Chapter 62

Ever since Yue Qingning woke up, everyone in the mansion seemed to be pardoned, fulfilling their vows and worshipping Buddha, all looking at her in a very orderly manner.

Que Ming was not supposed to be here, so no one could see him appear in the house, so he was secretly arranged in Yue Qingning's boudoir, which made it convenient for him to look after the young lady at all times.

It was early morning and the severe winter chill had not yet dissipated. The charcoal burning in the house was far from enough to warm the entire porch. Yue Qingning could hear the sound of him sleeping restlessly and tossing from time to time on this side.

She thought for a long time, then lifted the green curtain and said to the other side: "Queming, bring a charcoal brazier over to warm it up!"

There was a rustling sound from the other end for a while. After waiting for a while, he came over here dressed neatly. He moved the charcoal basin closer and asked her.

"But you feel cold again?"

As he spoke, he picked up a few pieces of charcoal and placed them on the dying scarlet fire. After a while, it ignited with heat again, making her face feel warm.

Yue Qingning stared at his movements back and forth and suddenly asked.

"How did you know I would be in danger that day?"

This sentence seemed to have placed some kind of restriction on him, and Que Ming suddenly stopped talking.

Perhaps because he didn't get the news from a good source, Yue Qingning suddenly felt bored. He withdrew his hand and stared up at the ceiling of the tent in a daze.

"After the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination will be held in Beijing. I've wanted to come back and take a look for a long time... but I also know that my special identity cannot be exposed, so I can only watch quietly from afar for a while before returning..."

His explanation was so vague that it seemed as if he had simply covered it up, and his selfish motives were invisible.

Because he wanted to see her, and because he was worried about her after hearing the news that he had offended the prince, he stood on the high building outside the mansion gate day and night, watching her in the cold wind, hoping that God would bless him and allow him to be lucky enough to see her more as she passed by.

In this way, he discovered the sneaky figures outside the Yue Mansion in advance. He wanted to go and inform the teacher quickly, but seeing that they had succeeded, he was afraid that the young lady would be hurt if he didn't follow them. So the scholar took up a knife and went to rescue her alone.

"How can you fight three people on your own? Are you really not injured?"

Que Ming hid his hand and touched her dry back. After making sure there were no flaws, he squatted in front of her bed and comforted her.

"Back in the day, at the Qinfang, there were all kinds of people coming and going. Seeing that I was alone and helpless, the adults passing by sometimes taught me a few life-saving moves. I wouldn't have used them unless it was absolutely necessary."

He smiled awkwardly, as if he was embarrassed to let her see his ferocious appearance, but Yue Qingning wanted to thank him for his selfless devotion. She was young at that time and could not hide her fear of violence. Seeing him hang the bad guy, her heart and eyes were full of fear, which made the little Queming at that time very sad.

This time, she was finally able to calm down and hug him.

Yue Qingning moved his shoulders and felt a tearing pain in his chest. He didn't dare move anymore and reached out to cover his hand.

Que Ming opened his eyes wide as if struck by lightning, not daring to react or even breathe. He stared at the back of his hand and saw the soft and slender fingers entwined with his. He was stunned for a moment.

"Thank you, Queming! Thank you for always looking at me."

The gratitude from the heart dispelled all the resentment from past and present lives. Yue Qingning finally stopped blaming herself and was no longer entangled. Her Que Ming did not betray her, and she also began to be convinced that Que Ming would never leave her for the rest of her life.

"Is the girl awake? The medicine is ready!"

Qingzhu's sweet voice of inquiry came from outside the door. Que Ming was about to get up and hide back in the dark room, but he saw that the young lady's hand was still covering the back of his hand. He was greedy for this warmth and didn't want to leave.

"I'm awake, wait a minute."

Yue Qingning signaled him with her eyes to get on the bed with her clothes on and hide in the layers of gauze curtains. Because she was still ill, the bed was covered with layer upon layer of gauze curtains, making it impossible to see how many people were lying inside.

Que Ming shook his head repeatedly but didn't dare to say anything. He didn't even dare to struggle as she was holding two knuckles, for fear of hurting her.

Seeing that he refused to give in, Yue Qingning rolled his eyes and shouted towards the door, "Come in!"

Hearing this sound, followed by the creaking of wooden boards being pushed open, he jumped onto the bed no matter how reluctant he was.

In the gauze curtain, for fear of dirtying the young lady's quilt, he knelt on the bed with his knees close to the corner of the quilt, not daring to go beyond an inch.

Yue Qingning couldn't help but chuckle when she saw that this tall and strong man was bullied by her like a pitiful puppy squatting in the corner of the bed. The laughter touched her heart. When she frowned, both people inside and outside the tent were anxious to ask her about her situation.

She quickly stopped Qingzhu, and after laughing, she realized that what she had done was really absurd. Hiding someone in the tent in broad daylight was really inappropriate.

But she really didn't want him to go away. She was craving for that sense of security. Without him around, she always felt like something was missing.

"Miss, please be careful. If you open the wound again, it will be difficult to heal."

Qingzhu frowned and brought the bowl of medicine over. Yue Qingning leaned against the bed, took it, and handed it naturally to Que Ming who was kneeling at her feet in the tent.

Because the view was blocked, Qingzhu thought she was putting it on the bed to dry, so she didn't say much.

Yue Qingning remembered something, "Qingzhu, who sent me back that day when I was injured?"

