Seeing Su Mu’s resistant expression, Chen Qing said nothing. She simply stared at her with scarlet eyes and pulled the spoon out of Su Mu’s mouth.
“The medicine is really hard to drink—it’s both bitter and weird. You’ll know once you try it.”
Su Mu swallowed the porridge in her mouth and tried every way possible to tell Chen Qing just how unpalatable the herbal medicine was.
But Chen Qing had already stopped talking. She just kept staring at her and scooped up another spoonful of porridge, bringing it to Su Mu’s mouth.
With Chen Qing remaining completely silent like this, it filled Su Mu with an overwhelming sense of pressure.
“How about we return the medicine? It’s expensive and tastes awful. My body’s fine; I can tough it out.”
Su Mu tentatively offered the suggestion. She really didn’t want to drink the herbal medicine at all.
But it was obvious this suggestion wouldn’t be accepted.
After all, if this Traitorous Shizun’s body was truly as strong as she claimed, she wouldn’t be lying here with a high fever.
The medic had said earlier that she needed to fill her stomach before taking the medicine.
She had deliberately left the room earlier—once to buy medicine for Su Mu, and again to improve the plain congee in the bowl.
After all, with a cold, one’s sense of taste dulled, and plain congee was tasteless to begin with.
With the Traitorous Shizun’s personality, if there was truly no flavor at all, she would definitely suspect that Chen Qing was trying to harm her.
Chen Qing gently blew on the spoonful of congee again and pressed it against Su Mu’s lips.
Seeing how forceful Chen Qing was being and not adopting her wise strategy at all, Su Mu could only sulkily finish most of the bowl of congee.
“I’m full.”
Su Mu lay on the bed. The high fever wracking her body and her pounding head made her not want to move a muscle.
In fact, Su Mu’s strength as a Second-Rate Warrior was already quite impressive.
If it were an ordinary person with such a high fever, they would have long been bedridden and unable to get up.
But the fact that Su Mu had just been able to haggle with Chen Qing was already pretty good.
But how long could Su Mu’s peaceful rest last? A bitter medicinal scent wafted over.
Upon smelling the medicinal aroma, Su Mu pretended to be asleep while lying on the bed.
Her fair and slender legs clamped the quilt tight, and her fingers gripped the bedding beneath her.
She resolved in her heart that no matter what Chen Qing said later, she absolutely wouldn’t get up to drink the medicine.
But Su Mu didn’t expect that Chen Qing’s method would be far simpler, more brutal, and effective.
“Get up and take your medicine.”
Chen Qing looked at the pretending-to-sleep Su Mu, a hint of amusement flashing in her eyes.
Chen Qing placed the medicine bowl by the bed and picked up the longsword resting nearby.
A cold, stern sound of drawing the sword rang out. Upon hearing it, the pretending Su Mu jolted awake instantly.
She quickly flipped over and gazed at her with ‘innocent’ eyes.
“You brought the medicine? Give it to me; I can down it in one gulp!”
“Didn’t you just say the herbal medicine was bitter and hard to drink? Why so proactive now?”
Chen Qing’s teasing, playful gaze reflected on the shimmering sword blade.
Seeing most of the sword blade exposed, Su Mu’s heart thumped wildly.
“I thought about it. I’m not a kid anymore; drinking medicine is no big deal for me.”
Gazing at the icy sword, Su Mu spoke against her true feelings.
Seeing Su Mu’s lightning-fast change of face, Chen Qing snorted coldly and sheathed the sword.
This Traitorous Shizun might be lacking in other areas, but she was glib when making excuses.
Even after kissing her so fiercely last night, it still hadn’t shut her mouth.
Gazing at Su Mu’s rosy, soft lips, which were slightly swollen,
Chen Qing’s mood inexplicably improved. And seeing that the Traitorous Shizun still had the energy to haggle with her today,
it seemed she had been too merciful last night. Next time, she couldn’t afford to soften just because of those aggrieved cries.
Lying on the bed, Su Mu saw Chen Qing’s strange gaze and felt a twinge of unease amid her panic.
She had a nagging feeling that this detestable Villain in front of her was plotting something bad against her.
But Su Mu couldn’t read Chen Qing’s thoughts, so she could only silently raise her vigilance a notch in her heart.
By the later part of last night when Chen Qing was bullying her, her alcohol had mostly worn off.
She hadn’t forgotten the scene where she had cried until her throat was hoarse, begging her for mercy.
When she counter-killed later on, she would definitely make Chen Qing experience that feeling too.
Though Su Mu’s little head had already begun fantasizing about Chen Qing writhing beneath her,
right now, Su Mu could only pitifully indulge in the fantasy. Chen Qing forcefully brought the medicine bowl to Su Mu’s mouth.
Smelling the medicinal scent that even plugging her nose couldn’t block, a resistant expression appeared on Su Mu’s pretty face.
But under Chen Qing’s gaze, which carried a threatening smile, Su Mu could only helplessly open her glistening little mouth.
Chen Qing scooped up a spoonful of the pitch-black medicine and fed it into Su Mu’s mouth.
The intense bitterness nearly made her spit the medicine right out.
Only under Chen Qing’s coercive gaze did Su Mu force herself to swallow the liquid.
“No, no, this is too awful. I don’t want to drink anymore.”
Tormented by the bitterness, Su Mu sat up on the bed, dragging her sickly body with her.
Even several of her fair, dainty toes were exposed from under the quilt.
The coolness on her toes had no effect on Su Mu right now.
She felt that taking this medicine was more unbearable than being sick itself.
Chen Qing’s gaze imperceptibly lingered on Su Mu’s jade-like toes for a moment.
Holding the medicine bowl in one hand, she set down the spoon with the other and tucked in the quilt draped over Su Mu.
“Keep drinking. Finish half the bowl, and I’ll give you a candy to suck on.”
Hearing Chen Qing’s words, which sounded like she was coaxing a child, Su Mu stared at her discontentedly.
Treating her like a fool, were they? She was all grown up, and they thought a single candy could bribe her?
Ignoring Su Mu’s discontented little glare, Chen Qing took a white candy from her bosom.
This candy had been given to Chen Qing by Mu Qiuzi when she helped her escape.
It was made by mixing premium goat’s milk into high-quality sugar with a special process—the kind of snack that the noble consorts and ladies in the palace adored.
Chen Qing didn’t like sweets, so after Mu Qiuzi gave it to her, she had kept it in her storage pouch. She hadn’t expected to use it today to coax the medicine-refusing Traitorous Shizun.
It had finally served some purpose.
Smelling the milky fragrance from the candy in Chen Qing’s hand, Su Mu thought of the White Rabbit Milk Candy she had loved most before transmigrating.
Though it smelled nice, it was far less refined than White Rabbit Milk Candy.
However, in this feudal era where even filling one’s stomach required praying to the heavens, having such a candy was already extremely rare and precious.
But even with this candy, Su Mu was resolute in not drinking the bitterly awful herbal medicine.
Even if real White Rabbit Milk Candy appeared today, she would rather jump out the nearby window than take another sip of that bitter medicine.
But just as Su Mu steeled her determination to resist the bitter, unpalatable medicine,
a flick landed squarely on her forehead.
“If you don’t drink it, I’ll pour it down your throat.”
