Gao Yuexing didn’t wait for him to urge her a second time. Trusting him completely, she tilted her head and let herself tumble off the wall.
Her fall was so startling that Li Fuxiang was terrified. He caught her in his arms, turned her over repeatedly to check, and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Gao Yuexing flipped lightly out of his embrace and said, “I’m fine.” She patted the dust off her skirt and added, “Come on, let’s go inside. We have serious business to attend to.”
Gao Yuexing had come here this time with the sole aim of accessing the archived medical records stored in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Years ago, she had used these records as a devastating weapon against Li Fuqiu, uncovering evidence that Concubine Mei had secretly conceived and was taking medicine to sustain her pregnancy.
She still remembered how Consort Hui had lent her support back then.
Gao Yuexing had once borrowed Concubine Mei’s medical records from the Imperial Medical Bureau, so she retained some impression of its layout. Without much effort, she located the room where the old medical records were stored.
Not wanting to alarm the night watchmen at the Imperial Medical Bureau, they dared not light a lamp or make any noise.
Gao Yuexing rummaged through her sleeve pocket and pulled out a luminous pearl about half the size of her fist. It was a novelty she had just acquired during the palace banquet earlier today. The pearl emitted a warm amber glow that was enough to illuminate the small area in front of them.
The two of them carefully cradled the pearl as if it were a treasure. Gao Yuexing glanced up and saw one side of Li Fuxiang’s face bathed in the gentle light of the pearl, making him look breathtakingly handsome.
And how could Li Fuxiang not feel the same about her?
The contours of Gao Yuexing’s face gradually became clear under the light. The childish roundness had faded, revealing features that were growing more strikingly beautiful. Her brows arched like water ripples, and her once unremarkable eyes now sparkled with a newfound radiance because of him, often making him unable to look away. It was as if he were under a spell, finding her both familiar and unfamiliar, both joyful and unsettling.
Gao Yuexing shielded the pearl’s light with one hand and met Li Fuxiang’s gaze. After a moment of stillness, she was the first to uneasily look away.
Li Fuxiang wasn’t quite at the age to understand such things yet, but she had seen enough of the world. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking about those unmentionable moments—those long nights filled with intimate, lingering entanglements that left one yearning for more.
Such thoughts made her face flush and her heart race.
She softly scolded, “Stop staring at me and help me look for the records.”
Li Fuxiang replied, “—Oh.”
But the pearl’s glow could only illuminate a small area. Away from its light, one would be plunged into complete darkness, unable to see a thing.
Li Fuxiang stuck close to Gao Yuexing, following her every step.
Gao Yuexing glared at him. “Back when I was captured by the Fox Hu spies and thrown into the Eastern Palace dungeon, you crawled through the well shaft from the Xiaonan Pavilion to find me. I remember you had excellent night vision.”
Li Fuxiang, unfazed, said, “That was a childhood trait. It doesn’t work anymore now that I’ve grown up.”
Gao Yuexing chuckled helplessly. “Li Fuxiang, are you part cat?”
Li Fuxiang, unusually, didn’t understand her meaning and asked directly, “What are you talking about?”
Gao Yuexing said, “Do you remember the little Mianhua that Concubine Xu left you?”
It was the cat Concubine Xu had raised.
After Concubine Xu passed away, Li Fuxiang took the cat in, but unfortunately, that period coincided with his body being exceptionally frail from grief. Within a few days, he had several asthma attacks. Yaonu strictly ordered that the cat must be kept elsewhere and never in the same room as him.
That gentle and clingy cat was later taken out of the palace by Gao Yuexing, accompanying her to the Medicine Valley.
Li Fuxiang’s time with “Little Mianhua” lasted only a brief few months.
Gao Yuexing said, “Do you remember how we used to be woken up by the cat in the middle of the night?”
Li Fuxiang replied, “I don’t remember.”
Gao Yuexing pouted, “Oh, I forgot. Back then, you were a champion sleeper. Not even thunder could wake you, let alone a cat.”
