Transmigrated into a Heartthrob Novel and Went OOC Chapter 37

 Chapter 37

Hu Xiang slowly clenched the handkerchief in his hand and turned his head to smile apologetically at Fang Chaozhou. “I apologize for causing concern, Ninth Imperial Uncle. Today, as you return to the capital, it is necessary for you to first go to the palace to meet the Emperor. On another day when Ninth Imperial Uncle  is free, I will host a banquet to apologize and make amends.”

Fang Chaozhou directly refused, “There’s no need for a banquet. I have already been on a restricted diet and consuming ordinary food is ineffective and even harmful.” He looked back at the crowd of people and noticed that they had all knelt down upon seeing the group led by Hu Xiang. “Let’s not linger here. We should go in quickly.”

Hu Xiang nodded gently, “Then please, Ninth Imperial Uncle, get in the sedan chair.”

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With those words, he set up a barrier behind him to prevent Hu Xiang from being blown off when they flew on the sword later.

Once the flying sword ascended into the sky, Hu Xiang’s already pale face turned completely white. He glanced at the scenery below, where the people looked as small as ants. After only a brief glance, he immediately raised his eyes and naturally saw the youth standing in front of him, facing away.

Clad in a single robe, standing tall in the sky, he appeared fearless despite being at such a high altitude.

So, this is a cultivator? They are truly different from ordinary mortals like us.

As Fang Chaozhou flew on the sword for a while, he saw a palace in the city. He turned his head to look at Hu Xiang behind him and noticed that his complexion had turned even paler. His eyes were tightly closed, and his body trembled slightly as if he might faint at any moment. Quickly, Fang Chaozhou reached out and held Hu Xiang’s wrist, channeling spiritual energy to him.

However, Fang Chaozhou knew that Hu Xiang was a mortal and didn’t dare to channel too much energy. He only transferred a small amount. Seeing that Hu Xiang’s  complexion improved slightly, he withdrew his hand and said, “Nephew, is the palace in front of us the imperial palace?”

Upon feeling Fang Chaozhou gripping his wrist, Hu Xiang opened his eyes. After hearing Fang Chaozhou’s words, he gritted his teeth and glanced downward before quickly averting his gaze. He nodded at Fang Chaozhou and said, “Yes, but we can’t use the flying sword in the palace, so Ninth Imperial Uncle, please accompany me in the sedan chair later.”

“Then let’s descend and stabilize ourselves.”

Under normal circumstances, Fang Chaozhou would have landed instantly, but now, with a mortal in tow, he had to slow down the speed significantly. Despite this, Hu Xiang’s face became even paler due to the sensation of weightlessness. It took him a while after landing to dare to open his eyes.

It was only when the palace guards came running and saluted that Hu Xiang finally opened his eyes. He glanced at the kneeling guards and calmly said, “Rise.” Then, he turned to Fang Chaozhou and said, “Ninth Imperial Uncle, let’s enter the palace.”

After riding in the sedan chair for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they finally stopped. As soon as they halted, someone approached and lifted the curtain of the sedan chair. “Ninth Imperial Uncle, we have arrived.”

“Thank you.”

Fang Chaozhou expressed his gratitude and emerged from the sedan chair. Before him were two sets of nine-tiered white jade steps, with a large white stone in the middle bearing a relief of a five-clawed white dragon, while the handrails on the sides were adorned with dragon patterns.

Hu Xiang walked to Fang Chaozhou’s side and spoke gently, “Ninth Imperial Uncle, this is the Emperor’s sleeping palace. Let’s go inside.”

He led Fang Chaozhou forward, and the palace attendants stationed outside the hall opened the doors and knelt quietly on both sides.

Inside the hall, it was silent until Fang Chaozhou reached the inner room and heard the sound of coughing.

The person coughing seemed to be in great discomfort, with weak and feeble coughs that made it seem as if they could faint at any moment.

Upon hearing the coughing, Hu Xiang, who had been walking beside Fang Chaozhou, quickened his pace. “Is the Emperor coughing again? Are the imperial physicians doing nothing? Allowing the Emperor to cough like this!”

He rushed to the bedside and expressed his concern for quite some time before turning to Fang Chaozhou. “Your Majesty, Jiuhuang has returned.”

The person on the bed coughed heavily, their voice sounding weak. “Really? My Chaozhou has returned? Chaozhou, Chaozhou, are you here?”

