Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]

Chapter 192: Swaying Jasmine — XVI

It was raining that day, the fifteenth day of the ceasefire that lasted — mercifully — long. Liu Mingyun sat on the scarcely covered floor of his tent, a storm of maps strewn all around him, ground ink, a dark smudge on his fingers and some on his cheeks.

The Crown Prince leaned back against the leg of the rickety bed, eyes fluttering close in his brief moments of rest. The silence in his tent was heavy, oppressive as it pressed down on him. A few seconds passed, slowly, the silver-haired youth opened his eyes, the crimson irises strangely dull as he bowed his head and looked down at his hands.

His hands shook ever so slightly, wracked by the faintest of tremors almost imperceptible in the firmness of his arms. How long had it been since he had last slept?

Three days and four nights? Five days, or was it six?

Blinking owlishly to dispel the bleariness of his eyes, the Crown Prince drew in a deep breath and slumped back against the leg of the bed. The shadows under his eyes were heavy and dark, the bags alarming in their severity.

Scratching the back of his neck, Liu Mingyun exhaled, rubbing his face with a hand, unbothered by the ink that may drag on his face. Sleep.

He... Had forgotten to sleep?

This won’t do, he decided and began to stand up slowly, feeling hazy and weightless. As he stood upright, Liu Mingyun’s body swayed, balancing precariously on his feet.

Oh dear, the Crown Prince blinked, mouth drying. Sluggish as it was, his eyes flicked down on the final map he had finished drawing about a minute or two ago.

At least the map he had been working on was finally completed, even if at the expense of his well-being, doing this much was perfectly usual, anyone in his shoes would have done the same.

Justifying himself with enviable ease, the Crown Prince bent forward, intending to pick up the map he had — so painstakingly — worked on for days, and place it somewhere more dignified to dry.

However, as expected of a mortal man deprived of sleep for days on end, Liu Mingyun overestimated his addled mind’s ability to perceive depth and got a hold of nothing. Standing straight with empty hands, he looked back at the map speechlessly.

Internally, he wondered if the map had evaded his hand.

Once again, he reached down to grab the paper and came back with nothing. Each time he failed, the Crown Prince would pause for a short few seconds and gaze at the map, almost as if doing so would unveil whatever the mystery was hidden from him.

...

That was how Li Xinyuan found him, standing by the bed blankly whilst staring at the mess of maps discarded on the floor.

Stopping at the entrance of the tent, the surgeon halted, the bowl of food quivering in his hand. For a prolonged moment, he stayed still, his free hand pushing the flap open. Then, with some hesitation, he stepped forward, careful to avoid the maps, body tense.

"Your Highness?" Once by Liu Mingyun’s side, Li Xinyuan set the bowl on the bed and reached to place his hand on the Crown Prince’s shoulder, his touch gentle and cautious. "Your Highness? Is something the matter?"

Liu Mingyun raised his head, lips pursed close in displeasure as he turned to face his betrothed, eyebrows drawn in a frown.

As the silence stretched thin, tension in the tent rising in its crescendo, he pointed at the offending map and murmured, voice hoarse from disuse. "Xin’er."

Li Xinyuan leaned closer to hear him with greater clarity. "Yes, Your Highness?"

"Xin’er."

"Yes, My Liege?"

Liu Mingyun blinked again, slowly and carefully, crimson eyes drinking in the sight of the doctor’s false visage, and said, "The map. My map." His voice cracked as he spoke. Uncaring, the Crown Prince drew closer to the doctor, pressing his shoulder to the latter’s. "Has it been enchanted whilst my attention slipped?"

Perhaps Li Xinyuan thought the question too strange, instead of an answer, Liu Mingyun got a startled noise from him. "Huh– what?"

Frowning deeply, the Crown Prince gestured towards the drying map and reiterated. "Has the map been cursed?"

Again, the doctor responded with a question. "What?"

"..."

As he stared at his betrothed, Li Xinyuan shifted on his feet, lips pulled down. "I mean, who would do such a thing, My Liege?"

"The enemies. Our enemies."

Surely, people who dared to use common folks as a hostage and plunder their land, they could resort to trickery as well.

With a solemn look on his face, the Crown Prince grimaced, ready to go and find the Heavenly Demon to inform him of this deceit. But before he could make it far — or, well, near the tent’s entrance — he was stopped by Li Xinyuan.

Forced to a halt, Liu Mingyun lowered his head and looked at the doctor’s hand wrapped around his wrist, dazed. His head swam, thoughts muffled in his mind. "?"

"My Liege, My Liege!" Li Xinyuan tugged at his wrist, lips pressed to stop himself from saying anything unnecessary. Soothingly rubbing his fingers on Liu Mingyun’s wrist, the doctor pulled him back. "There is no enchantment, My Highness."

Liu Mingyun looked back at him, allowing himself to be pulled back silently. Why did Xin’er sound so helpless, yet as if he was restraining himself from laughing?

"Xin’er?" What did he mean? What was he saying? If there was no magic involved, certainly, he would have picked up the map; but he had not.

It was enchanted, cursed even.

He could not just sit back and allow such a dangerous object to remain in their midst.

Still, he did not protest as the doctor pushed him to sit on the bed, the feeble thing creaking under his weight as it so often did, but it did not collapse, not even as Li Xinyuan joined him to sit.

Strangely enough, instead of alarm, as the Crown Prince stared into his betrothed’s golden eyes, he saw barely concealed mirth.

"Xin’er?" Befuddled, Liu Mingyun could not help but call his name. "Why did you stop—"

"—Because," Li Xinyuan cut him off. Insolent. "Nothing is enchanted, My Highness."

Liu Mingyun would have protested, if not for the latter cupping his face tenderly in his palms. Eyes fluttering shut, he leaned into the tender touch and sighed. It was akin to a heavy weight off his shoulders. "En?"

"The map is not enchanted nor cursed," he heard Xin’er whisper. His voice was low and soft. Kind. "The lack of rest made you think so. It is nothing like that, My Highness."

Liu Mingyun could listen to his voice for the rest of their eternity. How lovely.

"Verily?"

The doctor snorted, stroking his cheeks gingerly. "Verily. So come, have some food and rest. You ought to sleep."

If his betrothed said so, Liu Mingyun had no choice but to comply. But before that—

"And what of the map?" Opening his eyes, he asked, biting back a yawn.

"I shall see to it that the map reaches the Heavenly Demon."

If that was the case. Liu Mingyun squinted at the doctor and let out a huff, conceding without a word.