58 Sima Hong's Restraint

He finally uttered, "Okay."

When Qi Gu woke up, she was briefly confused. Had she been saved, or had she died again and been reborn?

"Aunt Qi~~~" Li Shi saw his daughter on the bed open her eyes, staggered to Aunt Qi's bedside, and cried out in surprise.

It's Father! Qi Gu tried to sit up, but felt a sharp pain all over her body and hissed. She couldn't put any weight on her shoulders, and there was a stinging pain in her neck.

She looked down and saw that her shoulders and neck had been treated with medicine, and her clothes had been changed.

Hongyan hurried over, "Your Highness, you're finally awake." She gently helped Qi Gu sit up, making her feel proud.

Li Shi stared intently at Qi Gu, who was leaning against the headboard, examining her injuries. Qi Gu's appearance last night had terrified him. He had been living in fear all night, but Sima Hong had forbidden him from staying with Qi Gu, so he himself had suffered all night.

Having experienced the terror of almost dying again last night, Qi Gu opened her eyes and saw her father, whom she longed to see most.

She threw herself into Li Shi's arms, "Father, I almost thought I'd never see you again, waaaaah~~~" The father and daughter embraced and wept bitterly. Li Shi, tears streaming down his face, said, "Father too, I was terrified when I heard you were kidnapped last night. It's all my fault, a cripple like me, I couldn't help at all, waaaaah~~~"

"What will your father do if something really happens to you?"

"Father, I'm so scared!"

"Aunt Qi, don't cry, waaaaah~~~"

Hongyan stood to the side, feeling quite awkward.

After the two finished crying, Li Shicai said, "Yesterday was really dangerous. I heard from Miss Hongyan that if it weren't for Sima Langjun, who knows what those people would have done to you. Those people are really damn audacious." He looked at Qi Gu's neck wrapped in white cloth, and also at what the doctor had told him last night that Qi Gu's shoulder was also fractured, and she had injuries on her wrists and ankles.

"What on earth happened? You are a princess, how dare these people hurt you!" Li Shi said, feeling both distressed and angry.

Qi Gu then remembered Song Shi and Shen Wei. "Father, I'm alright now. Has Song Shi, who kidnapped me, been arrested? What about Chen Zhan? What about Shen Wei?"

Footsteps sounded outside the door. "Don't worry, they've all been executed." Sima Hong walked around the screen and came out.

"I must thank Sima Langjun properly this time, for saving you again." Li Shi looked at his daughter's pale face and felt so sorry for her. She had suffered a lot this time, but thankfully she was rescued in time.

He was relieved that he was staying at Sima Hong's residence, which allowed him to learn about Qi Gu's accident immediately. Fortunately, Sima Hong had left Qi Gu at his residence to recover, which enabled him to see her as soon as possible.

Thinking of how much Sima Langjun cared for the princess last night, Hongyan said to Qigu, "Last night, Lord Sima stayed by the princess's side all night."

"Yes, yes, actually your father also wanted to stay by your side, when you were sick as a child..." Li Shi began to ramble on...

No one noticed that from the moment Sima Hong entered, Qi Gu avoided looking at him. She couldn't face Sima Hong's face; whenever she saw him, she would think of the painful memories of her past life and last night.

Li Shi showered Qi Gu with fatherly concern and finally stood up reluctantly. "I made an appointment with the Taicang magistrate today to go check on the farmland outside the city." He patted Qi Gu's head. "Anyway, Qi Gu, it's so good that you're alright. Be good and recover from your injuries. I'll come to see you when I get back." Li Shi was unusually serious. The journey back to the capital had been more dangerous than anything he had encountered in the previous eight years. Li Shi was still shaken. Fortunately, Sima Hong was capable enough; otherwise, he really didn't know what would have happened to Qi Gu.

Just as he was about to leave, Qi Gu tugged at his sleeve, looking at him with eyes like those of a wounded little animal, "Father, I want to eat roast chicken."

