Silent Lover (The Silent Concubine) - Chap 135
Chapter 135 – Birthday
The entire Imperial Medical Institute was summoned to the sleeping chamber, where they crowded both inside and outside, layers deep, taking turns to check Shen Yu’s pulse. They whispered among themselves, each subtly shaking their heads in distress…
The person lying quietly on the bed had no breath or heartbeat. His face was peaceful, as if, after a long period of physical and mental exhaustion, he had finally found the peace to close his eyes and sleep…
“How is he?!”
Jun Xuanxiao asked more than once, unable to give up even the slightest glimmer of hope.
Unfortunately, he never saw the old physician nod…
“Forgive this old servant for speaking bluntly, but Young Master Shen Yu… he no longer has a pulse or breath, my lord. We physicians are not gods who can bring the dead back to life. My lord, please accept our condolences…”
Jun Xuanxiao roared furiously, “Condolences? What condolences?! I don’t want your condolences! I want him alive! Do you understand? If you can’t save him, I’ll kill every single one of you!!”
The physicians, terrified by the deafening outburst, all knelt in fear. Over twenty physicians stood there, all at a loss…
“Quacks! You’re all quacks!”
Jun Xuanxiao kicked one of the physicians, who immediately spat blood and was gravely injured. Everyone else trembled in fear…
“What’s the use of taking out your anger on these old bones?”
Bian Shisi walked in carrying his medicine box, just in time to witness Jun Xuanxiao’s furious outburst. The physician he kicked was nearly killed and would surely be bedridden for months…
“You’re here! Hurry, take a look at him for me. Yu’er can still be saved, right? He can still be saved… there must be a way…”
Jun Xuanxiao looked almost insane, completely losing his usual dignity and composure, as he dragged Bian Shisi to the bedside. He stared at Bian Shisi, terrified that he might hear the words that would drive him to madness…
“Crocodile tears,” Bian Shisi muttered, “Now the lord is feeling regret and panic. Why didn’t he do something earlier?”
Normally, Bian Shisi wouldn’t dare speak to Jun Xuanxiao this way, given his imposing presence. But seeing him so distraught, Bian Shisi couldn’t help feeling angry. It was Jun Xuanxiao who had driven Shen Yu to his death, and Bian Shisi felt like cursing him for deserving this.
Jun Xuanxiao clutched Shen Yu’s hand, listening to Bian Shisi’s complaints without a trace of anger…
Yes… I deserve this. Jun Xuanxiao’s eyes were slightly red, filled with confusion and despair. “But Yu’er shouldn’t have to suffer for it. I’m the one who deserves punishment! I beg you… save him. I’m… I’m regretting it now. Is it too late?”
Bian Shisi had never imagined that the mighty and proud Prince of Zhenbei would one day lower his head in regret and show such vulnerability.
Bian Shisi remembered the first time he saw Shen Yu in the prince’s mansion. Shen Yu was a pure, introverted young man, but his aura was so extraordinary that he seemed like an immortal. Bian Shisi had predicted that the prince’s affection wouldn’t last long. No matter how beautiful the face, one would eventually grow tired of it. But he never imagined that in such a short time, Shen Yu would be hurt to the point of seeking death…
The person lying on the bed had almost no unscathed area on his body, covered in new and old wounds, barely recognizable…
Bian Shisi despised heartless people…
“It’s too late.” Bian Shisi couldn’t help but speak on Shen Yu’s behalf. “The lord had a chance to make amends, didn’t he? You watched Shen Yu suffer through the poison’s attacks, each time in unbearable pain. Why didn’t you use the antidote after he used the poison?”
Jun Xuanxiao’s throat tightened, choking on regret so strong it nearly suffocated him. He was afraid Shen Yu would really leave with Emperor Ye, so he had kept this backup plan. But it was this very suspicion and caution that had destroyed Shen Yu’s last bit of hope for him…
“Yu’er, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
Jun Xuanxiao pressed Shen Yu’s hand against his cheek, repeatedly murmuring his apologies…
Even Bian Shisi, despite his loathing for Jun Xuanxiao, felt a twinge of pity…
Fortunately, Shen Yu had subtly hinted to Bian Shisi and asked for medicine, which made Bian Shisi realize something was wrong. So instead of giving him the real lethal Wujin pill, he had substituted it with a family heirloom: the false death pill.
“Wipe off his blood and grime. Brew this medicine and let him take it. These old physicians should leave; they’re just in the way.”
A faint glimmer of hope appeared in Jun Xuanxiao’s dim eyes as he quickly ordered the medicine to be prepared and water to be brought…
The physicians felt as if they had been granted amnesty, fearing that Jun Xuanxiao’s wrath would indeed lead him to bury them with the dead.
“Is Yu’er going to be okay?”
Since Shen Yu couldn’t swallow, Jun Xuanxiao fed him the medicine bit by bit, anxiously asking Bian Shisi…
Bian Shisi checked Shen Yu’s heartbeat and pupils and sighed.
How could he say for sure? The false death pill was passed down from his ancestors, said to have been created by a wandering alchemist. But who would risk their life to test such a thing? Bian Shisi himself had never seen anyone take it…
Bian Shisi also began to regret it. If he had known Shen Yu intended to use poison on himself, he might have given him a strong tonic instead…
“Apply some medicine to his hand first.”
“Let me do it.”
Jun Xuanxiao took the basin and carefully removed the bandage from Shen Yu’s left hand. The sight of the bloody mess made his heart clench. He had seen many wounds on the battlefield, but Shen Yu’s injuries filled him with overwhelming sorrow. He soaked a cloth in warm water, gently wiping away the dried blood, then applied medicinal powder and re-bandaged the wound as if handling a fragile porcelain doll…
Jun Xuanxiao wasn’t used to doing this, so his large hands seemed clumsy. To Bian Shisi, it looked like a tiger delicately licking the wounds of a small kitten.
Bian Shisi glanced outside at the night sky and mumbled, “It should be past midnight by now, right?”
Jun Xuanxiao didn’t respond, but Bian Shisi’s next words made his heart tighten, and his nostrils flared uncontrollably.