With the voice, a hand emerged from the bed. It was clearly an elderly hand, wrinkled and adorned with dark age spots.

Hu Xiang immediately turned to look at Fang Chaozhou and said, “Ninth Imperial Uncle.”

Fang Chaozhou paused for a moment, then walked over and held that hand. “I’m here, Father… Your Majesty.”

The old man lying on the bed wore a bright yellow sleeping robe. His hair had turned almost white, but his face looked like that of a person in their early forties. However, the skin on other parts of his body clearly revealed that he was an old man.

When he saw Fang Chaozhou holding his hand, the tired eyes of the old man instantly brightened, filled with surprise. “It really is my Chaozhou. You look exactly like me when I was young.”

Hu Xiang saw Fang Chaozhou holding the old man’s hand and voluntarily stepped aside, saying, “Your Majesty, let me check on your medicine.”

But the old man seemed not to have heard Hu Xiang’s words, as his eyes were fixed on Fang Chaozhou.

Hu Xiang lowered his gaze and exited the palace.

With Hu Xiang gone, the old man spoke again.

“Chaozhou, was your journey back tiring? Are you exhausted? You look too thin in my eyes.” As he spoke, tears welled up in the old man’s eyes. He struggled to use his other hand to touch Fang Chaozhou’s face, but he lacked strength and couldn’t lift his hand.

Fang Chaozhou looked at the wrinkled hand and took the initiative to grasp it, gently pressing it against his own face. “Not tiring at all. I am a cultivator, so I arrived in the capital city in an instant. The journey was quite easy. Thanks to Father’s blessings, I got to see many beautiful sceneries along the way. Normally, I stay in the mountains and can’t see much.”

“Is that so? It’s good that you’re not tired.” The old man smiled, but just as he laughed, he suddenly coughed heavily. Fang Chaozhou hurriedly helped the old man sit up, and noticing that the pillow he was using was made of jade, he furrowed his brow and moved it aside. He took out a silk pillow from his storage ring and placed it behind the old man’s waist.

Upon seeing Fang Chaozhou’s actions, although the old man couldn’t stop coughing, a smile appeared in his eyes. After a while, when the coughing subsided, he weakly said, “When you left, you were so small, just a little taller than my leg. At that time, when the immortals came to choose disciples, and they chose you, you cried so much, clinging to my leg, saying you didn’t want to leave. In the blink of an eye, more than thirty years have passed. I have truly grown old, while you, Chaozhou, have grown up.”

He rambled on, and Fang Chaozhou listened, nodding occasionally. When the old man grew tired and fell asleep, Fang Chaozhou couldn’t help but use his spiritual energy to check the old man’s pulse.

Indeed, it was the pulse of someone at the brink of death.

Fang Chaozhou paused for a moment before retracting his hand and covering the old man with the blanket.

In the present era, most mortals live to their sixties or seventies. Being an elderly man, his father was already in his eighties, nearing ninety. It could be considered a long life, but the discrepancy between the youthful face and the rest of his body was too pronounced.

Fang Chaozhou sat by the bed for a while and left when he saw that the old man was not coughing in his sleep. As he stepped out, he saw Hu Xiang, who had been there earlier.

When Hu Xiang saw Fang Chaozhou come out, he smiled gently and asked, “Ninth Imperial Uncle, has His Majesty fallen asleep?”

“Mm.”

“His Majesty always feels drowsy at this time, so I asked the physicians from the Imperial Medical Office to delay brewing the medicine. By the way, before the Ninth Imperial Uncle left the palace, you stayed in the Princes’ residence. It has been sealed for many years now, and no one has lived there. As for the other palaces, they are occupied by female relatives. Therefore, Hu Xiang dares to invite the Ninth Imperial Uncle to stay in my humble abode for a while.”

Hu Xiang’s residence was located outside the palace but not far from it. Soldiers guarded the estate, but what made Fang Chaozhou pause was the plaque hanging above the mansion’s entrance, which read “Ye Residence.”

Inside the estate, Fang Chaozhou was led to the main courtyard. Hu Xiang said, “Hu Xiang’s residence is not large, only the main courtyard is presentable. I hope the Ninth Imperial Uncle won’t mind.”

Having lived even in Xue Danrong’s dilapidated cave dwelling, Fang Chaozhou felt that anywhere was fine, so he readily nodded. “No, I don’t mind. It’s all good.”

