Nolan and the Secrets of the Empire Chapter 4

Adrian Fu did not sleep well. The medicine had countless side effects, such as palpitations, nightmares, shortness of breath... He felt as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest while he was half asleep and half awake. He could not move and felt dizzy. These were the symptoms of what people call "sleep paralysis".

Adrian Fu was still conscious. He silently slowed down his breathing and tried to blink until he regained control of his limbs. Then he stretched out his hands to support himself on the bed and tried to sit up. But he forgot that his legs were really lame and he had no feeling below the knees. He used his arms and waist to exert force at the same time, but because his center of gravity was unstable, he turned over and fell off the bed with a "thump".

The bed in the bedroom was not high, but there was a footrest underneath. When Adrian Fu fell, his abdomen was hit by the footrest first, and then he fell on his back on the cold floor tiles. The back of his head hit the ground with a dull thud, which made his eyes go black and his ears buzz.

But before he could feel the dull pain, the bedroom door was kicked open, and someone rushed into the room and picked him up. The man's sleeves were still cool from the autumn night, but his palms were warm.

Adrian Fu was held horizontally, his head resting on the man's chest, his face pressed against the dark blue brocade official robe, which felt soft and smooth, and the collar and sleeves exuded a warm and peaceful scent of agarwood. It seemed that this was someone he was very familiar with, but because he was too close, he suddenly became a stranger.

His hot breath soaked through the thin fabric, and the man's body suddenly tensed up. He was then put back on the bed, and a slightly harder hand was placed on his forehead: "Why is your breath so hot? Do you have a fever?"

The blurry vision and the pain in his body gradually became clearer. Adrian Fu recognized him, and his first action was to push the hand away: "What are you doing here?"

The old servant and the young Flying Dragon Guard who had hurried over heard this cold question as soon as they entered the room. They all stopped in their tracks, thinking that the rumors were indeed true and that neither of these two people was a good person.

Nolan Yan closed his eyes and gathered his energy, not wanting to argue with him, and said stiffly: "You have a fever, get up and drink some water. I'll have someone take your pulse and prescribe some medicine for you."

Adrian Fu closed his eyes and said indifferently: "Don't bother with that. Sir Yan, you came to my humble home so late at night. What advice do you have for me?"

Nolan Yan walked to the table, picked up the teapot, and poured out half a cup of cold tea. His face immediately fell, and he glanced at the old servant: "Is this how you serve people?"

Adrian Fu said with a headache: "You are not finished yet..."

Nolan Yan said, "My Lord is a precious person, how can you treat him so carelessly? If you continue to be so careless, don't blame me for reporting to His Majesty and punishing him."

Adrian Fu's fingers hanging by his side twitched imperceptibly.

The old servant couldn't stand this kind of shock, and hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy. Adrian Fu couldn't stand it anymore, and finally said: "Okay, thank you Master Yan for disciplining my servants for me."

This sounded a bit sarcastic about his meddling in other people's business, so Lord Yan took advantage of the situation and said coldly, "Bring some hot water," before he reluctantly showed mercy and let the man go.

There were only three people left in the room. Nolan Yan stood by the bed and looked down at him. The lamp by the bed was not bright enough, and most of Adrian Fu's face was in the shadows, making his features appear particularly deep and sharp. He was really emaciated, but also really beautiful - so beautiful that it was even a little eye-catching.

He smiled, with a very hypocritical sincerity in his smile: "My Lord, you are in the emperor's heart. When His Majesty heard that you were back in Beijing, he ordered me to bring the imperial physician to diagnose your pulse."

Adrian Fu half closed his eyes and said gloomily, "Thank His Majesty for his concern on my behalf. You can go back and report back. I'm fine. I've been treated by the military doctor of the Northern Yan Army. There's no need to bother the imperial physician."

There was a rumor in the capital that Marquis Jingning was stubborn and stubborn and would not listen to any persuasion, and it was indeed true.

The accompanying Feilongwei military doctor Shen Yice took a step forward, intending to persuade the stubborn general on behalf of his superior out of compassion. But Nolan Yan immediately raised his hand to stop him, signaling him to wait, and the expression he inadvertently revealed was as if he was dealing with some tricky beast.

