Quick Transmigration: Why did you provoke him? He's love-struck!

Chapter 501 Relying on Favor (46)

Yan Zhen had a high fever all night and had several dreams in his delirium.

In her dream, she was wearing only a thin shirt, walking alone in the snow and ice, feeling so cold that her blood seemed to freeze.

At this moment, Zhao Yuan appeared, wearing the fox fur cloak that had been prepared for him, standing in the midst of the heavy snowfall.

Feeling extremely cold, Yan Zhen rushed over and buried her face in his arms, jumping and hopping around against him: "It's so cold! Zhao Yuan, hug me."

Zhao Yuan remained motionless, his gaze colder than ice and snow. He then pushed her away and turned to leave.

No matter how loudly Yan Zhen called out to him, he didn't turn his head.

Yan Zhen was both cold and angry, and he stomped his feet and cursed in his dream.

"Zhao Yuan, you just wait!"

"Just wait until I get back, I'll teach you a lesson!"

"I'm never buying you a cloak again! I'll freeze you to death, you ungrateful bastard!"

……

"Princess? Princess?"

Yan Zhen woke up to the gentle calls of his maid, his mind still hazy and his throat parched as if it were on fire.

She opened her eyes, and a maidservant knelt beside the bed: "Princess, it's time to take your medicine."

Yan Zhen looked around and closed his eyes again, finally remembering where he was.

With the help of her maid, she sat up, took the medicine the maid brought her, and drank the bitter medicine in the bowl in one gulp.

After drinking the medicine, Yan Zhen coughed twice and asked the maid, "What time is it now?"

"Your Highness, it is already past noon."

Yan Zhen calculated the time for a moment and then asked, "Where is Xie Ying?"

"Lord Xie has gone out."

Yan Zhen had a sudden thought.

With Xie Ying not around, she took the opportunity to wander around, looking for a chance to escape.

"Help me change my clothes. I'm sore all over from lying down for so long. I want to go for a walk."

As Yan Zhen spoke, he lifted the covers as if to get out of bed.

The maidservant didn't move, looking at her with a hesitant expression.

Yan Zhen frowned: "What?"

The maid whispered, "Princess, Lord Xie said that this mansion is full of imperial guards; you can't get out."

Yan Zhen: "..."

To be honest, Xie Ying knows her quite well.

Yan Zhen was silent for a moment, then quietly pulled the blanket back over himself, lay down, and said, "Then I'll sleep a little longer."

Maid: "...Yes."

Since she was already there, Xie Ying had already guessed that Yan Zhen wanted to escape. He figured the "masters throughout the palace" part wasn't just a bluff, so Yan Zhen decided to stop causing trouble.

Having been in this world for three years, she knew very well how delicate this precious princess's body was.

Even if she manages to escape this house, given her still-ill condition, she won't get very far before being caught again.

Having a fever is very tiring, and Yan Zhen quickly fell asleep again.

Yan Zhen slept until evening, and when he woke up, his discomfort had lessened.

A maid brought over a bowl of congee and a few side dishes. Yan Zhen ate half of it to fill his stomach and then drank a bowl of medicine.

As she drank her medicine, the maid stood to the side, her expression filled with surprise as she watched Yan Zhen. She had expected that after being placed under house arrest, the princess would cry, make a scene, and threaten suicide, going against Lord Xie and clamoring to leave.

But not only did she not comply, she cooperated fully in taking her medicine and eating her meals.

This saved them, the maids, a lot of trouble.

After drinking the medicine, Yan Zhen asked a maid to fetch the medicine box.

Having received Xie Ying's instructions, the maidservant was on high alert regarding Yan Zhen's every move, and asked tactfully, "Princess, what do you need the medicine chest for?"

Yan Zhen looked at the teenage maid, whose face practically screamed "Don't cause trouble," and sighed helplessly. She held out her palm, which was marked with blood from the reins, and said, "Can't you even treat my own wounds?"

Maid: "..."

She went out to get the first-aid kit, looking embarrassed.

After receiving the medicine box, Yan Zhen had the maid close the door and lower the curtain. He first took off his clothes and applied medicine to the bloody wound on the inside of his thigh.

The maid stood by watching, wanting to lend a hand, but Yan Zhen's movements in treating the wound were so quick and skillful that there was no room for her to intervene.

Not long after, Yan Zhen applied the medicine to himself and was wrapping gauze around his palm when there was a knock on the door.

The maidservant ran to open the door, and Xie Ying entered.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Yan Zhen holding one end of the gauze in his left hand and biting the other end in his mouth, quickly tying a knot in his right hand.

Her incredibly skilled way of treating the wound contrasted sharply with her delicate appearance.

Xie Ying was momentarily stunned.

Xie Ying only came over after Yan Zhen started cleaning the wound on her left palm, took the medicine bottle from her hand, and cleaned the wound for her.

Yan Zhen did not resist his actions. When Xie Ying was about to apply medicine to her, she even opened her palms to cooperate.

Xie Ying glanced at her: "You've changed."

"Is that so?" Yan Zhen's tone was casual, with a strong sense of perfunctoriness.

“You wouldn’t have done these things before,” Xie Ying said. “You suffered a lot during those three years in Tingzhou?”

Yan Zhen was silent for a moment, then said, "I guess so."

"He's not good to you?"

The "he" was not named, but both of them knew the truth.

“It didn’t go well at first,” Yan Zhen said. “On the day I arrived at his residence, he asked me to serve him a bath, wash his feet, and dress him.”

Xie Ying paused.

“I would never do such a thing. Either the water was too hot and burned him, or I fell and accidentally spilled water on him. He was very angry and threatened to kill me.”

Xie Ying's hand, gripping the medicine bottle, slowly tightened, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

"Later I figured out his personality. He's the kind of person who responds better to gentleness than force, so I went along with his personality and coaxed him into being happy. Then he wasn't so fierce to me." Yan Zhen's voice became low as he spoke of the past. "But I knew that to survive by Zhao Yuan's side, just being good at coaxing people wasn't enough. I had to make him see my value."

So I learned medicine, farming, and business. By chance, I obtained a seed called potato from a traveling merchant. This seed could yield five or six thousand catties per mu. I saw hope that I could live a decent life by relying on Zhao Yuan.

I led the farmers of Tingzhou to clear wasteland and plant potatoes. In just one year, the potatoes I grew were enough to feed Zhao Yuan's army and the people of Tingzhou. In the same year, we also obtained cotton seeds.

I spent three years ensuring that Zhao Yuan and the entire Tingzhou were well-fed and clothed, and that they recognized my existence and value. Zhao Yuan, as I wished, married me and elevated me to the position of princess.

Xie Ying was silent for a moment, then said, "He doesn't love you; he just wants to use you."

"So what?" Yan Zhen said, "He and I are husband and wife. As long as our interests are intertwined, he needs me and I need him, we will never turn against each other and grow to hate each other."

At this point, Yan Zhen suddenly smiled and said to Xie Ying, who was bowing down and cleaning his wounds, "Speaking of which, it was Lord Xie who taught me the principle of 'profit above all else'."

You do love me, but you even willingly gave away your fiancée, with whom you were engaged, to a political marriage. You've shown me just how fleeting and ridiculous love can be.