Chapter 17: Opening my eyes, I cut the candle wick and pulled it again...

The candle wick was cut and stretched again, swaying by itself, and fell to the side. The candle wax flowed down along the gap, and the candle flame flickered for a moment.

In the flickering light, the person on the bed opened his eyes.

Her consciousness was not very clear, and the shadows were dim, and the eyes and eyebrows of the man who made her dream about him were reflected in the light.

Ji Yunchan murmured, "Ah Heng."

Yan Heng's heart seemed to be filled with thousands of dandelions, and at this moment the wind blew, making his heart feel sour and swollen. Thousands of words turned into a response: "Hey." After he said it, he realized that his voice was hoarse and his throat was swollen.

Ji Yunchan's eyelids were heavy, and she slowly closed and opened them again. She said weakly, "I'm so thirsty."

The person stood up and leaned against his chest. The hand that usually held the knife was shaking as it held the cup of tea. Yan Heng brought the cup to Ji Yunchan's lips. She didn't even have the strength to raise her hand. She opened her mouth obediently and let Yan Heng feed her the warm ginger tea.

The person in his arms was so weak, like a young animal.

Yan Heng was as careful as holding a feather in his hand, and treated the treasure he had lost and found with great care.

The girl looked at him with tears in her eyes, just looking at him without saying a word.

Yan Heng couldn't bear to see her like this. He cupped her cheeks tenderly and called out, "Yuanyuan."

Ji Yunchan frowned slightly, and murmured in a nasal voice like a dream: "My head hurts..."

Yan Heng was afraid that she might get sick, so he immediately became nervous. He wanted to put her down, but the hand with chilblains clutched the corner of his clothes and showed no intention of letting go.

Yan Heng's heart was also wrinkled, feeling both tender and distressed.

Unfortunately, everyone in the room had been driven out by him. Yan Heng had no choice but to soften his tone and persuade her, "Okay, Yuanyuan, I'll go call the doctor."

Ji Yunchan then reluctantly let go of her hand, and the tears in her eyes grew even brighter.

Yan Heng was speechless when he saw her looking like she was being bullied. He said, "Be good..." and then turned around and walked out with a hard heart, his back looking a little flustered.

He pushed the door open, quickly gave a few instructions to the servant guarding the door, and returned to the bed without stopping.

After a short while, Ji Yunchan closed her eyes again.

Quiet and fragile, as if the awakening just now was just a trance in a dream.

Yan Heng's heart was in suspense, and he called out tentatively, "Yuanyuan?"

The person on the bed trembled his eyelashes, and said "hmm" in an inaudible way without opening his eyes.

Yan Heng breathed a sigh of relief. He reached out and felt the temperature of her forehead. The warm touch was like the good news of being alive.

Her fever finally broke.

Yan Heng tucked the quilt in for her.

The door was pushed open and Doctor Li hurried over upon hearing the sound.

When he walked to the bed, he saw that Yan Heng was not as tense as before, and was visibly relaxed, so he had an idea.

"Young Master."

"Yuanyuan..." Yan Heng coughed lightly, "Ji Yunchan, she just woke up."

"The fever's gone?" Doctor Li was a little surprised. He stepped forward to examine the patient and nodded. "He's still strong. There's no need to worry. Just take the cold medicine and take good care of himself, and he'll be fine."

"I know."

Yan Heng nodded, and as Doctor Li spoke, he gradually developed a sense of rebirth from the dead, and couldn't help but feel scared.

"Since you're alright, I'll be leaving." Doctor Li packed up his medical kit and said to Yan Heng, who looked haggard after a night of ups and downs, "Young Master, you should get some rest as well."

"Oh." Yan Heng responded, not taking it to heart.

His Yuanyuan was sleeping much more peacefully in bed now. Her brows were no longer wrinkled, her thin willow-shaped eyebrows were relaxed, and the flush on her cheeks faded, leaving a faint pink.

The sound of the fifth watch clappers came from afar. The wind and snow had stopped, and the darkness outside the window had turned into water. It was the darkest moment before sunrise.

The lights in the general's mansion were on all night.

Outside, footsteps were heard approaching from afar; someone was walking on the snow.

Yan Heng looked up and saw Chang Sui hurried in, kneeling down and reporting, "General, the Shuo people are invading. Please go and make a decision quickly."

Yan Heng slowly sat up straight and asked him to tell him the military situation one by one.

......

Yan Heng lowered his eyes to glance at Ji Yunchan who was still sleeping, told the maid to take good care of her, and immediately went to the West Camp.

-

Ji Yunchan woke up in the afternoon of that day.

The unfamiliar bed curtains came into view, and she relaxed until her heartbeat quickened, her senses came into focus, and she heard the noisy chirping of birds outside. Only then did she realize what was happening.

He survived a great disaster yesterday and was brought back to Yan Heng's mansion.

At that moment, Ji Yunchan's mood was as complicated as a mess.

Everything was fine except that she had no strength. She propped herself up and sat up, looking down at the quilt on her body. Ji Yunchan scratched it in embarrassment.

A maid came over and put clothes on her, "Girl, are you awake?"

Ji Yunchan hummed softly, reached out to hold it, lowered her eyes to take a look, and it was Yan Heng's cloak that she had put on before.

"Yan...Where's the General?"

She raised her eyes and looked at the maid who was caringly hanging up the bed curtains for her.

