VBNWDW - Chapter 108

Chapter 108

The morning was cold and heavy with mist, the edge of the sky just beginning to show the pale white of dawn. Sounds of washing up soon echoed through Xuanmiao Temple, and after a short while, Daoists of all ages began to emerge from their rooms and walk toward the central hall.

Luo Yueqing did the same. However, due to her special status, she was arranged in the farthest corner of the hall, with the nearest person a full half-meter away.

If one didn't know the reason beforehand, they would surely guess that this person had committed some mistake to be so ostracized by the others.

Luo Yueqing paid it no mind. Instead, she held a book in both hands, overcome with sleepiness.

She had slept the entire previous day away due to being drunk, which led to a night of tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She had to get dressed and leave before she could even drift off. She thought she could hold on for a while, but not long after sitting down, the drowsiness she had been begging for all night surged over her.

Compounded by the sound of scripture chanting that filled the entire hall, the more she listened, the sleepier she became.

Luo Yueqing's head drooped down once more. Her eyelids nearly closed before she forced them open again. Her almond eyes were listless, let alone able to focus on the page.

A strand of hair, pinned up by a wooden hairpin, fell loose and swayed in the breeze, making her complexion appear even fairer.

Further inside, although the Grand Princess had not entered the Daoist order, she was welcomed to the very front, seated in the same row as the temple master.

Though it was her first time attending the morning session, Zhong Jueyu showed no signs of discomfort. Holding a Daoist scripture with a dark blue cover, she first read it through carefully before reciting it in a low voice like the others, without any hesitation, as if she had chanted it a thousand times before.

As for the obscure and unclear phrases within, she felt no urgency to ask. In a short while, a senior Daoist would rise to explain the scriptures.

A page turned. Her gaze unintentionally strayed, shifting to her right rear.

The Little Daoist was slumped over with her eyes closed, nearly falling onto the table several times, only managing to stop herself at the last moment. Her lips moved, though it was unclear what she was muttering.

Zhong Jueyu's lips curved, her eyes softening for an unintentional moment.

The temple master beside her noticed her pause and instinctively followed her gaze. His expression immediately turned stern, and just as he was about to speak up, a sound came from beside him.

"Ahem," Zhong Jueyu suddenly let out two fake coughs.

The temple master turned back to look at her.

Zhong Jueyu, as if forgetting her own lapse in attention, lifted her book and began to read again.

The temple master was a little puzzled and turned his head back again.

"Cough!"

The cough sounded immediately. The temple master glanced at Zhong Jueyu, and a flash of understanding crossed his murky eyes. He finally understood her intentions, so he retracted his gaze and pretended not to have seen anything.

The Little Daoist in the back had no idea she had just escaped a reprimand. Her head drooped completely, and she actually fell asleep just like that.

The turning pages rustled. The incense before them burned down, its sandalwood fragrance enveloping the entire space.

The person in the front once again peeked back out of the corner of her eye, a smile appearing at the edges of her eyes.

So much for the respected Master Qingyue. Even a newly arrived novice had more perseverance than her.

Zhong Jueyu retracted her gaze and shook her head with a smile.

After a while, the temple master beside her rose to explain the scriptures to the assembly. In truth, he rarely did so anymore, leaving the task to his disciples most of the time. This time, because the Grand Princess had just arrived, he made a special exception as a gesture of celebration.

And indeed, upon seeing him rise, the Daoists below all showed expressions of pleasant surprise, visibly straightening their backs and staring intently at the front.

But Luo Yueqing, still drowsy, kept her head down. Perhaps knowing someone was protecting her, she had grown bold enough to not even hold her book, having simply tossed it on the table.

The temple master's mouth twitched for a moment. The book in his hand creased, and then…

"Cough," another cough sounded.

Zhong Jueyu's eyes were lowered, her gaze still on the page, as if that cough had been entirely unintentional.

The temple master suppressed the twitching of his lips, turned halfway around to face away from that direction, and pretended not to see as he began his lecture in a loud voice.

