Chapter 28

Since that day, all households in Yunzhou City have been ordered to keep their doors tightly shut. However, because of the Soul-Hooking Grass offered by Jiang Jinhong, he has not returned for five or six days since being summoned out by Prefect Xu.

Ruan Qingshang couldn't sleep for nights on end, and it seemed like he had gained two more fine lines on his forehead.

Jiang Yunshu took Ayao to her mother's room. Sometimes, even the slightest noise outside would wake her mother up.

She comforted him while secretly worrying in her heart.

“Ah Yun, I still feel uneasy. Your father's health isn't what it used to be. I need to take him some food tomorrow…”

Ruan Qingshang's voice was low and sounded desolate in the autumn wind.

She took her mother's hand and turned to look at her. The dim candlelight illuminated her mother's face, which was no longer the bright and spirited woman she remembered.

There were white streaks in her black hair, and the deep wrinkles at the corners of her eyes became more and more obvious.

His eyes were filled with worry, and his brows were furrowed.

She could only offer quiet words of comfort, but she couldn't help feeling worried, and the two of them didn't sleep a wink all night.

Fortunately, Ah Yao's deep breaths could be heard in her ear, which calmed her down a bit.

——

Chang Le Palace is located within the palace walls.

Consort Li looked at the letter in her hand with a pained expression. She knew that her family would not have come to beg her if they hadn't really run out of options.

but……

Cheng Zhi said that the Jiang family was unwilling to offer up the Soul-Hooking Grass.

They even used the Soul-Snatching Grass to cure the diseases of those lowly people!

Those lowly people are dead and that's it; Ziyi is her only brother!

"Your Highness, please eat something. You've lost weight these past few days because of the young master's affairs." Qiu Yue was Consort Li's dowry maid, so she naturally felt more sorry for her.

Consort Li sighed deeply and raised her hand to her brow: "Ziyi is on the verge of death, how can I be in the mood to eat anything?"

Qiuyue paused, then mustered her courage and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but the young master is a spoiled brat. I heard that he contracted the disease after he snatched a girl from another family and was poisoned."

“This servant believes it is the will of Heaven. Moreover, when Your Highness was in the manor, the Madam and Master were often biased, because you, young master, suffered so many lashes for nothing…”

Qiu Yue was indignant, but seeing that Consort Li's face darkened, her voice gradually softened.

After a long silence, Consort Li said slowly, "If it weren't for Ziyi back then, I wouldn't have survived. Qiuyue, don't say any more."

Even though Qiuyue had a lot of complaints in her heart, she kept quiet.

“The Jiang family?” Consort Li lowered her slender eyes. “Since they disregard me like this, then I will make them taste the pain that Ziyi is experiencing now.”

"Your Majesty?"

Qiu Yue asked in confusion, and Consort Li snorted: "Isn't the Jiang family's move just to leave a good name for themselves?"

"Do they really think that deposed crown prince can help them? How ridiculous."

"Have Lord Zhao suppress all the memorials from Jiangzhou, Youxian, and Nanhua counties regarding this flood."

She then drafted a letter and gave it to Qiuyue.

"Send it home and make sure your parents do as I say, only then will there be room for maneuver in this matter."

Just as Qiuyue was about to turn and leave, Consort Li called her back.

"Send someone to Lingchuan. No matter the price, bring me back the Soul-Hooking Grass!"

He then wrote another letter to Mo Yanzhou, instructing him not to act rashly or obstruct Mo Tingyu and the Jiang family.

When Mo Yanzhou received the letter, he immediately saw through Consort Li's intentions and burst out laughing.

"Mo Tingyu, now that you've lost this position, don't even think about taking it back!"

Mo Yanzhou's side quieted down, and they even stopped investigating the previous nursery rhyme incident.

Jiang Yunshu felt even more uneasy.

But things seem to be much calmer in Jiangzhou now, and her father has returned safely.

Ling Jingchu's condition is not very good.

After Ayao bit him that day, she originally wanted to call Doctor Li, but Doctor Li had already gone to the prefect's office.

She could only send Ling Jingchu a few ointments, not knowing if they would be effective.

But today, Su Ye hurriedly summoned her to Tingyu Pavilion. Ling Jingchu was lying on the couch with an abnormal red face and her breathing sounded somewhat labored.

“My young master has been getting weaker and weaker these past few days. Last night, I saw that he was not quite right and wanted to tell Master Jiang, but he wouldn’t let me.”

Su Ye looked flustered: "This morning I touched your forehead, and it was burning hot, so I came to find you."

"Miss Jiang, what should we do? Young Master hasn't gone out these past few days, it shouldn't be the plague..."

