Chapter 12

Thick fog like gauze covered his eyes. Que Ming carefully explored it and groped forward with difficulty.

Suddenly, a stone lion in front of a door appeared in front of my eyes.

He looked up and saw the two big words "Ling Mansion" written on the plaque.

His chest felt like it was burning with fire. Que Ming walked in step by step with difficulty. He saw people gathering behind the screen wall, coming and going in a bustling manner. Everyone was busy with their own work, as if they didn't see him.

He reached out and grabbed a girl who was about to leave. She looked over, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she led him towards the door with one hand.

Que Ming felt as if he had become smaller. She held his hand and led him through the corridor to the backyard. The whole family was admiring chrysanthemums in front of the yard. The bright yellow chrysanthemums were in full bloom, blocking their faces one by one.

Que Ming ran forward anxiously to see what they looked like, but he fell to the ground without paying attention. He didn't feel anything on his body, but a crying child's voice came out of his mouth.

"Ouch! Why is our little man crying like this? He just fell down. Grandpa, take a look!"

His knees were covered by a big hand. He grabbed the hand and wanted to look up to see his appearance, but just as he was about to see him, the fog enveloped him again, submerging him completely.

"If you want to be a great general like your father in the future, you can't cry so easily. You'll be laughed at..."

The sound was like an echo from deep space, and he couldn't catch it.

Que Ming tried desperately to keep him and held his hand tightly, but he gradually turned into a gust of wind and disappeared into the air.

"Que Ming..."

Is someone calling him?

He opened his eyes drowsily, and saw a woman sitting at the head of the bed. She was as pretty and graceful as a fairy, and he couldn't take his eyes off her face.

Seeing him in a daze, she reached out and touched his forehead, then sighed.

"You were unconscious for a long time. I was so worried."

He sat up quickly with a hoarse voice.

"I'm fine! Miss, you should stay away from Que Ming. Be careful not to get sick."

She didn't say a word when she heard him say that, but tilted her head to look into his eyes.

"Do you really want me to leave?"

“…”

Unable to answer, he watched as she raised her hand to brush the wet hair from his temples.

"If you don't answer, I'll leave."

With that said, how could he maintain his determination and keep her immediately?

"Don't go! Just a moment... just a moment."

…

The sleepy man under his command grabbed Lao Sun's wrist in panic, and he was so scared that he thought Que Ming was about to wake up, so he called him twice.

"Queming! Get up and take medicine when you wake up."

Because of these words, he seemed to regain consciousness and slowly opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Queming? Are you awake?"

He blinked for a long time before he could see the person in front of him clearly. He raised his hand to cover his eyes, and a relaxed smile that seemed both bitter and sweet appeared on his face.

Old Sun was puzzled, "What are you laughing at?"

Que Ming climbed up, leaned on the bed and shook his head.

Yes! What was he laughing at? It was something he shouldn't even think about, yet he had the nerve to laugh.

Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Lao Sun didn't plan to ask any more questions. He took the medicine bowl that was warmed on a small fire beside him and opened it. A hint of medicinal fragrance wafted out and lingered around his nose. He deliberately took a sip.

"The young lady is here to see you today..."

His breathing seemed to stop for a moment and he almost fell off the bed.

"The eldest lady has been here?"

He grabbed his wrist tightly again, and Old Sun thought he was afraid of the eldest lady, so he hurried to explain.

"The young lady came here because she told you to stay home late yesterday, worried that you might have caught a cold because of her. She's kind and considerate of the servants, and she even said she bought you some medicine. You should be grateful for her kindness!"

Hearing this, the tenderness in Que Ming's eyes almost overflowed. Of course he was grateful!

From the beginning until now, he has always been grateful for her kindness. She saved him when he was a child, and always cared about him in every way. Now she came to see him in person because of this little thing.

The clouds of mist in his heart were about to break through his body and rush past his reason to reach her side.

The young lady cared so much about him, yet he was still complaining about a small matter like wearing a hat. In fact, from the beginning to the end, it was the young lady who protected him, right? No matter what she said, she was worried that his face would cause him trouble, right?

She thought too much and didn't even understand the deep meaning of her concern for him. He really didn't deserve her concern, and he was exhausted by his own wild thoughts. He was really not as frank and upright as her.

The medicine bowl was handed to him. Que Ming held the medicine and looked at the bottomless black liquid, as if he could see the eldest lady's painstaking efforts in it.

He smiled slightly, tilted his head back and drank it all in one breath.

The heat flowed through his body along with the medicine. He felt a shiver, followed by a dizzying hot air covering his head. Seeing him like this, Old Sun helped him lie down.

"The lady said she would come back tonight when you take your medicine, but she hasn't come yet. I'm afraid she has something going on and won't come today!"

Hearing this, Que Ming's trembling turned into warmth. He curled up in the quilt and stared at the door, hoping that she would push it open and come in the next moment.

Gradually, the sleepiness in his mind was reawakened. He opened his eyes wide in a trance, trying to see the door clearly, but his vision went dark and he fell asleep uncontrollably.

Old Sun also packed up the medicine bowl and picked up the food box. He looked at the poor child lying on the bed and sighed.

Then he pushed the door open and left, leaving the poor dreamer to sleep alone in the night.

