The Untouchable Prince | A Norenmin FanFiction

五十一

Fifty One
Updated: November 22, 2021

Huff... huff... huff... huff...

He lay on the bed, eyes half-lidded, staring up at the wood ceiling, his face was flushed and wet with sweat, his hands tightly gripping the bed. His clothing had been stripped, well, most of it. What remained was just his silk, white underwear. He was still covered. He wasn't naked, barely any skin could be seen besides his hands, neck, and ankles—his socks had been removed. A warm white towel had been placed on his forehead. His body temperature had been rising for two hours now, even after being given the pain-killing and fever-relieving medicine. Was it not effective anymore? Or was it the poison?

Renjun was in his old room in the Pavilion of Imperial Medicine, upstairs in the corner. It had been left that way since even when he moved back to the Palace of Longlife Purity three years ago. The desk by the foot of his bed and the shelf of scrolls and books had been left the way they were, only it was much cleaner than it had been.

In the room were his fiancés, who had brought him up here, his parents, Jisung, Chenle, and Xiao Yue, who had run all the way here looking for her friend. Xiao Yue had been sleeping when Renjun left the palace.

"Injoon-ah."

He could hear the voice. "Hm?" He asked, looking at the prince sitting by his bed. He recognized the blonde hair tied up and secured into a hair crown.

"You're okay, right?"

"It's hot." He reached up to the warm towel on his head and pulled it off. Its warmth wasn't how he was feeling, only made it worse. He just wanted to cool down, not warm up.

Jeno took the towel from him and dropped it into the pan on the floor. He picked up the pan and handed it to his younger brother. "Jisung-ah, can you get a servant to fill this up with cooler water?"

"A-ah, yeah, sure." The young prince took the pan and left the room, returning moments later.

Shufen sat down by the edge of Renjun's bed. "My child, the cold water would get you sick."

"Mother, it's just so hot." Renjun itched at the neckline of his underwear, dying to get his clothing off of him.

She moved closer to him and reached with her hands to stop him from trying to do so, hesitating a bit, as she was not used to touching her son—it had been ten years since she last did. She pulled his hands away. "Don't do that here, there are people watching."

His hands plopped back by his side, giving up. "When's the doctor going to be here?"

"Soon, Injoon-ah, soon."

Renjun glanced at Jaemin. "How soon? What time is it?"

The younger prince glanced at the candle clock, melting away in the corner of the room. "About five? We still have a few hours until dusk. The doctor should arrive in less than an hour."

"Where did the doctor go?" Xinyue asked with a somber tone, his eyes gazing hopelessly at his son.

Shufen stood up, going over to comfort her husband. She gave him a soft smile as she gently patted his arm. "Don't worry too much. Our child will be fine. The doctor had just gone to pick up the medicine, remember? He'll be back soon. Your friend is reliable. You brought him into the City for a reason, didn't you?"

The emperor nodded.

There was a knock on the door. "Your Majesty, the court requests for an appearance."

Shufen glanced back at the door, then up at the emperor. "The court? Didn't you cancel everything?"

Xinyue's hand patted hers. "I did. But, they are too insistent," he chuckled lightheartedly. He glanced at his bedridden son, "I'll see you later, don't die while I'm still alive, okay?"