Chapter 175 – Historically Memorable Villainy Arc
Seeing that Lu Li was in good spirits and had no intention of expressing displeasure with his offense the previous night, Song Rong finally felt relieved and leaned on the soft pillow with Lu Li’s body in his arms.
“I asked them to get some hot water. Unfortunately, there’s not much of it. You’re sick and should be well cared for…”
“It’s thanks to wangye that I’m not in the Heavenly Prison right now.” Su Shi said hoarsely. He draped the court attire over his shoulders. He wanted to prop himself up but all of a sudden he faintly felt that something was not right.
Song Rong thought that he could at least have Lu Li wipe his face, so he went to soak a cloth in hot water, but then he heard a muffled sound from behind him.
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He turned around in a hurry and his pupils abruptly shrunk. He dropped the cloth and hurried over.
Lu Li had fallen to his knees on the floor. He was holding on to the edge of the couch with one hand and struggling to stand up. Just when it seemed like he could support himself with his own strength, he slumped back down.
The man himself didn’t seem to know what was going on. There was a hint of confusion in his usually cold and indifferent eyes. He was still trying in vain, but his legs were not working at all.
Song Rong hurriedly carried Lu Li back to the couch. He was worried and panicked. He pressed against Lu Li’s legs with gentle pressure. “How is it? Do you feel any pain? Perhaps it’s from lying down for too long…”
“It’s not a big matter. There is still feeling,” Su Shi responded even though he had yet to figure out what was wrong with his body. With the support of the couch, he once again sat up.
Song Rong was not as indifferent as him. He frowned and apologized. Then he carefully rolled up the other man’s trousers to reveal his knees. They were red and swollen, and hot to the touch.
“Qing Guang… do you not feel pain…?”
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Fortunately, Lu Li was not seriously injured. Song Rong’s extremely tense mood eased a little and he breathed a sigh of relief. He warmed up his hands and carefully pressed them to Lu Li’s knees.
“How about this? Is it better?”
The analgesic that he took was still in effect so Su Shi really did not feel much pain. He nodded subconsciously to Song Rong’s inquiry, but felt a vague foreboding feeling in his heart.
“This is an old injury. I usually take good care of it so it doesn’t flare up. But due to the humidity, cold temperatures, and recent snowfall, it started to act up again.”
Although he was quite frightened by the situation just now, no matter what, old wounds were better than new wounds.
Song Rong warmed his knees for him. His original worries dissipated, but he couldn’t help raising his head to look up at Lu Li. “Qing Guang, what kind of injury did you receive? How come it left behind such a sequela? Why did you not care for the injury at the time when you received it?”
This situation was not good.
Su Shi’s heart suddenly sank as he finally recalled what caused this sequela.
He couldn’t answer, but he couldn’t maintain his silence either. If Song Rong discovers the connection between these two matters, he would definitely become suspicious.
Song Rong didn’t know what the other man was thinking, but he didn’t want to have him endure it silently. After a moment of hesitation, he stood up and once again carefully covered Lu Li with the brocade quilt.
“I’ll go out and take a look. I’ll be back soon.”
Su Shi was lost in thought and just nodded at Song Rong’s words.
Song Rong quickly walked out of the door and nodded at the concerned imperial bodyguard outside the door.
“Thank you for the hot water this morning. Do you have any medicine for treating wounds?”
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The emperor did not allow Lu Li to receive special care, but the imperial guards secretly couldn’t bear it. So as long as it was something they could help with, they would secretly do what they could.
The leader of the imperial guards nodded at Song Rong’s inquiry. “Yes, but the effects of the medicine are just average. It’s something that we use on the down low.” He handed the medicine over and also asked, “The weather is bad today. Did the right minister’s leg injury flare up again?”
Song Rong’s eyes narrowed slightly, and his heart jumped inexplicably, but his expression became calmer. “You guys also know about it?”
“I know. It happened five years ago. Probably around this time of the year… Prime Minister Lu was just serving in the Zhongshu Province at the time. I heard that something happened in the army, but I don’t know exactly what happened. He actually knelt on the stone steps outside the palace for three whole days. No matter how many people tried to persuade him, he refused to listen. In the end, he was exhausted both physically and mentally. He vomited blood and passed out, and was sent back to his home.”
Probably remembering the situation at that time, the imperial guard shook his head and sighed, “After that, Prime Minister Lu’s behavior was never the same as before…”
