Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play
Chapter 119: Heartache

Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Heartache

"Little Marquis, Little Marquis..." Prefectural Magistrate Wang’s scalp went numb, stammering in terror, "Quick, someone come, carry him in, be careful, don’t press down on the Little Marquis’s wounds! Heaven help us, which heartless villain dared to injure the Little Marquis? And what’s with her? Covered in blood... is she dead? Someone help! Xiao Liu, you carry the doctor over here, if we delay any longer lives will be lost!"

The household guards scrambled over to carry them inside, creating utter chaos.

Xie Xun, young and fiery, regained consciousness less than an hour after being treated. Under Prefectural Magistrate Wang’s watchful eye, he was forced to drink several bowls of nutritious medicinal soup. The hot liquid coursed down his chest, bringing some relief to his weary body.

"How is Fengyu?" Xie Xun asked.

Prefectural Magistrate Wang couldn’t discern their relationship, but seeing Xie Xun’s evident anxiety, he knew Fengyu’s identity was of great importance. "The young lady’s fever won’t subside, she’s unable to ingest medicinal broth, her left leg is slightly fractured, and she has multiple internal injuries... The doctors are at a loss. Little Marquis, don’t worry—I’ve summoned every doctor in the city. Whether she can be saved, however, is uncertain."

"If the medicinal broth won’t go in, then force it down her throat!" Xie Xun snapped angrily, rising to leave. His brows furrowed with unease, each step he took exacerbated the poisonous pain in his leg, like walking on razor-sharp blades.

"Little Marquis, be cautious of your wounds..." Prefectural Magistrate Wang shouted after him.

Inside Fengyu Courtyard, maids were attempting to feed her medicinal soup while doctors gathered in the room to discuss prescription strategies. Upon seeing Xie Xun enter, they bowed in unison, and he raised his robe, seating himself by the bed. Fengyu’s lips were pale, her face devoid of color, resembling a lifeless corpse.

Reaching out, Xie Xun placed his hand on Fengyu’s forehead.

Scorching heat radiated from her; she had been burning with fever for hours. If this continued, she might end up brain-damaged.

Xie Xun decisively ordered, "Lower the fever immediately. Prescribe the strongest medicinal concoction you can; she has been on medication for years, and gentle remedies are useless on her."

The dozen doctors exchanged uncertain glances. Xie Xun’s tone sharpened, "Write the prescription! If the treatment fails, I alone will bear the consequences—it’s none of your concern."

"Yes, sir!"

The doctors, all locals of Shun City, preferred not to tangle with powerful aristocrats. With authority looming over them like a guillotine, and being mere commoners, they feared nothing more than the declaration, "Fail and you die together."

Afraid to use overly potent ingredients, they hesitated prescribing strong medicinal soups, especially since Fengyu’s pulse was weak and she wasn’t robust of constitution.

Maids consistently applied cold cloths to her forehead, switching out four basins of chilled water in the process. They served Fengyu with trepidation, terrified of incurring Xie Xun’s wrath.

The medicinal soup was soon ready, and though the maids attempted several times to feed her, they were unsuccessful. Xie Xun took the bowl himself and said heavily, "Leave the room."

"Yes, sir!"

The maids exited promptly, closing the door behind them. Outside in the courtyard, the doctors continued to deliberate over medicinal formulae, hearts racing for fear that excessive potency might result in deadly complications.

Xie Xun blew on the steaming soup, the bitter aroma wafting upward. He took a swig, wincing at the acrid taste, then pinched Fengyu’s chin to force her mouth open. He hesitated briefly, before leaning down and sealing her lips with his, passing the soup into her mouth.

Soft lips met his, the bitterness of the medicinal brew mingling with the feverish heat of her breath. Fengyu, the Third Miss, was even frailer than he’d imagined.

After forcing her to swallow an entire bowl of soup, they waited for the medicine to take effect. The doctors didn’t dare leave, keeping constant watch over Fengyu’s condition.

Xie Xun stayed in Fengyu Courtyard without eating or drinking, while Prefectural Magistrate Wang, having exhausted other options, urged him repeatedly to rest. Xie Xun’s arm wound, deep enough to expose the bone, had already been dressed properly. He’d endured worse injuries before and didn’t consider it pertinent. Unfortunately, the doctors remained powerless against the poison in his leg. A seasoned patient himself, Xie Xun wrote out a prescription, instructing the servants to prepare a herbal bath to ease the symptoms somewhat.