"Your Majesty is concerned about the Marquis's injury. We came here today just to reassure Your Majesty," Nolan Yan looked directly into Adrian Fu's eyes and said slowly, "Being able to gain the Marquis's trust, I believe that the military doctor of the Northern Yan Army must be very skilled. I'm not worried about misdiagnosis, but the Marquis's injury is very serious. It won't hurt to find a few more doctors to see him. What do you think?"

Adrian Fu raised his eyelids and looked into his eyes.

Nolan Yan was met with that iron-like gaze, and his heart shuddered. He suddenly had a strange illusion, as if Adrian Fu was looking through him, coldly at another person.

After a moment, Adrian Fu lowered his eyes, gathered up his messy long hair, and stretched out a hand weakly, motioning Nolan Yan to help him up: "Since you're here... please go ahead."

Adrian Fu did have a severe fever, and he fell down just now, so he felt pain all over his body. He was not such a delicate person, but Nolan Yan had seen many "weak and fragile" high-ranking officials, so he subconsciously treated him like a fragile vase.

He helped Adrian Fu up and sat down on the bedside. He was afraid that the headboard would hit his injured part, so he stretched out an arm to cushion him from behind and lightly hugged his shoulders to prevent him from sliding down. Adrian Fu's hair was loose again because of the move, so Nolan Yan tucked his hair behind his ears. In this way, most of Adrian Fu's body was leaning against his arms. Jingning Hou probably felt that the cushion was softer than the headboard, and he didn't care how hateful Nolan Yan was. He moved and picked a comfortable position to lie down.

This posture seemed too intimate for the "mortal enemy". Fortunately, Shen Yice was only concerned about Adrian Fu's condition and did not notice that his envoy, the Qincha, who was feared by all officials, pulled up the quilt and wrapped Jingning Hou tightly. Jingning Hou relaxed his tense back under the quilt and put all his weight on Nolan Yan.

"The skin wounds are healing well. The fever is caused by the cold. My Lord, you are injured and your physical condition is not as good as before. You must be careful not to get cold and do not use cold or irritating foods. Keep the bedroom warm and damp. The autumn is getting colder, so the charcoal basin and fumigation cage should be lit early... The most serious injury is to the knee bone and tendons. My Lord, please forgive me. This injury needs to be slowly nursed back for three to five years before it can be recovered. However... I am afraid it will be difficult for you to stand and walk in the future."

Shen Yice helped Adrian Fu put down his rolled-up trouser legs and took back the pulse pillow: "I will write a prescription for the Marquis to treat the cold first. As for the injuries on your legs and feet, continue to treat them according to the methods of the Northern Yan military doctors. I will discuss and ponder with the imperial doctors of the Imperial Hospital after I return. We may be able to come up with a better solution by brainstorming together."

Adrian Fu suddenly took a breath of cold air: "Hiss...be gentle!"

Shen Yice: "Hmm?"

"I'm not talking about you," Adrian Fu moved his shoulder which was so painful from being gripped by Nolan Yan, and said politely, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Shen."

"I don't deserve it," Shen Yice turned sideways, "I am not a good doctor, and I am ashamed that I couldn't help you, sir."

Adrian Fu: "It's okay. I know how badly I've been injured. I'll just do my best and leave the rest to fate."

Nolan Yan helped him lie back down, his expression unfathomable. He was born with a gentle and kind face, and you couldn't tell from his face that it was he who had just pinched the iron-willed General Fu and made him gasp for air.

"Give the prescription to the servants in the Marquis's mansion and ask them to make the medicine. If there is any medicine missing, ask them to go out and buy it. If there is none, ask them to come to my mansion to get it."

Shen Yice bowed to Adrian Fu and left.

Finally, they were the only two people left in the room. Nolan Yan pulled a round stool over and sat down far away from him: "Your legs...?"

"Didn't I just say that? That's it," Adrian Fu stretched out his hand, "Pour me a glass of water."

Nolan Yan frowned: "It's cold."

"I have to have something cold, or I'll die of thirst," Adrian Fu said. "Similarly, I have to stay alive even if my legs are broken. Can I hang myself for this?"

