The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl

14. Is He Really a Complete Paralytic

Translator: Iris Guo

Soon, A’Chou brought in another basin of hot water. The courtyard was too big, and the distance between the kitchen and the chamber was no less than thirty meters. She was afraid that the water would get cold, so she trotted all the way and got out of breath somehow. Despite her face bathed in sweat, she directly took off her shoes and climbed into bed because she determined to give Zhong Mingwei a good wipe.

While washing the handkerchief, A’Chou whispered to Zhong Mingwei: “Rarely, it’s warm today. May I wipe your body?”

Of course, there was no response. A’Chou didn’t ask him again and assumed that he had agreed. She started lifting the shabby blanket off his body and found him totally naked as expected. After all, it was her first time to see a naked man, so she felt so embarrassed that she tried to hide her uneasiness. While turning around to wring the handkerchief, she spoke to herself: “It’s okay… It’s okay… I’ll just wipe your body… It’s okay…”

She didn’t know if she was talking to him or reassuring herself.

The warm handkerchief went all the way down from Zhong Mingwei’s chin. A’Chou rubbed it on him carefully. She was inevitably uncomfortable at first, but then she forgot about her uneasiness. His body was so dirty, covered with bedsores. The harder A’Chou tried to wipe, the more bedsores she found. They were not only on his arms and thighs, but also on his underbelly, possibly more on his back.

“How could it be?” A’Chou looked at the bedsores on Zhong Mingwei’s underbelly, and got so anxious that she almost cried. She had never seen such dreadfully dense bedsores. She dared not touch them but only gently wiped their edges with trembling fingers. She began to sob: “Why didn’t they send a doctor? How could they! Does…it hurt?”

Her warm tears dropped to the bedsores. Perhaps his wounded skin was stung by the tears, so it trembled slightly. A’Chou’s eyes blurred, so she hastened to wipe away her tears. She stared at his body, and found it still stiff, which upset her again. “Is he really a complete paralytic?”

A’Chou used another basin of hot water and carefully wiped Zhong Mingwei’s legs clean. He was very tall with long legs. However, the legs were stiff, and the skin was rather loose and dull. She gently pinched him, but there was no reaction. Although she was very discouraged, she didn’t stop wiping, and even his big feet became spotless.

“May I wipe your back?” After finishing the legs, A’Chou asked Zhong Mingwei again. Knowing that he wouldn’t respond, she still whispered, “Could you turn over? You can’t…move at all?”

There was no response. A’Chou got downhearted seeing his compressed lips. However, something occurred to her when she saw his trembling Adam’s apple.

He used to be the incomparably noble Crown Prince, but now he was reduced to such a wretched life. For him, being on his last legs must be more painful than dying. However, since he was paralyzed, he couldn’t even commit suicide.