"You're hurt this badly and still say it's fine!" Jing Shao's brow furrowed tightly and he reached out to pinch that white cloth. He wanted to see his brother's wound but was also afraid of hurting him. His fingertips stopped three inches away from the cloth, not daring to go closer.
Jing Chen had never seen his younger brother so cautious and solemn before. His always serious expression couldn't help but crack. The reprimand he had been about to give died on his lips. He somewhat shakily stretched out his hand and rubbed Jing Shao's head. "It really isn't serious. It's just that the wound is long and not easy to wrap; that's why such a large area is wrapped up."
Jing Shao was stunned. From memory, his elder brother had never acted so intimately toward him. When he was young, jumping up and down, snatching bird nests and fishing up koi, his elder brother was already in the study reading books with a stiff face, and most of what he said to Jing Shao was "What troubles will there be next?" When his Empress Mother died, he cried bitterly. His elder brother just knelt in front of the coffin and didn't cry or speak. When he pulled on his elder brother's sleeve, he only got the sentence: "So immature, only know how to cry." As a result, Jing Shao had thought that he wasn't close to his brother all his life.
Up until he was in prison, when his elder brother visited him. Jing Shao still remembered his brother's calm and powerful voice, clear as day: "You are my only brother. I won't let you die, even if I have to sacrifice everything I have!"
Scenes of the past flashed through his mind. Jing Shao felt his nose sting. If he hadn't been able to live again, he would never have known how much his brother had done for him; it was just that it was all done in places he didn't know of. Rubbing one finger under his nose, Jing Shao took out a small green jade bottle from his chest and stuffed it into Jing Chen's hand. "The carriage ride is bumpy. Go back and have sister-in-law help you apply this."
Jing Chen looked at the small bottle in his hand. His father had bestowed this light green bottle on Jing Shao before the latter had set off on his expedition. Jing Chen frowned and said, "This is a life-saving medicine. I only have a superficial injury, take it back." With that, he tried to stuff it back into Jing Shao's hand, but the latter quickly retreated to the carriage door.
"I still have some at home, you take this bottle. If you don't think it's worth using now, then just keep it on you. It'll make me feel a little more at ease," Jing Shao said as he raised the curtain and prepared to go out. "I came out to pick you up, and I went around the capital. No one knows about this. As for Imperial Father, that old man's heart is like a mirror; it's useless to try and hide it from him."
Jing Chen grasped the jade bottle in his hand and watched the tall and straight figure of his younger brother mount his horse, shake the reins gently, and disappear. His lips curved slowly. His Xiao Shao-er was really getting more and more thoughtful.
* * * * *
Even if it was his mother's house, it wasn't appropriate for the Wang Fei to stay for dinner. Thus, when Jing Shao went back to his palace, Mu Hanzhang had returned. The table was full of dishes, and his Wang Fei, dressed in soft and casual silk clothes, sat at the table waiting for him to have dinner. It was really nice to have someone waiting for you to come home. Jing Shao couldn't help but go over and place a kiss on that handsome face.
The surrounding maids who saw this lowered their heads one by one.
Mu Hanzhang's handsome face instantly turned completely red as there were servants all around. This man indeed did not know how to restrain himself. He couldn't help but glare at Jing Shao. "Go and change your clothes, your mouth is full of dirt!" He felt that the words weren't proper as soon as he said them; they sounded more like he was flirting, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed inwardly.
