In the spring of 1900, the 26th year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, Qi Zhenheng resigned from his official post and, together with Shen Qing and their two children, boarded a ship bound for New York, USA.
The journey at sea would last for a month, and no one knew what unexpected events might occur during that time. Therefore, Shen Qing did not allow Qi Zhenheng and his two children to leave the cabin frequently.
She believes that keeping a low profile is the only way to end this journey safely.
At that time, Cheng Zhiwen had been in the United States for more than a year, and he would write an English letter to Shen Qing every month.
He told Shen Qing that his identity had been exposed and it would be difficult for him to return to China. He continued to support the revolution in the United States, raising funds from local Chinese Americans and sending the funds back to China every now and then through various means.
At the end of each letter, he would thank Shen Qing and Qi Zhenheng for their hard work in raising the twins.
He never expressed any personal feelings to Shen Qing in his letters; their intimacy seemed to have ended that night in the thatched hut.
That silent yet intense embrace, and their tears, marked the end of their relationship.
"Cough cough... cough cough cough..." A violent coughing sound came.
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze and looked at the bed.
Qi Zhenheng leaned against the headboard, his face flushed, coughing incessantly.
She stepped forward, touched his forehead, and her heart suddenly clenched.
Qi Zhenheng has a fever!
On the second day after he boarded the ship, he began to have diarrhea, chills, and a cough.
Based on her modern experience, she determined that he had gastroenteritis, so she made sure to prepare warm and nourishing foods for him at every meal.
But it had little effect, and today he even developed a fever.
Based on this, it is highly likely that Qi Zhenheng was infected with some bacteria. In the first few days after the symptoms appeared, he did not receive timely anti-inflammatory and antibacterial treatment, so his immune system responded with a fever.
Shen Qing had a bad feeling but didn't dare to show it. She helped Qi Zhenheng adjust his pillow and said, "You have a fever. I'll go get some water to help you cool down physically."
Qi Zhenheng panted, "Okay."
Shen Qing turned around, her eyes reddening.
She boiled some water, then mixed it with lukewarm water (around 30 degrees Celsius), soaked a towel in it, and used it to wipe Qi Zhenheng's body.
After wiping herself down, she hurried to find the ship's doctor to get medicine. But there were no anti-inflammatory drugs in this era, so she only got some fever reducers and cough suppressants.
Shen Qing carried the medicine back to the room and quickly fed it to Qi Zhenheng.
She prayed that the ship would reach New York quickly so that Qi Zhenheng could go to the hospital for treatment.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. When the ship was crossing the Pacific Ocean, Qi Zhenheng was on the verge of death.
For more than half a month, he couldn't eat or drink much, coughed all day long, and had a persistent high fever.
The ship's doctor came to examine him but couldn't figure out the cause of his illness. Each time, he would just give him some fever reducers and cough suppressants to treat the symptoms but not the root cause, and then leave.
Shen Qing could only stay by his bedside with his two children every day.
He would occasionally regain consciousness and talk to them, but most of the time he was in a deep sleep.
If you can't eat, you'll eventually burn out and die.
Seeing him like this, Shen Qing felt very sad, but she didn't dare to show it in front of him and the children. She could only wait until late at night to secretly hide in the bathroom and cry.
She knew that Qi Zhenheng would soon leave her and the children, but she still prayed every day that the ship would reach San Francisco quickly so that they could disembark and take Qi Zhenheng to see a doctor.
The day before the ship was to arrive in San Francisco, Qi Zhenheng suddenly became much more lucid and told Shen Qing that he wanted to eat wontons. Shen Qing hurriedly went to prepare wontons for him.
He ate a few and drank some soup.
Being able to eat and drink, even if not much, is still a sign of improvement.
Shen Qing felt that his immune system had finally won over the bacteria, so he was slowly getting better.
She still decided to disembark in San Francisco so that Qi Zhenheng could see a doctor and recover before they could travel from San Francisco to the United States.
After eating, Qi Zhenheng had the energy to talk to her again.
He gently stroked her long hair, smiling weakly, his bright, large eyes gazing intently at her.
He always looked at her with that tender gaze, as if he wanted to tear her into his heart.
"Qing'er... do you know what the happiest thing in my life is?"
Shen Qing rubbed her face against his palm and asked gently, "Are you being promoted to governor?"
He smiled and shook his head: "It was the day I married you... That night, I got completely drunk because I was so happy..."
Shen Qing also recalled the years they had spent together, from the time they met to the time they got married.
Her eyes suddenly reddened, and she said softly, "But ever since you married me, you haven't had a good life."
"Nonsense... The best days of my life... were the ones you gave me... cough cough..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Qi Zhenheng coughed violently again.
Shen Qing stopped him from speaking and helped him lie back down.
He seemed very tired; even after falling asleep, his breathing was still rapid.
Shen Qing was worried, so she lay down by the bed to watch over him, and then somehow fell asleep.
When I woke up again, the sky outside the window was a gray expanse.
Shen Qing got up to close the window and habitually said to Qi Zhenheng, "The weather doesn't look too good, but the good news is we'll be able to disembark in San Francisco around noon."
“We’re almost in America, my love, are you happy…” she said, turning to look at the bed.
Qi Zhenheng lay there, his face pale, the skin exposed outside the blanket a withered yellow.
Shen Qing quickly stepped forward and took his hand, no longer caring about the temperature.
Tears immediately streamed down her face as she carefully lifted the blanket from his feet...
His legs were already straight...
Qi Zhenheng is gone...
Shen Qing froze for a few seconds, then threw herself at him and burst into tears, crying, "Husband...husband..."
Hearing her cries, her two children woke up, jumped off the other bed, and went to her side.
"Mother, what's wrong with Father?" Cheng An looked at Shen Qing with her big, clear eyes. "Why does Father look so pale?"
Cheng Xi hid behind her brother in fear.
Shen Qing turned around, hugged her two children, and cried, "Children, your father... he's gone..."
Cheng Xi asked softly, "Where is Daddy going?"
The precocious Cheng Anquan understood. He broke free from Shen Qing's embrace, walked to the bedside, took Qi Zhenheng's hand hanging by the bedside, and said, "Father, don't worry, Cheng An will definitely take good care of Mother and Sister! Cheng An is Father's son, Cheng An is a man!"
After saying that, he knelt down on the ground with a thud and kowtowed three times to Qi Zhenheng.
When she stood up, her face was already covered in tears.
That year, Shen Qing was thirty-two years old, with two six-year-old children, while Qi Zhenheng was only five years older than her.
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