Chapter 70: Slowly
Chapter 70: Slowly
Liu’er fixed the bed and merrily exited, the door shutting behind her. Miss Jun pushed Fang Chengyu into the bathroom again, like last night.
It was still full of medicinal liquid, but it was even more acrid and pungent than last night.
"Are you scared of pain?" she asked when she saw Fang Chengyu visibly stiffen at the sight of the bath.
"If Wife shares the bath with me, I won’t be scared," said Fang Chengyu with a smile. He looked at Miss Jun.
Miss Jun smiled.
"I am not the one who is sick," she said. "You must enjoy this on your own."
Although Fang Chengyu hadn’t gone in the water yet, he could already feel the bone-eating pain of last night.
He gripped the armrests.
"So that Wife may taste an overwhelming emotion in the future, I must endure this now," he said, smiling but not really.
Miss Jun half lifted half dragged him from the wheelchair. She smiled.
"Just saying you can do it is pointless," she replied. "Let me see you endure it again."
She let go. With a plop, Fang Chengyu was suddenly thrown into the water.
He choked for a moment, not because of water in his throat but because of pain.
He suddenly wanted to cry.
This feeling made him want to cry more.
He had not cried for a very long time. When he had first heard that he would not live past 15, he cried every day. Afterwards, he avoided crying. In the end, crying was not useful. So he just didn’t.
Yes, there was no use in crying. But so what if a useless person did useless things.
Miss Jun sat next to the bath, her jaw resting on her hand as she watched him.
"How pathetic. You’re going to sniffle," she said.
Fang Chengyu gave her a look.
"Sniffling definitely is pathetic. But not crying and hanging yourself instead is also pathetic," he said in a deadpan.
It was pretty good. Now he wasn’t feeling dizzy and could even form long sentences.
Miss Jun watched him with a smile,
"Are you thinking about hanging yourself?" she asked.
After hearing this, Fang Chengyu felt faint.
Of course, it wasn’t that he got angry.
How could she make him so angry he’d faint? But fainting from pain was not such a glamorous thing.
But what did glamorous mean to him?
It couldn’t be that a cripple like him wanted to be glamorous in Jun Zhenzhen’s eyes?
When he woke up the next day, Fang Chengyu recalled what had happened the night before and mocked himself. Worrying about his face in front of that girl was just shameful.
She was nothing.
Something not worthy to even look at.
Fang Chengyu closed his eyes again, though it was already noon. The servants waiting by his bedside exchanged glances.
"Young Master, have you eaten anything?" they asked gently.
This time he didn’t feel that comfortable sensation. Fang Chengyu only felt utterly exhausted and had no appetite to speak of. He waved his hand, shut his eyes, and was still.
The two servant girls couldn’t help but wipe the tears from their eyes.
"Over here, over here."
On the veranda, Liu’er beckoned over several maids.
"Is the longan fresh?" she asked, tearing open the box the maids were carrying. After looking them over fussily, she announced, "They’ll do."
She opened the other maid’s box.
"This one is an ugly color. Take it back."
After being picky, Liu’er waved her hands.
"Go in. Next time don’t be so slow. Young Lady is very busy."
The two servants who were watching bit on their lips. Liu’er saw their gazes.
"What are you looking at? Has Young Master eaten?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.
Funny that she should ask.
"Young Master said he didn’t want to eat," answered one of the girls with gritted teeth.
Liu’er’s mouth curled.
"The sick person doesn’t know how to eat anymore. Just like a child refusing to eat," she muttered, then left.
The two servants were so dumbfounded they almost fainted.
News of this event naturally spread quickly through the Fang Family. Fang Jinxiu almost fainted out of anger. Not caring about her house arrest, she wanted to go out and argue with Miss Jun.
Of course, this simply wouldn’t do. Lady Fang sent someone to stop her.
Of course, Lady Fang was also deeply concerned. She inquired of Miss Jun the current situation.
"It’s not that I’m not serving him food; him not wanting to eat after taking the medicine is normal. He’ll adapt in a few days," Miss Jun explained.
......
"Old Lady Fang and Lady Fang believed that explanation?" asked a man’s voice in a teahouse from a private room separated by a bamboo screen.
The shop employee who was holding a teapot and standing near a pillar confirmed it.
"This Miss Jun is thoroughly vile and foolish. Still, this was a very wild move. But this wild move was not bad," said the voice in the private room.
"She is just utilizing her blood relationships. Wait till Old Lady is no more, then what will she be?" The employee’s quiet voice betrayed a smile.
The voice in the private room paused.
"Did you investigate the medicine? What is it used for?" asked the man’s voice.
"The person in the family said they saw all of it. There were a few new medicines and several kinds were added to Young Master Fang’s medication. Miss Jun said that she would use them to cure Young Master Fang," explained the shop assistant. "Third Miss Fang said they were being used to kill Young Master Fang so she’ll become a widow faster."
The man in the private room laughed.
"But there are more people saying that this was Old Lady Fang giving Young Master Fang an aphrodisiac to produce an heir heir." The shopkeeper smiled. "Now the gambling halls have opened wagers on whether or not Young Master Fang will perform for Miss Jun."
The man in the private room laughed again.
"That is just nonsense," he said.
His voice paused again. The sound of a finger being rapped on a table came from within, making the people outside nervous.
"Instruct them to watch more closely. It doesn't matter if they manage to leave behind an heir, but if the other thing is true…" He trailed off.
The shop employee made an affirmative sound.
"More tea," he yelled, carrying the teapot out.
A single person’s silhouette was visible on the tightly shut curtains of the private room. The sun outside was dazzling, but did not shed light on his features. He lifted the bamboo curtain and quietly looked out.
Right outside were the main gates of the Fang residence. Although several days had passed, the crimson word ‘Happiness’ was still written in bold letters.
......
The outside world moved on, and the main residence of the Fang Family was not peaceful either. Occasionally, the servants would whisper in each other’s ears, then look in a certain direction, shaking their heads and sighing.
Naturally, they were looking at where Young Master Fang and the new Young Lady Fang were staying.
Before, Young Master Fang would still make his way around in his wheelchair. But right now, he was confined in the courtyard by Young Lady Fang and subjected to torment—even on the bed—unbeknownst to them."
"She said he’ll adapt in a few days. I will go see if he’s well or not myself."
This was the sentiment shared by everyone.
But what they didn’t know was that there were still some words exchanged by Miss Jun and Lady Fang that hadn’t been leaked.
"Of course, soaking in the medicinal liquid cannot cure him, and he will be worse than before," Miss Jun said.
Lady Fang froze.
"That…" she blurted out.
"Because his body has already rotted because of the poison and has formed a dependence on it, if we directly resolve the poison, his body will suddenly collapse because of the loss of poison," she said gently.
Lady Fang knew this; otherwise she wouldn’t have been feeding him his medicine that was actually poison.
"Right now I am training his body so that he can break free from the poison’s control and gradually strip that poison of of its efficacy. His body is not used to this, so his vitality will not be as good as before," Miss Jun said.
"Then when will he be better? It has almost been ten days," Lady Fang said anxiously.
Miss Jun looked at her with a smile.
"Ten days have passed," she said.
These words seemed to have no meaning, but Lady Fang immediately turned red.
It had been simmering for almost ten years, but she couldn't even wait ten days.