Qingzhu had no suspicion and explained the whole thing to her. It turned out that what everyone in the mansion saw was Minister Yue carrying her back to the mansion, and her wounds had already been treated at that time.

Yue's father told everyone that he realized something was wrong halfway through his journey, and on his way back he ran into a group of thieves acting strangely, so he followed them intending to investigate them, but he didn't expect to save his own daughter.

This explanation is too bizarre, but if we leave Que Ming out of the story, we can only make up such a coincidence.

Everyone didn't believe it and couldn't explain it clearly, so they had to believe it temporarily.

When Prince Shou heard that she had been abducted in his mansion and the bandit leader's body had disappeared without a trace, he was furious and volunteered to wipe out all the bandits within a radius of fifty miles. Before leaving, he hurriedly came to see her and then left in a hurry.

After hearing this, Yue Qingning muttered to himself quietly.

"So he really thought it was bandits causing trouble!"

Seeing that she looked depressed, Qingzhu carefully handed a small box from her sleeve to her. The sandalwood box had not been opened yet. It was small and exquisite, as if it contained something important.

"What's this?"

Qingzhu winked at her and gestured, "Of course it's a token of love for you! His Highness Prince Shou is interested in you, so he specifically asked me to give this to you and open it personally."

I was suddenly pulled by the side, as if it was an accidental action.

Yue Qingning blinked and ignored him. She took the knife Qingzhu handed her and cut open the wax seal. Inside the small box was a dark green jade ring. Looking closely, she saw circles of tigers with tails engraved on it.

She immediately understood that Prince Shou was protecting her. Only if he stayed away from here and had weak guards around him would the prince turn his attention to him and try to murder him. Naturally, he would no longer care whether she was dead or alive.

She didn't want the black tiger jade he gave her earlier, so he could only make a new tiger ring for her. He believed that this one would be as powerful as the tiger jade. He said he would protect her, but he was willing to give her such a precious thing twice.

Now she really had no choice but to accept it.

Yue Qingning held the jade bracelet and looked involuntarily towards the dark corner at the end of the bed. Que Ming was kneeling there, and his face did not look very good.

His sword-like brows were slightly furrowed, his eyes were lowered, and his thin lips were tightly pursed.

She probably didn't want to see Prince Shou being so attentive to her.

Yue Qingning thought for a moment and put the jade ring on his wrist. He touched Qingzhu's head, which was about to admire the beautiful jade, and advised.

"Go out! I want to sleep a little longer. I don't know if it's because I'm tired after being injured that I always want to sleep."

Qingzhu looked at her worriedly, then remembered that she hadn't taken the medicine yet.

Yue Qingning quickly stopped her hand from lifting the curtain, "Drink it later. It's too hot and I can't drink it in one gulp. It's so bitter, it's better to drink it all in one gulp to save yourself the pain."

Upon hearing this, Qingzhu could only look back every few steps as she walked away, walked around the landscape screen, and closed the door.

She was just about to come back to her senses and ask Que Ming, but she saw that he had already come to the head of the bed, scooping a spoonful of medicine and pressing it to her lips.

"It's not good for the medicine to get cold, as it will weaken its medicinal properties."

Yue Qingning stared at his drooping eyes, her heart softened, and she leaned forward to drink the medicine he handed her.

But it was difficult for him to feed the medicine. Each spoonful was less than the previous one. If he continued like this, he would have to feed him forever.

What's wrong with him?

Yue Qingning simply moved closer, held the porcelain bowl in her mouth and drank it all in one gulp. However, she underestimated the bitterness of the medicine. After drinking it, she couldn't help coughing twice, and the medicine dripped onto her chin.

Seeing her in such a mess, Que Ming carefully took the handkerchief from the bedside table and wiped her face.

A fragrance, a faint and cold fragrance emanating from her body, was like a sweet rain falling on his barren land. He couldn't bear to leave after just one sniff.

The closer I got, the more my hands trembled.

Yue Qingning narrowed her eyes and looked at him in such an embarrassing state that he was almost panicked and wanted to jump out of the bed and run away. For a moment, she felt more pity than emotion.

He almost fainted on her, and his breathing became more and more intense.

Yue Qingning's heart was drawn to him and began to beat faster and faster. She took a deep breath and held him in her arms, resting her head on his shoulder to relieve his anxiety.

The poor puppy finally felt relieved. He didn't have the courage to do anything presumptuous. Everything was given to him by the lady, but even so he couldn't enjoy it with peace of mind.

He was too impatient and too worried, fearing that all this was just an empty dream, and when he woke up he would still be facing the Qinlou Tavern, and would never be able to embrace his own sun.

But the eldest lady held him tightly in her arms and comforted him: "I have always misunderstood you about one thing and done many things to hurt you. Que Ming, I was wrong! Can you forgive me?"

Can you forgive me?

Where does this nonsense come from?

Of course she could forgive him, and she didn't even need to ask for forgiveness. Whether it was intentional or not, as long as she was willing and as long as she was happy, what would it matter if she stabbed him a few more times?

Anyway, he is thick-skinned and has an iron skeleton inherited from his father. Even if the young lady wants to carve her name on his spine, he will agree.

Que Ming hugged her back carefully, his voice trembling unnaturally. "It's okay, it doesn't matter to me."

"I just hope that the lady is still willing to have me."