Xie Shangyu left to look for medicine
The night wind was cold and the room was dead silent.
There is only the sound of the gurgling stream outside the window and the tireless roar of the waterfall in the distance.
Chen Qianyue leaned motionless on the small couch. The moonlight shone through the gaps in the bamboo window, casting a cool beam of light onto her pale, almost transparent hands that were folded on her abdomen.
Cold poison...
Like a maggot in the tarsal bone, it eats away at one's vitality bit by bit. In the final stage, the Qi and blood become stagnant. Once the poison has penetrated the bone marrow, no medicine can cure it. Only then can one die in agony...
Shen Yanhui's heavy words echoed in her mind like a spell.
Every word was like a blunt knife tempered with ice, cutting and grinding her heart repeatedly.
Shen Qianyue closed her eyes, and seemed to see Xie Shangjia curled up in a deserted place, enduring the bone-chilling cold, his teeth chattering.
Li'er was still young and could recover. She could wait a year, five years, ten years for the herbs to arrive. The Shangshu Mansion could breed many Ferghana horses to carry the medicine for her in the future. But Xie Shangjia couldn't wait any longer...
Hot tears slid down my cold cheeks.
This poison is not a sharp blade that kills people immediately, but the cruelest form of lingchi. It does not kill people, but tortures them. Many people cannot bear it and commit suicide before they reach the later stage.
The time of each poison attack is still unknown. At first, it may occur once every few years, then gradually become once every few months, and later it may be once every three to five days.
Xie Shangjia himself always maintained the method of fighting poison with poison. Once the cold poison attacked, he would take the fire poison on his own. Although this relieved the pain, it also added a burden to his body, and he almost had no chance of longevity.
I don’t know how long it took, but the moonlight outside the window seemed to have shifted.
Shen Qianyue stood up slowly, without lighting a lamp, and walked out of the bamboo pavilion like a wandering soul. The guard wanted to follow her, but she waved her hand to stop him. She walked alone along the path behind the house and came to a bluestone staircase by the stream.
The night wind, carrying the moisture of the stream and the chill of the deep valley, blew against her thin clothes, but she did not feel cold. The chill in her heart had long since overshadowed everything in the outside world.
Shen Qianyue sat down on the cold bluestone steps, hugged her knees, and buried her face deeply in her arms. The moonlight gently fell on her curled and trembling shoulders, outlining a fragile and lonely silhouette.
A slight whimper.
Tears flowed like a burst dam, soaking her sleeves. Drop by drop, they flowed down the smooth stone steps, silently falling into the gurgling stream at her feet and disappeared in an instant.
…
The effect of the medicine in Xie Shangjia's body gradually wore off. He turned over uneasily on the bamboo couch, his hand subconsciously reaching to his side.
Empty.
The cold touch instantly made him completely sober.
He sat up suddenly and looked around. He was the only one in the room. The moonlight shone through the window, casting cold spots of light on the floor.
Where is Shen Qianyue?
Xie Shangjia felt so uneasy that he didn't even bother to put on his shoes or care about his physical discomfort. He jumped off the bamboo couch barefoot, stumbled towards the door and opened it.
The cool night wind blew in my face.
His anxious eyes searched around and his heart was beating wildly.
The chief of the guards stepped forward and said, "Sir, the lady has gone to relax along the stream behind the house. She is wearing very thin clothes."
The last two words were deliberately emphasized.
Upon hearing this, Xie Shangjia immediately turned around and went back into the house. He quickly grabbed the thick cloak on the couch, walked around to the back of the house, and caught a glimpse of the thin figure in the moonlight by the stream out of the corner of his eye.
His heart felt like it was being gripped by an invisible hand, and the pain was so severe that he almost suffocated. He didn't dare disturb her, or even make too much noise.
How long has Shen Qianyue been out? She is sitting there alone... Is she crying?
Xie Shangjia carefully approached the fragile figure in the moonlight step by step. As he got closer, he could clearly see her trembling shoulders and hear the faint sobs.
He walked behind her and stopped, the moonlight stretching his shadow over her curled up figure.
Shen Qianyue seemed to notice the movement behind her. Her shoulders stiffened suddenly and her sobbing stopped abruptly. She didn't look back, but buried her face deeper in her arms.
Xie Shangjia silently took the cloak in his hand and gently draped it over her thin shoulders with an almost pious tenderness.
"Don't cry. I didn't let you know about the poisoning before I lost my memory because I was afraid you would be sad."
The thick and warm woolen coat wrapped around Shen Qianyue's body, which was chilled by the night wind, and also seemed to wrap around her broken heart.
Xie Shangjia leaned over, stretched out his arms, and hugged the curled up, cold and trembling body tightly into his warm embrace from behind, sitting where she was sitting.
Shen Qianyue was held in his arms like a child, her face pressed against his chest, her body wrapped warmly, her slightly cool hair blown against his neck.
Xie Shangjia put his arm around her slender shoulders and gently patted her back with his other hand, as if he wanted to rub her into his bones and blood and use himself to block all the coldness for her.
"Don't cry, don't cry. Our Miss Shen is the strongest and most powerful woman I have ever met. She can manage a household and win on the battlefield with wisdom. Even if... I die, you will live a good life."
His voice was low and hoarse, filled with endless pity.
Shen Qianyue's body stiffened in his arms for a moment, then she stretched out her arms, wrapped them tightly around Xie Shangjia's neck, and buried her face deeply in his warm neck.
"It'll be fine, it will."
Tears gushed out like a flood, and she cried bitterly in his arms. The hot tears instantly wet the skin on his neck.