In the blink of an eye, half the incense stick had burned away. The morning sun rose, evaporating the mist from the veins of the leaves, leaving only faint traces behind.

Bright light squeezed in through the door, falling in a beam on the corner of the Little Daoist's robes. She didn't move an inch, having sat there sleeping for the entire morning.

Finally, the sound of the lecture ceased, replaced by a jumble of conversation. The morning session at Xuanmiao Temple was over. Everyone began to pack up, preparing to go for breakfast.

Zhong Jueyu's status was special, so she naturally didn't need to do such trivial tasks. As soon as the session ended, she left with the temple master for the dining hall. She sat at the table and was already halfway through her breakfast, yet she still hadn't seen that sleepy Master Qingyue.

She frowned slightly. After finishing her meal, she found the young Daoist who had been sitting near Luo Yueqing in the hall.

The person said, "She seemed very tired. She went back right after the morning session ended."

So, Zhong Jueyu made a special trip to the kitchen to find a lunchbox, packed some breakfast into it, and conveniently placed it at Luo Yueqing's door.

Then, the entire morning passed without a single sound coming from the adjacent courtyard.

The midday sun was scorching. It passed through the paper-paned window lattice and fell upon the desk covered with Xuan paper. The ink on the paper was not yet dry, and the final stroke was laid down only after a long pause, lacking its previous decisiveness.

Zhong Jueyu put down her brush and stared silently at the window lattice.

Luo Yueqing was oblivious to the other's turmoil. Her outer robe was casually tossed aside as she curled up in her bedding, her pale face flushed with an unnatural crimson.

The original owner of this body had been in poor health ever since falling into water as a child. With her routine disrupted and having been exposed to the cold of the night and morning, she had fallen into a deep sleep upon returning to her room.

Perhaps feeling extremely unwell, Luo Yueqing's brows were tightly furrowed, fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her breathing grew heavy.

A moment later, a knock finally sounded on the courtyard gate. The person outside waited for a moment, and seeing no response from within, pushed the door open and entered.

The person on the bed was not awakened, merely tugging at the quilt, trying to kick it off.

Then someone stopped her, pulling the quilt back over her.

Luo Yueqing seemed to sense something and tried hard to lift her eyelids, but it was a futile struggle. In a state between sleep and wakefulness, she felt someone press the back of a hand to her forehead.

Luo Yueqing was suffering from the fever, her whole body covered in sweat. A body temperature that normally felt warm now felt cool and refreshing. She subconsciously nuzzled against the person's palm, letting out a muffled sound of contentment.

The person by the bed seemed to pause for a moment, not immediately pulling their hand away, their eyes watching her with a deep gaze.

"Master Qingyue?"

Luo Yueqing wanted to answer but was trapped in an unbearable stupor. She could only sense that the person seemed to leave for a while, then returned with several others. Among them, an old man placed his hand on her wrist, followed by the sound of hushed conversation.

She drifted in and out of consciousness like this. The damp cloth on her forehead was changed again and again, and her temperature finally began to subside.

"Water…" She woke again because of her parched throat.

The hoarse, weak voice sounded once more.

The person sitting beside her hurriedly stood up, walked to the bed with a cup of water, and called out gently, "Master Qingyue."

Luo Yueqing finally opened her eyes. Her moist, dark eyes had lost their usual spirit. She dazedly called out again, "Water."

Zhong Jueyu slipped one arm under the back of her neck, holding her in an embrace, and brought the cup to her lips.

Luo Yueqing was weak and let herself be moved, only managing to open her mouth when she felt the water.

At first, she needed Zhong Jueyu's help, sipping in small mouthfuls. Later, growing impatient, she grabbed the hand holding the cup and began to gulp it down.

"Slower, no one is going to take it from you…" Zhong Jueyu had to advise her.

But the person wouldn't listen, not until water trickled from the corner of her mouth and dampened her thin clothes.