Ling Jingchu kept her eyes tightly closed, her brows furrowed. In the short time that followed, she noticed a thin layer of sweat on Ling Jingchu's forehead and nose.

"Quickly find Dr. Li. Why did you only tell us when it got so serious?"

Upon hearing this, Su Ye hurriedly ran out again.

Unfortunately, no one was home today; my father had gone to the yamen (government office), and my mother had gone to the bank.

Qing Shuang whispered from the side, "Miss, I'll go get some cold water."

She nodded, and Qing Shuang tiptoed out.

As Ling Jingchu lay on the bed, his breathing gradually became heavier, as if he were in great pain.

Ling Jingchu's skin was as white as snow, and his usual demeanor exuded the aloofness of a gentleman. But now his face was flushed, and his brows were furrowed, giving him an inexplicably alluring air.

She shook off the nonsense in her mind and was about to go over and pull the blanket down a bit when her hand was grasped by a pair of large, hot hands.

"No……"

Ling Jingchu murmured softly, but she couldn't really hear what he was saying. The scalding heat startled her.

She took Ling Jingchu's hand and touched the back of her hand to check the temperature of his forehead. It was so hot that it startled her.

Ling Jingchu is too good at enduring heat. Won't that burn his brain?

"I will never... let go again..."

She cautiously moved closer, wanting to hear more clearly.

But Ling Jingchu seemed to sense her prying eyes, and after that he didn't say another word, only his heavy, hot breaths kept ringing in her ears.

To hear more clearly, she brought her ear even closer, and the hot breath tickled her earlobe.

A tingling sensation traveled from her ears to her spine, and she felt a little uncomfortable in her lower back. She straightened up, blinked, and took a step back, only to be pulled back by Ling Jingchu's tightly clenched hand.

She struggled to pry Ling Jingchu's fingers open, feeling as if he were choking her, making it hard for her to breathe.

"Miss……?"

Suddenly, Qing Shuang's cautious voice rang out from behind. She suddenly used her superhuman strength to pry Ling Jingchu's hand away.

"The water has arrived."

She took a step back, and Qing Shuang glanced at Jiang Yunshu without leaving a trace, secretly amused, but her face showed no flaw.

He quickly wrung out the towel and placed it on Ling Jingchu's forehead.

The cool touch seemed to have made Ling Jingchu feel much better; at least his hand no longer abruptly grabbed anyone.

Qing Shuang stood beside her, and the two remained silent for a long time before Qing Shuang suddenly spoke.

"Miss, did you give the ointment I put next to the dressing case to Young Master Ling?"

She turned to look at Qing Shuang without saying a word, but in her heart she felt that she had probably caused a little trouble.

Qing Shuang could tell just by looking into her eyes.

He clicked his tongue lightly and said, "That's the secret-recipe chili sauce that Ayao insisted on eating before. I was afraid she would eat too much, so I hid it away."

She was initially puzzled: how could someone make hot sauce that looked like a medicinal ointment?

Then, she subconsciously wanted to laugh again, but the corners of her lips just curved into a slight smile before she suppressed it under Qing Shuang's speechless gaze.

Looking at the red marks on the bed, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

"Don't let them know..."

She spoke softly, and Qing Shuang sighed softly, shaking her head as she looked at Ling Jingchu.

Poor Young Master Ling, this must be so spicy! And he's been applying it for so many days. Look, he's got a fever.

"Hurry up and find that hot sauce, or Dr. Li will scold me again when he gets here."

Qing Shuang sighed as she searched the house.

Before they could even find it, Su Ye returned with Doctor Li.

Doctor Li has been working at the government office these past few days, and he's gotten quite thin from exhaustion, but his gaze towards her has become even sharper.

He could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Ling Jingchu.

"What medicine did he apply?"

Su Ye hurriedly took out the ointment from his body. Jiang Yunshu curled her lips, no wonder she couldn't find it.

When Qing Shuang saw the ointment, she tugged at her sleeve. Just as the two were about to sneak away, Doctor Li's face darkened.

"Do you even know what this is, yet you put it on him?"

Su Ye looked at Doctor Li blankly, then glanced at Jiang Yunshu helplessly.

Jiang Yunshu guiltily looked away.

"This isn't medicine, it's made of chili peppers! What are you trying to do?!"

"If you had come any later, this piece of meat would have been marinated perfectly!"

Su Ye felt wronged and confused, and kept shaking her head as she looked at Jiang Yunshu.

Dr. Li finally sensed something was wrong and suddenly smiled: "You gave it to me?"

She pursed her lips, unsure of what to say, and simply lowered her eyes, remaining like a wooden stake.