Xie Shangjia held her tightly, letting her vent. He clumsily stroked her trembling back over and over again, whispering meaningless soothing words in her ears.
"Well, it will definitely be fine. I don't trust others, but I trust our Miss Shen. I'm not afraid at all."
The moonlight flowed quietly, covering the two people hugging each other tightly on the steps by the stream.
The roar of the waterfall seemed to become a distant background sound, and the cold stream gurgled under my feet.
At this moment, only each other's heartbeat and body temperature are the only truth and salvation.
Not far away, Xie Shangyu, who couldn't sleep late at night, wanted to come and see the two of them, but he didn't expect to see this scene. He lowered his head, smiled from the bottom of his heart, turned around and left in a leisurely manner.
Shen Qianyue's crying gradually subsided, and her body was no longer so stiff and cold. Xie Shangjia held her and returned to the warm guest house.
Xie Shangjia placed Shen Qianyue on the couch, and he lay down beside her with his clothes on, and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.
As the morning light breaks, the singing of birds in the valley awakens the sleeping valley.
Xie Shangjia opened his eyes drowsily in the dim light coming through the window lattice, and subconsciously tightened his arms. In his arms was Shen Qianyue's pale and haggard sleeping face. His fingertips gently brushed across her slightly furrowed brows, and his heart was filled with pity and responsibility.
Xie Shangjia carefully pulled back his arm, which had become numb from being rested on Chen Qianyue's head, and quietly got up from the bed, preparing to wash up. He couldn't just live from one day to the next. He couldn't bear to leave his family, and he couldn't bear to leave Chen Qianyue...
There was a very light knock on the door and he opened it.
Standing outside the door was the leader of the guards. He looked respectful and lowered his voice, holding a squarely folded piece of plain white letter in his hand.
"Sir, this was given to you by the Second Young Master early this morning."
Xie Shangjia subconsciously looked at the letter in his hand. It felt slightly cool, with the moisture of morning dew from the mountains.
This guesthouse is not far away, so there is no need to send a message.
He closed the door and held the thin letter, ready to read it. Shen Qianyue seemed to be disturbed by the noise just now. Her eyelashes trembled a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes. There was still a trace of tired red bloodshot in her phoenix eyes.
"Whose letter is it from?" Her voice was a little hoarse.
Xie Shangjia handed her the letter: "From my second brother."
Shen Qianyue took it, sat up and leaned against the head of the bed, opened the letter, and pulled out two sheets of paper with vigorous and powerful handwriting.
Xie Shangjia moved closer and watched with Shen Qianyue.
[Shang Jia, sister-in-law:
Last night I was shocked to hear about what happened between my brother and my niece. I was shaken. Seeing how deeply in love you two are, all my suspicions in the past were due to my ignorance of the truth and my unwarranted speculations. I was really mean-spirited and have offended my sister-in-law. I hope you will forgive me.
The owner of the valley is kind-hearted, and Miss Pei is warm-hearted. They have told me all the characteristics and growing environments of the main herbs we need. I will do my best to find them.
My younger brother has been a stubborn person since he was young. Once he makes up his mind, no one can change it. Although he has lost his memory now, his stubborn persistence has not changed at all.
Now, his heart and eyes are full of his younger brother and sister-in-law, just like a young bird cannot leave its warm nest. The task of finding medicine is extremely dangerous. The lady's life is related to the safety of Xie Mansion and his younger brother, so it is not appropriate for him to take the risk himself.
My sister-in-law is extremely intelligent and wise. She is in charge of the central government and is in charge of the overall planning. Only by doing so can we ensure everything is safe. As for my younger brother, I'll trouble you to take care of him.
The signature is just one word: Yu.
After reading the letter, Xie Shangjia's heart suddenly tightened. Although he and his second brother had been at odds since childhood and had always hurt each other, their brotherly friendship was still deep.
If anyone who coveted Shen Qianyue so openly was not his second brother, he would have been beaten eight hundred times by him.
Shen Qianyue frowned slightly, and her fingertips holding the letter paper were so tight that they were deformed. It was not surprising that they were family. She and he had always been on the same side, all for Xie Shangjia and the Xie family.
"Second brother is truly a man of the world, he is decisive in his actions."
Xie Shangjia heard the appreciation in her tone and forced a smile as he held her wrist. "Although Second Brother has a foul mouth, he's a good man. After I leave, you'll be free. I respect your choice."
Shen Qianyue paused while folding the letter paper, and looked down at the other person's hand holding her wrist, which was more difficult to separate than a pair of pliers.
"You can rest assured. If you die, I will die with you."
Xie Shangjia immediately retorted: "How can that be possible? Even if that day really comes for me, I hope you can live a good life."
Shen Qianyue did not respond, but simply put the folded letter paper gently into the luggage box.
Xie Shangjia paced back and forth, turning around anxiously, like a puppy that couldn't find its potty.
"Chen Qianyue! Did you hear me? Live well. Maybe I'll die early and you can wait until I'm reincarnated."
Shen Qianyue curled her lips and went to open the window.
"Yesterday you said you believed me, but today you're convinced you'll die early. Besides, even if I really wait for you to reincarnate, by the time you can marry me, I'll be a toothless old lady."
Xie Shangjia hugged her from behind, smiling foolishly: "Then no one will want you, and we won't have to worry about you being snatched away anymore."
The morning breeze with a strong herbal aroma rushed into the room from the window, ruffling the scattered hair on her temples. The sunlight shone on them, bringing warmth and happiness.
It was as if they were not dignitaries, but an ordinary couple living in the countryside.
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