've printed these books, they can all go back to your uncle!There was just no getting through to him, Liu Jian sighed and sat down beside the road. It was a journey of a thousand leagues, but upon hearing that his grandfather's books could be printed, this little bastard had slung them over his shoulder and harried right over. It'd been so long since he'd met with theshidifrom his ancestral home; who knew what Bing Province was like now. If on the off chance they got caught by human traffickers, they'd never be going home again.Could that Liang Estate really print the manuscripts his grandfather left behind? He and Ziyue only knew mathematics. What could they even do at the Liang Estate? Bookkeeping?Surreptitiously eyeing the guards off to the side, Liu Jian shook his head. Whatever if the Liang Estate could send a squad of five to escort them all the way from Qing Province, it meant they weren't lacking in sincerity, at least. And he was a fifth-order marquess, if he happened to be one of those astrology-obsessed nobles, maybe they could muddle their way through.Sigh, and he still didn't know what Ziyue, that shidi of his, had even said to the other. Hopefully, they wouldn't make laughingstocks of themselves.Suppressing his worries, he too grabbed some dry rations and dug in.The author has something to say:*sympathetically pats small wolfdog* they're so evil XD
