After Mistakenly Binding The Matchmaker System

Chapter 15

Prince Yu was furious, but Qi Mingxuan was in a rare good mood.

When An Yu and his men arrived, all they found were corpses on the ground and Qi Mingxuan sitting exhausted in the center. An Yu quickly dismounted, flew forward, knelt down on one knee and clasped his hands: “Your Highness, I arrived late to rescue, please forgive me.”

“It’s okay.” With An Yu’s assistance, Qi Mingxuan slowly stood up. “How was it on your end?”

“The subordinate managed to capture one alive. The interrogation results should be out soon,” An Yu reported respectfully.

However, he couldn’t help but feel curious. His Highness encountered an assassination attempt, yet he still seemed to be in good spirits. Being a qualified subordinate, he wouldn’t pry into matters he shouldn’t ask about. He reported what Qi Mingxuan wanted to know and remained silent.

“About Your Highness’s injuries…”

“There’s no serious harm, I’m just a bit weak. Let’s return to the mansion.” Qi Mingxuan covered his left shoulder. Earlier, he had forcefully pulled out the arrow embedded in his body, and due to subsequent movements, the wound had completely split open.

Information in the capital has always been transparent, so it was natural that such a big thing as the assassination of Prince Qin could not be concealed. Various forces gradually became aware of the incident.

That night, a confidential report was delivered to the Emperor’s desk. After reading it with a furrowed brow, the Emperor gradually tightened his grip on the document. His voice seemed to be squeezed out of his windpipe, “Do they not respect Us? Prince Qin is attacked just for accomplishing a task for me. If We go against their wishes one day, will they rebel?”

The Emperor’s face was livid. Recalling the contents of the report, a burst of anger surged within him. These people were too audacious, openly assassinating a prince and completely disregarding the dignity of the royal family.

“These aristocratic families have become more and more unruly. Do you think We’ve been too lenient with them?”

Eunuch An bowed, “I don’t know about the aristocrats, but I do know that Great Zhou belongs to Your Majesty. Without Your Majesty, how could these people maintain their noble status?”

“True,” the Emperor’s anger gradually subsided upon hearing this, “Great Zhou was established by our ancestors. There have been hundreds of years of peace, they seem to have forgotten that Great Zhou is the territory my Qi family conquered. If they want to do something, they should ask for the Qi family’s permission!”

“It seems We’ve been too tolerant of them these years, to the point where they forgot We are Great Zhou’s master!”

Eunuch An remained silent. At this moment, he shouldn’t interrupt. He knew the Emperor had tolerated the aristocrats for a long time. This incident with Prince Qin’s assassination seemed like a sword, piercing through the prosperous surface and revealing the long-existing cracks inside.

‘It seems His Majesty was going to take action against the aristocrats.

A storm is coming.’

Li Shu quietly returned to the Left Prime Minister’s residence, looking disheveled. Obviously, he couldn’t enter through the main gate; otherwise, wouldn’t it be telling everyone that something was wrong?

The candlelight was dim, and Qinghe stood outside, pacing back and forth anxiously. It was late, why hadn’t the young master returned yet?

Hearing a faint sound, Qinghe suddenly turned around, only to see someone standing under the largest tree in the courtyard.

‘Who is it?’

Qinghe was startled; night had fallen, and she could only see a blurry figure. She couldn’t make out the person’s face standing under the tree.

“It’s me, ahem.” Seeing Qinghe’s alertness, Li Shu had to speak up. Originally, he intended to quietly return to his room, but he didn’t expect Qinghe to be guarding here. If he directly sneaked into the room, it would definitely alert Qinghe.

“Eldest Young Master! What happened to you…” Qinghe hurriedly stepped forward, and immediately lowered her voice, “Eldest Young Master, are you okay?”

As a maid, Qinghe knew very well what to ask and what not to. Like now, with Li Shu returning in such a state, she wouldn’t inquire about what happened but became alert. No one should see Li Shu looking like this.

“Eldest Young Master, please go back to your room. The servants in the yard have all been sent away by this servant.”

“Mm.” Li Shu wasn’t in good condition; the aftereffects of exerting himself had emerged. His whole body was now aching, as if someone was cutting into his bones inch by inch with a blunt knife, tormenting him incessantly.

After returning to the room, Qinghe brought clean clothes for Li Shu and then fetched water for him to freshen up.

Once everything was taken care of, Qinghe left with the dirty clothes. After returning to her room, she couldn’t help but worry, so she simply got up and stood guard outside Li Shu’s bedroom.

Li Shu fell into a heavy sleep. Later in the night, he developed a high fever, and fell into a nightmarish state from which he couldn’t escape.

It felt like he was back to his childhood, carrying freshly picked fruits and returning to the cave. However, the cave was empty, and his heart seemed to have a hole, allowing the cold wind to blow in.

So cold.

It was so cold, as if plunging into an endless icy abyss. The cold air surged from all directions, penetrating the skin, reaching deep into the bone marrow, and merging into the soul. There were invisible hands dragging him down relentlessly, with no way for him to escape.

Seeing Li Shu’s condition worsening, 1314 became anxious. Without a physical form, it could only call out continuously in his mind: [Host—Wake up—Host—]

Immersed in boundless coldness, a voice suddenly broke through the fog. At first, it was faint and indistinct, but it gradually grew louder.

Finally, Li Shu opened his eyes and woke up.