Li Fuxiang: “…”
Returning to the topic of the cat, Gao Yuexing continued, “At night, Little Mianhua used to be so restless, living in the warm chamber of Qianqing Palace. It would often scratch and claw, keeping people from getting a good night’s sleep. But that little thing was so clever. Whenever I couldn’t stand it anymore and ordered someone to light a lamp, at the very moment the room lit up, it would always be curled up in its nest with a sleepy look, as if I had disturbed its sweet dreams.”
Li Fuxiang, deeply engrossed in her story, asked, “How is Little Mianhua now?”
Gao Yuexing replied, “It’s gotten old. When we first arrived at the Medicine Valley, it often helped catch mice in the herb storage room. But later, it couldn’t move around as much and just stayed quietly in the Xuancao Hall, basking in the sun and living out its retirement.”
Li Fuxiang’s gaze filled with nostalgia.
Gao Yuexing said, “A few days ago, I exchanged letters with Elder Sister Yaonu and asked her to bring Little Mianhua back to the capital on this trip. It’s eleven years old this year, so you’ll get to see it again.”
Li Fuxiang said, “When I was young and foolish, I always thought that everything in the world was eternal—that the stars and the moon would always be there, that the sun would rise every day as usual, and that you would never leave me.”
Gao Yuexing couldn’t bear to hear him say such things. Her heart ached as she gazed at him deeply and said, “I won’t leave you.”
Li Fuxiang said, “You’re lying to me.”
Gao Yuexing dragged out her words, coaxing him tenderly, “I’m not—”
Li Fuxiang said, “You can leave me at any time, as long as you think you’re doing the right thing, as long as you think it’s for my own good.”
Gao Yuexing was cornered by his piercing gaze, realizing she had no way out. What he said even seemed to hold a grain of truth.
Her eyes could see the fates of many years ahead, but Li Fuxiang didn’t know that and naturally couldn’t understand.
Gao Yuexing tried to change the subject. “Hurry and help me find the late Empress Dowager’s medical records.”
Li Fuxiang was deeply disappointed, but he didn’t say it.
The more he kept silent, the more uneasy it made Gao Yuexing feel.
As she flipped through the case files on the wooden shelves, the faint sounds of movement behind her were impossible to ignore. Finally, she couldn’t help but sneak a glance back.
“Your Highness…”
She softly called out to him.
Li Fuxiang turned his back completely to her, leaving her with a silent figure.
In the past, when their heights were closer, Gao Yuexing could easily reach out and ruffle his head. But now, that was impossible. The moment Li Fuxiang straightened his posture, he completely towered over her.
In her previous life, Gao Yuexing respected him as her husband. He was the unyielding Prince Xiang, a young general whose shoulders carried the glory of the sun.
Never in her wildest dreams did Gao Yuexing imagine that one day, by some twist of fate, she would reverse time and meet the young Li Fuxiang, let alone be able to pull him into her arms and rub his head to her heart’s content.
Unfortunately, before she had enough of it, Li Fuxiang grew up again.
Gao Yuexing felt a reluctant sense of loss.
But there was nothing she could do.
When she thought of how uncertain her own fate might be in the years to come, her gaze involuntarily dimmed.
Li Fuxiang, as if sensing something, suddenly turned to look at her again. His movements, uncontrolled in his urgency, bumped into a few scrolls on the wooden shelf. The shelf, already old and unstable, creaked twice, and a bamboo scroll at the very top teetered, threatening to fall onto Gao Yuexing’s head.
Startled, Li Fuxiang quickly reached out to catch it but accidentally struck the shelf hard with his elbow.
The wooden shelf, unable to withstand the repeated impacts, gave way.
Crash!
Scrolls tumbled to the ground.
The noise finally startled the night-duty imperial physician outside. Footsteps approached, and someone mumbled through the door, “What was that noise…”
Gao Yuexing looked around anxiously, instinctively searching for a hiding place.