She was extremely fair, a naturally beautiful complexion, and with the frailty of someone who had just recovered from a serious illness, she looked even more fragile and vulnerable. The maids who saw her for the first time would have their hearts skip a beat when they saw her.

The maid's name was Yuye. She couldn't help but think that it was no wonder that the general felt sorry for her. As a woman herself, she felt sorry for her.

Yuye paused for a moment, knowing he was being rude, and lowered his head and replied, "There was a war, and the general left at five in the morning and told me to take care of you."

Gone so early.

I seemed to be leaning in his arms in a half-asleep state. The gentle coaxing and warm tea were all my imagination.

Ji Yunchan couldn't help but feel disappointed. Even the most sensible people are fragile and sensitive when they are sick, not to mention that she is delicate at heart and is facing someone she likes.

Yes, being able to pull yourself out of the fire pit is already a great act of kindness.

How could I imagine that he would treat me without any barriers as before?

Ji Yunchan replied awkwardly, "I understand."

Seeing the girl on the bed looking somewhat lost, Yuye couldn't help but feel pity for her. He quickly changed the subject and asked, "The girl's fever has just subsided. Do you want to eat something?"

Ji Yunchan nodded and let the maid bring some white porridge and side dishes, which were all very easy to digest.

She had no appetite and quickly ate half a bowl of porridge and couldn't eat any more.

Yuye brought more medicine, watched her drink it, and then left.

There was silence in the room for a moment. Ji Yunchan looked around and felt that this place was both like a wing room and not like a main house. There were not many furniture and objects in the room, and it did not look like a main house either.

She was thinking about this and that, and then the medicine took effect and she fell asleep again.

......

"I took...the medicine, but...?"

"General...all done...get better."

There was a low voice talking at the door. Ji Yunchan opened her eyes and it sounded a little unreal.

After drinking the medicine and sweating, Ji Yunchan woke up again. Apart from feeling a little tired after waking up, she felt much better.

She propped herself up and sat up.

Hearing the movement on this end, the conversation stopped.

The door was pushed open from the outside. Ji Yunchan looked up as if she sensed something and her eyes met with Yan Heng who was walking in.

For a moment I just wanted to escape.

She struggled to get up from the heavy quilt and cloak, knelt down in the direction of Yan Heng, touched the ground with her head, and closed her eyes in embarrassment.

Her voice still had a slight nasal twang from the cold, but she tried her best to sound normal: "Thank you, General, for saving my life."

Yan Heng paused.

He never thought about Ji Yunchan's reaction.

Facing her who was dying, Yan Heng only prayed that she would wake up.

He swore sincerely in his heart that as long as Yuanyuan woke up, all the past would be wiped out from then on, and he would cherish and love her as he did when they were young.

But he forgot that Yuanyuan didn't love him.

Even though she was still seriously ill, the first thing she did when she woke up and saw him was to kowtow to him respectfully, like a lower person to a higher one, like a person who saved her life and a benefactor, but not like a childhood sweetheart with whom she was engaged.

The dependence in the hazy, half-asleep and half-awake state no longer existed, and Yan Heng didn't even know whose dream it was.

......

Yan Heng didn't speak for a long time, and Ji Yunchan kept bowing.

The room was as warm as spring, but Ji Yunchan felt that the surroundings were like the snowy day when they met again, and every heartbeat was a torture to herself.

Messy, wet hair was scattered throughout his field of vision. He couldn't tell if it was snow or sweat. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that he was still wearing the same red dress he wore when he went to die, wrinkled and sticking to his arms.

Then I felt sticky all over.

So ugly and messy.

Ji Yunchan unconsciously exerted force on the quilt with her fingers, and her embarrassment became even worse.

......

Thinking that she didn't love him, Yan Heng suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

Neither of them spoke, letting the atmosphere spread.

Yan Heng did not sleep all night, his emotions fluctuated greatly, and he was fully focused on handling urgent military affairs. His beard had grown stubble and his eyes were covered with dark circles.

He clenched and unclenched his fists, breaking the silence with his words: "It's just a piece of cake."

Then he paused and continued, "Your mother, brother and sister-in-law have all returned home safely. Don't worry. Just take care of yourself."

Ji Yunchan looked up, her almond-shaped eyes filled with joy.

"Thank you very much, General. I have no way of repaying you."

Then he kowtowed to him again.

Yan Heng was just relieved that she finally showed some spirit, but he was hurt several times by her response of calling her "general" and "slave" and kowtowing.

He looked at Ji Yunchan with mixed feelings and really couldn't be happy.

The atmosphere fell silent again.

Ji Yunchan felt much happier after hearing the good news from her mother and siblings, which alleviated the embarrassment in her heart. She had many questions to ask, but the people around her fell silent again.

Ji Yunchan looked up at him nervously.

In Yan Heng's eyes, it looked like a curious cat.

Seeing her like this, Yan Heng was at his wit's end. He sighed inwardly and thought, "Let's take it slow."

So he said again: "You don't have to go to the prefecture. When you are well again, come and take up your post here."

After saying this, she fled away, fearing to hear words like "general" or "slave" again.

As he walked, he thought, at least Yuanyuan was his now.

I felt a little relieved for a moment.

The person on the bed had no idea what he was thinking.

Ji Yunchan felt a pang of bitterness in her heart as she watched Yan Heng walk away after he finished speaking, trying to avoid her.