Old Sun walked along the corridor in the backyard towards the southeast. Just as he was about to return the lunch box, he saw a man coming towards him, also hurriedly holding a lantern.

"Aunt Cheng?"

The man heard his voice and hurried over, shining the light on him.

"Ouch! Old Sun, why didn't you turn on the light? You scared me!"

Old Sun scratched his head and picked up the food box.

"I just thought it wasn't too late! The young lady said she was going to make some medicine for Que Ming, but I was afraid it might get cold, so I took it away in a medicine bowl. Now I have to return it."

Aunt Cheng was slightly stunned. The eldest lady actually cared so much about Que Ming?

"Did the young lady say anything else?"

Old Sun also knew what she meant, but he was hiding it for the master, and it was not appropriate to ask the young lady to bear all the blame at this moment, so he just shook his head in confusion.

Aunt Cheng understood and said to him.

"The young lady has reached the age of marriage this year, and she might be getting married in the next two years. Old Sun, please don't say anything nonsense to others. It would be bad if it gets out and affects the young lady."

He naturally understood and nodded.

"If I hadn't met Aunt Cheng, I wouldn't have dared to say anything. But the young lady originally said she would come to watch Que Ming take his medicine today, but she still hasn't come until the evening hour. Did the young lady encounter something?"

Aunt Cheng sighed, "Someone was sent by the Princess's Mansion to pick her up. The Princess suddenly fell ill today and is said to be in critical condition. There are no other relatives or younger generations in the Princess's Mansion, so Madam quickly asked the eldest daughter to go and see her."

"The eldest princess has always been fond of our eldest daughter, so she naturally wants to be by her side at a time like this. I don't know how long it will take for her to come back after this trip!"

So that's how it is. Old Sun couldn't relax his frown.

If the eldest princess really passed away like this, the Yue family would lose another supporter. Even if they didn't understand the officialdom, they would know that without a supporter, the Yue family would be even weaker. I don't know if this Yue family can last long...

The two of them comforted each other for a few words and then parted ways, and the night returned to its loneliness.

However, on the other side, the entire Princess's Mansion was bathed in lights, and the maids and attendants coming in and out completely broke the silence of the night.

Yue Qingning sat in the West Pavilion feeling uneasy, his heart burning with anxiety and unable to calm down.

The princess had always been in good health, and she had never been ill in her previous life. How could she suddenly become so ill this time? It even alarmed the emperor, who sent a prince to inquire about her.

In the warm room of the east wing, the third prince Xiao Heng was there. Perhaps the emperor knew that the crown prince was not favored by the eldest princess, and it would be difficult for him to come here, so he specially sent the third prince to his eldest sister.

In the current court and the country, except for Crown Prince Xiao Yan, other princes are not taken seriously.

The third prince Xiao Heng was naturally one of them. His mother's family was weak and he was even raised as a sickly child in a Zen temple in Dongzhou in his early years. He was only brought back four years ago.

However, his return was of little use, so His Majesty bestowed upon him the title of Prince Shou and established a palace in Kyoto. Prince Shou stayed in Kyoto for four years without any presence.

I thought His Majesty had forgotten about this son, but I didn't expect that Jin Chao suddenly gave him the task of visiting the eldest princess. Who knows what kind of fuss the prince will make tomorrow!

Just as he was thinking about it, the women in the room also started talking to each other.

A slender and unusually gorgeous woman in a light yellow shawl could not bear to wait like this, so she stood up and looked towards the door anxiously.

"Why haven't you called me over yet? Has something happened to my aunt? I'm so worried!"

One sentence made people estimate her. She was dressed in luxurious clothes and called the eldest princess aunt. She should be a girl from the Yao family, the eldest princess's mother's clan. In fact, she was much closer to her than everyone else present.

But it seemed like she was being deliberate when she said that.

His Royal Highness Prince Shou is here, so no matter how close the rest of them are, they cannot surpass the royal family. What she said now is of no use other than letting everyone know her identity.

Yue Qingning lowered her eyes without saying a word, and sure enough, someone came to comfort the young lady from the Yao family soon.

"Don't worry, young lady. Since they're not in a hurry to ask us to come over, it probably hasn't reached that critical point yet. It's a good thing after all. Let's just wait here for a while!"

The person who spoke was Cen Rong, the granddaughter of Cen Shaoqing, an old friend of the eldest princess. Her ancestors had a close relationship with the eldest princess, but it had faded by her generation. It was understandable that she was rushing to talk to the Yao family at this moment.

Yue Qingning listened to the sounds in the house and looked out the window. The sky outside was dark and the lights attracted many insects. The servants lit incense sticks under the windowsill. The strong sandalwood scent lingered at the tip of his nose, and his eyes were filled with faint white fragrance.

She couldn't help but wonder, was this really the last day? Was the eldest princess going to disappear from the world like her great-uncle did amidst these fragrant silks?

Life and death seemed to have some kind of consistency, or in her opinion, there was an inexplicable similarity.

It is hard to tell whether the floating incense thread is going up or down like rain, repeating the scene of the past in the same dark night, but who will shed tears for her this time?

Yue Qingning sighed deeply. She was about to kill someone but was stopped by another person's critical illness. Things in this world are really unpredictable and full of irony.