But the neatly arranged rows of shelves left nowhere to conceal themselves—everything was in plain view.
The silhouette of a person holding a lantern appeared on the paper window, directly in front of them.
Li Fuxiang swiftly wrapped an arm around Gao Yuexing’s waist and, hugging the column, silently leaped up to the high roof beam above.
The beams were even narrower than expected. Gao Yuexing’s legs went weak, and she nearly landed on them with her knees. Half-dragging and half-carrying her, Li Fuxiang secured her in a hidden corner.
The night-duty physician entered the room, draped in an outer robe and wearing loose slippers. Holding up a dim lantern, he scanned the room, his gaze settling on the scrolls scattered on the floor.
The sight startled him, instantly dispelling his drowsiness. “Who’s there!?”
He didn’t bother to pick up the fallen scrolls, his heart filling with dread as he took cautious steps backward toward the door. An intrusion into the Imperial Medical Bureau during the night was no trivial matter.
Gao Yuexing noticed his retreating movements and thought to herself, This is bad. He’s going to call for reinforcements.
She gripped Li Fuxiang’s sleeve tightly.
Just as the physician reached the doorway, a soft “meow~” drifted down from the roof beam, delicate and clear in the silent night.
The physician froze in place, his frantic heart suddenly calming.
Gao Yuexing held her breath.
Li Fuxiang, searching his person, pulled out a piece of cheese he had casually picked up at tonight’s palace banquet. Aiming for the opposite direction, he tossed the cheese away.
A faint thud echoed as it hit the ground, drawing the physician’s attention. He immediately turned toward the source of the sound and spotted the shattered remnants of the cheese on the floor.
Relieved, he let out a long sigh.
Gao Yuexing’s tensed body also relaxed, the prickling sensation on her skin fading back to normal.
The physician sighed softly, “So it was just a gluttonous cat…”
He didn’t stop to think about the details, such as—How could a piece of cheese end up in the study of the Imperial Medical Bureau?
For the moment, Gao Yuexing and Li Fuxiang were temporarily safe.
The night-duty physician began tidying up the scattered scrolls on the floor one by one in an orderly manner.
Only then did Gao Yuexing have the mind to glance at Li Fuxiang in front of her.
At some point, Li Fuxiang, perhaps out of fatigue or for some other reason, had rested his chin in the hollow of her shoulder.
Since the night-duty physician hadn’t left yet, Gao Yuexing dared not move. She could only signal him with her eyes: What are you doing?
Meeting her gaze, Li Fuxiang unabashedly nuzzled her neck.
Suddenly, Gao Yuexing understood something.
She thought of his earlier flawless imitation of a cat’s meow, perfectly matching Little Mianhua’s tone.
Gao Yuexing had always wondered where he had learned the skill of nuzzling others for affection as a child.
He had grown up in the Xiaonan Pavilion, accompanied only by the Yagu, rarely seeing anyone else.
During the period when children are most curious, he must have imitated whatever he had around him.
Aside from Yagu, the only other companion was Little Mianhua, gifted to him by Concubine Xu.
Little Mianhua, with its soft and gentle demeanor, had clearly left its mark on him.
Thinking of this, Gao Yuexing’s heart softened, and she lightly brushed his cheek with her fingertips.
When the night-duty physician finished sorting the scattered scrolls and exited unhurriedly, Gao Yuexing shifted her sore and numb shoulder.
Does he not realize how heavy a person’s head is?
Gao Yuexing couldn’t help but chuckle softly. But as her gaze drifted to the narrow beam they were perched on, her smile froze on her face, like ripples on a lake gradually fading away.
She looked at Li Fuxiang and said, “Take me down.”
This time, Li Fuxiang wasn’t so quick to comply. He simply stared at her, as if not understanding.
Gao Yuexing had no choice but to compromise, “What do you want?”
Li Fuxiang tilted his head, raised a hand, and pointed to the spot behind his ear. “Blow there again, and I’ll carry you down.”