Nolan Yan was speechless, so he had to pour out the half-cup of tea in the cup, poured a new cup and handed it to him: "Your Majesty was worried, so he asked me to bring someone to check the injury."

Adrian Fu: "Then he can rest assured."

Nolan Yan said bluntly: "I don't think so. You can still breathe."

Adrian Fu looked at him with an expression that said "You are being unreasonable again."

"I always feel that all this is not true," Nolan Yan asked, "You really didn't leave any tricks, or did you deliberately spread false information?"

Adrian Fu asked back: "Why do you think so?"

Nolan Yan: "Because you look smart, you wouldn't do such a stupid thing."

"It's true," Adrian Fu shook his head. "It's easy to dodge an open attack, but it's hard to guard against an arrow from the dark. You think I won't be attacked, but you don't know if you think too highly of me, right?"

Nolan Yan didn't expect that his self-evaluation was so low and was stunned for a moment.

Joining the army at a young age and making great achievements, Adrian Fu's existence seemed to be to break the "impossible". Jingning Hou and the Northern Yan Iron Cavalry were already undefeated legends in the minds of many people. This image was so deeply rooted in people's hearts that even Nolan Yan had an illusion.

But he was just an ordinary person, without three heads and six arms, or iron skin and bones. His flesh and blood body could not withstand a huge rock falling from the sky.

"On the way back to Beijing, I was chatting with people in a teahouse, and they told me that there was a ballad circulating in Beijing, called 'General Fu is in the northern border, and the capital can sleep peacefully.'" Adrian Fu sighed, "It's funny, I've been in Beiyan for seven or eight years, thinking that I've made great achievements and protected the country and the people. I was so arrogant that I even forgot my last name. In the end, I realized that not only did I keep the Tartars and the Zhe people awake, but I also disturbed that person so much that he couldn't sleep well..."

Nolan Yan said: "Since you have thought it through, why don't you just hand over your military power and go home to enjoy your retirement and farming. Isn't it better to be a rich and idle person than to fight on the battlefield or to engage in intrigue in the capital?"

"Come on," Adrian Fu sneered, "Is this the first day we met? Brother Yan, I thought we were close friends, but you're still trying to trick me?"

He whispered, "The Eastern Tartars are still determined to take action, and the Zhe tribe is eyeing them covetously. How many people in the court have been blinded by the peace and prosperity of the past decade? If I leave now, who will take over the Northern Yan cavalry in the future, and who will be willing to spend time on border defense? When the enemy is at the gates of the city, the innocent people will be the ones who suffer..."

"What's that to you?"

Adrian Fu raised his eyes suddenly.

Nolan Yan said coldly: "Your Majesty is afraid of you, the court officials are suspicious of you, and those fools only follow the trend and make a fuss. Now that you are like this, does anyone care about you? You have almost no place to stay, and you still have the leisure to care about the world - don't you think it's ironic, General Fu?"

These words were cold-hearted and extremely treasonous, but surprisingly, Adrian Fu did not retaliate.

Nolan Yan looked at his profile as he lowered his eyes in thought, and suddenly realized clearly that the youthful, sharp and dazzling edge of Adrian Fu was gradually fading.

Completely worn out by illness, wind, frost, dust, or something else...

There was a distance between them, but their attitude was much more frank than before when they were leaning on each other. Nolan Yan and Adrian Fu did have some disagreements, but it was far from the dislike for each other as rumored by the outside world. They knew each other when they were young, and the so-called "dead enemies" were just a misunderstanding. One was an important official with military power, and the other was a confidant of the emperor. Their relationship was too good, which aroused suspicion.

The close relationship avoided a lot of trouble, but it also covered up some differences buried beneath the peace.

The Fu family has been a noble family for generations, and his father and grandfather both died on the battlefield. Loyalty and responsibility are almost engraved in his bones and blood. However, Nolan Yan is scheming and unscrupulous, stepping on countless people to get to his current position. He cannot understand these "upright gentlemen" who are sure to lose money and even almost sacrifice themselves.

After all, they were not on the same path. Perhaps they both had their own ideas in mind, but they did not expect that the fork in the road would appear so suddenly, and that they would have to pay such a huge price.