“What, ahem, ahem… what happened to me?” Li Shu felt extremely dizzy, and his throat was hoarse.

[Host, you have a fever. Qinghe is outside, make some noise to let her know.]

Feeling feverish and disoriented, Li Shu called out with a hoarse voice, “Qinghe.”

“Eldest Young Master, do you need something?” Qinghe reacted quickly and hurried into the room. Once she saw Li Shu’s appearance, she was stunned.

Because of the fever, Li Shu had an abnormal blush on his body, the corners of his eyes were red, and his eyes were wet and misty. Compared to his image in daily life, this was a completely different image.

“I seem to have a fever.” He put his right hand on his forehead— it was very hot.

Qinghe suddenly came back to her senses. All the thoughts that had just flashed into her mind were quickly squeezed out by worry. She walked to the bed and said anxiously: “This is impossible. I will go and ask Doctor Lin. Eldest Young Master, please wait a moment.”

“Mm.”

Qinghe was worried about leaving Li Shu alone, so she summoned a reliable servant and handed over a token, saying, “Remember, make sure to quickly bring Doctor Lin here.”

“Rest assured, Sister Qinghe.”

This boy has always served Li Shu. He was clever and efficient, and most importantly, loyal.

Qinghe brought hot water and gave it to Li Shu.

After drinking the hot water, Li Shu felt much better. He was sweating profusely, which made him feel uncomfortable. “Bring me a clean set of clothes.”

After waking up, the fever gradually subsided. Li Shu leaned on the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

The boy quickly brought Doctor Lin. As he walked, Doctor Lin complained, “Don’t rush, don’t rush. This old body of mine can’t handle it.”

Although he was complaining, his actions were swift. He quickly opened the medicine box and approached Li Shu to check his pulse.

“I’ve said it before, you need to rest and recuperate. Didn’t you follow the doctor’s advice?” Doctor Lin withdrew his hand, displeasure evident on his face.

As a doctor, he disliked patients who didn’t follow medical advice and were reckless. Li Shu’s pulse indicated a fever caused by excessive fatigue.

“Sorry, I won’t do it again next time.” Li Shu assured.

“I don’t think you won’t repeat it next time. After all, it’s your own body. No matter how much others care, it’s useless. Your mother entrusted you to me, and I’ll do my best to help you. But you also need to be cautious in your daily life. If this happens a few more times, not even an immortal can save you.” After delivering this stern message, Doctor Lin went to the side to prepare medicine for Li Shu.

“Your health has finally improved. Don’t ruin it again.”

“I understand.”

“I think you don’t really understand. You know better than anyone why you suddenly got hot this time. Just because I don’t explicitly state it doesn’t mean I don’t know. Li Shu, I know you have concerns, but it doesn’t conflict with taking care of your health. I’ll only say this to you today, so think about it.”

“Mm.”

Doctor Lin had been kind to the original owner. Li Shu knew that without Doctor Lin, the original weak and sickly child, ignored by his father in the Left Prime Minister’s mansion, would have struggled to survive, let alone grow up safely. The original owner’s aspiration to study and achieve success was facilitated by Doctor Lin, who took him out of the mansion under the pretext of nursing him and introduced him to a teacher. It could be said that Doctor Lin was indispensable with the original owner’s subsequent achievements.

After Li Shu participated in the imperial examination, Li Cheng increased his attention to him. When Li Shu had a fever in the middle of the night, Li Cheng knew about it early the next morning.

After Doctor Lin left, Li Shu closed his eyes for a while. Qinghe was outside, and when Li Shu woke up, she brought in hot porridge, saying, “Eldest Young Master, Master and Madam sent something over.”

After a good sleep, Li Shu felt much better.

“Did Father say anything?”

“Master said to take good care of your health and not to worry about other matters.”

Li Shu used to get sick frequently, and although his health had improved in the past six months, Li Cheng didn’t suspect the reason for his illness. He thought it was the usual issues, and at most, it was because of worry about the upcoming meeting in the palace.

In the blink of an eye, it was the third day of April. Under Doctor Lin’s care, Li Shu’s illness quickly recovered. Seeing this, Li Cheng couldn’t help but sigh with relief.

On the eve of entering the palace, Li Cheng summoned Li Shu to the study. He explained the identities of the other nine candidates who would enter the palace together, and once again explained some precautions after entering.

“My son is outstanding; don’t be nervous.”

The palace was majestic, and the audience with the emperor was scheduled in the Nine Dragon Hall, the main hall used for court sessions on ordinary days.

Ten scholars dressed identically formed two rows and entered in unison after the eunuch’s command. Li Shu stood as the first on the left, with Yu Rongxiu standing as the first on the right.

Eunuch An stood by the emperor’s side. Seeing everyone in place, he announced loudly, “Bow—”

All ten bowed deeply, saying, “Long live your Majesty, long live your Majesty.”

“Rise—”

“Haha, good!” The Emperor laughed heartily, and stood up from the dragon throne. “You are all the promising young talents of our Great Zhou. Today, We summoned you to get an early look at the pillars of our future Great Zhou.”

The Emperor’s words made everyone excited. Why did they study? Naturally, it was to be appreciated by the emperor one day and become outstanding individuals.

Li Shu stood at the front with a respectful expression and no faults in etiquette. Suddenly, he felt a malicious gaze falling on him.

Who could it be?