How could Li Shi bear to refuse his poor daughter's request? Just as he was about to agree, Sima Hong spoke up, "Mr. Li, Aunt Qi is still ill and needs to eat light meals."

Li Shi looked at Qi Gu with embarrassment, "It's not that I don't want to buy it for you, it's that your savior won't allow it."

Hongyan chuckled softly to herself, then excused herself to see Mr. Li out, leaving the room to the princess's husband, Sima Langjun.

Qi Gu cried out anxiously, "Father, Hongyan, don't go!" Sima Hong stood in front of her, blocking her view.

He walked to Qi Gu's window, touched her forehead, and Qi Gu was startled and tried to pull away. He gently supported the back of her neck with his other hand, "Don't move. The doctor said you had a seizure yesterday and are prone to catching a cold and getting a fever."

Qi Gu felt a thick layer of goosebumps rise on her skin as Sima's somewhat cold hands covered her, and her heart raced.

Qi Gu stepped back into the bed. Sima Hong seemed to sense something, and a fleeting emotion crossed his eyes. He lowered his hand.

His fear of death prevented him from looking Sima Hong in the eye. Both of his near-death experiences—no, they were both real death experiences and near-death experiences—were brought about by the person in front of him.

She knew he had tried to save her last night, but she couldn't control her fear. She closed her eyes and thought that she truly no longer loved Sima Hong; only fear remained.

Her eyes were wet as she looked at him, silently saying, "Stay away from me."

"Are you afraid of me?" Sima Hong stood by the window, his expression carrying a hint of anger and... aggression.

Qi Gu hugged the brocade quilt and said, "Shouldn't I be afraid?"

"Aunt Qi, I never intended to hurt you."

Qi Gu's eyes lost focus. "Really?" She knew that Sima Hong had saved her, but some things were etched into her instincts and could not be erased, not even by her.

A dull pain shot through him, and Sima Hong's expression turned icy. "So, you won't marry me again in this lifetime. You don't need my compensation, right?"

Qi Gu looked up at Sima Hong. There were some dark circles under his eyes. Hongyan said that she had stayed by his side all night. She was grateful to him, but that was all she could do.

She shook her head. "From the first day of my rebirth, I never thought of marrying you again." For her, even returning to the capital was an unexpected event.

"If it weren't for Mother seeing through Li Qiao, I would never have wanted to come back to the capital. Sima Xiuyuan, this is the first time in my life I've called you that, and I think it will be the last. You know very well that I'm not suited to be a princess. Once everything is over, I will find a reason to go with Father to my fiefdom, away from the hustle and bustle of the capital. In my fiefdom, Father and I will focus on cultivating millet and wheat seeds so that the people of Great Jin can eat the new millet and wheat that Father and I cultivate together. I might marry someone who likes me and whom I like, or I might just live with Father and depend on each other for the rest of my life. This is my greatest wish in this life."

"What! You want to leave the capital?!" Qi Gu was lying to him. She never intended to stay in the capital forever. She wanted to leave, to leave forever! Qi Gu, how could you be so afraid of me and so disgusted with me?

Sima Hong thought of how Qi Gu could barely breathe last night. What kind of fear could make her so terrified that she couldn't breathe and her whole body trembled? At that moment, he almost thought that she had died in front of him again.

“That’s right, I never wanted to stay in the capital, to constantly face the people who killed me… I couldn’t do it…”

Thinking of that palace coup, Qi Gu realized that some things were destined to be unchangeable. She said, "Besides... if you don't want me to die in that palace coup again, please help me. Consider this what you owe me..."

Sima Hong's hands were clenched tightly within his wide sleeves, his palms throbbing with blood. "I will never let anyone hurt you again..."

"Sima Hong, you know some things are destined... Do you want to see me die again?!"

Sima Hong closed his eyes. He should have agreed. Qi Gu was absolutely right. This was the best outcome. She was afraid of him, so afraid that she would shrink back whenever he got close.

But why! Why can't Qi Gu be...?

