The Emperor and His Thief

You’re injured so I will feed you
When Li FangMing opened his eyes, he was laying on top of something soft. He noticed the ceiling above him looks unfamiliar but he was still not fully awake. “So comfortable,” Li FangMing murmured in a soft voice, eyes drooping down once more. He was just about to fall back to sleep when he heard a sound of footstep accompanied by soft whispers of two women.

“The boy is still not awake, what should we do?” one of the two women speaks up as she looked over at the young boy who currently slept on the soft divan.

“What do you mean by that question? His Imperial Majesty had asked us to take care of him so we will do as ordered!” the other one scolded, thinking that the woman earlier wanted to shirk her responsibility.

“Sister! You know that is not what I meant. But His Highness has been asking about him.”

“I will go inform His Highness. You go prepare the bucket and warm water. It is time we change his bandage.”

With how noisy the two were, Li FangMing were unable to go back to sleep. So he slowly opened his eyes again and looked over to the direction of the voice. Though by now, one has already left while the other is busy placing the dishes on top of the table nearby. “Sister?” Li FangMing called out, making the female servant jump slightly in surprise.

“Oh, you’re awake! That’s great! Let me go and get His Highness!” the servant didn’t wait for Li FangMing to say anything else as she rushed out to find the Crown Prince. Li FangMing was left alone once more, but now he is more awake than the first time he opened his eyes. He looked around the room and saw that the decoration was expensive.

Even the place he’s currently laying down on is very comfortable compared to the bed he had back home. Then his eyes landed on the table where he could smell the food. Suddenly, he was stricken with hunger and as if on cue, his stomach growled in protest. ‘So hungry… I can eat those, right?’ Li FangMing thought to himself as he continued to stare at the table full of dishes. Li FangMing hesitated for a while, but when his stomach growled once more, he decided that he could at least have just one mouthful.

Sitting up, Li FangMing’s face contorted in pain as he felt a sting on his chest and his hand quickly went over it, clutching over it in hope to ease the pain. Tears pooled up in his eyes before it fell down on his cheek. The thought of eating disappeared and all his brain could register was the pain on his chest.

This was the exact scene that Qin YiJun saw when he ran into the room. He was surprised when he saw the boy crying so he rushed over to the divan and looked over at Li FangMing worriedly. Not long after, the female servant from before came in. “Your Highness, please don’t run like that. If Your Highness fell down and get injured, this servant’s life will be forfeited,” she said, face slightly pale. Li FangMing, because of the pain did not register what the servant was saying as he held his chest.

“Mei Ran! Hurry and call Old Pan!” Qin YiJun said in a panicked voice. “He’s hurting!”

The servant, Mei Ran stay rooted in a stupefied manner, surprised at the sudden order. After a few seconds, she finally snapped out of her trance and once again, ran out. This time, her destination is the infirmary where the royal physician known as Old Pan, stays.

Once the servant left, Qin YiJun’s attention returned to Li FangMing who still has tears running down his cheek. “Don’t cry. It’s alright. Mei Ran will come with Old Pan soon and then Old Pan will heal make the pain disappear,” Qin YiJun said as he tried to calm Li FangMing down. As the youngest within the Imperial Palace, Qin YiJun had zero experience in coaxing someone and the more he saw Li FangMing cry, the more he felt himself being affected. The tears are threatening to fall out of Qin YiJun’s eyes but the young Crown Prince held it in.

Then he remembered how his mother once coaxed him with sweet when his favourite toy broke so he quickly walked over to the table and looked over at the dishes that were spread on top of it. Seeing that there is an osmanthus cake, he felt relieved. He washed his hands with the bowl of water on the table before he picked one up and went back to the crying Li FangMing. “Here, eat this and don’t cry anymore, okay?”

Li FangMing eyed the osmanthus cake that was held by Qin YiJun. The sweet smell of honey that was on the cake stimulates his taste buds and reminds him of his hunger. He sniffled and wiped the tears away from his face. Seeing that Li FangMing has now stopped crying, he held the cake up close to Li FangMing’s lips. When Li FangMing finally ate it, Qin YiJun felt that his shoulder became lighter. “Taste good?” he asked.

“En. Thank you,” Li FangMing’s voice was slightly hoarse from the crying and his stomach had taken this moment to make its protest known once more. This made Li FangMing’s face turn red.

“Hungry?” Qin YiJun asked and Li FangMing, just nods his head in response. “You’re injured, so wait here. I’ll go and get more!” a smile finally appeared on Qin YiJun’s face as he went to the table once more and picked up the dish containing the osmanthus cake. When he returned, he was just about to feed Li FangMing once more as he held it up for the young boy.