AUBTN -Chapter 106 Presenting Medicinal Cuisine

He suddenly sprang up, grabbed Yu Qing’s wrist, and strode to the water tank. Scooping up a ladle of icy well water, he didn’t hesitate for a moment and poured it over her scorched fingertips.

The icy water washed over the burning sting, and Yu Qing stared blankly at the man before her.

He still wore that icy, unreadable expression, as if it were he who had been scalded.

Yet the large hand holding her wrist moved with surprising care, avoiding all her injuries.

Yu Qing looked at his nervous expression and suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

“Lord Lu, are you like this with every girl?”

Lu Yan’s hand stiffened around her wrist.

“What?”

“Do you casually grab other girls’ hands too… and get worried for them as well?” Yu Qing asked softly.

Lu Yan glanced at her. This woman… what nonsense was constantly running through her mind!

But he didn’t let go of her hand. Quietly, a faint flush crept up his ears.

He lowered his gaze, watching the water cascade over her fair, jade-like fingers, and his heart inexplicably beat a little faster.

He paid no mind to her wild thoughts.

“If you’re so careless with your hands next time, the brig of the Jinyiwei will be your final destination.”

He threatened harshly, though his voice came out slightly hoarse.

This time, Yu Qing didn’t retort. She just shrank her neck, looked at his reddened ears, and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards secretly.

“Hypocrite!”

In the study of Yuyuan, It was so quiet that one could only hear the occasional turning of pages or the faint crackle of the lamp’s flame.

Shen Jue sat behind a broad zitan wood desk, holding a secret report freshly delivered from the Eastern Depot, though his gaze seemed somewhat absent.

His eyes kept drifting unconsciously toward a small table not far away.

Su Hewan knelt on a cushion, surrounded by piles of medical texts stacked like small mountains.

She had maintained this position for two hours, holding a wolf-hair brush, occasionally making notes on paper, her expression focused and serene.

The lamp cast a soft warm glow across her profile, and the usual aloofness that kept people at a distance seemed to have softened, giving her a gentle elegance.

Shen Jue rubbed the jade thumb ring on his finger, his phoenix-like eyes narrowing slightly.

This woman always managed to surprise him.

Though seemingly a frail palace maid, the knowledge in her head was deeper than those old foxes in court.

The things she said were unheard of to him, yet remarkably clever.

“Chi Yan Grass’s heat toxin penetrates to the bone; it must be drawn out with something cold, but one must not use harsh medicine abruptly…”

Su Hewan muttered softly to herself as she flipped through the books.

Gradually, the sound of pages turning slowed, then stopped completely.

Shen Jue put down the secret report and quietly walked over.

Su Hewan propped her forehead with one hand, still holding the brush with the other, her head drooping little by little. She was clearly exhausted.

Finally, her body slumped, resting atop the pile of medical books, her breathing long and even.

She’d fallen asleep just like that?

Shen Jue looked down at her, a faint trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

If it had been anyone else, sleeping so defenselessly in his study would have likely ended very badly.

Yet seeing the faint bluish shadows under her eyes, he felt a surprising pang of pity.

Night was deep and the dew heavy. Though the study had a ground dragon lamp, a chill still lingered in the room.

Shen Jue turned and fetched a cloak, gently draping it over Su Hewan.

His gaze lingered on the section of her fair wrist that peeked out, then shifted to her serene sleeping face.

As if guided by some unseen force, he extended his hand; his long fingers lightly brushed her trembling eyelashes, then slid down along her cheek.

Her skin was delicate and warm—the touch of living flesh.

It was the light he most longed for in the darkness of his soul, yet also the light he dared not reach for.

When his fingers grazed the corner of her mouth, Su Hewan, still asleep, seemed to sense something.

She didn’t wake, but like a lazy cat, she drowsily reached out and grabbed the hand that had been meddling on her face.

Then, she rubbed her face against his palm, mumbling an indistinct line of sleep talk:

“Stop… I’m calculating equations…”

Shen Jue froze.

Her hands held his tightly, her warm cheek pressed against his palm, and in that instant, it was as if a current ran from his fingertips straight to his heart.

His heartbeat skipped.

Su Hewan’s voice, soft and languid in sleep, was devoid of her usual rationality and composure.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of Shen Jue’s lips.

But seeing her completely unguarded, that fleeting danger transformed into a wry, self-deprecating smile.

He didn’t withdraw his hand, letting her hold it. In the stillness of the deep night, an absurd illusion arose—a longing for eternity with her.

Three days later, Cining Palace.

The hall gleamed with gold and jade; incense burned in the golden beast-shaped censer, curling into the air, but the rich medicinal scent lingering in the room could not be masked.

The Empress Dowager leaned against the phoenix bed, her eyes showing clear fatigue.

Since stopping Zhao Shuo’s pills for half a day, her body felt weak, her bones tingling as if ants crawled through them, leaving her restless and irritable.

“Your Majesty, this is the prescription I mentioned to you.”

Lin Wan’er knelt to the side, carefully introducing the two behind her.

“These two young ladies were at the last Hundred Flowers Banquet. They are not only skilled with their hands but also adept at medicinal cuisine.”

Su Hewan and Yu Qing, dressed in palace maid uniforms, knelt obediently on the floor.

“Raise your heads,” the Empress Dowager said lazily, with a trace of impatience.

They obeyed.

Su Hewan’s expression was calm, neither humble nor arrogant; Yu Qing looked timid and obedient, eyes downcast.

“My body is in such a state, and even the old fools at the Imperial Medical Court can’t treat it. You two little girls think you can?” The Empress Dowager clearly doubted them. “If it weren’t for Wan’er’s strong recommendation, I wouldn’t even see you.”

“Your Majesty’s phoenix-like body is precious; ordinary medicine cannot regulate it,” Su Hewan said slowly, her voice clear and confident, inspiring belief.

She didn’t rush to present the decoction. Instead, she shifted tactfully: “May I ask, Your Majesty, after taking the pills from the National Preceptor recently, do you feel a sudden surge of vitality, as if you have returned to your youthful prime? Yet once the effect wears off, do you feel plunged into an icy pit, exhausted?”

The Empress Dowager’s eyes narrowed, her posture straightening slightly. “How do you know?”

Su Hewan smiled faintly.

“That is the marvel of the Preceptor’s pills. They stimulate yang energy at the cost of burning the body’s potential.”

She began delivering her prepared explanation.

“But it’s like fire under oil—though the blaze is fierce, it consumes the lamp oil quickly. Your Majesty feels weak, not because the pills are faulty, but because your phoenix-like body is mortal flesh, unable to bear such overwhelming celestial energy. As the saying goes, yin alone cannot give life, and yang alone cannot grow.”

The Empress Dowager was taken aback. Though she didn’t fully understand, it sounded very reasonable.

Seizing the moment, Su Hewan took the carefully brewed decoction from the food box and lifted the lid.

A pure, refreshing aroma immediately filled the room, without a hint of medicine, instead carrying a sweet, soothing fragrance.