The room was eerily quiet. Sima Hong stood in front of Qi Gu, his heart churning with unknown emotions that disrupted his years of self-control.

He gazed intently at Qi Gu, and just as something unspeakable was about to burst forth, he finally uttered, "Okay."

Sima Hong ultimately bore the heavy responsibility of ensuring the well-being of the people and the prosperity of the aristocratic families for centuries, and his rationality suppressed those surging emotions.

"Thank you, my sworn brother, both last night and today." Sima Hong had already done more than enough for her, and she was still grateful to him.

"By the way, last night Song Shi attempted to break into prison when Guangshun Hou transferred Chen Zhan, but he was captured by my men before that could happen." Sima Hong reverted to his usual aloof demeanor.

Qi Gu nodded inwardly. That's right, this is the real Sima Hong. The Sima Hong who held her in her daze and stayed by her side all night was just an illusion and couldn't be taken seriously.

Qi Gu asked, "Didn't he want to use me to exchange for Chen Zhan? How come..."

Sima Hong explained, "Song Shi's initial intention was not to exchange you for Chen Zhan, but rather to break Chen Zhan from prison during his transfer!" However, the most crucial element was the cooperation of the Marquis of Guangshun. Sima Hong did not elaborate on the Marquis of Guangshun's affairs, and Qi Gu had no need to know these things.

Qi Gu thought of what Song Shi had said to her. That Song Shi was really cunning. She asked again, "Where is Shen Wei?"

Sima Hong recalled the message from Atai: "Shen Wei was killed while being escorted to the imperial prison."

"It was the Guo family who did it." Qi Gu didn't even need to think. The best way for Madam Guo to clear herself was to kill her to silence her. That way, she wouldn't even be able to ask her father to intervene. Otherwise, without evidence, she would be slandering her stepmother. She didn't expect to be like Madam Guo, crying in front of her father and having him intervene on her behalf.

"Don't worry, the Guo family won't dare to touch you again." This time, neither the Empress nor he will let the Guo family off the hook.

However, compared to the Guo family, another person deserves more attention. The reason why the Guo family dared to defy the world and launch that palace coup in the previous life was because they thought they had reached a deal with that person. Unfortunately, they were dealing with a tiger for its skin...

After they finished discussing business, they fell into an eerie silence. Qi Gu thought that now that they had finished their business, he should leave. She was exhausted. So much had happened yesterday, and her whole body ached. She really needed to rest.

Sima Hong glanced at the exhausted Qi Gu, a hint of...heartache in his eyes, and ordered a maid to bring Qi Gu's food and medicine.

He watched Qi Gu eat carefully, then saw her gulp down a bowl of medicine, her face contorted in pain. He chuckled softly, "Go to sleep. I'll watch you until you fall asleep and then leave."

Qi Gu stared at Sima Hong with her big eyes, "I could sleep peacefully if you hadn't said that, but now that you've said it, I can't sleep anymore." Her eyes clearly told Sima Hong: Get out, this princess is going to sleep.

Sima Hong, though outwardly gentle, was actually resolute: "What? Didn't you call me your sworn brother? Now we're not siblings anymore, it's a matter of gender distinction?"

Under normal circumstances, she couldn't win an argument with Sima Hong. Qi Gu lay down, covered her head with the blanket, and thought, "Whatever." Whether it was the effect of the medication or she was really too tired, Qi Gu quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The handsome man standing beside her bed gazed intently at her. He gently lifted her drowsy head from under the covers, tucked her in, and his fingertips couldn't resist touching her soft, peaceful face. The woman murmured softly, "Father, I'm scared." Sima Hong felt a tearing pain in his heart. His fingers stiffened, and he turned and gently closed the door.

[Author's Note]

I didn't procrastinate today, finishing writing at 10:30, but editing took an hour! [Laughing and crying with facepalm]

Sima Xiuyuan: How much longer must I restrain myself?

Author: Enough is enough, I'm rooting for you!

Qi Gu: I've given you another Geigei card [shy]