"You can't even tell the difference?" Dr. Li said earnestly and helplessly, "You're a mother now, you should be more careful. Go back, I'll go check on Ayao in a bit."

She gave an awkward laugh and pulled Qing Shuang out with her.

“Miss, it looks like Young Master Ling is in pretty bad shape. He was bitten by A Yao and his skin was broken. I don’t know how he endured it.”

Qing Shuang's voice sounded behind her, and her guilt deepened.

Applying such spicy stuff to the wound hurts so much, yet he doesn't stop. He's really ruined his brain from studying too much.

He still doesn't know how to take the imperial examinations. Judging from what he said today, it seems that Ling Jingchu still can't let go of the person in his heart.

He can't let go of the past, yet he doesn't know how to build a future for himself. Maybe the girl didn't want to be with him because she saw that he lacked ambition.

Thinking about this and that actually lessened the guilt in my heart a bit.

When they arrived in the courtyard, Ayao was squatting by the pond, intently watching the fish swimming inside.

Ayao has been much better these past two days, but she's not as talkative and cheerful as before, and there's always a faint sadness in her eyes.

"Ah Yao, what are you looking at?"

She and Qing Shuang had already gotten close, but A Yao was completely unaware until she spoke. A Yao turned around warily, and when she saw it was her, the wariness in her eyes faded.

"fish."

Ah Yao's soft, sweet voice was devoid of its usual excitement; she spoke calmly.

She took the fish food from the side and sprinkled some into the food. The fish all crowded over, opening their mouths and eating voraciously.

Ayao looked at the fish with great interest, then secretly glanced at the fish food in her hand, looking eager to try it herself.

She smiled and handed over the fish food: "Here you go."

Ayao's lips curved upwards, and the melancholy in her eyes faded considerably.

Following her example, Ayao threw the fish food in little by little, and watched the fish happily eating it, and Ayao smiled too.

Turning to her with a smile, she said, "Mom, shall we come and feed them every day?"

?

She pinched Ayao's little face and nodded with a smile.

Ah Yao smiled contentedly, patiently feeding the fish until Doctor Li came over.

Seeing Ayao's condition, Dr. Li's tense expression relaxed a bit.

When he took Ayao's pulse, his expression softened considerably.

"That's right, it's a psychological problem, and you've been taking good care of yourself these past few days." Dr. Li rarely praised her like this. "I'll prescribe another prescription, and you'll be fine after resting for another half month."

"Remember not to upset Ayao."

She wrote it down.

After settling Ayao in, Dr. Li glanced at her sideways, and she chuckled twice.

"Luckily I arrived in time, otherwise do you know what would have happened to Ling Jingchu?"

She just pursed her lips and didn't say anything. If she argued back now, Dr. Li would definitely scold her to death.

This is based on her years of experience being scolded.

As expected, Dr. Li didn't say anything more, but just looked at her and sighed deeply.

"I'm going back. I'll try to stay home as much as possible during this time."

She breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Dr. Li leave the hospital. Qing Shuang smiled at her.

“Miss, I think you’re most afraid of Doctor Li. You’re not even this afraid of the master and madam.”

She remained silent, still remembering a time when she was a child when she and Chu Shuangfeng disguised themselves and went to a casino. The two of them lost all the silver in their pockets and even owed the casino several hundred taels of silver.

Neither of them dared to go home to ask for their money. Threatened by the people at the gambling den, they tried to escape from the group of thugs, but they were caught before they got very far.

Fortunately, Dr. Li was practicing medicine there, and we happened to run into him on the way back.

Dr. Li paid the money while cursing.

Neither of them dared to go back that day, so Dr. Li let them stay at his clinic.

After a night of panic, the two woke up feeling as if they had been reborn, and from then on, they never set foot in a gambling den again.

After that, she and Chu Shuangfeng developed a genuine sense of awe for Doctor Li.

"Mother, did I hurt Uncle Ling?"

A soft, sweet voice pulled her back to reality. She looked down at the person who was tugging at her clothes, their round eyes looking at her pitifully.

She couldn't help but pinch A Yao's cheek again: "Yes, A Yao bit Uncle Ling really badly."

"That……"

Ayao frowned, lowered her head, and clenched her hands, muttering, "What should I do? Will Uncle Ling hate me? I didn't mean to..."

She squatted down, her hand still lingering on A Yao's little face.

“How could Uncle Ling dislike A Yao? A Yao is so cute, it’s Mom who should be worried. Mom gave Uncle Ling your chili sauce as medicine, and now Uncle Ling is lying in bed unable to move.”

Ayao's face went from guilt and unease to shock, followed by disbelief and disgust.

Ayao: ...

"Can I go see Uncle Ling?"