The brutal kick from the Beiman Man had nearly cost Fengyu her life. Now, her fragile existence hung by sheer willpower, and Xie Xun genuinely feared she might expire. He hastily penned a note and left it conspicuously by the bedside, placing her coral bracelet atop it for emphasis.

Then, dizziness overcame him like a plummeting descent, and Xie Xun lost consciousness.

When Fengyu opened her eyes in a dazed stupor, her soul had already swapped into Xie Xun’s body. Pain engulfed her instantly, turning her eyes red with torment. Although the effects of the medicine had somewhat alleviated the poison, it hadn’t worked fast enough, leaving the agony unbearable. Worse still, the slash on the shoulder was deep enough to expose the bone.

"It hurts so much..." Fengyu gasped as she lifted the robe to check the poisoned leg. The toxins had spread, staining the skin an ominous greenish-black. The poison was clearly still active. She was baffled—during previous swaps with Xie Xun, she hadn’t felt such searing pain.

She had assumed the leg injury had already healed.

The fact that his leg wound stemmed from her actions left Fengyu with a pang of guilt. Yet she couldn’t fathom why Xie Xun intentionally removed the coral bracelet. Knowing how much Xie Xun resented losing control of his body, hated anything to do with her or the Soul Suppressing Pearl, why would he willingly surrender himself?

Looking at the note pinned down by the bracelet, Fengyu picked it up. The elegantly bold handwriting showcased a single line:

"Fengyu, if you die, I won’t repay the 500,000 taels."

The flickering ember of guilt in Fengyu was instantly dashed to pieces by this sentence. Drenched in sweat from the unbearable pain in her leg, she seethed with indignation. All she wanted was to slap him across the face—but slapping him would be slapping herself, making it a losing proposition.

While she had been unconscious, her fevered delirium had been overwhelming yet relatively painless.

Waking up meant having to endure the outright torment. Gazing at her frail, barely breathing body on the bed, Fengyu wondered: was this still her body? Was it Xie Xun’s soul within it? In the end, did it even matter?

"Bastard..."

On the back of the note, Fengyu scrawled another sentence before donning the coral bracelet onto her own wrist. In an instant, Fengyu returned to her original body.

Xie Xun had purposefully removed the Soul Suppressing Pearl to take Fengyu’s place in enduring this bout through the Ghost Gate. He assumed Fengyu, known for her selfish and unyielding nature, would gladly agree.

To his utter surprise, she had swapped back to her body within the time it took for one incense stick to burn.

Looking somewhat bewildered, Xie Xun finally noticed the sentence written on the back of the note:

"Interest doubled. It’s excruciating. Don’t mess with me!"

Xie Xun, "..."

Truly a classic case of "a dog biting Lü Dongbin—not recognizing kindness when it’s offered." Fine, if that’s how you want it. She could burn until she became a foolish little dolt, so dependent she didn’t dare contradict him.

Despite his frustration, Xie Xun began monitoring her condition attentively. After over an hour, her high fever gradually subsided. Xie Xun mused to himself, "That line truly worked wonders; Fengyu treats money as her lifeblood, and for the sake of 500,000 taels, she must wake up."

After two hours, the fever transformed into a low-grade one, only to spike again intermittently. Once more, Xie Xun fed her a second bowl using his lips to pass the soup. By evening, Fengyu’s fever finally broke. The doctors breathed a collective sigh of relief. They checked her pulse and deliberated over new prescriptions. Due to the year’s heavy snowstorms, Shun City and Lian City’s medicine supplies had been requisitioned by the Capital City.

Luckily, the Prefectural Magistrate’s Mansion had an ample supply, including a trove of life-saving ginseng. The Prefectural Magistrate offered them all up freely to Xie Xun. After all, once one serves as part of the Northern Iron Cavalry, they belong to it for life. What’s more, he had been the personal guard of Old Marquis Zhenbei, and Xie Xun was his rightful young master.

Fengyu’s internal injuries required the most immediate attention. An elderly physician, weathered by age and pressure, devised a prescription. Xie Xun reviewed the formula; after the fever, this blend was much gentler. He approved it, and the maids brewed the medicinal soup for consumption. Xie Xun, seated by the window, recalled Zhang Lingzheng’s acupuncture technique and requested the physician to replicate the needle placements.