The water in the cup was quickly finished. Luo Yueqing released her hand and choked, coughing twice.

Zhong Jueyu still held her, asking in a low voice, "Do you want more?"

Luo Yueqing, half-lying in her arms, shook her head. Her messy hair brushed against the other's neck, and her overly red lips, glistening with water, parted slightly as she breathed.

Zhong Jueyu turned her head, her gaze falling to the floor as she waited for her to fully recover.

"What happened to me?" Her voice, moistened by the water, was no longer hoarse, but it was still as faint as a kitten's mew.

She answered her own question, "Did I catch a cold?"

Zhong Jueyu nodded and replied, "The doctor has already been here. He prescribed you a few doses of medicine."

Before she was even fully awake, her face scrunched up into a pitiful expression. "I don't want to drink it," she whined.

Zhong Jueyu only said, "It's already been brewed."

She gave Luo Yueqing no chance to refuse.

The person in her arms immediately whimpered twice, complaining, "I hate being sick."

"Then be more careful. Put on more clothes when it's cold," Zhong Jueyu said, a little exasperated. She was the one who had taken off her clothes last night, yet it was Luo Yueqing who got sick. She had clearly put on an outer robe and hadn't stayed outside for long, but she still managed to catch a chill.

The person in her arms didn't respond, nestling in her embrace for a while longer before finally forcing out a sentence, "I don't want to drink the medicine."

It turned out she had been giving herself a pep talk all this time, only to fail spectacularly.

Zhong Jueyu had spent a long time in the army, surrounded by decisive and resolute people. Forget drinking medicine; they wouldn't even blink if a sword came down on them.

She lowered her eyes, looking at the pale, sickly kitten, and in the end, couldn't bring herself to apply the military camp's methods. She only said softly, "Be good."

Luo Yueqing, sulking, buried her head in Zhong Jueyu's chest, her arms naturally wrapping around the other's waist before letting out a heavy sigh.

It was as if being sick was nothing compared to having to drink medicine.

Zhong Jueyu stiffened at first, then slowly relaxed, allowing the other to lean more comfortably against her.

But then, that person unexpectedly blurted out, "Why aren't you binding your chest today?"

Zhong Jueyu: "…"

"Binding your chest is bad for your body. If it's not necessary, you should do it less," the person in her arms added in a muffled voice, seemingly unaware of how risqué her words were.

The Grand Princess paused, a conflicted emotion in her phoenix eyes. Finally, remembering that Luo Yueqing was still sick, she raised a hand and patted her lightly, only saying, "It's inconvenient when riding a horse."

She had rushed back from Yuzhou in a hurry, but she hadn't even been able to enter the palace gates before coming to Xuanmiao Temple. She had spent the entire day exchanging pleasantries with the temple master. Where would she have found the time to undo it?

Luo Yueqing nodded, then said sullenly, "Have I troubled you again?"

It was hard to tell who the real villain was. She was supposed to be the one winning the other over, yet she was the one being cared for so attentively. Luo Yueqing thought about it carefully and felt she had more potential to be the villain—for instance, her noble family background, her frail body, and how she had managed to trick a princess into taking care of her after knowing her for only a day.

Zhong Jueyu chuckled, unable to stifle her amusement. "You wouldn't have caught a cold if I hadn't asked you to come over," she comforted.

Luo Yueqing shook her head. "I would have had to go out to find medicine anyway."

"If you truly feel guilty," Zhong Jueyu said, "then drink your medicine properly."

Hearing this, Luo Yueqing froze for a moment, then shot out of Zhong Jueyu's arms, wrapped herself in the quilt, and wailed, "I don't want to drink the medicine!"

Chinese medicine was bitter and came in large doses. It felt like it would never end. It was simply torture.

The person beside her smoothed out her messy collar and simply said, "I'll go get the medicine for you."

As her words fell, Luo Yueqing let out another howl. She hadn't even drunk the medicine yet, but she already felt much more awake.

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