The heavy snow outside had stopped sometime earlier, accumulating to a height of half a foot.
Inside the room, Zhao Zhi was so sleepy that her head was pounding like garlic, but she still refused to leave.
Unable to dissuade her, Asagao could only sigh helplessly, "Miss, you are pregnant. If you fall ill, even if the Prince wakes up, he will be heartbroken."
“Zhaoyan, from now on he will be your son-in-law. Do you understand? He is no longer the Prince Rui of Da Xuan. Now, he is only my husband, your son-in-law.” Zhao Zhi said with difficulty.
"I understand, Miss. You still need to go back to your room and rest. Don't worry, I'll stay here and keep watch. As soon as the young master wakes up, I'll let you know, okay?"
"Yes, Zhizhi." Zhang Wan's voice came into the room through the cotton curtain.
She brought in a bowl of minced meat porridge, lifted the lid, carefully blew on it, and then handed it to Zhao Zhi. "Have some. You're a doctor too, how come you don't know that a patient's condition progresses gradually? There's no such thing as instant recovery, waking up just from a dose of medicine?"
Zhao Zhi took the meat porridge and ate it in small bites. As she ate, large tears rolled down her cheeks.
Zhang Wan stepped forward, put her arm around her shoulder, and said with heartache, "Silly child."
Zhao Zhi refused to leave, so Zhang Wan had no choice but to order someone to bring over a new bed and lay out a thick mattress, so that Zhao Zhi could make do for one night and then move back to Zhao Zhi's original room after Shen Hanshan woke up.
Shen Hanshan's body gradually warmed up under the warmth of the quilt and charcoal fire. His faint breathing was drowned out by the crackling sound of the burning charcoal and the howling cold wind outside.
He tried hard to open his eyes, but found his eyelids too heavy to open.
My throat is burning and sore.
"Water..." After many attempts, Shen Hanshan finally managed to utter a hoarse voice.
Chaoyan, who was dozing off nearby, thought she had misheard. She leaned close to Shen Hanshan's ear to confirm again, then immediately brought over a bowl of warm water, carefully lifted Shen Hanshan's head, and fed him a small half bowl of water.
"Young master, would you like some more?"
Asagao asked softly, afraid of waking Zhao Zhi, who had just fallen asleep.
Warm water slid down his throat, and Chen Hanshan felt his throat was less sore. But speaking was still difficult; he struggled to squeeze out a single word, "No!"
"Yes, young master, Miss has been keeping you company the whole time. She just fell asleep because she couldn't stay awake any longer. If you need anything, please let me know." Chaoyan gently put down the water bowl and spoke softly to Shen Hanshan.
“Only—only—” Shen Hanshan murmured.
"Young master, Miss was worried about you, so she didn't go to her own room to sleep, but rested next to you." As Chaoyan said, she carefully tucked the blanket around Shen Hanshan.
“Okay,” Shen Hanshan replied in a hoarse voice.
As his consciousness gradually returned, his memories came flooding back.
Over the course of three months, he traveled to almost every county and town in Yun Dynasty, carefully investigating along the way, and finally determined that Zhao Zhi should have come to Dunyang.
Unexpectedly, when he was almost in Dunyang, he encountered horse thieves at night, and his silver was stolen.
He made his way to Dunyang with great difficulty, only to be caught off guard by this sudden heavy snow.
He thought that if it weren't for his urgent desire to see Zhao Zhi, he probably would have frozen to death in the snow.
He never expected that, on the verge of death, he would be saved by Zhao Zhi, whom he had been searching for.
Perhaps, this is a destiny ordained by fate!
Shen Hanshan breathed a long sigh of relief and fell into a deep sleep again, exhausted.
"Chen Hanshan!" Zhao Zhi suddenly cried out, waking up from the nightmare.
Asagao hurried forward, her eyes slightly red, and said softly, "Miss, the young master woke up in the middle of the night. I was afraid of waking you, so I didn't tell you."
Zhao Zhi relaxed, then touched her forehead and found that she was covered in cold sweat.
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Shen Hanshan struggled to sit up, but his weakness prevented him from doing so.
Just then, Zhao Shouzhen lifted the cotton curtain and entered the room. Seeing this, he stepped forward, supported his shoulder, and said softly, "Don't rush, take it slow." He comforted him, "You just woke up, and your body is still very weak."
"Lord Zhao," Shen Hanshan called out in a hoarse voice.
"Hey, you're really stubborn! I've already resigned from my post, and you're still calling me Lord Zhao. You should be calling me 'Father' by now!" Zhao Shouzhen patted his shoulder with displeasure.
"Dad! He's a patient!" Zhao Zhi said angrily from the side.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