Hu Xiang was about to say something more, but he turned his head and gently coughed, covering his mouth with a handkerchief, portraying a weak and delicate appearance.

One of the attendants beside him immediately said, “Master, your health is not good. You haven’t taken your medicine all day due to handling the Ninth Imperial Prince’s return to the capital. You’ve been serving in the court day and night, tirelessly. If you continue like this, you will fall ill.”

“I… I’m fine, cough cough,” Hu Xiang weakly replied. “It’s just a little discomfort in my throat. The Ninth Imperial Uncle has just returned, and I mustn’t neglect proper etiquette.”

“It’s all right. You should go back and rest.” Fang Chaozhou couldn’t bear to see Hu Xiang in such a state and didn’t want him to stand by his side any longer. He was even afraid that Hu Xiang would cough up blood if the coughing persisted.

After some persuasion, Hu Xiang was finally convinced to go and rest. However, he left behind a group of people to attend to Fang Chaozhou. But Fang Chaozhou, accustomed to freedom and leisure, was not used to being served by so many people. However, those people refused to leave and kneeled down when he tried to chase them away. In the end, Fang Chaozhou had no choice but to let them stay.

Late at night, the room was heated, causing the people kneeling on the floor to be covered in sweat within a short time. Meanwhile, the young man sitting on the couch remained clean and even tightly wrapped himself in a fox fur, showing extreme coldness.

“What is the Ninth Imperial Uncle doing now?” Hu Xiang asked in a soft voice.

The kneeling person quickly answered, “Replying to the Master, the Ninth Imperial Prince is receiving a massage.”

“A massage?” The young man was taken aback.

“Yes, the Ninth Imperial Prince initially wanted to drive away those servants, but somehow, he kept them all. Now the servants are eagerly competing to give the Ninth Imperial Prince massages because he rewards those who do well with elixirs,” the person replied, their tone turning envious. “The rewards are all immortal pills.”

“Immortal pills? They must be precious,” the young man said in a warm and gentle voice. “Do you also want to serve on the Ninth Imperial Uncle’s side?”

Upon hearing this, the person immediately kowtowed, “This servant wouldn’t dare, this servant wouldn’t dare.”

They continued to kowtow over a dozen times, their head even bleeding, but they didn’t dare to stop.

The young man tugged at the corner of his lips and spoke in a soft and delicate tone, “Alright, I know your loyalty. But that’s a cultivator we’re talking about. Don’t just think about serving him, even I want to serve him well and receive immortal pills.”

As he spoke, he picked up the scissors on the nearby table and cut the fox fur on his body into pieces.

The next morning, Fang Chaozhou woke up as usual. However, as soon as he lifted the curtain, he saw a crowd of people inside the room and instantly froze. Those people saw Fang Chaozhou waking up and approached him with smiles, calling him “Ninth Imperial Prince” and saying that they would serve him when he got up.

Having received nearly an hour of massage the previous night, Fang Chaozhou finally understood the pain of a cat. Although the massage was comfortable, being pressed for so long and having people compete to massage him made him feel a bit panicked. Now, seeing a group of people surrounding him, he immediately shrank back, raised his hand, and blocked them.

“No, I’ll get up by myself! Back off!”

He forcefully drove those people out of the room. After freshening up, he climbed out of the window and even jumped over the wall to leave the courtyard.

Not long after leaving the main courtyard, Fang Chaozhou encountered a servant of the estate. The servant immediately wanted to kneel down and carry his luggage, but Fang Chaozhou stopped him in advance. “Do you know where my eldest nephew is staying?”

He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to talk to his eldest nephew. He didn’t need so many people serving him.

Upon hearing this, the servant quickly said, “Is the Ninth Imperial Prince looking for the Master? This servant will lead the Ninth Imperial Prince there.”

Hu Xiang’s residence was quite far from Fang Chaozhou’s location. After a quarter of an hour’s walk, they arrived. The servant led him into the courtyard, where the other servants inside the courtyard became panicked upon seeing Fang Chaozhou. They all kneeled down, and Fang Chaozhou couldn’t stop them. He could only hurriedly ask them to get up and then inquire.

“Is my eldest nephew still sleeping?”

One of the servants replied, “Master has already awakened, but it’s the time when Master takes his medicine.”

“Oh, then I’ll wait for him.”

As Fang Chaozhou finished speaking, the door opened from inside, and a beautiful maid walked out. The maid bowed to Fang Chaozhou and said, “Ninth Imperial Prince, our master invites you inside.”

Fang Chaozhou paused for a moment but didn’t think too much and directly entered the room. As soon as he entered, he smelled a strong medicinal scent. He soon realized that the room was particularly hot.

When he reached the inner room, he saw Hu Xiang sitting crookedly on a beautiful couch, looking frail. Although his legs were covered with a quilt, his face was still pale. He held a bowl of medicine in his right hand, revealing a slender wrist that was only slightly thicker than a woman’s.

Seemingly oblivious to the footsteps, Hu Xiang furrowed his brow and took a sip of the medicine from the bowl.

The medicine seemed too bitter, as Hu Xiang took a sip and couldn’t help but stick out his tongue. After a while, he picked up the bowl again and took a small sip.

Fang Chaozhou, who witnessed all of this, thought for a moment, found a chair, and sat down, watching Hu Xiang drink the medicine.

At this moment, Hu Xiang finally noticed Fang Chaozhou. A shy smile appeared on his face, “To let the Ninth Imperial Uncle see me like this, it’s Hu Xiang’s fault.”

“It’s alright,” Fang Chaozhou said.

But Hu Xiang put down the medicine bowl, “Ninth Imperial Uncle came to me so early in the morning, is there something you need? Is it because Hu Xiang didn’t serve you properly?” He lowered his eyes, his expression filled with sadness.

Fang Chaozhou shook his head, “No, it’s not that you didn’t serve me properly. It’s just that you served me too well. I used to cultivate on the mountain and was accustomed to living alone. Now, having over a dozen people serve only me, I feel uncomfortable. So, my eldest nephew, can you ask those people to leave? Of course, they all serve me very well.”

After a moment of silence, Hu Xiang nodded slightly, “Since it’s Ninth Imperial Uncle’s wish, Hu Xiang will naturally comply. Since the Ninth Imperial Uncle came, you must want to know when we will enter the palace today. Today is a rest day for the court, and both civil and military officials won’t attend. The Emperor will be receiving a medicinal bath and won’t be available until the afternoon.”

“Then let’s go in the afternoon,” Fang Chaozhou said, standing up. Both of his purposes for coming here had been resolved, so it was time to leave. “I haven’t been down the mountain for a long time. Since I have nothing to do this morning, I’ll just go to the bustling market. I can go alone; there’s no need to send anyone with me.”

After saying that, he left, walking quickly, afraid of being followed. It wasn’t until he was several streets away from the Ye Residence that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fang Chaozhou asked someone about the most bustling market in the capital and set off to find some things. However, he was surprised to find that almost all the shops in the market were closed.

In the world of cultivation, shops never closed for twelve hours.

He instantly lost interest and was about to leave aimlessly. After walking for a while, he unexpectedly saw a shop that was open. Seeing that the shop was open, Fang Chaozhou walked inside. However, as soon as he entered, he was already preparing to leave.

It turned out to be a rouge shop.

“Wait, guest!”

He hadn’t walked out yet when someone called out to him.

The one calling Fang Chaozhou was a woman with a charming face. When the woman saw Fang Chaozhou turn back in response, she shook the fan in her hand and said, “Guest, since you’re here, why not take a look? Rouge isn’t just for women; men can use it too.”

As she spoke, she dipped her pinky finger into the rouge on the counter and lightly applied it to her forehead.

Fang Chaozhou was momentarily stunned by the woman’s action. But in the next instant, someone walked out from the back hall. “Young Master, the account book has been sorted out.”

The person speaking didn’t expect to see someone else and, after finishing the sentence, looked at Fang Chaozhou with a vigilant gaze.

Young Master?

Fang Chaozhou instinctively stepped back. This address sounded familiar. Wasn’t this the title that those people from the Fengyue Brothel used to address that crazy person, Song Lianyi?

He glanced at the seemingly relaxed and smiling woman.

Could he be so unlucky? To come to the capital and encounter that crazy person?

But it would be better to leave first!

Fang Chaozhou turned around, ready to run, but he realized that a barrier had been set up around the shop.

The person behind him let out a soft laugh, “Didn’t expect you to recognize me so quickly. You’ve become smarter this time.”

The voice was getting closer and, by the last word, it was right next to his ear.

A seemingly boneless and tender hand rested on Fang Chaozhou’s shoulder.

“Fang Chaozhou, last time my candle didn’t finish dripping.”

There was a hint of nostalgia in the tone.

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